The second event of the PokerGO Tour Bounty Blitz series drew to a conclusion on Wednesday with a frenzy of action on the final table of the $5,00 No-Limit Hold'em Escalator at the PokerGO Studio.
The field of 48 entrants generated a prize pool of $240,000 with seven players paid and an escalating bounty prize structure. At the start of Day 1 play, a knockout held value at $500. With the close of late registration, the bounty prize increased to $1,000. When 14 players remained, the price-per-head stood at $5,300 — with a final bounty prize of $5,100.
Sergio Aido took a slim chip lead into the final table, with Chino Rheem, Chris Hunichen, and Michael Berk all hot on his tail. Jeremy Becker started with the second-shortest stack in play, a familiar spot for him after he successfully navigated his short stack to a win in Event #1, while Sean Winter rounded out the chip counts below him.
After a chaotic — but brief — clash between the six remaining players, Aido emerged from the carnage as the Event #2 victor and laid claim to the $47,500 first-place prize and $21,500 in bounties, a nice score for less than two hours of work.
Becker rivered, Winter comes for Rheem
In the early goings, Becker looked poised for another spin up, but a cruel river card sent him to the payout desk as the first casualty.
Aido raised in early position with 
and when the action folded around to Becker in the big blind, he looked down at 
. While the chips easily could have flown in pre-flop, Aido opted to simply call Becker's three-bet and the two players watched on as the dealer spread the 
flop. Becker continued for a small sizing and Aido sprung what he thought to be a trap with an all-in.
Becker quickly called and the cards hit their backs. The 
turn provided a slight sweat for a chop, but the poker gods had other ideas as the river 
improved Aido to top set and crushed Becker's dreams of back-to-back Bounty Blitz wins.
Rheem was the next man out the door, leaving all his chips behind in the care of Winter. In the first of two clashes between the two, Winter scored a full double through Rheem as he made a full house with 
against his opponent's 
on a 
board.
Shortly afterwards, Rheem, now on the short stack, committed the rest of his chips when he moved all-in from the small blind with 
over the top of a button open from Berk. Winter looked down at 
in the big blind and re-shoved to isolate Rheem. Berk got out of the way, leaving Winter five cards away from a bounty prize. The 
runout provided no improvement for Rheem and his run came to an end in fifth place.
Winter cools down, Berk swings big
Winter's infusion of chips didn't last very long. Hunichen took a chunk when he called down three streets with on a 
board. Winter bet the whole way with 
, exerting maximum pressure, but Hunichen held up to haul in the massive pot. In the very next hand dealt, Berk came for the rest of Winter's stack.
With a little more than thirty big blinds left, Winter raised from up front with 
. When the action folded to Berk, he moved all-in over the top with , barely covering his opponent's stack. Winter called it off with his small pair and it was a flip – one that Berk came out ahead in on the 
runout.
Like Winter before him, Berk put his newly-acquired chips to work immediately as he took on Hunichen in the next hand off the deck. In the face of a button raise from Hunichen, Berk three-bet from the small blind with . Aido cleared out, but Hunichen made the call with 
and the two players headed to the 
flop.
Berk continued for a small sizing and Hunichen made the call with his second pair and gutshot straight draw. On the turn Berk fired another shell, sizing up slightly this time. Hunichen called again, unfazed by his opponent's aggression. The river completed the board and Berk announced a bet for the majority of his chips. Hunichen deliberated over the spot for a while, but eventually flicked in a chip for a call and saw the good news as Berk showed his eight-high bluff.
With only a few chips remaining, Berk put his tournament life on the line with in the next hand. Aido attempted to isolate from the small blind with , but Hunichen dropped the hammer and moved all-in with from the big blind. Aido was forced to relinquish his holding, leaving Hunichen to take an unencumbered shot at Berk's bounty. The 
runout saw Hunichen lock up the elimination on the turn and sent Berk to the payout desk.
Aido closes quickly
Hunichen took a nearly two-to-one chip advantage into the heads-up portion of play, but an early pocket pair versus pocket pair clash saw his momentum come to a crashing halt as Aido took command. It was Hunichen's against Aido's and all the chips went in the middle pre-flop. The Spaniard's rockets held up across the runout to complete the stack size reversal.
Hunichen wasn't going away quietly, though, and he quickly battled back to draw the stacks near even. Aido's run proved too much for Hunichen — and the deck certainly didn't do him any favors — and over the course of the next hour he whittled away at his opponent's stack.
The final nail in the coffin arrived in the form of a limped pot. With a little more than 15 big blinds remaining, Hunichen checked his option with 
in the face of a limp from Aido and connected with top pair on the 
flop. When checked to, Aido fired a small bet and Hunichen pounced with a raise. It was an all-timed move, however, as Aido held for top two pair.
With a near hammer lock on the pot, Aido simply called the raise and watched on as the turn came in. Another bet from Hunichen drew another call from Aido and the river didn't change much. Hunichen sent the rest of his chips into the middle and Aido snap-called to take down the pot and the win.
PGT Bounty Blitz Event #2 Results
| Place | Player | Prize + Bounty |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sergio Aido | $47,500 + $21,500 |
| 2 | Chris Hunichen | $30,200 + $13,600 |
| 3 | Michael Berk | $20,100 + $22,200 |
| 4 | Sean Winter | $15,100 + $7,800 |
| 5 | Chino Rheem | $12,300 + $8,300 |
| 6 | Jeremy Becker | $10,100 + $5,300 |
Images courtesy of Antonio Abrego/PokerGO Tour.
