The WSOP Circuit Grand Victoria Main Event in Illinois concluded today after the final day of play saw five remaining hopefuls return to battle for the top prize. In the end, Kevin Andriamahefa rose above the rest to claim the $173,593 first place cash and the WSOP Circuit gold ring.
An action-packed Day 2 saw the 73 player field whittled down to just the final five combatants. Andriamahefa entered the final frame with 10,090,000 in chips - good for the lead. David Kowal started second in the chip counts with 6,860,000, followed closely by Daniel Aloia in third with 4,100,000. Brett Reichard - the only Circuit ring winner at the table - came in sitting fourth in the counts with 2,495,000 and Sye Hickey rounded out the table on a short stack of just 705,000.
The final five battle it out
Despite finding an early double, Hickey would bow out in fifth place. A raise from the chip leader Andriamahefa on the button presented Hickey with the perfect opportunity to shove over the top with 
. Andriamahefa, with plenty of chips to gamble, made the call with 
. The board ran out 
- pairing Andriamahefa on the river to eliminate the short-stacked Hickey.
Andriamahefa scored the following knockout as well. In a blind vs. blind confrontation, the chip leader moved all-in from the small blind. Aloia made the call in the big blind and the cards were flipped on their backs.
Andriamahefa's 
held the lead against his opponent's 
and the board ran out 
- safe for the chip leader and sufficient to eliminate Aloia from the tournament.
In an all-too-familiar sequence of events, Andriamahefa moved all-in from the small blind. Reichard took a moment to consider his options before making the call with 
. He found himself behind, up against Andriamahefa's 
, prompting his fan section on the rail to call for paint.
The flop came down 
- providing Reichard with a gut-shot straight draw to go along with his pair outs. The turn brought no help and the river 
completed the board, leaving Andriamahefa with the winning hand and ending Reichard's run in third place.
Andriamahefa vs. Kowal, heads-up for the ring
Following his eliminations of Hickey, Aloia, and Reichard, Andriamahefa took a commanding chip lead into the heads-up frame of play against Kowal. Both players had already secured career-high cashes, but the added prize money, along with the ring and the glory, compelled the two to battle it out.
Kowal started strong, winning small to medium sized pots and cobbling up a stack to threaten Andriamahefa's chip lead. Then, he won a sizable pot with a flopped second pair and, in doing so, wrestled the lead away from his opponent. From there, he put the pressure on and widened the gulf in stack sizes even further.
Andriamahefa wasn't giving up without a fight, however, and took down two massive pots to turn the tides back in his favor. The first came on a board reading 
- Andriamahefa had bet the turn and then moved all-in on the river. Kowal made the call, showing 
for trips, only to see the bad news as his opponent tabled 
to scoop the pot.
The second key hand saw Kowal raise from the small blind before Andriamahefa put in the three-bet, which Kowal called. On the 
flop, Kowal elected to lead out and his opponent made the call. The turn 
saw both players check and brought in the river 
. Kowal checked to Andriamehefa who put in a meaty bet, sending Kowal into the tank. "Do you always have it?" he lamented, as he tossed in calling chips. Andriamahefa tabled 
for two pair and Kowal mucked his cards.
Kowal managed to hang around on the short stack before committing the rest of his chips with 
. Andriamahefa made the call with 
to put Kowal at risk. The board ran out 
, failing to connect with Kowal and securing the win for Andriamahefa.
In an interview with PokerOrg's Tiffany Michelle, Kowal said, "Every time we got in big spots he had it and I was just second best - that’s just how it goes. The money is great, but some people say that the worst spot to finish in a tournament is second place… you get that close but who knows when you get back there."
When asked about his opponent, Kowal said, “He’s a great guy, great player. Couldn’t be happier for him."
In the post-victory glory, Andriamahefa credited a key hand earlier in the tournament that propelled him to the final table, saying, "My ace-king cracked aces, all in pre-flop, very fortunate."
He continued, saying, "It was fun. I just play, whatever the situation is."
WSOPC Grand Victoria Main Event final table payouts
| Place | Player | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Andriamahefa | $173,593 |
| 2 | David Kowal |
$107,290 |
| 3 | Brett Reichard |
$78,458 |
| 4 | Daniel Aloia |
$58,127 |
| 5 | Sye Hickey |
$43,637 |
| 6 | Grad Zbigniew | $33,210 |
| 7 | Joseph Elpayaa | $26,606 |
| 8 | Michael Estes | $20,002 |
| 9 | Dylan Wilkerson | $15,876 |
