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Arthur Andrade Wins 2016 MSPT bestbet Jacksonville for $112,990

The Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) bestbet Jacksonville Main Event – a tournament that attracted 459 entries and created a $445,230 prize pool – came to an end on Sunday night after Arthur Andrade from Tampa, Florida finished as the last man standing to capture the $112,990 first-place prize and the championship trophy.

Prior to the win, Andrade had just $14,452 in live tournament earnings, all in 2015. His best previous cash $8,659 for a third-place finish in the 2015 Coco Poker showdown Event #2: $125 No-Limit Hold'em Deep Stack, and now he finds himself with six-figures in his bank account and a MSPT trophy on his mantle.

Final Table Results

1st – Arthur Andrade (Lake Mary, Florida) - $112,990

2nd – David Mitchell (Jacksonville, Florida) - $65,229

3rd – Kenneth Kemple (Tallahassee, Florida) - $39,801

4th – Jermaine Gerlin (Jacksonville, Florida) - $32,062

5th – John O'Neal (Jacksonville, Florida) - $25,207

6th – Christopher Brauch (Jacksonville, Florida) - $21,006

7th – Blake Whittington (Jacksonville, Florida) - $16,805

8th – David Jackson (Atlanta, Georgia) - $12,825

9th – Danny Romano (Jacksonville, Florida) - $8,845

10th – Joe DiChario (Jacksonville, Florida) - $5,749

At the start of Day 2, 78 players returned to action, which meant 33 needed to hit the rail before the money was reached. Among those to leave empty handed were MSPT Pro Matt Alexander. Bowing out in 46th place was local player Nguyen "Wayne" Phan, who got his last 24,000 all in preflop holding ace-king only to fall to Christopher Brauch, who held ace-jack and paired his kicker on the flop.

From there, the in-the-money finishes came quick and included the likes of World Series of Poker bracelet winner Andrew Badecker (39th - $2,211), poker pro Maurice Hawkins (22nd - $2,742), two-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Tripp Kirk (21st - $2,742), Day 1a chip leader Talesh Patel (20th - $2,742), the last woman in the field, Diane Casino (17th - $3,494), and Michael "Carwash" Schneider (15th - $4,422).

The final table, which was live streamed with hole cards on a 30-minute delay, was a slow affair, but eventually the bust outs came beginning with Joe DiChario, who had won Event #4: $350 No-Limit Hold'em Bounty for $8,098 less than a week earlier, and followed by Danny Romano, who exited in ninth place.

After Atlanta's David Jackson took his leave in eighth place – the result of his king-ten failing to get their against Andrade's pocket nines – the final table lost one of its biggest names in 24-year-old poker pro Blake Whittington, who topped a field of 690 entries to win Event #1 $350 Regional for $45,492 just a week prior.

Whittington grew short, and in Level 28 (30,000/60,000/10,000), action folded to him in the small blind and he shoved his last 180,000 holding the , which Andrade called from the big with the . Whittington needed some major help, but it never came as the board ran out a lackluster .

Brauch, a poker dealer at bestbet Orange Park, was the next to go after his ace-jack lost a race to the pocket sevens of Jermaine "Lion" Gerlin, and then local cash game player John O'Neal fell in fifth place.

From there, a series of big hands resulted in Gerlin going from chip leader to out in fourth place, which was followed by the elimination Kenneth Kemple in third place. That set up a heads-up match between Andrade and local player David Mitchell, and their battle proved to be a back-and-forth affair with each player holding the chip leader on numerous occasions.

In what would be the last hand of the tournament, which happened in Level 33 (100,000/200,000/30,000), Mitchell got his last 2.7 million all in preflop holding king-queen against the pocket fours of Andrade. Mitchell paired his queen on an all-spade flop, but Andrade reclaimed the lead when a fourth spade on the turn gave him a flush. Mitchell had a redraw to a full house, but he failed to hit it as an ace blanked on the river.

Congratulations to Arthur Andrade, the 2016 MSPT bestbet Jacksonville champion!

Season 7 of the MSPT will continue March 12-20 at Meskwaki Casino in Tama, Iowa. The stop will host a $300,000 Guaranteed Main Event from March 18-20. For more information, visit msptpoker.com.

