Craig Mason Wins WPT Venetian Las Vegas Fall Championship Main Event

Experience and flair were in equal measure at a thrilling final table of the WPT Venetian Las Vegas Fall Championship last night in Las Vegas. Craig Mason won his debut WPT Main Event after getting the better of long-time pro Matt Affleck heads-up, as a three-way deal only added to the tension. Sin City played host to a dramatic finale where the chip lead changed hands on multiple occasions.

Early Elimination in Las Vegas

One player was ‘Leaving Las Vegas’ very quickly, as it took just 26 hands to eliminate Anthony Piacquadio from the ranks of those able to fight for glory. All-in with ace-king against Craig Mason’s pocket jacks, the flop looked superb from the window, with not one but two kings coming to give Piacquadio trip kings.

However, a jack was the other card, giving Mason a full house of jacks over kings and after an eight on the turn, only another eight, the last remaining king in the deck or one of three aces could save the at-risk player, and no help came, sending Piacquadio home with $88,000 in sixth place.

The only non-American at the final table, Nick Yunis, departed in fifth place for $117,000. The Chilean-born player three-bet to 2.1 million chips with jack-ten of diamonds and was four-bet shoved on Mason with pocket kings. Calling it off, Yunis flopped an open-ender when it came Q-9-5 but with two blockers held by Mason, a queen on the turn meant only an eight would save him on the river. That came a jack and the field was down to four, with Mason leading.

Pupillo Pushed Out

The overnight chip leader was Nick Pupillo but the American endured a miserable time at the felt, and his journey ended in fourth place for a score of $155,000. Pupillo used the time extension chip to make an agonizing decision to call off his stack with king-four of diamonds. Pupillo was right to do, as Craig Mason turned over ten-eight of spades, but an eight on the flop put Mason in the lead and Pupillo couldn’t hit, leaving him to depart just outside the podium places.

With three players left, Mason had a big lead with 12.1 million chips. Las Vegas resident Daniyal Gheba was his closest challenger on 6.8m, but it was a close fight between the two chasing players, with experienced pro and coach Matt Affleck on 6.65m chips. Early signs were good for both the players chasing Mason down, with Gheba and Affleck both chipping up through the leader. Such was the even spread of the stacks that players discussed then agreed upon a deal, levelling out the payments to more or less match the chips.

Daniyal Gheba put the pressure on and took the lead but dropped a chunk to suddenly find himself as the short stack when he allowed Mason to double through him with the far superior ace-queen to his king-four. Soon, Gheba shoved with jack-eight and was called by Mason with the covering stack and queen-eight. A queen came on the flop and while Gheba turned a gutshot, it fell short, and he busted in third place for $276,000.

Mason Emotional After Maiden Win

“I’m trying not to cry right now, but this is a dream.”

Heads-up, Mason held a lead of 15.8 million chips to Matt Affleck’s 9.75m, but a series of small wins saw Affelck take the lead. Well-known for his emotional bust-out from the 2010 WSOP Main Event won by Jonathan Duhamel, Affleck has since got into nutrition, fitness and poker coaching and is not only a very successful player in his own right but a mentor these days.

Craig Mason moved ahead in chips before the final hand, where Affleck raised it up with ace-queen and Mason called with jack-nine. A flop of 9-6-3 followed, and when Affleck shoved, Mason called it off. An eight on the turn reduced Affleck’s outs from six to four as it added a flush draw to Mason’s hand, but an ineffectual four arrived on the river, merely confirming Mason’s first WPT victory and awarding him the $358,800 top prize, with Affleck content to take home $301,000.

“It means everything,” said Mason after the event’s dramatic conclusion. “I’m trying not to cry right now, but this is a dream.”

The tournament got 510 entries across three Day 1 flights and that meant a prize pool of  $2,346,000 went past the $2 million guarantee by some distance. With the top 64 players in the money, WPT CEO Adam Pliska said the event was a huge success.

“Congratulations to Craig Mason on winning the WPT Venetian Las Vegas Fall Championship and adding his name to the coveted WPT Mike Sexton Champions Cup. We are grateful to the team at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas for giving our players a world class setting to compete for a WPT title.”

Here are the final standings from the latest Las Vegas event as part of the World Poker Tour.

** after three-way deal, includes $10,400 entry into WPT World Championships

* after three-way deal.