Steven Filipovic Wins Summer Slam 2018 Main Event for $53,508
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Canada's Steven Filipovic entered Day 2 as the chipleader and only relinquished the lead for a brief period of time at the final table en route to winning the Seneca Niagara Summer Slam 2018 Main Event. Just over 12 hours into Day 2, Filipovic defeated fellow Canadian Matthew Paplyk heads-up after the final two players chopped to claim a top prize of $53,508.
The final table featured two returning champions with the defending Summer Slam Main Event champion, Blake Napierala, making back-to-back appearances and 2014 Summer Slam Main Event Champion, Buck Ramsay, returning to a familiar spot. Unfortunately for both, a repeat was not in the cards.
This was the second time Filipovic reached the final table in the Summer Slam series. Filipovic chopped the High Roller event four-ways before departing in third place. The chop earned Filipovic $12,800 which, at the time, was his largest live-recorded tournament cash ever and more than doubled his career earnings. With the win in the Main Event, Filipovic now has more than $70,000 in live tournament earnings.
Final Table Results:
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steven Filipovic | Canada | $53,508 |
| 2 | Matthew Paplyk | Canada | $51,681 |
| 3 | Blake Napierala | United States | $26,452 |
| 4 | RJ Mineo | United States | $18,392 |
| 5 | Chris Damick | United States | $13,765 |
| 6 | Jeff Mahoney | Canada | $10,360 |
| 7 | Dave Melman | United States | $8,657 |
| 8 | Vasco Morgado | United States | $7,096 |
| 9 | Mike LaTour | United States | $5,960 |
| 10 | Buck Ramsay | Canada | $4,598 |
Day 2 kicked off with 109 hopefuls looking to lock up one of the 54 prize slots available. Of course, most had their sights set on the top-prize but any part of $283,823 prize pool would be of some consolation. The action moved swiftly through the first few levels with hand-for-hand play picking up soon after the first break.
It took 12 hands before the field reached the money. Summer Slam 2018 Event #2 runner-up Tyler Dietz open-jammed for less than ten bigs with ace-ten and was snapped off my Anthony Carbone holding pocket queens. The queens held and the bubble was popped.
From there, the post-bubble bustout bonanza claimed the tournament lives of Day 1c chipleader Jeff Thibideau (54th), Summer Slam Event #6 champ Andy Fitting (52nd), Carol Leonardi (49th), DJ MacKinnon (38th), and Nick Walker (36th).
Last year's Summer Slam Main Event runner-up, Kristan Mackiewicz ran into two coolers to see a healthy stack disappear before busting in 32nd. Peter Raimondi (23rd), Nate Kross (18th), Matt Shanahan (13th), and Carbone (12th) were just a few of the notables eliminated before Adam Caciotti busted in 11th place to set up the unofficial final table.
Final Table Action:
The final ten players played a whole level before the first casualty was dispatched. Chris Damick made a big raise preflop on the button and called off Ramsay's three-bet jam. Damick found a queen on the turn with queen-eight to crack Ramsay's ace-king. Not long after, Mike LaTour doubled up Jeff Mahoney leaving himself with only a couple bigs and was unable to spin it back up.
In just a span of a couple hands, Vasco Morgado and Dave Melman were eliminated in ninth and eighth respectively, leaving the table six-handed. Morgado was taken out my Paplyk when he flopped two pair and was called by Paplyk with middle pair and a royal flush draw. Paplyk improved to trips on the turn and made the flush on the river.
After Filipovic eliminated Mahoney in sixth, Paplyk went on a tear gathering more than 50% of the chips in play taking out Damick and then RJ Mineo in back-to-back hands. The final three players paused the clock to talk a chop but the negotiations fell through and play resumed.
The dream of back-to-back Summer Slam Main Event titles for Napierala ended when he open-jammed from the small blind for about 12 bigs and Filipovic put him at risk out of the big blind. Napierala was behind with king-nine to Filipovic's ace-five and couldn't improve after both flopped a pair.
Once heads-up the final two players agreed to an ICM-based chop and left $5,000 and the trophy to play for. Paplyk had a slight lead but Filipovic quickly took over and not long after the money was divided, Filipovic picked up jacks, Paplyk found eights, and the two got it in preflop. Filipovic faded the board and claim the Summer Slam 2018 Main Event.
That wraps up the PokerNews coverage of the Seneca Niagara Summer Slam 2018. Congrats to all the winners and the staff at the poker room for another successful and record-breaking series. The focus will now shift to the upcoming MSPT stop in September that will surely fill the seats in the room and line the pockets of some lucky players.