Brandon Cantu proved long ago that he’s no one-trick pony. In 2006, he won his first World Series of Poker bracelet in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event for $757,000, outlasting the likes of Carlos Mortensen and Brent Roberts at the final table. Two years ago, he was up to his winning ways once again. That time, Cantu bagged his second bracelet in a $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better tournament for $228,000, defeating a final nine that included Lee Watkinson and Tommy Vedes.
Now, Cantu is in the spotlight for final tabling a UB.com Online Championship, or UBOC, tournament to the tune of $12,000. On Monday, Cantu reached the finale of Event #18, a $215 No Limit Hold’em Cubed contest. Cantu ultimately ran into eventual champion BLANCONEGRO’s nut flush to cripple his stack. Then, the dual bracelet winner could not draw out after getting his remaining stack in with 4-3 of clubs.
From there, BLANCONEGRO continued his assault on the UBOC 6 title. He relegated Zachary “HUSTLERGRUNE” Gruneberg to the rail after hitting top pair on an ace-high flop. As if battling a two-time bracelet winner weren’t difficult enough, Gruneberg can be found at #5 worldwide in the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings. Two months ago, Gruneberg took down the PokerStars $300,000 Guaranteed for $86,000 and he’s also a former winner of the Full Tilt Poker Sunday Mulligan.
In addition, Gruneberg has over $2 million in earnings from tournaments tracked by PocketFives.com and took down the PokerStars $100 Cubed in October for $45,000, seemingly portending his strong run in last night’s tournament. His showing in the un-chopped UBOC $215 Cubed event was worth $16,000.
In the end, BLANCONEGRO knocked off poker pro Jason “JASPUDUF” Lee. BLANCONEGRO held K-5 and dodged a flush draw on the turn and river to claim victory in the 18th event of UBOC 6 and collect $39,000. For his runner-up performance, Lee scooped $23,000.
Lee hails from Gainesville, Florida and took down a PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) event last September for $41,000. Last Independence Day in the United States, Lee won the Full Tilt Poker Sunday Mulligan for $36,000 and, last April, he could be found at the final table of the UB.com $200,000 Guaranteed.
The prize pool for the $215 Cubed event totaled $158,000, or $8,000 above its guarantee. Here is a look at how the final table cashed out:
1. BLANCONEGRO – $39,500
2. JASPUDUF – $23,937
3. HUSTLERGRUNE – $16,590
4. BRANDONCANTU – $12,245
5. JENNYCUTIE – $10,270
6. JBLAZE20 – $8,295
7. LOCKDOWNTEX – $6,715
8. SEVENSENSE19 – $5,135
9. JDPC27 – $3,555
Other brand name pros who cashed in UBOC 6 Event #18 included Mark “DIPTHRONG” Herm, Faraz “THE-TOILET” Jaka, and World Poker Tour champ Kevin “BEL0WAB0VE” Saul.
Two more UBOC events are on tap for today and will offer up a combined $150,000 in guaranteed prize money:
Today at 20:05 ET
UBOC #20: Sniper No Limit Hold’em Deep Stack ($20 bounty)
$200+15 buy-in, $100,000 Guaranteed
Host: Maria Ho
Today at 20:05 ET
UBOC #21 No Limit Hold’em/Pot Limit Omaha Mix
$200+15 buy-in, $50,000 Guaranteed
Host: Bryan Devonshire
Click over to UB.com or Absolute Poker for more information and to register for any of the upcoming UBOC 6 tournaments.
