Jack Powell Eliminated in 2nd Place (AUD$28,120)
![[user135779]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
With the chip counts almost level, we thought that this heads-up battle would have dragged out for quite a while. How wrong we were!
In the first hand after the break, Soren Blanner completed from the button and Jack Powell checked from the big blind before both players checked the flop of 
and the turn of the 
before Powell led out for 20,000 when the dealer turned up the river 
. Blanner called, but folded after Powell showed 
for two pair.
A minute later, Powell min-raised to 40,000 from the button before Blanner reraised to 120,000. Powell moved all-in and Blanner snap-called, tabling 
but found himself flipping for his tournament life against Powell's 
.
Incredibly, Blanner paired his ace on the flop of 
and improved to the nut flush after the turn and river ran out , 
, leaving Powell with just 93,000 in chips. It didn't take long for Blanner to put him all in, raising him to that amount from the button in the very next hand.
"All right, let's do this," Powell sighed, committing the rest of his chips and tabling 
, but almost fell over after Blanner showed 
, which improved to a set after the flop of 
and then turned a full house with the 
- one of two hearts that Powell didn't want to see. The river 
was purely for aesthetics.
A clearly disappointed Powell was consoled by his friends on the rail, but in our eyes, there's nothing to be sad about, considering that he's just picked up AUD$28,120 for his runner-up finish. But it was Denmark's day and Soren Blanner finished where he started - on top - and is now wearing the championship gold ring as a result. Congratulations, Soren!