"KevinDurant" Wins WPT Online Poker Open $20K GTD for $6,485
Monday night's WPT Online Poker Open on the partypoker US Network featured a $215 buy-in, $20K GTD that exceeded its guaranteed prize pool by over 40% as 141 entries generated a total of $28,200 up for grabs. "KevinDurant" won the lion's share, besting the field en route to the top prize of $6,485 after just under seven full hours of play.
"KevinDurant" did not claim victory with ease, losing an early pot in the heads-up match to eventual runner-up Derek "pompii" Sudell that left them with less than one-eighth of the chips in play. A couple of doubles brought them back into contention before back-and-forth play occurred that left them a chip lead they would never relinquish.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | KevinDurant | $6,485 |
| 2 | Derek "pompii" Sudell | $4,512 |
| 3 | John "Slapshot1085" Forlenza | $3,243 |
| 4 | dadadada | $2,481 |
| 5 | Anthony "supremetny" Chin | $1,917 |
| 6 | RobertJordan | $1,424 |
| 7 | ndirish50 | $1,128 |
| 8 | Edsebo | $846 |
Tournament Recap
With starting stacks bumped up to 100,000, the tournament took over four hours for play to make it to the final three tables of 24 and make it into the money. One such player to fall just short of that feat was WPT Ambassador Tony "Bond18" Dunst, who shoved pocket deuces into pocket aces to finish in 28th place.
Once the bubble burst, less than one full level passed before eight more eliminations occurred to bring the field down to two tables. Three more levels then ensued before the final table was reached, with "KevinDurant" amassing momentum and taking the chip lead into the final table.
As the final table continued, players took turns with the chip lead as the number of remaining players continued to drop. It appeared at times as if Anthony "supremetny" Chin (5th place), John "Slapshot1085" Forlenza (3rd place), and Sudell all had chances to run away with the tournament in addition to "KevinDurant", but eventually the only two possible winners were "KevinDurant" and Sudell.
Heads-up play lasted for close to 30 minutes, spanning four levels as the two battled. Eventually, "KevinDurant" claimed the lead and continued to build. Not long after, victory and the accompanying top prize were theirs for the keeping.
PokerNews coverage of the WPT Online Poker Open on the partypoker US Network will continue Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. ET with the $535 buy-in $30k GTD 8-Max.