Vivek Rajkumar Wins LAPC Heads up Championship

By all accounts, the 2009 LA Poker Classic Heads up Championship was a big success, not only according to the players who liked the unique double elimination format but also for the fans watching the action from the sidelines.  The three day event was host to hundreds of hands of play before it was finally concluded, giving all players their shot at the title.

The final day of play saw a total of 12 players make their way back, some considerably more short stacked than others.  Eight of the players in the loser’s bracket would have to exact perfect play in order to make their way to the top prize.  Those in the winner’s bracket didn’t have the pressure of perfection weighing them down.  The in the money finishers from the previous night were Michael Pesek, John Conkright, Scott Seiver, Peter Feldman, all tied for 13th place.

The day got under way with the winner’s bracket determining the final two players who were Chris Moore and James Mackey.  Moore and Mackey then played to decide the final winner’s bracket match early instead of waiting for the other side to finish up.  Moore quickly eliminated the young bracelet winner.  On the other side, David Oppenheim eliminated Steve Billirakis who had previously eliminated Steve Sung and Owen Crowe.  Below are the finishers from the loser’s bracket:

Tie 9th - David Paredes — $25,150
Tie 9th - Owen Crowe — $25,150
Tie 9th - Ryan Hughes — $25,150
Tie 9th - John Racener — $25,150
Tie 7th - Steve Sung — $35,000
Tie 7th - Amit Makhija — $35,000
Tie 5th - Evan Roberts — $50,000
Tie 5th - Steve Billirakis — $50,000

The final match wasn’t completed until past 5 am.  Rajkumar had the lead and was close to finishing several times before his pair of nines against Moore’s pair of sevens finally gave him the tournament win.  Below are the final four results for the 2009 LA Poker Classic Heads up Championship:

4th - David Oppenheim — $75,000
3rd - James “mig.com” Mackey — $100,000
2nd - Chris Moore — $190,000
1st - Vivek “psyduck” Rajkumar — $350,000