Mike Englert Tops Tough Final Table at HPT Golden Gates
Some of the top players grinding the American poker circuit made the Heartland Poker Tour Golden Gates $1,650 Main Event final table, but Colorado resident Mike Englert outlasted them to win a hefty first-place prize of $200,762 for getting through a field of 607 entries.
While Englert doesn't appear to be the most prolific player, he certainly has made his presence felt in Black Hawk. He cashed four times there in 2017, including a third-place finish in the HPT summer event for $53,000, and he might have 200,000 reasons to venture out of Colorado now and continue building on his success there.
Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Englert | Windsor, CO | $200,762 |
| 2 | Matt Bond | Dallas, TX | $124,028 |
| 3 | John Beauprez | Denver, CO | $81,288 |
| 4 | Steve Klaus | Denver, CO | $56,482 |
| 5 | Will Berry | Norman, OK | $41,045 |
| 6 | Nick Pupillo | Gilbert, AZ | $31,855 |
| 7 | Michael Hinde | Monument, CO | $26,769 |
| 8 | Chris Denz | Wheat Ridge, CO | $22,307 |
| 9 | Jacob Phillips | Ozark, MO | $17,846 |
The tournament took four starting flights to pile up its 607 entries, and Englert had a few days off after bagging up the chip lead way back on Day 1a last Wednesday, according to the live updates.
Englert entered the final table trailing only Colorado native and well-known pot-limit Omaha coach John Beauprez in the counts. However, he scored an early elimination with A♦K♦ over a short-stacked Jacob Phillips' K♣Q♥ to move into a virtual tie with Beauprez.
Then, Englert flopped top set of eights and got in a raising war with Chris Denz on the turn, with Denz trying to buy the pot with ace-high. He didn't have an out in the deck when Englert snapped off his three-bet shove and Englert had 4.5 million at 30,000/60,000/10,000.
Matt Bond, who has racked up about $1 million in cashes across a bunch of the U.S. tours, then took control of things. The K♣10♥ appeared to be his lucky cards as he first won a flip against Michael Hinde and then called a shove of 11 big blinds from former HPT champ Nick Pupillo. The two-time Circuit ring winner had the goods with jacks but couldn't hold as a king flopped.
The sixth-place finish mirrored an MSPT cash for Pupillo in the same venue in 2015.
Bond had over 40 percent of the chips, but Englert did his best to keep pace by busting another top American pro, Will Berry, with A♠Q♠ against sevens. Short stack Steve Klaus bowed out after laddering up with timely preflop shoves, leaving it three-handed between Beauprez, Bond and Englert.
Beauprez had not done much of note at the final table and sank to the short stack. While he managed one double with kings against ace-queen, he wouldn't find another after shipping the K♠9♠ and running into Bond's tens. While Bond hit a set, a 10♥4♠J♥7♠ board brought a sweat but the river bricked out.
Bond was up with 11.6 million to 6.6 million at 80,000/160,000/20,000. With 30-minute levels taking effect, the action got a bit more pressing, but it still continued for a few levels as Englert pulled into the lead at 200,000/400,000/50,000. He had Bond on the ropes with A♣5♣ against K♦Q♣ but Bond doubled back to even.
Finally, stacks went in with Bond flopping top pair of eights with J♠8♦ and Englert having him in bad shape with Q♠Q♣. Two bricks later, Bond had to settle for second place and his third six-figure score of the past two years.
