Ryan Van Sanford Wins WPT Jacksonville bestbet Bounty Scramble for $421,068
The World Poker Tour bestbet Bounty Scramble, a tournament that featured 40 players with $2,500 bounties on their heads, featured a $1 million guarantee, but the 461 entrants that took to the felt crushed that by creating a prize pool of more than $2 million. After four days of play, Ryan Van Sanford emerged victorious to capture the $421,068 first-place prize.
Prior to the win, Van Sanford, a professional poker player from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, had just $120,734 in tournament winnings. Interestingly, Van Sanford added his name to the WPT Champions’ Cup just three days after turning 21.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Van Sanford | $421,068 |
| 2 | Chris Bolek | $284,371 |
| 3 | Brian Reinert | $182,853 |
| 4 | Jared Reinstein | $135,223 |
| 5 | Jason Helder | $101,518 |
| 6 | Corey Hochman | $81,335 |
Notable Finishes: Christian Harder (10th - $29,668), Justin Zaki (14th - $24,219), Jamie Gold (17th - $20,788), Darryll Fish (21st - $18,164), Shannon Shorr (26th - $14,330), Anthony Zinno (27th - $14,330), Mohsin Charania (44th - $10,899)
According to the WPT live blog, the first elimination at the final table came in Level 26 (20,000/40,000/5,000) when Van Sanford opened for 80,000 on the button and then called when Corey Hochman shoved all in for 590,000 from the small blind.
Hochman: K♦Q♥
Van Sanford: A♠Q♠
Hochman was in trouble, and his spot only got worse when the 7♠A♣6♠ flop gave Van Sanford a pair of aces with a flush draw. The 7♣ turn left Hochman drawing dead, and after the 2♣ was put out on the river, he took his leave in sixth place for $81,355.
Jason Helder was the next to go when his K♠Q♠ failed to overcome the A♥10♦ of Van Sanford, and then Jared Reinstein followed him out the door on Hand #89 when his 8♠8♥ failed to hold against the A♠10♦ of Chris Bolek thanks to a ten that spiked on the river. Helder and Reinstein took home $101,518 and $135,223, respectively.
In Level 30 (50,000/100,000/15,000) on Hand #145 of the final table, Bolek raised to 250,000 from the button and was met by a three-bet to 700,000 from Van Sanford from the small blind. Brian Reinert then four-bet to 1.9 million from the big, Bolek folded, and Van Sanford five-bet jammed. Reinert snap-called off for roughly 3.5 million with the A♥K♠, but he needed to improve against the J♥J♣ of Van Sanford. That proved easier said than done though as the board ran out J♦9♥7♣3♦6♥. Reinert took home $182,853 for his third-place finish while Van Sanford took a nearly 3-1-chip lead into heads-up play against Bolek.
The two would play just 16 hands before Van Sanford finished the job. It happened when Bolek limped the button, Van Sanford checked, and the flop came down 10♥9♠6♠. Van Sanford checked, Bolek bet 150,000, and Van Sanford check-raised to 400,000. Bolek responded by moving all in, and Van Sanford called.
Bolek: 10♦7♥
Van Sanford: 10♠8♦
Both players had flopped top pair with a straight draw, but Van Sanford was ahead thanks to his kicker. Neither the 2♠ turn nor Q♣ river influenced the hand, and Bolek was bounced in second place for $284,371. With that, Van Sanford captured the title and the $421,068 first-place prize.
Season XIII of the WPT continues with the WPT500 at Dusk Till Dawn, which is happening now, and then in Montreal in a little over a week.
*Photos and info courtesy of the WPT.
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