2020 WSOP Circuit – February
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida – Event 6
$400 Monster Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  1,371
Prize Pool:  $452,430
February 11-13, 2020

The Monster Stack event attracted a huge field of 1,371 players, and on Thursday night, the last player standing was recreational player Kevin Ho, who earned $70,567 and his first WSOP Circuit Ring.

The field was so large that there were more than 41 million worth of chips in play, and for the first time, Seminole Hard Rock Tampa used the slightly larger pink 500K chips. More importantly, the $200K guarantee was more than doubled, with the total prizepool worth $452,430.

“What’s funny is that I wanted to chop,” said Ho about the prizepool. “I didn’t know we couldn’t chop in the WSOP, so with six or seven players left, I said, ‘Hey, do you guys want to chop?’ I was just chasing the money. The money’s more important to me.”

Ho started Day 2 on a down note after losing a huge pot in the final hand of Day 1 that would have made him the chipleader, but instead left him with less than 20 big blinds.

“If I had won that hand,” said Ho, “I would have had 1.8 million going into Day 2. Instead I started today short, with 231,000. So I lost that big pot, but I came back and just built it up.”

Ho began the final table second in chips, just a single big blind behind Alon Eldar. But once he realized he couldn’t chop, Ho worked his way into a big chip lead, and with four players left he had nearly as many chips as the other three players combined.

“I think I got lucky,” said Ho about the final table. “A lot of the tough players got knocked out early. I was shocked. The ones I was scared of, they just lost with bad luck or whatnot.”

After the elimination of Abdelouahed Bouanani in third place, heads-up play began between Ho and Serge Dergham.

The first hand of heads-up play would also be the last.

Ho and Dergham battled back and forth over a board of . On the river, Ho checked, Dergham shoved with (ace high), and Ho called with for two pair to end the tournament by winning his first WSOP Circuit ring and $70,567.

Final Table Results:

1st:  Kevin Ho  –  $70,567 + WSOP Circuit Ring
2nd:  Serge Dergham  –  $43,614
3rd:  Abdelouahed Bouanani  –  $32,323
4th:  Chastity Fowler-Lee  –  $24,227
5th:  Robert Cheung  –  $18,367
6th:  Alon Eldar  –  $14,086
7th:  Ryan Jones  –  $10,929
8th:  Giedrius Bagdonas  –  $8,581
9th:  Joseph Hebert  –  $6,818
10th:  Carlos Guerrero  –  $5,483

$400 Monster Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 37:  250,000/500,000 with a 500,000 ante
Players Remaining:  1 of 1,371

In the first hand of heads-up play, Serge Dergham raised from the small blind to 1,250,000, and Kevin Ho called from the big blind.

The flop came , Ho checked, Dergham bet 1,500,000, and Ho called.

The turn card was the , Ho bet 1,500,000, and Dergham called.

The river card was the , Ho checked, Dergham moved all in for about 6,000,000, and Ho called with for two pair, nines and eights. Dergham showed for ace high, and Ho wins the title and the WSOP Circuit ring!

Stay tuned for a recap from this event.

1st:  Kevin Ho  –  $70,567 + WSOP Circuit Ring
2nd:  Serge Dergham  –  $43,614
3rd:  Abdelouahed Bouanani  –  $32,323
4th:  Chastity Fowler-Lee  –  $24,227
5th:  Robert Cheung  –  $18,367
6th:  Alon Eldar  –  $14,086
7th:  Ryan Jones  –  $10,929
8th:  Giedrius Bagdonas  –  $8,581
9th:  Joseph Hebert  –  $6,818
10th:  Carlos Guerrero  –  $5,483

$400 Monster Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 37:  250,000/500,000 with a 500,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 1,371

The players return from a break to begin Level 37, with increased blinds of 250,000-500,000 and a 500,000 ante. With three players remaining, the average chip stack is about 13.7 million (27 big blinds).

