Gregory Brooks on top at LAPC

New Jersey pro Gregory Brooks booked his first major victory in LA this week, seeing off a stacked final table to pocket $1,654,120 in only his first WPT event.

Brooks, who had all but given up on poker, only registered for the event on a whim and saw off big names Vivek Rajkumar and Carlos Mortensen in the final three, ending Mortensen’s hopes of breaking the record for WPT wins.

The Spaniard was chasing his fourth WPT bracelet, putting him ahead of megastar Gus Hansen, but was resigned to third place and $640,680 when Brooks bust him with a rivered flush.

That left 2008 Borgata Open winner and former WPT champ Rajkumar facing a 4-1 chip deficit, and when the youngster check raised all-in on a 7d-3s-2h board with nothing but Jack-high, Brooks ended the bout when his 7c-8s held up.

Brooks had just two live cashes to his name before this week’s LAPC, but expect to see a lot more of him on the tournament circuit in the coming months.

The final table finished as follows:

1 Gregory Brooks $1,654,120
2 Vivek Rajkumar $908,730
3 Carlos Mortensen $640,680
4 Amir Lehavot $421,680
5 Steve Gross $304,000
6 Darryll Fish $235,350