Andrew Lichtenberger Wins $2.1m In Las Vegas

Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger has triumphed over a 55 player field at the WPT Alpha8 Las Vegas, to claim the massive top prize of $2,104,245, and boost his live tournament earnings to $5,838,922. Following his impressive performance, the top US pro commented:
“I’m feeling really good, feeling a lot of love. I was able to trust myself and make the right decisions the whole way through.”
The $100,000 buy-in event created a prize pool worth $5,395,500, and amongst those big name pros walking away empty-handed was Dan Colman, Erik Seidel, Antonio Esfandiari, Dan Smith, JC Tran, Scott Seiver, and Jason Mercier, who later tweeted:
“Busted in 9th. Got in my 20 bbs with AK vs Rasts AJ… No good. Feel bad for the guys who come back tomorrow and get 7th and 8th for 0$. 1 of the most grueling tournaments i played. Short all tourney, card dead, + dealing w incorrect payouts being announced and not fixed #Tilt.”
The two unlucky players Mercier was referring to turned out to be Phil Laak (8th), and Brandon Steven (7th), after which Lichtenberger, Tom Marchese, Brian Rast, Noah Schwartz, Jason Les, and Bryn Kenney were guaranteed at least a $323,730 payday.
Eventually, Lichtenberger would progress through to heads-up with only slightly more chips than Tom Marchese, and the two would subsequently play a further 44 hands before the deciding hand was dealt with Lichtenberger (Qc-9c) and Marchese (8-8) all-in preflop. After the board ran out Jc-4c-4h-Kc-5d, Marchese collected $1,240,965 for his runner-up finish, while Lichtenberger claimed the WPT title. Commenting on his final opponent, Lichtenberger said:
“The heads-up match was really swingy, [and] Tom’s obviously incredibly experienced. It just came down to that flip at the end.”
Final Table Results:
1 Lichtenberger    $2,104,245
2 Tom Marchese    $1,240,965
3 Brian Rast    $755,370
4 Noah Schwartz    $539,550
5 Jason Les    $431,640
6 Bryn Kenney    $323,730