The PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Las Vegas had its $550 Mystery Bounty event where the top player who managed to be the last one standing on the final table took home the first-place prize of $46,800.
The lucky winner was Croatian poker player Gregor Sverko. He has been competing in various US tournaments, and his latest trip to the U.S. ends up with a huge win. Sverko bagged the first-place prize of $46,800, along with $19,500 in bounties.
Meanwhile, England’s Daniel Samson finished in second place and took home $28,800 after a thrilling back-and-forth heads-up battle against Sverko.
Who Were the Participants in the NAPT $550 Mystery Bounty Final Table?
| Place | Player | Prize | Bounty | Total Winnings |
| 1 | Gregor Sverko | $46,800 | $19,500 | $66,300 |
| 2 | Daniel Samson | $28,800 | $8,500 | $37,300 |
| 3 | Shyamsundar Challa | $20,530 | $5,000 | $25,530 |
| 4 | Chanelle Morimatsu | $15,800 | $2,000 | $17,800 |
| 5 | Alexandro Tricarico | $12,180 | $3,000 | $15,180 |
| 6 | Chris Johnston | $9,420 | $2,000 | $11,420 |
| 7 | Victor Paredes | $7,280 | $4,000 | $11,280 |
| 8 | Eric Siegel | $5,640 | $500 | $6,140 |
| 9 | Chin Chia Hsu | $4,330 | $500 | $4,830 |
The final table of the $550 Mystery Bounty event had competitors from North America, Europe and Asia – Chin Chia Hsu from Taiwan, Eric Siegel, Victor Paredes, Chris Johnston, Chanelle Morimatsu, and Shyamsundar Challa from the US, Alexandro Tricarico from Belgium, Daniel Samson from the United Kingdom, and Gregor Sverko from Croatia.
Chin Chia Hsu was the first one to bow out of the final table with four big blinds; Shyamsundar Challa claimed his bounty. Eric Siegel was next to exit after his ace-jack hand was called by Johnston’s ace-nine, but Johnston flopped trips.
After a couple of hands, Victor Paredes bows out at 7th place after Sverko picked up aces to get the elimination. Afterwards, Chanelle Morimatsu got the chip lead when she doubled up off Johnston for 3,675,000 with two-pair. The 6th player to exit was Johnston after he went for 2,000,000 with nine-eight and Challa called with an ace.
Following a big bluff play on Morimatsu, Samson moved into the chip lead before tangling with Tricarico in what proved to be a massive cooler. During the heads-up on the turn, Samson moved all in for 6,500,000 and Tricarico called with trip queens. Samson had an ace-queen hand and took the pot with his ace-kicker to send Tricarico packing in 5th place.
After Sverko’s miracle double up against Samson, he showed a full house holding two jacks to beat Morimatsu’s trip eights, eliminating her for a 4th place finish.
Meanwhile, Sverko also sent out Challa in 3rd place during a play where his ace-ten hand went up against Challa’s ace-six. Sverko took a 22,000,000 to 14,100,000 chip lead into heads-up.
The final two competitors, Samson and Sverko, next went toe-to-toe, where Samson took the chip lead with a big turn shove for 9,000,000. However, Sverko moved back in front after betting 5,000,000 on the river with a two-pair as Samson paid him off.
Samson then went all-in for 16,000,000 with ace-seven; Sverko called with ace-jack. The final flop saw a full house in favor of Sverko, knocking off Samson, and winning the event.
Sverko’s Reaction to his First Finals Win
When asked what he was feeling about his first NAPT Finals win, Sverko responded that it feels good. He also noted that this wasn’t the best year for him as far as online or live competition is concerned.
“I just ran good. Played pretty good, I think. Just won flips. That’s it,” he said. “I think I mostly had it. When the pot was big I just had it, so that’s the secret…And it’s my first trophy, my first live trophy, so I’m pretty happy about it,” added Sverko, whose career earnings following his win pushes him past $400,000.
