Event #42: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout

 

The 22-year-old professional poker player from Winchester, UK won the $3,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Shootout tournament, which was played over three days and nights and just concluded on the ESPN main stage at the Rio in Las Vegas. 

McAllister collected $267,720 in prize money, making this one of the biggest wins of his young poker career.  This was the seventh time McAllister has cashed at the series.  Until this point, all of his in-the-money finishes at the annual Las Vegas summer series had been min-cashes.  However, earlier in 2016, McAllister did make a deep run in the Caribbean Adventure championship, finishing third.

“That gave me a fair amount of money doing so well in January,” said McAllister afterward.  “Coming in third (at PCA) allowed me to play a heavier schedule at the series this summer.  I am really grateful for that, and for everything.” 

McAllister won this impressive victory by coming out on top at a final table which included several top pros who were also seeking their first WSOP victory.  A number of players had come close previously to victory, but came up short – including Maria Ho, Faraz Jaka, Stephen Chidwick, Andreas Freund, and Kyle Montgomery -- who had each posted top-five finishes in prior gold bracelet events. 

The crowning moment of triumph came when the British player scooped the final pot of the tournament holding pocket queens against Kyle Montgomery, from Fishers, IN who finished as the runner up. 

The Shootout required that the winner win three successive single-table sessions.  The first session included ten players.  The second had four players.  The final table had ten players.  The odd numerical configuration was dependent upon the number of entries. 

“It’s really an unusual tournament since you just have to win three sit n’ go’s,” McAllister said, downplaying somewhat the increasing difficulty of advancing at each level.  “It’s not at all easy.  But there is some luck involved.  I got lucky with my table and seat draws.  Of course, the last two tables are more difficult, but I also ran very well with the table draws.” 

As for the future, McAllister plans to play more WSOP events and also enter quite a few satellites.  He plays for the lammers and also has a set number of gold bracelet events he plans to enter.  McAllister also has broader plans beyond this year’s poker series. 

“I like to travel around and see the world.  That’s what I like to do.  After the series, I am sure I will play more EPTs and be able to travel a lot.  That’s my goal, right now,” he said. 

This tourney attracted 400 entrants which created a prize pool totaling $1,092,600.  The top 40 finishers collected prize money. 

Aside from the winner, here’s a brief report of the other top finishers who made the final table: 

Second Place:  Kyle Montgomery, from Fishers, IN finished as the runner up.  He had the chip lead for a time when heads up, but couldn’t hold onto his advantage.  Nonetheless, this was still Montgomery’s best WSOP finish and second final table appearance after coming in fourth in a previous event.  This was also his fifth time to cash at the series.  Montgomery received $165,450.

Third Place:  Christopher Kruk, from Oakville, ON (Canada) posted his third WSOP cash and also received his first six-figure payout.  Kruk, a 23-year-old student, added $119,686 to his poker bankroll. 

Fourth Place:  Maria Ho, from Arcadia, CA is one of poker’s most popular personalities.  The poker pro, television host, and ambassador cashed for the 37^th time at the series, which now gives her more than $1.2 million in WSOP earnings after collecting $87,487 for this deep run.  Ho, who has been the last woman standing in a WSOP Main Event as well as a runner up in another gold bracelet event, once again came close to winning her first WSOP title, but will have to wait a bit longer for the breakthrough win. 

Fifth Place:  Andreas Freund, Vienna, Austria appeared at his second final table with this deep run.  He now has nine cashes at the series and more than a quarter-million in earnings after pocketing $64,628 for this fine performance. 

Sixth Place:  Marcos Antunes, from Campinas, Brazil is attending his first WSOP this year and now has two cashes to show for his effort.  He received 48,252. 

Seventh Place:  Jesse Yaginuma, from Silver Spring, MD now has 24 cashes to his name after coming in seventh place.  He pocketed $36,416.  Although Yaginuma has in-the-money finishes dating back to 2009, this marked his first time to appear at a final table. 

Eighth Place:  Rhys Jones, Fareham, UK cashed for the 13^th time and made his second final table appearance at the series, taking eighth place.  He earned $27,783.  His best showing was a third-place finish two years ago. 

Ninth Place:  Faraz Jaka, San Jose, CA is one of the top players in the game not yet to have won a gold bracelet.  This was his 32^nd occasion to cash at the WSOP.  He now has won more than $1 million in WSOP play alone after cashing in this event for $21,431. 

Tenth Place:  Stephen Chidwick, from Deal, UK was the first elimination from the final table.  He’s still having an excellent WSOP nonetheless.  This marked Chidwick’s seventh cash at this year’s series and second Day Three appearance.  He’s now finished in-the-money 42 times during his WSOP career.  Chidwick collected $16.717.

Kyle Montgomery limps from the button, Phillip McCallister raises to 400,000 from the big blind, and Montgomery folds.

Kyle Montgomery limps from the button and Phillip McCallister checks his option.

The flop is     and McCallister checks. Montgomery bets 100,000 and McCallister calls.

The turn is the   and both players check.

The river is the   and both players check again.

Montgomery shows   , McCallister mucks, and Montgomery wins the pot.

Phillip McCallister gets a walk.

Phillip McCallister limps from the button and Kyle Montgomery checks his option.

The flop is     and Montgomery bets 80,000. McCallister folds.

Kyle Montgomery receives a walk.

Phillip McAllister raises to 160,000 on the button, and Kyle Montgomery calls.  

The flop comes    . Montgomery checks, McAllister bets 135,000, and Montgomery folds.

Phillip McAllister raises to 160,000 on the button, and Kyle Montgomery reraises to 480,000. McAllister calls.

The flop comes    . Montgomery bets 600,000, and McAllister folds.

Phillip McAllister limps the button and Kyle Montgomery checks. The flop comes out     and both players check.

Fourth street is the   and Montgomery checks. McAllister bets 80,000 and Montgomery calls. The   finishes the board and Montgomery bets 280,000. McAllister folds and Montgomery takes the pot.

Phillip McAllister calls from the button and Kyle Montgomery checks the big blind.

The flop falls     and Montgomery bets 80,000. McAllister calls and the   falls on the turn. Both players check and the   completes the board. Montgomery checks, McAllister bets 240,000, and Montgomery folds.