WSOP Bracelet Winner Takes $1.2M Top Prize in $50K PLO Grand Slam

Cesar Garcia opened the primary hand on the ultimate desk of the Onyx Excessive Curler Collection $50,000 PLO Grand Slam and took down the blinds and ante. It was a seemingly insignificant second, an innocuous pot in what promised to be an extended day contained in the Onyx Membership. However that hand set the stage for what was to comply with, for Garcia spent the following a number of hours elevating, and elevating, and elevating some extra.

Garcia got here into the ultimate desk as an enormous chip chief and used his stack to full benefit, bullying the remainder of the desk on his technique to capturing the trophy and $1,200,000 first prize after defeating Gruffudd Pugh-Jones heads-up.

“It means loads. Proper now it feels tremendous drained, as a result of it being an extended journey. I got here as chip chief to the ultimate desk. I ran very properly within the event. So it’s like a dream. It’s my greatest rating, and proper now I’m tremendous joyful,” Garcia stated after rivering a straight on the final hand to clinch the title.

Onyx Excessive Curler Collection $50,000 PLO Grand Slam Closing Desk Outcomes

Garcia’s technique firstly of the day was easy: he was going to use most strain on the remainder of the desk. He raised preflop in round 80 p.c of the palms for the primary few ranges, taking down numerous pots with little resistance. Tablemate Danielle Noja stated he was a “Spanish matador” and a “bull in a China store.” He held greater than 60 p.c of the chips in play whereas there have been nonetheless 5 gamers left and threatened to depart the remainder of the desk in his wake as he coasted to the trophy.

“My technique, after all, as a result of there have been some quick stacks, so I’ve to place numerous strain on the center stacks. And, yeah, my plan was to open a lot of the palms. I do know that the primary three, 4 hours I used to be opening like 80 p.c. Someone instructed me that they stated it within the reside streaming,” Garcia stated. “So, yeah, I feel that it really works. I feel that I play my greatest. I attempt to put numerous strain and it really works, so I’m very joyful.”

The prize was the largest of Garcia’s profession, which works again greater than a decade. He received a WSOP bracelet in a $2,000 No-Restrict Maintain’em occasion in 2016 and made two EPT ultimate tables, together with an eighth-place end in Barcelona final August. Garcia had compiled $2.3 million in reside earnings earlier than this occasion, and this rating will push him to the cusp of cracking the top-10 all-time amongst Spanish gamers.

Most of his early massive scores, although, got here in No-Restrict Maintain’em. It was solely prior to now few years that Garcia started to give attention to PLO tournaments, and he’s shortly constructed up a document of mastery on the four-card sport. He received a €10,000 PLO occasion at EPT Monte Carlo final yr and made the ultimate desk of the $50,000 PLO occasion on the Triton Collection in Jeju, South Korea, in September. He additionally completed in fifth place within the €10,000 Diamond Poker Collection Championship in Prague in December.

Garcia has seen the sudden burst of PLO tournaments lately and thinks the sport will solely proceed to develop. “So after I began enjoying poker, I began enjoying No-Restrict. However, like, I don’t know, eight years in the past I made a transition. However I used to be solely enjoying money, and proper now, PLO tournaments are rising loads,” he stated.

“So, yeah, since one yr and a half or one thing, I begin enjoying like numerous tournaments. I actually prefer it. I just like the competitors, the feelings that you simply reside in a event, and I feel that it’s a great second to start out enjoying PLO tournaments as a result of it’s rising and rising. And hopefully will probably be like this numerous time.”

“I actually love Advantage. The resort is wonderful. The group is wonderful. The event, too. Even the stucture. It was a brilliant good construction. We had been tremendous deep on the ultimate desk, which is, for me, nice. Every little thing was good, and I solely have good phrases for them. Hopefully, I’ll come once more,” he stated.

Garcia’s competition wasn’t accomplished simply but, nevertheless. He shortly made his approach, trophy in hand, downstairs from the Onyx Membership to the principle event room to register for Day 1c of the $25,000 PLO Predominant Occasion. Coming off his dominant run right here at this time, he’s confirmed he’ll be a tricky man to beat.