Charette wins six-handed event, $567K at WSOP

“Second place last year hurt. I cried for about an hour. Now I’ve won and I’m still going to probably cry for about an hour. It’s interesting how it doesn’t change, yet it’s completely different.”

This was the epiphany of Simon Charette after his victory in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed tournament at the World Series of Poker on Wednesday night.

The 25-year-old poker pro has experienced the ups and downs of the poker seesaw. He beat out 2,711 players last year in Event #48 and had the 2,712th player all-in and needing to catch a card for his tournament life twice. Lady luck reared her ugly head toward Charette’s opponent and she eventually closed the door on Charette’s hopes of a gold bracelet.

Charette finished second for $404,235. But that wasn’t enough.

He came to the final table on Wednesday knowing he was good enough to win -- knowing he should have won a year ago. When the last river card was dealt late Wednesday night, Charette did what he knew he could do all along. The emotions were apparent as he laid his head on the table, much as one might do in defeat, but this was in the aftermath of victory.

It’s interesting how it doesn’t change, yet it’s completely different.

Tournament poker is a marathon requiring mental toughness and emotions that can withstand being pulled in all directions -- often times at the flip of a card. When the time comes, it’s important for players to bask in the glory of their victory. Charette, wise beyond his years, realizes just how special it is to be in the winner’s circle on the biggest stage in poker.

“The best player in the world could easily play a lot of tournaments and never win a big one,” Charette said. “To come second and then first ... this is the best moment of my life. I’m finally validated as a poker player."

Charette, a professional poker player, says his true passion lies in film and screenwriting.

“Now that I’ve got the bracelet I’m hoping that my mind can just settle on poker. I don’t need to win a tournament right now. I can spend time writing and doing creative stuff. I think that’s really what I was put on this earth to do,” said Charette after his victory.

The tournament’s second-place finisher, Artem Metalidi met his demise only two hands into the final heads-up battle. Holding about 5.3 million chips to Metalidi’s 2.9 million, Charette made a 125,000 chip raise -- a bet he intended to be worth only 100,000. Metalidi likely picked up on that miscalculation and re-raised to 350,000. Charette wasted little time four-betting to 600,000 and Metalidi moved all-in. Charette called and the hands were tabled. Charette held a pair of sixes, while Metalidi was behind, holding just ace-deuce. Metalidi never improved, and Charette finally got redemption for last year's second-place showing.

Luis Rodriguez from Madrid, Spain, was third for $222,511, Eddie Blumenthal was fourth for $146,053, Foster Hays was sixth, and Bertrand "ElKy" Grospellier rounded out the final table in sixth.

The top 108 players made the money in the 924-player field. Other notable players who finished in the money included: Scott Montgomery (seventh), Andrew Lichtenberger (eighth), Freddy Deeb (10th), Eugene Katchalov (17th), Daniel Alaei (28th), Gavin Smith (29th), Todd Terry (30th), Will Failla (32nd), Tom Franklin (33rd), Jason Senti (35th), Alan Goehring (45th), Liv Boeree (47th), Jason Somerville (51st), Brad Booth (73rd), David Benyamine (95th), and Jason Mercier (101st).

Modified from tournament notes provided by WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla.