"It's just his tournament to win."
That's what one of Soheb Porbandarwala's opponents said in the middle of final table play today at the Horseshoe HammondWorld Series of Poker Circuit event, and understandably so.
Porbandarwala came into today's final day with about 25% of the chips in play as the chip leader of the eight remaining players. That would be the least dominant position he'd be in through the finish en route to his 12th WSOP Circuit ring and $257,725 score.
"It's like watching ESPN in the old days and there's just a cooler every single hand and one person's winning all of them; it was like that. I had a premium every single time someone decided to do something. If I didn't, I got there."
WSOP-C Hammond Main Event final table results
Place
Player
Prize
1
Soheb Porbandarwala
$257,725
2
Brad Coultas
$159,277
3
Jonathan Seely
$119,402
4
Adam Greenberg
$90,360
5
Richard Bai
$69,039
6
Hussain Sajwani
$53,259
7
Eric Adelstein
$41,489
8
Brian Altman
$32,639
9
Brian Batt
$25,993
1o
Cero Zuccarello
$20,813
The final table: The Soheb show
Though Porbandarwala entered the final table with nearly twice thee chips of his closest competitor, there were still experienced players between him and the title and plenty of big blinds in play. He took out a serious threat quickly.
Perfect river sends Porbandarwala's most accomplished opponent home
Brian Altman entered the day 4/8 in chips, but he would be the first to fall to Porbandarwala.
The two made it to the river on a board of 2hKc3sJd4d. Altman checked the river, and Porbandarwala moved all in to put Altman at risk. Altman called to see what so many others would see today; Porbandarwala drilled the perfect river card. Porbandarwala made a set of fours, so Altman's AsJh second pair was no good.
649,739 to 1: Those are the odds Eric Adelstein was up against
Next on the chopping block was Eric Adelstein who got his chips in for a coin flip against Porbandarwala. As was clear, the coin was always weighted to Porbandarwala today.
Adelstein had 8c8s all in preflop against the Ad10d of Porbandarwala. Though Porbandarwala didn't improve on the flop, the KdQd9h was still a nightmare for Adelstein. No one was shocked when the 5d hit the turn to give Porbandarwala an unbeatable flush. The usually superfluous river card was the dramatic Jd, giving Porbandarwala the rare royal flush. It was a poker gods have chosen thee kind of card, and Porbandarwala had was the beneficiary. Holding 65% of the chips in play six-handed, his opponents were soon in ICM jail.
One by one the rest fell at his hand
With massive pay jumps in play, Porbandarwala as the overwhelming chip leader, and fairly equal stacks distributed amongst the others; the script seemed all but written. There would be no Shyamalan-esque twist ending to this story.
Hussain Sajwani played a button-versus-big blind five-bet pot against Porbandarwala. Sajwani held pocket king while Porbandarwala held ace-queen. Of course, the ace was always coming on that river to keep the Sohen train in motion and end Sajwani's run in 6th place.
"It's like watching ESPN in the old days and there's just a cooler every single hand and one person's winning all of them; it was like that. "
Richar Bai was next up, and he took another premium to war. Moving all in with AhKh preflop, he was called by Porbandarwala's pocket sevens. Even the 6dQhAd flop wasn't enough to save Bai from the destiny-driven 7c on the turn, and another Porbandarwala set would send Bai home in 5th place.
Adam Greenberg moved a few blinds in with 10c6c and made a flush. Of course, that was no good against the Kc7c of Porbandarwala for the bigger flush to send Seely home in 4th place.
The only player who didn't give their last chips to Porbandarwala was Jonathan Seely who tangled with the other opponent at the table Brad Coultas. Seely lost a flip against Coultas to exit in 3rd place leaving only Coultas to face Porbandarwala with a 6.5:1 chip deficit.
Heads-up didn't last long: Did the cards even matter?
It didn't take long for both players to find hands worth getting all the chips in the middle.
Brad Coultas moved all in holding As7c and found a quick call from Porbandarwala who held Ad2d. Mathematically, Coultas was the big favorite with the dominating ace. The whole room knew better.
Porbandarwala flopped gin when the TdJd2s hit the board, both pairing his deuce and giving him the flush draw as backup. Coultas didn't find the slim sliver of equity on the turn or river, so Porbandarwala claimed the title without worry or concern.
"It was easier than it should have been," Porbandarwala told reporter Chris "Lefty" Land in his post-win interview.
High score achieved
Before this event, Porbandarwala had about $1.5 million in career earnings according to Hendon Mob. Still, the $257, 625 is a new high score.
"A new live high score, it feels great man," said Porbandarwala. "This one was really special for sure. A Main Event, a Circuit stop that I really enjoyed when I was younger. I haven't been here in a long time, but I'll definitely be coming back.
Congratulations to Soheb Porbandarwala for his dominant performance, new career-best score, 12th Circuit ring, and winning the WSOP-C Hammond Main Event!
All photos by Alicia Skillman/8131 Media for PokerOrg
