2021 WPT Tampa
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida
Event 13
$2,200 Eight-Max No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Entries:  167
Prize Pool:  $334,000
June 17, 2021

It’s been a pretty good week for Hasan Hakim.

On Day 1A of Event #1, Hakim walked over to the media desk and asked what it would take to get his photo in the live updates. He was told that it would be tough on Day 1, and he’d need to have the biggest chip stack in the room (with 463 entries) at one of the breaks.

Hakim said he would do it. And he did, taking the lead shortly before the Money Bubble burst in that first starting flight. With his photo in the updates, Hakim said his next step was to make the final table.

Hakim said he would do it, and three days later, he did, beginning the final table just two big blinds behind the chipleader. That’s when Hakim said he was going to win the trophy.

Unfortunately, Hakim came up short on that one, finishing in fifth place to earn $76,080. But he promised he’d be back, and he promised that next time, he’d win the trophy.

Hakim said he would do it, and — he did it.

On Thursday night, Hasan Hakim outlasted a tough field of 167 players to win the $2,200 Eight-Max No Limit Hold’em event in a three-way deal with Aaron Thivyanathan and Will Parker. As chipleader, Hakim was declared the champion, receiving the title, the trophy, and $75,347.

“I’m very happy to be a champion today,” said Hakim. “I finished fifth on Sunday when I took a pretty bad beat, and I told all my friends that I was coming back so I could play another one. I have a full-time job in sales at Toyota, but I took a little vacation so I could come and play.”

“The final table went good,” said Hakim. “I was very short coming into the final two tables, and then I finally chipped up in a huge hand where I had pocket queens against a guy who called me with nines, and that led me to the final table.”

The key hand for Hakim at the final table seemed to be when he got his big stack all in with aces against chipleader Dan Sepiol’s ace-king. That doubled Hakim into a huge chip lead, which he held onto for the rest of the way.

“I’m glad I went against the chipleader in a huge cooler with his ace-king against my aces,” said Hakim. “That’s why I’m chopping it up and taking first.”

Hakim ended his interview with some nice words for the casino and its staff.

“I want to thank the Seminole Hard Rock for organizing the tournament,” said Hakim. “Nice management, a good staff, and everything was neat and player friendly.”

Can Hakim make it three final tables in a row? He plans to return tomorrow to play Day 1A of the $3,500 WPT Tampa main event, so stay tuned.

$2,200 Eight-Max No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 22:  10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 167

Shortly after Rodney Turvin’s elimination in fourth place, the final three players agreed to a deal to split up the rest of the prizepool among them. These were their chip counts at the time:

1.  Hasan Hakim  –  1,630,000  (82 bb)
2.  Aaron Thivyanathan  –  1,090,000  (55 bb)
3.  Will Parker  –  595,000  (30 bb)

And here are the modified payouts they agreed to:

1.  Hasan Hakim  –  $75,347
2.  Aaron Thivyanathan  –  $63,498
3.  Will Parker  –  $52,639

As chipleader, Hasan Hakim will be declared the champion, receiving the title and the trophy in addition to the most money.

$2,200 Eight-Max No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 22:  10,000/20,000 with a 20,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 167

Hasan Hakim limped under the gun for 20,000, Rodney Turvin moved all in from the small blind for 540,000, and Hakim snap-called with .

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

The board came — Turvin paired his jack on the flop, but Hakim turned an ace-high straight to win the pot and eliminate Turvin in fourth place.

Hasan Hakim  –  1,600,000  (80 bb)
Rodney Turvin  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($27,837)

With three players remaining, the average chip stack is about 1,113,000 (56 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $39,582.

$2,200 Eight-Max No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  10,000/15,000 with a 15,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 167

Andrew Barfield moved all in from the button for 105,000, and Rodney Turvin called from the big blind with .

Barfield turned over , and needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Turvin flopped a full house, nines full of fours, to win the pot and eliminate Barfield in fifth place.

Rodney Turvin  –  610,000  (41 bb)
Andrew Barfield  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($20,201)

With four players remaining, the average chip stack is about 835,000 (56 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $27,837.

$2,200 Eight-Max No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  10,000/15,000 with a 15,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 167

Dan Sepiol raised from the cutoff to 50,000, Hasan Hakim reraised from the small blind to 150,000, and Sepiol thought for a while before moving all in.

Hakim snap-called all in for 750,000 with , and Sepiol turned over . Hakim needed his aces to hold to stay alive.

