Event #12 of the 2013 WSOP ended Friday after about eight hours of final table play. Lev Rofman won the tournament, earning $166,136 and his first career bracelet. The Pot Limit Hold’em event attracted 535 entrants, who each payed $1,500, for a total prize pool of $722,250.
Pot Limit Hold’em is often considered by the cognoscenti to be a more sophisticated game than No Limit Hold’em. Since players cannot go all-in whenever they want, there is more postflop play, and therefore more room for knowledgeable players to exercise their skills, or so the theory goes. Whether that is true or not, the final table of this event certainly featured some wild swings and incredible recoveries.
These were the chip counts on Friday afternoon as the final table of this three-day tournament began:
1. Eric Crain – 620,000
2. Allen Cunningham – 452,000
3. Jaspal Brar – 382,000
4. Timothy Reilly – 282,000
5. Lev Rofman – 200,000
6. Anthony Harb – 178,000
7. Kenneth Shelton – 160,000
8. Nicolas Halvorson – 110,000
9. Jean-Nicolas Fortin – 47,000
Shortstack Jean-Nicolas Fortin wasted no time, getting his chips in the middle against Eric Crain on the fifth hand. Unfortunately, Crain’s A
K
dominated Fortin’s A
Q
, and Fortin was sent home with the 9th place prize, which was $13,195.
The next player to be eliminated was Tim Reilly. Jaspal Brar’s AA first defeated Reilly’s AK in a preflop all-in cooler, then in the very next hand, Brar and Reilly got it in again for Reilly’s few remaining chips. Brar’s J9 held up against Reilly’s J5. Reilly was the 8th place finisher, good for $16,944.
Eric Crain had been steadily losing chips, and his stack was continually eroded . Several shorter stacks doubled through him, and he had folded postflop in a couple of decent-sized pots. Finally, when he himself was shortstacked in hand #82, he 3-bet almost his whole stack and wound up getting it in against Allen Cunningham. Cunningham showed the 55, flipping against Crain’s AQ. There was no help for Crain on board, and the starting chip leader had to leave the table in 6th place with $28,839.
Anthony Harb ran his KJ into Lev Rofman’s AA preflop on hand #129. A board of K T 4 9 gave Harb some hope, but his hopes were dashed when the innocuous 9 fell on the river. Harb went home in 5th place with a $38,055 prize.
On hand #150, Jaspal Brar raised preflop, and Kenneth Shelton defended his big blind. Both players got it in on a Q J 3 flop. Brar revealed the Q9 for top pair, while Shelton was behind with KJ and second pair. The A on the turn and the 2 on the river sealed Shelton’s fate. He walked away from the table, winning $50,709 for his 4th place showing.
Three-handed, the chip counts were approximately even, and it looked like anybody’s game after about six hours of final table play:
1. Jaspal Brar – 870,000
2. Allen Cunningham – 860,000
3. Lev Rofman – 680,000
On hand #174, Allen Cunningham min-raised from the button, and Jaspal Brar three-bet. Cunningham called, and both players saw a flop of K T 8. Brar c-bet all-in and Cunningham made the call. Brar had a monster – an overpair of AA. But it was no match for Cunningham’s flopped two pair with KT. The turn and river didn’t change anything, and Jaspal Brar was sent packing in 3rd place, collecting a nice $68,332 in winnings.
Cunningham began heads-up play with a commanding advantage, starting with two and a half times as many chips as Lev Rofman. Rofman quickly closed the gap, winning a few showdowns and taking down a few uncontested pots. But then the two finalists got involved in a couple of big postflop pots, in which Rofman was forced to fold. After those two pots, he was left crippled, with only 280,000 chips to Cunningham’s 2,130,000.
But, as the saying goes, “All you need is a chip and a chair.” Rofman three-bet Cunningham’s open on hand #218, and Cunningham called. Rofman’s AQ prevailed over Cunningham’s A3, and he was back in business. Several hands later, both players got it all in preflop again. Cunningham’s A4 was in the lead against Rofman’s QT, but the flop came T63, giving Rofman top pair. The turn was the 9 and the river was the K, giving no help to Cunningham. With this hand, Rofman and Cunningham were back to even again.
On hand #236 with blinds at 20k/40k, Cunningham limped on the button, and Rofman raised to 120k. Cunningham called, and they saw a flop: 9 J 5. Rofman fired out a standard continuation bet, and Cunningham went all in for 775k. Rofman called. Both players had K-high, Allen showing the K8, and Lev the KQ. Rofman was in front with 59% equity to Cunningham’s 41%. The 7 came on the turn, giving Cunningham more outs, but the Q on the river did not improve Allen’s hand at all. Allen Cunningham’s 2nd place finish earned him $102,819.
The winner, Lev Rofman, received a payment of $166,136 for his incredible efforts. At one point outchipped by over a seven to one margin, he rebounded nicely to win his first WSOP bracelet. Rofman’s tenacity and perseverance certainly paid off for him.
The full list of final table payouts is:
1. Lev Rofman – $166,136
2. Allen Cunningham – $102,819
3. Jaspal Brar – $68,332
4. Kenneth Shelton – $50,709
5. Anthony Harb – $38,055
6. Eric Crain – $28,839
7. Nicolas Halvorson – $22,050
8. Timothy Reilly – $16,994
9. Jean-Nicolas Fortin – $13,195
