November 5-10
The number of hands dealt at the WPT Venetian Fall Championship final table.
- 1STCraig Mason$358,800
- 2NDMatt Affleck$301,000
- 3RDDaniyal Gheba$276,000
- 4THNick Pupillo$155,000
- 5TH
Nick Yunis$117,000 - 6THAnthony Piacquadio$88,000
The World Poker Tour (WPT) Venetian Fall Championship concluded on Tuesday as the final six competitors took to the felt to crown a champion.
When play began, Nick Pupillo held the chip lead, comfortably ahead of Daniyal Gheba in second.
Nick Yunis and Matt Affleck were in the middle of the pack while Craig Mason and Anthony Piacquadio started as the short stacks.
After roughly eight hours of intense play, Mason emerged as the victor, having eliminated all five of his opponents at the final table.
The final table finishers in the WPT Venetian Fall Championship (clockwise from back left: Matt Affleck, Craig Mason, Nick Yunis, Nick Pupillo, Anthony Piacquadio, Daniyal Gheba). Piacquadio and Yunis exit early
Piacquadio was the first eliminated. After starting the final table with the shortest stack in play, Piacquadio sent the last of his chips into the middle with 
when facing a raise from Mason.
It was an easy call for Mason with 
and the 
flop saw both players make strong hands – but Piacquadio still needed help to stay alive.
The 
turn and river changed nothing for either player and Mason dragged in the pot with his full house while Piacquadio was sent to the rail.
Yunis went out next, committing the majority of his chips with 
in the face of a raise from Mason. It was another easy call for him with and the 
runout sealed Yunis' fate.
Mason takes out the rest
Despite starting with the chip lead, Pupillo struggled to pick up meaningful pots and slipped down into the danger zone. In a blind versus blind clash, he called off his last ten or so big blinds with 
when Mason moved all-in from the small blind.
Pupillo had the best of it against his opponent's 
, but the 
runout favored Mason and his run came to an end in fourth place.
Craig Mason eliminated all five of his opponents at the WPT Venetian Fall Championship final table. When play reached three-handed, Mason was in the driver's seat – with roughly double the chips of either of his remaining opponents.
Within just a few hands, however, the stacks evened out and the players took a break to discuss flattening the remaining payouts – coming to an agreement after a few minutes.
Despite the deal, three-handed play continued on for another two hours. Eventually, it was Gheba who went out in third place, following a string of hands that didn't go his way.
In the last, he moved all-in from the button with . Mason called from the big blind with 
and the 
runout saw Gheba's run come to an end.
When heads-up play began, Mason held a sizable chip lead – with 40 big blinds to Affleck's 24.
The Seattle, Washington native wasn't going down without a fight, though, as he battled back to steal away the chip lead in the early goings of the match.
Mason managed to claw back his advantage, however, and closed out the win shortly after.
Images courtesy of World Poker Tour.
