2020 Lucky Hearts Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 17
$2,200 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  149
Prize Pool:  $298,000
January 16, 2020

Yordan Petrov built up a big chip lead on the Money Bubble, and carried that momentum all the way to the finish line to win Event #17, earning $82,265 and the first trophy of his poker career.

When the nine-handed final table began, Petrov had 40% of all the chips in play. When asked if he ever felt in danger, Petrov said, “Every hand during the final table, I was the chipleader, so I don’t think so. The guy who came in second had almost the same stack as me a few times, but all the time I had the chip lead. I was running good. I think I was playing good as well.”

Bustouts at the final table came relatively quickly, averaging one elimination every 15 minutes or so until there were three players left — Petrov, Ian O’Hara, and Brock Wilson. The average stack was worth 66 big blinds at that point, and they hit a wall, playing three-handed for more than two hours before their first all-in-and-call situation.

It would be another 15 minutes or so before Wilson was eliminated with his couldn’t hold up against Petrov’s — Wilson paired his ace on the flop, but Petrov turned an ace-high straight to knock him out in third place.

Petrov began heads-up play with more than a 12-to-1 chip lead over O’Hara, and it only took Petrov five hands to dispatch O’Hara in second place.

Petrov is from Bulgaria, and when asked why he traveled so far to be here, Petrov said, “It was my dream to come here. I love the game. I love to play poker. And the weather is also very nice. In my country, it’s winter, so here, I feel amazing.”

Will Petrov be playing in the WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open this weekend?

“Definitely,” said Petrov. “My plan was to play tomorrow, but we’ll see. If I get good sleep, I’ll play tomorrow.”

Final Table Results:

1st:  Yordan Petrov  –  $82,265
2nd:  Ian O’Hara  –  $52,150
3rd:  Brock Wilson  –  $30,694
4th:  Steve Ekin  –  $18,634
5th:  Hiro Harada  –  $14,453
6th:  Aleksandr Gofman  –  $11,935
7th:  Jeffrey Lehouillier  –  $10,430
8th:  Robert Cahill  –  $9,313
9th:  Paul Balzano  –  $8,228

$2,200 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 26:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  1 of 149

In Hand #3 of heads-up play, Ian O’Hara moved all in button for 215,000, and Yordan Petrov called with . O’Hara turned over , and needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and O’Hara won the pot with his jack to double up in chips.

Ian O’Hara  –  480,000  (10 bb)
Yordan Petrov  –  2,505,000  (50 bb)

In Hand #4, Yordan Petrov limped for 50,000, Ian O’Hara moved all in for 430,000, and Petrov folded.

Ian O’Hara  –  530,000  (11 bb)
Yordan Petrov  –  2,455,000  (49 bb)

In Hand #5 of heads-up play, Ian O’Hara moved all in for 480,000, and Yordan Petrov called with . O’Hara turned over , and he needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came — O’Hara paired his eight on the flop, but Petrov turned a ten-high straight to win the pot — and the trophy.

O’Hara finished as the runner-up, earning $52,150, while Petrov won the biggest score of his career, worth $82,265.

Stay tuned for a recap, which will be posted later tonight.

1st:  Yordan Petrov  –  $82,265
2nd:  Ian O’Hara  –  $52,150
3rd:  Brock Wilson  –  $30,694
4th:  Steve Ekin  –  $18,634
5th:  Hiro Harada  –  $14,453
6th:  Aleksandr Gofman  –  $11,935
7th:  Jeffrey Lehouillier  –  $10,430
8th:  Robert Cahill  –  $9,313
9th:  Paul Balzano  –  $8,228
10th:  Chad Eveslage  –  $7,152
11th:  Jimmy Dang  –  $7,152
12th:  Victor Figueroa  –  $7,152
13th:  Dominique Mosley  –  $6,109
14th:  Trung Tran  –  $6,109
15th:  Michael Tureniec  –  $6,109
16th:  Joe McKeehen  –  $5,215
17th:  Rodrigo Semeghini  –  $5,215
18th:  Vladislav Varlashin  –  $5,215
19th:  Vadim Shlez  –  $4,470

$2,200 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 26:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 149

Yordan Petrov moved all in from the button, and Brock Wilson called all in from the big blind for 180,000 with . Petrov turned over , and Wilson needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and the pocket queens held up for Wilson to win the pot and double up in chips.

Seat 1.  Brock Wilson  –  420,000  (11 bb)
Seat 2.  Yordan Petrov  –  2,265,000  (57 bb)
Seat 3.  Ian O’Hara  –  300,000  (8 bb)

Two hands later, Brock Wilson moved all in from the button for 400,000, and Yordan Petrov tanked for a while before he called from the small blind with .

Wilson turned over and said, “I have a bad feeling about this.”

The board came — Wilson paired his ace on the flop, but Petrov turned an ace-high straight to win the pot and eliminate Wilson in third place.

Brock Wilson  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($30,694)

That was the last hand of Level 25, and Level 26 began with increased blinds of 25,000-50,000. Here are the updated chip counts for the start of heads-up play, followed by the remaining payouts:

Yordan Petrov  –  2,770,000  (55 bb)
Ian O’Hara  –  215,000  (4 bb)

1st:  $82,265
2nd:  $52,150

$2,200 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 149

It has been more than two hours since Steve Ekin was eliminated in fourth place.

Ian O’Hara raised from the button to 40,000, Brock Wilson moved all in from the small blind for 270,000, and O’Hara called with .

