Jacob Bazeley Wins SHR Rock 'N' Roll Event For $568,687

An impressive 766 players showed up at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida to take part in the venues $3,500 buy-in SHR Rock ‘N’ Roll Main Event. Some of poker’s most talented pros were also in attendance, and in the end its was one of the game’s rising stars, Jacob Bazeley, who emerged atop of the field to claim the trophy, as well as his biggest score to date of $568,687.
Jake Bazeley is noted for having won the WSOPC Cherokee in 2014 for $239,096, and after taking down the SHR Rock ‘N’ Roll Main Event now boosts his live earnings to $3,151,016. Following his winning performance, the Ohio native commented:
“I think there’s something to be said for the luck factor of winning one. I think the second one kind of gives you a little more respect. I know everyone around me respects me, but you get some titles, you get a little bit more love, you know? It’s just a little bit nicer.”
The Championship Event’s huge popularity meant that its guaranteed prize pool of $2 million was exceeded by at least another half a million dollars. Amongst the notable players subsequently receiving a cash payout was Nick Yunis in 31st ($11,521), Jason Mercier in 29th ($11,521), Harrison Gimbel in 23rd ($12,991), Mark Herm in 21st ($12,991), Aaron Massey in 17th ($15,197), and Ryan Fair in 13th ($22,061).
After the final table was reached and progressed all the way to heads-up play, Jacob Bazeley enjoyed a slight 12 million chip advantage over his last opponent, David Prociak on a 10 million chip stack. An intense battle subsequently ensued for 68 hands, with Bazeley building up an almost 2-to-1 lead when the deciding hand was played. After Bazeley moved all-in preflop holding K-4, Prociak called off his remaining 8.8 million chips with pocket threes. The dealer then laid out an A-Q-9-7-4 board to consign David Prociak to a runner-up finish worth $330,912, while Bazeley was crowned the champion. Commenting later on the heads-up battle, Bazeley said:
“That was definitely a made-for-TV heads-up. It seemed like we got it all in six or seven times, and the short stack always won. It was just one of those crazy things.”
Final Table Results:
1 Jacob Bazeley $568,687
2 David Prociak $330,912
3 Joshua Gibson $202,224
4 Martin Carnero $166,682
5 Marvin Rettenmaier $134,816
6 Jessica Dawley $110,304
7 Nipun Java $88,243
8 Peter Walsworth $67,408
9 Dylan Drazen $46,573