CCPT Event 1: Co-Champions - Marsel Backa & Brad St. Vincent

Event 1 (Day 2)
Level 29 (30,000/60,000/10,000)
Total Entries: 332
Players Remaining: 1

Chip Average: 6,400,000

Marsel Backa & Brad St. Vincent - Card Player Poker Tour Event 1 Co-Champions

Nearly ever major pot or elimination at this Card Player Poker Tour Event 1 Final Table involved or could be traced to either Marsel Backa (Waterbury, CT) or Brad St. Vincent (Bristol, RI), so it was only fitting that those two player not only got to heads up play, but also decided on an even chop for a share of the remaining $62,000 prize pool.

The two tried to work a deal when heads up play started, but both players wanted to walk way with a CPPT trophy, so after some unsuccessful negotiations, they decided to play it out for the trophy and a little bit of side money.

We're glad they did, as their heads up battle was some of the more exciting and entertaining poker we've seen in a while, as both players treated it like an ego war more than a card game, raising and re-raising almost non-stop.

While we are just in the first few days of the CPPT schedule, we might have already seen the bluff of the series as Marsel check called two streets and then moved all-in on a board of [Jd][10h][5h][Jh][2h], enough to put St. Vincent to a decision for all his chips.

St. Vincent would show [Jc][8h] an extremely strong hand, but he put Marsel on a higher heart and folded to keep the heads up battle alive.

But Marsel didn't have a higher heart, in fact, he didn't have a heart at all, as he would table [10c][Ad] for nothing more than middle pair.

After that, St. Vincent would continue to get chipped down and then he'd get it all-in pre-flop holding [5d][5c] to Marsel's [Ah][6h] and after the [Ad] came in the window of the flop, it looked like we would crown our champion.

But, the [Qs] and the [5s] would follow it and St. Vincent would double with a set to get back to even and it was then that the two players agreed to the chop, as there wasn't much left to separate them.

There would also be another twist in the chop, since Event 4, which was originally scheduled for tomorrow was cancelled, the players would then go in blind on the last hand of the night. The winner would get the "real" Event 1 trophy and the loser would get the trophy for Event 4.

Both players would get dealt one card face up and one card face down, with Marsel holding the [4d] and St. Vincent holding the [9c].

The dealer would then put out a [Kd][9s][4h][8d][Jd] board and each player sweated their other card.

St. Vincent only had a pair of nines to his name, but Marsel pealed back his other card like a Baccarat player would, to reveal the [Qd] to give him runner-runner flush and the Event 1 trophy.

Both players will make just over $30,000 for their Event 1 effort and Marsel, a regular cash game grinder here at Foxwoods, would move up and over the $100,000 mark in terms of career tournament earnings with the result as well as earn his first "major" tournament title with the flip win.

St. Vincent, a tournament grinder with two Foxwoods titles to his name, will move up and over the $225,000 mark in tournament earnings and make his sixth five figure score and his fifth of that variety right here at Foxwoods.

That almost wraps up the CCPT action for tonight, with just the Event 3 Omaha H/L 8B Final Table yet to be decided.