Posted on: December 1, 2022, 06:54h.
Last updated on: December 1, 2022, 01:20h.
Andrew Wilson entered the final day of the World Poker Tour (WPT) Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open (RRPO) $3,500 Main Event as chip leader, and finished the same way. After a roller-coaster day of poker, he came out on top, pocketing over $780K and doubling his lifetime live poker earnings with one win.
The final table found some of the most experienced vets in poker. Chad Eveslage and Josh Kay were there, as were Gediminas Uselis and Brian Altman. All are WPT regulars with a long list of accomplishments to their names.
Wilson’s no rookie either, although most of his action has been in Europe. He had around $620K in live tournament earnings, according to Hendon Mob. He added $785,800 with the RRPO win.
A Win that Almost Wasn’t
Wilson hedged on whether to make the trip from his home country of England to the Seminole Hard Rock in Florida for the tournament. He was enjoying the World Cup action with his family, but decided to jump in at the last minute.
That decision paid off in a big way. As the field of 1,541 continued to draw down to the final table, he found himself staring at the possibility of a major coup.
Joining him at the felt were players with multiple WPT titles to their credit. Undeterred, he dug in and played smartly as others fell.
Uselis, who won the event last year, couldn’t hang on and hit the rail in fifth. He tried to force a pot holding A-10, but ran into Wilson’s K-K and crashed.
After a couple of battles, and with almost entire stacks exchanging hands, Wilson and Kay were the last two remaining. The eventual winner enjoyed a sizeable chip lead and position when Kay tried to bully his way through a hand with a weak 7-7 he picked up on the flop.
Kay shoved, not realizing that his opponent was once again holding K-K. No help came on the turn or river, and Kay would have to settle for second place and $525K.
Not only did Wilson score a huge payday with the win, but he also picked up a couple of bonuses. One is a seat at the $10,400 WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas next month. The other is finding his name permanently engraved on the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup.
Big Wins for Europe
Wilson wasn’t the only European poker player to pull off a big win in the RRPO. Spain’s Sergio Aído was crowned champ of the $25K RRPO event, the second time he has found success at the Seminole Hard Rock this year.
Aído won the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship for $900,100 this past August. With consistent success at the casino, he might now have his new favorite poker room.
The tournament featured a field of 85 entrants, but only 12 players shared the $2,099,500 prize pool. Tuesday’s Day 3 found the last nine survivors gathering around the table, with Aído arriving in fifth place.
Fortunately for him, Aído settled in and started climbing from the beginning. Ray Qartomy and Chance Kornuth went down in the early stages after clashes with Alex Livingston and Scott Margereson, respectively. It was right after that when the eventual winner’s first double-up came, and he had new life.
He was now confidently working toward victory, but a couple of bad beats put him back in check. Then, with just Aído, Justin Saliba, and Margereson remaining, they cut a deal based on their stacks. Aído walked away with the win, the trophy, and $500K, while Margereson and Saliba pocketed $413,746 and $402,634, respectively, for their second- and third-place finishes.