James Mackey Wins WPT Choctaw Championship for the Second Time
The World Poker Tour (WPT) Choctaw Championship had several major storylines heading into Thursday's final table, one of them being that James Mackey could become a repeat champion after winning the event in 2016. History repeated as Mackey won his second WPT Choctaw title and $361,600 inside the Hyper X Arena in Las Vegas.
Another storyline was that Eric Afriat looked to tie Darren Elias as the all-time WPT title holder, but he was denied a fourth title with a runner-up finish worth $235,000.
Mackey, a Kansas City resident who in 2007 became the third youngest player to win a WSOP bracelet, said his second WPT victory ranked as one of his proudest poker accomplishments.
“I would say this one is way up there," he told poker media after the victory, which also earned him a seat to the WPT World Championship in December. "Being one of the only people to ever win a same event twice, that’s special. Being one of the only people to ever do it means a lot.”
The stacked final table also included high-stakes pro Adam Hendrix (3rd - $175,000) and Poker Boom star Erick Lindgren, who was after his third WPT title a decade after his last victory.
Read More About the WPT Choctaw Championship Final Table
WPT Choctaw Final Table Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | COUNTRY | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Mackey | United States | $361,600 | |
| 2 | Eric Afriat | Canada | $235,000 | |
| 3 | Adam Hendrix | United States | $175,000 | |
| 4 | Sebastien Aube | Canada | $131,000 | |
| 5 | Danny Marx | United States | $99,000 | |
| 6 | Erick Lindgren | United States | $75,000 |
"Very Tough Final Table"
Mackey hasn't been playing a heavy poker schedule, but there was no way he was missing this year's WPT Choctaw stop.
"It’s the only WPT that’s within driving distance, so I make sure to always go there," he said. "“But just in general I love playing in Choctaw. I think the staff is great and they run really good tournaments.”
While Mackey faced a "very tough final table," the 2016 champion had experience on his side.
“The more of these final tables you make, the better it is for you. Because sometimes all the cameras, all the interviews and pictures and everything can kind of throw you off of your game a little bit. So I think just the experience of doing it helps.”
“Making these big final tables is fun. I wouldn’t say I get nervous anymore, but excited for sure. It’s so rare that you make one that it’s fun every time.”
Final Table Action
The $3,800 buy-in Choctaw Championship, which drew 603 runners for a prize pool of $2.1 million, comes on the heels of a much louder and rowdier WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship final table that played out the previous night.
After a dazzling entrance from the six final table players, Lindgren was first to go as his ace-nine couldn't hold up against the king-jack of Aube. "E-Dog" earned $75,000 for his sixth-place finish.
Lindgren, who won WPT titles in 2003 and 2004 and finished runner-up for a third title in 2013, has been out of the poker limelight for some time. The former Full Tilt pro has more than $10 million in live earnings but has had lows in his career. Now, he's married and focused on raising his two sons.
"It was a fun time, it was a whirlwind to be traveling and playing all the tournaments with the same guys," Lindgren told PokerNews about his glory days. "There was some big-time camaraderie, you see the young guys running in groups. Before you have families, it's very easy to run around and keep playing."
Danny Marx was the next player to go as he got his chips in with ten-seven to be dominated by the king-seven of Sebastien Aube. A ten in the window gave Aube a commanding lead, but it was short-lived a cruel king on the river secured his fifth-place elimination for $99,000 to come up just short of his second six-figure cash.
It would be several hours before the final table lost another player with several double-ups and chopped pots. Eventually, Aube found himself all-in with ace-queen to be ahead of the eight-seven of Afriat, who managed to hit a runner-runner to pair to confirm Aube's exit in fourth place for $131,000.
The biggest rail of the tournament belonged to Hendrix, who was supported by a cast of notable poker players including Justin Saliba, Stephen Song, Michael Rossitto and the jovial Ren Lin.
“Let’s go Alaska!” Lin yelled as Hendrix scooped a pot. "Alaska number one! Snowman. Iceman.”
When Hendrix found himself all in with queen-nine against the ace-five of Mackey, Lin maintained his positive energy. “He’s gonna need Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga one time!”
Hendrix couldn't hit the Lady Gaga as Mackey paired his ace to send Hendrix out in third for $175,000 as he entered heads-up play with an insurmountable chip lead.
Afriat managed to get a few small doubles before a final confrontation where his king-jack dominated Mackey's king-jack. A flop of 9♠5♠5♥ left the Candian drawing to running jacks and the J♣ turn kept things interesting before the 6♦ confirmed his runner-up finish.
The televised final table with air at a future date and hand-for-hand updates of the event are available on the WPT site.
