Pocket aces turn tide for Sergio Aido at chaotic PGT Bounty Blitz final table

Becker rivered, Winter comes for Rheem

In the early goings, Becker looked poised for another spin up, but a cruel river card sent him to the payout desk as the first casualty. 

Aido raised in early position with and when the action folded around to Becker in the big blind, he looked down at . While the chips easily could have flown in pre-flop, Aido opted to simply call Becker's three-bet and the two players watched on as the dealer spread the flop. Becker continued for a small sizing and Aido sprung what he thought to be a trap with an all-in. 

Becker quickly called and the cards hit their backs. The turn provided a slight sweat for a chop, but the poker gods had other ideas as the river improved Aido to top set and crushed Becker's dreams of back-to-back Bounty Blitz wins. 

Jeremy Becker was one card away from a flying start to his second final table of the Bounty Blitz series, but the poker gods intervened cruelly.

Rheem was the next man out the door, leaving all his chips behind in the care of Winter. In the first of two clashes between the two, Winter scored a full double through Rheem as he made a full house with against his opponent's on a board. 

Shortly afterwards, Rheem, now on the short stack, committed the rest of his chips when he moved all-in from the small blind with over the top of a button open from Berk. Winter looked down at in the big blind and re-shoved to isolate Rheem. Berk got out of the way, leaving Winter five cards away from a bounty prize. The runout provided no improvement for Rheem and his run came to an end in fifth place. 

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Winter cools down, Berk swings big

Winter's infusion of chips didn't last very long. Hunichen took a chunk when he called down three streets with on a board. Winter bet the whole way with , exerting maximum pressure, but Hunichen held up to haul in the massive pot. In the very next hand dealt, Berk came for the rest of Winter's stack. 

With a little more than thirty big blinds left, Winter raised from up front with . When the action folded to Berk, he moved all-in over the top with , barely covering his opponent's stack. Winter called it off with his small pair and it was a flip – one that Berk came out ahead in on the runout. 

Sean Winter's comeback story hit a snag courtesy of Chris Hunichen and Michael Berk.

Like Winter before him, Berk put his newly-acquired chips to work immediately as he took on Hunichen in the next hand off the deck. In the face of a button raise from Hunichen, Berk three-bet from the small blind with . Aido cleared out, but Hunichen made the call with and the two players headed to the flop. 

Berk continued for a small sizing and Hunichen made the call with his second pair and gutshot straight draw. On the turn Berk fired another shell, sizing up slightly this time. Hunichen called again, unfazed by his opponent's aggression. The river completed the board and Berk announced a bet for the majority of his chips. Hunichen deliberated over the spot for a while, but eventually flicked in a chip for a call and saw the good news as Berk showed his eight-high bluff. 

With only a few chips remaining, Berk put his tournament life on the line with in the next hand. Aido attempted to isolate from the small blind with , but Hunichen dropped the hammer and moved all-in with from the big blind. Aido was forced to relinquish his holding, leaving Hunichen to take an unencumbered shot at Berk's bounty. The runout saw Hunichen lock up the elimination on the turn and sent Berk to the payout desk. 

Aido closes quickly

Hunichen took a nearly two-to-one chip advantage into the heads-up portion of play, but an early pocket pair versus pocket pair clash saw his momentum come to a crashing halt as Aido took command. It was Hunichen's against Aido's and all the chips went in the middle pre-flop. The Spaniard's rockets held up across the runout to complete the stack size reversal. 

Hunichen wasn't going away quietly, though, and he quickly battled back to draw the stacks near even. Aido's run proved too much for Hunichen — and the deck certainly didn't do him any favors — and over the course of the next hour he whittled away at his opponent's stack. 

Chris Hunichen had all the momentum at the start of heads-up play, but one pot changed everything.

The final nail in the coffin arrived in the form of a limped pot. With a little more than 15 big blinds remaining, Hunichen checked his option with in the face of a limp from Aido and connected with top pair on the flop. When checked to, Aido fired a small bet and Hunichen pounced with a raise. It was an all-timed move, however, as Aido held for top two pair. 

With a near hammer lock on the pot, Aido simply called the raise and watched on as the turn came in. Another bet from Hunichen drew another call from Aido and the river didn't change much. Hunichen sent the rest of his chips into the middle and Aido snap-called to take down the pot and the win. 

PGT Bounty Blitz Event #2 Results

^{Images courtesy of Antonio Abrego/PokerGO Tour.}