Tournament Details

One would think a poker tournament in the middle of paradise would offer a lot of suntans and umbrella drinks for the players. For the final six competitors in the WPT Caribbean Poker Adventure, the first time they saw the sun was the moment they reached the WPT final table. After battling indoors against a field of 724 players, the top six players moved outside under the Bahamian sun. Here's what the chip stacks looked like as the final table began.

Seat One: Steve Paul-Ambrose - 1,780,000
Seat Two: David Singer - 2,535,000
Seat Three: Brook Lyter - 875,000
Seat Four: Michael Higgins - 794,000
Seat Five: Anders Henriksson - 1,033,000
Seat Six: Ozzy Sheikh - 231,000

In one of the most exotic poker locations in the world, one would expect the game might be full of differences. At the Caribbean Poker Adventure, one of the biggest differences was the age of the players. Bahamian law allows 18-year-olds to compete and there was no shortage of young fresh faces in the field.

Aurangzeb "Ozzy" Sheikh, an 18-year-old online poker wunderkind, stepped into the tournament having never played anywhere but online. After three days of solid play, Sheikh came to the final table with the shortest stack, but a fierce determination to win.

On the very first hand of final table play, with the blinds at 10,000/20,000 and 1,000 ante, Canadian college student Steve Paul-Ambrose holding pocket sevens came in under the gun for a raise to 65,000 . The rest of the table folded around to Sheikh in the big blind. Sheikh looked down to find two of the prettiest cards in the deck – pocket aces. He considered his move for just a moment before moving all-in. Paul-Ambrose called for the additional 164,000, and then grimaced when he saw Sheikh's two black rockets. Paul-Ambrose knew his odds were painfully small.

Resigned, Paul-Ambrose muttered, "Nice hand."

For ten tense seconds, it looked like Sheikh would double up on the very first hand.

"No seven, dealer," Sheikh said. "Please."

Fate can be wicked. Even as the perfect sun shone down on the table, there would be no more light for the young Internet pro. As the dealer revealed the flop, the sun lit up a seven. It was a sickening history-making moment on the WPT. Sheikh was the first player to ever be eliminated on the first hand of a WPT final table.

"That's what happens in poker," Sheikh said. For his sixth place finish, he earned $177,200.

With the suckout gods clearly paying attention to the game, the players stopped seeing a lot of river cards. To be sure, there was a lot of play, but raises and re-raises won more pots than showdowns did. As the blinds moved up to 15,000/30,000 and a 2000 ante, Paul-Ambrose and Brook Lyter nearly shared the chip lead.

Four hands into the new level, Anders Henriksson came in for a raise to 90,000 under the gun. He held KQ. Everyone folded to Lyter who called in the small blind. Henriksson wouldn't know it, but he was in a lot of trouble. Lyter held pocket aces.

It got even worse for Henriksson when the flop came out Q62. Lyter, poker-actor and check-raiser extraordinaire, checked. Henriksson fired out a 150,000 bet and Lyter put on his best acting job. After asking for a count of Henriksson's chips, Lyter moved all-in. After thinking for a couple of minutes, Henriksson announced, "Call." Lyter flipped over his aces, Henriksson winced and showed his KQ. The board didn't help and Henriksson was eliminated in fifth place, earning $239,900.

"If I catch cards like that, I might be tough to beat," Lyter said, stacking his chips.

Although Sheikh (18) and Henriksson (24) were gone, youth still remained at the table. Ohio State University freshman Michael Higgins (18) was aiming to return to school as a millionaire. Holding AQ, he came in for a raise to 100,000. The players folded around to Lyter who called from the big blind. The flop came down KT9.

Lyter had already shown his willingness to check-raise, but Higgins gave him no chance. He moved all in, clearly not aware that suckouts would rule the day. Lyter instantly called with K9 - two pair. Higgins was eliminated in fourth place. He took home $327,100 for his efforts.

