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World Poker Challenge Champion Mike Simon and the WPT crew
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What a difference a year makes. Last year at the World Poker Challenge, 361 players entered the $5,000 main event. In 2006, it was a much different story. Tournament officials were swarmed with players registering for the World Poker Tour event. When the dust had settled at the casino cage, 592 players had filed into the Reno Hilton tournament area to take their shot at a first-place prize of $1,052,890. The 2006 World Poker Challenge was the largest poker tournament in the history of Northern Nevada.
As opposed to most events on the circuit, the 2006 World Poker Challenge did not offer a deep payout structure. While most events pay anywhere from 10 percent to 25 percent of the field, the WPC paid only 36 spots, or 6 percent of the field. With so few places being paid, players came out of the gate fast in order to try to accumulate chips early.
Day One – Liz Lieu Dominates a Fast First Day
Right from the start of play, players were being eliminated left and right – so fast, in fact, that tournament officials could barely break tables quick enough to keep up with the pace. By the end of the day, an incredible 411 players, or nearly 70 percent of the field, had been knocked to the rail.
Some of the big names who did not survive the first day included Phil Ivey, Antonio Esfandiari, Michael Mizrachi, Evelyn Ng, David Williams, Amir Vahedi, Amnon Filippi, Erick Lindgren, and Daniel Negreanu. Defending Champion Arnold Spee was still alive after the first-day carnage to continue his quest for a repeat victory.
Liz Lieu spent the day accumulating chips in a big way. After knocking out a number of players, she found herself seated next to Chris Grigorian. "The Armenian Express" was in excellent chip position with well over $30,000 in chips when he and Lieu got involved in a massive pot. After a flop of J-8-2, Lieu and Grigorian got all of their chips in the middle. Grigorian showed pocket aces, but Lieu flipped over pocket jacks for top set. The turn and river did not improve Grigorian's hand, and he was eliminated from the tournament.
The hand vaulted Lieu to more than $140,000 and a commanding chip lead. She lost a couple of pots before play concluded, but still ended day one with $117,200. That was good enough for the top spot on the leader board with 181 players remaining going into the second day of play.
Day Two – Down to 27
Going from 181 players to 27, the goal for day two, sounded like a difficult task, so tournament officials moved the starting time up an hour to help with the long day that was anticipated. But, rather than a long, slow grind, chips were flying and players were sailing over the rail. It took just over 11 hours to narrow the field down to only three tables.
A number of big names, including Allen Cunningham, Young Phan, David Singer, J.C. Tran, John Juanda, Freddy Deeb, David Plastik, and Spee, all exited early.
Lieu continued her strong play throughout the day. After taking a couple of hits to her chip stack, she went on a rush late in the day and ended the day in fourth chip position with $335,500. She was also the last woman standing.
When the smoke cleared, Tom Schneider was first in chips with $507,000. Schneider is a member of Team All In Wear, a small group of poker players from Phoenix, Arizona, led by Romel Bako. Amazingly, three of the team's members made the final 27. They included Schneider, Robert Goldfarb, and 2005 World Series of Poker Omaha eight-or-better bracelet winner Patrick Poels.
Fabrice Soulier is currently one of the hottest players on the circuit. His aggressive play has helped him accumulate massive chip stacks at back-to-back-to-back WPT events. He was the chip leader at one point during the L.A. Poker Classic, but fizzled and busted out on the bubble. He followed up strongly at the Bay 101 Shooting Star, earning a spot at the final table, where he placed fifth for $240,000. At the World Poker Challenge, he played his aggressive style masterfully and ended day two in fifth chip position with $335,000.
The final 27 included some big names. Besides Lieu and Soulier, top pros Chau Giang, Carlos Mortensen, and Barry Greenstein all survived day-two action.
Day Three – Fighting for the Final Six Spots
The third day of the World Poker Challenge had players fighting for only six spots at the televised World Poker Tour final table. Continuing the event's frantic action, the three tables that started the day were whittled down to one 10-handed table after only five hours of play.
Giang was the first victim of the day. He was eliminated on the very first hand of play by Soulier. Mortensen also was knocked out early when his pocket jacks ran into the pocket aces of Greenstein. Lieu was knocked out in 19th place when her pocket sevens didn't improve against the pocket eights of Robert Goldfarb. Finally, Soulier was unable to continue his hot streak and was eliminated in 13th place. He moved all in for his last $150,000 with A-K. Fang Tian called with pocket jacks, and Soulier didn't improve.
Greenstein entered the day in 11th chip position. He quickly took over the chip lead and held it for a majority of the day. At one point, he had a lead of nearly $1 million over the rest of the field. However, he took a few big hits to his stack and entered the final table with $1,085,000 in chips.
Top Internet tournament player Carl "colson10" Olson found himself on the television table bubble. Just minutes after doubling up Tom Schneider, Olson moved all in for his last $395,000 with the A
10. Mike Simon called and flipped over the A
K. The board came 9
7 6 6
5, and "colson10" was eliminated in seventh place, earning $71,145. This vaulted Simon into the chip lead going into the last day with $1,195,000. However, all six players at the final table were within $360,000 of each other.
The chip counts going into the final table were as follows:
1. Mike Simon $1,195,000
2. Barry Greenstein $1,085,000
3. Tom Schneider $1,020,000
4. Jonas Norrman $905,000
5. Jason Stern $880,000
6. Greg Mueller $835,000
Final Table – A Grueling Battle
The final table was set to be quite a contest. With all six players entering play fairly close in chips, everyone had a shot to take the title and the million-dollar top prize.
