Event 3: Guifang Liu Defeats Matt Affleck Heads Up, Scores Outright Win and $31K in Purple Chip Bounty

2017 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Hollywood, FL
Event #3
$1,650 Purple Chip Bounty
No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry)
Entries: 105
Prizepool: $105,000 + $52,500 Bounties
August 6-7, 2017

Guifang Liu

Hollywood, Fla. — Guifang Liu claimed her first career tournament title Monday night in Event 3 of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood. Liu bested a tough field of 105 entries in the $1,650 Purple Chip Bounty ultimately defeating Seminole Hard Rock Poker team member Matt Affleck for the outright win. Liu pocketed a $31,497 prize along with a trophy while Affleck scored $19,425.

Event 3 began Sunday at 6pm and saw its $100,000 guarantee comfortably surpassed as the prize pool hit $105,000 with another $52,500 in bounties. Over the course of 14 Day 1 levels, the field trimmed to just nine remaining and it was Liu who held the chip lead. As it was, “lead” was an understatement. Liu sat on nearly 475,000 chips overnight good for 157 big blinds and an almost three-to-one chip lead over second place.

Joining Liu at the final table was none other than Kirk Morrison. Morrison, who claims a World Series of Poker gold bracelet and carded a second-place finish in the WPT Five Star World Poker Classic good for more than $2,000,000, had only recorded a handful of cashes since the early 2000’s. His presence at the bounty final table was welcomed, but ended in a sixth-place finish when his flopped second-nut flush was bested on the turn by the nut flush. He earned $4,830.

From there, Derek Sudell finished fifth, Wenhao Ying fourth and Gavin O’Rourke third. By the time heads-up play began, Liu claimed about a two-to-one advantage over Affleck. The pair battled it out for a short time before Affleck got roughly 65 big blinds in on the turn. Affleck had flopped two pair, but was second best to Liu’s turned straight. The river completed a blank and Liu was crowned champion.

Liu had previously earned just two cashes — a ninth-place finish in a WPT event in Beijing good for just over $28,000 and a 35th-place in this summer WSOP Colossus for over $24,000. The bounty win marked her first career victory.

Final results:

1st: Guifang Liu – $31,497
2nd: Matt Affleck – $19,425
3rd: Gavin O’Rourke – $11,655
4th: Wenhao Ying – $7,613
5th: Derek Sudell – $5,880
6th: Kirk Morrison – $4,830
7th: Andre Crooks – $4,095
8th: Carlos Guerrero – $3,570
9th: Scott Levitt – $3,150
10th: Jorge Bello – $2,783
11th: Sean Perry – $2,783
12th: Ira Schwartz – $2,783
13th: Dantonio Brown – $2,468
14th: Robert Gianquitti – $2,468