Brandon Hall showed resilience and class to win the 2009 Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic as he beat the long term chip leader Robert Mizrachi in the heads-up final. He was crowned champion of a field of 475 and raked in $753,330. The beaten finalist Mizrachi cashed $414,680 from the competition set in the glamorous Caribbean island resort.

HallÂ's winning hand commenced when he checked a flop of 9(d) 8(s) 2 (c). Mizrachi bet 225,000 and Hall check-raised to 725,000 prompting a re-raise all in from his opponent. Hall made the call and the cards were flipped.

Mizrachi revealed 9(c) 6(c) giving him top pair. Hall showed J(s) 10(d) meaning he had an each way straight draw and two over cards. The turn produced J(d) putting Hall firmly in the driving seat with top pair and the river gave him a straight with Q(d) and delivering the tournament in the process.

The competition in Aruba also reaped dividends for Eric Baldwin as he cashed in fourth place, and also won the Card Player Player of the Year award in the process. He picked up 960 points and in the process overtook former leader Yevgeniy Timoshenko. Baldwin now holds 5,596 points.

Final Positions:

1: Brandon Hall — $753,330
2: Robert Mizrachi — $414,680
3: Chase Steely — $218,860
4: Eric Baldwin — $126,710
5: Jose Santos — $92,150
6: Brock Parker — $66,810
7: Matt Ross — $41,470