786 hopefuls paid a buy-in of $3,700 apiece to play in the World Poker Tour Legends of Poker main event this weekend at the Bicycle Casino, and at one point it looked as if Shaun Deeb would make the competition his third WPT victory, elevating him to an elite and exclusive strata of exceptionally accomplished players.
Then Mike Shariati went on a run in an enthralling 118-hand heads up clash and derailed the Deeb express to take home the main prize of $675,942, leaving Deeb with the runner-up reward of $383,090.
Iranian-born Shariati lives in California and in another professional life beyond poker is a genetic engineering research expert; certainly his controlled aggression and disciplined play spoke to his professional training.
Although his tournament experience did not match that of the highly respected Deeb (prior to this win his career tournament earnings were less than $280,000) Shariati made up for that with raw talent and iron control despite Deeb entering the heads up against him with a 2 to 1 chip advantage.
Shariati played a shrewd game, chipping up steadily and doubling up during several crucial opportunities to take the lead more than once before he was eventually able to put his formidable opponent away.
Other final table cashes included:
Brent Roberts $251,035
Aaron Kweskin $168,664
Stan Jablonski $117,673
Craig Chait $91,523