Wilson turned over , and needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Wilson won the pot with his ace to double up in chips.

Seat 1.  Brock Wilson  –  620,000  (16 bb)
Seat 2.  Yordan Petrov  –  1,865,000  (47 bb)
Seat 3.  Ian O’Hara  –  500,000  (13 bb)

With three players remaining, the average chip stack is about 995,000 (25 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $30,694.

$2,200 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 24:  15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 149

With the board showing on the turn, Yordan Petrov bet 165,000 from the big blind, and Ian O’Hara called from the button.

The river card was the , Petrov bet 520,000, and O’Hara tanked for a while before he folded. Petrov took the pot.

Seat 1.  Brock Wilson  –  640,000  (26 bb)
Seat 2.  Yordan Petrov  –  1,545,000  (62 bb)
Seat 3.  Ian O’Hara  –  800,000  (32 bb)

About five minutes later, Ian O’Hara raised from the button to 50,000, Yordan Petrov reraised from the big blind to 180,000, and O’Hara moved all in for 605,000. Petrov folded, and O’Hara took the pot.

Seat 1.  Brock Wilson  –  810,000  (32 bb)
Seat 2.  Yordan Petrov  –  1,375,000  (55 bb)
Seat 3.  Ian O’Hara  –  800,000  (32 bb)

A short while later, Level 23 came to an end, and Level 24 began with increased blinds of 15,000-30,000 with a 30,000 ante. These were the approximate chip counts:

Seat 1.  Brock Wilson  –  800,000  (27 bb)
Seat 2.  Yordan Petrov  –  1,540,000  (51 bb)
Seat 3.  Ian O’Hara  –  645,000  (22 bb)

$2,200 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 23:  15,000/25,000 with a 25,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 149

The final three players return from break to begin Level 23, with blinds at 15,000-25,000 with a 25,000 ante. Here are their official chip counts:

Seat 1.  Brock Wilson  –  465,000  (19 bb)
Seat 2.  Yordan Petrov  –  1,425,000  (57 bb)
Seat 3.  Ian O’Hara  –  1,095,000  (44 bb)

And here is the final table prizepool:

1st:  $82,265
2nd:  $52,150
3rd:  $30,694

4th:  Steve Ekin  –  $18,634
5th:  Hiro Harada  –  $14,453
6th:  Aleksandr Gofman  –  $11,935
7th:  Jeffrey Lehouillier  –  $10,430
8th:  Robert Cahill  –  $9,313
9th:  Paul Balzano  –  $8,228

With three players remaining, the average chip stack is about 995,000 (40 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $30,694.

$2,200 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  10,000/15,000 with a 15,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 149

Brock Wilson got it all in from the button for 150,000 with , and he needed his hand to hold to stay alive against the of Ian O’Hara in the big blind.

The board came , and the board came low enough for Wilson’s eight kicker to play, giving him the double-up.

Brock Wilson  –  325,000  (22 bb)
Ian O’Hara  –  830,000  (55 bb)

Brock Wilson moved all in from UTG/cutoff for 285,000, and Steve Ekin thought for a while before calling all in from the big blind for about 190,000 with .

Wilson turned over , and Ekin was dominated and facing elimination.

The board came , and Wilson won the pot with his jack kicker to eliminate Ekin in fourth place.

Brock Wilson  –  500,000  (33 bb)
Steve Ekin  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($18,634)

With three players remaining, the average chip stack is about 995,000 (66 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $30,694.

$2,200 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  10,000/15,000 with a 15,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 149

Yordan Petrov raised from the cutoff to 40,000, Hiro Harada moved all in from the small blind for about 300,000, and Petrov called with .

Harada turned over , and needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and the pocket kings held up for Petrov to win the pot and eliminate Harada in fifth place.

Yordan Petrov  –  1,475,000  (98 bb)
Hiro Harada  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($14,453)

With this pot, Petrov has retaken the chip lead.

With four players remaining, the average chip stack is about 745,000 (50 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $18,634.

$2,200 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 20:  5,000/15,000 with a 15,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 149

Aleksandr Gofman raised under the gun, Steve Ekin moved all in from the button for 90,000, and Gofman called with . Ekin turned over , and needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Ekin won the pot with his ace to double up in chips.

Steve Ekin  –  215,000  (14 bb)
Aleksandr Gofman  –  185,000  (12 bb)

About 15 minutes later, Aleksandr Gofman got it all in from the button for 235,000 with , and he needed to improve to stay alive against the of Ian O’Hara in the small blind.

The board came , and the pocket jacks held up for O’Hara to win the pot and eliminate Gofman in sixth place.

Ian O’Hara  –  1,090,000  (73 bb)
Aleksandr Gofman  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($11,935)

Yordan Petrov started this final table with more than three times as many chips as anyone else, but O’Hara managed to not only catch him, but to take the lead.

Yordan Petrov  –  1,075,000  (72 bb)

With five players remaining, the average chip stack is about 595,000 (40 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $14,453.

$2,200 No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guarantee | Structure | Payouts
Level 20:  5,000/15,000 with a 15,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 149

Jeffrey Lehouillier got it all in from the big blind for about 75,000 with , and he needed to improve to stay alive against the of Aleksandr Gofman in the cutoff.

The board came , and Gofman won the pot with his king to eliminate Lehouillier in seventh place.

Aleksandr Gofman  –  285,000  (19 bb)
Jeffrey Lehouillier  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($10,430)

With six players remaining, the average chip stack is about 495,000 (33 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $11,935.