Card Player Poker Tour: Sean Winter Wins bestbet Jacksonville Main Event

Sean Winter picked up the largest live cash of his budding career when he topped a field of 218 players in the Card Player Poker Tour bestbet Jacksonville $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em $300,000 guarantee main event.

“I liked my chances coming in, I thought I had a good shot at it,” Winter said. “And I ran good. It feels good going into the World Series with some momentum.”

Winter had already proved himself an up-and-coming player to watch during the CPPT Palm Beach Kennel Club final table when he made his exit as the fourth-place finisher for $22,560.

“I just a lost flip there and here I happened to win every one. That helps,” Winter said of his Palm Beach Kennel Club run.

The 23-year old Jacksonville pro is only the second player in the tour’s history to make two main event final tables. Ronnie Pease won the CPPT Foxwoods main event, then finished ninth in the CPPT Atlantis Reno main event. With a combined total of $106,560 in earnings, Winter now sits in fourth on the CPPT leaderboard with the most money won on the season.

Winter began the six-handed final table third out of sixth with 910,000, but as soon as the first hand was dealt he set out to prove he was in it to leave with nothing less than the title.

Winter steadily chipped up and by the time play was three-handed he had taken over the chiplead. His aggressive play did not go unnoticed by those following along on the rail.

“Sean Winter is running over the table,” Ken Baker Tweeted.

When it came down to the heads-up match, it was Winter against Edward Gilfillan, who had already proven himself to be a skilled and steady opponent early during day 2. With a nearly 3-to-1 chiplead at the beginning of heads-up play, Winter slowly chipped away until Gilfillan made his move.

The Georgia pro raised to 55,000 from the button and Winter called. After a flop of 632 Gilfillan bet 65,000 and Winter raised to 155,000. Gilfillan took a few moments before re-raising to 450,000 and Winter responded with an all-in shove. Gilfillan called with 43 and saw the 77 held by Winter. The turn was the A but the Q on the river was not the card Gilfillan wanted to see, and the two-and-a-half hour final table came to an end.

After being crippled one hand earlier, Konstantinos Pantardis was the first to go from the six-handed final table when he tangled with Erik Christensen. Christensen raised to 32,000 on the button and Pantardis called all-in from the small blind. Kevin Baker re-raised all-in for his last 194,000 from the button and Christensen called. The hands were tabled with Pantardis showing pocket sevens, Baker rolled over ace-king of clubs and Christensen revealed AQ. Baker picked up a pair of kings on a K-10-5 flop and held to eliminate Pantardis and decimate Christensen’s stack as the board completed 6-10.

The hand also proved to be the beginning of the end for Christensen, a Miami-based attorney who called making the CPPT final table his most notable poker accomplishment to date. Christensen called all-in for his last 270,000 from the big blind after a raise from Edward Gilfillan in the small blind. Christensen was initially ahead with A6 to Gilfillan’s A2, but Gilfiillan picked up a pair of deuces on a Q72 flop and Christensen never improved on the 3 turn and the A river.

“$17,100, it’s not bad,” Christensen said of what is his largest live tournament cash to date as he left to collect his winnings.

Baker was next to go after finding himself the short-stack upon Christensen’s exit. Baker’s elimination was standard, and with not many options left, he moved all-in with queen-ten of clubs from the small blind. Winter called with aces and Baker’s tournament life came to an end.

After Baker’s elimination Brian Washington was the shortest stack in play and after a quiet run at the final table, he made his way to the rail. Washington was all-in with nines against the kings of Winter and found no help as the board ran out.

$1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event Final Table

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