$2,650 Big 4 No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry) $1,000,000 Guarantee | Structure Level 6: 300/500 and a 500 big blind ante Total Entries: 347
Victor Figueroa raised to 1,800 preflop on the big blind, and the small blind check-called before the flop was dealt .
Both players checked before the fell on the turn. Figueroa bet 2,100, and the small blind check-called again.
The river delivered the , Figueroa bet 8,200, and the small blind check-raised all in. Figueroa decided not to call all in, and he is down to 15,100 after the hand.
$2,650 Big 4 No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry) $1,000,000 Guarantee | Structure Level 4: 200/300 with a 300 big blind ante Total Entries: 294
Patrick Eskandar raised to 1,000 preflop UTG+1, and Justin Young reraised to 2,700 from the button. Eskandar called before the flop was dealt , and Young bet 1,500. Eskandar check-raised to 4,000, and Young called.
The turn was dealt , and Young moved all in for 10,000. Eskandar thought for a moment before calling, and the two players tabled their cards.
Young: Eskandar:
River:
Young won the hand to double up and survive with 23,500, and Eskandar is down to 14,000 after the hand.
Justin Young – 23,500 (78 bb) Patrick Eskandar – 14,000 (46 bb)
$2,650 Big 4 No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry) $1,000,000 Guarantee | Structure Level 2: 100/200 with a 200 ante Total Entries: 240
Ray Qartomy is now back up to 35,000 after watching his stack drop to 5,000 just a while back. He has been one of the most active players so far on Day 1.
In a recent hand, Qartomy raised to 700 preflop, and the button came along for the ride. The flop was dealt , Qartomy bet 1,200, and the button folded his cards.
$2,650 Big 4 No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry) $1,000,000 Guarantee | Structure Level 2: 100/200 Total Entries: 220
The flop read when the hijack bet 600, and John Gordon raised to 2,000 on the small blind. UTG folded, and the hijack called.
The turn fell , Gordon bet 3,200, and the hijack called. The river delivered the , and both players checked. The hijack flipped over , and Gordon folded his cards.
$2,650 Big 4 No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry) $1,000,000 Guarantee | Structure Level 2: 100/200 Total Entries: 205
The board read , and there was a hefty pot on the table when Lee Markholt bet 5,400 UTG+1. The big blind took a minute before deciding to call, and Markholt flipped over for a flush. The big blind folded his cards.
$2,650 Big 4 No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry) $1,000,000 Guarantee | Structure Level 1: 100/100 Total Entries: 171
The button raised to 300 preflop, and Ray Qartomy called on the small blind. The big blind reraised to 1,300, the button folded, and Qartomy called.
The flop was dealt , and the big blind bet 2,000. Qartomy check-called before the turn was dealt . The big blind fired in another 2,500, and Qartomy check-called once again.
The river delivered the , and now Qartomy bet 12,000. The big blind tanked for a minute or so before folding his cards, and Qartomy took down the pot uncontested.
2017 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Florida $5,250 SHRPO Championship $3 Million Guaranteed Entries: 887 Prize Pool: $4,301,950 August 11-15, 2017
Martin Kozlov
After four days of poker, the final table of nine players emerged from a field of 887 in the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship, and thanks to a quick play-down stretch on Day 3 the players returned on Tuesday with deep stacks for the final day of the event. That fact combined with 90 minute levels, made for an expectation of a long final table, and it played out true to form.
Martin Kozlov claimed the SHRPO Championship title, and $754,083 in prize money after more than 13 hours of play at the final table at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida. “The title means a lot because now I’m even with [Patrick] Mahoney (2016 Rock N Roll Poker Open Championship winner), he won one last time so now he has no more bragging rights. And the money is sweet, it ends a down-swing so I can’t complain,” said Kozlov right after the win, but he was also quick to thank his friends on the rail. “Yeah, I mean without my rail I would have tilted it all off for sure,” said Kozlov.
The first four levels of play saw one player fall per level. Joe Kuether was the first to fall in ninth place, but he just made his way over to the $1,100 event final table that he was also playing out on the The Big 4 television set. As the Poker Night in America cameras continued to roll, Englishman Luke Brereton hit the rail next in eighth place. Poker professional Adam Levy fell in seventh place during the next level, and the chip leader at the start of play, Aaron Mermelstein, took his leave in sixth place during the level after that.
The pace of play slowed down even more during the five-handed battle . “They had The Big 4, and after two or three hours all the tables of the other three were down to four or five players, and it took us six hours to lose two players. It was super slow, and you just had to play it one hand at a time. The structure was so good you could afford to take some beats, you could afford to lose some pots. Patience was the most important thing I guess,” said Kozlov about the slow start.
