American poker pro Daniel Weinman was proclaimed winner at the second annual WPT Tournament of Champions. Weissman succeeded in prevailing over opponent Michael Mizrachi in an intense head-to-head battle which secured him the prestigious champion title and earned him $381,500 in first-place prize money.
This year’s WPT Tournament of Champions attracted a field of 66 champions who contributed to the accumulation of a huge $1,090,000 prize pool. Winners from this seat were not required to pay their way into the event while previous seasons champions were allowed to buy-in rake free for the sum of $15,000. Title sponsor Monster provided the sum of $100,000 in added prize money. The event took place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood in Florida.
The third and final day of the tournament commenced with Weinman in the chip lead. Weinman was, in fact, one of the six survivors who joined the event’s final table to compete for the champion crown and the first-place prize.
Dylan Wilkerson was the first player to get eliminated and was rewarded with $57,225 for his sixth-place finish. Shortly after, Wilkerson was followed by Erik Seidel, who had less than ten big blinds left. Seidel’s starting hand of [Ad][5h] was of no help against the [Ks][Jd] of opponent Daniel Santoro. Another jack came on the flop, so Santoro formed a pair and sent Seidel to the fifth place, with 73,575 in chips.
At this point, Santoro emerged as a chip leader and sent opponent David Ormsby home with his ace-king against Ormsby’s ace-four. Ormsby settled for the fourth place and collected $95,375 in prize money. Santoro was the next to go as his [Kh][Qd] failed him against Mizrachi’s [Ah][4h]. Left with less than twenty big blinds, Santoro did not succeed in improving his hand as the flop brought [Qs][8c][2s] only to be followed by [7c] on the turn and [Ac] on the river. Santoro earned $133,525 for his third-place finish.
The heads-up battle between Weinman and Mizrachi commenced, with Weinman still in the chip lead. Six hands after the start of the heads-up action, Mizrachi hit a lucky double on the river with [Kd][Jh] against his opponent’s [As][6c]. This allowed him to move $1.28 million and reduce the stack difference with Weinman, who had 2.02 million in chips.
Mizrachi’s success was short-lived as Weinman managed to regain his 2 to 1 chip lead after bluffing his opponent with [9s][8h]. With the board showing [10h][6c][3h][6h][8c], Mizrachi failed to recognise his opponent’s bluff and decided the most suitable course of action is to fold.
The final hand of the tournament saw Mizrachi moving all-in with a pair of [5h][5c]. Weinman then called with his [Ac][8h]. The flop brought [Qd][Jc][3c] allowing Mizrachi to remain in the lead thanks to his unsuited pair of fives, but it was the [8s] on the turn that pushed Weinman ahead. The river sealed the deal with [7c] and earned Weinman the champion title and the hefty first-place prize. Mizrachi settled for the runner-up position and walked away with $218,000 in prize money.
In addition to the first-place prize and the prestigious title, Weinman was awarded a brand new 2018 Audi S5 Coupe, a custom-made poker table from BBO Poker Tables, a pair of Rose Gold Wireless Over-Ear Element Headphones from the title sponsor Monster, and a Hublot King Power Unico Carbon and Red watch. More importantly, Weinman’s most recent win secured him a $15,000 entry into the next season of the WPT Tournament of Champions.
- Author
Harry Evans
