Mohsin Charania Wins WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $1,477,890
The World Poker Tour Five Diamond World Poker Classic played out at the Bellagio in Las Vegas over the past six days, and a winner has finally been determined. The event attracted 586 entrants, up considerably from the 449 the year before, and created a prize pool of $5,682,200, of which more than $1.4 million was reserved for the winner. The field was comprised of the biggest names in the game, but in the end it was Mohsin Charania who captured the title and etched his name on the WPT Champions’ Cup for a second time.
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mohsin Charania | $1,477,890 |
| 2 | Garrett Greer | $869,683 |
| 3 | Brett Shaffer | $562,736 |
| 4 | Ryan Julius | $383,684 |
| 5 | Ryan Fee | $272,842 |
| 6 | Tobias Reinkemeier | $218,842 |
Notable Finishes: Jared Jaffee (7th - $167,684), Keven Stammen (8th - $119,368), Will Failla (9th - $85,263), Aaron Massey (18th - $42,632), Fabian Quoss (21st - $36,947), Daniel Negreanu (25th - $36,947)
The WPT Five Diamond made headlines long before a champion was crowned; in fact, Daniel Negreanu sparked a debate on reentries after buying in five times. He ended up finishing in 25th place for $36,947, meaning he failed to turn a profit. For more on the reentry debate, check out Rich Ryan’s latest Five Thoughts.
According to live updates from the event, the first final table elimination came on Hand #36 in Level 29 (40,000/80,000/10,000) when Tobias Reinkemeier got his stack all in preflop holding the A♥10♥ and was looking to improve against the J♦J♥ of Garrett Greer. That proved easier said than done though as the board ran out a dry 10♣6♠2♥5♠Q♠. The German missed and had to settle for sixth place and $218,842.
Seven hands later, in Level 30 (50,000/100,000/15,000), Ryan Fee min-raised from the cutoff and Greer called form the button to see a flop of J♦10♦2♥. Fee bet 400,000, Greer called, and the 3♣ appeared on the turn. Fee bet again, this time 1 million, and Greer raised all in. Fee called off for 3.885 million total with the A♦A♣, but it was no good as Greer had flopped top set with the J♥J♣. The J♠ river improved Greer to quads, and Fee was bounced from the tournament in fifth place for $272,842.
On Hand #49, Brett Shaffer raised to 225,000 from the button and then snap-called after Ryan Julius three-bet all in for 1.595 million.
Julius: 9♠9♦
Shaffer: A♠A♣
It was a bad spot for Julius, and he watched helplessly as the board ran out a dry 10♦4♠4♦Q♣7♠. Julius failed to find a nine and finished in fourth place for $383,684.
Shaffer was the next to go, though it’d take awhile; in fact, his elimination didn’t come until Level 32 (75,000/150,000/25,000) on Hand #114 of the final table. It happened when Greer min-raised to 300,000 and Shaffer shoved from the big blind for 2.55 million. Greer called with the K♥Q♥, and he was racing against the 9♦9♥ of Shaffer. The A♦J♥3♥ flop didn’t hit Greegr directly, but he did pick up both straight and flush draws to go with his overs. The A♥ turn actually completed the said flush, but it also paired the board meaning Shaffer could stay alive with either an ace or nine on the river. It wasn’t in the cards though as the 3♠ blanked and Shaffer was ousted in third place for $562,736 while Greer took a more than 4-1 chip lead into heads-up play against Charania, who had played a quiet game up to that point.
Charania overcame a huge chip disadvantage when he won the 2013 WPT Grand Prix de Paris, and amazingly a similar comeback happened at the Bellagio. Charania, who would dip to as low as 1.55 million, managed to double four times to claw his way back into contention, and then on Hand #180 doubled for a fifth when his 3♣3♥ held against the A♣K♥ of Greer, who was left with just three big blinds after the hand.
Four hands later, Greer shoved holding the 2♠2♥ and Charania called with the 9♥6♦. The Q♣10♠8♦ flop gave Charania a double gutter to go with his overs, and while he didn’t hit it on the 4♥ turn, he did when the J♥ spiked on the river. A bad run of cards saw victory slip through Greer’s fingers, and he had to settle for runner-up and a $869,683 consolation prize. Meanwhile, Charania captured the $1,477,890 first-place prize, which includes a $15,400 seat into the season-ending championship, and will have his name placed on the WPT Champions’ Cup for a second time.
The next WPT event is the Borgata Winter Poker Open from Jan. 25-30, 2015. Of course PokerNews will bring you a recap of all the action. For more information, visit worldpokertour.com.
*Photos courtesy of WPT.
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