Event #1: $400 No-Limit Hold’em has come to an end at the bestbet Jacksonville Summer Heater Poker Series and Bobby Tieu defeated Chater Suphakorn in heads-up play to outlast 124 Day 2 players and win $50,801.
The tournament drew a total of 750 entries, with 361 unique players generating a prize pool of $251,250. The payouts for the tournament were based on unique entries, and the resulting min-cash was $1,293 for the top 49 players.
Tieu dominated throughout the day and was in near total control throughout the final table. This is the first win at a bestbet poker series for Tieu after a string of final tables, most notably a run to third place in the opening event of the 2021 Spring Series.
Suphakorn took home $33,864 for second place and Lunique Petiote picked up $24,871 for third place. The top five was rounded out by Toni Fiorenza ($18,483) and Clayton Adams ($13,922).
Event #1: $400 NLH Final Table Results
| Place | Name | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bobby Tieu | Jacksonville, FL | $50,801 |
| 2 | Chater Suphakorn | Jacksonville, FL | $33,864 |
| 3 | Luinque Petiote | Miami Gardens, FL | $24,871 |
| 4 | Toni Fiorenza | DeLand, GA | $18,493 |
| 5 | Clayton Adams | Crestview, FL | $13,922 |
| 6 | John Goyette | St. Johns, FL | $10,613 |
| 7 | Sadharshan Karaham | Jacksonville, FL | $8,195 |
| 8 | Vince Mineo | Jacksonville, FL | $6,410 |
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Day 2 Action
Early Day 2 was all Fiorenza as she continued her streak from the previous evening and quickly doubled her stack. Elsewhere in the room, Norma Rosin fell early when Johnny Cutler’s ace-queen caught up to her pocket tens. Donavon Wright also hit the rail early after holding the chip lead in the late stages of his flight.
Two other players that finished in the money were Jack Sumner and his son Jack (Trey) Sumner III. The father-son team found themselves at the same table as the bubble approached, and they were elated to make it through together while family looked on in what was Trey’s first poker tournament.
Scott Bryan scored a double knockout when his pocket eights held on against Willard Cutler’s ace-queen and James Solana’s suited ace-eight. Bryan used the chips to propel himself to a 16th place finish later in the evening.
Vince Mineo fell behind early and was down to 65,000 after he surrendered a double to Travis Simpson in the opening levels. However, Mineo turned it around and fought his way through the field to the final table.
The final table was reached in around eight hours, thanks in part to a rapid succession of eliminations when the tournament reached its final two tables. Tony “Big Tank” Workman was a force all day long after he chipped up early and played with aggression, but his day came to an end in 11th place when Petiote called his river bluff with a pair of pocket kings and an ace on the board. Paul Liapis was out in tenth at the same time and the final nine combined into an unofficial final table.
The unofficial final table lasted exactly one hand as Charles O’Neal got it all in with queen-jack, but Tieu was waiting with ace-queen to send O’Neal home and make the final table official. It was O’Neal’s first ever poker tournament, and he expects to be back for more soon.
Suphakorn and Tieu were nearly even at the top of the leaderboard as the final table got started, and action kicked off quickly when Mineo and Sadharshan Karaham each got it in with pocket tens. However, Adams was waiting with pocket jacks to score the double knockout. John Goyette was not far behind in fifth when his ace-ten ran into another pair of pocket jacks for Adams.
Adams got it all in with pocket fours after suffering a setback in a hand against Tieu, but Tieu was waiting once again with ace-queen. Things looked good for Adams to hold until the river brought an ace and sent the Crestview, Florida native home in fifth place.
The dream run of Fiorenza came to an end in fourth place when she got it in with queen-jack but Petiote was there with pocket queens to send her home in fourth place. Petiote followed in third place after he called Tieu’s bluffy river shove with a pocket sixes, but Tieu had the goods with top pair and Petiote was out.
Fans gathered around the livestream stage and filled up the chat in the stream in anticipation of the final two aggressive players meeting head to head. The two players battled back and forth, with Suphakorn flipping the counts at one time, only to flip them back on the very next hand.
The big moment came with a heartbreaker of a hand for Suphakorn.
Congratulations to Bobby Tieu for winning the opening event of the bestbet Jacksonville Summer Heater Poker Series!
Be sure to join the PokerNews team again on Friday, August 19 for the first flight of the $1,500 Main Event, which will also feature a Saturday flight and Sunday’s Day 2 finale once again broadcast live on bestbetLIVE.
Live Reporting Executive
Las Vegas-based PokerNews Live Reporting Executive, originally from Chicago, IL