Matt Berkey and Dylan Drazen pulled away from the pack during the start of this stretch in play, and each of them took a turn with the chip lead. The three other final tables that were running as part of The Big 4 had now ended by this point of play, and you could feel a serious mood set in at the final table. Announcers Mario Ho and Joe Stapleton kept the atmosphere light as they commentated on the action for the die-hard rail birds that were still sweating the action. “It’s a great setup, yeah I loved it. With Joe and Maria commentating it was sweet,” said Kozlov when he was asked about the unique atmosphere on the television set of The Big 4.
Kozlov was the short stack at one point, but he doubled up once before the elimination of Micheal Aron in fifth place, and he doubled up again after Aron’s exit to storm to the top of the pack. “The thing that affects my mental state the most is if I’m getting downward momentum, if I’m getting upward momentum it just kind of clears my mind to focus on the strategy. So when things are going right I’m thinking more clearly about what to do strategy-wise, if things are going bad I’m just steaming,” said Kozlov about the big momentum shift and how it affected his mind-set. He continued, “Five handed I didn’t have many chips at all, and I was a bit tilted on break. I was talking to my wife, and I was like, ‘What am I going to do now. There’s not much left, I’m going to have to win a couple of all ins.’ And then I came back and won every all in, and now I’ve won the tournament.”
Yi Chi Li was down to just three big blinds when he was eliminated in fourth place, and Berkey eventually fell in third place after losing the largest pot of the tournament up to that point when Kozlov doubled up again during four-handed play. Kozlov had increased his chip lead to 16,325,000 at the start of the heads-up final against Drazen, who held 10,325,000.
Despite a double up for Drazen that brought the chip stacks close to even, Kozlov was in control of the chip lead for the entirety of the heads-up match. On the final hand, Kozlov raised to 600,000 on the button preflop, and Drazen called. The flop was dealt , Kozlov bet 400,000, and Drazen check-called.
The turn fell , and Kozlov bet 2.6 million. Drazen check-called before the river delivered the . Kozlov thought for a moment before moving all in, and Drazen tanked before check-calling all in.
Kozlov flipped over , and Drazen said, “It’s over,” before showing . Drazen was eliminated in second place, good for $528,322, and Kozlov won the 2017 SHRPO Championship. He took home $754,083 in prize money, and the SHRPO guitar pick trophy.
“I never played with [Dylan] until today in this tournament actually, and heads up was a struggle. We were just trading pots back and forth, I doubled him up, and I got lucky and made three-of-a-kind,” said Kozlov of the heads-up final.
Congratulations to the 2017 SHRPO Champion Martin Kozlov!
Final Table Results:
1st: Martin Kozlov – $754,083 2nd: Dylan Drazen – $528,322 3rd: Matt Berkey – $341,618 4th: Yi Chi Li – $252,481 5th: Michael Aron – $191,437 6th: Aaron Mermelstein – $152,547 7th: Adam Levy – $126,305 8th: Luke Brererton – $100,408 9th: Joe Kuether – $75,413
$5,250 SHRPO Championship $3 Million Guaranteed | Payouts | Live Stream Level 32: 125,000/250,000 with a 25,000 ante Players Remaining: 1 of 887
Martin Kozlov
Hand #246: Martin Kozlov raised to 600,000 on the button, and Dylan Drazen called. The flop was dealt , Kozlov bet 400,000, and Drazen check-called.
The turn was the , and Kozlov bet 2.6 million. Drazen check-called before the river delivered the . Kozlov thought for a moment before moving all in, and Drazen tanked before check-calling all in.
Kozlov flipped over , and Drazen said, “It’s over,” before showing . Drazen was eliminated in second place, good for $528,322, and Kozlov won the 2017 SHRPO Championship. He took home $754,083 in prize money, and the SHRPO guitar pick trophy.
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fell on the turn. Figueroa bet 2,100, and the small blind check-called again.
, Figueroa bet 8,200, and the small blind check-raised all in. Figueroa decided not to call all in, and he is down to 15,100 after the hand.
, and Young bet 1,500. Eskandar check-raised to 4,000, and Young called.
when Mike Dentale movef all in for 6,400 from the cutoff.
faceup on the table, and Dentale flipped over just the 
as he collected the pot.
, Qartomy bet 1,200, and the button folded his cards.
when the hijack bet 600, and John Gordon raised to 2,000 on the small blind. UTG folded, and the hijack called.
, and Gordon folded his cards.
for a flush. The big blind folded his cards.
, and now Qartomy bet 12,000. The big blind tanked for a minute or so before folding his cards, and Qartomy took down the pot uncontested.
, and Drazen said, “It’s over,” before showing 