Seasoned pro Noah Schwartz has finally won his first major title after he took down the WPT bestbet Jacksonville Fall Poker Scramble for a $402,970 payday. The American who already had three WPT final-table appearances under his belt before this one, came into the latter stages of the tournament as the overwhelming chip leader and for the first time in his career he managed to hold onto his lead all the way to the finishing line.
The win takes Schwartz’s total live tournament winnings to $2,718,258 and means that he now has 37 career in-the-money finishes. The $3,500 buy-in event attracted a field of 477 players and lasted 5 days.
During the early stages of the final table it was Schwartz who was in control, knocking out a total of 3 of the 5 remaining players, but by the time play was down to heads-up, Byron Kaverman had taken a slim lead, holding a chip stack of 7.16m compared to Schwartz’s 7.1m. But it didn’t take long for Schwartz to re-establish his dominant lead – in fact it took only eleven hands before it was all over.
The final hand saw Kaverman flop top two pair, while Schwartz flopped top pair with a queen kicker. The turn gave Schwartz a flush draw and the agressive American went all-in, the river was a queen giving Schwartz a better two pair and it was all over for Kaverman.
The win also means that Schwartz earns a place in the WPT World Championship at Bellagio next month.
Here’s how the final table finished up:
1. Noah Schwartz – $402,970
2. Byron Kaverman – $236,592
3. Ryan Hartmann – $153,403
4. Hans Winzeler – $106,848
5. Brian Senie – $77,083
6. Lee Markholt – $61,819
