Darren Elias ’ quest for a fifth World Poker Tour title came up just short this week when two final tables played out in Las Vegas , filmed for television at HyperX Esports Arena.
The action saw two new players ascend to the top of the WPT with Mark Davis , of Birmingham, Alabama, denying Elias a chance to add to his tour record of four wins on Wednesday. “This is huge,” Davis told WPT.com after the win. “This is about as big as you can get outside of a couple other tournaments [in the world].” In other action, Chance Kornuth added the first WPT title of his career. The longtime pro and poker coach took down the WPT Choctaw, earning $486,600 . Davis conquers WPT leader Elias
Elias held the chip lead when action resumed in the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown. The event offered a $1 million payday for the winner after attracting 2,010 entries for a $6.4 million prize pool in April.
Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, Davis (pictured in lead image) entered second in chips and came into the tournament with some momentum. In February he took down a World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event in North Carolina for $334,678 .
At one point at the final table, Elias held 54% of the chips in place, but Davis kept grabbing pots. Elias, a BetMGM Poker ambassador, entered heads-up play with almost a 3-2 chip advantage.
At one point, Elias extended that after raking a huge pot with pocket Queens . However, Davis fought back and continued finding nice hands and key calls late as the two traded leads.
The final hand saw Elias facing a large chip deficit and get all his chips in on the turn with an open-end straight draw. Davis made the call with two pair and the title was his. “I feel like my style is very conducive to tournament poker ,” Davis said. “I feel like I’m a very tough out, and everything’s just clicked this year.” The runner-up scored $660,000 , and Davis was complimentary of his opponent.
“I need to explain to you […]
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