2018 Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open 
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 
Hollywood, Florida
Event 19
$1,100 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo       
Entries: 88
Prize Pool: $88,000
November 27, 2018

Yesterday, Will Givens had a healthy stack at the final table of the $5,000 no-limit hold’em single-day final table. He busted in eighth after David Peters took most of his stack, picking off Givens’ triple barrel bluff with just second pair.

Less than 24 hours later, Givens redeemed himself. He took down the $1,100 no-limit hold’em turbo event to earn the trophy and $28,380. He defeated Alexander Gofman heads-up to topple the 88-entry field.

From the moment cards got in the air, it seemed like Givens was destined to take it down.

“I ran hot most of the day,” said Givens. “The second hand of the day I doubled up and I was just like ‘Alright, if you get there again, don’t mess it up.’ And it feels good that I got there again because usually when you mess up, you don’t get that opportunity. So it just feels amazing.”

Despite missing out on a six-figure score in yesterday’s event, Givens is just happy that he plugged a leak in his game after one of the world’s best exposed it.

“It’s a big difference with the $143,000 yesterday, but still, I’m just happy that I learned my lesson,” said Givens.

Having ran so hot early in the day, Givens came into the final table with a huge chip lead. And with everybody else so short, it wasn’t long before Givens was heads-up with Gofman for all of the proverbial marbles.

“Literally no joke. I sit down, play a few hands, looked up and we were four-handed,” joked Givens. “It was just a turbo that went fast. It was meant to be.”

With a faster structures, the average stack size shrank quickly and made for mostly preflop push/fold spots. With Givens’ extensive online poker background, the push/fold part of his game is one of his strong suits.

“I just know my shove ranges and call ranges,” said the Denver native. “I made a huge laydown against one person who jammed for 35 percent of my stack. Normally, people will call there, but it just wasn’t worth it because more chips saved are better than chips earned.”

Despite playing the tournament in the Hard Rock ballroom, Givens had flashbacks of his online tournament grind.

“Actually, back in the day, I used to ship a lot of turbos,” said Givens. “It was like I was back at home online back in the day.”

The 88-entry field paid out the top 11 spots, but a double knockout on the bubble allowed Marc MacDonnell and Paul Domb to chop the 11th place payout.

Results:

1st: Will Givens – $28,380
2nd: Alexander Gofman – $17,160
3rd: Patrick Quinn – $10,670
4th: Stephen Song – $7,216
5th: Anthony Utnage – $5,500
6th: Jake Embres – $4,400
7th: James Baune – $3,652
8th: Alberto Rodriguez – $3,080
9th: Darryll Fish – $2,838
10th: Maria Feshchenko – $2,640
11th: Marc MacDonnell – $1,232
12th: Paul Domb – $1,232

$1,100 Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 20: 10,000/20,000/20,000
Players Remaining: 1 of 88

Will Givens was all in from the button for 200,000 effective and Aleksandr Gofman called all in.

Gofman was in the lead for the moment with against Givens’s .

The board came and Givens flopped a pair of jacks to eliminate Gofman in second place and win Event 19.

Will Givens – Event 19 Champion ($28,380)
Aleksandr Gofman – Eliminated in 2nd Place ($17,160)

$1,100 Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 20: 10,000/20,000/20,000
Players Remaining: 2 of 88

Pat Quinn was all in with against Will Givens’s .

The board ran out and Givens wound up with  a pair of aces to eliminate Quinn in third place.

Givens and Aleksandr Gofman are now heads up for the trophy with Givens having a significant lead.

Will Givens – 1,200,000 (60 bb)
Pat Quinn – Eliminated in 3rd Place ($10,670)

$1,100 Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 20: 10,000/20,000/20,000
Players Remaining: 4 of 88

Shortly after Tony Untage’s fifth place elimination, Stephen Song was all in with against Will Givens’s .

The flop came and sealed Song’s fate. The meaningless , came on the turn and river and Song was eliminated in fourth place.

Will Givens – 950,000 (48 bb)
Stephen Song – Eliminated in 4th Place ($7,216)
Tony Utnage – Eliminated in 5th Place ($5,500)

$1,100 Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 19: 8,000/16,000/16,000
Players Remaining: 4 of 88

Stephen Song shoved and Aleksandr Gofman called all in for 265,000. It was a coin flip as Song tabled against Gofman’s .

The board ran out and Gofman wound up with two pair to avoid elimination.

Aleksandr Gofman – 580,000 (36 bb)
Stephen Song – 115,000 (7 bb)

$1,100 Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 19: 8,000/16,000/16,000
Players Remaining: 5 of 88

In a three way all in, Jake Embres held against Aleksandr Gofman’s and Stephen Song’s .

The board ran out and Gofman flopped a pair of jacks to double through Song and eliminate Embres.

Aleksandr Gofman – 305,000 (19 bb)
Stephen Song – 400,000 (25 bb)
Jake Embres – Eliminated in 6th Place ($4,400)

$1,100 Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 19: 8,000/16,000/16,000
Players Remaining: 6 of 88

James Baune moved all in from early position with and was racing against Stephen Song’s in the big blind.

The board rn out and Song spiked an eight on the river to eliminate Baune in seventh place.

Stephen Song – 530,000 (33 bb)
James Baune – Eliminated in 7th Place ($3,652)

$1,100 Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 19: 8,000/16,000/16,000
Players Remaining: 7 of 88

Alberto Rodriguez was all in from the big blind with and up against Stephen Song’s .

The flop came giving Rodriguez a pair and a flush draw. The turn brought the , clean for Rodriguez. But the spiked the river giving Song a higher pair.

Stephen Song – 505,000 (32 bb)
Alberto Rodriguez – Eliminated in 8th Place ($3,080)

$1,100 Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 19: 8,000/16,000/16,000
Players Remaining: 8 of 88

Darryll Fish moved all in with ace queen, Daria Feshchenko called all in with ace eight and Will Givens called having them both well covered with king six of spades.

The board ran out and Givens wound up with a full house to eliminate both of his opponents.

Will Givens – 510,000 (43 bb)
Darryll Fish – Eliminated in 9th Place ($2,838)
Daria Feshchenko – Eliminated in 10th Place ($2,640)

$1,100 Turbo No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 18: 6,000/12,000/12,000
Players Remaining: 10 of 88

After the double bust out the money bubble burst the remaining ten players combined for the final table.

Here’s how they stack up:

Seat 1: Darryll Fish – 62,000
Seat 2: James Baune – 75,000
Seat 3: Jake Embres – 90,000
Seat 4: Daria Feshchenko – 17,000
Seat 5: Aleksandr Gofman – 298,000
Seat 6: Alberto Rodriguez – 9,000
Seat 7: Pat Quinn – 128,000
Seat 8: Tony Utnage – 72,000
Seat 9: Stephen Song – 499,000
Seat 10: Will Givens – 515,000