The board came — Sepiol flopped a gutshot straight draw, but improved no further. The pocket aces held up for Hakim to win the pot and double up in chips.

Hasan Hakim  –  1,530,000  (102 bb)
Dan Sepiol  –  125,000  (8 bb)

Two hands later, Sepiol was all in under the gun for 125,000 with , and he needed to improve to stay alive against the of Will Parker in the hijack.

The board came , and Parker paired his king on the flop and turned and ace-high flush to win the pot and eliminate Sepiol in sixth place.

Will Parker  –  660,000  (44 bb)
Dan Sepiol  –  Eliminated in 6th Place  ($15,142)

With five players remaining, the average chip stack is about 668,000 (45 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $20,201.

$2,200 Eight-Max No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  10,000/15,000 with a 15,000 ante
Players Remaining:  6 of 167

Jesse Lonis moved all in under the gun for 115,000, and Aaron Thivyanathan called from the cutoff with .

Lonis turned over , and needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and the pocket queens held up for Thivyanathan to win the pot and eliminate Lonis in seventh place.

Aaron Thivyanathan  –  735,000  (49 bb)
Jesse Lonis  –  Eliminated in 7th Place  ($11,737)

With six players remaining, the average chip stack is about 557,000 (37 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $15,142.

$2,200 Eight-Max No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 21:  10,000/15,000 with a 15,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 167

The players return from break to begin Level 21, with increased blinds of 10,000-15,000 with a 15,000 ante.

Here are the updated chip counts from the break:

Seat 1.  Will Parker  –  565,000  (38 bb)
Seat 2.  Jesse Lonis  –  115,000  (8 bb)
Seat 3.  Hasan Hakim  –  655,000  (44 bb)
Seat 4.  Andrew Barfield  –  225,000  (15 bb)
Seat 5.  Aaron Thivyanathan  –  580,000  (39 bb)
Seat 6.  Rodney Turvin  –  330,000  (22 bb)
Seat 7.  Dan Sepiol  –  870,000  (58 bb)

With seven players remaining, the average chip stack is about 477,000 (32 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $11,737.

$2,200 Eight-Max No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 20:  6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 ante
Players Remaining:  7 of 167

Mohsin Virani moved his short stack all in from the small blind, and Aaron Thivyanathan called from the big blind with .

Virani turned over , and he was dominated as he faced elimination.

The board brought no hope for Virani, and he was eliminated in eighth place.

Aaron Thivyanathan  –  570,000  (48 bb)
Mohsin Virani  –  Eliminated in 8th Place  ($9,418)

With seven players remaining, the average chip stack is about 477,000 (40 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $11,737.

$2,200 Eight-Max No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 19:  5,000/10,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining:  8 of 167

With the board showing on the turn and about 85K already in the pot, Jake Schwartz got it all in from the big blind with for a pair of aces, but he was drawing dead against the (set of aces) of Hasan Hakim, who was under the gun.

The meaningless river card was the , and Hakim won the pot with his set to eliminate Schwartz in ninth place.

Hasan Hakim  –  475,000  (48 bb)
Jake Schwartz  –  Eliminated in 9th Place  ($7,833)

With eight players remaining, the average chip stack is about 418,000 (42 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $9,418.

$2,200 Eight-Max No Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
Structure | Payouts
Level 19:  5,000/10,000 with a 10,000 ante
Players Remaining:  9 of 167

Will Parker moved all in from middle position for 77,000, and Jake Schwartz min-raised from the hijack to 146,000 with . Parker turned over , and needed to improve to stay alive.

The board came , and Parker paired his nine kicker on the river to win the pot with two pair and double up in chips.

Will Parker  –  164,000  (16 bb)

A short while later, with the board showing on the turn and about 55K already in the pot, Will Parker checked the big blind, Andrew Barfield bet 20,000 from middle position, and Parker check-raised all in for 144,000. Barfield asked for a count and tanked for a while before he called with for a pair of aces.

Parker turned over for a pair of aces with a higher kicker, and he needed to avoid a five on the river to stay alive.

The river card was the , and Parker won the pot with his eight kicker to double up in chips.

Will Parker  –  360,000  (36 bb)
Andrew Barfield  –  422,000  (42 bb)

With nine players remaining, the average chip stack is about 371,000 (37 big blinds), and the next player to bust will earn $7,833.