By Sean Chaffin
After three days of thunderous action, the final table is now set in the WPT Rolling Thunder. The final table of six will play to a winner on Tuesday at the Thunder Valley Casino Resort. The event will be live streamed at WPT.com and the winner will take home $279,270 and 1,000 points in the Hublot WPT Player of the Year standings.
The champion also earns a $15,000 entry into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions presented by Baccarat Crystal. Here’s a look at the final table.
Seat 1: Robert Heidorn – 2,120,000 (106 bb)
This marks the third WPT cash for this player from Berlin, Germany, now living in London. His two previous tour cashes came in Season XV at the partypoker UK event and in Season XIV at partypoker Prague. The WPT Rolling Thunder becomes his first WPT final table appearance after a strong Day 3.
In total, Heidorn has more than $2.2 million in live tournament winnings with numerous big cashes and finishes in European events. In 2019 he made some big noise at the World Series of Poker with a deep run in the $10,000 Main Event. He finished 10th for $800,000, the biggest cash of his career. He won a non-bracelet event in the 2017 WSOP Europe, taking down a €5,250 Turbo Knockout for $45,744. With a nice stack of chips, he’ll be looking for another highlight to add to that record.
Seat 2: Kevin Rabichow – 2,860,000 (143 bb)
This becomes the third WPT cash for this poker pro from Chicago. His first two came this season at Fallsview and Montreal, and he now has his first final table appearance. Rabichow, 30, has $663,000 in live tournament winnings and the great majority came in a single score. In May 2019 at the Playground Poker Club in Montreal, Rabichow finished runner-up in the $10,300 partypoker MILLIONS for $484,460.
In January Rabichow played in another $10,300 MILLIONS event in the UK and finished 50th for $25,000. This would become the first major tournament win of his career and no doubt he’ll be looking to make that happen. He may not have as many skins on the wall as some other players at this final table, but he’s now shown some consistency at running deep and has a mountain of chips.
Seat 3: Jake Schwartz – 1,075,000 (54 bb)
Along with Yilmaz, Schwartz made big moves on Day 2 and 3 to vault up the chip counts. He’s no stranger to deep runs on the WPT and has $1.2 million in winnings on the tour. That total includes five final table appearances, but the WPT Champions Cup has so far been elusive. He spoke this week about his desire to be a closer and he now has that opportunity.
Schwartz put together two final table appearances last season. He scored a runner-up at bestbet Jacksonville for $228,590 and a fourth-place at Fallsview for $123,867. This becomes his sixth cash this season and his second straight deep run here at the Rolling Thunder. Last season he also had a deep run here – taking 14th for $18,700. He’s now hoping to make some thunder of his own at this final table with his first WPT championship.
Seat 4: Tony Tran – 875,000 (44 bb)
One of two WPT Champions Club members at this final table, his WPT title came in Season XVII in the bestbet Bounty Scramble. On Day 2 with 30 players left in that event, Tran had been down to only two big blinds before staging a rally that ended with the championship and $341,486. That final table also included Jake Schwartz, and the two will now face off again at a WPT final table.
Tran, 32, lives in Philadelphia and now has $915,000 in live tournament winnings. Last season, he scored seven cashes on the tour but this becomes his first this season. He’ll be looking to make it count. Married with two children, Tran isn’t a full-time player and works as a real estate investor when not playing cards. He may be low in chips, but he’s proven he can work up a short stack. Will he be able to complete the comeback again for his second WPT title?
Seat 5: Erkut Yilmaz – 2,185,000 (109 bb)
To say Yilmaz, 43, has been on a tear the last two seasons would be an understatement. After winning this same event last year, he’s now looking to make history by becoming the first player to win the same event in subsequent years. In Season XVII, Yilmaz also won the WPT Borgata Poker Open before going on to win the Hublot WPT Player of the Year title. He now has his third WPT final table appearance. Both of those previous appearances ended with championships. Can he make it three for three and back to back?
In total, Yilmaz now has $977,912 in WPT winnings and even a sixth-place moves him into the $1 million club. He’s also looking to join WPT greats like Darren Elias (4) Anthony Zinno, Carlos Mortensen, Chino Rheem, Gus Hansen, and Eric Afriat with at least three WPT titles. At Thunder Valley Yilmaz moved up the chip counts on Day 2 and continued to climb on Day 3. He can close the show at a final table and will be a massive challenge for other players at the final table.
Seat 6: Shankar Pillai – 885,000 (44 bb)
No stranger to WPT success, Pillai is making his third final table appearance and has almost $490,000 in tour winnings. The 35-year-old came so close to a title in Season XVII, finishing runner-up at WPT Maryland for $220,780. In Season XVI, he took sixth at the WPT besbet Bounty Scramble for $55,191. Away from the WPT, Pilllai won a WSOP bracelet in 2007 in a $3,000 No Limit Hold’em event for $527,829.
In 2019, Pillai added a second bracelet by winning the $1,500 Bracelet Winners Only event for $71,580. In total, this player from New York has more than $1.9 million in live tournament winnings. After starting Day 3 in the bottom half of the chip counts, Pillai stayed the course and notched a few key eliminations late in the day. Will the third final table be the charm? He has plenty of experience and will be looking for another nice final table run if he can get more chips.
Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas, and his work appears in numerous websites and publications. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions.