On Monday afternoon, the seven remaining combatants in Event #3 of the PokerGO Tour (PGT) Last Chance returned to the PokerGO Studio to play down to a winner. The $10,000 buy-in event drew a field of 119 entrants to generate a prize pool of $1,190,000, with 17 places paid and $297,500 for the eventual winner.
When the final hand was dealt, Brandon Wilson stood alone atop the winner's podium to claim the top prize and the PGT Last Chance Event #3 title.
After navigating the latter half of Day 1 on a big stack, Keith Lehr began the final table with the chip lead, followed by Sam Soverel and Dylan Linde. Below them, four players – Landon Tice, David Chen, Wilson, and Darren Elias – sat on tightly-grouped stacks with very little separation between them.
Lehr on the gas pedal, Chen and Elias bow out
With serious ICM implications at play, Lehr managed to extend his lead considerably as the shorter stacks waited for those around them to bust. The waiting game proved ineffectual to start, however, as numerous at-risk players – Wilson amongst them, twice – found salvation in a double.
Then, after an unsuccessful bluff attempt in a hand against Tice, Chen found himself with less than one big blind remaining, but still managed to hang around by winning an all-in the very next hand. Still, his position in the chip counts necessitated further risk and he committed the remainder of his chips with 
against Wilson's 
. The 
flop didn't improve Chen's hand, but left him with a plethora of outs to the winner. The 
turn and 
river failed to provide, however, and Chen's run came to an end in a seventh-place finish.
David Chen ran into the buzzsaw in a hand against Landon Tice and couldn't spin it back up. Following Chen's exit, Wilson opted for maximum pressure on the shorter stacks behind him when he moved all-in with 
. In the big blind, Elias found 
and quickly flipped in a chip for a call. While his holding offered great potential, Elias still needed to connect with the board to avoid a sixth-place finish, but the 
runout failed to improve his hand.
Linde, Soverel, Lehr all downed by Tice
After chipping up to a more comfortable position, Tice took a shot at scoring an elimination of his own when he moved all-in from the button with 
. Linde looked down at 
in the small blind and, with just over five big blinds remaining, made the call to put his tournament life on the line. The 
flop paired Tice to leave Linde drawing at three immediate outs, but the 
turn and 
offered no such assistance.
Shortly after, Tice notched another elimination when he called off facing a jam from Soverel. Tice's 
held the lion's share of the pre-flop equity against Soverel's 
. The dealer spread the 
flop to improve Tice to a set of sixes and leave Soverel drawing to a gutshot straight. Neither the 
turn nor the 
river provided the necessary card and Soverel's run came to an end in a fourth-place finish. Tice, meanwhile, hauled in another key pot to take a commanding chip lead over his two remaining competitors.
As Tice finished stacking the last of Soverel's chips, Lehr moved all-in from the button with 
. In the big blind, Tice peeled and quickly announced a call. It was a pair versus pair clash and Lehr held only two immediate outs to stay alive. The 
flop offered potential backdoor flush outs, but the 
turn extinguished that hope and the river sent the start-of-day chip leader to the payout desk in third place.
After starting the final table with the chip lead, Keith Lehr's run came to an end with a podium finish. Wilson vs. Tice for the title
Tice began the heads-up battle with a near 3-to-1 chip lead over his opponent, but the win was far from guaranteed and Wilson fought hard to chip up in the early goings. With well-timed aggression and a few favorable flops, Wilson managed to then snatch the chip lead from Tice.
Wilson's aggression continued to work to his advantage as he won several pots without showdown, but Tice wasn't going anywhere. In a key pot, Tice flopped a straight with on a 
board while Wilson made top pair with . The 
turn and river made it difficult for Tice to extract maximum value, but the damage was done as he surged back into the lead.
Then, a massive clash between the two players saw the heads-up match take a dramatic turn. After limping in from the button with 
, Wilson moved all-in over the top of Tice's raise with . Tice wasted no time in making the call and, all of a sudden, was one favorable runout away from the win. The deck, however, failed to provide as the board came down 
to leave Wilson's pocket pair best. With that pot, Wilson took an overwhelming chip lead to leave Tice with his back to the wall.
Landon Tice began heads-up play with a sizable chip lead, but failed to close out the win. Shortly after, it was Tice's turn to spin the wheel with a pocket pair – the very same he failed to outdraw – as he moved all-in with . Wilson made the call with and needed to connect with the board to close out his come-from-behind victory. The dealer spread the flop to pair Wilson and leave Tice drawing to two immediate outs. The turn brought no additional equity Tice's way and the river sealed his fate.
PGT Last Chance Event #3 final table results
| Place | Player | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandon Wilson | $297,500 |
| 2 | Landon Tice | $184,450 |
| 3 | Keith Lehr | $130,900 |
| 4 | Sam Soverel | $101,150 |
| 5 | Dylan Linde | $77,350 |
| 6 | Darren Elias | $59,500 |
| 7 | David Chen | $47,600 |
Images Courtesy of Antonio Abrego/PokerGO Tour
