After a grueling 16-hour day of poker, the Season XV WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown $3,500 Championship reached the official WPT final table in the early hours of Monday morning. Just six players remain from the huge field of 1,207 entries, with Dan Colman bagging up the chip lead.
WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown $3,500 Championship Final Table
Seat 1: Tony Sinishtaj – 9,515,000
Seat 2: Darryll Fish – 7,525,000
Seat 3: Dan Colman – 9,975,000
Seat 4: Eric Beller – 2,960,000
Seat 5: Simeon Naydenov – 3,115,000
Seat 6: Robert Mizrachi – 3,100,000
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With 30 players remaining, Colman was the short stack with less than 10 big blinds. The tides can turn quickly in poker, though, and Colman hit a rush over a three-hour period that saw him skyrocket to the chip lead.
It started when Colman doubled through Phillip Hui with pocket nines against Hui’s 
. About 30 minutes later, the two clashed again, with Colman again doubling through Hui, this time with Colman’s 
holding against Hui’s 
.
Colman then turned to Jake Schwartz to find his next double less than 20 minutes later. Colman once again held the best hand going in with pocket queens against the pocket jacks of Schwartz. The queens held, and all of a sudden Colman’s 200,000-chip stack had turned into more than 1.7 million.
Colman soon moved over 2 million in chips thanks to winning some from John DePersio, but the next real big bang came when he knocked out Jeffrey Trudeau in 24th place. With the blinds at 15,000/30,000 with a 5,000 ante, Colman opened to 60,000 from early position. Trudeau reraised to 145,000 from the cutoff seat, and Colman called to see the 
flop. After Colman checked, Trudeau bet 85,000. Colman called, and the turn was the 
. Both players checked, and the river completed the board with the 
. Colman moved all in, having Trudeau’s 850,000 in chips covered. Trudeau thought for a little bit, then called with the 
for top pair. Colman had the 
for a flush, and Trudeau was gone.
That pot against Trudeau put Colman over 3.3 million in chips and into the lead.
Colman later took around 4 million into the final table of 10, watching as Tony Sinishtaj and Eric Beller played with more than 10 million in chips as James Mackey, John Gordon, and Lander Lijo were eliminated in eighth, ninth, and 10th places, respectively.
With seven players left, and the bubble of the official WPT final table, Simeon Naydenov, who finished second to Daniel Strelitz in the recent WPT L.A. Poker Classic $10,000 Championship, doubled through Colman. Colman was knocked to 1.33 million in chips, which was under 20 big blinds at the time. Colman then doubled through Darryll Fish to get back over 2 million, followed by a double through Eric Beller to move to over 4 million. A series of pots later, and Colman was over 7 million in chips as the clock approached 2 a.m. local time.
Colman then dealt the final blow to finish play for the night when he busted Matt Affleck in seventh place. Colman’s 
held against Affleck’s 
, and Affleck was out the door with a $109,728 payday.
Colman finished on 9.975 million in chips and just edged out Sinishtaj’s 9.515 million to hold the lead.
Day 3 of the four-day event began at 12 p.m. ET at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. At that time, the field was well into the money with 66 remaining. One by one, players began to hit the rail, starting with Wally Maddah in 66th place. Following Maddah to the payout desk was Jason Mercier (63rd), Chris Klodnicki (60th), Bryn Kenney (56th), Byron Kaverman (50th), and WPT Champions Club member Dietrich Fast (44th).
Deeper into the tournament, more WPT champions hit the rail. Taylor Paur (32nd), Iaron Lightbourne (23rd), Taylor von Kriegenbergh (20th), Daniel Strelitz (14th), Erik Seidel (13th), and Jason Brin (11th).
The final table of this event will take place Wednesday, April 5 starting at 12 p.m. ET, following a day off for the players. Continued live coverage can be found right here on these pages, you can tune in to the multiple live streams the WPT will have of the event, as it will be broadcast globally in many different languages.
In the meantime, return to WPT.com on Tuesday for Day 2 of the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker $10,000 Finale.
Looking to win your way to a World Poker Tour event for your shot at becoming a WPT champion? Play for your chance on ClubWPT.com, where eligible VIP Members can play for over $100,000 in cash and prizes each month, including seats to WPT events, no purchase necessary.