After a roller-coaster final table in which five different players held the chip lead at various times, Guan Hao Tan of Singapore won the $1,100 BetMGM Fall Festival Championship for a cool $55,250.
A total of 243 players descended on MGM National Harbor across three starting flights to take their shot at the trophy and the title. Only 31 players advanced to Day 2 in the money. They battled for the better part of eight hours until the final table of nine was formed.
Tan entered the final day of play third in chips. He sat behind BetMGM Ambassador Darren Elias, the chip leader for almost all of Day 2, and Chu-Ming Wu. Tan battled all the way to the end with local crusher Aaron Pinson, and the final pot was pushed to Tan after only about an hour of heads-up play. The win was good for just his third Hendon Mob entry ever.
'I'm glad I won and not him'
Tan, who hails from Singapore and has been playing poker since he was 14, joked with PokerOrg after the win, saying, "I'm down more in cash this year than this tournament, but it's nice to get some subsidy."
Despite his casual approach, Tan outlasted a field of tough competitors and was seen playing like a pro despite only having a few entries on The Hendon Mob. He is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in International Affairs in Washington, D.C. and considers poker more of a hobby. "Well, I'm a recreational player, so I will treat it more as a hobby still. I'm doing my masters right now and staying here for a few more months and then I'll be going back for good."
Tan was tested by a tough final table and the results exceeded his expectations against challenging opponents. "People who are super exploitative. Like Darren Elias is one of them. I'm glad I won and not him. I thought at best I'll get second place."
Darren Elias caused a lot of trouble for the final table but he came up short in third place. Living in D.C. without a car, Tan finds MGM National Harbor to be the most convenient option for his poker fix. "This is the closest casino to where I'm living in D.C. I don't have a car, so I don't have a choice. But it is a nice place and I like the cash games mostly. The action is good, people are nice. I think the dealers are all good."
Tan's only other lifetime tournament cashes were one back home in Singapore, and a victory one year ago in this very room when he shipped a similar tournament for $44,000.
Pass the chip lead
The day started off hot when bracelet winner Tim Faro drilled quads on the first hand of the day to knock out Elijah Miranda Hernandez in ninth place. Andy Le followed close behind when Pinson sent him to the rail in eighth. The table would be seven-handed for about a half hour until the ace-king of Faro pipped Brandon Padula's ace-ten, and he fell in seventh place.
Faro then held the chip lead for only a short time before he played a massive hand with tens versus the queens of Pinson. That rocketed Pinson into the chip lead. However, that would also be short-lived, as Elias took the chip lead right back a few hands later.
Faro would then fall in sixth place in a gross hand where he and Pinson got all the chips in blind versus blind. Faro held aces, and Pinson held kings. The flop and turn were clean, but the miracle king on the river sent Faro to the rail.
Chu-Ming Wu had a cooler of his own a few hands later when all the chips went in the middle against future champion Tan. They both held queens, but Tan hit a flush on the four-club runout. Wu hit the rail in fifth. Rob Cohen followed close behind when he fell in fourth at the hands of Elias, and it was down to three-handed play.
Aaron Pinson was up against a big chip lead in heads-up play. Elias falls short
The most significant hand of the tournament went down during three-handed play when Tan limped the small blind, only to get raised in the big blind by Elias. Tan three-bet and Elias moved all in. Tan snapped it off, and the biggest pot of the tournament was in sight. Tan's ace-king held against the ace-ten of Elias, and the BetMGM Ambassador hit the rail in third.
Tan took a massive chip lead into heads-up play against Pinson. The fight was in Pinson for several orbits, but Tan's chip lead was just too much. On the last hand, Pinson's ace-four could not beat the ace-ten of Tan, and the final pot was sent over to the new Fall Festival Champion.
BetMGM Fall Festival Championship final table results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guan Hao Tan | $55,250 |
| 2 | Aaron Pinson | $38,213 |
| 3 | Darren Elias | $25,625 |
| 4 | Rob Cohen | $15,588 |
| 5 | Chu-Ming Wu | $12,038 |
| 6 | Tim Faro | $9,975 |
| 7 | Brandon Padula | $8,500 |
| 8 | Andy Le | $7,250 |
| 9 | Elijah Miranda Hernandez | $5,795 |
