Jason Koon Triumphs at 2016 SHRPO Championship for $1M

A total of 847 competitors entered the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open (SHRPO) $5,250 Main Event to create a prize pool worth $2,735,000. Four days later, and Jason Koon would eventually triumph over the field to capture the tournament trophy, and walk away with its cool $1 million first place prize. Following the impressive victory, Koon now pushes his career earnings to $5,233,339, with 2016 already proving to be his most successful year to date.
Koon entered the final table in third place, but soon eliminated Zo Karim in 9th place ($75k) to capture the chip lead. Koon’s (K-K) next victim was Paul Balzano (Q-Q) in 7th ($125k), followed by Joe Serock in 6th ($150k), at which stage he then controlled almost half of the chips in play.
Continuing his assault on the final table, Jason Koon proceeded to send Timothy Burt to the rail in 3rd ($310k) to usher in the heads-up phase of the game against Seth Davies.
At the start of proceedings, Koon held a 3-to-2 chip advantage over his remaining opponent, and after extending his lead further the deciding hand was played with Koon raising preflop holding A-8, only to be three-bet all-in by Davies with Q-J. The A-7-3 flop subsequently put Koon in a commanding position, and with a 3 and 8 falling on turn and river, Seth Davies had to be satisfied with a $575,000 payday for his deep-run. Jason Koon, on the other hand, was crowned the 2016 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Main Event champion. Interestingly, Koon and Davies are former roomates, and have been great buddies for more than 5 years. Commenting on the heads-up encounter, Koon stated:
“Next thing you know, we’re sitting across the table from each other with the trophy sitting in between us, so it’s a really surreal moment.”
Final Table Results:
1: Jason Koon $1,000,000
2: Seth Davies $575,000
3: Timothy Burt $310,000
4: Roman Valerstein $220,000
5: Thomas Midena $180,000
6: Joseph Serock $150,000
7: Paul Balzano $125,000
8: Ryan Fair $100,000
9: Zohair Karim $75,000