Guillermo Vargas Wins First Circuit Ring After Grueling Heads-Up Match
While PokerNews is here offering live updates from the High Roller and Main Event we��d be remiss if we didn��t tell you about the full schedule of side events that have been playing out over the past week at the World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Hammond.
In Event #11: $1,125 NLH, 179 runners created a $179,000 prize pool that was paid out to the top 27 players. Among those to cash but fall short of the official final table were Cody Brinn (12th - $3,029), Josh Reichard (15th- $2,558), Michael Moncek (16th - $2,217), Todd Sladek (18th - $2,217), Nicola DiTrapani (19th - $1,974) and David Watters (23rd - $1,807).
In the end, it was Texas native Guillermo Vargas who roped in his first gold ring along with a $45,408 payday.
"I feel pretty good,�� Vargas said after his win, ��This was my first Circuit series I decided to grind, and it was really a good learning experience.��
Day 2 action saw 27 players return with Vargas mid-way through the pack sitting in 14th, but he took the chip lead into the final table.
��I had a game plan going into the final table,�� Vargas stated, ��I learned about the Venue leaderboard and set goals with the first being to win, while the second was to eliminate players in a particular order that had more points than me.��
There were two players who Vargas was talking about and they were three-time ring winner David Hengen, who took his exit in ninth place, and the other was Tyler Phillips who was eliminated in fourth place.
Three-way action wouldn��t last long as Ken Brunette took his quick exit leaving Vargas heads-up against Sami Shurbaji.
Vargas held almost a 3:1 chip advantage at the start of the heads-up battle but Shurbaji put up quite the fight, turning the tides about two-hours into the battle.
��Before the heads-up match I was winning every flip, but Sami made it really tough for me heads-up,�� stated Vargas about his opponent.
The match would continue for another hour level and Vargas saw his stack dwindle down to 400,000 at one point, but he won a flip after catching a flush on the river to turn the tide back in his direction.
��He told me he picked up on a tell when I was bluffing,�� Stated Vargas, ��I��m pretty sure I picked up on what he was talking about and switched it up to try and induce bluffs.��
The heads-up battled continued for another hour-level before the stacks were completely even and just when it looked like the match would continue on, it was over a few hands after the chip stacks were even.
��I felt like I was ahead the whole time that final hand and I was correct,�� Vargas said after his grueling heads-up battle.
The victory marked Vargas��s first career Circuit ring and the 50 casino points puts him in front of the Casino Championship race and he hopes his 82.5 points will hold as he won��t be able to finish out the rest of the Circuit series at Hammond.
��I��m moving cities and my girlfriend is coming tomorrow so we are going to Chicago to look at places. I won��t be coming back so hopefully I��ll hold,�� stated Vargas who continued to say, ��I just want to thank all of my poker buddies, they know who they are, for helping me learn and helping me to get here.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guillermo Vargas | Austin, TX | $45,408 |
| 2 | Sami Shurbaji | Dyer, IN | $28,065 |
| 3 | Kenneth Brunette | Marinette, WI | $19,623 |
| 4 | Tyler Phillips | Charlotte, NC | $14,021 |
| 5 | Artem Zverkhovskyy | Las Vegas, NV | $10,423 |
| 6 | Terry Quirke | Flossmoor, IL | $7,655 |
| 7 | Brian Pemberton | Homer Glen, IL | $5,856 |
| 8 | Hamid Izadi | Marietta, GA | $4,587 |
| 9 | David Hengen | Omaha, NE | $3,681 |