Baptiste Chavaillaz Captures 2012-13 WSOP Circuit Bicycle Casino Title
After three days of play and over 34 hours of poker, a champion has been crowned at the 2012-13 World Series of Poker Circuit Bicycle Casino Main Event. That player, who outlasted 720 other entrants, was Baptiste Chavaillaz. For his efforts, Chavaillaz took home $216,275, the coveted WSOP Circuit gold ring and a seat to the Southern Comfort 100 Proof WSOP Circuit National Championship in New Orleans from May 21-23, 2013.
WSOP-C Bicycle Casino Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baptiste Chavaillaz | $216,275 |
| 2 | Zhong Chen | $133,350 |
| 3 | Eric Varela | $98,310 |
| 4 | Jared Ingles | $73,270 |
| 5 | Huicun Qiao | $55,340 |
| 6 | Jesus Gastelum | $42,340 |
| 7 | David Malka | $32,800 |
| 8 | Nathan Bjerno | $25,730 |
| 9 | Erik Roussakis | $20,430 |
When play returned on Monday, there were 13 players including a few stars in the field. Unfortunately for the fans, most of those stars bowed out before the final table was reached.
Nam Le was the first to leave us, when his K♥Q♥ couldn’t hold against the J♣9♦ of Nathan Bjerno. Doug Lee was the next to go, and his exit was a brutal one. Lee was faced with an all-in bet from Chavaillaz on a board that read A♠2♣6♦6♠ board. Lee made the call with the A♣J♠, and he was in great shape against the A♥10♥ of Chavaillaz. Lee was primed for a huge double up, but the 10♣ came on the river and knocked Lee out in 12th place. Greg Brask went out in 11th when he lost a coin flip to Eric Valera, and that gave us the unofficial final table of 10.
At the time, the biggest name left was Joe Tehan, but he would come to be the final table bubble boy. Tehan was down to less than 10 big blinds when he shoved the rest of it in with the 9♠7♣. He was in trouble, though, as David Malka woke up with the A♠J♣ in the big blind. Malka flopped a jack, and that was all she wrote for Tehan's run.
That elimination brought upon the final table, and the first player to go was Erik Roussakis. Roussakis was on an incredible run, as he had just finished fifth in the WSOP Circuit Rincon Main Event last month. His second final table in as many months did not last very long. In one of the first hands of the final nine, Roussakis was all in holding the K♠J♦ on a J♥9♠8♠. Roussakis had top pair with a good kicker, but he was miles behind the Q♠10♠ of Chavaillaz. A spade on the turn kept Roussakis alive despite giving Chavaillaz a flush, but the river brought the 3♣ and that was that.
Nathan Bjerno started as the chip leader, but nothing went his way all day, and he entered the final table as the short stack. He was eliminated in eighth place when his A♦K♥ lost to the 9♥9♠ of Jared Ingles. Ingles flopped a set, which rendered Bjerno’s running two pair irrelevant. Despite going out earlier then he had hoped, he did take the lead in the Casino Champion race.
Malka was the next player to leave us. He got into a raising war in the blinds with Ingles, and Malka’s K♥9♣ was in bad shape against the A♠K♣ of Ingles. The board brought no help, and Malka would have to settle for $32,800.
Less than ten minutes later, the sixth-place finisher was found, and that player was Jesus Gastelum. He was involved a race, holding the A♠7♥ against the 4♥4♦ of Zhong Chen. A four in the window sealed the deal for Chen and sent Gastelum home packing.
Huicun Qiao was the next player to leave. He put his tournament at risk holding the 10♣7♠ on a 10♥9♥6♥ flop. Qiao had a chance, but he was drawing thin against the 10♦9♣ of Varela. Qiao couldn’t catch what he needed, and he walked away with $55,340 in his pocket.
Until this point, the eliminations were coming fast and furious. However, there was a a full four hours before another player was eliminated. The field almost lost Zhong Chen when his Q♣10♣ ran into the K♦K♠ of Ingles, however, Chen caught a queen on the flop and another one on the river to stay alive.
Speaking of Ingles, he became the fourth-place finisher, and it was due to Chavaillaz making a great call. Preflop action folded to Chavaillaz who raised to 170,000. Chen folded his small blind and action was on Ingles, who made a reraise to 420,000. Chavaillaz made the call, and it was off to the flop, which came down K♦2♠6♦. Ingles made a bet of 280,000. After processing this, Chavaillaz put in a raise to 800,000. It didn't take too long for Ingles to make the decision to move all in, and this sent Chavaillaz into the tank.
"Do you really have aces or kings?" Chavaillaz muttered to himself. After a few minutes of thinking, he found a call.
Baptiste: K♠J♠
Ingles: Q♥3♦
Chavaillaz picked off Ingles' bluff with just top pair, and he couldn't have asked to see a better hand. Ingles was drawing dead to running outs. The turn was the J♥, and that card put a lock on the hand for Chavaillaz. The A♠ river was just a formality as Ingles hit the rail in fourth place for $73,270.
Then, Varela lost a flip to bust in third place. He raised it up to 200,000 on the button, and Chavaillaz three-bet to 560,000. Chen got out of the way, and it didn't take long for Valera to move all in. Once Chavaillaz got the count, he made the call.
Chavaillaz: K♣Q♠
Valera: 10♥10♦
Chavaillaz loved the flop of Q♦7♠4♣, and he stayed out in front on the A♣ turn and J♦ river. It was an incredible run for Varela, made more incredible by the fact that Varela is solely a cash game player, and this was his first tournament. Furthermore, he got in on a freeroll as the Bicycle Casino offered 20 free seats to the tournament by running a promotion just before the event. You could qualify by playing 25 hours of live cash games from December to January. Varela parlayed those cash game sessions into a nearly $100,000 prize.
Heads-up play only lasted about 30 minutes before it was all over. Chen raised to 275,000, and Chavaillaz announced "500." It was a reraise to 500,000, and it only took Chen a few moments to move all in. Chavaillaz let out a sigh, and asked "More gifts?" Eventually, he said call, and the hands were tabled.
Chavaillaz: 5♦5♠
Chen: Q♣J♣
It was a coin flip to decide whether Chen would stay alive or if Chavaillaz would be crowned the winner. The flop wasn't great for Chen, coming down 2♦6♦K♠.Chen was looking for a queen, jack or running straight cards, but the turn sealed it when the 5♥ hit the felt. Chavaillaz's rail erupted knowing Chen was drawing dead, and the river was the meaningless 4♠ to complete the board.
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