Aaron Van Blarcum has etched his name on World Poker Tour’s book of champions.

He managed to win the Season XVIII WPT Legends of Poker Main Event held at Bicycle Hotel & Casino. The tournament attracted 520 entries all eying the $474,390 first-place prize.

Van Blarcum surprised everyone, including himself, when he bested the competitive field to win  $474,390. He also won an entry to the $15,000 buy-in to WPT Tournament of Champions at the end of the season. His best live cash before the tournament was less than $51,000.

Speaking to the press after the win, Van Blarcum could not hide his excitement.

“It feels great. I planned on playing in six of these [WPTs] this year and this was the first one, so it’s pretty awesome.”

The race to the top was not a simple affair. He had to defeat the likes of Gueorgui Gantcheve and Jared Griener who finished second and third respectively.

 

Aaron Van Blarcum Fairly Tale

Coming to the final table, Van Blarcum was the short stack and no one expected him to last a couple of minutes, let alone win the tournament.

However, a few hands into the final table, his fortunes started to change. He was even responsible for the first elimination of the day. He eliminated Antonios Roungeris in sixth place with a higher pair. In the following hand, he added more chips to his stack after making a royal flush.

Jisup Hwang was eliminated by Gantchev in fifth place. Hwang’s pair was no match for Gantchev’s pocket Qs.

After 4 hands, Van Blarcum was at it again. He eliminated Vahan Sudzhyan in fourth place. Van Blarcum had been dealt ace-king while Sudzhyan had Six-Five. After the turn, Sudzhyan moved all in and Van Blarcum snap-called. Unfortunately for Sudzhyan, Van Blarcum had already made a flush.

It did not take long before Van Blarcum eliminated Griener in third place. After the elimination, Van Blarcum had the bulk of the chips. He had over 16 million chips whereas Gantchev has a little over 4 million chips.

On the final hand, Van Blarcum was ahead from the get-go with pocket tens while Gantchev had pock fives. The board rang out Q-8-4-3-2and Van Blarcum won the pot. Gantchev’s second-place finish earned him $306,265.

 

WPT Legends of Poker Final Table Results

1st: Aaron Van Blarcum – $474,390*
2nd: Gueorgui Gantchev – $306,265
3rd: Jared Griener – $226,040
4th: Vahan Sudzhyan – $168,630
5th: Jisup Hwang – $127,165
6th: Antonios Roungeris – $96,955

 

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