Tony Dunst, WPT “Raw Deal” host, filled in for Mike Sexton as Vince Van Patten's partner in the WPT commentating booth.
Sexton was the short stack and was poised to double with K,Q, against Matusow's K,J, but Matusow caught his jack to eliminate Sexton in 6th.
Sternberg and Kelly were deadlocked in chips entering heads-up play, with a million-dollar prize on the line for the winner. The two convinced WPT Executive Tour Director Matt Savage to play the final table out without antes and Sternberg ultimately built a lead of nearly 5:1.
In the final hand, Sternberg 3bet all-in before the flop with 10-8 of spades and Kelly called for his tournament life with A-Q. The action flop came Q-8-7, pairing both players, and the turn was a seven. However, Sternberg hit a two-outer on the river when an eight fell to take down the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star title.
Sternberg's previous best finish was a $40,000 runner up finish in the Borgata Open last year.
WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star main event final table results:
1st: Alan Sternberg - $1,039,000
2nd: Steven Kelly - $595,300
3rd: Mike Matusow - $369,800
4th: Vivek Rajkumar - $295,800
5th: Casey McCarrel - $221,800
6th: Mike Sexton - $148,000
The next WPT event on U.S. soil is the $10k buy-in Hollywood Poker Open, which will take place from April 9th to 13th in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, but not before international stops in Vienna and Bratislava.
