Matt Leecy Wins Inaugural Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Poker Classic for $112,425
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The 2019 Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Poker Classic $1,650 Main Event attracted 332 entrants and created a $498,000 prize pool, well above the advertised $300K guarantee. In the end, poker pro Matt Leecy won the tournament outright for $112,425.
“It’s humbling,” Leecy told tournament officials after his win. “Poker is a game where we tend to think we’re doing everything perfect when it’s going well and everything’s just against us when it’s going bad.”
He continued: “I struggle with pride like the next guy or gal … I feel blessed and thankful that it ran this way. Obviously, I was on the good end of a lot of big hands all day.”
In addition to playing poker, Leecy is heavily involved in his church and ministry. He graduated from Trinity College in Florida last May and was a part of their National Championship winning basketball team. While poker is treating him well, he has plans of applying for seminary or graduate school.
It marked the second-biggest score of Leecy’s career after he finished runner-up to David Bradshaw in the 2016 Winter Poker Open $1,650 Championship Event for $120,000. In October of last year, he also won a recurring $475 Saturday NLH $100K GTD tournament at Hardrock Tampa for $28,736.
Tampa Poker Classic Final Table Results
| Position | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Leecy | $112,425 |
| 2 | Andrew Boccia | $79,152 |
| 3 | Ken O’Donnell | $50,906 |
| 4 | Filipp Khavin | $31,050 |
| 5 | Jeff Trudeau Jr | $23,979 |
| 6 | Chad Kitchen | $19,870 |
| 7 | Karl Manouchakian | $16,683 |
| 8 | Justin Zaki | $13,944 |
| 9 | Amelio Amato | $11,245 |
Others to finish in the top 34 and earn a payday were Victor Coelho (10th - $9,462), Luke Vrabel (17th - $6,778), James Kerr (26th - $3,860), Jason Goldman (30th - $3,416), and Wally Maddah (34th - $3,416).
Final Table Action
According to updates from the Main Event, Leecy won a big pot off Justin Zaki after turning an ace-high flush. Zaki was left with crumbs and fell a short time later jamming with queen-ten and failing to get there against Leecy’s Big Slick. Zaki took home $13,944 for his eighth-place finish.
With five players remaining, Jeff Trudeau Jr got his stack all in preflop holding ace-ten only to run it smack dab into Leecy’s ace-queen. The superior ace held and Trudeau Jr was ousted in fifth place for $23,979.
After Ken O’Donnell bowed out in third place – the result of his ace-six failing to get there against Leecy’s ace-ten – it set up a heads-up match between Leecy and Andrew Boccia with the former holding a near 4:1 chip lead.
In the final hand of the tournament, which took place in Level 28 (30,000/60,000/60,000), a J♠6♠6♦ flop saw Leecy lead for 100,000 and Boccia raise to 300,000. Leecy jammed his big stack and Boccia called off for 1.5 million with the J♦10♣. Unfortunately for him, he was dominated as Leecy had flopped trips with the 6♥5♥. Boccia earned $79,152 for his runner-up finish.
Hard Rock Tampa Poker Classic Prelim Winners
While Boccia fell one spot shy of winning the Main Event, he did manage to win a title during the inaugural Hard Rock Tampa Poker Classic. In late February, he topped a 1,128-entry field to win Event #1: $360 NLH Re-Entry for $46,255 after a five-way deal. Additionally, he got a $1,650 seat into the Main Event, which he obviously put to good use.
Another player to win big was Glyn Griffis in Event #3: $570 Deepstack NLH, a tournament that attracted 287 runners. The man from Orlando won the tournament outright for $33,430 and a $1,650 ME seat.
Speaking of the Main Event, it was just one of ten tournaments in the inaugural Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Poker Classic. Event #10: $150 Big Stack NLH will conclude on Wednesday. Here’s a look at all those who won titles in Tampa:
Tampa Poker Classic Winners
| Event | Winner | Entries | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $360 NLH Re-Entry | Andrew Boccia | 1,128 | $46,255 + $1,650 ME seat |
| Event #2: $360 NLH 8-Max | Nicholas Raio | 116 | $11,040 |
| Event #3: $570 Deepstack NLH | Glyn Griffis | 287 | $33,430 + $1,650 ME seat |
| Event #4: $300 Omaha 8 | Shawn Platt | 71 | $5,643 |
| Event #5: $300 Omaha 8/Stud 8 | Jeffrey Burdsall | 52 | $4,100 |
| Event #6: $300 Pot-Limit Omaha | Shannon Kelly | 69 | $6,382 |
| Event #7: $570 Deepstack PLO | Daniel Li | 43 | $8,815 |
| Event #8: $1,650 Main Event | Matt Leecy | 332 | $112,425 |
| Event #9: $360 NLH 6-Max | Mark Wiser | 131 | $9,700 |
| Event #10: $150 Big Stack NLH | TBD | TBD | TBD |
Photos courtesy of Seminole Hard Rock Tampa.
PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
