Griffin Benger Is "Five-Second Man" In Mystery Cash Challenge Finale

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Oct 16, 2023 5 min read

Maria Ho, Alexandra Botez, Parker Talbot, Griffin Benger, Sam Grafton, and Fabiano Kovalski returned for more cash-game base bounty action in the final episode of the PokerStars Mystery Cash Challenge.

This week Ho put Benger on a five-second shot clock, and Alexandra Botez aimed to extend her already enormous lead over the pros.

Standings at the End of Round 6

How Mystery Cash Challenge Works

Mystery Cash Challenge, presented by James Hartigan and Joe Stapleton, pits six players against each other in a €25/€50 Texas holdem game (pot limit preflop, no limits post).

Each round contains ten hands. Nine of these hands are just regular cash game hands in which the winner of each hand receives a token. Each player with at least one token then gets to play the tenth hand, a bomb pot with a €100 ante.

In each episode, the winner of the bomb pot gets to draw a bonus envelope and a challenge envelope. The challenge envelopes each apply to the next episode and, so far, have resulted in Talbot having to go without talking for nine hands, Botez getting to discard and draw a card for one round, and Maria Ho choosing a player to limp each hand.

Last round, Ho drew the envelopes and got to put a player on a five-second clock for every action this round. She picked Benger.

The Final Countdown

In his opening interview, Benger said he was looking forward to the five-second shot clock and the challenge of tapping directly into his gut instinct. Right off the bat, he had a chance to test that out.

Grafton opened Hand #1 with a straddle and Benger to his direct left. Benger instantly raised his 5♥3♥, and the game was afoot, everyone folded except for Grafton with 8♠5♠. Neither player hit much on the flop, and Benger was able to take it down with a quick (naturally) bet on the turn.

Benger popped the straddle on again for Hand #2 in which Botez raised from under the gun. Only Benger called, this time with 8♥3♥, suggesting that the clock might be affecting his play. It worked out for him when he continued to call Botez down with a pair of threes.

Hand #3 continued the straddle, and Benger took it down again, this time with a semi-bluff with the A♠ on an all-spade flop. The nickname "five-second man" was born.

Benger folded the flop in Hand #4, allowing Grafton to take it down. Benger also folded Hand #5 when Kovalski put in a four-bet preflop with A♦Q♥. Maria Ho, the three-bettor, also folded her K♣J♣, allowing Kovalski to claw back a few grand from his €26,000 hole.

Only Benger was on the clock, but everyone seemed to be playing quicker and more aggressive. Hand #6 saw Benger finally time out when Grafton bet raised his c-bet.

That left three hands to go and three players without tokens—Botez, Talbot, and Ho.

"Poker More Accessible Than Chess," says Twitch Streamer Alexandra Botez

Endgame

Botez managed to pick up a token on Hand #7. She three-bet pot preflop from the cutoff with Q♦J♦. Benger called, and Grafton folded, both of them holding king-queen suited.

The flop came 8♣5♦5♥, and both players checked. The turn was the A♦ and Benger check-folded to Botez's bet.

Talbot and Ho were still short of a token, and both opted to play Hand #8, with Ho betting with J♦9♠ and Talbot calling with A♠2♠. Unusually, Kovalski folded pocket tens.

The flop came down Q♣4♣5♦, and Ho checked. Talbot bet €200 with his inside wheel draw, and Ho raised to €800. Tonka reraised to €1,800, and Ho folded.

The final hand (Hand #9) was an anti-climax with Grafton taking the hand down preflop.

Bomb Pot

Only Ho was left out in the cold for the final bomb pot. She chucked in her €100 ante, then settled in to shuffle her chips as the final action unfolded.

The dealer doled out the cards and turned over a flop of 4♣A♦J♠, making Benger a 71% favorite.

Griffin bet €400, and only Kovalski called with his pair of fours.

The turn was the 7♦, and Benger bet another €1,100. Kovalksi called again, and the river came the 3♥, giving Benger two pair and missing Kovalski.

Benger bet another €1,000 into the €3,600 pot. Kovalski tanked before quietly flicking his cards toward the dealer, giving Benger the pot and the final bounty draw.

The challenge envelopes are all gone, and the remaining prize envelopes are polarized—one envelope contains a €5,300 EPT ticket, some middling €100-€1,050 prizes, and one voucher for a cheeseburger. Benger drew his envelope from this pool and added a €1,050 SCOOP/WCOOP ticket to his stack.

There was then one final draw to do. Botez, as the most profitable player overall, was allowed to draw one more envelope, earning an additional €100 in cash in the process.

"Can I swap it for the cheeseburger," Botez asked.

A sheepish-looking Stapes appeared from the shadows cast holding a plate. "I thought we were done," he said, muffled by a mouth full of burger.

Final Standings at the End of Round 6

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• Tags PokerStars poker tv mystery cash challenge Maria Ho Alexandra Botez Sam Grafton Parker Talbot
• Related Players Maria HoSam GraftonParker TalbotAlexandra Botez