Event #9: $2,200 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (20-Min Levels)

The High Roller event drew the toughest field of the week at Harrah’s Cherokee. The $2,200 buy-in was the richest of the series, and the room was filled with bracelet winners, ring winners, and other tournament poker standouts.

Jeff Trudeau was better than all the rest, though outlasting the field of 106 entries to take the title and the top prize of $63,599. The victory is the third of his WSOP Circuit career.

Trudeau, 23, is a professional poker player from Orlando, Florida. He started posting tournament cashes at the local dog track shortly after his 18th birthday, and his accomplishments are starting to pile up now that he has access to the 21-and-over casinos.
Harrah’s Cherokee is one of those venues in which he’s come of age to play, and this is about as far north as he ventures. His previous Circuit wins were earned in New Orleans and Choctaw, with the latter coming less than a month ago.

Trudeau’s stack increased steadily throughout the early stages of this event, and he was contending for the chip lead by the time the field reached the final two tables. He eliminated Jim Burns on the bubble in 13th place, then Salmaan Toor in 10th to shrink the field to one table of nine.

At that point, Trudeau was fourth in chips, and he played mostly small pots from there until the heads-up match against Chun Law. With the expedited structure, the final duel was short and volatile, with each of the two men holding large leads at one point or another, though.

Trudeau was too much in the end, though, defeating Law to collect the ring just before 3 a.m. on Friday morning. The win moves him over $700,000 in career tournament earnings.

Results:

1st: Jeff Trudeau - $63,599
2nd: Chun Law - $39,309
3rd: Michael Cooper - $27,988
4th: Tyler Phillips - $20,331
5th: Charles Robinson - $15,060
6th: Kurt Jewell - $11,370
7th: Nicholas Power - $8,745
8th: Jeffrey Turton - $6,850
9th: Woody Van Stratum - $5,461
10th: Salmaan Toor - $4,429
11th: Alex Rocha - $4,429
12th: Justin Harvell - $4,429

Jeff Trudeau is in position on a     flop. Chun Law checks, Trudeau bets 50,000, and Law calls.

The turn is the  , and the action repeats. Law checks, Trudeau bets 145,000, and Law calls.

The river is the  , and Law checks again. Trudeau takes his cue to bet 350,000, but Law quickly check-raises all in for about 1,300,000. Trudeau grimaces and folds, showing    for sevens full.

"Pretty brutal, man," Law shakes his head. He flashes    as the dealer pushes him the pot, having run down the better eights full on the river. He now has a chip lead of more than 2:1.

Chun Law - 1,875,000 (38 bb)
Jeffrey Trudeau - 775,000 (16 bb)

Jeffrey Trudeau opens with a raise to 90,000 on the button. Chun Law reraises, making it 305,000 from the button. Trudeau thinks for a moment, then moves all in. 

"Ugh," Law says leaning back in his chair. "Super close right here." 

Eventually Law decides to call. 

Law:    
Trudeau:   

The board runs out       securing the chops. 

"I told him if It's ever close i'm calling," Law says after the hand. "It was super close. If it's close for him he's just folding." 

Chun Law - 1,200,000 (29 bb) 
Jeffrey Trudeau - 1,450,000 (36 bb)

Michael Cooper (pictured) moves all in for 491,000 in the small blind, and Jeffrey Trudeau calls to put him at risk from the big blind. It's a flip.

Cooper:   
Trudeau:   

The     keeps Cooper in the lead with a set of nines, but it does not hold. The   on the turn fills Trudeau's straight, and now Cooper needs to catch back up to stay alive. He cannot, though. The river is the blank  , and Trudeau wins the pot with a king-high straight.

Cooper is eliminated in third place, leaving Trudeau and Chun Law heads-up for the ring.

Michael Cooper - Eliminated

Chun Law opens from the cutoff with a raise to 75,000. Action folds around where Jeffrey Trudeau moves all in from the big blind. Law snap calls. 

Law:   
Trudeau:    

The board comes       and that earns Law the double up with two pair. 

Jeffrey Trudeau - 850,000 (28 bb)
Chun Law - 750,000 (25 bb)

From the cutoff, Jeffrey Trudeau opens with a raise to 60,000. Action folds around where Michael Cooper moves all in with a covering stack from the small blind. Trudeau snap calls with his stack of 622,000 and the two turn up their hands. 

Trudeau:   
Cooper:   

The board comes down       which gives Trudeau the pot with a pair of aces and a king kicker. With that massive double Trudeau moves into the chip lead and is the first player to eclipse 1,000,000 chips. 

Jeffrey Trudeau - 1,300,000 (43 bb)
Michael Cooper - 290,000 (10 bb)

Action folds to Kurt Jewell (pictured) who moves all in from the button for 128,000. Chun Law calls from the small blind and the big blind folds brining the two players to a show down.

Jewell:   
Law:   

The board runs out       giving Law the best hand with a pair of nines, and eliminating Jewell from the tournament in 6th place for $11,370.

Chun Law - 700,000 (54 bb)
Kurt Jewell - Eliminated