Here are the official chip counts from the break:

Seat 1.  Abdelouahed Bouanani  –  3,450,000  (7 bb)
Seat 2.  Serge Dergham  –  7,000,000  (14 bb)
Seat 3.  Kevin Ho  –  30,700,000  (61 bb)

About seven minutes into the level, Abdelouahed Bouanani moved all in from the small blind for about 3,500,000, and Serge Dergham thought for a while before he called from the big blind with .

Bouanani turned over , and he needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Dergham paired his king to win the pot and double up in chips.

Abdelouahed Bouanani  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($32,323)

Heads-up play is now underway between Kevin Ho and Serge Dergham, and these are their approximate chip counts, followed by the remaining payouts:

Kevin Ho  –  31,000,000  (62 bb)
Serge Dergham  –  10,200,000  (20 bb)

1st:  $70,567 + WSOP Circuit Ring
2nd:  $43,614

$400 Monster Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 36:  200,000/400,000 with a 400,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 1,371

Serge Dergham moved all in from the button for 2,700,000, and chipleader Kevin Ho called from the small blind with . Dergham turned over , and needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Dergham won the pot with a five-high straight to double up in chips.

Serge Dergham  –  6,200,000  (16 bb)
Kevin Ho  –  22,425,000  (56 bb)

A short while later, Kevin Ho raised UTG/cutoff to 1,000,000, Chastity Fowler-Lee moved all in from the small blind for 3,875,000, and Ho asked for an exact count before he called with .

Fowler-Lee turned over , and she needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came — Fowler-Lee turned a gutshot straight draw, but Ho rivered a set of threes. Ho won the pot to eliminate Fowler-Lee in fourth place.

Kevin Ho  –  30,100,000  (75 bb)
Chastity Fowler-Lee  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($24,227)

With three players remaining, the average chip stack is about 13,700,000 (34 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $32,323.

$400 Monster Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 36:  200,000/400,000 with a 400,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 1,371

With the blinds still at 150,000-300,000 (300,000 ante), Chastity Fowler-Lee and Serge Dergham saw a flop of with about 1.5 million already in the pot.

Fowler-Lee bet 1,500,000 from the big blind, Dergham moved all in under the gun for 2,275,000, and Fowler-Lee called with for ace high. Dergham turned over for ace high with a king kicker, and he needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The turn card was the , the river card was the , and Dergham won the pot with his king kicker to double up in chips.

Serge Dergham  –  6,000,000  (20 bb)
Chastity Fowler-Lee  –  5,200,000  (17 bb)

Shortly after the blinds increased to 200,000-400,000 (400,000 ante), chipleader Kevin Ho raised from the button to 1,000,000, Robert Cheung moved all in from the small blind for 4,300,000, and Ho asked for an exact count before he called.

Cheung said, “I have a pair. I hope you don’t have a pair.”

Cheung showed , and Ho turned over . Cheung needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and the pocket sixes held up for Ho to win the pot and eliminate Cheung in fifth place.

Kevin Ho  –  19,900,000  (50 bb)
Robert Cheung  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($18,367)

With four players remaining, the average chip stack is about 10,275,000 (26 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $24,227.

$400 Monster Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 34:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 1,371

Chastity Fowler-Lee raised from the button to 600,000, Serge Dergham moved all in from the big blind for 2,975,000, and Fowler-Lee called with . Dergham turned over , and he needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Dergham won the pot with his ace to double up in chips.

Serge Dergham  –  6,325,000  (25 bb)
Chastity Fowler-Lee  –  2,800,000  (11 bb)

Abdelouahed Bouanani moved all in from the button for 5,375,000, and Alon Eldar called from the big blind with . Bouanani turned over , and needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and the pocket aces held up for Bouanani to win the pot and double up in chips.

Abdelouahed Bouanani  –  11,125,000  (45 bb)
Alon Eldar  –  1,925,000  (8 bb)

Robert Cheung raised under the gun to 550,000, Chastity Fowler-Lee called from the cutoff, and Alon Eldar moved all in from the button for 1,800,000. Cheung tanked for a while before he moved all in over the top for about 4.5 million.

