Brandon Adams topped last night a 40-strong field of talented poker pros and seasoned high rollers to add another six-figure payout to his bankroll. The poker professional and self-published author took down the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown $25,500 High Roller (Re-Entry) event for a first-place prize of $370,000 and the tournament trophy.
The event attracted 40 entries, including some of poker’s most talented players. It featured a guaranteed prize pool of $1 million, which went to the top six spots.
Adams was among the last to enter into the tournament. The player joined the field late on Day 1. He was off to a particularly good start and maintained his momentum all the way to the final hand dealt within the event.
In his post-victory interview, the poker pro said that it was part of his strategy to register late into the tournament and to play pretty fast in the hours before Day 1’s dinner break. And he did exactly what he had planned to do.
He quickly bluffed his way to the top of the chip counts chart and built a stack of over 300,000 in chips before dinner break. He did not slow down after dinner to eventually come on top of all stacks in play and extend his lead. Day 1 of the event concluded with seven players still in contention and Adams holding a massive chip lead over his fellow players at the table.
Day 2 Action
Adams ran just as well during the second day of the high roller tournament. Popular high rollers Barry Hutter and Shaun Deeb and three-time WPT Main Event champion Darren Elias were among the players who made it into Day 2.
The first task before the seven finalists was to burst the money bubble. Larry Greenberg became the unfortunate bubble boy after failing to hold up against Deeb. However, it was not long after that Deeb himself busted in sixth place for $60,000. Elias and Ajay Chabra left in fifth and fourth place, respectively, for $75,000 and $105,000. Hutter’s elimination in third place for $150,000 eventually left it to Adams and Pablo Fernandez to square off for the title and the top prize.
The two-handed duel kicked off with Adams holding an overwhelming chip lead over his final opponent. The eventual winner had 3.685 million in chips at that point to Fernandez’s 315,000. The heads-up lasted around half an hour, during which Fernandez was given very few opportunities to improve. The player eventually received $240,000 for his deep run into the tournament.
As for Adams, he added the $370,000 first-place payout to his live tournament winnings, which now amount to more than $3 million. Adams’ latest victory comes after a first-place finish in a Poker Masters $50,000 buy-in event last September. The player topped a field of 39 entries back then for his largest live tournament cash of $819,000.
