Max Zeppetelli Wins PPC World Cup of Cards ($7,080) and a PPC Aruba Main Event Seat
Max Zeppetelli finished off a quick final table to win Event #18 of the World Cup of Cards at Playground Poker Club. The Player's Poker Championship (PPC) World Cup of Cards Event was a $330 buy-in and had 137 entries. Zeppetelli started the day as the short stack, with 75,000. He ran up his stack and eventually bested the field to won CAD $7,080 plus a PPC Aruba Package worth $4,500.
He eliminated the Jean-Manuel Estrala in third place and then offered Nimer Ltaif $900 to take second place. Ltaif accepted the and tournament ended with Zeppetelli declared the winner. He likely would have won, as he had a big chip lead at the time. Here is a breakdown of the payouts for the event.
| Place | Player | Prize (CAD) | PPC Aruba Package (Valued At) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Zeppetelli | 7,980 | $4,500 |
| 2 | Nimer Ltaif | 5,104 | $3,473 |
| 3 | Jean-Manuel Estrala | 4,100 | |
| 4 | Saman Revzani | 3,190 | |
| 5 | Jason Conforti | 2,240 | |
| 6 | Elie A. | 1,920 | |
| 7 | Jean Sebastien Dubois | 1,520 | |
| 8 | Roger Lamia | 960 | |
| 9 | Jean-Philippe Lehoux | 800 | |
| 10 | Grant Pazarka | 720 | |
| 11 | Giovanni Massa | 720 | |
| 12 | Trevor Dixon | 720 | |
| 13 | Joshua Brueckner | 640 | |
| 14 | Benoit Leclerc | 640 | |
| 15 | Shamil Abhuani | 640 |
The first two players eliminated from the final table were both knocked out by Jason Conforti. Grant Pazarka shoved the small blind with queen-high and Conforti called with ace-high. Conforti would go on to win that hand and eliminate Pazarka in tenth. On the next hand, it was Conforti in the small blind and he raised with pocket queens. Jean-Philippe Lehoux three-bet shoved king-high from the big blind and Conforti called. He made ended up making a full house and eliminating Lehoux in ninth.
Roger Lamia, who entered the day as the chip leader went out in eighth place when he got pocket fours all in against Elie A., who held queens. ThenJean Sebastien Dubois's aces were cracked by Saman Revzani, who flopped a set of sevens.
Elie A would be eliminated next by Estrala when he was at risk with five-high against the ace-high of Estrala. Elie A. finished in sixth place. Conforti would be next to go. He shoved all in with ace-king to Zepetelli's blind. He called with ace-jack. He ended up catching a jack to eliminate Conforti, who was not happy about it.
After Zepetelli resumed play, the other players were talking about it and Zepetelli explained his strategy.
"If you're folding ace-jack five-handed then don't play the f@!king tournament."
Saman Revzani would be eliminated in fourth after doubling up Nimer Ltaif. He got all in against Zeppetelli. Zeppetelli had pocket eights to the two overs of Revzani. Zeppetelli would win again.
Zeppetelli continued his knockout string by eliminating Jean-Manuel Estrala with pocket kings against ace-jack. Zeppetelli flopped a set and stayed ahead.
There was no heads up play, because Zeppetelli offered $900 to Ltaif to secure first place and Ltaif took the money and second place. Zeppetelli took $7,080 and the $4,500 package designated for first place and Ltaif took $6,004 and the $3,473 second-place package.
The PPC World Cup of Cards is Event #18. The World Cup of Cards is a month-long tournament festival at Playground Poker Club. PokerNews will be here throughout the festival, bringing you all the news, updates, and photos. Follow @pokernews on Twitter for live updates, Periscope broadcasts, and more. Also, follow PokerNews on Facebook and Instagram.