Brandon Hall is the champion of the 2009 Aruba Poker Classic
After hours where (literally) nothing happened there were two quick eliminations following Eric Baldwin’s exit. Chase Steely moved in for about 500,000 after a Robert Mizrachi raise and Robert called with K-J to Steely’s pocket Queens.
The flop came A-10-9, giving Mizrachi a gutshot draw (though Steely held two of the necessary Queens). The turn was a deuce and the river…the Qd, giving Mizrachi Broadway and sending Steely out in 3rd place (and with a $218,860 payday).
Heads-up play began with Hall holding the chiplead and he extended it when he called a 500K Mizrachi bet on the river and showed K-9 for King-high. Mizrachi could only show K-8, Brandon’s nine kicker played, and that gave him a 4.8M to 2.4M lead.
The end came almost immediately after, as the two got all the chips in the middle after an 8s-9h-2c flop. As the crowd pushed close Mizrachi revealed 9c-6c for top pair while Hall held Js-10d for an open-ended straight draw and overcards. The Jd gave Hall a bigger pair and the lead and when the Qd fell on the turn and gave Hall a straight it also gave him the 2009 Aruba Poker Classic championship.
Hall said he’d just endured a rough patch of play before turning it around recently and posting some solid results online. He can now add a major live tournament score to his poker resume, as Brandon Hall is the champion of the 2009 Aruba Poker Classic