Saturday night saw longtime PocketFiver Michael Lavin became the sixth player to win a World Series of Poker Online event in the state of Pennsylvania. Lavin topped the 288-entry field in Event #7 ($600 NLHE MonsterStack) to earn his first WSOP bracelet and $39,642.
From middle position, ‘Diceluxovi‘ raised to 68,000 with 
before Anthony Huntsman moved all in for 446,820 from the hijack with 
. ‘Diceluxovi’ called and then collected the entire pot after the 
flop, 
turn, and 
river to eliminate Huntsman in ninth place.
A few moments later, a battle of the blinds turned into another elimination hand. From the cutoff, ‘pokervanman‘ raised to 78,200. Brian Cassel moved all in for 989,204 from the small blind before Robert Sembler re-shoved from the big blind for 1,154,600 with ‘pokervanman’ folding behind. Cassel turned over 
but Sembler tabled 
. The 
flop changed nothing for Cassel and after the turn and 
river completed the board, he was eliminated in eighth.
It took 15 minutes for the next elimination to occur and it was all set up thanks to a player living up to their screenname. Joshua Berardi raised to 92,000 from the hijack with 
before Matt ‘RunGoodRick’ Boulden jammed for their last 738,692 from the button with 
and Berardi called. The clop came 
to give Boulden a queen-high straight. The 
turn and 
river changed nothing and Boulden collected the 1.56 million chip pot. Berardi was left decimated and a few moments later was shown the door in seventh place.
With blinds of 25,000/50,000, Lavin raised to 110,000 from late position with 
. Next to act, Charles Alex-Barton moved all in for 1,192,452 with 
and Lavin opted to call. The 
flop gave Alex-Barton an open-ended straight draw to go with his over cards. The 
turn changed nothing and the 
river only sealed Alex-Barton’s fate as the sixth place finisher.
Boulden continued to run good and eight minutes later took out another opponent. From the button, Boulden opened to 120,000 and Greg Wish chose to defend his big blind. After the 
flop, Boulden check-called Wish’s 198,000 bet. The turn was the and both players checked. The 
river completed the board and Boulden moved all in. Wish called off his last 974,278 and tabled 
but found out he was out-pipped when Boulden showed . Wish was out in fifth.
The next bustout came 10 minutes later. Sembler opened for 184,000 from the cutoff before ‘Diceluxovi’ moved all in on the button for 874,127. Lavin called from the big blind while Sembler clicked the fold button. ‘Diceluxovi’ turned over and discovered he needed help after Lavin showed 
. The 
flop brought that help but the turn gave Lavin a set and left ‘Diceluxovi’ needing a queen to stay alive. The river was no help and ‘Diceluxovi’ was eliminated in fourth place.
Three-handed play lasted more than 35 minutes before Boulden ended the night for another one of his opponents and sent the tournament to heads up. Boulden raised from the button to 240,000 with . Lavin folded the small blind but Sembler jammed from the big blind for 2,023,450 with . Boulden called and then moved into a dominating position after the 
flop. While the turn gave Sembler a pair, it actually left him drawing dead and he was out in third after the 
river filled the board.
Boulden held 63% of the chips in play when the one-on-one battle with Lavin began but through 20 minutes of action, the script was flipped until Lavin was in a dominating position heading into the final hand. Lavin raised to 320,000 from the button with and Boulden moved all in with . Lavin called. The 
gave Lavin top pair. Boulden could only watch as the turn and 
river completed the board to end his run with a runner-up finish while Lavin won the bracelet and nearly $40,000.
Final Table Payouts
- Michael ‘TonyBandanas’ Lavin – $39,642
- Matthew ‘RunGoodRick’ Boulden – $24,494
- Robert ‘Badbeat1512’ Sembler – $16,843
- ‘Diceluxovi’ – $11,804
- Greg ‘Donostia’ Wish – $8,445
- Charles ‘pokervanman’ Alex-Barton – $6,252
- Joshua ‘ClearEyes’ Berardi – $4,681
- Brian ‘BigTIme2021’ Cassel – $3,499
- Anthony ‘Ler0yBr0wn’ Huntsman – $2,722
