Jarrod Thatcher Wins 2017 WSOP Sydney Turbo Event
Turbo events are not for the faint of heart. You have to be ready to stick your chips in the middle with less than optimal hands to capitalize on this fast-moving structure.
That is exactly how Jarrod Thatcher was able to navigate a field of 343 runners to stake the claim on the winner’s portion of the $154,350 prize pool in the 2017 World Series of Poker Sydney Turbo Event at the Star Poker Room.
Players started with 6,000 in chips and blinds went up every 20 minutes. This was a re-entry event and when registration closed, the top 36 would end up taking home a paycheck.
The atmosphere was electric as player after player was sent home in pretty quick fashion. It took only a little over five hours of play to burst the bubble and just a little more than an hour to whittle the field from 36 to the final nine.
The Final Table
| Seat | Name | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luis Arrilucea | 190,000 |
| 2 | Shien Hua Chiu | 130,000 |
| 3 | Jarrod Thatcher | 653,000 |
| 4 | Thomas 'The Tank' Chong | 320,000 |
| 5 | Chad Bethell | 133,000 |
| 6 | Sam Capra | 156,000 |
| 7 | Con Filis | 200,000 |
| 8 | Sid Jabbour | 206,000 |
| 9 | Adrian Salter | 160,000 |
It didn’t take long for the final table to get a little bit more leg room. On the very first hand, Thatcher, in the small blind, called Shien Hua Chiu’s all in. Thatcher held A♣J♥ and dominated Chiu’s A♥7♥. Neither player improved on the 3♦6♠10♣K♦10♦ board and Thatcher’s kicker played giving him the knockout. Chiu, the first player eliminated from the final table, exited the tournament with a check for $3,337.
Apparently, space is at a premium, because the tournament lost its next player on the very next hand. Luis Arrilucea and Sid Jabbour put their stacks in the middle pre-flop. Arrilucea tabled 10♥10♦ and quickly saw the bad news when Jabbour revealed A♥A♠. Arrilucea did not catch his miracle and hit the rail in eighth-place, $4,179 richer.
While a few hands were dealt before the next elimination, the fast and furious pace continued when Chris Bethel put his stack in the middle from the button and was called by Con Filis, sitting in the big blind. Bethel quickly realized his K♠Q♦ was dominated by the A♠K♣ of Filis. Bethel needed to improve to stay alive, but the board had other plans. Instead, Bethel collected $5,309 for his seventh-place finish.
It was soon after that Thomas “The Tank” Chong found himself all in with A♥7♥ and up against the 10♣10♠ of Thatcher. Chong found an ace on the flop, but unfortunately, Thatcher found a ten when the board ran out A♣10♥4♦9♦4♥. Chong exits the tournament in sixth-place with an additional $6,842 in his pocket.
And the knockouts kept coming. Last year’s runner-up in this event, Sam Capra found himself all in with A♦8♦ against Thatcher’s K♠10♦. The cards were shining favorably on Thatcher this night as hit his king on the flop sending Capra to the rail with what has to be a disappointing fifth-place finish. Hopefully, the $8,946 payday will help ease the pain.
The chips again were in the middle preflop, this time between Jabbour and Adrian Salter. Salter went to the flop slightly ahead with 9♠9♣, but unfortunately, Jabbour’s A♥7♥ filled up by the river to send Salter home in fourth-place with $11,875.
Thatcher, holding 6♦7♣, continued his dominance eliminating Filis who held K♠3♠. Once again, Thatcher found a pair on the flop and Fillis became the seventh player of the final table to be eliminated in just under 20 hands. Filis took with him a nice consolation prize of $16,010.
You didn’t expect things to slow down once heads-up arrived, did you? The final hand of the night found Jabbour with all his chips in the middle holding A♦6♦ and Thatcher with A♥10♣. Thatcher paired his ten on the turn and the rest is history. It took all of three hands for Thatcher to claim the title, sending Jabbour home in second place and $21,947.
Thatcher Is Just Getting Started
Thatcher’s final table performance was impressive. Sure, to win a turbo tournament you have to combine some luck with skill, which is something Thatcher acknowledged, "I'm just on a massive heater and running really well."
But when pressed a little further, Thatcher told the Star Poker Live Reporting Team, ”I have spent a lot of time working on my game. I have a good friend that I work with a lot and discuss certain hands and situations that I would like to improve. That helps a lot.“
Thatcher isn’t done yet. "I will definitely play the 6 Max and the Main Event," Thatcher told us. "I hope not to play the Monster Event as it is on the last day of the Main Event and I hope to still be in."
If he keeps running like he's running, the Monster Event will have to wait until next year.
Final Table Results
| Seat | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jarrod Thatcher | $35,516 |
| 2 | Sid Jabbour | $21,947 |
| 3 | Con Filis | $16,010 |
| 4 | Adrian Salter | $11,875 |
| 5 | Sam Capra | $8,946 |
| 6 | Thomas “The Tank” Chong | $6,842 |
| 7 | Chris Bethel | $5,309 |
| 8 | Luis Arrilucea | $4,179 |
| 9 | Shien Hua Chiu | $3,337 |
Don’t Miss Your Chance to Claim a WSOP Circuit Ring
There is a lot more action at the 2017 WSOP Sydney Circuit. The tournament series is being held through Dec. 18, 2017. The full schedule can be found on the StarPoker website.
