Monday, November 20, 2017 8:59 PM Local Time
Congratulations to Fernando Galvan, winner of the $1,675 Main Event with $1,000,000 guaranteed for his biggest career cash worth $247,160! The newly-crowned champion has also earned his first ever Circuit ring and third tournament win overall.
Runner-up Corey Hochman ($152,734) found himself heads-up and down 7-to-1 in chips but with the biggest heart. The eye surgeon from Arizona came in to the day with the shortest stack and laddered all the way to second while nursing a less-than-average stack the entire way. In the final hand, Hochman got it in with ace-three but it was no match for Galvan's queens in a fitting end for the champion.
Planet Hollywood kicked up the guarantee to $1 million, up from $750,000 last year. The target was easily smashed, bringing in 845 entries for a prize pool worth $1,267,500 paying out 90 spots and almost a quarter of a million dollars for the win.
The final table of 10 came together about 90 minutes into the day, following the eliminations of Roger Franco (12th - $18,924) and Event #1 winner Marcin Milde (11th - $18,924). Play started off slowly, but things picked up and Galvan and Ali Imsirovic began to run the show. The two players began knocking others out and built up top stacks when five-handed play began. That's when Galvan turned on the jets. Imsirovic began to lose significant pots to Chris Tham and found himself with a stack that forced him to shove with queen-jack suited. Unfortunately for him, Galvan had aces and he was eliminated in 4th place for $83,959 for his deep run.
Neil Scott finally won his first Circuit ring early in the week in Event #4 and found himself deep in the Main Event. With a second ring in sight, things were looking good when he got his chips in with aces versus Tham's kings. Unfortunately for him, the flop came king-high and a fourth king hit the river for an extra needle. Scott settled for 9th place and $23,525 for yet another big cash and a great series overall.
Galvan sat on more than half of the chips in play on the dinner break with three players left, and chipped away until his opponents were forced to get their chips in the middle. The rest is history.
Here is a look at the final table results:
1st place: Fernando Galvan - $247,160
2nd place: Corey Hochman - $152,734
3rd place: Chris Tham - $112,503
4th place: Ali Imsirovic - $83,959
5th place: Bruce Kramer - $63,476
6th place: Melanie Banfield - $48,609
7th place: Mark Ioli - $37,695
8th place: Danny Elmore - $29,596
9th place: Neil Scott - $23,525
10th place: Sunny Gandham - $18,924
There were a lot of familiar faces in this event, and with 90 spots paid there were some notable names that made deep runs including Event #7 winner Bryan Devonshire, Ankush Mandavia, Jonathan Dimmig, Joe Reddick, Eric Baldwin, Jordan Cristos, Wendy Freedman, Jon Turner, Woody Moore, Defending Champion Sean Yu, Sorel Mizzi, Kevin Calenzo, Michael Del Vecchio III, Sal DiCarlo, James Hoeppner, Jeremy Ausmus, JJ Liu, and Kevin Eyster.
The next stop at Planet Hollywood is scheduled for the last week of March, so be sure to mark your calendars!
Results | Official Report
Monday, November 20, 2017 8:53 PM Local Time
Fernando Galvan (pictured above) gets a walk on the eighth hand of the heads-up match. On the ninth hand, he closes out a pretty dominating victory.
Galvan limps the button for the first time, Corey Hochman moves all in for 1,010,000 in the big blind, and Galvan calls to put him at risk. He'd laid a trap, but the chips were probably going in, regardless.
Galvan:
Hochman:
The board runs out clean for Galvan, coming . His rail bursts into cheers and swarms the table, as their man becomes the series' Main Event champion. He earns the ring and the top prize of $247,160, more than doubling his total career earnings.
A more in-depth story about Galvan and his big win will follow shortly.
After starting the day in last place with just eight big blinds, Hochman (below) likely has to feel pretty good about this result, too. "Hey, I just got even for the year," he said when the heads-up match began. "I was down $140k." He collects the runner-up consolation prize of $152,734—enough to make up for that plus a nice dinner.
Monday, November 20, 2017 8:46 PM Local Time
On the seventh hand of the match, Fernando Galvan open-shoves the button with his opponent on the ropes. Hochman calls all in for 1,090,000 to put himself at risk.
Galvan:
Hochman:
There's a good chance of a chop, and that's what happens. The board runs out , and they take their money back.
