Graham Cowan managed to top a field of 147 players and rake his first-career live poker win of $12,354 in the second-to-none Masters 50+ poker event, which lasted for 14 hours.
Yesterday, 1st August, Graham Cowan was crowned victor in the first of its kind over 50s poker event, which was held as part of the annual Star Sydney Championships. This is Cowan’s first win in a live poker event. The player managed to grab the title and a cash prize of $12,354 for his first place.
In a post-victory interview, Cowan expressed his great excitement, sharing that all the players were tough opponents. And that was the truth, having in mind that the event continued for 14 exhausting hours, in which the players were striving to conquer the title. The champion added that this is his debut at a final table.
The unique event stimulated the interest of 147 players, who decided to give it a shot. The only requirement to sign up for the poker contest was for the players to be above 50 years old. Gradually, the number of the players was melted down to only 9 to set the final table. Greg Russell entered the final table with the most solid stack of chips, but the eventual winner Graham Cowan was only a step behind him.
The first to leave the final table was Steve Keens, raking $1,115 in cash for his 9th place. The final table also welcomed one lady, who managed to enter the list of the top 3 players and that is Patricia Schuberg. She left the poker battlefield with $5,508 in cash prize for her deep run in the event.
The players, who entered the long-awaited heads-up duel were Greg Russell and Graham Cowan. The final hand in play saw the short-stacked Russel moving all his chips in at the pre-flop. He was holding [7d][2h] against Cowan’s [10h][10d]. The dealer turned [Ac][8s][Kd][9s][Jh] on the board only to secure the title for Cowan. It seems that this was Cowan’s lucky day, as he was holding a pair of tens for a second time during the heads-up battle.
Just before the final hand came into play, Cowan was holding again the same pair of tens. But his heads-up opponent managed to survive for one last time on the poker field thanks to the [Kd], which appeared on the board to match his [Kh]. However, the cards allotted the runner-up place to Russel, who added $7,631 to his bankroll.
The Star Sydney Championships 2017 started on 18th July, announcing a solid guaranteed prize pool of $2 million. The summer poker tournament will continue until 7th August, offering great poker experience and lucrative cash prizes.
