Austin Lewis Wins Choctaw Main Event For $183k

Austin Lewis has won the Choctaw Main Event, after overcoming a field of 599 players on his way to capturing the title, and collecting the $183,025 first place prize. Previously, the Texas online ace had notched up $308,138 in internet winnings before Black Friday struck, but his live arena earnings had thus far failed to reach the same level of achievement. Up until now, Lewis had picked up just $16,094 since 2012, but that picture has changed somewhat after his victory in Oklahoma. Commenting following his remarkable win, Lewis, said:
“It’s my first big live title. When I won my first one online back in 2006, I closed the computer and went to bed. That was kind of it, so this one was more enjoyable overall with my fiancé here and our baby on the way.”
The $1,500 buy-in event was held at the Choctaw Casino Resort and attracted a good-sized field to create a prize pool worth $900,000. Amongst the notable pros cashing in at the tournament were such names as Justin Gardenhire, Jim Willerson, Tommy Vedes, Chris Tryba, and last year’s winner Mohammad Arani.
By the time the final table of six had been reached, Gary Luther was the chip leader on a 5.3m stack, followed by Austin Lewis (3.28m), Tyler Morris (1.3m), Omar Zazay (1.24m), Jason Fitzpatrick (1.08m), and Zia Kohsravi on a 115k stack.
Tyler Morris (A-10) then proceeded to eliminate Jason Fitzpatrick (A-J) in 6th for $35,254, before putting his tournament on the line by going all-in with Q-10 against Austin Lewis holding A-2. The board subsequently rolled out 5-K-8-6-4, and so Morris, too, was sent to the rail, albeit richer to the tune of $46,218.
Next, Austin Lewis (Q-Q) did likewise to Zia Khosravi (A-8) in 4th ($61,426), and after Gary Luther (4-4) eliminated Omar Zazay (A-9) in 3rd ($82,779) the heads-up battle got underway between Omar Zazay and Lewis for the title.
However, Gary Luther lost a significant portion of his chips after his 9-9 ran into the A-A of his opponent, and his tournament life then hung in the balance after going all-in holding pocket queens to Lewis’ A-2. Unfortunately for Luther the board ran out 5-4-3 and so he had to content himself with a runner-up finish worth $113,205, while Austin Lewis was crowned the champion.
Final Table Results:
1. Austin Lewis – $183,025
2. Gary Luther – $113,205
3. Omar Zazay – $82,779
4. Zia Khosravi – $61,426
5. Tyler Morris – $46,218
6. Jason Fitzpatrick – $35,254