With a brand new structure and format, the Event#4: $300 PLO Deepstack Hyperturbo was bound to be electric from the start. That momentum kept up all the way to the final table as Benny Sarnelli bested the 69 player field. The tournament combined for a prize pool of $19,665.
While action slowed to a crawl with four players remaining, these players agreed to ICM chop leaving $200 and the trophy for the first place finisher. Each player received at least third place money with multiple getting at least the second place money. The average stack was 7 big blinds deep, and without the ICM implications, play was rapid.
Shortly after, Sarnelli took the chip lead back from Joseph Sylvain and never looked back. He won a race hitting an overpair to Sylvain’s small pocket pair in hand to take home his second PPT trophy.
| Position | Player | Prize (*Denotes Deal) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st |  Benny Sarnelli | $4528* |
| 2nd | Joseph Sylvain | $4262* |
| 3rd | Saleh Abouelkhair | $3679* |
| 4th | Stefan Maloney | $2944* |
| 5th | Tony Comely | $1,060 |
| 6th | Andrew Taylor | $705 |
| 7th | Bruce Drake | $530 |
Early Action
The tournament quickly gained a large field of 24 players shortly after the start time. Benjamin Bolton found the first early elimination flopping two pair and turning his opponent dead. Bruce Drake found another elimination in a set up hand. He flopped the nut flush against his opponent’s king high flush to send them out early.
Saleh Abouelkheir had the most interesting hand of the early stages having rivered the nut full house. He gladly shipped all in, and was called by Joseph Sylvain who flopped quad fives. With just under 30,000 chips, Abouelkheir found double after double to end up as the chip leader by the first break. He was miles ahead of the rest with 353,000. Andrew Taylor (217,000) and Sylvain (202,000) rounded out the podium.
Mid-Day Madness as Registration Closes
Bash Ramahi found success shortly after the end of registration. He got it all in against two opponents with two pairs. Both other players had a flush draw that Ramahi blocked. However, it didn’t matter as the turn gave Ramahi a full house to soar to the chip lead (436,000).
Ramahi continued his upward trajectory to gain 643,000 before the second break. Sarnelli sat as the runner up with 405,000, closely trailed by Peter Flyma (357,000), and Joseph Sylvain (353,000). Looking to close that gap, Sarnelli eliminated Leo Zhang to bring him to 579,000. Tony Comely also rocketed up the ladder as he won a flip to eliminate Kenny Gooding.
Final Table Fiasco
Bolton fell just short of the money as his kings couldn’t hold against Abouelkheir’s flush draw. The remaining players locked up at least $530 for their efforts. Bruce Drake was the first to fall in the money flopping set over set. Comely held the case eight in his hand making Drake a less than 1% underdog.
Stefan Maloney flopped top set shortly after against Andrew Taylor to send him home in 5th place. Play slowed to a snails pace as Tony Comely’s chip stack bounced around. He began five handed play as the chip leader.
Back-to-back hands led him to be short stacked where he found a massive win to 180,000. However, he moved into the big blind and had 20,000 left after paying the ante and blind. He called his remaining 20,000 after Maloney made a flush and couldn’t improve to hit the rail.
A Deal is Made and the Tournament Draws to a Close
With the average stack being just over 7 big blinds, chips were passed around every hand. Stefan Maloney suggested an ICM chop and the remaining players agreed. With the adjusted numbers, $200 was set aside for the eventual winner along with the trophy. Maloney busted shortly after jamming his short stack with A♦Q♥Q♠8♥. Sarnelli found the elimination with K♥J♦5♣4♥, on the 9♣5♥8♣K♣4♦ board.
Abouelkheir would be the next to fall. He jammed 9♦9♣7♣4♥ into Sarnelli’s kings. He flopped a flush draw for some hope, but couldn’t improve to be sent home in the bronze medal place. Sylvain found a double up early on in heads-up play finding a flush on the river. However, Sarnelli battled back to the chip lead.
Just when Sarnelli got his foot on the gas, Sylvain picked up aces to double against Sarnelli’s jacks. Shortly after, Sarnelli moved all in with three broadway cards in hand. Sylvain had the worse hand, and was super behind after Sarnelli flopped trips. He improved to a full house by the river to regain the chip lead.
The short stacked Sylvain moved all in with Q♦4♦4♠2♠, and was called by Sarnelli. His Q♥10♦9♠7♣ closed out the tournament as the board ran out 3♦K♠J♥7♦5♥. The four players gathered for a group photo and chopped the money, leaving Sarnelli to take a photo with the trophy.
