May 14-18
Final table finishes at Cherokee for Hamid Izadi before his first home casino WSOPC Circuit win.
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1ST
Hamid Izadi
$332,405
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2ND
Louis George
$221,559
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3RD
Lou Ojeda
$156,736
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4TH
Konstantin Shukhman
$112,495
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5TH
Thomas Beckstead
$91,936
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6TH
Nathan Dunlop
$60,575
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7TH
Jack Nathan
$45,465
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8TH
Jeremiah Fitzpatrick
$34,652
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9TH
Tongzhou Sun
$26,827
Hamid Izadi is easily one of the most accomplished players on the World Series of Poker Circuit, with a resume that includes nine Circuit Rings and two WSOPC Main Event victories before today.
But a win at Harrah’s Cherokee, Izadi’s home Casino, still eluded him, despite his success at other Circuits.
Today, Izadi not only claimed his first Circuit victory at his home casino – he did it on the biggest stage of the series, beating 1,489 entries in the WSOPC Cherokee Main Event for his third WSOPC Main Event title and tenth ring overall.
“This was very important to me. Even though I won the Main Event before, Cherokee was always important for me,” Izadi said after the win.
“First of all, it’s my home casino, my backyard. Second, it’s the largest stop on the Circuit. Third, I’ve never won a ring here. I’ve won rings everywhere else, but not in Cherokee. This feels great. I’m amazingly happy.”
Long time coming
The win at Cherokee was a long time coming for Izadi, whose first cash at the venue came over ten years ago in 2014.
“I’ve been coming every time, for all 12 days. This is the only one; all other Circuit Stops, I go for just the Main Event. Cherokee, I’ve had at least nine runner-ups and a bunch of final tables, but I’ve never closed it.”
Izadi’s Main Event victory is not the only six-figure score he’s had in the past month. Just a couple of weeks ago, he also took down the $1,110 MSPT Main Event in Milwaukee, earning $219,654.
“When I got to that final table, I had 60% of the chips in play. I applied pressure to everybody, and it worked out very well. That one I finished in 45 minutes; this one took a little longer.”
Izadi started Day 3 as one of the shorter stacks after suffering several bad beats the previous day, but he was able to rally early on. After eliminating Sanjay Gehi on the final table bubble, he was third in chips to start the final table.
“I started (Day 2) very bumpy. I lost ace-jack to ace-three, pocket tens to king-ten, queens to pocket fours. Before I know it, I’m one of the shortest stacks left. I had nine and a half big blinds. My son Ash said ‘Dad, you’ve been here before. You won the last one with eight big blinds.’”
“My family’s very supportive. I’m really blessed in life. I have a great family. Especially my wife supporting me. Imagine I’m married, but every week I’m somewhere playing. So if I didn’t have support from my wife, I couldn’t easily go play everywhere. I really love her and my family.”
Izadi instantly seized control of the final table in the first hand of play, winning a flip to send out John Gallaher to take the chip lead, which he held for nearly the entire final table.
“When we got to the final table, I completely changed my strategy,” Izadi explained. “I tried to apply pressure on middle stacks, especially as chip leader. I try to pick up as many pots as I can without showdown. I think that’s my specialty at final tables.”
Pulling away
Izadi started pulling away from the other two big stacks at the table, Nathan Dunlop and Louis George, after making a gutsy hero call against Dunlop. Izadi called three streets with just a pair of fours against Dunlop’s ace-high bluff to significantly extend his lead.
From there, Izadi scored the next three eliminations, sending out Jack Nathan, Dunlop, and Thomas Beckstead to hold over half the chips in play with four players left.
Following the eliminations of Konstantin Shukhman and Lou Ojeda in fourth and third, respectively, Izadi had roughly a 2.5:1 lead against George going into heads-up play. For a moment, it looked like Izadi would have to settle for another close call at Cherokee, with George winning all of the big pots in the early goings.
George briefly took the lead in a two-pair over two-pair cooler, marking the first time Izadi had lost the lead since the final nine.
George’s chip lead was short-lived, with Izadi taking it right back after a big river raise produced a fold from George. From there, Izadi whittled George back down until Izadi once again had him 2:1.
The final hand saw George three-bet shove with ace-three, and Izadi called with pocket eights – the same hand that won him the WSOPC Main Event in Southern Indiana last September. The flop gave George a massive combo draw with a flush draw and double-gutshot, but Izadi faded roughly half the deck to win the final hand of the tournament.