Monday, November 20, 2017 8:43 PM Local Time
On the sixth hand of the heads-up match, Corey Hochman calls on the button, and Fernando Galvan checks his option in the big blind.
They both check through the flop, and the turn is the . Galvan bets 140,000, and Hochman pauses for a long while before calling. The river is the , and Galvan bets 430,000. Hochman squirms for a couple minutes once again.
"Got anything?" he asks. He has just 1,540,000 chips left, and the decision represents a significant chunk of it. Eventually, he calls.
Galvan has something. He shows for eights full, and Hochman sighs and mucks.
Fernando Galvan - 15,780,000 (132 bb)
Corey Hochman - 1,110,000 (9 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 8:37 PM Local Time
Fernando Galvan opens the first hand of the heads-up match with a raise to 255,000 on the button. Corey Hochman folds.
Hochman calls on the button the next hand, and Galvan checks his option in the big blind. They both check through the flop, and there's a bet and a call on the turn. The river is the , and Galvan bets what looks like 390,000. Hochman folds.
The third hand is the same as the first, with Galvan raising the button to 255,000 and Hochman folding.
Galvan gets a walk on the next hand.
On the fifth hand, he opens the button to 255,000 once again, but this time Hochman defends. The flop is . Hochman checks, Galvan continues for 290,000, and Hochman folds.
The first five pots go to Galvan, and he's opened up his lead even further.
Fernando Galvan - 15,070,000 (126 bb)
Corey Hochman - 1,820,000 (15 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 8:25 PM Local Time
With the recent elimination of Chris Tham, heads-up play is now in progress.
Fernando Galvan starts with 14,165,000 chips to Corey Hochman's 2,735,000.
Monday, November 20, 2017 8:24 PM Local Time
Corey Hochman folds his button and Fernando Galvan raises to 330,000 from the small blind. Chris Tham moves all-in for 1,320,000 and Galvan asks for an exact count before deciding to call.
Tham tables , flipping against Galvan's .
The board runs out and Tham is eliminated.
Fernando Galvan - 14,165,000 (118 bb)
Corey Hochman - 2,735,000 (22 bb)
Chris Tham - Eliminated
Monday, November 20, 2017 8:17 PM Local Time
It seems like every pot is going to Fernando Galvan right now. Most of them are small, like this one.
Chris Tham opens the button, and Galvan defends his big blind. They all check through the flop and the turn. The river is the , and Galvan bets 390,000. Tham quickly yields, and Galvan adds a few more chips to his big stack.
Fernando Galvan - 12,145,000 (101 bb)
Chris Tham - 2,755,000 (23 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 8:14 PM Local Time
Corey Hochman calls on the button, and Fernando Galvan raises to 385,000 in the small blind. Hochman calls again.
The flop is . Galvan continues for 285,000, and Hochman raises to 600,000. Galvan shoves all in for 2,070,000 effective. Hochman quickly double-checks his cards, instantly folds, and Galvan wins the pot.
Fernando Galvan - 11,670,000 (97 bb)
Corey Hochman - 2,070,000 (17 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 8:03 PM Local Time
Chip leader Fernando Galvan has continued his assertion in the first hands of the after-dinner level.
He's the single blind for the first hand back, and he gets a walk.
Galvan raises to 325,000 in the small blind on the next hand, and Chris Tham defends his big blind. They both check through the flop, and the turn is the . Galvan checks, Tham bets 300,000, and Galvan calls. They both check through the river. Galvan shows for a flush with the seven, and it's good.
The next hand, Galvan opens the button to 260,000, winning the blinds and antes.
On the fourth hand, Cory Hochman completes in the small blind, and Galvan checks his option in the big. They both check through the flop and the turn. The river is the , and Hochman bets 125,000. Galvan calls, and the two split the pot. Hochman shows , Galvan a similar , so they each get half.
Galvan is in the small blind for the fifth hand, and he raises to 310,000. Chris Tham folds the big, making it essentially five in a row for Galvan. He earned a profit of more than 1.1 million chips during this span.