If there was a favorite at the beginning of the day, it was clearly Greenstein. He came to the final table second in chips, and with more final-table experience than the rest of the table combined. But, the day did not play out as expected for him. During only the fourth hand of play, he caught a very tough break.
With the blinds at $12,000-$24,000 and a $3,000 ante, Greenstein raised to $75,000 from the cutoff position. Everyone folded to Mike Simon in the big blind, who decided to call. The flop came 10 8 8 and Simon checked. Greenstein bet $100,000 and Simon raised to $240,000. After a few moments, Greenstein made the call. The turn was the Q and Simon moved all in. Greenstein called immediately and showed the K 8 for trip eights. To the shock of everyone in the room, Simon flipped over the A 8 for trip eights with an ace kicker. The 4 on the river was of no help to Greenstein, and he was crippled with around $50,000 in chips.
Just six hands later, Greenstein moved all in for his last few chips. He was called by Schneider and Simon in the blinds. The flop came down A A 3 and both players checked. The turn brought the K and both players checked again. The river was the 6 and Schneider again checked. Simon bet $50,000 and Schneider called. Simon turned over the Q 5 for the flush. Both Schneider and Greenstein mucked their cards, and Greenstein was eliminated in sixth place, which was good for $85,370.
Jonas Norrman qualified for the event in a $6.40 online satellite and parlayed that into a seat at the final table. On the 74th hand of play, Norrman took over the chip lead when his A-J outdrew the pocket kings of Jason Stern. Stern didn't have to wait long to get his chips back. Just three hands later, with the blinds at $30,000-$60,000 and $10,000 antes, Stern raised to $180,000 from the small blind. Norrman announced reraise from the big blind, but was called for his third string bet of the day and was forced to make just the minimum raise. Stern then moved all in and Norrman immediately called with the 8 8. Stern flipped over the A Q and received the help he needed on a board of A A J 2 A. Stern made quads to double up and leave Norrman with only around $300,000.
After battling with the short stack, Norrman was finally knocked out when he put his last $430,000 in preflop. With the blinds at $50,000-$100,000, Stern called from the big blind for only $330,000 more. Stern flipped over the J 9, but he would need to improve against Norrman's A Q. The flop came K Q 7 and Norrman retained the lead. But the J on the turn and the 9 on the river gave Stern two pair. For his fifth-place finish, Norrman was rewarded with $113,830.
While the name Greg Mueller might not be known to many who are not on the tournament trail, he has been playing solid poker in many events. The man better known as "FBT" had four cashes in last year's World Series of Poker, and was long overdue for a final table. He was never able to amass a big stack, but he played aggressively to the very end.
Seven hands after Norrman had been eliminated, and with the blinds at $80,000-$160,000, Simon raised to $600,000 from the button. Mueller announced a call but pushed all of his chips in the middle. Since he did not announce a raise, he was forced to take his remaining $140,000 back. Mueller then pushed in his remaining chips in the dark, and Simon called blind. The flop came out K 5 4 and Mueller showed the A 8. Simon flipped over the K Q. The turn was the 10 and the river brought the Q, giving Simon two pair and sending Mueller to the rail. The former professional hockey player finished the tournament in fourth place and earned $142,285.
With Mueller's elimination, the action picked up at a furious pace. Simon, Stern, and Schneider traded blinds and antes for 21 hands in a flurry of raises and all ins. The blinds increased to $80,000-$160,000 with $15,000 antes, and Schneider moved all in from the button for his last $940,000. Stern was in the big blind and took a few minutes before finally making the call. Schneider showed the K 3, while Stern held the A 2. Unfortunately for Schneider, the board came 5 4 2 3 Q, giving Stern a wheel and the pot. Schneider pocketed $256,115 for his third-place finish.
It was now a heads-up battle between Simon and Stern. With the high blinds, the confrontation wasn't expected to last long. However, it took 50 hands to determine a winner. The two battled back and forth, trading chips and bad beats. In the end, three hands determined the fate of both players.
On hand No. 165, the blinds were up to $200,000-$400,000 with $50,000 antes, and Stern moved all in from the button for just under $5 million with the A K. Simon called all in for just over $1 million and showed the K 6. The flop came 7 5 4 and Simon picked up a straight draw. The turn was the 10 and Stern retained his lead. However, the river was the 6 and Simon made a pair to double up.
Just three hands later, Simon had the button and raised to $1.1 million. Stern moved all in and Simon called. Stern showed the Q J and had Simon's J 10 dominated. But the flop came down K 10 5 and Simon took the lead in the hand. The turn was the 7 and the river was the 3. Simon had doubled up again and had left Stern crippled.
It took only three more hands for Simon to put Stern away. Simon moved all in from the button and Stern called all in. Simon had the K 4 and Stern flipped over the J 8. Simon retained the lead after a flop of A Q 3. The turn was the J, and Stern took the lead in the hand. However, it was Simon's night. The K fell on the river and Stern was knocked out in second place. He made $529,300 for his performance.
For his victory, Simon took home $1,052,890 and a $25,000 entry into the World Poker Tour Championship at Bellagio. Simon had entered the day as the slight chip leader. Despite that, it did not seem like many people were giving the baker from Minnesota much of a chance to take down the title. However, after more than 10 hours of grueling play, he was able to prove the doubters wrong and capture the title at the record-setting 2006 World Poker Challenge.
