The Bicycle Hotel and Casino of California has played host to the World Series of Poker Circuit for the past few days with the $1,675 Main Event of the tour stop finishing up this past Tuesday. The event saw 705 players competing, which pushed the prize pool to a whopping $1,057,500. In the end, it was poker pro David Pham who earned the first-place prize and gold ring after defeating Tom Braband in heads-up play.
The tournament would last three days with the final day seeing 11 players returning to the felt hoping for the title win. Pham would get off to a rough start when he lost a good chunk of his chip stack to Scott Saunders. However, a short time later, the pro would earn back his chips when he put his pocket queens up against Saunders’ K-J. Saunders would be the first to go, leaving the event in 11th place.
Owen Crowe would hold the chip lead when 10 handed play began and would only extend his lead when the official final table of nine was named. Pham as well as Tom Braband were his closest competitors when reviewing chip counts.
In the end, Braband and Pham would stay alive to begin heads-up play later on in the day. Pham would be behind in chips, but only by a small percentage. Pham quickly gained the chip lead and would have a close to 2 to 1 chip advantage when the final hand took place.
On the last hand of the tournament, Pham would call an all-in by Braband and shut it down after his pocket 10s held up against his competitor’s pocket 3s. After the event was over, Pham spoke with WSOP officials, stating that he felt great and played comfortable, feeling like he can hang with the tough, young players now.
Final Results:
David Pham – $216,790
Tom Braband – $134,145
Owen Crowe – $98,390