2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
WPT Poker Showdown Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed
$3,500 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Entries: 1,309
Prize Pool: $4,188,800
April 13-18, 2018

Nearly two weeks of tournaments in the new Hard Rock Event Center led the way toward the headline event on the 2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown schedule. The $3 Million Guarantee WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship started on April 13 and, after six days of play, the UK’s Scott Margereson defeated Faraz Jaka in a lengthy heads-up battled for the title and $696,640 win.

“I’ve run incredible this year,” Margereson said of his victory. “It feels a little ridiculous to win this much money, but it’s huge.”

The Championship was another huge success with the 1,309 entries making it the fifth biggest field in the World Poker Tour’s 16 years of operation. The great turnout pushed the prize pool to nearly $4.2 million by the time registration closed.

Those 1,309 entries were whittled down to 480 players returning for Day 2. They made the money late in the day with 164 spots taking home some cash. Former WSOP November Niner Joseph Cheong was the chip leader of the 81 players who advanced to Day 3.

That lead helped Cheong make it deep in Day 4 but he went out in 11th place, short of the final table. Margereson moved to the top of the counts late in the day but it was Brian Hasting holding the lead when only six players remained for the WPT televised final table.

Besides Hastings and Margereson, the final table lineup included two-time WPTDeepStacks champ Jeff Fielder, local favorite Joey Couden, popular pro Matt Stout, and former WPT Player of the Year Jaka.

The structure was slow and the 82 big blind average stack meant they had plenty of room to make their move at the final table and it was destined to be a long day.

Fielder was the first eliminated from the final table when his flush ran into a full house and Stout followed shortly after when his pockets tens lost to the quad queens of Jaka. Couden booked a $250,000 payout when he ran into Jaka’s king as the former WPT POY extended his lead.

After a long stretch of three-handed play, Hastings was eliminated by Margereson when he made a flush on the river. Margereson held nearly a three-to-one chip lead to begin heads-up play.

The two battled for nearly three hours before Margereson was able to eliminate his tough opponent. This was the second WPT runner-up finish for Jaka and he took home $454,496. Margereson earned $696,740 for his first WPT title and the biggest tournament cash of his career. In addition, he punched his ticket into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions set to take place next month in Las Vegas.

“When there were four left, we were all guaranteed huge sums of money,” Margereson said. “I try not to focus on it and I’m very, very fortunate to have won the poker tournament.”

“I ran really good all week and I feel like I played pretty good, too.”

Congratulations to Scott on the win and thank you to our players for another great Championship.

Final table results:

1st: Scott Margereson – $696,740*
2nd: Faraz Jaka – $454,496
3rd: Brian Hastings – $336,466
4th: Joey Couden – $251,523
5th: Matt Stout – $189,880
6th: Jeff Fielder – $144,775
* – Includes $15,000 WPT Tournament of Champions seat

Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championsionship results

$3,500 WPT Showdown Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Payouts | Live Stream
Level 30: 40,000/80,000 with 10,000 ante
Players Remaining: 6 of 1,309

Players are currently taking their seats. Cards will be in the air at 4:00 PM local time. Here’s a look at the current chip counts:

Seat 1: Jeff Fielder – 4,320,000 (54 bb)
Seat 2: Matt Stout – 3,190,000 (40 bb)
Seat 3: Brian Hastings – 12,855,000 (161 bb)
Seat 4: Faraz Jaka – 2,450,000 (31 bb)
Seat 5: Joey Couden – 8,255,000 (103 bb)
Seat 6: Scott Margereson – 8,195,000 (102 bb)

Remaining payouts:

1st: $696,740*
2nd: $454,496
3rd: $336,466
4th: $251,523
5th: $189,880
6th: $144,775
* – Includes $15,000 WPT Tournament of Champions seat

Updates will be posted on a thirty minute delay to avoid spoilers for the PokerGo.com live-stream

The 2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship televised final table is set and it is one of the most successful you will find.

The last six players have combined to earn more than $15.4 million in their live tournament careers. Faraz Jaka’s $5.7 million makes him the biggest earner at the final table with Scott Margereson’s $570,000 the lowest. But Margereson has more than $4.1 million earned on his online poker résumé.

Their accomplishments include three WSOP bracelets, two WPTDeepStack titles, three WSOP Circuit rings, and the Season VIII Player of the Year.

Here are your six members listed by their final table seats.

Seat 1: Jeff Fielder
Chip count – 4,320,000

From West Des Moines, Iowa, Fielder has more than $1.4 million in career earnings. He won two WPTDeepStacks titles, the last coming in December 2017, and two WSOP Circuit Main Event rings since he started playing poker in 2010.

Seat 2: Matt Stout
Chip count – 3,190,000

Originally from New Jersey and now residing in Las Vegas, Stout has earned $3.7 million in live poker tournaments. This is his third WPT final table and his second final table in this event. Stout has four WSOP final tables to his credit and two back-to-back runner-up finishes at WSOP Circuit at Seminole Coconut Creek Casino in February.

Seat 3: Brian Hastings
Chip count – 12,855,000

A hometown Fort Lauderdale poker pro, Hastings has booked $2.64 million in his tournament career. He owns three WSOP bracelets; Heads-Up NLH, Seven-Card Stud, and 10-Game Mix. Online poker legend who once won $4.2 million in one day in the cash games. This is the eighth six-digit cash in Hastings’ career.

Seat 4: Faraz Jaka
Chip count – 2,450,000

Born in San Jose CA, his $5.7 million career earnings make him the most successful player at the final table. This is his sixth WPT final table and he was the WPT Player of the Year for Season VIII. Jaka also has six WSOP final table appearances and he won the WPT South Africa High Roller in 2014.

