Arthur Andrade Wins 2016 MSPT bestbet Jacksonville Main Event for $112,990
This past weekend, Season 7 of the Mid-States Poker Tour continued with its second-ever visit to bestbet Jacksonville. The $1,100 Main Event attracted 459 entries — up from 421 the year before — and created a $445,230 prize pool. After three days of play, Tampa's Arthur Andrade from Tampa emerged victorious to capture a $112,990 first-place prize.
Prior to the win, Andrade had just $14,452 in live tournament earnings, all in 2015, with his best previous cash $8,659 for a third-place finish in the 2015 Coco Poker showdown Event #2: $125 No-Limit Hold'em Deep Stack. Andrade also earned 1,500 Player of the Year points for the win, which ties him atop the leaderboard with MSPT Wisconsin State Poker Champ Andy Rubinberg.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arthur Andrade | Lake Mary, Florida | $112,990 |
| 2 | David Mitchell | Jacksonville, Florida | $65,229 |
| 3 | Kenneth Kemple | Tallahassee, Florida | $39,801 |
| 4 | Jermaine Gerlin | Jacksonville, Florida | $32,062 |
| 5 | John O'Neal | Jacksonville, Florida | $25,207 |
| 6 | Christopher Brauch | Jacksonville, Florida | $21,006 |
| 7 | Blake Whittington | Jacksonville, Florida | $16,805 |
| 8 | David Jackson | Atlanta, Georgia | $12,825 |
| 9 | Danny Romano | Jacksonville, Florida | $8,845 |
| 10 | Joe DiChario | Jacksonville, Florida | $5,749 |
Notable Finishers: World Series of Poker bracelet winner Andrew Badecker (39th - $2,211), poker pro Maurice Hawkins (22nd - $2,742), two-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Tripp Kirk (21st - $2,742), Day 1a chip leader Talesh Patel (20th - $2,742), the last woman in the field, Diane Casino (17th - $3,494), and Michael "Carwash" Schneider (15th - $4,422)
The final table kicked off with the eliminations of Joe DiChario, who had won Event #4: $350 No-Limit Hold'em Bounty for $8,098 less than a week earlier, and Danny Romano in 10th and ninth places, respectively.
Not long after, Atlanta's David Jackson was eliminated in eighth — the result of his king-ten failing to get their against Andrade's pocket nines — and then 24-year-old poker pro Blake Whittington, who topped a field of 690 entries to win Event #1 $350 Regional for $45,492 just a week prior, followed him out the door in seventh.
It happened in Level 28 (30,000/60,000/10,000) when action folded to a short-stacked Whittington in the small blind and he shoved for 180,000 holding the 10♠3♥. Andrade looked down at the J♣J♦ in the big, made the call, and held after the board ran out a clean K♦A♥6♦9♦9♠.
The next to go was Chris Brauch, a poker dealer from nearby bestbet Orange Park, who lost a race with ace-jack to the pocket sevens of Jermaine "Lion" Gerlin. After the elimination of local cash game player John O'Neal in fifth place, a series of big hands resulted in Gerlin going from chip leader to out in fourth place.
The elimination of Kenneth Kemple in third place set up a heads-up match between Andrade and local player David Mitchell. The two took turns doubling through one another and holding the chip lead, the result of the blinds being so big at that point.
Then, in Level 33 (100,000/200,000/30,000), Mitchell got his last 2.7 million all in preflop holding the K♦Q♣ against the 4♠4♣ of Andrade. The 7♠Q♠10♠ flop paired Mitchell, but Andrade was the only one with a spade. The K♠ turn gave Andrade the flush, but at the same time Mitchell made two pair, meaning he was drawing live to the river. Unfortunately for him, the A♣ blanked and he was eliminated in second place for $65,229.
*Image courtesy of the MSPT.
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