Daniel Cates Takes Latest Alpha8 Crown

Daniel Cates Takes Latest Alpha8 Crown

Monday, 17 February 2014

The final field may have only reached ten players but when the dust had settled Daniel Cates was still able to take home a cool $500,000 this weekend along with the latest WPT Alpha8 trophy.

The final field may have only reached ten players but when the dust had settled Daniel Cates was still able to take home a cool $500,000 this weekend along with the latest WPT Alpha8 trophy.

Although Cates is best known for his online cash game prowess, the young American has been testing his skills in a number of tournaments recently and it looks as though that practice is starting to pay off.

After lining up alongside the likes of Erik Seidel, Jason Mercier and perennial Alpha8 winner Philipp Gruissem, Cates was able to topple them all on his way to a notable live victory.

The two-day sit&go began with Phil Ivey and Max Altergott hitting the rail before Antonio Esfandiari followed suit but re-bought at the close of the session.

That trio of eliminations allowed Cates to carry a healthy chip lead onto the final table and from there he never looked back. Indeed, after watching as Esfandiari and Gruissem fell by the wayside, Cates soon got into his stride and eliminated Erik Seidel in fifth place.

Now on the bubble it was Cates who held his nerve and abused the $200,000 payout jump with some sustained but well-timed pressure. Overall it took almost four hours to burst the bubble but when Cates had finally got the better of Jeff Gross he was able to finish off his final two opponents in a matter of minutes.

Having watched Kinesh Pather cause the demise of Jason Mercier, Cates needed just 12 hands to oust his South African rival. The final pot saw Pather's move all-in with Kh Jc but fall foul of Cates' Js Td as the board rolled out Th 9d 7d Jh Tc.

With that Cates was able to celebrate his first major live title as well as a $500,000 payday.

Alpha8 Johannesburg Results:
1st: Dan Cates - $500,000
2nd: Kinesh Pather - $275,000
3rd: Jason Mercier - $200,000



Tags: WPT Alpha8, Daniel Cates, Jason Mercier, Kinesh Pather