In what was among the complete stranger last tables in the history of the World Poker Tour, Dongwoo Ko didn’t let anything impact him. In spite of a time out in the middle of the competition (more on that in a minute), Ko controlled from the start of the 2024 WPT Montreal last table to the end, catching the title at the Playground Poker Club. With the success, Ko engraves his name on the Mike Sexton WPT Champions’ Cup and gets a seat at the 2024 WPT World Championship at the end of the year.
Easy When You Start at the Front
It is constantly simpler to win a poker competition– or any sporting venture– when you begin at the head of the pack. That held true for Ko on Wednesday night as he pertained to the WPT Montreal last table holding 15.1 countless the chips in play. The closest rival was Tommy Nguyen, who had approximately two-thirds of that stack (11.725 million) and was truthfully the only opposition that Ko had. The rest of the field– Tamer Alkamli (5.575 million), Rayan Chamas (5.225 million), Dan Stavila (3.775 million), and Charles Kassin (2.7 million)– were going to need to make the long term if they were going to put their names into the mix.
Ko came out of evictions playing a power poker video game, winning 4 of the very first 10 hands that were dealt to extend his lead. That influenced Nguyen, who dismissed Kassin from the last table after his pocket Kings stood high versus Kassin’s pocket Queens. In winning that hand, Nguyen briefly took control of the lead at the last table … a minimum of till the next hand, when Ko ushered Alkamli out after Ko turned a King to choose his Big Slick and beat Alkamli’s pocket Queens.
That lead would end up being even bigger minutes later on. Ko popped the wagering to 300K from the cutoff and, in the huge blind, Chamas moved all in for 1.95 million. Ko thought about the positions and his history with Chamas, tossing a Time Bank chip to the dealership, before making what ended up being the proper call.
Ko’s A-9 off match wasn’t extremely remarkable, however Chamas’ vibrant relocation with a K-7 off fit was seeking to strike to survive. The board would come ten-high and blood red, enhancing neither gamer and making Ko the checkmark for the win and the knockout. As Chamas left the Playground Poker Club last table, Ko accumulated his 23.75 million chips and appeared invincible.
… the going got odd …
Two Thunderbolts, Then a Pause
As the threesome of Ko, Nguyen, and Stavila kicked back into their seats, the very first thunderbolt struck the WPT Montreal. The 2 chip leaders, Ko and Nguyen, chose to blend it up on a Q-9-4-2-7 board which saw Nguyen usage 3 Time Bank chips after Ko fired a huge 6.8 million chip bet on the river. Nguyen checked out the story right; Ko was on a total bluff with just a J-8 for fight, making Nguyen’s A-Q excellent and sending out a 25 million chip pot and the lead over to Nguyen.
A number of hours later on, the 2nd thunderbolt would strike. A strong thunderstorm remained in the Quebec location, with the resulting turbulence triggering a power rise that entirely knocked out the lighting at the Playground Poker Club. The resulting 90-minute downtime enabled the 3 gamers– Ko, who had actually worked back to the lead (17.2 million), Nguyen (13.825 million), and a resistant Stavila (13.075 million– to collect their ideas and talk about with their rails a few of the action from the live stream of the competition. When the power returned, Ko got his own video game back online and went on a rush.
Ko knocked Nguyen to just 3.6 million chips when he tumbled a six-high straight versus Nguyen, and Nguyen might not recuperate. He did, nevertheless, make it through 2 all-ins by making a slice of the pot, initially when the board held a flush and the 2nd when the board came down with a boat. The 3rd time, Ko had the ability to take Nguyen down in 3rd location after Ko’s A-10 tumbled journey 10s and Nguyen’s Q-3 tumbled definitely nothing.
Going to heads-up play, Ko held a comfy lead (26.775 million) over Stavila (17.325 million), and he would not take his foot off the gas. Stavila would take the very first 4 little pots, however Ko would eliminate those gains by winning one hand. The exact same circumstance ran once again– Stavila winning little pots, Ko winning an equalizer– till the last hand began Hand # 192.
Ko hopped in for 500K, and Stavila put him to the test with a raise to 1.8 million. Ko made the call and the 10-8-2 flop came. Both gamers inspected their alternatives to see a 9 on the turn, which provided 3 clubs for a prospective flush. Stavila check-called a bet from Ko, and an apparently innocent trey began the river. As soon as once again Stavila examined however, after Ko fired a 7.2 million bet, Stavila moved all in over the top to put the pressure on Ko.
As it ended up, there was no pressure for Ko. He right away made the call and did not appear surprised when Stavila showed up a Q ♣ 6 ♣ for the Queen-high flush. Ko calmly revealed down his K ♣ 3 ♣ for the much better flush to take the pot and the champion of the 2024 WPT Montreal:1. Dongwoo ‘David’ Ko, $434,900 (Canadian, $319,217 U. S.)
2. Dan Stavila, $280,000 ($205,520)
3. Tommy Nguyen, $205,000 ($150,470)
4. Rayan Chamas, $155,000 ($113,770)
5. Tamer Alkamli, $117,000 ($85,878)
6. Charles Kassin, $89,000 ($65,326)
(Photo thanks to World Poker Tour)
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