2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Hollywood, FL
Event 17: $1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Entries: 186
Prize Pool: $180,420
August 10-11, 2016

Seth Davies is the champion of Event 17 at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown. Davies defeated a field of 186 entries in the $1,100 six-max freeze-out event, claiming the trophy and the top prize of $41,604 for the outright win.

The champ is a 27-year-old professional poker player from Oregon, and he’s been playing the game full-time for about five years. Davies was a highly-recruited baseball player in college, but a trio of arm surgeries was an early indicator that he needed to pursue another career path. He took up online poker while he was recovering from one of those surgeries. Black Friday forced him to move to Mexico to maintain his livelihood, but he’s back in the States now and spending more time grinding live tournaments.

Whatever he’s doing lately, it’s working. Davies is having a career year on the felt, winning his first WPT title in the spring and continuing to rack up cashes as the year has progressed. This most recent result brings his total 2016 earnings to more than $300,000.

“I’ve been putting in a lot of work lately,” Davies said about his efforts this year. “Whenever you win live tournaments, you’re going to be running pretty well. So obviously, I’m running pretty well. But I’ve been really focused lately too.”

Though he had a strong Day 2 performance, Davies was almost eliminated late on Day 1. Down under 20 big blinds, he three-bet shoved from the small blind with four-five of hearts behind a button open. The big blind re-shoved with pocket sevens, and the original raiser ended up calling with ace-queen to put both of his opponents at risk. Davies flopped one pair and turned a second, tripling up right near the end of the night.

That pivotal pot propelled Davies into a deep run on Day 2, where he eventually found himself heads-up with a familiar foe. He first met Harrison Gimbel in 2012 when they were both at the final table of a $1,500 ante-only event at the WSOP. Davies finished seventh after losing a big pot to Gimbel, but he got revenge on his fellow WPT Champion this time around. After a long, back-and-forth duel, Davies emerged victorious, earning his second live victory and first in this building.

Final Table Results
1st: Seth Davies – $41,604
2nd: Harrison Gimbel – $28,146
3rd: Matthew Sloan – $18,403
4th: Chad J. Brown – $14,704
5th: Hussain Sajwani –  $11,042
6th: Sean Stevens – $8,498

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 27: 20,000/40,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 186

Seth Davies had worked the stacks nearly back to even when the tournament’s largest pot played out heads up. It began with Davies limping the button, and Harrison Gimbel raised to 140,000 in the big blind. Davies moved all in for exactly 1,000,000 total, and Gimbel called to put him at risk. It was a flip.

Davies:
Gimbel:

The flop gave Gimbel a big lead with a pair of aces. Davies began to stand from his chair as the turn brought the blank . He was just about to reach out for a handshake when the dropped off the deck on the river, giving him the pot with a set of eights. Davies doubled into a commanding chip lead, and the match was over two hands later.

On the final hand, Davies shoved the button with , and Gimbel called all in with to put himself at risk. The board ran out , and Davies won the pot and the tournament with his ten kicker. A recap of his victory will be published shortly.

Gimbel was eliminated as the runner-up, earning $28,146.

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 26: 15,000/30,000 with a 5,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 186

Seth Davies had worked out to a bit of a chip lead over the course of the past few orbits, but Harrison Gimbel quickly turned the tides.

In the most recent pot, there was more than 400,000 in the middle as the river card completed a board. Davies bet 300,000 out of position, and Gimbel moved all in for 775,000 total. Davies spent a couple minutes agonizing in the tank before surrendering his cards into the muck. The pot was pushed to Gimbel, giving him a chip lead of more than 2:1.

Harrison Gimbel – 1,527,000 (51 bb)
Seth Davies – 705,000 (24 bb)

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 25: 10,000/20,000 with a 3,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 186

Harrison Gimbel limped in from the button, and Seth Davies checked his option in the big blind.

The flop was . Davies led for 40,000, Gimbel raised to 125,000, and Davies moved all in for 573,000 total. “I think I have to call,” Gimbel said, sliding chips forward to put his opponent at risk.

Gimbel: (pair of sevens)
Davies: (flush/straight draws)

The turn was the blank , but the river gave Davies the double-up with a king-high flush. He took a slight lead with that double, but this heads-up match is now essentially back to where it began a few minutes ago, with just a handful of big blinds separating the stacks.

Seth Davies – 1,192,000 (60 bb)
Harrison Gimbel – 1,040,000 (52 bb)

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 25: 10,000/20,000 with a 3,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 186

Seth Davies was all in for 319,000 preflop.

Davies:
Gimbel:

The board ran out , and Davies doubled up wth a pair of kings.

Seth Davies – 644,000 (32 bb)
Harrison Gimbel – 1,588,000 (79 bb)

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 25: 10,000/20,000 with a 3,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 186

On the river of a board, Harrison Gimbel moved all in for 629,000 into a pot of about that much. Seth Davies deliberated for a long while, then called to put Gimbel at risk.

Gimbel showed , and his two pair was good enough to earn him a big double-up. He took a commanding lead in the match as he dragged that pot.

Harrison Gimbel – 1,905,000 (95 bb)
Seth Davies – 325,000 (16 bb)

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 25: 10,000/20,000 with a 3,000 ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 186

Matthew Sloan open-shoved the button for about 240,000, and Harrison Gimbel called from the big blind to put him at risk.

Sloan:
Gimbel:

The board ran out , and Gimbel’s kicker played to earn him the knockout pot. Sloan was eliminated in third place.

Gimbel is now heads up with Seth Davies for the trophy, and the stacks are nearly even as the duel begins.

Harrison Gimbel – 1,180,000 (59 bb)
Seth Davies – 1,060,000 (53 bb)
Matthew Sloan – Eliminated

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 24: 8,000/16,000 with a 2,000 ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 186

Just the tail end of a hand here, but one worth mentioning. Harrison Gimbel and Seth Davies just played quite a sizable pot, with Gimbel leading the betting on every street. Davies paid off a big river bet on an ace-high board, and Gimbel showed a set of fives to win the pot.

The young pro from Florida is now the chip leader, trading places with Davies atop the leaderboard.

Harrison Gimbel – 1,175,000 (73 bb)
Seth Davies – 750,000 (47 bb)

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 24: 8,000/16,000 with a 2,000 ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 186

Matthew Sloan and Seth Davies were involved in a heads-up pot with the board showing . On the river, Davies bet 280,000 into a pot of about that much, and Sloan called, committing more than half his remaining stack.

Davies showed , winning the pot with fives full. He crossed the million-chip mark as he stacked that pot, recouping his losses from the previous hand and then some.

Seth Davies – 1,100,000 (69 bb)
Matthew Sloan – 215,000 (13 bb)

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Freeze-Out)
Level 24: 8,000/16,000 with a 2,000 ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 186

Seth Davies opened the button with a raise, and Matthew Sloan defended his big blind.

The flop was . Sloan checked, Davies continued for 32,000, and Sloan called. The turn was the , and Sloan check-called another 90,000 from Davies. The river was the . Sloan moved all in for 234,000, and Davies folded. Sloan won the pot without showdown.

Matthew Sloan – 550,000 (34 bb)
Seth Davies – 740,000 (46 bb)