RYAN BOWNDS IS THE STAR POKER FESTIVAL OPENING EVENT CHAMPION!
It took 771 players and six days of non-stop exciting poker action but we have finally found our Opening Event champion.
Prior to this event Bownds' biggest tournament win was $6,324 in a Star Poker Room tournament back in 2015. He has now exceeded that figure almost ten-fold.
When we started the final table the question was whether or not the massive chip stacks of Johan Audibert and Navid King could be overcome. Bownds came into the final table as our second shortest chip stack but he never stopped believing in himself.
As reported earlier, a shortstacked Bownds was never going to die wondering, he was aggressive over the entire tournament and that aggression was rewarded again and again and again.
He showed that he had the capacity to play an effective shortstacked game but also that he was able to mix it up and play post flop when required. He kept calm and focused on the goal over the entire tournament and has been rewarded with the biggest victory of his career.
Audibert and King started as the chip leaders and in many ways the tournament was there's for the taking. A trap that big stacks commonly fall into on the final table of a tournament is to tighten up too much waiting for others to bust. Neither Audibert nor King did that, they both remained aggressive until the end and gave themselves every opportunity. They should be very pleased with their respective second and third place finishes. Once again this is the biggest cash of both of their careers.
Dave Lee finished fourth and was a model of consistency. He had his plan and did his best to execute it. He got things going well in the middle of the final table but fell short after an impressive run. Above this fact. Khouri, Lui, Ishac, Lattecher and Tran should all be very proud of their play. It is no small feat outlasting such a strong and talented field and they should be pleased with the result.
It is onwards and upwards from here for all of our final table players. As we get into the second half of the Star Poker Festival we see some big opportunities for these players to shine. None more so than the main event which starts on Tuesday and the 5k challenge on Wednesday. These tournaments really present an opportunity for these players to continue to build on this fantastic result.
The Star Poker Live Reporting team will be here live for these events and all the others including tomorrow's Turbo tournament and the 6 Max which is winding down to its final stages. Make sure you stay tuned in for all the action from the Star Poker Room as we deliver the 2017 Star Poker Festival direct to you.