Congratulations to Isaac Haxton, Winner of HRW 14: $10,300 Short Deck High Roller for $153,570!
The first and only Short Deck tournament has come to an end during High Rollers Week on GGPoker. A total of 34 registration buttons were clicked for HRW 14: $10,300 Short Deck High Roller and by the time the last chance saloon had closed for business, it was Isaac Haxton sitting atop the podium, pulling in $153,570 for his first-place finish.
Besting the final table was not an easy feat as he started in the middle of the pack and had to take down the likes of Amichai Barer and Stoyan Madanzhiev who at the time had a considerable lead. Haxton stuck around, picking optimal spots as he watched his competitors vanish.
The American found himself heads-up with Barer at a large disadvantage but instantly jumped back into contention. He took his momentum and cracked the aces of Barer to take the lead. A lead that he never gave back as he eliminated Barer shortly after, sending the Canadian home in second for a respectable $90,737.
Haxton sits among the ranks as one of the best in the world and it is no surprise to see him as the last man standing her in this event. He adds yet another six-figure cash to the already impressive resume that has him ranked 16th on the all-time money list with just under $28 million in cashes.
Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isaac Haxton | United States | $153,570 |
| 2 | Amichai Barer | Canada | $90,737 |
| 3 | Stoyan Madanzhiev | Bulgaria | $57,114 |
| 4 | "f__k unluck" | Russia | $35,950 |
| 5 | "BobbyAx" | United Kingdom | $22,629 |
Action of the Day
The only Short Deck tournament on the schedule didn't get the expected turnout but plenty of big names started off to take part. It was about eight levels before someone really started to catch wind under their sails and that player was none other than Haxton. The American doubled through "kall2222" early in the day with a set of snowmen and really showed no sign of slowing down until Dario Sammartino landed a river to cool-off Haxton's heater.
Just six levels later and the final table was set thanks to a late registration error. The tournament was scheduled to have 16 levels of late registration but as soon as the field dropped to six players it ended. It was about 45 minutes early and this caused a $160,000 overlay. The bubble was popped before GGPoker help noticed the bug and addressed the situation. Unfortunately for Vedat "Suckadeck" Ozfresko it was he who ended up as the inevitable bubble boy.
Ozfresko shoved with a pair of johnnies and Haxton called with big slick, putting Ozfresko at risk on the bubble. Haxton turned a cowboy to secure the pot and Ozfresko was eliminated on the bubble. Once the money was reached, GGPoker help paused the clock to fix the situation. It was agreed upon that the $160,000 overlay would be spread across all entries in the tournament and the final five would play for the remaining $340,000 prize pool.
"BobbyAx" was the first player to dip out with a payday when they called all in with ace-jack after a Madanzhiev shove with ace-queen. The board came down dry and Madanzhiev scooped the pot, eliminating "BobbyAx" in fifth place. "f__k unluck" moved their short stack into the pot right after the fifth-place elimination with ace-queen and Barer called holding ace-six. The flop was clean but a six on the turn scooped the pot for Barer, sending "f__k unluck" out in fourth place.
Three-handed play began with Haxton sitting at the bottom by a large margin but within hands, the two bigger stacks collided. Madanzhiev limped from the cutoff and Barer shoved with jack-ten of clubs. Madanzhiev snap-called, holding ace-queen of clubs and the flop rolled out in Madanzhiev's favor as both missed. An unfortunate card peeled off on the turn for Madanzhiev when a jack landed on the virtual felt, giving Barer the lead. A brick river cemented the pot for Barer who then took a monster lead into heads-up play.
Barer had a monster lead when heads-up began but Haxton quickly drew first blood, almost completely evening out the playing field when he rivered a flush and Barer called his shove with a boat. Just hands after Haxton cracked the aces of Barer, leaving the Canadian short. Barer pushed in his remaining stack with king-jack, only to run into the king-queen of Haxton and the board changed not a thing as Barer was sent packing, taking home a respectable $90,737 for his efforts.
That wraps it up for the PokerNews live coverage of this event, but tune in throughout the week for all of the High Rollers Week action.