It was another huge showdown in the Vince Vaughn vs. the Champions event, with some epic plays and great banter. While many would have backed the long-time poker professional Koray Aldemir, it was actually the world-famous Hollywood comedian Vince Vaughn who came out on top, but how did he do it? We’ll take a look at the key hands in the match-up to see just how Vince was able to close out a famous heads-up win over the 2021 Main Event champ.
Vince started aggressively, raising to 40K with blinds of 5K/10K with 3d2h from the button! He was certainly showing that he wasn’t going to let some young kid push him around, no matter what his poker CV looked like. Aldemir defended the big blind with Ad5d, meaning the pot was 80K going into the flop, with 234K effective. The flop came Qd8c2d, giving Vince bottom pair and Koray a flush draw. Vince bet 50K on the flop, and after a short tank, Koray moved Vince all in. It didn’t take long for the Hollywood star to release his hand, giving Koray a commanding chip lead.
The two were chatting it up throughout the event, with Vince mentioning that he played in home games with some of his fellow Hollywood stars – what we wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall in those games!
Continuing his aggression from earlier in the match, Vince raised to 50K on the button with A9o, with blinds at 6K/12K. This left him with only 106K behind, and when Koray looked down at KQo, you knew what was coming next. Aldemir put Vince all-in, and a quick call meant that the Hollywood celebrity was essentially flipping for his tournament life.
Both were calling for their cards before the flop was dealt, but neither hit, as the flop came down Jh8s5d. The turn was the ace of hearts, giving Vince a commanding lead in the hand, but gave Koray a small chance, as a ten would give him a straight. Unfortunately for the 2021 Main Event champ, his luck would only take him so far, and a 3s on the river reversed the chip stacks, giving Vaughn the commanding lead.
We’re not sure how fast the structure was for this event, but the blinds were quickly up to 15K/30K – getting close to all-in or fold territory! However, in this hand, Vince limped on the button with J5o, and Koray checked in the big blind with Q8o. The flop came TT3 – “squadoosh” for both, as the great Norman Chad would say.
The action quickly checked around, and the turn brought another three, double pairing the board. The action quickly checked around again, and the ace of spades hit the river, counterfeiting Koray’s queen high. Some wily speech play from Vince convinced Koray not to bluff at it, and both players tabled their hands to chop the pot.
The blinds were up again when we saw the next hand, with Koray only having 3.5bb on the button! He looked down at K7o and shoved his remaining chips. Vince snap-called with As5s, meaning that Koray was all in and behind for his tournament life. The flop came 852r, giving Vince middle pair, but Koray would still win if he hit a king or a seven. However, the 5d hit the turn, locking up the win for Vince, who bounced back well after his first-round defeat to Phil Hellmuth.
This victory makes the score 1-1 between the Main Event champs and the Hollywood celebrity, and the question we’re all asking is, who’s going to claim the bragging rights in the end? There’s only one match left, as Vaughn takes on the 2009 Main Event champion, Joe Cada next week. Stay tuned for the results!
