Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort recently hosted the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) in North Carolina. The 17-event series' centerpiece was a $1,700 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em Main Event that took place between August 12 and August 15, 2022. It attracted 1,558 entrants who formed an over $2.3 million prize pool that the top 233 players shared.
Brett Bader remained after the first two starting flights and two days of intense action. The Coconut Creek, Florida resident won $363,104 and his third WSOP Circuit gold ring.
He won his first ring in 2016 after winning a $1,125 buy-in tournament at Palm Beach Kennel Club. The poker pro won his second ring in 2017 after winning a $365 buy-in event at Harrah's New Orleans.
The Hendon Mob indicates that Bader has over $1.5 million in poker tournament earnings. Most of the earnings are from WSOP tournaments.
Still, the player amassed 1,080 Card Player Player of the Year (POY) points after winning the recent event. It was the first POY-qualified score this year and it has improved his position in the 2022 POY standings to the top 300 players.
Several notable players joined him in the tournament. They included Asher Connif (latest WSOP Main Event 10th finisher and World Poker Tour winner), Brian Altman (bracelet champion and three-time WPT winner), Stephen Song (three-time ring champion and bracelet champion), David Moses (two-time ring champion), and Aditya Prasetyo (three-time ring champion).
The Final Table's POY Points and Payouts
- Brett Badde-1080 points and $364,104
- Matthew Wantman-$900 points and $225,047
- Amir Atabaki-720 points and $170,095
- Thong Ho-540 points and $129,670
- David Dowdy-450 points and $99,714
- Jeffrey Trudeau-360 points and $77,351
- Bryan Emory-270 points and $60,535
- David Moses-180 points and $47,799
- Christopher Meyers-90 points and $38,083
Action on the Final Day
Jeffrey Trudeau, a ten-time ring champion, lost several instances to win his second 11th tour title and finished sixth with $77,351. David Dowdy's A-10 cracked his pocket kings.
Dowdy's pocket aces later had a commanding lead over Thong Ho's pocket kings. The latter's stack had less than one big blind but he made an unprecedented comeback that helped him last longer than Dowdy.
Bader made a straight on a low board to double up over Dowdy's overpair of eights. The former picked pocket queens facing the latter's four-bet bluff shove and doubled again.
Yet, Dowdy put his remaining chips in using K-Q suited as he trailed Bader's A-Q. The latter made an ace-high straight that sent Dowdy packing with $99,714 after finishing fourth.
Bader's Victory
A pre-flop coin flip abruptly ended Ho's comeback as his pocket nines faced Matthew Wantman's A-K suited. The latter won a pot using a pair of aces and eliminated Ho in third place with $129,670.
Amir Atabaki went all-in several minutes later using an A-10 that faced Bader's A-Q. They made aces on the river and Bader's kicker won a pot and ended Atabaki's run in third place with $170,095.
The heads-up action started when Bader had a 2:1 stack lead. Even so, Wantman narrowed the gap and overtook the chip lead when he used a triple barrel bluff to win a big pot. Bader used trip kings to double up and regain the lead.
He used the 6Spade Suit6Heart Suit to min-raise on the button in the final hand while Wantman used 5Club Suit3Spade Suit to defend a big blind. The flop turned 7Heart Suit7Diamond Suit3Club Suit and Wantman opted to check-call Bader's 1,200,000 continuation bet. 4Spade Suit appeared on the deck and Wantman had a 1,600,000 lead before Bader called.
The former got a seven-high straight from the 6Diamond Suit and he wagered 8,000,000. Bader used a rivered full house to raise all-in and things turned against Wantman when he called. He finished as a runner-up and took home $225,047 thus increasing his poker tournament earnings to over $3.6 million.
