Pat Lyons Wins the WPT Legends of Poker Main Event

By Ryan Lucchesi
Photos by Joe Giron

Every once in a while a player storms a final table at a World Poker Tour event not only with their poker skills, but also with the force of their personality. That was certainly the case at the WPT Legends of Poker tonight at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, California. The Lyons’ Roar was heard loud and clear throughout the evening as the self-proclaimed “world famous” Pat Lyons entertained the crowd and himself with a special brand of table talk that is unique in the poker world.

He faced two talented opponents in Benjamin Zamani and Upeshka De Silva during a three-handed battle that lasted for hours, but Lyons prevailed to score his first WPT title and the largest cash of his career. Lyons now holds $1,169,279 in career earnings, and he certainly became a lot more famous in the poker world tonight. The consistent run of success by Zamani at recent WPT events should also be noted. After finishing second tonight, he is now the runner-up at the first two televised events on the Season XV schedule. He took second at WPT Choctaw earlier this month and he now has a commanding lead in the Hublot WPT Player of the Year race with 2,000 points.

Zamani also took second at the WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble last season, and he is one of the most consistent players in all of poker right now. But tonight belonged to Lyons, who enjoyed his victory just as one would imagine. It is also fitting that he won the final hand of the tournament holding Ace-Eight, which is the infamous hand held by Wild Bill Hickok when he was shot and killed playing a hand of poker in Deadwood, South Dakota. A bust of Hickok is featured on the Legends of Poker trophy that was awarded to Lyons by the Bicycle Casino.

Here is a look at the chip counts when cards got into the air at the final table.

Seat 1.  William Vo  –  5,260,000  (88 bb)
Seat 2.  Pat Lyons  –  4,980,000  (83 bb)
Seat 3.  Benjamin Zamani  –  3,215,000  (54 bb)
Seat 4.  Todd Peterson  –  1,930,000  (32 bb)
Seat 5.  Upeshka De Silva  –  4,475,000  (75 bb)
Seat 6.  Rafael Oliveira  –  780,000  (13 bb)

The eliminations kicked off early when the short-stacked Rafael Oliveira moved all in with pocket jacks on the seventh hand of play. Upeshka De Silva held 7-6 in the hole and he hit runner-runner sixes to win the hand and eliminate Oliveira in sixth place ($85,760).

Action was quiet for a while after that except for the ever-present narrative of Pat Lyons, who sometimes just walked away from the final table to chat with people in the crowd. That changed on the 45th hand of play. William Vo called all in with A-K on a board reading J-8-3-Q-2 but he was behind the K-J of Upeshka. The 77-year-old Bicycle Casino regular Vo took home $133,105 in fifth place, and his elimination meant that Doyle Brunson retains his record as the oldest WPT Legends of Poker champion.

Todd Peterson managed to double up on Hand 85, but he wasn’t so lucky five hands later. He was all in holding A-Q and he was up against the pocket tens of Lyons. Peterson found a queen, but Lyons improved to a set of tens on the river. Peterson was eliminated in fourth place, good for $149,715.

Benjamin Zamani doubled up on Hand 106 and that kicked off a long three-handed battle that lasted for more than three hours. Upeshka scored a double up on Hand 132, and Zamani doubled again on Hand 138. The battle for third finally ended on the 183rd hand of the night. Lyons reraised all in preflop with Q-10 and Upeshka called with pocket jacks. The board fell 9-8-2-A-Q and that was it for Upeshka, who took home $198,720 for third place.

After the prolonged battle for third, heads-up play lasted just 18 hands. On the final hand Lyons moved all in preflop, and Zamani called all in for 3,625,000 with . Lyons turned over , and Zamani needed to improve to stay alive. The board was dealt , and Lyons won the pot — and the WPT title — with a jack-high straight. Zamani finished as the runner-up, earning $341,412.

Lyons wins the WPT Legends of Poker, earning $615,346, which includes his entry into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions. Lyons also received a WPT Champions Trophy, a Hublot King Power Unico Carbon and Red watch, a pair of gold Monster 24K headphones, and his name will be inscribed on the one-and-only WPT Champions Cup, alongside every other WPT champion from all 15 seasons.

Congratulations to Pat Lyons!

Final Table Results:

1st:  Pat Lyons – $615,346
2nd:  Benjamin Zamani – $341,412
3rd:  Upeshka De Silva – $198,720
4th:  Todd Peterson – $149,715
5th:  William Vo – $113,105
6th:  Rafael Oliveira – $85,760

That concludes our coverage of the WPT Legends of Poker Main Event. Thanks to the new and improved Bicycle Casino for hosting another great event. The next event takes the tour across the country to the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey from September 18-23. The WPT live reporting team will be there to bring you all of the action in live updates, chip counts, and photos.