Two key moments at the final table of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour Las Vegas $550 Mystery Bounty were all it took for Gregor Sverko to start off his festival with a bang.
Sverko was all in for 2,575,000 against Daniel Samson and a card away from elimination as Samson turned trips, but Sverko caught a miracle straight on the river to double up. Then, in what proved to be his shining moment, Sverko flopped a full house to put an end to Samson and earn the trophy and $46,800 first prize.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize | Bounties | Total Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gregor Sverko | Croatia | $46,800 | $19,500 | $66,300 |
| 2 | Daniel Samson | United Kingdom | $28,800 | $8,500 | $37,300 |
| 3 | Shyamsundar Challa | United States | $20,530 | $5,000 | $25,530 |
| 4 | Chanelle Morimatsu | United States | $15,800 | $2,000 | $17,800 |
| 5 | Alexandro Tricarico | Belgium | $12,180 | $3,000 | $15,180 |
| 6 | Chris Johnston | United States | $9,420 | $2,000 | $11,420 |
| 7 | Victor Paredes | United States | $7,280 | $4,000 | $11,280 |
| 8 | Eric Siegel | United States | $5,640 | $500 | $6,140 |
| 9 | Chinchia Hsu | Taiwan | $4,330 | $500 | $4,830 |
“It feels good. This year hasn’t been very good for me, online or live. And it’s my first trophy, my first live trophy, so I’m pretty happy about it,” the Croatian pro said after securing the title that pushed him past $400,000 in career earnings.
Sverko, who also earned $19,500 in bounties, was humble in victory and recognized the role that some good fortune played in his win. “I just ran good. Played pretty good, I think. Just won flips. That’s it,” he said. “I think I mostly had it. When the pot was big I just had it, so that’s the secret.”
The five starting flights of this event were all played in the Resorts World Las Vegas poker room. Day 2 saw the opening of the main tournament area, and 179 players returned to action out of a massive field of 1,201 entries.
David Jackson (173rd), Rep Porter (164th), Adam Walton (155th), PokerNews Podcastco-host Michael Holtz (152th), Michael Wang (144th), and Irish Open champion David Docherty (131st) were among the first to fall in a flurry of eliminations to start the day as players tried to get their hands on the mystery bounty tokens.
Rhett van Leeuwen began the day as chip leader but could only manage to make it to 59th place, while Nicholas Seward (57th), Justin Young (48th), Shawn Buchanan (47th), and Joshua Remitio (45th) were also sent off to collect their payday.
PokerStars Team Pro Barny Boatman lost most of his chips in a pre-flop race against Chris Johnston and fell in 34th place shortly after, while Maria Konnikova was eliminated in 33rd by Sverko.
David Dongwoo Ko was coasting along with 2,600,000 and in contention for the chip lead when he seemed poised to grow his stack even more. Ko picked up queens and had Chanelle Morimatsu all in for her last 950,000 with king-jack. Ko flopped a set to take a big lead in the pot, but Morimatsu turned a straight to double up. Just a few hands later, Ko was all in with ace-king against Morimatsu’s ace-queen and was about to get his chips back when a cruel queen fell on the river to send him crashing out in 28th place.
Terrance Reid picked up two kings and had Victor Paredes all in for 935,000 with ace-nine, but Paredes turned an ace to double up. Reid then ran into Jim Paulus’ aces to finish in 17th. Quang Vu was eliminated in 13th when he ran his tens into the jacks of Alexandro Tricarico, while Paulus fell in 12th in a three-way all in that saw Johnston scoop the pot with a pair of eights.
Colton Blomberg busted in 10th place when he couldn’t overcome Tricarico’s pocket sixes, setting the nine-handed final table. Tricarico led with 8,500,000, followed by Samson (6,700,000), and Sverko (5,900,000).
Chinchia Hsu, who began the final table with just four big blinds, was the first casualty as Shyamsundar Challa claimed his bounty. Eric Siegel then got his last 1,800,000 in with ace-jack as Johnston called with ace-nine, but Johnston flopped trips to take the lead and bust Siegel in eighth place.
Sverko picked up aces to eliminate Paredes in seventh, while Morimatsu climbed into the chip lead when she doubled up off Johnston for 3,675,000 with two pair. Johnston finally fell in sixth when he shoved for 2,000,000 with nine-eight and Challa called with an ace.
Samson picked off a big bluff from Morimatsu as he moved into the chip lead before tangling with Tricarico in what proved to be a massive cooler. Heads-up on the turn, Samson moved all in for 6,500,000 and Tricarico called with trip queens. Samson had ace-queen and took the pot with his ace-kicker to send the former chip leader to the rail in fifth place.
After Sverko’s miracle double up against Samson, he showed a full house holding two jacks to beat Morimatsu’s trip eights and eliminate her in fourth place. Sverko also sent out Challa in third place with ace-ten against ace-six as he took a 22,000,000 to 14,100,000 chip lead into heads-up.
Samson took the chip lead with a big turn shove for 9,000,000, but Sverko moved back in front after betting 5,000,000 on the river with two pair as Samson paid him off. Samson then moved all in for 16,000,000 with ace-seven and Sverko called with ace-jack. A final table filled with bad beats and lucky rivers ended with little suspense, however, as Sverko flopped a full house to leave Samson drawing dead.
The mystery bounty component of the tournament played a big part in Sverko’s strategy at the start of the day, but by the final table, his focus was firmly on grabbing hold of the trophy.
“At the beginning, I was gambling a little bit more. And then, as the final table approached, I kind of, not tightened up, but the bounties aren’t worth as much. Similar to Progressive KOs online,” he said.
Sverko was the first to admit that he needed a little luck to be the last man standing in this massive field, but in the fast-paced action brought on by the ever-looming presence of the mystery bounties, it was just what he needed.
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