PokerStars Ambassador Jennifer Shahade Triumphs at Women’s Summer Festival
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The inaugural PokerStars Women’s Summer Festival has come to a close, crowning a champion in the £400 Main Event.
The event attracted a total of 193 entries, including notables such as Shiina Okamoto, Marle Spragg and Caitlin Comeskey, but it was another big name who took down the title and £22,200.
Two-time U.S. Women's Chess champion, author, and commentator Jennifer Shahade defeated Claire Taylor heads-up to win the largest No-Limit Hold'em tournament prize of her career.
PokerStars Women's Summer Festival Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Payout (GBP) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jennifer Shahade | United States | £22,200 |
| 2 | Claire Taylor | United Kingdom | £14,000 |
| 3 | Lynne Beaumont | United Kingdom | £10,000 |
| 4 | Tanya Masters | Ireland | £7,650 |
| 5 | Akiko Ota | Japan | £5,900 |
| 6 | Morgane Fevrier | France | £4,530 |
| 7 | Miriam Balen | Brazil | £3,770 |
| 8 | Valerie Morris | United Kingdom | £3,150 |
| 9 | Saara Benlamine | Finland | £2,600 |
Final Table Recap
Twenty-two players returned for the final day of the PokerStars Women’s Summer Festival Main Event, with Morgane Fevrier starting out as chip leader. Jennifer Shahade, the last remaining PokerStars Ambassador in the field, wasted no time, doubling through Fevrier on the very first hand of play.
Shahade’s path to the title was far from smooth. Although she held the chip lead when the final table of nine was set, she was forced to fold trip aces against Valerie Morris, who had flopped the nut straight. That hand allowed Lynne Beaumont to take over the top spot, and with the blinds rising, the lead frequently changed hands. Both Claire Taylor and Akiko Ota enjoyed their own spells at the top of the counts.
Shahade’s momentum increased when she eliminated Saara Benlamine in a dramatic hand. Holding king-queen against Benlamine’s ace-queen, Shahade spiked a king on the flop to secure the first knockout after more than 90 minutes of cagey nine-handed play. She immediately followed up with another elimination, sending Morris to the rail after her pocket eights held against pocket sevens.
Miriam Balen soon fell in seventh when her queens were cracked by Taylor’s kings, propelling Taylor into the lead ahead of Shahade and Beaumont. Ota, meanwhile, battled back from a short stack to send start-of-day leader Fevrier home in sixth. But Ota’s run ended in fifth, courtesy of Shahade. Ireland’s Tanya Masters bowed out in fourth, with Taylor reclaiming the lead three-handed.
Shahade responded strongly, chipping away as Beaumont’s stack dwindled. Beaumont eventually shoved her last seven big blinds into Shahade and was eliminated in third, leaving Shahade with a near 3:1 lead over Taylor heads-up.
Stacks remained steady through the early exchanges, but Shahade steadily wore her opponent down before delivering the final blow. She shoved with king-four and was called by Taylor’s pocket sevens. The board ran out A♠10♠5♥J♦Q♣, giving Shahade a rivered straight to clinch victory.
With that, Shahade captured the title, the £22,200 top prize, and the honor of being crowned champion of the PokerStars Women’s Summer Festival Main Event.
Watch the full live stream from the final day!