A few hands later, the blinds moved to 25,000/50,000 and a 5,000 ante. The three remaining players were all within striking distance of each others chip counts.

For the next hour, Steve Paul-Ambrose tore up the table, accumulating chips with aggressive play and good calls. After flopping a full house and letting Lyter catch top pair, Paul-Ambrose chipped up and had a 2-1 chip lead on second place. That win would set up the biggest hand of the tournament so far.

Tournament professional David Singer came in for a raise to 150,000 from the button. Both Lyter and Paul-Ambrose called from the blinds. The flop looked innocuous: 964 rainbow. Both Lyter and Paul-Ambrose checked and Singer bet out 325,000. Lyter quickly folded, but Paul-Ambrose, holding K9 felt he might have the best hand. After some thought, he moved all in.

Singer, who had outplayed Paul-Ambrose throughout the afternoon, had to make a decision. Was Paul-Ambrose making a move? Singer decided it was enough of a possibility, called, and turned over T9. He was way behind. With three outs able to save him, Singer watched the dealer peel off an eight. Now, Singer could win the hand with any ten or any seven.

As if drawn by a beacon, the suckout fates came running and peeled a seven off the deck. Paul-Ambrose deflated on the table and watched Singer rake a pot worth 4.1 million chips. In one moment, Paul-Ambrose looked like he would knock out Singer and have so big a chip lead he couldn't lose. Now, he looked like he'd be lucky to finish in second place.

On the next hand, it would only get worse. Paul-Ambrose put his pocket sevens up against Lyter's pocket kings and doubled up another opponent. He had to wonder if he could survive to see second place.

Holding K2 of diamonds, Paul-Ambrose came in for a raise to 200,000 from the button. Singer called from the small blind, holding A9. When the flop came out A87 with two diamonds, Singer checked his top pair and Paul-Ambrose bet out $500,000 on the come. Singer, with nary a tell on his face, raised to make it 1.5 million.

Paul-Ambrose looked like he was in pain, but finally announced he'd put the rest of his chips in the middle, showing his flush draw. The turn was a non-diamond ace. With one card to come, Paul-Ambrose had seven outs and one came through. The four of diamonds appeared on the river and somewhere the suckout fates were smiling.

Ten hands later, it was time for Lyter to emerge from the pack. He flopped a set of eights, let Paul-Ambrose catch top pair, and then extracted the maximum amount of chips from Paul-Ambrose. Lyter moved into the chip lead and waited to see what would happen next.

On the very next hand, Paul Ambrose came in for a raise to 250,000 with AQ. Singer picked up pocket kings and decided to slowplay. The flop came out QJ4. Singer continued his slowplay, and check-raised all-in to Paul-Ambrose's 300,000 bet. Singer called in an instant, springing the trap…and summoning the suckout. An ace fell on the turn, a queen fell on the river, and Singer was sent to the rail in third place, earning $436,200.

Night began to fall at the start of heads-up play,. The final table had run for more than six hours and the two players were nearly even in chips. It would take less than ten hands to end the tournament.

On the final hand, the players saw a flop of J92. Lyter bet 300,000 and Paul-Ambrose raised it another 1.2 million to make the bet 1.5 million total. Lyter, holding KJ, mulled the decision. He decided he was ready to make a stand and declared all-in.

Now, it was up to Paul-Ambrose. What did he want to do? Finally, he decided to call. Lyter showed him KJ for top pair, king kicker. Paul-Ambrose showed QT for an open-ended straight draw and a backdoor flush draw.

The muses of drama were certainly present. The dealer turned a queen to give Paul-Ambrose a higher pair, then a king on the river to give Lyter two pair, but Paul-Ambrose the straight.

With the Caribbean winds blowing and the sun below the horizon, a young man from Canada became a millionaire. Later he said he planned to stay in school and hire a good accountant. At just 22 years old, he may be young, but Steve Paul-Ambrose isn't foolish.

And he's $1.3 million richer.