David Mitchell Eliminated in 2nd Place ($65,229)

After a back-and-forth heads-up battle, the tournament is finally over.

It happened when Arthur Andrade raised the button and then called David Mitchell’s three-bet shove for 2.7 million.

Andrade:

Mitchell:

It was a flip, and Mitchell actually pulled ahead on the flop, though Andrade picked up a spade draw. He hit it too when the spiked on the turn, meaning Mitchell needed either a king or queen on the river to stay alive.

The dealer burned one last time and put out the . Mitchell missed and had to settle for runner-up and a $65,229 consolation prize.

Pocket Rockets Propel Andrade to Double

In the last hand of Level 32, David Mitchell raised the button to 480,000 holding the and Arthur Andrade looked down at the . He moved all in for 3.2 million and surprisingly Mitchell made the call.

Mitchell was way behind, and he paid the price after the board ran out .

Andrade doubled to 6.4 million while Mitchell dropped to 2.8 million.

Walking Sticks Good For Andrade

Arthur Andrade raised to 400,000 from the button with the and David Mitchell three-bet to 1.2 million with the . Andrade responded by moving all in for 3.3 million and Mitchell made a quick call.

Mitchell could win it if he caught the right cards, but that didn’t happen as the board ran out to give Andrade a double to 6.6 million. Mitchell dropped down to around 2.5 million.

Kenneth Kemple Eliminated in 3rd Place ($39,801)

Arthur Andrade opened with a raise from the button only to have Kenneth Kemple three-bet all in for 1.1 million. After David Mitchell folded from the big blind, Andrade made the call and the cards were turned up.

Andrade:

Kemple:

Kemple was ahead, but Andrade was drawing to two live cards. The flop was safe for Kemple, and so was the turn. However, the river was not as Andrade paired up to send Kemple home in third place for $39,801.

Huge Flop on Last Hand Before the Break

In the last hand of Level 31, David Mitchell limped the small blind with the and Arthur Andrade checked his option from the big with the . The flop had action written all over it, and sure enough it exploded.

Mitchell checked, Andrade bet 200,000, and Mitchell check-raised to 500,000. Andrade moved all in for 1.2 million and Mitchell made a quick call only to discover the cold deck. Neither the turn nor river helped Mitchell, and he sent over a bunch of chips heading into the break.

Mitchell - 3.4 million

Andrade - 3.6 million

Jermaine Gerlin Eliminated in 4th Place ($32,062)

Action folded to Jermaine Gerlin, who not long ago was the big stack but had fallen to become the shortie, and he shoved all in from the small blind. Kenneth Kemple was in the big, liked what he saw, and made the call.

Gerlin:

Kemple:

It was a flip, and while Gerlin survived the flop, the put a dagger through his heart by pairing Kemple. The river missed Gerlin, and he was sent to the rail in fourth place for $32,062.

Gerlin Now on the Short Stack

On a flop, action exploded between David Mitchell and Jermaine Gerlin that saw the former get his stack all in.

Mitchell:

Gerlin:

Mitchell flopped top pair while Gerlin held middle pair with an open-ended straight draw. Gerlin needed to improve to score the knockout, but he didn’t do it as the blanked on the turn followed by the on the river.

Mitchell doubled to 3.3 million on the hand.

Kemple Saved on the River

Kenneth Kemple moved all in for 1.4 million from the button and Arthur Andrade called from the big blind.

Kemple:

Andrade:

It was a flip, but Kemple needed to improve. The flop didn’t do him any favors, and neither did the turn, which took away some of his outs by giving Andrade a flush draw. Amazingly, the spiked on the river to give Kemple new life.

Kemple - 2.8 million

Andrade - 1.8 million

Mitchell Stays Alive

Jermaine Gerlin raised the button holding the only to have David Mitchell three-bet all in for 1 million from the big blind with the . Gerlin opted to call and discovered he was way behind. Gerlin picked up a gutshot on the flop. Unfortunately for him, neither the turn nor river helped him and he sent some chips over to Mitchell.

Mitchell - 2.2 million

Gerlin - 2.5 million