2019 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 20
$5,250 SHRPO Championship (Single Re-Entry)
$3,000,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  809
Prize Pool:  $3,923,650
August 9-13, 2019

When one player completely dominates a final table, it usually ends relatively quickly (as we saw four days ago when Jason Mercier steamrolled the $50K Super High Roller final table in about 90 minutes). The final table of the $5,250 SHRPO Championship ran more than nine hours from start to finish, but there’s no denying that Sean Winter dominated it wire-to-wire. Winter was methodical but relentless, and at no point did his chip stack even drop as low as 120 big blinds, ultimately winning the SHRPO Championship for $698,175.

Winter wasn’t the only big stack coming into the final table, as Joseph Cheong began with 110 big blinds after making it to this final table for the second straight year. (Cheong finished eighth in the 2018 SHRPO Championship to earn $102,843.) But Cheong ran into trouble early, and by the time Jordan Fisch doubled thru him in Hand #14, Cheong had lost nearly half his chips.

Speaking of double-ups, that was the theme of this final table for the first three-and-a-half hours, as the first eight all-in situations ended with the short stack doubling up. Five different players (including Cheong) were the shortest stack during that time, with a sixth dropping below 20 big blinds. Winter was coasting well above the fray, of course, never in a hint of any danger.

Eventually, in Hand #73, Nick Schwarmann got it all in with , but it failed to hold against Winter’s when an ace fell on the flop. That opened the floodgates.

Brandon Carl was knocked out by Winter on a bad beat in Hand #79, when Winter’s flopped a queen against Carl’s

In Hand #102, Giuliano Lentini doubled thru Cheong, knocking him down to a single big blind, and Cheong was eliminated on the next hand.

Ben Farrell was knocked out in sixth place when his failed to improve against the of Jordan Fisch in Hand #106.

In Hand #144, Giuliano Lentini got it all in with , but failed to improve against the of Jerry Robinson, and Lentini was out in fifth place.

In Hand #149, Jordan Fisch shoved from the small blind over two limpers with , but Sean Winter woke up in the big blind with . Fisch failed to catch up, and he was eliminated in fourth place.

Three-handed play lasted 29 hands before Jerry Robinson lost a race in Hand #178 with against Sean Winter’s .

When heads-up play began, Winter had nearly 200 big blinds, and more than a 6-to-1 chip lead over Shalom Elharrar. This was a match-up between an experienced high-stakes pro with a massive chip lead (Winter) and a recreational player (Elharrar) who owns a business called Paranoia Horror Maze, which the Miami Herald described as “part haunted house, part escape room.”

But Elharrar had been the short stack at one point with nine players left, and had already played a lot of big pots against Winter. Could Elharrar come from behind yet again to overcome the seasoned pro who had dominated the final table to this point?

No.

Heads-up play was a lot of quick, small pots, with Winter slowly and methodically chipping away at Elharrar’s stack.

In Hand #215, Elharrar limped with , and Winter shoved with . Elharrar called, and he was a huge favorite to double up. Elharrar flopped a set of sevens, but the board brought five hearts, making it a chopped pot.

Elharrar appeared to go on tilt after having his double-up taken from him, and Winter took six of the next seven hands without a showdown to wear down Elharrar to just two big blinds.

Elharrar appeared to move all in blind before the cards were dealt in Hand #223, and Winter called with . Elharrar turned over , and he was dominated.

The final board read , and though it had taken nine hours, Winter had won the SHRPO Championship in a dominating performance from beginning to end.

Winter won $698,175, raising his career live tournament earnings to more than $13.6 million. This is the fourth six-figure score for Winter at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood, but surprisingly, this is Winter’s first victory here.

With performances like he put on today, it’s unlikely to be his last.

Final Table Results:

1st: Sean Winter –  $698,175
2nd: Shalom Elharrar –  $487,695
3rd: Jerry Robinson –  $314,230
4th: Jordan Fisch – $232,065
5th: Giuliano Lentini – $176,350
6th: Ben Farrell – $139,705
7th: Joseph Cheong – $115,300
8th: Brandon Carl – $91,365
9th: Nick Schwarmann – $69,800

• Download: Final Results (PDF)

2019 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 27
$10,000 SHRPO NLH (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed
Entries: 117
Prize Pool: $1,123,200
August 13, 2019

Stephen Song topped a field of 117 entries to win the final event on the SHRPO schedule late Tuesday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

“My first bullet was pretty slow and I bricked that, and then I decided screw it, and fired one more. That bullet was pretty slow in the beginning, and then I had a pretty bad table, but I had good cards so I chipped up on that table a lot, ” said Song when he was asked about his journey through the tournament.

“The turning point was with three tables left, I got aces vs. kings against Spencer Champlin close to the money. I went to the bubble with heaps of chips, and then I won a really big pot at the bubble with kings where a guy hero-called my shove on the river, and then I was in prime position to pick up a lot of chips,” said Song.

“The final table went really smoothly until three handed when I lost a bunch of all ins, but before that it went really smoothly. Everything worked out well today, bluffs got through, and when I had it I got paid usually,” Song continued when he was asked about the final table.

The field reached the money around 10 pm after a Noon start, and then it was a quick trip down to the final table of nine. Farid Jattin was the first player to exit the final table in ninth place, and he was followed to the rail by Wesom Abdallah in eighth place.

There was a slight lull in the action after that until John Dollinger took his leave in seventh place around 11:30 pm. Sam Gorsfield left the field a little while later. The elimination of Noah Schwartz in fifth place then took the field down to the final four.

Matas Cimbolas went out in fourth place, and then a few double ups for Joseph Orsino pushed the final table past midnight. James Romero also doubled up a few times to pull back into contention with Song.

After Orsino hit the rail in third place, the final two players made a deal before the heads-up final even began. Song was crowned the winner, and the SHRPO trophy was the first he was ever awarded at a tournament. The terms of the chop, along with all the rest of the payouts can be found below.

$10,000 SHRPO NLH (Re-Entry) Results:

1st: Stephen Song – $285,243
2nd James Romero – $250,257
3rd: Joseph Orsino – $121,865
4th: Matas CImbolas – $78,060
5th: Noah Schwartz – $58,970
6th: Sam Gorsfield – $48,860
7th: John Dollinger – $42,120
8th: Wesom Abdallah – $37,065
9th: Farid Jattin – $33,135
10th: Rainer Kempe – $33,135
11th Harry Cullen – $29,205
12th: Gal Yifrach – $29,205
13th: Aleksandr Shevelev – $25,270
14th: James Carroll – $25,270
15th: Ali Imsirovic – $25,270

$10,000 SHRPO NLH (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 22: 15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Remaining Players: 1 of 117

Stephen Song and James Romero agreed to a chop before the first hand of the heads-up final could be dealt. Song was crowned the winner in the chop, and he took home his first trophy as part of the deal as well. Here is how the money was chopped.

1st: Stephen Song – $285,243
2nd James Romero – $250,257

Stay tuned for a recap of this one-day event, including an interview with Song.