American poker player Tony Sinishtaj was crowned champion at the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown $3,500 Championship after defeating opponent Darryll Fish in a head-to-head battle for the first-place prize. This is a first WPT champion title for Sinishtaj, who went home with $661,283 in first-place prize money.
The Showdown Championship was held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, and the attracted a field of 1,207 players, including notable names like Daniel Colman and Rob Mizrachi. As many as six players joined the tournament’s final table, with Colman in the chip lead and Sinishtaj only a handful of chips behind.
It was Colman who started the action by moving over 10 million in chips. Simeon Naydenov, who was the only non-American player at the final table, was the first to get eliminated. Thirteen hands after the start of the action, Colman flipped [Ah][7h] against the Bulgarian’s [Kh][8h], sending him to the sixth position with 132,889 in chips.
The next elimination was courtesy of Robert Mizrachi and happened on the 26th hand of the final table. Eric Beller’s [Ah][7s] proved to be powerless against Mizrachi’s pocket kings. Beller had no other option but to settle for the fifth place and walk away with 164,438 in chips.
The hand that followed Beller’s elimination saw Darryll Fish claim the chip lead after collecting a massive pot worth $5.6 million. However, Sinishtaj assumed the pole position in the hands that followed. Mizrachi doubled through Colman causing him to become the shortest stack at the final table.
Colman then fell even further in chips after Mizrachi robbed him of yet another huge pot, worth $6.3 million. Colman struggled to regain his position and managed to double back through his nemesis Mizrachi. He continued to build on from there as his pocket eights held against the [Kh][Qh] of opponent Darryll Fish. Colman succeeded in resuming the chip lead for a while only to tank again on the next hand.
After considering his next move for over three minutes, Colman called on Sinishtaj and flipped [As][Ah] to see his opponent revealing [Ad][8d]. The board read [8s][6d][2h][10d][Ad], leaving Colman with less than three big blinds. He was eliminated on the very next hand and walked away with the fourth-place prize of $217,686.
Robert Mizrachi failed to join his brother Michael Mizrachi on the list of WPT champions as he was eliminated by opponent Darryll Fish, who prevailed against Mizrachi’s pocket fours with his [Ah][Ad].
The heads-up battle for the champion title began with Sinishtaj in the chip lead with 23.85 million in chips against Fish’s 12.35 million. Five hands after the start of the battle, the two players found their stacks all in as the flop showed [8d][3s][2s]. Sinishtaj held suited king-queen against the [As][3d] of his opponent. The turn secured an unbeatable flush for Sinishtaj with the [6d], but it was the [9d] on the river that officially sealed the deal and sent Fish to the runner-up position, with 453,185 in chips.
In addition to the hefty payout and the champion trophy, Sinishtaj was awarded a $15,000 seat to the Season XV Monster WPT Tournament of Champions. The event is to take place between April 7 and April 9 and offers almost $200,000 in cash and prizes, including a 2018 Audi S5 Coupe.
- Author
Harry Evans
