Windy City Payday: Eddie Ochana Wins 2014 Chicago Poker Classic Main Event
On Monday night, the 2014 Chicago Poker Classic (CPC) Main Event came to a close. Emerging victorious was Illinois' own Eddie Ochana, banking the $217,810 payday and a $10,000 seat in the World Series of Poker Main Event.
Ochana, who now has nearly $1.25 million in live tournament earnings, landed the fifth six-figure score of his career. This wasn't his first go-round at the CPC Main Event, either. In 2012, when the event was held with a $3,125 buy-in, Ochana took third out of 360 entries for $108,268.
This time around, Ochana topped a much larger field of 745 players, defeating Richard Bai in heads-up play.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edward Ochana | $217,810* |
| 2 | Richard Bai | $135,040 |
| 3 | Travis Lutes | $88,469 |
| 4 | Nicholas Aranda | $61,610 |
| 5 | Patrick Ray | $45,324 |
| 6 | In Park | $35,116 |
| 7 | Pfizer Jordan | $28,582 |
| 8 | David Snitkin | $24,384 |
| 9 | Michael Hudson | $21,761 |
*Also earned a $10,000 WSOP Main Event seat
Eleven players returned for Day 3 action in the CPC Main Event, and Ochana sat eighth on the leader board. After the field reached the final table following the eliminations of Mark Johnson (11th - $14,910) and Suleiman Abueid (10th - $14,910), Ochana picked up a nice boost to his stack when he sent Michael Hudson home in ninth place. Ochana's K♦K♣ bested Hudson's 2♥2♠, according to CPC reports.
From there, David Snitkin fell in eighth place and start-of-day chip leader Pfizer Jordan hit the rail in seventh. Then, the hand that sent Ochana into the chip lead happened.
With the blinds at 40,000/80,000/10,000 in Level 29, Patrick Ray checked the 9♣6♣3♣ flop to Ochana, who bet 430,000. Ray called, and the turn added the 2♥ to the board. After Ray checked again, Ochana bet 760,000. Ray called once more, and the Q♦ completed the board on the river. Ray sprung with an all-in shove, having Ochana covered and effectively jamming for 1.845 million. Ochana quickly called with the A♣K♣ for the nut flush, and all Ray could do was flash a losing Q♠Q♥.
That pot gave Ochana seven of the 18.625 million chips in play, and he didn't look back from there.
In Park finished in sixth place, Ray went out in fifth, and then Ochana disposed of Nicholas Aranda in fourth to add even more chips to his pile. Then, Travis Lutes went out in third place and it was none other than Ochana as the executioner.
Heading into heads-up play, Ochana had 14.3 million in chips to Bai's 4.3 million. The commanding lead was too much for Bai to overcome, and he finished in second place during Level 33 with the blinds at 100,000/200,000/20,000.
On the final hand, Ochana raised to 400,000 on the button, and Bai moved all in for roughly four million. Ochana made the call with the A♠7♠ and had Bai's A♣2♦ dominated. The flop, turn, and river ran out J♠6♥2♠Q♠Q♥ to give Ochana a flush and the win.
"It feels very good," Ochana told CPC reporters after the win. "I had my supporters following me and it’s a good feeling to pull out the win in front of them."
Complete 2014 Chicago Poker Classic Results
| Event | Entries | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Event 1: $350 NLH Re-Entry | 3,092 | Chris Karambinis | $168,039 |
| Event 2: $500 NLH | 806 | Sachin Bhargava | $104,263 |
| Event 3: $400 PLO | 194 | Ben Sagan | $19,854 |
| Event 4: $350 NLH Deep Stack Mini Stimulus | 285 | Matt Kirby | $20,321 |
| Event 5: $600 NLH Deep Stack Six Max | 269 | Drake Bronk | $37,695 |
| Event 6: $500 H.O.R.S.E. | 108 | John Holley | $12,907 |
| Event 7: $350 NLH Stimulus | 292 | Christopher Staats | $20,819 |
| Event 8: $1,500 Main Event | 745 | Eddie Ochana | $217,810 |
| Event 9: $250 NLH Re-Entry | 1,106 | James Ramirez | $48,200 |
| Event 10: $350 NLH Deep Stack Turbo | 394 | Zal Irani | $27,521 |
**Lead photo courtesy of the CPC live blog.
Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+!
