Another big live tournament series played to its conclusion over the weekend, as large-field events continue to make their way back into the U.S. poker landscape.
Bestbet Jacksonville concluded its Fall Frenzy Tournament Series with a $1,500 Main Event, which crowned a winner Sunday. Brian Cox came out as the tournament champion, taking home a $69,349 payday in the process.
Cox battled Nikhil Sunku (2nd - $48,130) in the heads-up matchup of the final two players. Other top finishers included Christopher Allen (3rd - $29,256), Christina Read (4th - $17,796) and Joseph Crosby (5th - $13,743).
The Fall Frenzy Main Event drew 213 entries, putting the total prize pool at $285,420. The Main Event played as one of three events in the Fall Frenzy series, which marked the first major tournament series for bestbet Jacksonville since reopening in May.
First major tournament series since COVID-19 shutdowns for major Florida poker hub
With 88 tables, bestbet Jacksonville represents one of Florida's major live poker venues. Live tournaments have been back in action at the poker room for several weeks, but the Fall Frenzy Tournament series is the first major series for bestbet Jacksonville since it reopened in May after weeks of shutdown due to the COVID-19 crisis.
The two-day Main Event began Saturday, Oct. 24, with the 213 entries playing down to an eight-handed final table. Those eight players returned for final table action the following day, streamed on delay on the bestbetLIVE YouTube channel.
Spectators of the live stream were treated to just under three hours of action at the final table. Crosby entered final table action with the chip lead (1,167,000 chips), with Sunku (1,013,000), Derek Bowers (838,000), Brian Dumpalin (828,000), and the eventual winner Cox (766,000) rounding out the top five.
Cox spend the three-hour duration of the final table moving up in the chip ranks, eventually going into the heads-up battle with Sunku with close to a 9-to-1 chip lead after eliminating Allen in third place. That heads-up match only lasted five minutes, with Cox sealing the win.
The final hand saw Sunku open shove from the button with K♠T♣, and get a call from Cox with A❤️7♣. The runout came 5♣4♦️2♣6♦️4❤️, with Cox's ace-high holding up for the win.
Other bestbet Jacksonville Fall Frenzy events and Fall Frenzy II coming in November
The Fall Frenzy kicked off Oct. 23 with the $240 NLH Frenzy Warm-Up. That event drew 243 entries, pushing the prize pool to $48,600. Vincent Caruso took down the event for a $10,414 payday.
Oct. 25 saw the $360 NLH Frenzy Monster Stack play out, with 212 entries registering for a total prize pool of $63,600. Caleb Larsen came out victorious in that event for $14,178.
Bestbet Jacksonville will go right back at it with another Fall Frenzy event in November. Fall Frenzy II runs Nov. 20-22, with an identical setup to the original. The three-tournament series includes a $240 Warm-Up, $360 Monster Stack, and $1,500 Main Event.
The Main Event Day 1 begins Saturday, Nov. 21, and plays down to a final table. The final eight players then come back Nov. 22 and play down to a champion, with final table action streamed on the bestbetLIVE YouTube channel.
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