It's never a good idea to presume the outcome of a runout in poker until the river hits, but the swings in fortune at the final table of WPT Rolling Thunder on Wednesday bordered on surreal at times.
Shawn Daniels was ultimately crowned a WPT champion when all was said and done, claiming a $218,600 first-place prize, a seat in the season-ending WPT World Championship and a permanent spot on the WPT Mike Sexton Champions Cup. But his path to victory was anything but easy, especially as he battled Harvey Castro heads-up for the title.
"Harvey's a really good player," said Daniels. "I happened to just hold over him a little bit at the beginning to be able to make a little comeback, and then we really just had a battle at the end. He played really well. He made it tough. I got lucky to kind of cooler a few times, and that was it, but, yeah, it was pretty, pretty insane back and forth."
Strong hands laid to waste throughout final table
'Insane' may well be an understatement on Daniels' behalf. Almost exactly half – 80 of the 159 total hands played at Wednesday's WPT Rolling Thunder final table – took place during heads-up play, and the swings and runouts may well have been enough to challenge most poker players' sense of reality.
Castro started the heads-up match with a lead of more than 2-to-1, but within the first 15 hands the wild runouts were well underway and the first lead change had happened. Daniels turned 
from a flopped bottom pair to a runner-runner straight and 
into rivered trip fours in back-to-back hands, looking as though he might run away with the title.
It almost played out that way, in fact, with Daniels extending his lead to a 17 million to 3 million gap. But then Castro's first all-in, with 
, turned into top pair and fended off Daniels' 
. Then Castro pulled the stacks essentially even by beating Daniels' pocket deuces with 
.
Castro regained the lead when 
turned trips and rivered a full house, but was left with crumbs when Daniels' all-in with 
won him a 16.85 million-chip pot against Castro's 
.
Castro seemed to have finally met his match when his shove with 
ran headfirst into Daniels' pocket nines. But in a true, almost made-for-TV flop, the board ran out 
. When the board didn't pair, Castro pulled back from the brink once more. With a rivered six-outer on the next all-in, Castro improbably found himself back in the lead.
That lasted all of one hand as the cooler swung the other way in short order. Daniels flopped gin with 
on a 
board, and with 
, Castro got himself locked into trouble after the 
landed on the turn.
There was one more chop to be had, but one more middling hand would finally bring about the endgame. Castro's last five big blinds got in with 
against Daniels' , and Daniels had it locked up by the turn as it ran out 
.
Eric Afriat denied WPT record again
For the third time since he won his third career WPT title, Eric Afriat reached the final table of six in a WPT Championship event. And for the third time, after reaching the final three players, Afriat went out on the precipice of the tour's all-time record.
Afriat was short-stacked three-handed and picked up pocket tens, putting his last nine big blinds at risk with a chance to pull back into the mix. He had the edge against Daniels' 
but things went south, as was the theme of the night, on a 
flop. The 
sealed Afriat's fate as he settled for third place, and for at least one more event, Darren Elias' record of four career WPT titles remains a table for one.
Daniels knocked off another short stack – fourth place finisher Paul Richardson – in similar fashion by beating Richardson's pocket nines with 
.
Daniels doubles up on major titles
Daniels' WPT Rolling Thunder victory entered him into elite company, as he added a spot in the WPT Champions Club to his 2023 World Series of Poker bracelet win. That summer, Daniels outlasted a field with 7,300 entries to bank a first-place payout of $777,777 and the gold WSOP bracelet.
"Having both is really special," said Daniels. "When we all start poker, both of them are kind of pipe dreams that we have, like, 'I'd love to win a WPT. I'd love to win a bracelet.' It's what we all watched when we first got into it. So being able to capitalize on those opportunities is just really special. The feeling's indescribable. It's nice to put my name among some of these legends who have done it before me."
Daniels' win on home turf is extra special
Daniels calls Henderson, Nevada, home these days, but a trip back to the Sacramento area meant time spent near his hometown of Placerville. Still, with so many poker options in the Las Vegas area, Daniels still had to be convinced to take a rare trip – and even then, playing this tournament wasn't a guarantee.
"I actually had some friends talk me into coming to hang out and visit," said Daniels. "I wasn't even planning on coming to play. So definitely a big thank you to them, for sure."
Daniels' rail was pretty deep on Wednesday and included friends like Scott Stewart, the defending WPT World Champion. It was also an opportunity for Daniels to share a special career moment with his family.
"Winning it at Thunder Valley makes it 10 times more special," said Daniels. "My mom came down to watch today. It's the first time she's ever gotten to see me play poker. She unfortunately wasn't able to make it to Vegas when I won the [WSOP] bracelet. To win in the hometown casino, in front of the friends, and family, definitely makes it way more special."
WPT Rolling Thunder - $3,500 Championship event final table results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shawn Daniels | $229,000* |
| 2 | Harvey Castro | $193,600 |
| 3 | Eric Afriat | $122,000 |
| 4 | Paul Richardson | $91,000 |
| 5 | David Ha | $69,000 |
| 6 | Benjamin Primus | $53,000 |
* First place prize includes a $10,400 seat into the WPT World Championship
Images Courtesy of World Poker Tour
