There’s no doubt Thursday, September 8, 2016 will go down as one of the biggest days in Shaun Deeb’s life.
It was on this day that he experienced two extraordinary highs. Personally, he and his wife, Ashley Deeb, saw the birth of their second child. Professionally, Deeb won his record-tying fourth World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) title (Dan “djk123” Kelly also has four), which also furthered his own record of most “COOP” titles, with nine.
The story of his win was an interesting one, and it began in the early morning hours when he not only made the final table of WCOOP-12: $1,050 NL Draw Championship as chip leader, but also saw (from afar) his wife go into labor. Deeb was playing from Mexico, while his wife was on the East Coast stateside, giving birth.
Deeb immediately Face Timed his wife, and at 12:51 a.m., after just five minutes of labor (yes, you read that right, don’t hate, ladies), they welcomed a healthy 8 pound, four oz., 22-inch boy, perfectly named Chance Deeb, into the world.
Focusing on the WCOOP Win
With his newborn son safely back home with mom, Deeb turned his attention to the tournament, which originally attracted a field of 95 entrants (70 players and 25 re-entries). Up top was a $22,185.60 prize, but for Deeb, there was much more on the line. There were the records to set, of course, but perhaps more importantly, there was validation for sacrificing personal time to leave the country for professional pursuits.
The tournament paid 11 spots, and among those to cash, but fall short of the final table, were Adam “Adamyid” Owen (11th/$3,222.29), Andrey “Kroko-dill” Zaichenko (10th/$3,222.29), and Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier (7th/$5,591.99).
Arguably, Deeb’s toughest opponent at the final table was Dzmitry “Colisea” Urbanovich, who won a WCOOP title of his own back in 2014 (Event #36: $320 2-7 Triple Draw for $19,811.29). Fortunately for Deeb, he didn’t have to worry about him as “OLD TIME GIN” took care of the Polish wunderkind.
It happened with the blinds at 4,000/8,000/2,000, when “OLD TIME GIN” (433,917) moved all in from the small blind and Urbanovich called off his last 73,732 from the big. Both players drew three cards, and Urbanovich tabled 5♠5♣7♣6♥J♥ for a pair of fives. It was no good though, as “OLD TIME GIN” held the 6♣6♦A♣2♣4♦. Urbanovich earned $9,704.38 for finishing in fourth place.
Deeb vs. “OLD TIME GIN” for the Title
By the time heads-up play rolled around, “OLD TIME GIN” held a near 4:1 chip lead, and seemed primed to win his first WCOOP title. That didn’t happen though, as Deeb put up a tough fight, wrested away the chip leader, and then got busy whittling his opponent down.
With the blinds at 8,000/16,000/4,000, Deeb held a nearly 8:1 lead before he finished off his opponent. It happened when Deeb raised to 32,000 and called “OLD TIME GIN’s” all-in shove of 228,076.
“OLD TIME GIN” drew three and tabled the A♦A♠Q♥6♠2♠ after Deeb stood pat. Deeb took his time, then showed his K♦J♦10♦9♦2♦ for a diamond flush.
WCOOP-12 Final Table Results
Total Entries: 95 (70 entries, 25 re-entries)
Prize pool: $95,000
Places paid: 11
1 Shaun “shaundeeb” Deeb (Mexico) – $22,185.60
2 “OLD TIME GIN” (Canada) – $16,841.05
3 “thechips55” (Canada) – $12,784.05
4 Dzmitry “Colisea” Urbanovich (Poland) – $9,704.38
5 “ShipitFTW911” (Sweden) – $7,366.60
6 “scuel1975” (Argentina) – $5,591.99
