Austin Peck wasted little time in moving all in, getting a snap call from Michael Simhai. With Peck the player at risk, the two flipped their cards.
Austin Peck:
Michael Simhai:
With Peck well behind and on the brink of elimination, the board came , offering no help to Peck. Simhai's aces had held, sending Peck to the rail in 7th place for a cash of $38,455. Meanwhile, Simhai scooped the pot and entered the chip lead.
Roongsak Griffeth opened with an all in for 970,000 from early position. Anant Patel went all in himself from late position for 2,340,000.
The rest of the table folded and hands were turned over.
Roongsak Griffeth:
Anant Patel:
The board was bad for Griffeth when the came out, giving Patel top set. The turn and river made it official and Griffeth was eliminated.
"First pair I've had all day," noted Patel. This one sent about a million chips in his direction and one stop closer to the bracelet.
Anant Patel opened to 250,000 in middle position before Timothy McDermott moved all in for about 600,000 in position. Patel made the call and cards were tabled.
Ravi Raghavan opened to 300,000 from the button and Michael Simhai made the call in the small blind. Anant Patel moved all in from the big blind for 1,875,000. Raghavan folded, but after some thought, Simhai made the call.
Patel:
Simhai:
The board came to give Patel the best hand and secure him the full double.
Michael Simhai opened to 1,200,000 from the cutoff. Action folded to Ravi Raghavan who moved all in for about 2,100,000. Simhai made the call and cards were on their backs.
Ravi Raghavan:
Michael Simhai:
At risk, Raghavan saw the board run out , and he couldn't improve. Simhai added to his stack and Raghavan was eliminated.
Anant Patel moved all in from the button for 3,500,000. David Dowdy decided to make the call from the small blind. Patel at risk, cards were turned over.
Anant Patel:
David Dowdy:
Patel found a flop of dreams when the hit the board. The turn and river ended the hand and Patel locked up the full double.
"Good luck," David Dowdy wished Michael Simhai as the pair began heads-up play.
"You too. I'm glad it's you and nobody else at this table" Simhai told him, "seriously."
Just a few hands later, Dowdy moved all in. Simhai knew he had a difficult decision to make. He initially had a big grin on his face, before letting out an exasperated "oh god." He leaned back in his seat, stretching his arms. He knocked over his drink on the table beside him, picked it up, and took a sip. "I gotta get rid of you but I don't want to double you up."
After a brief moment, Simhai made the call.
David Dowdy:
Michael Simhai:
Simhai was behind, but had an overcard. The flop came , providing no help to Simhai. The turn changed nothing as well. Then, the arrived on the river, pairing the board for a second time, counterfeiting Dowdy's pocket sevens. Simhai's ace kicker played, giving him the pot, and sending Dowdy to the rail in second place, where he'll take home a cash of $148,618.
The two shook hands and embraced following the conclusion of the tournament.
At the end of three days of play, Michael Simhai was the last man standing in the 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Event #27: Shootout No-Limit Hold'em. The event hit the 1,000-player cap and Simhai won his table three consecutive days to take home a $240,480 first-place prize.
Simhai, who lives in Beverly Hills, California, took home his maiden gold bracelet for his impressive performance. His previous best live cash was $99,271 according to The Hendon Mob.
Throughout the tournament, Simhai played fast, made quick decisions, and put his opponents in tough spots. Playing a shootout format, Simhai had to beat the nine opponents with whom he shared the table to survive and advance each day. His fast decision-making and aggressive betting kept his opponents on their toes.
Event #27: $1,500 Shoutout NLH Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
Michael Simhai
United States
$240,480
2
David Dowdy
United States
$148,618
3
Anant Patel
United States
$111,226
4
Ravi Raghavan
United States
$84,047
5
Timothy McDermott
United States
$64,129
6
Roongsak Griffith
United States
$49,414
7
Austin Peck
United States
$38,455
8
David Yonnotti
United States
$30,227
9
Kevin Song
United States
$24,001
10
Derek Sudell
United States
$19,253
Key Moments
On Day 2, Simhai found himself locked in a long heads-up battle with Ryan Ramsdell. The two players battled back and forth over small pots until a massive cooler would settle the match. Ramsdell had pocket kings against Simhai's ace-queen. All in preflop, Simhai found an ace on the river to propel him to the final table.
It was there during three-handed play that Simhai called a raise from Anant Patel. Patel flopped top pair on the jack-high board, but Simhai flopped two pair that held up for a massive pot.
David "The Assassin" Dowdy found himself heads up with Simhai at the end of the day. Dowdy started the final table hot, eliminating Derek Sudell when he ran ace-king into Dowdy's aces. Dowdy amassed a large stack early that carried him down to three-handed play neck-and-neck with Simhai. He stumbled when he doubled up Patel and went into heads-up play as a 4:1 underdog.
"He's the nicest guy, one of the nicest guys I've ever played against in a poker room," Simhai said about Dowdy. "I kind of feel bad."
Much like the gracious winner, the final table was full of goodwill among the players. Simhai would often show his hands and other players were returning the favor.