On the very first hand of heads-up in the Season XIV WPT Emperors Palace Poker Classic, Ben Cade (pictured) raised to 70,000 and Mark Lifman quickly three-bet to 180,000. Cade re-raised to 375,000, and Lifman spoke up.
“You know what,” Lifman said with a big smile, “I’m not here to mess around.”
“All in,” Lifman announced, and Cade snap-called.
Both players laugh in disbelief of the hands they got dealt, as the showdown goes as follows.
Lifman: 
Cade: 
The board ran out 
and a loud round of applause erupted from the tournament room as Cade won the pot — and the WPT title — with two pair, kings and nines.
Mark Lifman finished as the runner-up, earning R797,200.
Cade earns a spot in the coveted WPT Champions Club, earning R1,382,000 (equivalent to US$100,000), a WPT trophy, and an Emperors Palace trophy. As part of his prize money, Cade also receives a $15,400 seat into the season-ending WPT World Championship.
1st: Ben Cade – R1,382,000* ($100,000*)
2nd: Mark Lifman – R797,200 ($57,684.52)
3rd: Aaron Overton – R517,100 ($37,416.79)
4th: Nipun Java – R355,510 ($25,724.31)
5th: Diana Sventz – R273,640 ($19,800.29)
6th: Dean Doucha – R213,310 ($15,434.88)
* First prize amount includes a $15,400 seat into the season-ending WPT World Championship.
The Season XIV WPT Emperors Palace Poker Classic attracted 135 entries, generating a total prize pool of more than R4.3 million. among the participants were defending champion Dylan Wilkerson, two-time WPT champion Darren Elias, Aussie Jonathan Karamalikis, and American Melanie Weisner.
Photo: The six finalists posed for a group photograph before the final table began. From left to right: Dean Doucha, Ben Cade, Diana Sventz, Mark Lifman, Nipun Java, and Aaron Overton.
The World Poker Tour travels to Europe this week for WPT UK at Dusk Till Dawn. For the best hotel rates at all tour stops, check out WPT Travel.