Daniel Strelitz has come close several times in major poker tournaments, but at the end, something always seemed to go wrong. That’s not what happened at Commerce Casino in the Season XV World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic $10,000 Championship, though, as Strelitz topped the powerful field of 521 players in this marquee tournament to score a first-place prize of more than $1 million.
“It’s incredible,”said Strelitz in his interview with WPT Co-Commentator Vince Van Patten right after the conclusion of play. “I’m so happy to have the opportunity and the incredible run that got me here. It’s unbelievable.”
Season XV WPT L.A. Poker Classic Final Table Results
1st: Daniel Strelitz – $1,001,110*
2nd: Simeon Naydenov – $672,190
3rd: Jared Griener – $431,340
4th: Mike Sexton – $300,690
5th: Jesse Martin – $230,380
6th: Richard Tuhrim – $191,490
*First-prize amount includes the winner’s $15,000 entry into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions.
For Strelitz, a 27-year-old poker professional player currently living in nearby Orange, CA, the win was incredible. For those watching, it was dominant. And we’re not just talking about the final table.
Nick Maimone held the chip lead after the first two days of the event, but then Strelitz took over. He held the lead at the end Day 3 with 45 players remaining, Day 4 with 18 players remaining, and Day 5 with six players remaining. At the final table, Strelitz’s dominance continued, although he did have a few bumps in the road that caused him to drop out of the top spot.
Strelitz entered the final table with 41.5 percent of the chips in play and a commanding lead. On the other end of the spectrum, with about one-tenth of the chips of Strelitz, was Richard Tuhrim, and his run ended up sixth place when Strelitz knocked him out on the seventh hand of the final table.
As play wore on, Strelitz continued to climb, amassing more than 50 percent of the chips in play. Mike Sexton, who was looking for his second WPT title in Season XV, went the other way. Jesse Martin also slid down the leaderboard, before he eventually shoved all in from the small blind with 
against Jared Griener’s big blind. Griener quickly called with pocket eights, and the eights held to bust Martin in fifth.
Sexton then went out in fourth, but not without getting his money in as best he could.
Sexton shoved in with the 
, and Strelitz called with the 
. Strelitz flopped two pair to take the lead and went on to make a full house to send Sexton packing with a $300,690 payday.
“It was very nice, and it’s thrilling to get to a final table,” Sexton said in his bustout interview. “And as you said, I could have gone out in fifth place. I could have gone out in sixth. Ironically, I had two kings twice against [Strelitz]. He had ace-seven off suit both times, and he beat me both times. That’s pretty unusual. Just shows you I think destiny is on his side.”
With the finish, Sexton earned 1,000 points in the Hublot WPT Player of the Year race for Season XV. Adding those to the points he already had, Sexton moved to second place with a total of 2,000 points. Ben Zamani remained in front with 2,500 points.
Following Sexton’s elimination, Strelitz climbed some more, getting to just under 10 million in chips before a misstep against Simeon Naydenov cost him more than 3 million of his stack.
Strelitz four-bet all in with the 
, and Naydenov called quickly with pocket sevens. The sevens held, and Naydenov pulled to within 800,000 of Strelitz. A handful of hands later, Naydenov took the lead.
Strelitz started to slide a little, falling below 5 million in chips, but he soon retook the lead from Naydenov. Then, Strelitz and Naydenov exchanged chip-leading blows while Griener sat on the sidelines and watched. At one point, the chip lead changed four times between Strelitz and Naydenov in six hands.
Three-handed play between Strelitz, Griener, and Naydenov lasted 65 hands until Griener was eliminated in third place. He was eliminated at the hands of Naydenov and took home $431,340 in prize money.
When heads-up play began, Naydenov held the chip lead, thanks to the boost his stack received from busting Griener. But on the second hand of heads-up play, Strelitz moved to a nice lead when he made a full house against his Bulgarian counterpart’s flush. After that, it was all Strelitz, as he never relinquished the lead again.
On the final hand, with the blinds at 60,000/120,000 with a 20,000 ante in Level 31, Strelitz raised to 260,000 on the button, and Naydenov called. The flop was 
, and Naydenov checked. Strelitz bet 325,000, and Naydenov check-raised to 975,000. Strelitz called.
The turn was the 
, and Naydenov checked. Strelitz bet 1.35 million, and Naydenov check-raised all in for 3.86 million. Strelitz snap-called with the 
for a turned straight, and he had the 
of Naydenov drawing dead. The river was the and it was official, Daniel Strelitz was the Season XV WPT L.A. Poker Classic champion.
“I feel amazing,” Strelitz said. “It’s really unbelievable, this is crazy. Me making this run just feels so good, especially since I’ve been living in [Southern California] my whole life. This is the biggest tournament you can win in [Southern California], and to just win it is unbelievable.”
Strelitz earned $1.001 million for the victory, which includes a $15,000 entry into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions. Strelitz also received a WPT Champions Trophy, an L.A. Poker Classic Remington trophy, a Hublot King Power Unico Carbon and Red watch, and a pair of Rose Gold Wireless Over-Ear Element Headphones from Monster.
Next up on Season XV of the World Poker Tour is the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star taking place March 6-10, 2017. Click here for more information on that event.