World Series of Poker Circuit -- Blair Hinkle Wins Council Bluffs Main Event

The $1,500 World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Council Bluffs no-limit hold’em main event welcomed back 13 players on the final day of competition from an initial field of 251 players. By the end of the night a champion was awarded a WSOP Circuit gold ring and the top prize of $88,555. That player was young professional Blair Hinkle. He adds the gold ring to his trophy case that already holds a gold bracelet. Hinkle also received a seat in the $1 million guaranteed WSOP Circuit National Championship that will take place in May 2011.

His victory comes as no surprise given his talent at the poker table, but he had a wild ride to get there. Hinkle held the chip lead multiple times during the final day of play, but he was also all-in for his tournament life multiple times as well. When it mattered the most though, Hinkle was on top, and he claimed another tournament victory as he builds his poker resume. As was the case when he won his gold bracelet his mother Lynn was supporting her son from the rail.

The day began slowly, with only one player busting during the first two levels. After Cameron Somsky exited in 13th place. Shawn Meyer was the next to fall in 12th place. After Aaron Wilt busted in 11th place the official final table of ten was set and the players grabbed new seats and consolidated.

The unofficial final table officially didn’t last for too long. After 15 minutes of play professional Bernard Lee was eliminated in 10th place, and after he exited the field the final nine players went on dinner break. Here is a look at the seating chart and chip counts when the final table began at 7:30 p.m. CST:

Seat 1: Kevin Calenzo — 125,000
Seat 2: Jack Do — 428,000
Seat 3: John Wakeen — 120,000
Seat 4: Charles Moore — 510,000
Seat 5: Blair Hinkle — 750,000
Seat 6: Daniel Biddle — 500,000
Seat 7: Shiva Dudani: — 810,000
Seat 8: Dwyte Pilgrim — 700,000
Seat 9: Matt Lawrence — 460,000

You can check out all of the elimination hands from the final table below. Shiva Dudani was in the driver’s seat after eliminating Lee and he made a deep run at the final table. The short stacks fell quickly after dinner. With Kevin Calenzo (ninth place), Daniel Biddle (eighth place), and John Wakeen (seventh place) falling during the first hour of play.

Jack Do fell after an extended stint of six-handed play and he was followed to the rail by professional Charles Moore (fifth place). Matt Lawrence then exited in fourth place, which set up an interesting three-handed battle between two of the most well-known players in the event, Hinkle and Dwyte Pilgrim, and the perennial chip leader at the final table, Dudani.

Pilgrim was the first to make his exit in third place. Pilgrim performed well at yet another WSOP Circuit stop at the Horseshoe in Council Bluffs. He won a $235 no-limit hold’em preliminary earlier in the week in addition to his final-table appearance in the main event.

Hinkle took the chip lead into the final heads-up match and he never relinquished it. Dudani staged a slight comeback, but it stalled out and he fell in second place. Hinkle was crowned the champion after 45 minutes of heads-up competition.

Final-Table Results:

NOTE: The points earned go toward qualifying in the $1 million guaranteed National Championship. The top 40 point earners will win a seat at the end of the WSOP Circuit season.

1: Blair Hinkle — $88,555 (100 points)
2: Shiva Dudani — $54,715 (75 points)
3: Dwyte Pilgrim — $39,531 (60 points)
4: Matt Lawrence — $29,092 (55 points)
5: Charles Moore — $21,795 (50 points)
6: Jack Do — $16,608 (45 points)
7: John Wakeen — $12,867 (40 points)
8: Daniel Biddle — $10,131 (35 points)
9: Kevin Calenzo — $8,103 (30 points)

Here is a look at the elimination hands from the final table as featured on CardPlayer.com’s live updates:

Kevin Calenzo Eliminated in Ninth Place ($8,103)

Matt Lawrence raised preflop from the button and Kevin Calenzo reraised all in for just over 100,000. Lawrence made the call and they flipped over their cards:

Lawrence: K Q
Calenzo: Q J

Board: 8 6 6 K 10

Calenzo was eliminated on the hand in ninth place and he will take home $8,103. Lawrence grew his stack to more than 550,000 after the hand.

Daniel Biddle Eliminated in Eighth Place ($10,131)

Daniel Biddle got the last of his chips in on a 9 6 4 flop from the small blind and Shiva Dudani had him covered. Their cards:

Biddle: 6 5
Dudani: K K

Turn and River: 7 and 7

Biddle was eliminated in eighth place and he took home $10,131 in prize money. Dudani won the hand and he is now a massive chip leader with close to 1.2 million.

John Wakeen Eliminated in Seventh Place ($12,867)

Blair Hinkle raised to 120,000 preflop from the big blind and John Wakeen made the all-in call from the button. Their cards:

Wakeen: J 9
Hinkle K Q

Board: A K 9 10 8

Wakeen was eliminated in seventh place on the hand and he will take home $12,867 in prize money. Hinkle grew his stack to 850,000 after the hand.

Jack Do Eliminated in Sixth Place ($16,608)

Jack Do got the last of his chips (255,000) into the middle on a board that read A 7 2 8 and Shiva Dudani had him covered. Their cards:

Dudani: A A
Do: A 4

River: 9

After the inconsequential river card fell Do was eliminated in sixth place. He will take home $16,608 in prize money. Dudani increased his chip lead to a whopping 1.66 million.

Charles Moore Eliminated in Fifth Place ($21,795)

Charles Moore got all of his chips into the middle preflop on the button and Blair Hinkle made the call from the cutoff. Their cards:

Hinkle: 9 9
Moore: A K

Board: J 8 5 8 Q

Their stacks were very close. Moore was all in for 783,000 and Hinkle had him covered by 7,000. Moore was eliminated in fifth place and he took home $21,795. The Hinkle nearly doubled up to 1.7 million after the hand.

Matt Lawrence Eliminated in Fourth Place ($29,092)

Matt Lawrence (UTG) got it all in preflop against Shiva Dudani (small blind). Their cards:

Lawrence: A 6
Dudani: A 9

Board: K 10 7 A 2

Lawrence was eliminated on the hand in fourth place and he took home $29,092 in prize money.

Dwyte Pilgrim Eliminated in Third Place ($39,531)

Dwyte Pilgrim moved all in for his final 440,000 on the button with a board of 10 9 2 7 sitting on the table. Blair Hinkle made the call from the small blind and they turned up their hands:

Pilgrim: A 10
Hinkle: 8 6

River: 6

Pilgrim was drawing dead to Hinkle’s straight and he busted out of the tournament in third place ($39,531). Hinkle grew his stack heading into the heads-up final. Pilgrim performed well at yet another WSOP Circuit stop at the Horseshoe in Council Bluffs. He won a $235 no-limit hold’em preliminary earlier in the week in addition to his final-table appearance in the main event.

The final two players took a five-minute break after the hand to prepare for the final.

Blair Hinkle Wins WSOP Circuit Council Bluffs Main Event ($88,555) — Shiva Dudani Eliminated in Second Place ($54,715)

Shiva Dudani had battled back slightly against Hinkle after the first couple of hands went to the young gold bracelet winner, but Dudani’s comeback capped out at 2.1 million. He was down to 1.4 million when he decided to move all in on the button with a 9 7 6 4 K board sitting on the table.

Hinkle made the call and Dudani turned over J 8. Hinkle revealed K 6 for two pair and he won the WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Council Bluffs main event. Dudani was eliminated in second place and he will take home $54,715 in prize money.

Hinkle was awarded the top prize worth $88,555 and the WSOP Circuit gold ring. He is also awarded a seat in the $1 million guaranteed National Championship that will take place in May 2011.

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