Charlie Dawson Becomes Latest MSPT Champion; Wins Tropicana Evansville Main Event
Late on Day 1b of the 2014 Mid-States Poker Tour Tropicana Evansville, Charlie Dawson was all in on his second and final bullet with the Q♥Q♠ against an opponent's A♦A♠.
"I'm due a queen," he said with confidence.
Just as he called for, Dawson spiked the Q♣ on the river to survive, and about 48 hours later he finished as the last player standing from a field of 225, claiming a first-place prize of $60,527 and an MSPT title. The Kentucky native was one of the more experienced players in the field, with $327,166 in cashes coming into this tournament dating back to 2005, and the win ranks as his second-biggest score.
He defeated Alex Yen in a short heads-up match. Dawson limped the button with the A♥K♣ and then snapped off Yen's shove with the A♠5♥. The board came K♥9♥3♥10♣A♦, shipping Dawson the pot and the tournament with aces up.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlie Dawson | $60,527 |
| 2 | Alex Yen | $35,668 |
| 3 | Dale Sudduth | $20,531 |
| 4 | Drake Espenlaub | $16,645 |
| 5 | Rory Monahan | $12,970 |
| 6 | George Lusby | $10,808 |
| 7 | Nicholas Pupillo | $8,647 |
| 8 | John Hoover | $6,485 |
| 9 | Evan Niemeier | $4,323 |
| 10 | Byron Hubert | $2,810 |
Forty-three players took seats to begin Day 2, and arguably the three most feared players left in the field fell before the money. Adam Friedman, newly-sponsored tour pro Kou Vang, and Eric Crain all walked out the door empty-handed. After the elimination of John McMillan on the bubble, Day 1b leader Brian Oberst, Day 1a leader Michael Hahn, Joshua "JT" Turner, Greg Wilson, and Crystal Utley were among those walking away with payout tickets.
When Utley's husband, John Utley, put his stack in with top pair and a flush draw on the turn and failed to improve against Dale Sudduth's top pair, the final table was set.
Byron Hubert came in very short, and despite an early double up, he still went out first. Evan Niemeier was next when he tried four-betting pocket deuces and lost to Yen's tens, and John Hoover sent his short stack to Yen as well to bust in eighth. Yen's streak continued as he busted Nicholas Pupillo in seventh with the A♣K♠ against the A♥Q♦.
One of the more accomplished final tablists, George Lusby, successfully nursed a short stack to a sixth-place finish, and that's when he jammed the 6♥4♥ from the small blind and ran into the A♠K♠ of Dawson. He added to a career tally of nearly $400,000 in cashes. After Rory Monahan bowed out in fifth, more than two hours of four-handed play commenced.
Yen appeared to be on cruise control when he had more than half of the chips in play at one point. Then, the turning of the tide began with Dawson doubling up with the K♣J♣ against Yen's K♥10♥. A few minutes later, Yen opened for 125,000 on the button, and Dawson made it 275,000 in the big blind. Yen moved all in, and Dawson snap-called. A disappointed-looking Yen showed the 10♥10♣, and Dawson indeed had a dominating Q♣Q♦. Nothing materialized for Yen on the 3♣6♥2♠J♥9♥ board, and Yen sent 1,225,000 to his foe.
Dawson then bounced short stacks Drake Espenlaub in fourth and Sudduth in third to set up the heads-up match with Yen, which Dawson began with about two-thirds of the total chips. He rolled his advantage to a win in less than 30 minutes, and that was that.
That concludes another fine MSPT event, and thanks for tuning in to the coverage here on PokerNews. Next up on the tour will be the Potawatomi Casino event, taking place Friday, September 5 through Sunday, September 7.
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