When the finalists of a poker tournament decide to chop the prize pool, it’s usually to reduce variance and flatten payouts. As a result, the eventual winner gets less than what the original payout structure dictated.
However, that wasn’t the case for Mehmet Siginc when he struck a deal en route to his second World Series of Poker Circuit ring.
The Canadian won CA$40,545 ($29,231) in the $600 no-limit hold’em/pot-limit Omaha mixed event last week at Deerfoot Inn & Casino in Calgary. But the winner was originally only supposed to leave with CA$24,580.
Siginc agreed to a heads-up deal with runner-up Nicholas Lee. After Amir Khan busted in third for CA$10,692, the two finalists agreed to a winner-take-all heads-up match. The CA$15,965 allotted to the eventual second-place finisher was added to the winner’s payout.
Deal Was Gentleman’s Agreement Between Friends
Siginc told PokerNews that he and Lee were already friends. Consequently, the two made a “gentleman’s agreement” to play for it all. The WSOP infamously does not facilitate tournament chops.
It’s a decision that was once again thrown into the limelight during last year’s WSOP after Jesse Yaginuma’s controversial victory in the $1,500 no-limit hold’em millionaire maker. Then, last month, WSOP officials added an ICM calculator to its WSOP+ app as Triton Poker $75,000 pot-limit Omaha event at WSOP Paradise ended in a chop.
The policy means that even though a deal was struck, Siginc’s tournament resume won’t show it. The WSOP will report the payouts as they were originally calculated.
It’s unclear when the agreement was made, but it seems unlikely the two agreed to it at the start of the match. According to the live updates, Siginc eliminated Khan and took a 3-to-1 chip lead into heads-up play.
But Lee scored a couple timely doubles and evened the leaderboard. Lee actually took a small lead very briefly before Siginc took it back and finished the job.
Lee shoved all in with K-10 and Siginc called the shove with A-9. But the dealer didn’t bring any help for Lee, who fell just shy of his fifth Circuit title. On the other hand, Siginc scored his second piece of Circuit gold.
Photo credit: Lyle Bateman/Poker Pro
