$10,000 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Finale Level 24: 20,000/40,000 with a 5,000 ante Players Remaining: 6 of 342 Average Stack: 2,280,000 (56 big blinds)
The six remaining players are in their seats, and the final table is set for action.
WPT Co-commentators Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten were on set for the introductions, flanked by Executive Tour Director Matt Savage and Seminole Hard Rock Poker Tournament Director Tony Burns. Photos were taken, well wishes were exchanged, and the starting command was given to the dealer. The cards are in the air with 17:19 left in Level 24.
Follow along with this page for updates on all the significant action, or watch the live stream with cards up on a 30-minute delay by clicking here.
Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood $25,000 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Total Entries: 94 Prizepool: $2,350,000
David Malka
David Malka is the champion of the $25,000 High Roller event, outlasting a field of 94 entries to win the $658,000 top prize. Malka also collected the glass trophy for this event, one of the last pieces of hardware to be awarded during this series.
This event began on Tuesday evening with just a few tables in play, but the field ballooned to nearly 100 entries by the time registration closed. Among the elite field were a couple WSOP Main Event Champions — Joe Hachem and Joe McKeehen — along with former WPT Players of the Year Darren Elias, Faraz Jaka, and Mukul Pauja. None of them were able to finish in the money, however.
The same can be said for defending champion of this event, Jason Mercier. The Florida pro was eliminated by Malka on the direct money bubble, shoving his short stack with into Malka’s . Mercier flopped a flush draw on the , but that’s as close as he’d get to salvation. The turn and river bricked off, and Mercier’s elimination left the final 13 players in the money.
That knockout signaled the end of a long Day 1 around 5:00 a.m., and the survivors returned to play for the title on Wednesday, beginning at 4:00 p.m. Local high-stakes player Brian Benderoff was the chip leader when Day 2 began, and he rode his big stack to a seventh-place finish, good for more than $80,000.
When the final six players broke for dinner, Nick Petrangelo was the chip leader. Things went sour for him in the levels after the break, though, and he was eliminated on a cooler in fourth place, holding an overpair and a straight draw against Malka’s flopped straight. The turn and river failed to keep Petrangelo afloat, and his knockout gave Malka more than 60% of the chips in play with three remaining.
The champ continued his late domination of the final table, whittling Tim West down to less than 10 big blinds before Sylvain Loosli eliminated him in third place. Despite his opponent scoring the penultimate knockout, Malka still entered the heads-up duel with a 4:1 chip lead over the 2013 WSOP November Niner.
The battle lasted about a half hour before a coin flip decided the match. On the final hand, Malka shoved with ace-ten, and Loosli called all in with pocket sixes. The first four cards kept the Frenchman in the lead, and he was one card from drawing nearly even in the match. The river was the , though, giving Malka the pot, the knockout, and the title.
Malka is a 28-year-old pro from Los Angeles. Although he’s been playing poker since he was 19, he’s only recently started to dabble in tournaments, citing the desire to travel and the thrill of tournament poker as his motivations. Things seem to be going well so far. This most recent victory is the largest of his young career, and it brings his total earnings to just over $1 million.
Here are the full results:
1st: David Malka – $658,000 2nd: Sylvain Loosli – 481,750 3rd: Tim West – $298,450 4th: Nick Petrangelo – $206,800 5th: Nick Yunis – $133,950 6th: Yevgeniy Timoshenko – $101,050 7th: Brian Benderoff – $82,250 8th: Steffen Sontheimer – $70,500 9th: Lazaro Hernandez – $68,150 10th: Jake Schindler – $65,800 11th: John Dolan – $63,450 12th: Dan Shak – $61,100 13th: Fedor Holz – $58,750
$25,000 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 23: 30,000/60,000 with a 10,000 ante Players Remaining: 1 of 94
David Malka
David Malka opened to 135,000 on the button, and Sylvain Loosli three-bet to 345,000 in the big blind. Malka moved all in with the covering stack, and Loosli called all in for just over 2,000,000, putting himself at risk. It was a race:
Malka: Loosli:
The board ran out , and the ace on the river gave Malka the pot and the title. Loosli was eliminated as the runner-up.
