Wednesday, December 11, 2024

22-Year-Old Wins $261K Ahead of WPT Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Championship



The World Poker Tour (WPT) is back at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida for the 2024 WPT Seminole Rock ‘n’ Roll Open festival that got underway on Nov. 20 and runs through Dec. 4.

The festival includes a $3,500 buy-in Championship Event with a $3 million guarantee from Nov. 29-Dec. 4, during which PokerNews will be on-site producing content.

The festival has already named more than a dozen winners across events that have already generated over $3.5 million in prize money. While some picked up their first trophies, many longtime grinders added to their collections of guitar pick trophies, including Matt Bretzfield, who won his tenth title, and Phil Hui, who won his ninth.

Read About Last Year’s RRPO!

Matt Bretzfield
Matt Bretzfield won his tenth SHR trophy

$400 Monster Stack Prize Pool Crosses $2 Million

The series kicked off with Event #1: $400 Deep Stack NLH, which drew a massive field of 6,480 for a prize pool of $2.1 million. New York’s Eric Yanovsky defeated Omar Morillo to win $261,920, a career-best for the young grinder.

“It feels pretty surreal,” Yanovsky told Seminole reporters. “I’m 22, but poker has been tough. I’ve had my ups and downs, but this is the high point, and I hope it keeps going up from here.”

Other players who went deep in the opening event include Jessica Cai (5th – $75,000), best known for her early chip lead in the 2021 WSOP Main Event, and 16-time Circuit ring winner Maurice Hawkins.

Later in the series, Phil Hui topped a field of 55 players in Event #5: $600 Eight-Game Mix to win $9,000, a fitting number as he also won his ninth trophy. Not long after, Matt Bretzfield shipped Event #13: $400 Deep Stack to win $27,010 and his tenth title.

Phil Hui
Phil Hui

Others to claim guitar pick trophies include Jaroslaw Osinski (Event #2: $600 Seniors NLH – $19,360), Grant Wang (Event #6: $1,100 Five-Card PLO – $24,602), Ryan Hoenig (Event #17: $600 Triple Stud – $9,270) and Vu Dang (Event #18: $600 Big O – $16,150).

Previous Winner

Istvan Briski
Istvan Briski

The previous RRPO Championship drew 1,447 entries for a prize pool of $4.6 million as Hungary’s Istvan Briski won $647,300 and a spot on the Mike Sexton Cup after a heads-up deal with Rayan Chamas, who earned $600,000.

WPT Seminole RRPO Final Table Results

Rank Player Country Prize
1 Istvan Briski Hungary $647,300*
2 Rayan Chamas Lebanon $600,000*
3 Sandy Sanchez United States $366,500
4 Fred Goldberg United States $274,000
5 Matt Bond United States $206,900
6 Darryll Fish United States $157,800

*Denotes heads-up deal.

There have big other big highlights at Seminole Hard Rock. Earlier this year, Josh Reichard defeated Landon Tice and Jesse Lonis to win the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship for $839,300.

In January, South Florida crusher Raminder Singh took down the $3,500 LHPO No-Limit Hold’em Championship for $486,353 and another trophy for his mantle. Singh appeared on the Life Outside Poker podcast earlier this year and discussed his LHPO win and many victories at Seminole Hard Rock.

A full list of winners so far at the WPT Seminole Rock ‘n’ Roll Open is available in the table below.

2024 WPT Seminole Rock ‘n’ Roll Open Winners So Far

EVENT ENTRANTS PRIZE POOL WINNER PRIZE (IN USD)
Event #1: $400 Deep Stack NLH 6,480 $2,138,400 Eric Yanovsky $261,920
Event #2: $600 Seniors NLH 174 $90,480 Jaroslaw Osinski $19,360
Event #3: $600 Deep Stack Big O 122 $63,440 Amarjit Lail $16,080
Event #4: $300 Quad Stack Double Green Chip Bounty 153 $30,600 David Oshry $6,915
Event #5: $600 Eight-Game Mix 55 $28,600 Phil Hui $9,000
Event #6: $1,100 Five-Card PLO 103 $99,910 Grant Wang $24,602
Event #7: $200 Big Stack NLH 299 $47,840 Yang Lu $10,508
Event #8: $400 Turbo PLO 117 $39,780 Ryan Ricci $11,735
Event #9: $600 Limit Omaha 8 69 $35,880 Robert Poolos $12,560
Event #10: $600 Double Black Chip Bounty NLH 191 $61,120 Shawn Dees $13,221
Event #11: $600 Black Chip Bounty Five-Card PLO 128 $53,760 Ethan Bennett $13,000
Event #12: $600 PLO 8 97 $50,440 Long Nguyen $15,375
Event #13: $400 Deep Stack 686 $226,380 Matt Bretzfield $27,010
Event #14: $600 Six-Max PLO 139 $72,280 Elliot Kampen $19,595
Event #15: $1,100 Triple Stack NLH 425 $412,250 TBD TBD
Event #16: $400 Turbo NLH 114 $38,760 Rajesekar Govindan $11,435
Event #17: $600 Triple Stud 48 $24,960 Ryan Hoenig $9,270
Event #18: $600 Big O 102 $50,040 Vu Dang $16,150
Event #19: $200 Big Stack NLH TBD TBD TBD TBD
Event #20: $400 Black Chip Bounty Turbo NLH 120 $28,800 David Yue $8,485

*Photos courtesy Seminole Hard Rock

author
Connor Richards
Editor & Live Reporter U.S.

Connor Richards is an Editor & Live Reporter for PokerNews and host of the Life Outside Poker podcast. Connor has been nominated for two Global Poker Awards for his writing.





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