Ryan Smith (pictured above) traveled from his hometown of Edmonton, Canada to San Diego, California for the season ending WPTDeepStacks event at Ocean’s Eleven Casino, eyeing the Season I Player of the Year title. After winning the $1,500 buy-in Main Event at Casino Yellowhead and earning $79,000, Smith found himself in fourth place of the POY race. Fraser Short, 20, led the POY race but isn’t legally eligible to play in San Diego since he is underage.
Jonathan Sanborn, second in the POY race entering the final event, did make the trip to San Diego, but it was Smith who finished 44th in the event to climb to 101.72 points and claim the title.
As a reward, Smith qualified for the Season XIII WPT World Championship and will receive a 2015 WPTDeepStacks Sponsorship Package, including $5,000 that can be used towards WPTDeepStacks buy-ins and hotel and airfare accommodations. Smith will also be featured on WPTDeepStacks.com and receive both a custom WPTDeepStacks Player of the Year trophy and a custom WPTDeepStacks Player of the Year poker table, provided by Off Tilt Poker Tables.
The $1,100 buy-in WPTDeepStacks Main Event at Ocean’s Eleven Casino smashed the $200,000 guarantee, attracting a total of 520 entries and generating a prize pool of $504,400. Justin Porter and Josh Pollock chopped heads up, both walking away with just over $85,000, but Porter was awarded the trophy and the victory.
Professional Michael Benvenuti was also at the final table, exiting in third place and earning $44,184, while WPT Champions Club member Sean Jazayeri bubbled the final nine, exiting in tenth place and taking home $7,213.
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