When the LA Poker Classic final table began, poker fans were pretty divided between those who believed Carlos Mortensen would pick up his record fourth title and those who believed Vivek Rajkumar would breeze thru the final table en route to a second win. Those people didn’t count on Gregory Brooks.

It took three hands for Brooks to take the chip lead at this final table and, for the next 93, he maintained his spot as one of the big stacks at the table. The 23 year-old New Jersey native may have been a WPT rookie surrounded by seasoned vets, but confidence and a little good old patriotism served him well at this stacked final table. With a crowd of friends and family decked out in red, white and blue to cheer him on in his first-ever WPT event, Brooks used his aggressive style to upset the vets and become the latest WPT-made millionaire.

Many predicted the deep stacks would result in a long final table, but it took just three hands for the carnage to begin. Brooks jumped to the chip lead early when a cooler of a hand saw him get it all-in against Rajkumar holding pocket aces to Rajkumar’s pocket queens. The aces held and Brooks only built on his momentum from there.

While it was smooth sailing for Brooks, it was rough waters for Rajkumar, as he found himself all-in with the best of it against Steve Gross on two separate occasions, only to chop the pot once and double Gross up in the other.

On Hand #31 the eliminations began. Darryll Fish was running low on chips and shoved all-in over the top of a raise from Carlos Mortensen with Q

. Mortensen quickly called with pocket queens and sent Fish to the rail in sixth place.

Gross was the next to go. He battled a short stack all afternoon and staved off elimination a couple of times, but it was not his day. He got it in holding J

to Rajkumar’s A

and failed to come from behind a third time. Rajkumar’s ace-high held on a K

board and Gross went home in fifth place.

Levahot followed suit just four hands later. He lost a chunk of his stack when he made two pair in a hand where Brooks hit a set to drop him to just over a million. The rest of the chips went in on a J

flop when he called Rajkumar’s check-raise all-in holding K

to Rajkumar’s Q

. The 4

on the turn and 3

on the river were no help to Lehavot ad, suddenly, the field was down to three.

Brooks had a big chip lead, but Mortensen and Rajkumar weren’t exactly short on chips. With more than 50 big blinds in each player’s arsenal, it seemed like this could be a long night, however, it took just six hands to get the field down to heads-up.

Just one hand after Brooks took more than a million of Mortensen’s chips, the two tangled again. All three players saw a flop of J

and Rajkumar checked to Brooks, who bet 380,000. Mortensen raised to 800,000, Rajkumar folded, and Brooks moved all-in. Mortensen called with K

for top pair and Brooks showed 4

for straight and flush draws. The 5

on the turn kept Mortensen in the lead, but the 10

on the river gave Brooks the pot and dashed Mortensen’s hopes of a fourth WPT title.

Brooks had the advantage when heads-up play began, but Rajkumar brought things close to even thanks to one of the biggest calls of the season. Rajkumar check-called a big bet from Brooks on a Q

flop and checked again when the turn brought the 5

. Brooks moved all-in and Rajkumar thought for several minutes before calling with 8

. He had the best hand for the moment, as Brooks turned over K

for a big draw, and Rajkumar doubled up when the river brought the 4

The double up gave Rajkumar new life, but a second double was not in his future. Instead, Brooks steadily chipped away at his opponent, pulling out to a 4 to 1 chip advantage. Down to under four million chips, Rajkumar called a raise from Brooks and they saw a flop of 7

. Rajkumar checked, Brooks bet 400,000, and Rajkumar took a few moments before announcing he was all-in.

Brooks thought the situation through and called with 7

for top pair, which was in the lead against Rajkumar’s J

for just jack high. With the 2

on the turn and an A

on the river, Brooks’ pair of sevens held and he captured his first WPT title in the first WPT event he ever played.

It may have been his first event, but it certainly won't be his last. Brooks will most definitely play in $25,000 Championship in May and he guarantees there will be more WPT events, and hopefully more WPT final tables in his future.

Here are the final table results from the Season IX LA Poker Classic Main Event:

1st: Gregory Brooks - $1,654,120
2nd: Vivek Rajkumar - $908,730
3rd: Carlos Mortensen - $640,680
4th: Amir Lehavot - $421,680
5th: Steve Gross - $304,000
6th: Darryll Fish - $235,350

Sorted In: Featured Blog, Gregory Brooks, Vivek Rajkumar, Carlos Mortensen, Steve Gross, Amir Lehavot, Darryll Fish, Commerce Casino, Tournaments, L.A. Poker Classic, Season IX
11:00 PM, 03/03/11

Hand #96: Gregory Brooks Wins the WPT L.A. Poker Classic! ($1,654,120)

Level 32: 75,000-150,000, 25,000 ante

Gregory Brooks raises to 325,000, and Vivek Rajkumar calls. The flop comes 732, Rajkumar checks, Brooks bets 400,000, and Rajkumar thinks for more than 30 seconds before he moves all in for 3,500,000.

Brooks thinks for about 30 seconds before he calls with 87 for a pair of sevens, and Rajkumar turns over J10 for two over cards with runner-runner straight and flush draws.

The turn is the 2, the river is the A, and Gregory Brooks wins the pot -- and the tournament -- with a two pair, sevens and deuces.

Vivek Rajkumar finishes as the runner-up, earning $908,730. He came close to winning his second WPT title, but could never claim the chip lead heads up.

Gregory Brooks wins the WPT L.A. Poker Classic, earning $1,654,120, a Remington statue trophy, and a WPT bracelet. The prize money includes a $25,500 entry into the season-ending WPT World Championship at Bellagio in May.

Congratulations to Gregory Brooks!

1st: Gregory Brooks - $1,654,120
2nd: Vivek Rajkumar - $908,730
3rd: Carlos Mortensen - $640,680
4th: Amir Lehavot - $421,680
5th: Steve Gross - $304,000
6th: Darryll Fish - $235,350

Sorted In: Featured Blog, Vivek Rajkumar, Gregory Brooks, Commerce Casino, Tournaments, L.A. Poker Classic, Season IX
10:23 PM, 03/03/11

Level 32 Begins

Level 32: 75,000-150,000, 25,000 ante

The players return from break to begin Level 32, with increased blinds of 75,000-150,000 and a 25,000 ante.

Sorted In: Commerce Casino, Tournaments, L.A. Poker Classic, Season IX
10:16 PM, 03/03/11