Jay Lee Wins WPT Choctaw Main Event in Dramatic Fashion
Jay Lee had just over $10,000 in lifetime tournament earnings when he woke up on Tuesday morning. By the time he went to bed though, he’d added $593,173 to that total and added his name to the World Poker Tour Champions Cup after beating Jeb Hutton heads-up to win the WPT Choctaw Main Event.
When the final table began, Josh Kay had the chip lead and Lee was third in chips. Kay showed no signs of letting up early on, taking down 14 of the first 48 hands before increasing his lead with the first elimination of the night.
Eric Bunch moved all in from the button for 525,000, Michael Stashin called from the small blind and Kay defended his big blind. Stashin and Kay checked through the 
board. Bunch showed 
, Stashin showed 
but Kay turned over 
for the only pair to eliminate Bunch in sixth place.
An hour later Stashin got those chips back and more. Action folded to Paul Fisher in the small blind and he raised to 260,000 and Stashin called from the big blind. The flop came 
and Fisher bet 375,000. Stashin moved all in and Fisher called off the last of his 1,400,000 stack. Fisher showed 
for top pair but Stashin had 
for bottom two. The 
turn and 
river were no help for Fisher and he was out in fifth place.
Stashin’s run only lasted another 90 minutes though as Lee began his run to the title in earnest. Jeb Hutton raised to 350,000 from the button, Lee re-raised to 875,000 from the small blind before Stashin moved all-in for 5,150,000 from the big. Hutton folded but Lee called and tabled 
. Stashin showed 
. The flop was no help for Stashin and neither was the 
turn or river and he was eliminated in fourth place.
The final three players played for an hour before a key hand put Lee ahead for good. Kay raised to 450,000 from the button, Hutton folded the small blind before Lee called from the big. The flop came 
and Lee checked, Kay bet 525,000 and Lee raised to 1,400,000. Kay moved all in and Lee put all six of his 30-second time extension buttons forward. It took him only one minute to call all in and table 
for a flush draw while Kay showed 
for bottom pair and a smaller flush draw. All the drama ended on the turn when the 
hit to complete Lee’s flush. The river was the 
. After the hand Lee had 17,225,000 while Kay was left with 6,225,000.
Just 30 minutes later Hutton doubled through Kay to set up the eventual elimination of the former chip leader.
After 79 hands of three-handed play, Kay raised to 500,000 from the button and Lee moved all in from the big blind. Kay called, putting his 5,050,000 stack at risk, and flipped over 
while Lee found himself behind with 
. The 
flop changed everything though. The turn was the 
and the river was the , eliminating Kay in third place.
When heads-up play began, Lee held a 3-2 lead over Hutton but it took just 10 hands for Lee to finish things off. Hutton opened to 550,000 and Lee called. Both players checked the 
flop and the 
turn. The river was the 
and Lee bet 750,000. Hutton raised to 2,000,000 but Lee responded with an all-in raise. Hutton called and showed 
for a rivered flush, but Lee happily tabled 
for a flopped full house to win the first tournament of his career.
Final Table Payouts
- Jay Lee – $593,173
- Jeb Hutton – $366,895
- Josh Kay – $270,801
- Michael Stashin – $202,617
- Paul Fisher – $153,508
- Eric Bunch – $117,761