February 19 2012, Brett Collson

The inaugural DeepStacks Poker Tour Western New York Poker Championship came to a close Sunday evening in Niagara Falls, New York. After three days of play, William Vogel outlasted a field of 217 players to collect the top prize of $71,827 and the honor of being the first winner of the brand new DeepStacks Poker Tour.

Vogel began the six-handed final table with a slight lead over Lou Procopio, but Procopio took the pole position on the second hand of the day. With the blinds at 10,000/20,000, Procopio raised to 46,000 from the cutoff and action folded to short stack Steve Przybyl, who moved all-in for 173,000 from the big blind with . Procopio made the call with , and a queen-high board sent Przybyl to the rail in sixth place for $13,359.

Vogel then made his presence known by eliminating Tom Krol in fifth place. The two players saw a flop of and some furious action ensued. Krol led for 50,000 before Vogel pushed all-in, having Krol covered.

Krol took his time, but eventually made the call for his last 193,000. He was ahead, holding for top pair against Vogel’s . However, the came down on the turn and completed Vogel’s straight. Drawing dead, Krol was already out of his chair and shaking hands with the other players as the river was revealed. He collected $17,802 for fifth place.

Procopio still held the lead up to that point, but Vogel took control after sending Buffalo, New York, native Michael Wachowski home in fourth place. Wachowski made a bold all-in bluff with on a board. Vogel called with for two pair, and the on the river ended Wachowski’s tournament.

Vogel continued rolling by sending Nick Goetz to the rail in third place. With the blinds at 15,000/30,000, Goetz moved all-in for his last 425,000 on the button. Vogel called from the small blind, and the action shifted over to Procopio, who tanked before finally letting his hand go.

Goetz:
Vogel:

The flop brought , and Goetz needed a lot help to stay alive. He picked up several more outs when the fell on the turn, but the river gave the pot to Vogel. Goetz exited with $31,161 and a huge smile on his face.

That set up a heads-up battle between the two behemoths to start the final table. Vogel and Procopio began their match with nearly identical stacks, but Vogel got out to a quick lead and never looked back. After winning two big pots to take a 7-to-1 lead, Vogel called Procopio’s three-bet shove with and was slightly ahead of Procopio’s .

“This is exciting,” Vogel said to his friends and family in attendance. He turned around to watch the dealer reveal the flop. Vogel remained out in front, but the on the turn gave Procopio some additional outs for a chop. However, the on the river sealed the deal for Vogel, whose friends and family applauded the first DeepStacks Poker Tour Champion. Procopio, meanwhile, took $43,928 back to his home in Liverpool, New York.

Western New York Poker Championship Final Table Results

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February 18 2012, Brett Collson

The inaugural DeepStacks Poker Tour Western New York Poker Championship has reached a final table after two days of play at the Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls, New York. The tournament began with 217 players, including several high-profile members of Team DeepStacks, but only six will return for the televised final table on Sunday.

Day 2 began with 42 players, and a whirlwind of early eliminations left only 25 players on the money bubble in the third level of the day. That’s when the biggest hand of the day took place. With several small stacks simply trying to squeeze into the money, the two biggest stacks in the room collided for the biggest pot of the tournament to that point.

Chip leader Kyaw Naing raised to 15,000 from the cutoff and Lou Procopio three-bet to 62,000 from the small blind. Action folded back to Naing, who made the call, and the dealer rolled out a flop. Naing checked and Procopio took his time before betting 150,000. Naing check-raised all-in and Procopio stood up and announced a call.

Naing
Procopio:

Naing needed a heart to burst the bubble and take an overwhelming lead over the rest of the field. However, the turn brought the and the river was the , giving Procopio around 850,000 – more than double the stack of any other player. Naing was left with just 82,500, and he was sent home as the bubble on the very next hand.

Michael Mizrachi was the biggest story entering the day. The man with more the $12 million in live tournament earnings had the chip lead when play began, but “The Grinder” had a turbulent ride at the feature table all afternoon. Mizrachi snuck his way into the money, but he was eliminated in 14th place when his was bested by Mike Crystal’s .

Procopio used the chips he won on the money bubble to run over his opponents the rest of the day. He also got the help of a timely turn card in a big hand against Jonathan Dimmig. Dimmig got his 300,000-plus chip stack all-in preflop with against Procopio’s , but the board gave an animated Procopio a set of kings. Procopio is second in chips entering the final table, trailing only William Vogel.

Vogel climbed past Procopio for the lead on the final hand of the night. Vogel and Husni Aga both checked the flop, but when Vogel made it 25,000 on the turn, Aga called. The river seemed innocent enough, but Aga decided to shove his last 185,000 in the middle. After about two minutes in the tank, Vogel called with , picking off Aga’s bluff to secure the final table.

Every member of the final table is from Upstate New York, making the tournament a true Western New York Poker Championship. Joining Vogel and Procopio at the final table will be Tom Krol, Nicholas Goetz, Michael Wachowski, and last year’s runner-up at the DeepStacks Seneca Poker Open, Steve Przybyl.

Here’s a look at the table draw and chip counts of the final six:

The final table kicks off Sunday at 1400 EST (1900 GMT) in the Bear’s Den. Get all the updates right here on PokerNews.

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