The name of the 2015/16 WSOP Circuit Planet Hollywood Main Event champion has just been announced. Sean Berrios from the Virgin Islands topped the star-studded field of the $1,675 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event to collect his largest live cash of $347,192 and his first-ever WSOP Circuit gold ring.
The four-day Main Event attracted a massive field of 1,304 entries, among which two former WSOP Main Event Champions, the winner of the inaugural WSOP Colossus event, former November Niners, and a number of gold bracelet winners. A total prize pool of $1,956,000 was generated and the top 135 finishers received a portion of the money, with lowest payouts worth $2,914.
The fact that Berrios had to face some really tough competitors is not the only thing that makes his triumph particularly impressive. It is also important to note that he is not a professional poker player and is much more experienced in Limit Hold’em.
Former Main Event Champions Carlos Mortensen and Ryan Riess, 2015 WSOP Colossus winner Cord Garcia, and November Niners Joseph Cheong, Dennis Phillips, and Jake Balsiger were among the notables who entered the Planet Hollywood Main Event.
The event kicked off on November 20 and it took two starting flights and two more days of play for the winner to be determined. Day 3 started at noon on Monday with 22 hopefuls returning to determine the eventual winner. Play at the nine-handed final table was relatively slow at first but pace quickened at a certain point until there were only two players left.
Berrios had to face Peter Hengsakul from Pasadena, California heads-up. Two-handed play started with the eventual winner holding two times more chips than his opponent. The heads-up match between the two players lasted for about an hour.
On what turned out to be the last hand in play, Berrios checked the [Qh][6d][5s] flop and Hengsakul bet 400,000. Berrios called. When the [2s] appeared on the turn Berrios checked again and Hengsakul bet 800,000. Berrios moved all in and his opponent called.
Hengsakul tabled [Qd][3d] and Berrios turned over [3s][4c]. The [5h] appeared on the river and the name of the champion was clear. Berrios received $347,192, a gold ring, and a seat into the 2016 WSOP Global Casino Championship. As for Hengsakul, he was paid the amount of $215,160 for his runner-up finish in the event.
