Fedor Holz Wins WPT Alpha8 Las Vegas for $1,589,219; Daniel Negreanu Takes Third
A day after Kevin "1sickdisease" Eyster topped a field of 639 entrants to win the World Poker Tour Five Diamond World Poker Classic, Fedor "CrownUpGuy" Holz outlasted 44 other entrants to win the WPT $100,000 Alpha8 Las Vegas for $1,589,219, a Hublot watch, and an Aurae solid gold Matercard preloaded with $10,000.
Prior to the win, Holz, who also took 30th in the WPT Five Diamond Main Event for $31,611, had more than $2.2 million in live earnings, with his biggest cash being $372,208 for a seventh-place finish in the EPT11 Grand Final Super High Roller. However, Holz has won much more than that, specifically when he took down the 2014 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event for $1.3 million.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fedor Holz | $1,589,219 |
| 2 | Nick Petrangelo | $1,015,335 |
| 3 | Daniel Negreanu | $640,103 |
| 4 | Sean Winter | $441,450 |
| 5 | Ankush Mandavia | $309,015 |
| 6 | Kathy Lehne | $242,798 |
| 7 | Keith Tilston | $176,580 |
According to updates from the event, eight players returned to the final day of action with Holz holding nearly 40% of the chips in play. With only seven slated to get paid, the money bubble was in effect, and Holz was the man to burst it.
It happened in Level 18 (25,000/50,000/5,000) on Hand #37 of the final table when Holz raised to 120,000 from the hijack and then called when David Peters three-bet all in for 345,000.
Peters: A♥J♥
Holz: A♠K♦
The K♥Q♥3♣ flop made things interesting by giving Peters a royal flush draw, but neither the J♣ turn nor 7♠ river helped him. Peters exited empty handed in eighth place, thus securing the remaining seven players a minimum $176,580 payday.
Daniel Negreanu then eliminated Keith Tilston in seventh place when his pocket eights got lucky to crack Tolston's jacks — the result of the board running out A♥8♠5♦7♥9♥ – and from there Kathy Lehne and Ankush Mandavia joined him on the rail in sixth and fifth place respectively.
From there it became the Nick Petrangelo show as he progressively chipped up, including a double through Negreanu when his pocket eights held against "Kid Poker's" pocket sixes. On Hand #79, Petrangelo sent Sean Winter to the rail in fourth place when his pocket sevens held against Winter's A♣10♠, and just four hands later he finished off Negreanu.
It happened in Level 19 (30,000/60,000/5,000) when Negreanu moved all in for 655,000 from the small blind holding the K♦3♠ and Petrangelo called from the big with the Q♦J♥. The J♠9♣4♠ flop gave Petrangelo the lead, and he held onto it as the Q♣ appeared on the turn followed by the 6♠ on the river. Negreanu took home $640,103 for his third-place finish, his largest open-tournament cash of 2015.
Holz took a more than 2-1 chip lead into heads-up play against Petrangelo, and it'd take just 23 hands for him to seal the deal. On Hand #106 of the final table, Holz limped and then called when Petrangelo shoved for 3.6 million.
Holz: 5♠5♣
Petrangelo: A♦Q♠
It was a flip, but Petrangelo needed to improve to stay alive. He failed to do so on the J♣3♠2♦ flop, and the 4♣ turn wasn't much help, though it did give him a wheel draw. The dealer burned one last time and put out the 9♠ river. Petrangelo missed and had to settle for runner-up and a $1,015,335 consolation prize.
The WPT will return on January 31 with the Borgata Winter Poker Open. There are currently no other Alpha8 events scheduled.
*Lead photo courtesy of WPT.
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