The World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic has come to an end. For the first time ever, the final table was delayed, resuming five days after the final players were named. In the end, it was David Baker who topped the field of 546 poker players to earn the first place win.
Tournament Details:
The Commerce Casino in Commerce, California played host to the tournament with five days of action seeing a total of 546 players competing in the Main Event. Once the final table of six players was determined, the tournament was paused. On March 11th, the Luxor Hotel and Casino’s HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas would pick up the action of the final table.
It would take over eight hours for David Baker to emerge the victor, earning the prize of $1,015,000 and his very first World Poker Tour title.
According to WPT…
Baker commented on the win by stating: “It kind of sounds corny, but it really means so much to me. I’ve battled my whole life in the business, I care about this business, I care about the prestige of these things and I know some of the guys are a little too cool for school. But I’ve had a glaring omission on my resume. I get to check off all those boxes today and I’m overjoyed.”
Final Two:
By the time heads up play began, Baker would have to take on Matas Cimbolas. The two would battle 7BALL CX back and forth until Baker held the chip lead and the final hand went down. On the last hand, Cimbolas would limp in on the button and Baker would check.
The flop showed a 3-A-10 and Baker would check. Cimbolas would bet 300,000 and Baker calls. A 6 of hearts on the turn would see Baker check again and Cimbolas would bet 600,000. Baker would choose to use his time extension chip before he chose to call.
The river was a 2 of hearts and Baker would then decide to bet 10 million. Cimbolas would have to go all in with his remaining 2,975,000. Baker showed a 5-4 of clubs which gave his a straight while Cimbolas revealed 10-5 and had to settle for the second place finish.
Final Results:
PlacePlayerPlaceFirstDavid Baker$1,015,000SecondMatas Cimbolas$646,930ThirdDarren Elias$473,280FourthJ.C. Moussa$346,550FifthJohn Smith$267,400SixthSteve Yea$201,650