Home / Poker News June 2011 / 2011 WSOP – Mark Radoja Wins $5k NL Holdem Shootout
2011 WSOP – Mark Radoja Wins $5k NL Holdem Shootout
Posted by: James Carter. - Sat, 2011-06-18 14:25
The 17th day of the
2011 WSOP awarded only one bracelet. That single piece of day 17 WSOP bling ended up in Mark Radoja’s possession. What did Radoja do to deserve the honor? He won the $5k NL Holdem Shootout. 9 players returned to action on the final day of the event, all tied in chips. This is one of the fine things about Shootout events the railbirds will certainly enjoy: no one holds any kind of advantage over the rest of the field going into the final battle.
The last stretch of the event was played in a single table SNG format. Radoja was joined at the table by Adam Junglen, Tom Marchese and Sean Getzwiller. Each and every one of the players involved had emerged victorious from no fewer than 2 tables before the confrontation. None of the above mentioned pros managed to pose any sort of challenge for the title this time though.
It all came down to the heads-up bout between Mark Radoja and Jeffrey Gross. Radoja had played well through the final table, therefore he began the heads-up stage with a 2-1 chip advantage. Gross did put up a fair amount of resistance, but Radoja knew just how to use his large stack to best serve his interests. He put his opponent under constant pressure as his fans broke into song at the rail.
In the final hand of the tournament, it was Radoja who made the decisive move with Kh, 10d. Gross saw a perfect opportunity to double up and he jumped onboard right away with A,Jo. The flop (Q,10,2) gave Radoja a pair of 10s and Gross a straight draw. The 10 which fell on the turn though improved Radoja’s hand to trips, effectively ending the race and giving him the title, together with the $436k first prize.
The closest Radja had ever been to the bling before was a 3rd place in the $5k NL Holdem Six-max event last year.
