Talal "raidalot" Shakerchi Wins PokerStars EPT Online Event #18: $10,300 NLHE for $81,432 + $132,563 in Bounties
Talal "raidalot" Shakerchi defeated Mike "SirWatts" Watson in a lengthy heads-up battle to win Event #18: $10,300 NLHE [8-Max, Progressive KO, Super High Roller], $500k Gtd - Trophy Event #10 of the 2021 PokerStars EPT Online for the top prize of $81,432 + $132,563 in bounties, in addition to the EPT Online Trophy.
The event attracted 69 entries and the total prize pool of $690,000 smashed through the guarantee.
Players played down to the final table of nine yesterday and returned today. Shakerchi came into the day as the clear short stack with less than three percent of the chips in play, while Watson came in as the clear chip leader, before they faced off as the final two remaining. Today, the final table took just over four hours to crown a champion. Heads-up play by itself took around half of that time, but eventually it was Shakerchi who emerged victorious.
Event #18: $10,300 NLHE PKO Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize | Bounties | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Talal "raidalot" Shakerchi | United Kingdom | $81,432 | $132,563 | $212,995 |
| 2 | Mike "SirWatts" Watson | Canada | $81,432 | $30,312 | $111,744 |
| 3 | Mark "AceSpades11" Radoja | Canada | $52,240 | $10,000 | $62,240 |
| 4 | Eelis "EEE27" Pärssinen | Finland | $39,127 | $15,625 | $54,752 |
| 5 | "v0I<u" | Germany | $29,306 | $30,625 | $59,931 |
| 6 | Samuel "€urop€an" Vousden | Finland | $21,951 | $16,875 | $38,826 |
| 7 | Conor "1_conor_b_1" Beresford | United Kingdom | $16,441 | $13,750 | $30,191 |
| 8 | Sam "Str8$$$Homey" Greenwood | Canada | $12,314 | $10,000 | $22,314 |
| 9 | Lucio "WizardOffAz" Lima | Brazil | $10,756 | $3,750 | $14,506 |
Final Table Action
Although Shakerchi started at the short stack, he chipped up early and won a key race against Lucio "WizardOffAz" Lima, which led to the Brazilian Lima making his exit in ninth soon after.
Sam "Str8$$$Homey" Greenwood was the next one gone after Watson turned trips against him, and Conor "1_conor_b_1" Beresford found his way out of the tournament seventh after losing a couple of hands, including one where Samuel "€urop€an" Vousden turned a set on him to take his bounty.
Vousden was hoping to win another EPT Online Trophy after winning one just a couple of days ago, but that dream ended after he ran his pocket tens into Watson’s pocket rockets. Soon after, "v0I<u" got the rest of his chips in against Shakerchai and wasn’t able to improve his dominated hand, ending his run in fifth place.
Eelis "EEE27" Pärssinen hit the rail next when got his pocket eights in against Shakerchi’s ladies, ended the Finn's run in fourth place. Mark "AceSpades11" Radoja then found himself in a classic flip, holding ace-king against Shakerchi’s queens, but Shakerchi held and the heads-up matchup was set.
Heads-Up Play
When heads-up play began, Shakerchi held 10.5 million chips against Watson’s 6.7 million. Soon, the stacks were even, but Shakerchi then won a series of hands to take a big lead. After that, Watson doubled to stay alive and took the lead for himself after a bit.
The two players continued to trade chips before all of Shakerchi’s chips went into the pot on the river. He was at risk, but showed trip deuces against Watson’s pocket aces to take another huge lead of over 7:1. That lead didn’t last long though and Watson climbed his way back to even stacks before taking the lead again.
The turning point occurred when Shakerchi called Watson’s river bluff on a missed draw. Shakerchi showed top two pair to hold the majority of the chips, and this time he wouldn’t let the lead go. He whittled down Watson’s stack and eventually had Watson at risk for his last ten big blinds. Shakerchi held ace-jack against queen-deuce and locked up the title after turning trip aces, completing his final table comeback and putting him on the receiving end of a shiny EPT Online Trophy and $212,995 in total winnings.
This concludes the PokerNews coverage for this event in the 2021 PokerStars EPT Online. Stay tuned as PokerNews returns to bring you coverage of Day 1 of Event #22: $5,200 NLHE [8-Max, Super High Roller], $500k Gtd - Trophy Event #12 on Thursday, December 16th.