Sylvain Loosli
Malka posed for winner’s photos with his shiny new trophy, and he was handed a payout ticket for $658,000, by far the largest score of his tournament career. A recap of his victory will be published shortly.
$25,000 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 22: 25,000/50,000 with a 5,000 ante Players Remaining: 4 of 94
On the last hand of the level, Sylvain Loosli completed from the small blind, and Nick Petrangelo checked his option in the big.
The flop came , and Loosli check-called a bet of 80,000. He check-called another 175,000 after the turn, and the river was the . Loosli checked again, and Petrangelo checked behind.
$25,000 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 22: 25,000/50,000 with a 5,000 ante Players Remaining: 4 of 94
Nick Yunis
Nick Yunis moved all in for 435,000 under the gun, and David Malka re-shoved from the small blind. Tim West folded his big blind, and Yunis was heads up for his tournament life.
Yunis: Malka:
The board ran out , and Malka’s kicker played to earn him the pot. Yunis was eliminated in fifth place.
$25,000 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 22: 25,000/50,000 with a 5,000 ante Players Remaining: 5 of 94
David Malka opened the button to 110,000, and Nick Yunis defended his big blind.
The flop was . Yunis led out for 85,000, and Malka called. The turn was the , and Malka called another bet from Yunis — 125,000 this time. the river was the , and Yunis made the same bet of 125,000. Malka raised to 575,000, putting Yunis to a decision for almost all of his remaining chips. After a couple minutes in the tank, Yunis folded.
David Malka – 2,350,000 (47 bb) Nick Yunis – 480,000 (10 bb)
$25,000 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 21: 20,000/40,000 with a 5,000 ante Players Remaining: 5 of 94
Yevgeniy Timoshenko
Yevgeniy Timoshenko opened to 85,000 second to act, and Sylvain Loosli three-bet to 220,000 in the cutoff. Timoshenko called.
The flop came . Timoshenko checked, Loosli continued for 175,000, and Timoshenko check-raised to 375,000. Loosli moved all in with the covering stack, and Timoshenko called all in for just less than 900,000 total.
Timoshenko: (pair of aces) Loosli: (set of deuces)
The turn was the and the river the , and Loosli won the pot with a set of deuces. Timoshenko was eliminated in sixth place.
$25,000 High Roller No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry) Level 21: 20,000/40,000 with a 5,000 ante Players Remaining: 6 of 94
Nick Petrangelo
The final six players have played four hands since returning from the dinner break, and Nick Petrangelo has won the last three of them.
On the second hand back, Nick Yunis opened to 80,000, and Petrangelo three-bet to 230,000 from the small blind. Yunis folded.
Next, Yevgeniy Timoshenko opened to 85,000, and three players called, including Petrangelo on the button. It checked to the button on the flop, and a bet of 140,000 was enough to coax three folds and give Petrangelo his second pot in a row.
Petrangelo opened the next hand to 90,000 from the cutoff, and David Malka three-bet to 230,000 on the button. Petrangelo four-bet to 675,000, and Malka quickly folded.
Petrangelo’s stack has trended upward to start this level, and it looks like he’s just inched his way up to 3,000,000 chips as he stacked that last pot. That gives him more than 30% of the total chips in play with six players remaining.
into Malka’s 
. Mercier flopped a flush draw on the 
, but that’s as close as he’d get to salvation. The turn and river bricked off, and Mercier’s elimination left the final 13 players in the money.
, though, giving Malka the pot, the knockout, and the title.
, and West was drawing dead on the turn. Loosli won the pot with the nut flush, sending West to the rain in third place.
, and Loosli check-called a bet of 80,000. He check-called another 175,000 after the 
, winning the pot with kings full.
, and Yunis made the same bet of 125,000. Malka raised to 575,000, putting Yunis to a decision for almost all of his remaining chips. After a couple minutes in the tank, Yunis folded.
(set of deuces)
and the river the 
flop, and a bet of 140,000 was enough to coax three folds and give Petrangelo his second pot in a row.