2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood
Event #3
$250 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack Turbo
Total Entries: 229
Prizepool: $48,090

Aleksandr Shevelev took down the second trophy of the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown on Sunday evening after besting a field of 229 players to earn $13,462.

The 24-year-old Russian professional billiards and poker player was on vacation in South Florida and decided to take some time to take his shot in the Turbo event.

“It was a little of both,” said Shevelev on whether he left Russia to enjoy the area or to play some poker.

Shevelev came into the final table second in chips and never really found himself short on chips. During six-handed play, Shevelev eliminated two players to win the biggest pot of the tournament and had almost 75% of the chips in play as three-handed play began.

Shevelev flopped top pair and a king kicker against Jermaine Fierlin’s top pair and open-ended straight draw and Payam Pourghassem’s open-ended straight draw.

Shevelev’s hand held up to take the chip lead for good.

“I felt like I had to call there cause I was the chip leader,” said Shevelev.

He continued to apply pressure to the rest of the table and eventually defeat Cangir Elcin heads-up to take the title.

Here are a look at the final table:

1st: Aleksandr Shevelev – $13,462
2nd: Cangir Elcin – $7,935
3rd: Eric Piderit – $4,569
4th: Edwin Gerard – $3,703
5th: Payam Pourghassem – $2,885
6th: Jermaine Gerlin – $2,405
7th: Janine Gelb – $1,924
8th: Tim Harrell – $1,443
9th: John Barros – $962

Event 3 Final Results

$250 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack Turbo
Level 29: 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Registered: 229
Players Remaining: 1

On a flop of , Cangir Elcin gets his last 800,000 into the middle and Aleksandr Shevelev calls.

Elcin shows , good for bottom pair and needs to improve to top Shevelev’s , good for top pair.

The turn is the , giving Shevelev two pair and leaving Elcin drawing to two outs in the deck. The river is the and Shevelev officially takes home the trophy.

Shevelev takes home $13,462 and the trophy for the win and the Elcin earns $7,935 for his runner-up finish.

Aleksandr Shevelev – $250 No Limit Hold’em Turbo Champion
Cangir Elcin – Eliminated

$250 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack Turbo
Level 29: 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Registered: 229
Players Remaining: 2

Aleksandr Shevelev moves all in on the button and Cangir Elcin calls from the big blind. Elcin is all in for 600,000 and shows .

Shevelev is dominated with his , but the tournament is over if he finds a jack.

The flop is and Elcin pairs his ace, but Shevelev picks up a straight draw. The turn is the and the river is the to give Elcin the double up.

Cangir Elcin – 1,200,000
Aleksandr Shevelev – 3,300,000

$250 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack Turbo 
Level 29: 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Registered: 229
Players Remaining: 2

Aleksandr Shevelev moves all in from the small blind and Eric Piderit calls from the big blind.

Shevelev shows and is up against Piderit’s .

The flop is and Shevelev is drawing very slim after Piderit picks up a flush draw. The turn is the , changing nothing, but the river is the and Shevelev hits a deuce to send Piderit home in third.

Shevelev is now heads-up with Cangir Elcin for the title.

Aleksandr Shevelev – 4,200,000
Eric Piderit – Eliminated

$250 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack Turbo
Level 28: 30,000/60,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Registered: 229
Players Remaining: 3

Cangir Elcin moves all in on the button for 175,000 and Edwin Gerard calls off for less in the small blind. Aleksandr Shevelev calls from the big blind and all three hands are tabled.

Shevelev shows , Gerard shows and Elcin tables .

The flop is and Elcin vaults into the lead. The turn is the and the river is the . Elcin almost triples up and Gerard takes home $3,703 for fourth placce.

Cangir Elcin- 550,000
Aleksandr Shevelev – 2,850,000
Edwin Gerard – Eliminated

$250 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack Turbo
Level 28: 30,000/60,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Registered: 229
Players Remaining: 4

Aleksandr Shemelev raises to 120,000 under-the-gun and is called by Payam Pourghassem in the cutoff and Jermaine Gerlin out of the big blind.

The flop is and Fierlin moves all in for 810,000. Shevelev goes into the tank for a minute and gets an exact count from the dealer before calling.

Pourghassem puts his hands on his head and goes into a tank of his own Pourghassem eventually moves all in for 1,110,000 and Shevelev calls.

It’s by far the biggest pot of the tournament with just shy of 3 million in the middle. Gerlin shows , good for top pair and a straight draw, Shevelev shows , giving him top pair and a better kicker and Pourghassem has the same straight draw as Gerlin with his .

The turn is and the river is the to keep Shevelev in the lead and drag the pot.

They count down the stacks and verify that Shevelev has Pourghassem covered by just one 5,000 denomination chip. Shevelev knocks out two players and takes a monstrous chip lead on the rest of the final table.

With Pourghassem having more chips than Gerlin, he takes home the fifth place cash worth $2,885 and Gerlin earns $2,405 for his sixth place finish.

Aleksandr Shevelev – 2,900,000
Payam Pourghassem – Eliminated
Jermaine Gerlin – Eliminated

$250 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack Turbo
Level 27: 25,000/50,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Registered: 229
Players Remaining: 6

Janine Gelb moves all in from the cutoff for 45,000, which is just under a full big blind. Payam Pourghassem limps in on the button, Cangir Elcin completes from the small blind and Edwin Gerard checks his option from the big blind.

There is 15,000 in a side pot for the three players who still have chips and they see a flop of and Elcin checks. Gerard moves all in and everybody else folds.

Gerard shows and is up against Gelb’s . The turn is the and the river is the to eliminate Gelb.

Edwin Gerard – 380,000
Janine Gelb – Eliminated

$250 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack Turbo 
Level 28: 20,000/40,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Registered: 229
Players Remaining: 8

Johan Bavvos moves all in from the cutoff and Payam Pourghassem calls from the big blind. Bavvos shows and is dominated by Pourghassem’s .

The board runs out and Bavvos can’t find a nine to stay alive. He hits the rail in ninth place and takes home $962.

Payam Pourghassem – 875,000
Johan Bavvos – Eliminated

$250 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack Turbo
Level 26: 20,000/40,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Registered: 229
Players Remaining: 9

Aleksandr Shemelev raises to 80,000 under-the-gun and Pedro Palacios moves all in for 225,000. Action folds back to Shemelev, who calls.

It’s a flip for Palacios’ tournament life with his up against Shemelev’s .

The board runs out and Palacios flops overs and an open-ended straight draw, but brick bricks off to fall in 10th place. He takes home $625 for his run.

Aleksandr Shemelev – 1,300,000
Pedro Palacios – Eliminated

$250 No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack Turbo
Level 25: 15,000/30,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Registered: 229
Players Remaining: 10

Janine Gelb moves all in from middle position for her last 55,000 and is called by Payam Pourghassem from the hijack and Tim Harrell out of the big blind.

The action gets checked down between Pourghassem and Harrell as the board comes and Gelb wins the pot with to triple up.

Janine Gelb – 225,000
Tim Harrell – 385,000
Payam Pourghassem – 350,000