June 8, 2019 (Las Vegas) -Sean Swingruber is the newest World Series of Poker gold bracelet winner. He won the $10,000 Heads Up No-Limit Championship for $186,356 after defeating three-time bracelet winner Ben Yu in the final match.
“To win this event, first try, first bracelet, it’s incredible,” Swingruber said.
Swingruber won the only two all ins against Yu. First he doubled up and then later eliminated Yu to claim his first bracelet on only his second WSOP cash. He cashed in the online event last week for $814. He has now more than doubled his live tournament winnings with only his fourth cash in the last five years.
“I never really liked tournaments cause there’s such high variance. I haven’t had much luck in them until February when I got second in a million guarantee.”
The 30-year old Los Angeles resident won $132,220 in February. He says he normally grinds cash games throughout the summer, but his score gave him the motivation to play a few more tournaments. His plan now is to play at least the Main Event, but he also mentioned the $3,000 Six-Max.
Swingruber was a relative unknown outside of the LA cash game circles. There is very little information available about him online because he plays so few tournaments and only has seven recorded cashes.
“I honestly thought my biggest edge coming into this tournament was that people really didn’t know me. I’m not really known in the poker world. I think a lot of opponents looked me up and thought, this is gonna be an easier match.”
He went on to say that his anonymity allowed him to play more aggressively and take advantage of opponents who may have underestimated him. The long-time cash game grinder might not make the jump into full-time tournament play, but he certainly plans on defending his title at the very least.
“I will be here next year to play this event. So long as I’m able and my bankroll allows me, I will play the $10K heads up. This event was so much fun.”
Swingruber now has $327,756 in career live tournament winnings on just eight cashes. This is his largest-ever cash and more than doubles his previous career winnings.
Here are the results for the final four. For a list of the full results, click here.
1) Sean Swingruber ($186,356)
2) Ben Yu ($115,174)
3) Cord Garcia ($73,333)
4) Keith Lehr ($73,333)