The World Poker Tour Alpha8 Las Vegas was held at the Bellagio in Las Vegas between December 18 and December 20. A total of 55 players paid the $100,000 buy-in fee to take part in the event and the prize pool amounted to $5,395,500. Andrew “Lucky Chewy” Lichtenberger finished first and was awarded $2,104,245 for his performance.
Apart from the champion, who is a well-known name in the the poker industry, the tournament attracted a bundle of other experienced and popular players, such as Daniel Colman, Dan Smith, Scott Seiver, and Jason Mercier.
A total of eight players returned for the third and final day of the event. Of those, six were to be paid. Phil “Unabomber” Laak was the first to leave. He was eliminated by Brian Rast on Hand #24. Soon, Laak was followed by Brandon Steven.
On Hand #43, Bryn Kenney was defeated by Noah Schwartz. The player took $323,730 for his sixth place. Then, on Hand #83, Jason Les was shoved to fifth place after he could not hold up against Rast.
It took quite some time before another player was eliminated. This happened on Hand #178 in Level 22. It was Schwartz who left after he was defeated by Lichtenberger. He received $539,550 for his participation in the final table and his fourth place.
On Hand #201, Rast moved all in and Lichtenberger called. The first had [6c][7c]
and the latter was holding [Jd][10d]. The board showed [9h][5c][2s][10s][Jd]
and Rast had to leave the table. He was awarded the amount of $755,370.
Thus, it became clear that Lichtenberger would have to face Tom Marchese in one final heads-up play.
The action started with Lichtenberger holding the majority of chips. Yet, the chip lead changed positions a few times in the course of the game before a champion was crowned.
The final hand occurred in Level 24. Lichtenberger was holding [Qc][9c]
and his opponent had [8d][8h]. The table showed [Jc][4c][4h][Kc] and only a miracle could save Marchese. When the [5d]
was opened, the name of the champion became clear.
Marchese received $1,240,965 of the entire prize pool for his runner-up finish. And as mentioned above, Lichtenberger was awarded $2,104,245. This is the highest winning in his career. Recently, he finished second at the 2014 Aria Super High Roller V in Las Vegas where he notched the amount of $422,968 after he finished second. He also earned $514,480 from an Epic Poker League event in 2011.
The next World Poker Tour Alpha8 event is scheduled for January 17-18. It will be held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
