Golden Nugget Las Vegas hosted the 2022 Bar Poker Open (BPO) Championship that lasted for four days. Tommy Nefcy emerged the winner after he beat 1,239 entrants and went home with $37,115.
It was an invite-only championship that qualified entrants through bar leagues from all over the United States. The first flight had 531 entries, and 54 of them made a $500 min-cash. Even so, 26 players found the bag at the end of Day 1 and proceeded to Day 2.
The championship's second flight began at 4 p.m. on Day 1 and had 219 entrants. But, 22 players earned money while 11 of them advanced to Day 2.
Day 2 had a "second chance final flight" with 490 entrants. But, 49 players made money as 25 of them earned it later in the day. The three flights had 1,240 entrants who formed a $229,400 prize pool.
Two players thrilled their fans when they bagged twice, and each got an additional $1,500. So, Day 2 began with 60 entrants and had fast action since 31 players remained on the first break. Rapid bustouts occurred during the day, and eight entries were left after 10 hours of play.
Nefcy had 10,725,000 chips as he advanced to Day 3's final table. This was more than what Ruben Vancellete, the second player in the stack position, had as he held 4,800,000 chips.
The Championship's Final Table Results
- Tommy Nefcy from the U.S. – $37,115
- Kourtney Sims from the U.S. – $25,385
- John Kelly from the U.S. – $16,665
- Carlin Soto from the U.S. – $11,460
- Adam Iaccarino from the U.S. – $8,800
- Ruben Vancelette from the U.S. – $7,335
- Michael Schnitzer from the U.S. – $6,120
- Martin Bender from the U.S. – $4,915
Action at the Final Table
The final table maintained the tournament's theme as players like Martin Bender busted fast. He left the table in eighth place after several hands when he had a short stack, and Vancelette's ace-queen defeated his jack-eight.
Mike Schnitzer used queen-jack to go all-in after 15 minutes and faced John Kely's queen-five. But each of them flopped a queen, and Kelly sent Schnitzer packing in the seventh position after running backdoor straight.
Vancelette followed Schnitzer when Kourtney Sim's pocket nines beat his ace-queen in a flip. Adam Iaccarino left the table in the fifth position after Nefcy's king-jack beat his ace-six thus making him lose to his opponent's two pair.
Carlin "Ox" Soto was patient after he run shot and used king-jack to go all-in before Kelly called using an ace-eight. Coincidentally, Soto got a king on the turn as Kelly put an ace on the river and eliminated him in fourth place. The latter put up a spirited fight in a three-handed play for a while before he used queen-jack to place his chips in the middle.
Unfortunately, Sims's ace-jack dominated Kelly's queen-jack when he flopped an ace. He sent him packing in the third position.
Sims Battles It Out With Nefcy
A heads-up battle between Sims and Nefcy lasted for almost an hour as each player played aggressively while trading pots. But, the latter took over the stack lead after the former failed to get an open-ended straight draw against his king-high.
Sims was on a cooler's wrong side when he used a top pair to flop against Nefcy's flush, and she left the event as the runners-up with $25,385. The latter qualified through the Sunshine Poker League and was excited when he won the championship.
