Erik Seidel at a final table with any amount of chips can be a scary proposition. Thursday afternoon the eight-time bracelet winner sat down at the final table of the $1,500 Pot Limit Hold’em event (Event 20) and was third in chips, well within smelling distance of the bracelet. But at the end of the day it was two European players who spoiled the party with Britain’s John-Paul Kelly beating Germany’s Marc Tschirch for the bracelet and the $194,434 in prize money.

Kelly and Tschirch were the only two non-American players at the final table having survived through 631 other players over the course of the three day event. Kelly began the day as the chip leader with 627,000 while Tschirch was in the middle of the nine-player pack with 268,000.

Coming into the final table with the shortest stack Ravi Raghavan was simply hoping to outlast a player or two and possibly find a double-up. Neither of those things happened. Tschirch opened the betting with a raise to 30,000 and Raghavan bet the pot, 102,000 and Raghavan called. Even before the flop was out Raghavan blindly shipped his last 34,000 into the middle and after the flop came T 9 8  Tschirch called. Both had pocket pairs and had flopped straight draws, Tschirch with pocket jacks and Raghavan with pocket sevens. Neither the 4 on the turn or the 4 on the river could keep Raghavan alive and he was the first player out.

Andrew Radel was the next to go and suffered one of those beats that he’ll talk about in his sleep. From the small blind Radel raised to 36,000. Kelly made it 100,000 to go from the big blind and Radel called. The flop came A T 2 and Radel bet 100,000. Kelly responded by moving all-in for 400,000, Radel called and tabled A Q while Kelly showed pocket nines. The turn was the J but the river brought one of two remaining nines to give Kelly a set and eliminate Radel.

What could have been the story of the day ended up in early disappointment. A win by Seidel would put him within striking distance of the all-time leaders for bracelets won. It wasn’t meant to be. Seidel raised to 30,000 and Jason Dewitt called. The flop came K J 8, Seidel checked and Dewitt bet 30,000. Seidel called and the turn came 5 and again Seidel checked. After Dewitt bet 80,000 Seidel called again and the river paired the board with the 5. Seidel checked for a third time and Dewitt moved all-in. After taking his time to think it over Seidel called all-in and when Dewitt tabled pocket eights fro a full house Seidel mucked his hand and left.

Seidel told the live broadcast after his elimination that he intended to donate 100% of his winnings to Las Vegas area schools.

Retired businessman Tony Steward was next out. From the button Steward raised to 35,000 and Tschirch made the call. The flop came Q J 4, Tschirch checked and Steward be 60,000. Without much thought Tschirch fired in a raise to 175,000. Steward then tanked and told the German that the only thing he could really beat was if he was making a move. Steward made the call and showed J 3 and found himself behind the K J of Tschirch. The turn and river brought no relief and Steward’s night was through.

Kelly build up huge momentum once play was five-handed and was the first player to reach the 1 million chip mark. He then used his big stack to start bullying the table and found a victim in Aaron Virchis. Kelly took advantage of the action folding to him in the small blind and put a minimum size raise in front of him and Virchis called. The flop came T T 4 and Kelly bet 50,000 which was more than Virchis had left. Virchis called and turned over K 8 and Kelly showed A 4. The turn and river did not bring a king or an eight and Virchis was sent to the rail.

Kelly kept on the pressure and eventually found a way to send another opponent home. After Dewitt limped Kyle Carlston raised to 90,000 and Kelly re-raised forcing Dewitt to fold and Carlston to call off the last of his stack. Carlston turned over A J and was behind the A K of Kelly. The board ran out A Q 7 9 4 and Kelly rivered an unnecessary flush to take down yet another victim.

As hot as Kelly was running he couldn’t avoid Dewitt playing the role of temporary cooler. Dewitt raised from the small blind to 52,000 and Kelly called from the big blind. The flop came A T 3, Dewitt bet 51,000 and Kelly called. The turn was the 7, Dewitt checked and Kelly bet 105,000. Dewitt then raised the pot and put his entire stack of 520,000 into the middle. Kelly called and table A 5 and Dewitt showed 4 5 for a gutshot straight flush draw, flush draw and double gutter straight draw. The river was the 7 giving Dewitt the straight flush and a double-up to over 1 million in chips. The hand left Kelly as the short stack, but not for long.

It took only 15 minutes for Kelly to get his chips back from Dewitt. Kelly made it 40,000 from the button and Dewitted re-raised to 130,000 from the big blind, Kelly called. A flop of T 9 2 got Dewitt to check and induced a bet of 150,000 from Kelly which Dewitt called. The turn was the 2 and Dewitt checked again. Kelly bet 450,000 and Dewitt moved all-in and Kelly called. Dewitt held 9 8 and Kelly turned up A T. Dewitt didn’t catch one of two remaining nines on the river and Kelly doubled up leaving Dewitt crippled. The last American standing was eliminated by Tschirch a few hands later.

Heads-up play began with Kelly ahead by nearly 500,000 and only 45 minutes later he had all the chips. Tschirch lead out for 55,000 and Kelly responded with a raise to 150,000 which Tschirch called. The flop came 8 5 4 and Kelly bet 155,000 and Tschirch called. The turn was the Q and Kelly put 300,000 into the pot. Tschirch moved all-in and Kelly called instantly and tabled A Q and found he was way ahead of A 5 of Tschirch. The river bricked out and Kelly had himself a bracelet and $194,434 to take home to England.

WSOP $1,500 Pot Limit Hold’em (Event 20) Final Table Results

1. John-Paul Kelly - $194,434
2. Marc Tschirch - $120,102
3. Jason Dewitt - $78,826
4. Kyle Carlston - $54,711
5. Aaron Virchis - $40,048
6. Tony Steward - $30,837
7. Erik Seidel - $24,919
8. Andrew Radel - $21,082
9. Ravi Raghavan - $18,637

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