Fowler-Lee folded, and Eldar showed . Cheung turned over , and Eldar needed his pocket fives to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Cheung flopped a gutshot straight draw and turned a pair of jacks to win the pot and eliminate Eldar in sixth place.

Robert Cheung  –  7,000,000  (28 bb)
Alon Eldar  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($14,086)

With five players remaining, the average chip stack is about 8,225,000 (33 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $18,367.

$400 Monster Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 34:  125,000/250,000 with a 250,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 1,371

Kevin Ho raised from the hijack to 500,000, Chastity Fowler-Lee moved all in from the small blind for 2,775,000, and Ho thought for a while before he called with .

Fowler-Lee turned over , and she needed her hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Fowler-Lee paired her nine on the turn to win the pot and double up in chips.

When the dealer reminded Ho of the size of Fowler-Lee’s all-in bet, Ho said, “I wish you had more.”

Chastity Fowler-Lee  –  5,950,000  (30 bb)
Kevin Ho  –  5,600,000  (28 bb)

Kevin Ho went on to have a pretty good level after that, and he won a big pot heading into the break to reach 11 million.

Here are the official chip counts from the break with the blinds increasing to 125,000-250,000 (250,000 ante):

Seat 1.  Robert Cheung  –  6,050,000  (24 bb)
Seat 2.  Abdelouahed Bouanani  –  8,225,000  (33 bb)
Seat 3.  Chastity Fowler-Lee  –  4,375,000  (18 bb)
Seat 4.  Alon Eldar  –  8,800,000  (35 bb)
Seat 5.  Serge Dergham  –  2,600,000  (10 bb)
Seat 6.  Kevin Ho  –  11,100,000  (44 bb)

With six players remaining, the average chip stack is about 6,855,000 (27 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $18,367.

$400 Monster Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 32:  75,000/150,000 with a 150,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 1,371

Abdelouahed Bouanani raised from the cutoff to 350,000, Ryan Jones moved all in from the small blind for 375,000, and Bouanani called with .

Jones turned over , and needed his hand to hold to stay alive.

The board came , and Bouanani turned an open-ended straight draw and paired his nine on the river to win the pot and eliminate Jones in seventh place.

Abdelouahed Bouanani  –  8,375,000  (56 bb)
Ryan Jones  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($10,929)

With six players remaining, the average chip stack is about 6,850,000 (46 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $14,086.

$400 Monster Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 32:  75,000/150,000 with a 150,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 1,371

Abdelouahed Bouanani got it all in from the hijack for 3,525,000 with , and he needed his hand to hold to stay alive against the of Giedrius Bagdonas, who was UTG+1.

The board came — Bagdonas turns a gutshot straight draw, but improves no further. Bouanani wins the pot with a set of kings to double up in chips.

Abdelouahed Bouanani  –  7,425,000  (50 bb)
Giedrius Bagdonas  –  750,000  (5 bb)

A short while later, Serge Dergham raised from middle position to 375,000, Giedrius Bagdonas moved all in hijack for 600,000, and Dergham called with . Bagdonas turned over , and he was dominated as he faced elimination.

The board came , and Dergham won the pot with a higher two pair, kings and jacks, to eliminate Bagdonas in eighth place.

Serge Dergham  –  5,750,000  (38 bb)
Giedrius Bagdonas  –  Eliminated in 8th Place  ($8,581)

With seven players remaining, the average chip stack is about 5,875,000 (39 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $10,929.

$400 Monster Stack NLH (Re-Entry)
$200,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 32:  75,000/150,000 with a 150,000 ante
Players Remaining:  8 of 1,371

Joseph Hebert got it all in from the big blind with , and he needed to improve to stay alive against the of Robert Cheung on the button.

The board blanked out for Hebert, and the pocket tens held up for Cheung to win the pot and eliminate Hebert in ninth place.

Robert Cheung  –  5,500,000  (37 bb)
Joseph Hebert  –  Eliminated in 9th Place  ($6,818)

With eight players remaining, the average chip stack is about 5,150,000 (34 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $8,581.