US poker pro Kenneth Smaron claimed the champion title at the PokerStars Championship Panama $5,300 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event. The American defeated opponent Harpreet Gill in a heads-up battle for the first-place prize of $293,860.
The event, which lasted for a week, was held at the Sortis Hotel, Spa & Casino in Panama City and is the first of its kind to take place on South American soil. As many as 366 players took part in the tournament and contributed to a massive prize pool that reached $1,775,100. The Main Event paid a total of 71 places and attracted some of the most notable players in professional poker, including Jason Koon, Davidi Kitai, Byron Kaverman, and Stephen O’Dwyer.
As many as six players made it to the final table at the Main Event’s last day. Smaron qualified for the third chip position thanks to his 62 big blinds. Anthony Diotte was the first of the six to get eliminated after less than five minutes of play. The sixth place earned the Canadian the prize of $65,520. Robin Luca Wozniczek, who was the least experienced player at the table, followed in Diotte’s footsteps and finished fifth, collecting a total of $88,480.
Smaron sent opponent Jonathan Abdellatif to the rail in fourth place, with a prize of $119,480. Denis Timofeev was the next player to get eliminated by Smaron and had to settle for the third-place prize of $161,340. The Russian’s elimination enabled Smaron to take a small chip lead as he started his head-to-head battle against Canadian nemesis Harpreet Gill.
Smaron managed to gain advantage over his opponent after a few hands only. The Canadian then limped into the final hand with $50,000 and $100,000 blinds, with a $10,000 ante. After Smaron raised to $350,000, the Canadian went all-in. Smaron called with his [Kc][Jc] against the [10d][8c]
that came on the flop resulted in a royal flush for the American. Smaron maintained the lead after the turn brought a [9d]. The [5s]
that appeared on the river earned the American the champion title along with the first-place prize of $293,860. Gill settled for the runner-up position and went home with $217,860.
This is Smaron’s second biggest win to this date. The American player’s largest score remains his 2015 EPT Prague €10,000 High Roller win where he pocketed the hefty prize of €595,500 ($654,302). Smaron is currently sitting on total live earnings that amount to $1,241,337.