Seat 5: Joey Couden
Chip count – 8,255,000

A South Florida resident, Couden has earned nearly $1.4 million in his tournament career. He picked up his biggest cash in the 2015 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship with a televised sixth-place finish. Couden also owns a Borgata Poker Open Six-Max title from 2014.

Seat 6: Scott Margereson
Chip count – 8,195,000

Hailing from the United Kingdom, Margereson is guaranteed to push his live career total over $600,000 with any final table cash. He has two WSOP final table appearances and won the 2016 PCA Eight-Handed Turbo event. In the online poker world as “Aggro Santos”, Margereson has two World Championship of Online Poker titles and $4.1 million in online tournament earnings.

Primary Event Schedule

4PM: Final Table – $3,500 WPT Showdown Championship

• WPT Championship Final Table Counts/Seats
• WPT Championship Payouts

5PM: Event 18 Day 2 – $150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Day 2 will be played in the Poker Room

• Event 18 Day 2 Chip Counts
• Event 18 Day 2 Table and Seat Assignments
• Event 18 Payouts

$150 No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Returning to Level 15: 1,500/3,000 with a 500 ante
Players Returning: 55 of 565

Registration closed on the last multi-day event of the series and the small buy-in tournament attracted a lot of players. Event 18 had a $150 buy-in with a $50,000 guaranteed prize pool that was quickly surpassed.

There were 565 combined entries across the two starting flights to create a prize pool worth $67,800. The last 36 spots will be paid with a min-cash walking away with $441 and the Event 18 champ taking home $18,299 plus the Showdown trophy.

2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 18
$50,000 Guaranteed
$150 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Entries: 565
Prize Pool: $67,800
April 16-18, 2018

1st: $18,299
2nd: $10,848
3rd: $7,119
4th: $4,916
5th: $3,627
6th: $2,882
7th: $2,204
8th: $1,593
9th: $1,153
10th – 12th: $881
13th – 15th: $712
16th – 18th: $610
19th – 27th: $509
28th – 36th: $441

$360 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 1: 25/50
Players Remaining: 72 of 156

Registration closed on Event 21 with 156 entries falling just shy of the $50,000 guaranteed prize pool. We will pay out the full amount as advertised with the last 21 spots paid, $651 for a min-cash and $13,289 for the Event 21 champion.

We will start Event 21 updates after Day 4 of the Championship comes to an end.

2018 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 21
$50,000 Guaranteed
$360 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Entries: 156
Prize Pool: $50,000
April 17, 2018

1st: $13,289
2nd: $8,708
3rd: $5,130
4th: $3,123
5th: $2,410
6th: $1,998
7th: $1,730
8th: $1,525
9th: $1,329
10th – 12th: $1,150
13th – 15th: $975
16th – 18th: $810
19th – 21st: $651

3,500 WPT Showdown Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27: 25,000/50,000 with 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 10 of 1,309

Scott Mergereson opened to 100,000 from under the gun and Zach Donovan moved all in for 1,170,000 from the small blind. Brian England folded his big blind and Margereson called.

Donovan:
Margereson:

Donovan was in a lot of trouble with his single overcard and found no saving love on the board. Donovan was eliminated in tenth place and staff paused the clock to redraw the last nine players to one table.

Scott Margereson  –  9,780,000  (196 bb)
Zach Donovan  –  Eliminated in 10th place  ($68,174)

$3,500 WPT Showdown Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27: 25,000/50,000 with 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 10 of 1,309

Jeff Fielder opened to 125,000 from under the gun and Faraz Jaka three-bet to 350,000 from the button. The blinds folded and Fielder moved all in for 1,340,000. Faraz called and it was one of those classic races.

Jaka:
Fielder:

Jaka was ahead for the knockout and Fielder missed the flop. He added a gutshot draw on the turn and paired the river to double.

Jeff Fielder  –  2,780,000  (56 bb)
Faraz Jaka  –  4,540,000  (91 bb)

$3,500 WPT Showdown Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27: 25,000/50,000 with 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 10 of 1,309

Faraz Jaka and Jeff Fielder were heads-up to a flop and Jaka checked from the big blind position. Fielder bet 125,000 and Jaka check-raised to 390,000.

Fielder called, Jaka bet another 450,000 after the turn and Fielder called again. Jaka shoved the river and Fielder released his hand after thinking it through.

Jaka tabled his queen-high bluff then pulled up the Twitter app on his phone.

Lolol just ran this no equity checkraise triple barrel bluff with 10 left in @WPT @shrpo Main event. Third in chips now $700k up top. #rawagression https://t.co/UYpoxwLL00

— Faraz Jaka (@FarazJaka) April 17, 2018

$3,500 WPT Showdown Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27: 25,000/50,000 with 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 10 of 1,309

Joe Cheong returned from break and found quick relief. He was all in against Zach Donovan with versus and doubled after he flopped a nine and rivered the case nine.

Then he tried again.

After Scott Margereson opened to 100,000 from the hijack, Cheong moved his new 1,000,000 stack in the middle from the big blind and Margereson called.

Cheong:
Margereson:

This time it was Margereson with the nines and Cheong was racing. He missed the flop but picked up a flush draw/gutshot wheel draw on the turn. Cheong blanked the river to go out in eleventh place.

One more elimination and they will form the final table nine.

Scott Margereson  –  9,400,000  (188 bb)
Joseph Cheong  –  Eliminated in 11th place  ($54,139)