Justin Lapka Rallies From a Short Stack to Win WSOPC Las Vegas High Roller
He recovered from an A-9 versus A-K collapse against David Peters and beat the five-time bracelet winner heads-up for his fourth Circuit ring.
Justin Lapka won Event #17, the $5,000 High Roller at Horseshoe Las Vegas, after outlasting David Peters heads-up for $108,189 and his fourth WSOP Circuit ring. The event drew 83 entries, and Peters finished second for $71,624.
The path to the title was anything but smooth. With five players left, Lapka had nearly half the chips in play and looked set for a comfortable march to ring No. 4, according to the reporting. Then he five-bet shoved A-9 into Peters’ A-K and got snapped off, which sent him tumbling to about 16 big blinds.
Lapka described that moment as looking like “doomsday for a minute,” but he said he still believed he could win even when he had no chips and “no odds.” He said his way of playing poker is to keep pressing forward and keep hope alive.
He did just that. Lapka worked through the other short stacks as Keun Kwak and Brandon Wilson fell, then picked up a huge double in a three-player pot against Peters. In that hand, Lapka’s A-Q was ahead of Peters’ A-J, the board ran K-J-J, and a ten on the river gave Lapka a straight and a loud celebration.
After that double, Lapka was down to 30 seconds per decision because he had burned through his time extensions. He said the comeback felt like a roller coaster, and he also said the experience reinforced the value of faith and not letting earlier hands stick in his head.
Lapka later won back the chip lead in another big pot when both players were running on empty for time banks. At the 20,000/40,000/40,000 level, he called Peters’ three-bet, faced a flop bet and turn call, then shoved 715,000 on the river after Peters checked; Peters burned his last two time extensions before calling, only to find Lapka holding pocket aces.
The final heads-up stretch stayed tense with both players out of extensions. At the 25,000/50,000/50,000 level, Lapka finally got the last word when Peters used his full shot clock before calling, and Lapka tabled a pair of jacks to deny Peters his fifth WSOP Circuit ring just weeks after Peters had won bracelet number five.
SpadePoker’s final table rundown also showed Walter Fisher in third for $47,292, Brandon Wilson fourth for $33,202 and Keun Kwak fifth for $24,315. Lapka said he was living his dream after the win and that he might go to The Bahamas this year, where the package from the victory could send him.
