Eric Buchman Eliminated from the WSOP in Fourth PlaceA-Q Fails to Improve Against A-K |
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It was a painful process watching Eric Buchman count out the nearly 45 million in chips he would inevitably ship over to Antoine Saout. Knowing he was a 3-1 dog, Buchman fumbled with his stacks as he separated what was at risk. The monstrous pot, which occurred at approximately 4:30 a.m. PST on Sunday, would send the once confident and stable Buchman reeling and heading ever closer to the rail.
A little while later, after doubling up once against Darvin Moon with a coin flip, Buchman tried to do it one more time with his A-5 against Moon’s K-J. But a king on the turn ended that plan and Buchman’s main event.
A somber Buchman, who entered the tournament second in chips and as one of the main favorites to take it down, wishes he could have that A-Q hand back, but he still doesn’t think he’d play it any differently.
In that hand, Buchman raised from the button to 2.5 million, only to see Saout repop it from the big blind to 9 million. Buchman quickly went all in with his A-Q, prompting the Frenchman to go into the tank as he debated whether or not he should fold his A-K. He wound up calling and taking most of the New York pro’s chips.
“Four-handed, I don’t know if there was anything I could do about that,” said Buchman. “I thought it was the right hand to push, and … it didn’t work out.”
Buchman got a few more chips when he doubled up through Moon shortly afterward, but he couldn’t complete a second double-up attempt, busting out of the tournament in fourth place.
It was a disappointing conclusion for one of the more respected pros who entered final-table play. When asked what his goal was for next year’s main event, Buchman’s answer was pretty simple — “finish a little higher.”
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