For a while, it looked like the final table of the 2013 World Poker Tour (WPT) bestbet Open Main Event final table would be a quick one, as four of the six players were eliminated within 68 hands. But it took over 100 more hands to get through the heads-up portion of the tournament before Mike Linster grabbed the final chip, $321,521, and a WPT title.
In a bit of an unusual circumstance, the first three players knocked out on Tuesday were also the shortest three stacks going into the six-handed final table. They were also eliminated in reverse chip order. The first to go was David Diaz, who had a steep fall on Day 3, which he entered as the runaway chip leader. All-in on the eighth hand with Q-T, he was called by chip leader Danny Schechter, who had K-K. Diaz had little chance to pull it out and the odds held as he was eliminated in sixth place.
Next up (or down) was Pete Tinnesz. David Bell raised pre-flop to 110,000, Tinnesz re-raised to 225,000, and Bell called. After the flop of 8-6-5, Tinnesz checked, Bell bet 450,000, and Tinnesz decided to move all-in for 835,000. Bell made the call, revealing 8-6 for two pair, while Tinnesz had A-Q, good for just Ace-high. He couldn’t hit any lucky cards and was gone in fifth place.
On Hand 53, Schechter, no longer the chip leader, raised to 105,000, Linster re-raised to 255,000, and Pete Chwala shoved for 510,000. After Schechter folded, Linster called with A-Q, while Chwala had K-J. Neither man improved his hand, meaning Linster won the pot, sending Chwala home in fourth place.
Just 15 hands later, the heads-up pairing was determined. Bell and Schechter raised and re-raised until Bell was all-in. Schechter insta-called with pocket Kings, only to end up staring at Bell’s pocket Aces. No help came for Schechter and he was unceremoniously dumped in third place.
Going into heads-up play, David Bell had a 6.245 million to 4.300 million over Mike Linster. For about the first 15 hands, not much changed, but Bell soon surged ahead, taking a seemingly overwhelming 9.540 million to 1.005 million chip advantage. As they say, though, it’s always darkest before the dawn. Linster fought back and chipped up a bit before making a huge double-up to wrest the lead away from Bell.
For most of the remainder of the final table, it was a back and forth, nip and tuck affair with neither player taking a lead much bigger than the starting chip difference for very long. Linster was ahead for the vast majority of hands, but he wasn’t quite able to pull away. Finally, though, on Hand 180, it ended. Bell raised to 400,000, Linster three-bet to 1 million, and Bell moved all-in for 3.775 million. Linster called with A-Q and Bell turned over just 8-6 suited, perhaps shoving in a bluff attempt. As was the case with other elimination hands, neither player got help from the community cards, but that was good enough for Linster, as his Ace-high was good enough to win the hand and the tournament.
2013 World Poker Tour bestbet Open – Final Table Results
1. Mike Linster – $321,521
2. David Bell – $175,512
3. Danny Schechter – $115,311
4. Pete Chwala – $79,619
5. Pete Tinnesz – $58,754
6. David Diaz – $46,673
