Scott Aulds Wins San Diego Poker Classic Main Event
The local favorite fought back from nearly 5:1 down heads-up to beat Ediberto Pilotin at Jamul Casino Resort.
Local favorite Scott Aulds won the San Diego Poker Classic $600 Main Event at Jamul Casino Resort after coming back from a nearly 5:1 heads-up deficit against Ediberto Pilotin. PokerNews reported the win earned Aulds $45,311 from a $225,680 prize pool, and it gave him his fifth SDPC title.
The road to the title started with a strong Day 1a. Aulds bagged 592,000 chips to lead the opening flight, which drew 91 entries and sent 11 players through.
By Day 2, 52 players returned, and the field was down to 22 by the first break. Day 2 reached the final table after six hours of play, and the final table itself lasted more than six hours as the pace slowed into a long grind.
Robert Fortuno entered the final table as chip leader but finished ninth, while Wesley McGraw went out in eighth and Kenneth Hirose fell in seventh after roughly two hours without another elimination. Desmond Teal then knocked out Cary Williams and Michael Starek to leave four players, and Pilotin sent out Kyler Somers and then Teal to reach heads-up.
Aulds said his plan was “slow and steady,” with a routine designed to make a long final table last. He also said he tries to maximize his good hands, minimize his bad ones, and use breathing exercises when he starts getting anxious or bored.
The heads-up match swung both ways before Aulds closed it out with an ace-high flush. He got an early double-up, won a big pot to grab a 3:1 lead, then watched Pilotin pull nearly even and later double twice to stay alive.
In the deciding hand, Pilotin held Q♣ J♦ against Aulds’ A♣ 4♣, and the Q♣ on the board completed the flush to end it. Three years after finishing runner-up in the same event, Aulds said this title was especially meaningful because the trophy had been eluding him ever since.
