The bestbet Jacksonville CPPT event came to an end with a heads-up match between two local heroes. Benjamin Scrogins took first for $158,915, edging out Kyle Cartwright. Cartwright took home $105,942.
Scrogins is a local amateur. Cartwright is a pro with fine form in local events. As a result, the rail was thick with friends and family, watching the two players duke it out.
"Having the whole rail here made it feel even better," Scrogins said in his post-game interview. "I almost cried for a second, but I got myself together. My experience here has been amazing. This is my home and I love everybody here. I know most of the dealers by name, and every time I walk into the door it’s ‘Hey Ben, how are you doing?’ It’s first-name basis. It really is like a home away from home, I got a second family here for sure."
The second place finish marked the third time this year that Cartwright came close at bestbet Jacksonville events. In March, he took back-to-back 3rd place finishes in the bestbet Jacksonville Spring Series.
Where Scrogins had a touch over $206k in live tournament winnings before this event, Cartwright had just shy of $2.5 million. Most of Cartwright's wins came along with his five WSOPC rings.
bestbet Jacksonville tweeted the details of Scrogins win. "Ben Scrogins Wins Card Player Poker Tour bestbet Jacksonville Main Event ($158,915)," the company tweeted. "Kyle Cartwright eliminated In 2nd Place ($105,942)."
Floridian nights
Jacksonville's city mottoes are, "where Florida begins," and, "it's easier here." The town could almost claim to be where post-COVID poker begins too. The bestbet in Jacksonville was running live events back in March this year helping to boost poker's return to brick and mortars.
In fact, the state of Florida seems to be doing its best to become the Vegas of the East Coast. It continues to dominate the World Poker Tour schedule, turning out record-breaking numbers of players.
Jacksonville doesn't have the allure of the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood — or even the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa — but even so, the CPPT Main Event attracted 331 players. At $2,500 a pop that made for a post-vig prize pool of $759,360.
329 of those players hit the rail, leaving Scrogins and Cartwright in the ring together. Scrogins began the showdown with a comfortable 4:1 chip lead.
Cartwright is no slouch heads-up and managed to battle his way to almost even stacks when the final hand fell.
Heads-up action
Scrogins picked up the Q♦️6❤️ on the button and led into Cartwright. Cartwright called out of position and waited to see the flop.
It couldn't have hit Scrogins much harder than the Q❤️Q♠8♠. Kyle Cartwright check-called cautiously.
The turn improved Scrogins hand again with the 6♣. Cartwright checked, and Scrogins thought a little while about how to extract maximum value from his full house. Eventually he shoved and Cartwright called.
Cartwright rolled over the 9♣7❤️ for an open ended straight draw. Unfortunately he was drawing dead. The river was irrelevant and Scrogins was crowned the winner.
bestbet Jacksonville CPPT Main Event final table results
| Position | Player Name | Payouts |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Benjamin Scrogins | $158,915 |
| 2nd | Kyle Cartwright | $105,942 |
| 3rd | Dustin Holladay | $77,910 |
| 4th | Lamare Davis | $57,979 |
| 5th | Jessica Cai | $43,669 |
| 6th | Joseph Crowley | $33,292 |
| 7th | Mac Johnson | $25,695 |
| 8th | Jeremy Joseph | $20,081 |
Featured image source: Flickr by WPT
