Josh Kay Beats Martin Finger to Claim LAPT Bahamas Title

Josh Kay is $367,928 richer after taking down the very first LAPT Bahamas event yesterday. He outlasted a staggering field of 736 players and finally claimed the title after getting rid of his last obstacle, German pro Martin Finger, who takes home the runner-up title.

LAPT Bahamas event turned out to be a great success, as it drew a great number of players at the tables, each gladly paying the buy-in of $3,000 to compete for the title. After all the entries and reentries, the final number amounted to 736, creating the prize pool of $1,945,000.

186 players made it through the initial flights and gathered on Day 2 to take care of the first order of business – bursting the bubble. 111 players were set to make the money so some 70 players still had to make their way to the rail before the others could start feeling relaxed.

The first big moment of the tournament took place soon after the players came back from the first break of the day and it was Todd Sisley who got to take home the unpleasant honor of being the first ever bubble boy of the LAPT Bahamas. He lost a simple flip to Taylor Paur, and hand-for-hand phase was over.

They kept going, of course, and by the time the day came to an end, a hundred more players were sent to the cashier desk, leaving only 11 to come back the next day and fight it out for the title. Josh Kay was leading the way, hoping, but not knowing, that lead was soon going to translate into victory.

Albeit it was a huge field, the players who were left in the hunt were nearly all well known names: Taylor Paur, Martin Finger, Stefan Jedlicka, Dimitar Danche, Galen Hall and Aaron Massey were all eyeing the trophy, together with a few more and it was clear the battle would be fierce.

The official final table of eight was set with the elimination of Galen Hall who was sent to the rail by Finger and the very last table of the tournament was set to start.

One by one they would fall and Martin Finger took the role of an executioner. First he took out Mustapha Kanit in eighth, then Borenstein in seventh and then sent Danchev to the rail in sixth. It seemed like the German would claim the title with ease.

Martin claimed another bounty as he sent Taylor Paur to the rail in fifth spot before one of the less known names at this final table, Polish pro Jose Carlos Garcia was eliminated by Stefan Jedlicka to initiate a three-handed game.

Most of Jedlicka’s chips also ended up in Martin Finger’s stack and when he was finally felted, the German would start the heads up with about 2 to 1 chip advantage and with the way things were going for him, it seemed like there was nothing that could stop him from claiming the title.

However, things started to turn around and Josh Kay was gaining ground on Finger. One pot after another, Kay’s stack was growing while Martin’s was visibly shrinking and by the time the last hand started, Josh was playing 11 million to Finger’s 3 million.

Kay was able to flop a set of Nines in a three-bet pot and when the turn gave Finger a top pair with Queen kicker, all the chips found the way to the middle. While the German had a few outs to save the day, none came on the river and the first LAPT Bahamas was officially over.

As a runner up, Martin Finger earned $223,900, still a very nice payday, but Josh Kay was the man of the hour, taking home the trophy and the first prize just shy of $368k.

Another event is thus behind us, but there is much more exciting action to come from the Bahamas, so stay tuned.