Shrikant Pillamarapu has won the WPT Prime Lodge Championship, the $1,100 buy-in, $1 million guaranteed finale at The Lodge Card Club in the Austin, Texas area. He started the final table with the shortest stack, about 25 big blinds, and finished with the title, a first prize of roughly $148,000, and a $10,400 seat in the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas in December.
The final table delivered a straight flush, a fold of a made flush, a declined ICM chop, and a heads-up deal. It is a case study in short-stack survival and in how tournament decisions look different once pay jumps and chop offers enter the equation.
The result and the payouts
The PokerNews final-table report lists the following payouts:
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shrikant Pillamarapu | $148,527 |
| 2 | Kenneth Quattrocchi | $126,733 |
| 3 | David Urban | $75,000 |
| 4 | Preston Duron | $57,000 |
| 5 | David Pham | $43,500 |
| 6 | Vladyslav Shovkovyi | $32,500 |
| 7 | Matthew McDowell | $25,000 |
| 8 | Pranay Reddy Patlolla | $19,700 |
| 9 | Michael Jones | $16,700 |
A note on the figures: a companion PokerNews article from the same event lists Pillamarapu's prize as $138,127. The final-table payout table above gives $148,527, and the sources do not explain the difference. We are using the payout-table figure, but readers should treat the exact number as approximate until official results are confirmed. The field size was not stated in the reports we reviewed, though the event comfortably cleared its $1 million guarantee based on the payout scale.
A short stack that would not go away
Pillamarapu began the final table on Monday with about 25 big blinds, the shortest stack among the nine finalists. That is not a desperate position, but it limits the number of ways to play. With 25 big blinds you can open-shove, 3-bet shove, and play a few postflop pots, but you cannot afford many mistakes. Climbing from the bottom of a final table to the title requires a combination of timely double-ups and avoiding the key knockouts.
The tournament's most memorable hand arrived with the board K♦ 9♣ 8♣ 10♣. Kenneth Quattrocchi held A♣ 5♣, which made the nut flush with the ace of clubs, and called a bet of 3,000,000, roughly half the pot. Pillamarapu held A♦ J♣, an open-ended straight-flush draw, and hit the Q♣ on the river to complete a straight flush. He moved all in. Quattrocchi tanked and, correctly, folded the ace-high flush.
That fold is the sort of decision that separates strong players from the rest. A river bet after a board like K-9-8-10 with four clubs strongly represents a straight flush; a lesser player might have called with the nut flush. In this case the opponent had exactly the hand that beat him. It is a reminder that the "nuts" is a relative concept: you must consider every holding your opponent could have, not just those you fear.
The declined ICM chop
At three-handed play, Quattrocchi, Pillamarapu and David Urban were offered an ICM chop. An ICM chop divides the remaining prize money according to the Independent Chip Model, which converts chip stacks into approximate monetary equity. Urban was the shortest stack, and he declined to take the deal and played on.
The outcome was unfortunate for him. Holding Q♦ Q♣ against Quattrocchi's A♥ 7♦, Urban saw an ace flop and was eliminated in third place for $75,000. According to the report, that was about $10,000 less than the chop offer. A short stack in a three-way deal often receives more than their chip count suggests, because ICM accounts for the pay jump from third to second and first. Declining a chop can be rational when you value the title or when you think you have a skill edge, but the numbers matter: a $10,000 shortfall is a meaningful cost for a three-way pot.
To understand why chops are priced this way, see our ICM explainer. The basic principle is that chips are worth less than their face value once prize jumps matter, and a short stack's survival value is high.
Heads-up and the chop
After Urban's departure, Quattrocchi was the chip leader and agreed to a heads-up chop with Pillamarapu. Heads-up deals are common in tournaments that have meaningful prize jumps and where both players prefer certainty. After the deal, Pillamarapu later took the lead and won the final race to claim the title and the WPT World Championship seat.
The structure of heads-up chops varies. Often the players agree to leave a fixed amount, sometimes a small premium, for the title. The reports do not say how this deal was structured. Whatever the final cheque, the trophy and the Wynn seat are the extras that cannot be bought with a chop.
Why the WPT Prime format matters
WPT Prime is a World Poker Tour brand for mid-priced events. At $1,100, the Lodge Championship has a buy-in that many serious hobbyists can afford, and the million-dollar guarantee offers a big first prize. The $10,400 seat to the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas adds a meaningful incentive. Packages like that are also available through satellites; see our tournaments guide and WPT Global coverage for ways to qualify online.
If you like to follow live results, our poker on TV page lists where major events appear, and our wsop schedule page helps you plan your calendar.
What players can learn
Short stacks can win. Starting a final table with 25 big blinds gives you enough room to pick a spot, but you must choose carefully. Learn your push-fold ranges at 10 to 25 big blinds; our poker odds guide and odds calculator help you internalise the equity.
Think about opponent ranges, not just your hand. Quattrocchi's fold of the nut flush is a case study in reading the board. When the board is four to a flush and straight-flush possible, ask how many value combinations your opponent has that beat you and whether you have blockers.
Do the ICM maths before refusing a chop. If you decline, you should have a reason: a skill edge, a payout structure that favours the big stack, or a strong preference for the title. Without such a reason, the chop may be the better choice. Our bankroll management page also discusses why variance reduction can matter.
Do not ignore the intangible rewards. The seat in the WPT World Championship is worth more than its face value to many players. The right deal often includes the trophy and the seat for the winner.
The bigger picture
With the WPT World Championship in December at Wynn Las Vegas, Pillamarapu now has a chance to take on the biggest field the tour assembles.
For the poker community, this was a classic final table: a short stack surviving, a nut flush folded, a chop declined, and a champion crowned. If you are looking to take your own shot at a live series, check our cash games vs tournaments comparison and the beginner poker sites guide to build experience before moving up in stakes.