Zachary Donovan Wins WSOPC Seminole Coconut Creek ($243,916)

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Feb 19, 2019 3 min read

Zachary Donovan won the World Series of Poker Circuit Seminole Coconut Creek $1,700 Main Event on Monday, finishing off a field of 805 entries for $243,916 and his second WSOP Circuit gold ring.

Previously, Donovan had shipped a reentry event at Foxwoods back in 2013. He grabbed his second-biggest career cash and now has more than $1.3 million in live cashes.

While he enjoyed the win, Donovan told WSOP reporters it was still a tough time because his grandfather fell ill and died during Day 1a of the event. Donovan's family encouraged him to go ahead and play and he wound up taking it down.

"He was a huge fan of my poker," Donovan said. "I guess he was with me the whole time. We won."

WSOPC Seminole Coconut Creek Main Event Final Table Payouts

The tournament drew 805 entries over its two starting flights and paid out 81 places. Josh Kay, Javier Zarco, Chris Bolek, Brian Altman, Phil Hui and Matt Waxman were some of the notable players cashing but falling short of the final table.

Donovan was one of the chip leaders going into the final day with 15 players remaining, and he held steady going into the final table with third-place chips trailing leader Jason Young and Hamid Izadi, according to the live updates.

Final Table Action

Mike Azzaro was first out at the final table when his queens couldn't hold against the A♦K♦ of Izadi.

Next, popular pro Jessica Dawley, who managed to make the final table despite six big blinds to start the day, saw her run up end. She got it in good with queens but Sokchheka Pho got lucky and flopped an ace with ace-queen.

Meanwhile, Donovan continued to win pots and built into the chip lead as Jack Shea and Chad Eveslage busted in seventh and sixth, respectively. Then, Donovan solidified himself at the top of the counts by busting Circuit grinder Warren Sheaves with kings against ace-queen in a blind-versus-blind cooler for Sheaves' last 13 big blinds or so.

It would be several levels before the next elimination, but it was almost Donovan's name going into the payout list as the fourth-place finisher. He slipped to just over 25 big blinds when he got pocket fives in on a three-bet ship, only to have Young turn over two sixes after calling. Luckily for Donovan, the river brought a five to give him new life.

He didn't let the good fortune go to waste. After Young busted Izadi, Young shoved all in for 20 big blinds with ace-ten on the button and ran into ace-queen held by Donovan. A dead jack-high board put Donovan in command with 17.6 million to Pho's 6.5 million at 100,000/200,000/30,000.

Pho would draw even and then work his way to a 2-1 lead. However, Donovan coolered him with a flopped nut straight against two pair and then cracked ace-king with J♥7♥ for the rest to claim the ring and the first-place dough.

Martin Ryan Takes Circuit Champion Honors

As part of his win, Donovan has locked up a seat in the $1 million guaranteed Global Casino Championship. Another player who would have done the same was Martin Ryan, who grabbed Circuit Champion honors at Seminole Coconut Creek despite failing to win a ring. Ryan snagged 80 points at the stop, highlighted by a pair of runner-up finishes.

However, Ryan had already locked up a seat by winning Circuit Champion at this stop earlier this season. The nine-time ring winner will instead deny a spot to a competing player and slightly increase the value for everyone else in the process.

Here's a look at all the ring winners from Coconut Creek:

WSOPC Seminole Coconut Creek Ring Winners

_{Photo courtesy of WSOP}

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