Mike Del Vecchio Wins 2017 WPT Rolling Thunder for $285k

Michael Del Vecchio has just won the WPT Rolling Thunder Main Event, after besting a field of 421 players, including Sorel Mizzi heads-up, to claim the title, as well as its top prize of $284,638. The US pro also received a $15,000 ticket for the WPT Tournament of Champions, which is scheduled to take place on April 7th at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
The $3,500 Main Event featured a prize pool of $1,347,200, and amongst the top pros cashing in at one of its 53 paid money spots was Alan Engel in 49th ($5,862), Michael Tureniec in 37th ($6,661), Kevin Eyster in 28th ($7,460), Mohsin Charania in 22nd ($11,057), and Niall Farrell in 19th ($13,056).
The final table of six was reached on Day 4, with Del Vecchio the chip leader (178bb), and Olivier Busquet the short-stack on just 28bbs. After outlasting Connor Drinan (6th), Steve Tabb (K-4) sent Busquet (A-8) to the rail in 5th, while Del Vecchio (6-6) then took care of John Hadley (A-Q) in 4th, and Steve Tabb in 3rd to start the heads-up phase of the tournament against Sorel Mizzi.
At this stage, Del Vecchio held around two-thirds of the chips in play, and 25 hands later the final hand was played with Del Vecchio (5d-4h) and Mizzi (6s-5s) going all-in on a 7s-4c-2h-4s board. The Js on the river subsequently sealed the victory for Del Vecchio, while Sorel Mizzi collected$190,105 for his runner-up finish. Commenting on his experience of the competition, Del Vecchio said:
“I was joking with my friends that this was probably one of the toughest WPT final tables I’ve ever seen. It means a lot to win. It feels really good. This feels really good. I definitely ran really hot the whole tournament and stuff like that, but it feels validating.”
Final Table Results:
1: Michael Del Vecchio $284,638
2: Sorel Mizzi $190,105
3: Steve Tabb $122,296
4: John Hadley $81,930
5: Olivier Busquet $63,013
6: Connor Drinan $52,222