The final day at the WPTDeepStacks Championship saw the final 27 players return for a long march down to a champion. Cards got in the air at 12:00 noon, and play progressed quickly from three tables down to two. That was when we lost the last woman standing, Tracie Osborn, who finished in 20th place.
The first player to fall at the last two tables was former WPTDeepStacks champion Duff Charette, who busted in 18th place. The bustouts continued on a steady pace moving forward that saw the official final table of nine set around 6:30 p.m. The players then took a short dinner break before returning at 7:30 to resume play. Here is a look at the chip counts at that point:
Seat 1. Steve Chanthabouasy – 850,000 (14 bb)
Seat 2. Brock Wilson – 1,790,000 (30 bb)
Seat 3. Paul Snead – 3,275,000 (55 bb)
Seat 4. Brad Miller – 1,495,000 (25 bb)
Seat 5. William Prin – 2,135,000 (36 bb)
Seat 6. Andrew Ostapchenko – 3,550,000 (59 bb)
Seat 7. Justin Levitt – 1,525,000 (25 bb)
Seat 8. Michael Rossitto (pictured) – 2,585,000 (43 bb)
Seat 9. Zach Smyth – 6,235,000 (104 bb)
Steve Chanthabouasy was the first player to fall in ninth place 27 hands into play. A handful of doubles played out before Brock Wilson hit the rail in eighth place a little after 10 p.m. Brad Miller was out in seventh place within the same hour to take the final table down to six players remaining.
There were then back-to-back eliminations as William Brin exited on Hand #70 in sixth place, and Justin Levitt followed directly on his heels when he busted in fifth place on Hand #71. That set the stage for a lengthy four-handed battle that saw the chip leader at the start of the final table, Zach Smyth, fall in fourth place on the hundredth hand at the final table.
Another lengthy battle ensued for third place, and that was the elimination that decided the WPTDeepStacks North American Player of the Year race. When Andrew Ostapchenko fell in third place, that officially crowned Albert Knafo as the POY. An awards ceremony was held for Knafo shortly after the conclusion of the final table.
The start of heads-up play saw Michael Rossitto with the advantage over Paul Snead:
Michael Rossitto – 14,900,000 (60 bb)
Paul Snead – 8,525,000 (34 bb)
Things evened up quickly after Snead won the third hand of the heads-up final to give both players 12 about million. However, Rossitto flopped a flush on the very next hand to take a 3-1 chip lead. Everything ended just three hands later when:
Rossitto raised to 550,000, Paul Snead moved all in for 5,325,000, and Rossitto called with Heart AHeart Q.
Snead turned over Spade AHeart 9, and needed to improve to stay alive.
The board fell Heart JSpade 10Club 6Heart 4Club 5, and Rossitto won the pot — and the WPTDeepStacks Championship and $250,073 — with ace high and his queen kicker.
Here is what Rossitto had to say after the victory in his winner’s interview.
“Well, it feels pretty good,” said Rossitto. When asked about his journey through the final day of the tournament, Rossitto responded, “I started the day pretty rough. I ran pretty good from there, I got a little short but I stayed deep and that’s all that matters, but I got lucky.”
Rossitto had a clear vision of what he wanted to do at the final table once he got the chip lead as well, “I came into the FT pretty well in the middle of the pack, I was winning pots, it was going well. That trips hand versus Andrew really vaulted me into the chip lead, and then Paul went on a hot streak and the Jacks hand was basically everything. If I don’t turn the Jack it’s going to work, so you can’t fault him. I just played aggressive, I got to a place where I could raise and take it more and everyone else just had to fold.”
Final Results
1st: Michael Rossitto – $250,073
2nd: Paul Snead – $171,750
3rd: Andrew Ostapchenko – $110,085
4th: Zach Smyth – $80,035
5th: Justin Levitt – $61,435
6th: William Prin – $50,440
7th: Brad Miller – $41,570
8th: Brock Wilson – $33,150
9th: Steve Chanthabouasy – $24,870