10 February 2020 (Milwaukee, Wi.) Philip Shing became the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event conqueror after a three-day bout in the Potawatomi Events Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The 35-year-old ultimately topped a combined field of 524 entries, snatching his second WSOP gold ring and six-figure payout of $151,284.
“Honestly it hasn’t really kicked yet but I think it feels really good,” Shing stated after his win.
Day 1A of Event #10: $1,700 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event drew 204 entries, with Day 1B attracting another 320 entries, boosting the overall total to 524 with the eventual champ bagging 222,000 from the first starting flight.
The prizepool sum got over the $500,000 guarantee bringing the grand total to $793,860 which broke down into 79 payout spots. Flight B concluded with 52 players remaining, leaving a joint group of 84 players advancing to the next leg.
Day 2 saw players cruise into the money as bodies dropped so fast that the dinner break came when only 18 players remained. Once the players returned from their break they only had to play out two more 60-minute levels which saw another 10 bodies drop before they bagged and tagged for the night.
The stage was set for a Day-3 finale, featuring eights competitors.
Final Day Action
The first final table casualty was the result of a classic flip when Marcus Yofon failed to get there with ace-king suited against Shing’s pocket eights.
Not long after, Mike Hartzheim bowed out in seventh after flopping top pair with a flush draw. He got it in on the turn against Cero Zuccarello, who was ahead with aces up. The ace of diamonds on the river gave Hartzheim his flush, but it was no good as it also filled up Zuccarello
Chris Roth took his leave after jamming with nine-seven only to run into Zuccarello’s kings, and then the latter followed him out the door after running into kings himself after John Gallaher had limped with them from the small blind
James Pupillo, who back in September finished fourth in the same tournament, got unlucky losing with ace-jack to the ace-eight of Shing all in preflop after an eight spike on the turn. That resulted in back-to-back fourth-place finishes for Pupillo, this one good for $51,484
After Gallaher was dispatched in third place – the result of losing with queen-jack to Shing’s ace-jack – it took just one hand of heads-up play to crown a winner. Ken Donarski was at a 6:1 chip disadvantage and three-bet jammed with jack-eight. Shing called with ace-jack and held to nab by far the biggest score of his career.
The win marks the second ring for Shing, who revealed that he only plays poker a couple of times a year, “I only play three events a year do to work but I actually had a month off of work so I came here.”
The trip turned out to be a great one for Shing and he admits he really enjoyed his time here, “I just want to say I really enjoyed my time here in Milwaukee.”
The stop to Milwaukee marked the first for Shing as he is from the East Coast and mostly plays the Parx Big Staxx events along with Foxwoods, but he had such an enjoyable time that he is excited for his next visit.
“The casino was great, the people were amazing and I just had a blast here at the final table so I will definitely be making this trip again.” Shing stated.
The win marks the largest one of Shing’s WSOP career but the win was a grind and he is excited to get back home, “As you can expect I’m exhausted at this point and I’m ready to go home and see my kids.”
Final Table Results
1st place: Philip Shing- $151,284
2nd place: Ken Donarski- $93,498
3rd place: John Gallaher- $68,947
4th place: James Pupillo- $51,848
5th place: Cero Zuccarello - $38,937
6th place: Chris Roth - $29.829
7th place: Mike Hartzheim - $23,152
8th place: Marcus Yofon - $118,209
9th place: Fadi Hamad - $14,514
This wraps it up for the second Circuit stop at Potawatomi for the 2019-2020 Circuit season.
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