Dan Colman Claims King of the Hill III Title and $200K

A new King of the Hill emerged from the four poker professionals who competed in the third edition of the heads-up elimination contest hosted by Poker Night in America, with Dan Colman crowned as the new champion.

In addition to the $200,000 winner-take-all prize, Colman holds the King of the Hill title belt - at least until its wrestled out of his hands in a future KOTH match. Thus far, no winners of the esteemed prize - Phil Hellmuth and Olivier Busquet, respectively - have been able to successfully defend their title.

Mentor and Protege Duel

King of the Hill III was held at SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and streamed live on Twitch.tv. A random draw pitted Colman against Busquet in the first round, while Brandon Adams and Scott Blumstein went head-to-head in their semi-final pairing.

Busquet was defeated by his good friend and former mentee, Colman, with the ex-champ forced to watch the finals from the rail. That final contest included Adams, a man who has worn a number of hats that include poker pro, author, instructor, and businessman. Adams took down Blumstein in their first round encounter, overcoming the skills of the 2017 WSOP Main Event champion and winner of $8,150,000.

Adams' time spent on the poker tables this year has resulted in cashes totaling more than $1.6 million. A victory in the $50,000 Poker Masters last month accounted for $819,000 of that total and was prefaced by a $351K payday for 3rd place in a $25,500 High Roller at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open the month before.

Colman, of course, is a millionaire in his own right, as poker fans certainly remember three years ago when he won $15,306,668 in the 2014 Big One for One Drop. Dan currently holds down 3rd place on the all-time money list at $28,632,363, according to the Hendon Mob database.

A-K Paves the Way

The first match of the best-of-three final saw Adams take a 2-1 chip advantage, but he was crippled when his pocket sixes fell to big slick as Colman hit an ace on the turn. It was game over for Adams on the next hand when Colman connected for a full boat, deuces over tens.

Match no. 2 went Colman's way as well, the Massachusetts native slowly accumulating the chips that previously belonged to Adams. The winning blow was a top pair versus bottom pair showdown that gave Colman the championship, $200K, and bragging rights as the new King of the Hill.