Parx Big Stax XXXI

Big Stax 1100
Day: 3
Event Info

Parx Big Stax XXXI

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
73
Prize
$82,549
Event Info
Buy-in
$1,100
Prize Pool
$394,790
Entries
370
Level Info
Level
29
Blinds
50,000 / 100,000
Ante
100,000
Players Info - Day 3
Entries
9
Players Left
1

Big Stax 1100

Day 3 Completed

Grigoriy Shvarts Wins Parx Big Stax 1100 ($82,549)

Level 29 : 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Grigoriy Shvarts
Grigoriy Shvarts

Three players were left in Parx Big Stax 1100 and with the slow, deep-stacked structure, it looked like it could be awhile before the tournament ended.

Grigoriy Shvarts had other ideas though, and his final two opponents walked right into traps, bluffing off all of their chips to him in huge pots when he had monster hands. The win, worth $82,549 for topping a field of 370, was Shvarts' fourth in the five-figure range and ended some recent final table frustration for him.

"It feels really good, finally," said an elated and a little relieved Shvarts. "It's been a lot of bad beats, stuff like that. Finally came my way."

Official Final Table Results

PlacePlayerHometownPrize
1Grigoriy ShvartsNew York, New York$82,549
2AJ JamilGlen Cove, New York$57,793
3Thomas ParkesAlburtis, Pennsylvania$37,154
4Hal RotholzNew York, New York$24,402
5Rafael YaraliyevBrooklyn, New York$18,792
6Peter IppolitoEast Meadow, New York$15,547
7Rafal KordysNew Hyde Park, New York$13,028
8David WhitnahJersey City, New Jersey$10,651

Shvarts' dominance wasn't looking so certain back on Day 1. Although he had a pile of chips, Shvarts got caught up in a hand and realized in the middle of it he was not OK, asking the tournament director if he could get an EMT on the horn.

Shvarts managed to finish off the hand — he turned a boat and rivered quads so winning the pot was never going to be an issue — and bust his opponent, and he stepped away from the tournament for a bit to try to shake it off.

The 29-year-old admitted the illness stemmed from a drinking bender that had bled right into the tournament, and when he returned to bag up his chips, he knew he had to get some rest and get right for Day 2.

"I woke up feeling better and it just went my way from there," he said.

Indeed, Shvarts really got rolling on Day 2. That's when he ran up a sizable chip lead heading into the final table, entering the final day of play with about 30% of the total chips. He rarely was challenged as he spent nearly the entire time leading, with only Thomas Parkes resting the top spot from him briefly.

Three-handed with Parkes and AJ Jamil, Shvarts closed things out in a hurry. First, Parkes turned flopped top pair into a bluff in a three-bet pot when he three-barreled off on an ace-high board with king-queen, good for queens and sevens on the river when the board paired. Unfortunately for him, Shvarts was lying in wait with sevens full of aces after flopping second pair.

Grigoriy Shvarts and AJ Jamil, heads up at Parx Big Stax 1100.
Shvarts wasn't entertaining negotiations heads up.

Then, he battled Jamil a bit heads up before the two discussed a possible chop with Shvarts holding a 2-to-1 lead. Jamil wanted to leave some dough to play for, but Shvarts was still tired from the long tournament grind and wasn't having it.

They decided to play, and a few hands later, Shvarts called a three-bet and flopped a straight with seven-three, Joe Hachem-style. Jamil overbet shoved into him with just ace-high, and Shvarts stood up and shouted in triumph.

"GAME. OVER." he yelled.

Afterward, he admitted the cards fell his way but he was also happy with how he played.

"I didn't really see nobody outplaying me," he said. "I felt really confident."

The 29-year-old Russian-born Shvarts, who said he's been living stateside since he was 10, secured his second-biggest cash after a fifth-place run in WPT Maryland Live! back in 2017 that netted him over $92K. He said he's walked away from every tournament a better player since that run, and he knows what lesson he took from this one.

"This tournament actually told me that I have to stop doing that," he said of his partying. "In order to play tournaments, you have to be in good shape. You cannot not sleep, go out, drink and expect to be on the same game as everybody else."

Tags: Grigoriy Shvarts

AJ Jamil Eliminated in 2nd Place ($57,793)

Level 29 : 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
AJ Jamil
AJ Jamil

Grigoriy Shvarts raised on the button and called a three-bet to 750,000 from AJ Jamil. On the {4-Spades}{5-Clubs}{6-Diamonds} flop, Jamil announced he was all in for what looked like around 4 million, and Shvarts shouted a call, slapping down {7-Diamonds}{3-Diamonds} for the flopped straight.

Jamil was all but cooked with {a-Spades}{10-Diamonds}, needing a miracle chop, but the {q-Diamonds} turn assured that wouldn't be the case.

Player Chips Progress
Grigoriy Shvarts us
Grigoriy Shvarts
18,500,000 6,000,000
AJ Jamil us
AJ Jamil
Busted

Tags: AJ JamilGrigoriy Shvarts

Jamil Doubles

Level 29 : 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante

Grigoriy Shvarts raised on the button and AJ Jamil shoved in the big blind for just under 3 million. Shvarts said he only looked at one and it was a good. If the other card was nine or better, he declared, he was in there. He peeked and announced a call.

Grigoriy Shvarts: {a-Hearts}{10-Diamonds}
AJ Jamil: {a-Spades}{j-Hearts}

Jamil was in a dominating spot and held up on the {3-Spades}{6-Clubs}{2-Spades}{9-Spades}{k-Hearts} runout.

Player Chips Progress
Grigoriy Shvarts us
Grigoriy Shvarts
12,500,000 -3,000,000
AJ Jamil us
AJ Jamil
6,000,000 3,000,000

Tags: Grigoriy ShvartsAJ Jamil

Jamil Has it This Time

Level 29 : 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante

AJ Jamil and Grigoriy Shvarts followed the same pattern as last posted hand, with Jamil check-calling the flop and betting 675,000 on the river after turn action checked through on {3-Hearts}{6-Diamonds}{9-Spades}{5-Hearts}{7-Diamonds}. This time, when Shvarts flicked in a calling chip, Jamil showed {a-Clubs}{4-Diamonds} for the small straight.

Player Chips Progress
Grigoriy Shvarts us
Grigoriy Shvarts
13,100,000 -400,000
AJ Jamil us
AJ Jamil
5,400,000 400,000

Tags: AJ JamilGrigoriy Shvarts

Jamil Caught Bluffing

Level 29 : 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante

AJ Jamil defended the big blind and check-called 375,000 on {k-Spades}{5-Diamonds}{8-Spades}. Both checked the {6-Clubs} and Jamil bet 675,000 on the {k-Hearts} river. Grigoriy Shvarts thought briefly and tossed a chip in. Jamil sighed and showed {10-Spades}{4-Spades} for a busted flush draw and Shvarts took it with {a-Hearts}{6-Diamonds}.

Player Chips Progress
Grigoriy Shvarts us
Grigoriy Shvarts
13,500,000 1,200,000
AJ Jamil us
AJ Jamil
5,000,000 -1,200,000

Tags: AJ JamilGrigoriy Shvarts

Level: 29

Blinds: 50,000/100,000

Ante: 100,000