The name of the first-ever PokerStars Championship Main Event winner became known last night. Maryland resident Christian Harder won the title after defeating a field of 738 people, including some of poker’s biggest names. He collected $429,664 for his victory as well as the PokerStars live tournament trophy.
Harder had no major tournament victories prior to last night, although he has been part of the live poker scene for almost a decade now. Including last night’s payout, the player has over $4.2 million amassed in winnings. He is also an active online player.
Atlantis Paradise Island Casino was familiar venue to Harder as the player had previously played in several PCA tournaments there. He had made two Main Event final tables, but had never made it as far as last night.
Talking to interviewers, the Main Event champion revealed that he has not played a higher buy-in tournament since the 2008 PCA where he finished 7th in the $8,000 Main Event. Harder added that it was amazing to finally win a major tournament and to do that at the first-ever PokerStars Championship.
The US player’s achievement will certainly be remembered, just as Danish Gus Hansen will long be remembered as the first PCA Main Event champion. But here is how action unfolded for Harder on Saturday.
The six-handed final table started with Canadian Michael Gentili as the chip leader. Harder was second in chips at the time cards were thrown in the air for final table play. The two players and Russia’s Aleksei Opalikhin had amassed considerable chip stacks over previous days and could afford a little mistake or two on Saturday. Things were slightly different for the other three finalists – Michael Vela, Rasmus Glæsel, and recent November Niner Cliff Josephy. The three players had to be careful if they wanted to remain in contention for as long as possible, and hopefully scoop the title.
Glæsel was the first unlucky finalist to fall out of the tournament. He was eliminated by Harder just around twenty minutes into the final table. Glæsel collected $103,780 for his deep run in the $5,000 Main Event.
It took then more than two a half levels before another player left. Gentili, the start-of-the-day chip leader, was the one to bust in 5th place. Although the Canadian enjoyed a good advantage in the earlier stages of final table play, he lost his stack bits by bits, mainly to Harder. Gentili took home $140,940 for a fifth-place finish and a missed chance to capture the title.
Opalikhin and Vela (in that order) were the next two players to leave the field. They collected $191,420 and $259,980, respectively.
Thus, the title holder was left to be determined by Harder and Josephy. Here it is interesting to note that Josephy backed Harder back at the time when the latter was making his first steps in the world of live tournament poker.
The two players were almost even in chips at the beginning of heads-up match. They actually did not waste time and quickly sealed a deal, under which Harder was to take $419,664 and Josephy locked up a payout of $403,445. The two players left aside a $10,000 portion of the prize pool and the trophy to battle for.
Heads-up matches for big poker titles usually last long, sometimes very long. However, Josephy and Harder determined the eventual winner quite quickly. They grabbed the very first good opportunity to go all-in and put an end to a terrific Main Event and festival.
