Matthew Alsante has defeated a tough field of pros in the $5,000 NL Hold’em event to win a prize of $785,486.
The American swept aside Thai high-stakes professional Punnat Punsri heads-up to seize the title and his first gold bracelet.
Alsante has taken a more serious approach to poker over the last decade but he is really only just starting to get going.
The best cash on his record before this event was only $4,822 — less than his buy-in two days ago.
To win this title, Alsante had to navigate through a field of 1,041 players and then deal with Punsri, a man with more than $16 million in live tournament winnings.
A great achievement that proves the dream is still alive for any aspiring poker players who are interested in trying out the game.
Final Action
After nine levels, the returning 88 players had reduced to only nine with a prize of $62,945 guaranteed.
No doubt feeling that the stars had aligned, Matthew Alsante started the final table stage with a bang.
He quickly sent home both Patrick Leonard and Japan’s Hirokazu Kobayashi in quick time to give himself a chance of building a commanding stack.
And he soon got his wish. After Jon Vallinas and Ramin Hajiyev left the playing hall to leave the tournament four-handed, Alsante doubled up to leave himself sat with three quarters of the chips in play.
He maintained this advantage going into heads-up play against Punsri but a key hand threatened to undo all of his hard work.
Getting sticky with second pair all-in, Alsante was up against his opponent’s top pair and facing a ruiness situation. However, a miracle turn card to give him two pair flipped the script and gave him a lead he would never lose.
Event #87: $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Final Table Results
| Place | Name | Country | Prize (USD) |
| 1 | Matthew Alsante | United States | $785,486 |
| 2 | Punnat Punsri | Thailand | $523,648 |
| 3 | Philip Wiszowaty | United States | $372,446 |
| 4 | Oleg Vasylchenko | Ukraine | $268,407 |
| 5 | Ramin Hajiyev | Azerbaijan | $196,024 |
| 6 | Jon Vallinas | Spain | $145,107 |
| 7 | Hirokazu Kobayashi | Japan | $108,895 |
| 8 | Patrick Leonard | United Kingdom | $82,862 |
| 9 | Ueberton De Aquino | Brazil | $62,945 |
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