The final day of the $1,500 limit hold'em event featured 18 players in chase of one golden prize. Action took so long the night before that player's had to end around 3 a.m. and play down from a final two tables on the final day. Those final two tables started at 3 p.m. and it took a couple of hours to get down to the business of one. Erick Lindgren (10th place) just missed making his second final table of the summer. The final nine continued to play on after Lindgren was eliminated, and march toward the bracelet. Jimmy Shultz eliminated six players on the way to victory, his first gold bracelet, and $257,105 in prize money. Shultz announced at the end of play that he will donate 25 percent of his winnings to his local fire department in Charleston, South Carolina, which lost nine firefighters recently in a warehouse blaze. It was a first-class act from a first-class player.
Here are highlights from all of the action, as featured in CardPlayer.com’s live coverage of the final table:
Chung Law Eliminated in Ninth Place ($23,423)
Ali Eslami Eliminated in Seventh Place ($41,441)
Ali Eslami was knocked down to 70,000 on the first hand after dinner, and that put him in dire straights when he had already committed over half of his chips to a pot and the flop hit the table 7
4
4
. Eslami bet 20,000 and Jimmy Shultz put him to an all-in decision with a raise. Eslami made the call and they turned up their cards. Eslami held 9
5
, while Shultz held A
5
. The turn brought the A
, which was too much for Eslami who busted in seventh place. He took home $41,441 in prize money.
Markus Golser Eliminated in Sixth Place ($53,453)
Shultz raised to 40,000 preflop and
Markus Golser made the call. The flop rolled out Q
10
9
and Golser moved all in for 20,000. Shultz made the call and the two players turned up their hands.
Golser: A J
Shultz: 9 7
The turn and river bricked out and Golser was eliminated in sixth place. He took home $53,453 in prize money.
Teddy "Iceman" Monroe Eliminated in Fifth Place ($67,867)
Shultz raised to 40,000 preflop and
Teddy "Iceman" Monroe made an all-in call for 30,000.
Brendan Taylor also made the call and the flop hit the table
10
9
2
. Taylor and Shultz then checked the board as the the 8
fell on the turn, and the J
fell on the river. Shultz reached for a bet on the river, but Taylor mucked his hand. Shultz revealed 8
7
and Monroe was out in fifth place when he mucked after the hand. The Iceman took home $67,867 in prize money.
Brendan Taylor Eliminated in Fourth Place ($82,882)
Vinny Vinh got the best of Brendan Taylor after his vocal antics may have induced him to get invloved in heavy action on every street of a board that read 3
3
2
Q
3
. Taylor made an all-in call on the river, but then mucked when Vinh revealed pocket eights. Taylor was eliminated in fourth place, and he took home $82,882 in prize money.
Shultz Takes Down a Huge Pot
Jimmy Shultz raised preflop and Vinny Vinh made the call. The flop was dealt A
10
2
and Vinh bet 30,000. Shultz made the call and the turn hit the table 10
. Vinh bet 60,000 and Shhultz raised to 120,000. Vinh reraised to 180,000 and Shultz capped the action by raising to 240,000. Vinh made the call and the the river brought the 9
. Vinh bet one last time and Shultz made the call. They turned up their hands and Shultz held J
10
for trip tens. Vinh flashed A-Q as he mucked and took a huge hit to his stack.
Vinny Vinh Warned About his Behavior
The entertainment of Vinny Vinh's actions has failed to dissappoint at the final table, but not everyone is a fan. He just receieved a warning from the tournament staff that he needed to calm down.
Vinny Vinh Doubles Up
Vinh shipped all of his chips into the middle of the table preflop and Shultz made the call. Their cards:
Vinh: J
8
Shultz: K
10
Board: A
9
8
2
2
Vinh doubled up on the hand but he was still low on chips.
Vinny Vinh Eliminated in Third Place ($99,099)
Vinh moved all in on a flop of K
7
5
and Shultz made the call. Vinh turned up Q-2 and Shultz turned over 7
6
. The turn and river fell 2
3
and Vinh was eliminated in third place. He took home $99,099 in prize money. Vinh's wild ride has come to a close for today.
Tug-of-War
The two competitors in the heads-up battle have started things off by trading chips back and forth. This eventually evened them up before they took turns holding the chip lead over the first hour. It may take a major cooler to evoke some major action.
Shultz Pulls Away
Jimmy Shultz took down two substantial pots to take a 2-to-1 chip lead on Zach Fellows. Shultz held pocket fives on the first of these hands, and on the second he turned up A
7
on a board of Q
7
7
8
10
to take down the hand. After seeing the bad news Fellows mucked his hand and flashed a single 10 in the process.
Fellows Fights Back
The board read A
Q
4
5
9
and 640,000 sat in the pot when Fellows revealed 8
8
for a flush to defeat the Q-9 of Shultz. This hand pulled the two even, with Fellows holding a slight advantage.
Shultz Pulls out the Pressure
Shultz took down three hands in a row to put his chip advantage back in the 2-to-1 neighborhood. He then increased that lead to a 4-to-1 advantage when he took down the largest pot of heads-up play. Each player contributed 100,000 on every single street on a board of 9
7
6
A
3
. They turned up their hands on the end and the cooler arrived in the form of pocekt jacks (Fellows) vs. pocket kings (Shultz).
Zach Fellows made one last run at the chip lead, and almost regained it before a nearly fatal hand delivered him a huge blow. Fellows and Jimmy Shultz built a pot up to 900,000 with A 4 2 Q Q on the table. They turned up their cards and Shultze held Q 6. Fellows mucked his hand and Shultz took an insurmountable chip lead. A few hands later it was all over. Fellows was all in preflop and Shultz had him covered while holding 10 3. Fellows held pocket threes and the board rattled off Q 7 6 6 J to make a heart flush for Shultz. He won his first gold bracelet along with $257,105 (25 percent of which he will donate to the fire department in his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina). Fellows was awarded $165,165 for his hard fought runner-up finish.