2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 49
$5,000 Eight-Max No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  232
Prize Pool:  $1,102,000
April 12, 2022

Event 49 of the 2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown was the $5,000 Eight-Max No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry), the usual big buy-in event on the last day of the series. A field of 232 entries was the second-largest for this event, behind only the 2021 Showdown’s 287. The guarantee was more than doubled with a prize pool of $1,102,000.

Winning the tournament outright was Brandon Lulov for $246,125.

Lulov overcame a nearly 10:1 chip disadvantage to Matt Berkey, doubling up three times in about 15 minutes to take the lead before ultimately taking it down.

$5,000 Eight-Max NLH (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  1 of 232

Brandon Lulov limped in, Matt Berkey raised all in for about 760,000, and Lulov called.

Lulov: 
Berkey: 

The board ran out , clean for Lulov to lock up the outright victory for $246,125.

Berkey finished runner-up for $171,825.

A recap of the event will be posted later tonight.

$5,000 Eight-Max NLH (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27:  30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 232

Brandon Lulov raised to 120,000 and Matt Berkey called.

The flop was and Berkey check-called 100,000 from Lulov.

The turn was the and Berkey check-called 400,000 from Lulov.

The river was the , Berkey checked, and Lulov moved all in for 1,150,000. Berkey tanked for about three minutes before he called.

Lulov tabled for a pair of kings with an ace kicker.

“Wow, nice hand,” said Berkey, as he showed a defeated .
Matt Berkey  –  1,040,000  (17 bb)

$5,000 Eight-Max NLH (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 26:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 232

Brandon Lulov limped on the button, Matt Berkey raised all in, and Lulov called all in for 910,000 with , leading Berkey’s .

The flop came , giving Berkey the lead with a pair of eights.

The turn was the , giving Lulov a pair of tens to retake the lead.

The river was the , safe for Lulov to double up once again.

Brandon Lulov  –  1,920,000  (38 bb)
Matt Berkey  –  2,720,000  (54 bb)

$5,000 Eight-Max NLH (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 26:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 232

Matt Berkey raised all in and Brandon Lulov called all in for 430,000 with , leading Berkey’s .

The board came , safe for Lulov to double up.

Brandon Lulov  –  910,000  (18 bb)
Matt Berkey  –  3,730,000  (75 bb)

$5,000 Eight-Max NLH (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 26:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 232

Matt Berkey raised all in with his chip-leading stack and Nir Cohen called all in from the big blind for about 755,000.

Berkey: 
Cohen: 

The board ran out , no help to Cohen, ending his tournament in third place.

Matt Berkey  –  3,825,000  (76 bb)
Brandon Lulov  –  815,000  (16 bb)
Nir Cohen  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($110,955)

$5,000 Eight-Max NLH (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 26:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 232

Matt Berkey raised to 100,000 from the button, Brandon Lulov three-bet all in with his chip-leading stack from the small blind, and Berkey called all in for 1,475,000.

Berkey: 
Lulov: 

The board ran out , safe for Berkey to double into a hefty chip lead.

Matt Berkey  –  3,050,000  (61 bb)
Brandon Lulov  –  950,000  (19 bb)

$5,000 Eight-Max NLH (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 232

Brandon Lulov raised to 80,000 from UTG/cutoff, David Coleman three-bet all in for 610,000 from the small blind, and Lulov thought for a bit before he called.

Lulov: 
Coleman: 

The board ran out , giving Lulov a pair of kings to eliminate Coleman in fourth place.

Brandon Lulov  –  2,240,000  (56 bb)
Matt Berkey  –  1,900,000  (48 bb)
Nir Cohen  –  500,000  (13 bb)
David Coleman  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($71,800)

$5,000 Eight-Max NLH (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 232

Nick Schulman raised all in for 275,000 from the button and Matt Berkey called from the big blind.

Schulman: 
Berkey: 

The board came , giving Berkey a six-high straight to eliminate Schulman in fifth place.

Matt Berkey  –   2,400,000  (60 bb)
Nick Schulman  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($53,000)

$5,000 Eight-Max NLH (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 232

Nir Cohen raised all in for 300,000 from the button and David Coleman thought for a few moments before he called from the big blind.

Cohen: 
Coleman: 

The board ran out , safe for Cohen to double up.

Nir Cohen  –  660,000  (17 bb)
David Coleman  –  760,000  (19 bb)