McKeehen Still on Fire, Wins Parx Big Stax 1100
While some former World Series of Poker Main Event champions fade from the spotlight, 2015 winner Joe McKeehen doesn't appear to be among that number.
He just keeps putting up fantastic results, the latest of which was a victory in the Parx Big Stax XXI 1100 for $106,126.
McKeehen bested a field of 447 players and banked his third six-figure score within the past two months. He also came in third at Borgata Spring Poker Open Championship for $138,104 and won a $2,200 side event at Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown for $104,608.
Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe McKeehen | North Wales, PA | $106,126 |
| 2 | Travis Greenawalt | Columbia, PA | $67,107 |
| 3 | Robert Paventi | Brooklyn, NY | $43,784 |
| 4 | Ryan Pochedly | Mantua, OH | $32,051 |
| 5 | Bart Golik | Brooklyn, NY | $23,943 |
| 6 | Jordan Zucker | Cherry Hill, NJ | $18,029 |
| 7 | Michael Murphy | Philadelphia, PA | $13,832 |
| 8 | Juan Nieto Rodriguez | Gaithersburg, MD | $10,588 |
| 9 | Sundiata Devore | Syracuse, NY | $8,251 |
The tournament, which featured two starting flights, paid out 53 places. Aaron Mermelstein, Joe Palma, Esther Taylor-Brady, Dylan Wilkerson, Matt Mendez, Mike Linster and Kane Kalas were some of the players who cashed but fell short of qualifying for Day 3.
According to the live updates, McKeehen held the chip lead with nearly 100 big blinds heading into the final day. He only increased his edge with a double knockout holding A♥K♥ against Q♦Q♥ and A♦Q♣ to get things to a final table.
Travis Greenawalt scored the first couple of knockouts at the final table. First, he won a flip against Sundiata Devore. Then, he was dealt aces when Juan Nieto Rodriguez jammed with K♠Q♠.
McKeehen then picked up ace-king and had Michael Murphy shove on him with ace-queen. Big slick was once again the ticket for McKeehen as he flopped a king to eliminate Murphy.
After Jordan Zucker busted in sixth, McKeehen found the A♣K♣ and three-bet to 420,000 when Greenawalt raised to 150,000 first to act. Bart Golik put in another raise to just over 1 million out of the big blind, and McKeehen put him all in for about 5 million total.
Golik tanked and called with K♦K♠, but the world champ's hot run with ace-king continued as he flopped an ace to send Golik packing.
McKeehen's good luck continued four-handed. Ryan Pochedly shoved over his button open for about 25 big blinds with A♠Q♠ and McKeehen called with A♣10♦. The board looked clean for Pochedly as 4♣A♥3♥3♦ hit the felt, but a 10♣ river doomed him.
Greenawalt eliminated a short-stacked Robert Paventi as his own ace-queen held up over ace-ten. McKeehen and Greenawalt went into a deep-stacked battle with the former world champ having over 250 big blinds and Greenawalt having a little over 100.
The first round went to Greenawalt as he nearly evened the counts, but McKeehen made a boat against his flush to retake command. Then, McKeehen cracked Greenawalt's slowplayed aces with a straight on a board of 5♣6♥2♣A♦8♥. Both players checked the turn and Greenawalt bet the river with his set, paying off a big raise by McKeehen, who showed 9♥7♦.
Down to just 11 big blinds, Greenawalt got the rest of his chips in with queen-nine and did not improve against McKeehen's pocket sevens.
Photo courtesy of Parx Poker
