Ben Zamani Victorious at WinStar River Poker Series

Ben Zamani has won the 2017 WinStar River Poker Series Main Event, after overcoming a field of 926 players, including China’s Chengce Jiang heads-up, to claim a top prize of $347,134. At one stage, though, the Florida pro saw his chip stack fall to less than 10 big blinds on the final day of play before staging a comeback, and commenting later on his remarkable turnaround, explained:
“In a poker tournament, you’re just never out of it. I kept believing and didn’t think about anything else.”
Zamani has now earned $4,459,266 since his first live cash back in 2007, including in 2015 winning a WSOP bracelet at the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event for $460,640, and another this year at the WSOP $1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo event for $238,620. His biggest score, however, came in 2010 after finishing 4th at the PCA Main Event for $1 million.
The $2,500 WinStar River Poker Series Main Event took place in Thackerville, Oklahoma and featured a prize pool of $2,173,333. Amongst the recognizable pros subsequently booking a cash finish was Brandon Steven in 55th ($6,245), Marvin Rettenmaier in 27th ($13,090), Aaron Massey in 17th ($21,935), and Anthony Spinella in 12th ($32,669).
By the time Zamani entered the final table on Day 3, he had managed to amass a good-sized stack , and eventually succeeded in progressing all the way through to heads-up play where he faced Chengce Jiang for the title. At this stage, the players agreed to split the money $297,760 to $287,134 in Jiang’s favor, based on chip counts, and leave $60,000 over for the ultimate champion. In the end, though, Zamani’s aggression won through against his opponent to claim the victory, and commenting later on the heads-up battle, stated:
“I was definitely being more aggressive. Some things went my way because of my aggression but I also think I made a few mistakes because of that.”
Final Table Results:
1: Ben Zamani $347,134
2: Chengce Jiang $297,760
3: Johanssy Joseph $188,904
4: Dwight Sellars $142,011
5: Lang Nguyen $107,968
6: Chris Hooper $83,073
7: Maxx Coleman $64,650
8: Gnana Duddukuru $50,893
9: Lawrence Porath $40,537
10: Mike Dentale $32,669