Aaron Van Blarcum is the newest member of the WPT Champions Club after besting the 520-person field of the WPT Legends of Poker last night. This was the Dallas, Texas native’s first participation in a WPT event and it turned out more than well for him.
Van Blarcum entered the six-handed final table of this year’s WPT Legends of Poker as the short stack. Prior to his triumph last night, the player had just over $72,000 in tournament earnings. The majority of those came from the 2019 WSOP Main Event where Van Blarcum finished 212th for a payout of $50,855.
After his WSOP Main Event run, the player decided to take a few shots at stops on the WPT tour. He told WPT staff last night that he planned to take part in at least six Main Tour Main Events this year. And he started his run in a spectacular fashion, overcoming five players at the final table to eventually scoop the title and the first-place prize of $474,390, including a $15,000 seat into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions.
Van Blarcum said last night that it felt great to win a WPT title. He went on that he would normally play cash games, but he just decided recently to give tournaments a try.
WPT Legends of Poker’s Final Day of Play
The tournament’s final day saw six players return to the poker tables at The Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, California. Action kicked off with Gueorgui Gantchev holding the chip lead and with Van Blarcum being the short stack.
Holding the smallest stack at the final table, Van Blarcum said he knew he had to “run a little bit good.” And the start of his final table run was more than good. The player quickly doubled up what he started the day with after a confrontation with Gantchev.
By the first break of the day, Van Blarcum had emerged as the chip leader. The player kept on increasing his stack through a mix of aggressive play and showing down the best possible hand. Down to three players, Van Blarcum had control over half of all chips in play.
Eventually, it was between Van Blarcum and the start-of-the-day chip leader to determine who would claim the title and the top prize. The heads-up match kicked off with the eventual champion holding a four-to-one chip advantage. Gantchev managed to narrow the gap slightly during the first stages of their duel.
However, Van Blarchum quickly recovered his advantage and never looked back. The name of the champion became known on the 29th hand of the heads-up match. On that final hand, Van Blarcum raised the button with [10c][10s] while Gantchev three-bet with [5][5d].
Van Blarcum moved all-in and Gantchev called after giving his decision some thought. The board delivered [Qs][8c][4c][3d][2d] to eliminate Gantchev in second place for $306,265.
The brand new WPT champion said that he would next take a shot at the upcoming WPT Borgata Poker Open, which kicks off September 15.
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