The inaugural $25,000 buy-in World Poker Tour Heads-Up Championship invitational featured 32 gamers, starting from prime poker professionals to on-line influencers and content material creators. In the top, the ultimate showdown for the title was contested between two residing legends of the sport: Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius. The pair have competed on the highest stakes video games on this planet, from nosebleed stakes on-line to the biggest televised money video games ever. The have additionally each received tens of tens of millions enjoying tournaments, with almost $42.5 million in mixed cashes between them.
In the top, it was Ivey who merged victorious with the title and the highest prize of $400,000. The 44-year-old WPT champion and 10-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner now has greater than $31 million in lifetime event earnings to his identify. Below is a take a look at how this invitational occasion topped its first champion.
Ivey’s Path To The Title Match
With 32 contenders, each Antonius and Ivey needed to win 4 matchups with a view to make the finals on this occasion. Ivey confronted 4 skilled poker gamers on his technique to his matchup with Antonius, beginning with event skilled Manig Loeser within the spherical of 32. The German has greater than $11.6 million in event scores to his identify, together with profitable the 2019 European Poker Tour Monte Carlo important occasion. Ivey defeated Loeser, splitting the primary two rounds and profitable the deciding third spherical to arrange a spherical of 16 match towards 2015 Card Player Player of the Year award winner Anthony Zinno. Zinno is a three-time WPT important occasion champion and two-time WSOP bracelet winner with greater than $10.3 million in prior cashes to his identify. Ivey received the showdown 2-0 to maneuver into the ultimate eight gamers.
Ivey’s subsequent opponent was one other POY winner: 2019 champion Stephen Chidwick. The bracelet winner from Deal, England has accrued greater than $35 million in event earnings, and was voted the very best participant on this planet by a panel of high-stakes regulars polled in 2019. Ivey received two straight rounds to maneuver into the semifinals.
Canadian on-line event skilled Christopher Kruk was ready for Ivey within the last 4. The two traded wins within the first two rounds, establishing a rubber match for a seat within the finals. In the top, Kruk tried to run a giant bluff solely to run right into a flush for Ivey. Kruk earned $100,000 for his semi-final exhibiting.
How Antonius Earned His Finals Berth
Antonius drew one among a number of non-professional poker gamers within the discipline in his first match: Gakuto “GACKT” Oshiro, a Japanese musician and actor. Antonius did concede one match, however was in a position to safe a 2-1 victory to maneuver on to the spherical of 16. There he was met by three-time WSOP bracelet winner, high-stakes heads-up specialist, and poker on-line content material creator Doug Polk. Arguably probably the most hyped match of the primary spherical noticed Polk overcome Tom Dwan, identified to many by his on-line display screen identify ‘durrrr’. Polk, who lately defeated Daniel Negreanu in a heads-up money recreation showdown for seven figures, was unable to win a spherical from Antonius, who swept 2-0 to maneuver into the ultimate eight.
The quarterfinal matchup pitted Antonius towards Stefan ‘Stefan11222’ Burakov, a excessive stakes participant from Russia who made this similar spherical within the 2020 WSOP Online $10,000 buy-in heads-up bracelet occasion. The two cut up their first two rounds. Antonius took a commanding lead within the deciding spherical when he made a full home and was in a position to extract worth from Burakov’s flush draw was a king-high bluff catcher. Shortly after that, Antonius closed out the match to arrange a semi-final showdown towards Canadian excessive curler and bracelet winner Sam Greenwood.
Antonius received the primary spherical within the semis, however Greenwood received out to a 3:1 lead within the second spherical and appeared to be on his technique to forcing a decider. Instead, Antonius mounted a livid comeback to take a lead of his personal. The two then traded the benefit a number of extra occasions earlier than Antonius was in a position to safe the ultimate pot with pocket nines beating out A-7. Greenwood earned $100,000 as a semi-finalist.
The Finals: Ivey vs. Antonius
The finals featured a best-of-five format, which means the champion must win three matches to safe the title and the highest prize of $400,000. The first match noticed Ivey bounce out to an early lead, making journey sevens on the river to win the primary pot of consequence towards Antonius’ flopped pair of queens. Antonius battled again in the course of the center levels, however Ivey was in a position to take greater than a 2:1 lead after efficiently turning his backside pair right into a bluff to make Antonius fold prime pair from the flop when the river introduced a attainable flush and an overcard. Not lengthy after that the chips received in preflop with Ivey holding pocket nines to Antonius’ A8. Neither participant improved and Ivey took a 1-0 lead.
The second match noticed Ivey take one other massive lead, this time by selecting off a bluff with journeys when Antonius tried to characterize a flush or higher on a paired board with 4 playing cards to a coronary heart flush.
Antonius doubled into the lead with a rivered broadway straight towards the aces and tens of Ivey. All of the chips received in with Antonius as a slight favourite to even the match rating, however his pocket sevens had been unable to carry up towards the OkQ of Ivey. Antonius relinquished the lead in that hand, and was by no means in a position to regain it that match. He tried to run a multi-street bluff with an unimproved king excessive, however Ivey picked it off with pocket jacks to take a 2-0 lead.
The third spherical noticed Antonius take a slight lead early on. In the important thing hand of the spherical,
Antonius raised to 2,140 from the button with A6 with blinds of 500-1,000. Ivey defended his massive blind with 43 and the flop got here down 652. Ivey checked along with his flopped straight. Antonius guess 3,516 with prime pair, prime kicker. Ivey check-raised to 11,043 and Antonius made the decision. The flip introduced the A to provide Antonius prime two pair. Ivey guess 17,577 and Antonius referred to as. The 2 accomplished the board and Ivey moved all-in for 65,041. Antonius referred to as along with his aces and sixes, solely to search out he had run right into a straight Ivey took a commanding lead, leaving Antonius with lower than 9 massive blinds. Antonius managed to double up twice to get again to a playable stack, however was unable to maintain up the rally. He ultimately referred to as off his final 13 massive blinds with QJ. Ivey held A10. The board ran out 95333 to safe the pot and the title for Ivey. Antonius was awarded $200,00 because the runner-up finisher.
Here is a take a look at the payouts awarded to the highest 4 finishers and the finished bracket:
Place | Player | Earnings |
Champion | Phil Ivey | $400,000 |
Finalist | Patrik Antonius | $200,000 |
Semi-Finalist | Sam Greenwood | $100,000 |
Semi-Finalist | Chris Kruk | $100,000 |
Check out a video replay of the finals by way of the WPT YouTube channel:
Main picture credit score: WPT / Poker King Media.