The Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown is almost over, and the 2021 edition has been one for the record books. So far this year, live poker tournaments have done extremely well, with players turning out in large numbers to compete. The lack of events in 2020 is a root cause behind the large player numbers. After having nothing to compete in this time last year, players are wasting no time buying into events this year.

For the Showdown, the Seminole Hard Rock Casino saw record turnouts for early events. South Florida was busy as players came from across the state and the US to take part. Right now, the Main Event is still yet to play out and it was able to be a big one, seeing 2,482 entries. There were only two starting flights, so this was a big deal.

Playing Down to the Winner

This year’s World Poker Tour Main Event during the Showdown had a buy-in of $3,500 and easily beat the tour record of 1,795 entries. It actually beat out the record for most entries ever for the property. Way back in 2013, the casino hit a record high of 2,384 entries in the Hard Rock Poker Open. The Main Event of this series beat that number by just under 100 players.

For the Main Event, there is a delayed final table format. The final six players in the tournament remain and they will travel to Las Vegas to play it down to the winner in just a few weeks. The event will resume on May 18, so some time remains before we will see who claims the title.

When the players hit the felt, Brek Schutten will hold first-place in chips with just over 31.3 million. Schutten has a considerable lead over his competitors, with the second-place chip holder being Steven Snyder with just over 15.9 million.

Player of the Year Winner

The Hublot Player of the Year contest has also come to an end during the series. This time around, results went back to 2019 due to COVID-19 basically doing away with any 2020 results. The winner was Brian Altman, a player who cashed out four times during the season and made it to three final poker tables.

Altman still has the potential to earn more points due to the WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open final table still set to take place this May. Even though more points may be added to his total, Altman easily outpaced his competitors to claim the title.