Eric Bunch managed to emerge a winner in the 2019 WinStar Labor Day River Poker Series $1,500 Main Event this past weekend. Apart from the trophy, he also managed to win a total of $260,000 as a part of a heads-up deal that he made with the second-place player, Spencer Champlin.
Bunch successfully beat a 1,242-player field, playing three full days of poker. His route to becoming a winner of the main event was not an easy one, but he managed to successfully travel all the way to the end. In fact, his arch-enemy in this competition was Champlin himself. The two players really tested the strength of each other, but eventually, Bunch managed to win the tournament.
Champlin played better for most of the day and had control all the way to the heads-up part of the event. However, Bunch had a very specific strategy. As he put it, he had to “grind it out” of his opponent, ending up in first place in the end.
The Final Table
A total of nine players returned to the final table, with Katherine Offutt being the first one to hit the rail, winning $29,982. The next in line was Jim Harris, who ended up eighth and won $35,273. Kris Burchfield was seventh in the end, taking home $44,091. James Jewell followed soon after that, ending up sixth for $57,318.
Viet Vo was fifth and won a total of $74,318, while Jeremy Liu ended up in fourth place for $97,000. The last player to hit the rail before heads-up play took place was Eluterio Rodriguez. He managed to win $119,046.
At the time heads-up play began, Champlin had a 3-1 chip lead. Moreover, he did not stop there and started accumulating more chips at the start. However, he wasn’t able to sustain it throughout the heads-up play, and there was a turning point when Bunch played a couple of outstanding hands consecutively, managing to take all his chips back and even take a chip lead at one point.
For the next 40 minutes, the game was pretty much tied, as both Champlin and Bunch traded blows. Champlin then took a chip lead, but Bunch returned it all soon with a river bet of five million in chips. The two players went on a break and returned to the final table with a deal. Being the chip leader, Bunch took a total of $260,000, whereas Champlin agreed to take $234,887.
Needless to say, Bunch was pretty excited about his victory. He did not say much, as he was too excited to talk about it. In fact, he only stated that he was “happy, obviously.” Finally, Bunch added that he was glad it had all worked out in the end. Turning a $1,500 buy-in into a $260,000 prize is never a bad thing!
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