WPT 2016 news: student wins Bay 101 Shooting Star main event

The winner of the World Poker Tour (WPT) 2016 Bay 101 Shooting Star main event was a student from Germany, Stefan Schillhabel, who earned the coveted seven-figure prize every poker player dreams of.

The WPT 2016 Bay 101 Shooting Star main event with a $75 500 buy-in drew a record field of 753 entrants, making the prize pool $5 346 300. Winner Stefan Schillhabel took the lion’s share of that sum – $1 298 000 – and also captured his first major poker title at a very tough final table.

Schillhabel came to the televised six-handed final table as the chip leader, but among his opponents were well-known pro Maria Ho, 2015 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown champion Griffin Paul, and noted tournament pro Andjelko Andrejevic. Had Maria Ho won, she would have become the first woman in history to win an open WPT main event.

In terms of knocking out opponents, the most active player at the final table was American pro Adam Geyer. Sending the first three of the remaining players to the rail, Geyer moved ahead of Schillhabel in chips, but the eventual winner later took Brian Piccioli’s stack, leaving Schillhabel and Geyer heads-up with roughly equal chips.

The heads-up duel between the German and the American lasted about three hours, and by the time the final hand was played Schillhabel had about a tenfold chip advantage. Geyer earned $752 800 for his strong runner-up finish, the biggest cash of his career.

WPT 2016 Bay 101 Shooting Star $75 500 Main Event final table results:

1. Stefan Schillhabel (Stefan Schillhabel) – $1 298 000
2. Adam Geyer (Adam Geyer) – $752 800
3. Brian Piccioli (Bryan Piccioli) – $493 350
4. Andjelko Andrejevic (Andjelko Andrejevic) – $331 500
5. Griffin Paul (Griffin Paul) – $231 310
6. Maria Ho (Maria Ho) – $179 930

Wow, a student. Wow, BI 75 grand bucks. Really wow