Tony Tran Makes Epic Comeback in the WPT Rolling Thunder to Win Title; Shankar Pillai Finishes 6th (₹33.43 Lakhs)

Tony Tran seems to have mastered the art of winning WPT titles even after entering the final table with the shortest stack. In October 2018, Tran had displayed exceptional poker skills at the WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble Main Event when he had bounced back from being one of the shortest stacks on the FT to clinch the title away from Jake Schwartz. 506 days later, Tran repeated that feat once again and denied Schwartz the WPT title for a second time at the WPT Rolling Thunder!

Here again, Tran had entered the final table with the shortest stack. Still, from there on out, he went on a rampage, eliminating Indian-origin player and two-time WSOP bracelet winner Shankar Pillai, defending champion Erkut Yilmaz, Kevin Rabichow and Robert Heidorn, before beating out Schwartz heads-up to capture his second WPT title for $279,270. Tran also received a $15,000 seat into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions presented by Baccarat Crystal, along with the WPT Champions Trophy. He will also get his name added to the one-and-only WPT Champions Cup for the second time.

“I feel really good that I’m actually a champion again,” Tran said after the win. “It just shows that the first one was not a fluke.”

“I don’t think it compares to the first one,” he further added. “But the second one is definitely good because I think there are only a few that actually have [at least two] WPT titles.”

Commencing on March 7, the WPT Rolling Thunder registered 250 entries leading to a prize pool collection of $1,162,500. The top 31 places were assured payouts.

Following Ed Miller’s elimination by Casey McCarrel on the money bubble, the notables who finished in the money included Charles Kassin (8th for $34,210), Adam Sutch (9th for $26,420), Tyler Patterson (10th for $26,420), Farid Jattin (11th for $20,920), Brett Murray (23rd for $10,715), Harrison Gimbel (24th for $10,715), Matas Cimbolas (25th for $9,720), Indian-origin Sandeep Pulusani (29th for $9,720) and Justin Liberto (30th for $9,720).

After Casey McCarrel bubbled the final table, finishing seventh for $34,210, the play was halted on Day 3, with the remaining six finalists, led by Kevin Rabichow returning on Day 4 to play down to a winner.

Final Table Chip Counts

1.Kevin Rabichow – 2,860,000

2.Erkut Yilmaz – 2,185,000

3.Robert Heidorn – 2,120,000

4.Jake Schwartz – 1,075,000

5.Shankar Pillai – 885,000

6.Tony Tran – 875,000

Final Table Recap

Indian-origin Shankar Pillai was one of the shorter stacks at the final table along with Tony Tran. While the latter managed to steadily build his stack, Pillai sadly could not do the same. After losing a pot to Robert Heidorn, Pillai pitted his against Tran’s . The board bricked, and Tran’s cowboys eliminated Pillai in sixth place for $45,390 (~₹33.43 Lakhs).

Thirty-three hands later, it was time for the defending champion Erkut Yilmaz to bid adieu to the final table. Yilmaz’s failed to catch up to Tran’s which bettered to a pair on the runout , eliminating the former in fifth place.

On the 125th hand, Kevin Rabichow jammed from the button for 1.17 Million with , and Tran called from the big blind, holding . The community cards saw Tran river a full house, ending Rabichow’s run in fourth-place.

Next to depart was Robert Heidorn when his were bested by Tran’s . The board offered no help to Heidorn, sending him to the rail in third place.

The heads-up play between Tony Tran (8,025,000) and Jake Schwartz (1,975,000), started with the former enjoying a considerable lead. The final showdown lasted for 27 hands before Tran was crowned the champion.

On the final hand, Tran raised to 250,000, and Schwartz shoved all-in for about 1.35 Million. Tran called, tabling and Schwartz turned over . The board gave Schwartz a pair of jacks, while Tran flopped a queen-high straight, ultimately winning his second WPT title and a top prize of $279,270!

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Tony Tran – $279,270*

2. Jake Schwartz – $177,680

3. Robert Heidorn – $122,105

4. Kevin Rabichow – $85,800

5. Erkut Yilmaz – $61,685

6. Shankar Pillai – $45,390

*includes $15,000 seat into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions presented by Baccarat Crystal

You can watch the final table action below.

Content & Images Courtesy: World Poker Tour