Dimitri Vorbe Wins 2021 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship For $929,365

The 2021 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $5,250 buy-in no-limit hold’em championship drew a total of 1,180 entries, the third-largest in SHRPO history. The massive turnout saw the $3 million guarantee easily surpassed, with the final prize pool of $5,723,000 paid out among the top 148 finishers. The lion’s share of that money was ultimately awarded to Haiti’s Dimitri Vorbe, who took home $929,365 for the win.

This was by far the largest score on Vorbe’s tournament resume, with his only previous score being a $2,085 payday for a 24th-place finish in a $400 buy-in event at the same venue back in the spring.

In addition to the title and the money, Vorbe also secured 1,920 Card Player Player of the Year points as the champion of this event. This was his first POY-qualified score of the year, but it alone was enough to see him climb into 29th place in the 2021 POY race standings, which are sponsored by Global Poker.

The final table began with Vorbe in the lead and Ian O’Hara in second place. World Series of Poker bracelet winner Michael Wang was the first to fall. He ran pocket queens into the pocket aces of Vorbe and was unable to come from behind. Wang took home $100,215 as the ninth-place finisher, while Vorbe added to his lead.

Harrison Brown’s run in this event came to an end when his pocket jacks lost a coin flip against the A-K of O’Hara, who made kings full of tens by the river to send Brown to the rail in eighth place ($130,455). He was followed by nine-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Jeffrey Trudeau, whose A-K ran into the pocket kings of Mark Dube. Trudeau found no help from the board and was eliminated in seventh place ($163,390). This was the third-largest payday of Trudeau’s career. His top score came just nine days earlier when he won a $1,000,000 guaranteed $600 buy-in event at this same series for $352,200.

Mark Dube continued his climb up the leaderboard by knocking out Darren Rabinowitz in sixth place ($197,850). Rabinowitz got all-in on a Q75 with Q6 and found himself facing the AA of Dube. The 10 turn and 3 river saw Dube improve to the nut flush to narrow the field to just five players.

Matt Affleck got his last seven big blinds in with pocket sevens and received a call from the A8 of Dube. An ace on the flop left Affleck in rough shape. He was unable to regain the advantage on the turn or river and was eliminated in fifth place ($244,775). This was the third-largest score of his career, with his top payday being the $500,165 he earned as the 15th-place finisher in the 2010 WSOP main event.

The next big clash saw Mark Dube shove with AJ. Ian O’Hara called with AQ and his superior kicker played by the river to send Dube packing in fourth place. The $324,035 he earned for his deep run in this event marked was the eighth six-figure payday of his tournament career.

Despite earning that knockout, O’Hara fell to the bottom of the leaderboard during three-handed action. He ultimately got his last 16 big blinds into the middle in a classic race situation, with his 44 facing the AQ of Vorbe. The K32 kept O’Hara ahead, but the Q left him in need of a four on the river to stay alive in this event. The A rolled off the deck to send the pot to Vorbe. O’Hara earned $437,350. This was the second-largest cash of his career, with the top score ($527,313 for a runner-up finish in a $25,000 buy-in high roller) also taking place during a Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open series back in 2015.

Heads-up play began with AP Louis Garza in the lead, with his 27,000,000 good for 108 big blinds. Vorbe sat with 20,200,000 for 81 big blinds. Vorbe took the lead with deuces full of aces, and quickly extended that advantage. He showed several more full houses in a short span as he continued to build his lead. By the time the final hand was dealt, Vorbe’s chip advantage sat at more than 16:1. Garza raised all in for roughly 2,700,000 from the button with K3 and Vorbe made the call with 88. The board came down Jc725J to secure the pot and the title for Vorbe. Garza earned $674,285 as the runner-up finisher.

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

Photo credits: SHRPO blog.

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