Soukha Kachittavong Calls His Shot and Wins Second Event of the Series
After last week’s win at Event #2 of the PokerStars Summer Series at Live! Casino and Hotel Philadelphia, Soukha Kachittavong said he was going to come back for Event #3: $2,200 No Limit Hold'em and complete the trifecta of final tables. Not only did he keep his word and battle through a 448-player field to make his third final table of the series, he went ahead and shipped the whole thing for $147,735 and the trophy.
Kachittavong kept his head down and stayed patient while looking for key spots throughout the final table to make moves and put his chips to work. He was able to grind to a heads-up battle with Greg Himmelbrand, who held the chip lead for a large portion of the final table.
Kachittavong was down to a 4:1 chip deficit at one point, but he worked a short stack into a medium stack and finally gained a small chip lead at about 4 a.m. local time. The players had been on the felt for over 17 hours, and Kachittavong suggested an even chop to Himmelbrand, who accepted.
Winners Reaction
“It feels amazing…I can’t speak, and I’m a little tired at the same time.” Kachittavong said when asked how winning his second title of the series felt.
He was down to a few big blinds at some point and had to battle back: "Yeah, just patience, I guess, and I was running hot earlier. You can see me hitting some spots. They were good players, so I was waiting for my moments, and the cards fell my way.”
The NAPT is coming up in November, it's another PokerStars event and PokerNews was wondering if he was planning to go: “Yeah, I read about it. What is it, Vegas? Yeah, I’ll probably show up there.”
$2,200 No Limit Hold'em Final Table Results
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soukha Kachittavong | $147,735* |
| 2 | Greg Himmelbrand | $147,735* |
| 3 | Andrew Porter | $79,150 |
| 4 | Adam Reese | $53,595 |
| 5 | Norman Rogers | $41,190 |
| 6 | Keith Crowder | $34,200 |
| 7 | Chan Kim | $28,655 |
| 8 | Jamie Gold | $23,105 |
| 9 | Christopher Moon | $17,560 |
* denotes a heads-up deal
Final Table Action
The final table featured nothing but talented and experienced players, including some with championship pedigree. Christopher Moon was the first to fall in ninth place when his ace-jack fell to Kachittavong’s pocket aces.
WSOP Main Event Champion Jamie Gold played incredibly off of a short stack for most of the day, but his run came to an end when the chip leader at the time, Adam Reese, sent him to the rail in eighth place as his ace-four fell to Reese’s seven-eight suited by way of a rivered straight.
Chan Kim would fall just a few orbits later at the hands of Reese when he was out-pipped with a pair of sevens against Reese’s pocket eights. Shortly after that, Keith Crowder would also fall to Reese after Crowder attempted to get Reese to fold by moving all in on the turn. Unfortunately for Crowder, Reese had turned a boat, and Crowder would fall in sixth Place.
Norman Rogers was the next to exit in fifth place when Himmelbrand turned a straight and got all the money in against the rivered set of Rogers. This was the lead-up to a massive four-bet pot between Reese and Himmelbrand that ended in Himmelbrand bombing the river and getting a fold from Reese.
Reese held the chip lead for a portion of the final table, but some mistimed aggression and cold decks led to him getting short, and he would fall in fourth place to Andrew Porter. Porter then fell in third place after he stayed patient for most of the final table on his way to a big payday for his efforts.
This brought them to heads-up play with Himmelbrand holding a large chip lead, but Kachittavong would not go easy. He began to win small pot after small pot. Three-bets seemed right on time, and aggression was getting through regularly. It needs to be mentioned that Himmelbrand was battling and not giving up any spots for free.
Himmelbrand battled it out, but Kachittavong ran hot and eventually gained a small chip lead before suggesting an even chop for $147,735. Himmelbrand accepted the deal, and the players finally got some much-needed rest after a grueling day of poker.
Some luck is involved in this game, but some serious skill needs to come into play to final table three out of three tournaments in a single series. Kachittavong did this and won two of them.
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