Chino Rheem Wins Third WPT Title at WPT Seminole Hard Rock $10k Poker Finale

By Ryan Lucchesi (@Luccrazy)
Photos by Joe Giron

The big story at the start of play on the final day of the WPT Seminole Hard Rock $10k Poker Finale was Chino Rheem. He was going for his third WPT title, a feat only achieved by three other players in history — Gus Hansen, Carlos Mortensen, and Anthony Zinno. Rheem was second in chips and had plenty of experience with more than $7.3 million in live tournament earnings.

He was not the chip leader throughout the day, but Rheem cruised through the final table rather easily on his way to destiny this afternoon. Rheem did not have his entire chip stack at risk once at the final table. Rheem emerged from a field of 342 players in this talent-laden field to capture the top prize of $705,885. Rheem now stands with the greatest WPT players in history, and his career tournament earnings are $8,082,134.

Here is a look at the chip counts when cards got into the air today at Noon ET.

Seat 1.  Chino Rheem  –  3,430,000 (86 bb)
Seat 2.  Bryan Piccioli  –  535,000 (13 bb)
Seat 3.  Richard Leger  –  4,010,000 (100 bb)
Seat 4.  Adrian Mateos  –  850,000 (21 bb)
Seat 5.  William Benson  –  2,230,000 (56 bb)
Seat 6.  Aditya Prasetyo  –  2,620,000 (66 bb)

Things kicked off quickly at the final table when Bryan Piccioli was eliminated on the third hand of play. His A-10 was dominated by the A-Q of Richard Leger, and Piccioli took home $127,905 in sixth place. Adrian Mateos and Aditya Prasetyo both scored double ups after that to keep things at five players.

William Benson had been crippled by Prasetyo’s double, so he moved all in with a short stack a short time later on Hand 35. His A-9 suited was behind the pocket sevens of Leger, and although he flopped a flush draw, no further help arrived for Benson. He was eliminated in fifth place, good for $154,585.

There were a few four-bet shoves that went uncalled during the next stretch of play before Mateos put his tournament life at risk on Hand 63. He held two pair with Q-3 in the hole when he got it in on the turn, but Prasetyo held A-10 for a turned Broadway straight. Mateos was out in fourth place, good for $200,510 in prize money.

Leger was able to survive elimination during three-handed play once, but the second time it was a different story. Hand 130 saw Leger all in with A-3 but he was dominted by the A-10 of Chino Rheem, who improved to a flush on the river. Leger took home $311,305 as our third-place finisher.

The chip counts when heads-up play began had Rheem in the lead holding 8,560,000, and Prasetyo trailed with 5,115,000. Rheem slowly but surely imposed his will on the final match, and he increased his chip lead to a 14-1 advantage by the time the first-and-final all-in confrontation took place.

On the final hand, Rheem moved all in, and Prasetyo called all in for 885,000 with . Rheem turned over , and Prasetyo needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Rheem won the pot — and his record-tying third WPT title — with trip sevens. Prasetyo finished as the runner-up, earning $484,130.

Chino Rheem won the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Finale, earning $705,885. That amount includes a $15,000 seat into the season-ending Monster WPT Tournament of Champions, which begins tomorrow. Rheem will also receive a WPT Champions Trophy, a Seminole Hard Rock Trophy, and his name will be inscribed for a third time on the one-and-only WPT Champions Cup. Congratulations to three-time champion Chino Rheem!

Final Table Results

1st:  Chino Rheem – $705,885
2nd:  Aditya Prasetyo – $484,130
3rd:  Richard Leger – $311,305
4th:  Adrian Mateos – $200,510
5th:  William Benson – $154,585
6th:  Bryan Piccioli – $127,905

That concludes our coverage from the WPT Seminole Hard Rock $10k Poker Finale. Starting on Friday at Noon ET, we will have live updates, chip counts, photos, and videos from the Monster WPT Tournament of Champions at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Casino in South Florida.