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Warren Sheaves Wins WSOP Global Casino Championship

The 2018 World Series of Poker Global Casino Championship concluded on Thursday at Harrah’s Cherokee in Cherokee, NC. The Global Casino Championship (GCC) is the championship event for the 2017-2018 WSOP Circuit season with the winner taking home a WSOP bracelet along with first-place prize money.

Warren Sheaves ultimately took down the title but had to outlast a stacked final that included bracelet winners Kevin Stammen, Arkadiy Tsinis, and former GCC winner Loni Harwood. Harwood was seeking her third bracelet in this event and was looking to join Vanessa Selbst as the only women to win three open-field WSOP bracelets.

Tsinis and Harwood First Players to Go

Amazingly, two of the bigger stacks were the first players to fall at this final. Arkadiy Tsinis was technically fourth coming into the final day of play but he had 76 big blinds to start play. However, he took a massive blow to his stack in early action when he ran pocket jacks into the pocket aces of Warren Sheaves. The board was devoid a jack and Sheaves doubled.

A bit later, Tsinis called a pre-flop four-bet shove from Kevin Stammen holding Ac-Qc. Stammen held pocket nines. The flop fell Qh-Jc-8d to give Tsinis top pair but Stammen picked up a gutshot. The turn 10s gave Stammen his straight and Tsinis needed a king to win or a nine to chop. The river fell the 6h and Tsinis was out in sixth.

Loni Harwood started the final second in chips but took a massive cooler to finish in fifth. On the river, the board read Kc-6h-3c-10s-2c, Jeremy Meacham moved all-in and had Harwood covered. Harwood tanked a bit before finally calling with Ks-10d for two pair. Her worst fears were realized when Meacham showed Ac-9c for the nut flush and Harwood was out in fifth.

Warren Sheaves Defeats Jeremy Meachem for WCC Title

Armin Stocker was knocked out just minutes after Harwood by Sheaves. Stocker was all-in pre-flop with pocket tens and Sheaves made the easy call with pocket jacks. A jack on the flop was enough to win, but Sheaves made a full house by the river to take us to three-handed play.

Kevin Stammen battled hard three-handed and even had the chip lead for a while, but he faltered late and took a bit of a bad beat at the end to finish in third. Stammen was all-in pre-flop with pocket threes and Warren Sheaves made the call with Ad-Jh. Unfortunately four Stammen, four hearts came by the river and Sheaves won with the higher flush. Stammen finished in third, good for $122,890.

At the start of heads-up play, Jeremy Meacham led Warren Sheaves by just 12 big blinds. Head-up play went on for over three hours as the pair exchanged the chip lead multiple times. In the end, it was a failed bluff attempt that gave Sheaves a commanding lead. Meacham shoved the river with just jack high and Sheaves ultimately made the call with just a lowly pair of fours. Those fours gave him more than a 10:1 chip lead prior to the final hand.

Meacham moved all-on with Qd-7h and Sheaves made the call with Ac-3c. An ace on the flop proved enough to give Sheaves the hand and his first WSOP bracelet. Meacham finished in second, earning $174,340.

Warren Sheaves is the winner of the 2018 WSOP Global Casino Championship. Prior to this event, Sheaves only had $384k in career earnings. This event nearly doubles his career earnings. Sheaves takes home $282,113 along with his first WSOP bracelet.

The 2018 GCC officially brings the 2017-2018 WSOP Circuit season to an end. The 2018-2019 WSOP Circuit season began last Thursday in Cherokee. There are 27 US stops this year along with at least five international stops. Players can earn points throughout the year towards an at-large berth in next year’s GCC.

They can also win an automatic entry either by winning the Main Event of a particular circuit stop or by winning the Casino Championship title at any stop. The Casino Championship is the Player of the Series award for each stop.

In the meantime, each stop has 10 or more Circuit Ring events with most NL events but a few stops hold events such as Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, or HORSE. To learn more about the WSOP Circuit or for a schedule of events, just head to WSOP.com.

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