2019 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open 'Big 4' - Winter, Deeb, Dawley and Brennan Win

The 2019 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open went out with a bang, as four marquee events played out simultaneously on Tuesday, August 13. The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood in Southern Florida brought their popular tournament series to a conclusion with the ‘Big 4,’ a group of four tournaments with buy-ins ranging from $1,100 to $25,000 and combined guaranteed prize pools of $6.5 million. The results from all four of the series-ending tournaments can be found below.

$3,000,000 Guaranteed $5,250 SHRPO Championship Event

The largest event of the series was the $5,250 buy-in no-limit hold’em championship event, which drew a total of 809 entries to easily surpass the $3,000,000 guarantee. In the end a total of $3,923,650 was paid out to 102 finishers, with the lion’s share going to eventual champion Sean Winter. The poker pro from Jacksonville, Florida earned $698,175 for the win, the fourth largest score of his career. The huge payday brought his career lifetime earnings to $13,610,146.

In addition to the money, Winter was also awarded 1,824 Card Player Player of the Year points. This was his third title and tenth final table showing of the year. With more than $2.6 million in year-to-date earnings, Winter has climbed into third place in the 2019 POY race standings, which are sponsored by Global Poker.

Winter entered the final table of this event as the chip leader, with 2019 World Series of Poker bracelet winner Joseph Cheong sitting in second chip position. Winter increased his lead even further by knocking out Nick Schwarmann (9th – $69,800) and Brandon Carl (8th – $91,365).

Cheong got off to a much worse start, and found himself among the short stacks with seven remaining. He fell down to just one big blind after shoving with K-8 from the cutoff and getting called by Giuliano Lentini with A-Q. Ace high played and Cheong was left all but eliminated. The very next hand he was sent home in seventh place, earning $115,300 for his deep run.

Winter scored two more eliminations to narrow the field to the final two players. He took roughly a 6-to-1 lead into heads-up play against Shalom Elharrar. Winter was able to extend his lead, until Elharrar got his last few blinds in with K10 and Winter called with A10. The board improved neither player and Elharrar was knocked out in second place, earning $487,695.

$2,000,000 Guaranteed $25,500 SHRPO Big 4 High Roller

The $25,500 SHRPO Big 4 High Roller no-limit hold’em event attracted 115 total entries, creating a final prize pool of $2,840,500 to exceed the guarantee by more than $840,000. After two days of high-stakes poker action, it was none other than four-time WSOP bracelet winner Shaun Deeb who emerged victorious with the title and the top prize of $778,300. The score increased his lifetime earnigns to $8.6 million.

Deeb had finished second in this same event last year, losing heads-up to eventual 2018 Card Player Player of the Year award winner Jake Schindler.

For managing to improve from second to first in this event Deeb earned the trophy, the healthy payday, and 840 POY points. Deeb climbed into 50th place in the overall POY rankings as a result, with five final tables and more than $1.4 million in year-to-date earnings.

“Winning these fields is so tough,” Deeb told SHRPO reporters after coming out on top. “There are a lot of soft spots at the start of the tournament, but you look at these final tables and everyone played great.”

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:

$1,000,000 Guaranteed $2,650 SHRPO No-Limit Holde’Em

Jessica Dawley came out on top in the $1,000,000 guaranteed $2,650 buy-in SHRPO no-limit hold’em event, topping a field of 385 players to capture the title and the $204,610 top prize. This was the largest cash of the Floridian poker pro and Air Force veteran’s career, surpassing the $130,230 she won as the champion of the 2018 WSOP Ladies event. The score pushed her career live tournament earnings to $1,075,285.

“Going into the series, a buddy of mine and me were neck-and-neck in total earnings, and I was like ‘I just need a $200K score and then I’ll be over the $1 million-mark and I’ll pass you,’” Dawley told SHRPO reporters. “So that was definitely my goal, for sure.”

Dawley outlasted a tough final table to set up a heads-up showdown with World Poker Tour Player of the Year award winner Faraz Jaka. The two battled it out for hours, but in the end Dawley was able to build a lead and win a key all-in. Her A2 flopped an ace against the pocket eights of Jaka and held from there, securing the pot and the title for Dawley. Jaka took home $142,880 for his runner-up showing.

$500,000 Guaranteed $1,100 SHRPO No-Limit Hold’em

The final event of the Big 4 was a $500,000 guaranteed $1,100 buy-in no-limit hold’em event. The tournament saw 537 entries made to beat the guarantee. In the end, it was Ireland’s Keith Brennan who captured the trophy and the first-place prize of $104,035.

Brennan entered the final table of the event in the middle of the pack, but picked up pocket tens against the pocket fours of WSOP bracelet winner Jack Duong to knock him out in fifth place ($24,935). With that, Brennan closed the gap on Cangir Elcin, who held the lead at the time.

Brennan and Elcin ultimately squared off for the title, but by that time Brennan had overtaken the lead. He began with a 4-to-1 advantage and quickly converted that into the win when his A-J won a rollercoaster all-in against the pocket nines of Elcin. Brennan flopped a jack, but Elcin picked up a set. The turn brought an ace to give Brennan two pair. The river saw another ace roll off the deck, giving Brennan the higher full house and eliminating Elcin in second place ($72,285).

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