$1,700 SPS Championship (Re-Entry)
$1,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 9:  800/1,600 with a 1,600 ante
Day 1B Entries:  206

Rafael Reis was all in with preflop on the hijack, and his opponent had him covered holding  under the gun.

The final board read , and Reis doubled up to survive with 84,000 after collecting the pot.

Rafael Reis – 84,000 ( bb)

2023 Tampa Poker Classic
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida
Event 15
$400 T.O.E. (Re-Entry)
Entries: 60
Prize Pool: $20,100
September 14, 2023

Another marathon heads-up match marked the final battle in Event 15 to give Charlie Wells the top prize worth $6,460 and the SPS guitar pick trophy. The score tonight was the first tournament win for the mixed-game specialist from nearby Melbourne, Florida.

We caught up with him after the victory, and here is what he had to say about the win, “Amazing to tell you the truth. My buddy Jim Hagan got second last night in the O8, so we’ve had two late nights. Crushed both of the tournaments, it doesn’t get any better than that. It’s going to be a long drive back to Melbourne [laughs].”

“Oh yeah, for sure, I mean that’s the reason we came over here was for these two events. I feel really lucky, because I know there was a lot of good players in the tournament way better than me. This is the first time I’ve ever played deuce-to-seven triple draw, I’ve never even played the game before. It was fun though. My buddy [Hagan] coached me on the way over here on the two-hour drive from Melbourne [laughs]. It’s a lot of fun,” said Wells about his affinity for mixed games.

“I just tried to not get in conversations with him, because I don’t want to encourage more stories from him. Everybody talked to him, but I was just trying to focus on my game, and not listen to his stories. Because he has a million stories,” said Wells when he was asked about keeping his composure when the table talk was particularly heavy at the final table tonight.

“I was just trying to not lose concentration and not lose my chips. I was trying to pick spots where I knew he was weak. He liked to check when he was weak, and I was trying to exploit that a little bit,” said Wells when he was asked about the long heads-up match that ended play.

Wells certainly used the minutiae of the tournament in addition to playing well in the hands themselves to come up with the win and the trophy tonight.

Final Results:

1st: Charlie Wells – $6,460 + SPS Trophy
2nd: James Johnson – $4,210
3rd: Anthony Mazza – $2,800
4th: Filippos Stavrakis – $1,910
5th: David Brookshire – $1,330
6th: James Hagan – $950
7th: Nicola De Lazzari-Stacey – $700
8th: Edward Sojack – $700
9th: Jon Heneghan – $520
10th: Dale Phillips – $520

$400 T.O.E. (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 23:  60,000/120,000 Limits
Remaining Players: 1 of 60

Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Hand

The final hand saw James Johnson get all in short on the button, and Charlies Wells had him covered. Wells was standing pat before the final draw even occurred so it came as no surprise how things ended up when the cards were revealed.

Wells held 10-8-7-3-2, and Johnson was at 7-5-4-4-3. Johnson was eliminated in second place, good for $4,210, and Wells took home the top prize worth $6,460 along with the SPS guitar pick trophy.

Stay tuned a for winner’s photo and interview with the champion.

$400 T.O.E. (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 25:  100,000/200,000 Limits
Remaining Players: 2 of 60

Here is a look at the chip counts coming back from the recent break:

Seat 3: Charlie Wells – 1,250,000
Seat 4: James Johnson – 550,000

$400 T.O.E. (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 23:  60,000/120,000 Limits
Remaining Players: 2 of 60

Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw

Anthony Mazza got all in short with a J-8-5-3-2, but Charlie Wells had him covered holding 8-7-5-3-2 after the final draw.

Mazza was eliminated in third place, good for $2,800. Wells stacked up 975,000 after collecting the pot, and he takes a lead into the heads-up final against James Johnson and his stack of 825,000.

Charlie Wells – 975,000 (16 bb)
James Johnson – 825,000 (13 bb)
Anthony Mazza – Eliminated in Third Place ($2,800)

$400 T.O.E. (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 22:  40,000/80,000 Limits
Remaining Players: 4 of 60

Omaha Eight-or-Better Hand

The final board read , and there was a three-way all-in that had David Brookshire at risk. Filippos Stavrakis and Charlie Wells both had him covered.

Welss:
Stavrakis:
Brookshire:

Brookshire was eliminated in fifth place, good for $1,330. Stavrakis was at 125,000 after the hand, and Wells was up to 625,000 after the dust settled.

Charlie Wells – 625,000 (7 bb)
Filippos Stavrakis – 125,000 (3 bb)
David Brookshire – Eliminated in Fifth Place ($1,330)

$400 T.O.E. (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  30,000/60,000 Limits
Remaining Players: 5 of 60

Here is a look at the chip counts coming back from the recent break:

Seat 2: Filippos Stavrakis – 270,000
Seat 3: Charlie Wells – 275,000
Seat 4: James Johnson – 325,000
Seat 5: David Brookshire – 470,000
Seat 6: Anthony Mazza – 375,000

$400 T.O.E. (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 20:  25,000/50,000 Limits
Remaining Players: 5 of 60

Seven-Card Stud 8OB Hand

James Hagan was eliminated in sixth place on the small blind when his () ran into James Johnson on the cutoff, who had him covered holding (). Johnson stacked up 475,000 after collecting the pot. Hagan took home $950 in prize money.

James Johnson – 475,000 (19 bb)
James Hagan – Eliminated in Sixth Place ($950)

$400 T.O.E. (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 19:  20,000/40,000 Limits
Remaining Players: 6 of 60

Here is a look at the recent results in Event 15 along the path to the final fable

7th: Nicola De Lazzari-Stacey – $700
8th: Edward Sojack – $700
9th: Jon Heneghan – $520
10th: Dale Phillips – $520

$400 T.O.E. (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 17:  12,000/24,000 Limits

Here is a look at the seating chart with chip counts for the final table in Event 15. James Hagan finished runner-up in Event 13 last night and he is back at it again, while David Brookshire is closing in on 40 mixed-game titles if he can book the win here.

Seat 1: James Hagan – 88,000
Seat 2: Filippos Stavrakis – 175,000
Seat 3: Charlie Wells – 182,000
Seat 4: James Johnson – 624,000
Seat 5: David Brookshire – 332,000
Seat 6: Anthony Mazza – 360,000