Fernando Galvan - 10,595,000 (88 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 7:44 PM Local Time
Level: 32
Blinds: 60,000/120,000
Ante: 20,000
Monday, November 20, 2017 6:49 PM Local Time
The final three players are on a one-hour dinner break. They'll return to action right around 7:40 p.m. with a 120,000-chip big blind. Here's the remaining lineup:
Seat 1: Fernando Galvan - 9,490,000 (79 bb)
Seat 2: Chris Tham - 3,200,000 (27 bb)
Seat 3: Corey Hochman - 4,200,000 (35 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 6:48 PM Local Time
Fernando Galvan opens from under the gun and action is on Ali Imsirovic in the big blind. He decides to move all-in for 1,375,000 and Galvan snap-calls.
Imsirovic tables , but is in rough shape against Galvan's .
The board runs out and Imsirovic is eliminated in 4th place.
Fernando Galvan - 9,490,000 (79 bb)
Ali Imsirovic - Eliminated
Monday, November 20, 2017 6:29 PM Local Time
Fernando Galvan opens to 200,000 under the gun, and Corey Hochman three-bet shoves for 1,995,000 in the small blind. Galvan calls, putting Hochman at risk.
Galvan:
Hochman:
The board runs out blanks, coming . Hochman wins the pot with tens up, doubling into second place on the leaderboard. Its the first significant setback of the day for Galvan, who's still atop the counts.
Corey Hochman - 4,130,000 (41 bb)
Fernando Galvan - 6,400,000 (64 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 6:27 PM Local Time
Ali Imsirovic opens to 225,000 under the gun, and Chris Tham calls in the small blind.
The flop is . Tham checks, Imsirovic continues for 240,000, and Tham calls.
The turn is the , and Tham checks again. Imsirovic bets 575,000, and Tham tanks and folds to concede the pot.
Ali Imsirovic - 2,995,000 (30 bb)
Chris Tham - 3,565,000 (36 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 6:24 PM Local Time
Speaking of the short stacks, they're more than content when the two chip leaders are playing a pot against each other. That's the case here, with Fernando Galvan raising to 270,000 in the small blind and Chris Tham defending his big.
The flop is . Galvan continues for 280,000, and Tham raises to 675,000. Galvan promptly re-raises to 1,180,000 total, and Tham eyes up his remaining stack before surrendering his cards into the muck.
Galvan wins the pot with no showdown to extend his lead.
Fernando Galvan - 9,150,000 (92 bb)
Chris Tham - 3,325,000 (33 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 6:23 PM Local Time
None of the four remaining players are particularly short-stacked, but Fernando Galvan and Chris Tham are well in front of the other two, sitting with about 75 percent of the total chips between them. As such, Corey Hochman and Ali Imsirovic are in a battle to stay afloat. So far, they are.
In a recent pot, Galvan opens the button to 200,000, and Tham calls in the small blind. From the big blind, Hochman squeezes all in for 1,675,000 total, and both Galvan and Tham quickly fold.
The next hand, Galvan raises to 200,000 under the gun, and Imsirovic defends his big blind. The flop is , and Imsirovic check-calls a bet of 175,000. They both check through the turn, and the river is the . Imsirovic bets 750,000, and Tham folds.
Ali Imsirovic - 2,470,000 (25 bb)
Corey Hochman - 2,115,000 (21 bb)
Monday, November 20, 2017 6:18 PM Local Time
Corey Hochman moves all in for about 1,000,000 chips, and Bruce Kramer has a decision in the big blind with 740,000 chips left in front of him. Eventually, he calls to put himself at risk.
Kramer:
Hochman:
The board runs out and Kramer is eliminated in fifth place.
Corey Hochman - 1,750,000 (17 bb)
Bruce Kramer - Eliminated
Monday, November 20, 2017 5:54 PM Local Time
Level: 31
Blinds: 50,000/100,000
Ante: 10,000
Monday, November 20, 2017 5:54 PM Local Time
The hand after Melanie Banfield's elimination, action folds around to the short-stacked Corey Hochman in the small blind. "Well, I've waited all day to do this," he says. He raises to 515,000, leaving just 5,000 behind to protect his cards. Ali Imsirovic calls in the big blind.
The flop is , and Hochman puts his last 5,000 into the pot, with Imsirovic quickly putting him at risk.
Hochman:
Imsirovic:
Hochman's kicker has him poised to double up, and he does so as the turn and river complete the board. It's the second time today he's doubled up for exactly 520,000, and this time, he gets paid out the full amount.
Corey Hochman - 1,090,000 (14 bb)
Ali Imsirovic - 2,350,000 (29 bb)