Tran Rumbles Like Thunder

Tran Rumbles Like Thunder

Thursday, 20 March 2014

Despite being the second shortest stack at the table when the chips began to fly last night, JC Tran has managed to defy the odds to become the latest WPT Rolling Thunder champion.

After starting the day with just 700,000 chips in the $3,500 buy-in California event, Tran was soon in command of a playable stack after his Ac 3s survived an all-in call by Ken Jorgensen and his Kh Qs.

This not only made Jorgensen the first casualty of the day but gave Tran the momentum to double-up twice through Benjamin Zamani. Having been crippled by those around him, a desperate Zamani was all-in a short time later and by the time Quoc Pham and Tran had checked down on an 8s 8h 4h 4c Ad board, it was the later whose As 4h was enough to scoop the pot and take another scalp.

At this point Tran was a force to be reckoned with and he began to thrive thanks to his years of WPT experience. Indeed, after lengthy battles to avoid being eliminated in fourth and third place, both Mimi Luu and Quoc Pham eventually fell victim to Tran.

By now the tournament was Tran's to lose and it wasn't long before Preston Harwell fell on his sword and gambled the remainder of his stack with 8s 5s. After making the call with Kd 4c, a delighted Tran watched as the board rolled out 6c 4s 2d Th 9h and the final pot was pushed into his lap.

With Harwell now watching from the rail, a jubilant Tran was able to bask in the limelight and celebrate his second WPT title on top of a $302,750 payday.

WPT Rolling Thunder Final Standings:

1. JC Tran - $302,750

2. Preston Harwell - $200,030

3. Quoc Pham - $127,140

4. Mimi Luu - $100,240

5. Benjamin Zamani - $80,130

6. Ken Jorgensen - $60,180



Tags: WPT Rolling Thunder, JC Tran, Preston Harwell, Quoc Pham, Mimi Luu, Benjamin Zamani, Ken Jorgensen