Brandon Eisen Wins Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Main Event

The $3 million guaranteed $5,250 buy-in no-limit hold’em championship of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open saw Brandon Eisen overcome a field of 914 total entries, which was up from 887 in 2017. For the win, he was awarded the $771,444 first-place prize, which was the largest of his live tournament career. He also earned 1,824 Card Player Player of the Year points. This was his third final-table finish of the year, and as a result of the win he now sits in 42nd place in the overall 2018 POY race standings.

Eisen outlasted a talented final table that featured the likes of Joseph Cheong (8th – $102,843), Jared Greiner (7th – $129,308), and a pair of World Series of Poker bracelet winners in Ryan D’Angelo (4th – $258,615) and Jeremy Ausmus (2nd – $540,459).

Here are five key hands that propelled Eisen to victory.

Tournament: Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Buy-In: $5,250
No. of Entries: 914
Prize Pool: $4,432,900
1st Place Prize: $771,444

The Action

With 11 players left, Eisen raised to 180,000 and Schwartz responded with a three-bet shove for his last 800,000. Eisen called with A Q, and Schwartz turned over the same hand, A Q. Unfortunately for Schwartz, however, the board ran out with four diamonds, coming 10 7 6 J 4 to give Eisen the nut flush and the pot. Schwartz had to settle for $62,415 for bubbling the final table.

The Action

Short-stacked Ashkenazi moved all in for his last 500,000 from early position, and Eisen called from the cutoff with pocket kings. Ashkenazi was in terrible shape with Q 4, and found little help on a flop of 5 2 2. The turn, however, was the 10, giving him a flush draw. The river was the A though, and Ashkenazi was eliminated in sixth place, taking home $156,215. The pot was enough to push Eisen into third place.

The Action

Ausmus raised from the cutoff to 225,000 and Eisen called from the button. D’Angelo reraised to 900,000 from the big blind, and Ausmus folded. Eisen then moved all in, having his opponent covered. D’Angelo made the call for his tournament life with A K, and saw he was racing against Eisen’s pocket sixes. The dealer spread a board of 10 9 3 2 7 and D’Angelo was eliminated in fourth place, earning $258,615.

The Action

Obreshkov raised to 300,000 from the button and Ausmus called from the small blind. Eisen three-bet to 1,200,000 from the big blind, and Obreshkov called. Ausmus folded and the flop fell 7 6 4. Eisen bet 900,000 and Obreshkov called. The turn was the Q and Eisen checked. Obreshkov bet 1,550,000, and Eisen check-raised all in. Obreshkov wound up calling off the rest of his stack with A Q for top pair, top kicker, but Eisen held pocket kings for an overpair to claim the knockout. Obreshkov earned $349,889 for his third-place finish, while Eisen took a nearly 2:1 chip lead into heads-up play.

The Action

Despite facing a very large chip deficit after a very long back-and-forth heads-up battle, Ausmus still had 19 big blinds to work with. So when Eisen moved all in from the button, he thought it over for a bit before finally making the call with K 5. Eisen was behind, but drawing live with Q J. The flop came Q J 6 giving Eisen two pair and a huge advantage in the hand, but the K hit the turn, giving Ausmus some hope. Ausmus needed any king, 6, or 5 to stay alive, but the 9 was a brick, ending his tournament run. Ausmus earned $540,459 for his runner-up finish, while Eisen earned the trophy, the title, and the $771,444 first-place prize.

Final Table Results

1. Brandon Eisen — $771,444
2. Jeremy Ausmus — $540,459
3. Stoyan Obreshkov — $349,889
4. Ryan D’Angelo — $258,615
5. Adam Adler — $195,491
6. Ido Ashkenazi — $156,215
7. Jared Griener — $129,308
8. Joseph Cheong — $102,843
9. Marcos Exterkotter — $77,132