Alex Kuzmin Kicks Off 2011 With WPT® Southern Championship Win At Beau Rivage



Russian Poker Pro Takes Home His First WPT Title in Only His Second WPT Tournament on U.S. Soil

Since January 6^th the tournament room at Beau Rivage has played host to 34 tournaments, thousands of players, and millions to be won. The largest tournament, the $10,000 World Poker Tour televised main event, which featured a mix of young up-and-coming stars such as Matt Affleck and Jason Mercier and veterans such as Scotty Nguyen, Gavin Smith, Chad Brown, Lee Markholt and Dwyte Pilgrim. The field also included the three previous champions of this event: Bill Edler (2007), Allen Carter (2008), and Hoyt Corkins (2009). They played for a total prize pool of $2,008,100 and a $25,000 seat to the WPT World Championship in May at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

Over the course of five days, 214 players paid $10,000 to try and make their mark on the poker world. Over those days, every player had one thing on their mind, making the final table and winning the top prize. It would come down to six players, some of which had a little history with final tables.

Alex Kuzmin was able to solidify his place in poker history in the early morning of Jan. 28 when he captured Beau Rivage Resort & Casino’s WPT Southern Poker Championship title.  Kuzmin, from Moscow, Russia, topped a tough field that included former WPT champions, a WSOP bracelet winner and an Aussie Millions final tablist to capture the World Poker Tour’s first title of 2011.  In winning the WPT Southern Poker Championship, he earned the trophy, Beau Rivage and WPT bracelets and $601,469 which includes the $25,000 seat in the WPT World Championship.

Kuzmin’s win came at the expense of Allan Carter who lost his bid to become the first ever two-time winner of a WPT event.

Kumzin entered the final table as chip leader only to loose it within 5 hands to Carter. Two-time WSOP bracelet winner Ryan Hughes was knocked out quickly in 6^th when action folded to the small blind, where Hughes completed. Shannon Shorr made a raise to 22k and Ryan called. The flop was 4c-9c-Jd. Ryan led out for 31k and Shannon put in a raise to 74k. Ryan tanked for a minute or two and moved all-in and Shannon wasted little time in calling. Ryan held 7c-4h and Shannon had the lead with Jh-10c. The turn was the 8c and the Ryan Hughes would need a miracle to stay alive. The river 3c gave Shannon Shorr the flush and Ryan Hughes of Phoenix, Arizona finished sixth earning $89,375.

Pat Mahoney was under the gun and raised the action to 46k. Action folded around to Leif Force who made another raise to 125k. Pat pushed in another raise of 245k and Leif moved all-in. Pat called with pocket Kings to the Qs-Qh of Leif. The flop was an uneventful Js-6s-2c. The turn was the Ks giving the set to Pat, but now Leif could catch a spade for the flush. The river was the 7s and Leif was able to take Pat Mahoney of Lakeland, Tennessee out in fifth place earning $113,208.

Shannon Shorr was in the small blind and desperately needed to get some chips. He moved all-in and Allen Carter made the call with Q-J versus the J-7 of Shannon. The flop came A-3-9, the turn was a Q and the river was another 3. Shannon Shorr of Birmingham, Alabama finished fourth earning $144,985.

Carter dominated the table most of the night until he let the lead slip away when he doubled up Leif Force.  Carter was unable to regain momentum. Leif Force folded on the button and Allen Carter raised to 100k. Alex Kuzmin decided to put in another raise of 275k and Allen moved all-in for a total of 1,425,000. Alex took some time to make the decision to call and found out he was in the lead with Ad-Qd versus the J-9o of Allen. The flop ran 10c-2c-7d and nothing changed. The turn was a Jd and Allen took the lead, but needed to fade many outs. The river was one of those outs when the 10d came. The third place finisher was Allen Carter of Lewisville, Texas. For his efforts, Allen took home $218,471.

By the time heads up play arrived, Kumzin was the favorite with 4,310,000 chips to Force’s 2,160,000.  Force, who won his buy in to this event in a $500 satellite, made a valiant try but couldn’t over take Kumzin.

During the latter part of heads up play, Leif Force was crippled when he tried to run a bluff on Alex and got caught. From then on, Leif was short-stacked and needed a double up to get back in the game. Then, Alex Kuzmin open shoved on the button and Leif Force made the call. It was Leif was in major trouble as Alex was holding K-4 versus the Jc-9c of Leif. The flop was 4d-Qd-5s, the turn was the 2h and the river was the 2c. Leif Force finished second, earning $315,790.

“Alex played terrific,” said WPT announcer and Poker Hall of Fame member Mike Sexton. “He came in as chip leader, lost a lot of chips and went to lock down mode. He was able to change gears and played superbly once we got down to three handed poker.  He deserved to win.”

	Event #31 – $10,000 World Poker Tour Main Event
	Total players	214
	Prize pool	$2,008,100
Place	Player	Winnings
1	Alexander Kuzmin/Moscow, Russia	$575,969
2	Leif Force/Tallahassee, FL	$315,790
3	Allen Carter/Lewisville, TX	$218,471
4	Shannon Shorr/Birmingham, AL	$144,985
5	Pat Mahoney/Lakeland, TN	$113,208
6	Ryan Hughes/Place Chandler,AZ	$89,375
7	BJ McBrayer/Tuscaloosa, AL	$67,527
8	Otis Wright/Laport, TX	$49,653
9	Stuart Breakstone/Memphis, TN	$35,750
10	Vitor Coelho/Tampa, FL	$24,826
11	Dermot Blain/Ireland	$24,826
12	Martin Zentner/New Orleans, LA	$24,826
13	Robert Keller/Gulf Shores, AL	$22,840
14	Robert Smith/Lakeland, FL	$22,840
15	Hilbert Shirey/Winter Haven, FL	$22,840
16	Chad Brown/Las Vegas, NV	$20,854
17	Jordan Smith/College Station, TX	$20,854
18	Mark Rose/Orlando, FL	$20,854
19	Hoyt Corkins/AL	$18,868
20	Andrew Batkin/New York, NY	$18,868
21	Yuval Bronshtein/Israel	$18,868
22	Lee Markholt/Las Vegas, NV	$18,868
23	Bert Ladner/Biloxi, MS	$18,868
24	Alistair Melville/Hamilton, Canada	$18,868
25	Todd Keikoan/Las Vegas, NV	$18,868
26	Lisa Yap/Kissimmee, FL	$18,868
27	Luke Staudenmaier/Pittsburgh, PA	$18,868



Comments are closed.