Reno, Nevada, is often referred to as "The Biggest Little City in the World!" and recently it played host to the biggest little poker tournament on the
World Poker Tour circuit. Despite having only a $5,000 buy-in, the World Poker Challenge brought out some of the biggest names in poker. A total of 475 players started the action, hoping to take down the first-place prize of nearly $700,000.
Day One
When play began on day one, one thing was clear: The play was going to be fast. With antes starting on the fourth level and only 80-minute levels, players were trying to accumulate chips at a furious pace. Within the first few hours of play, such notable players as Ted Forrest, Antonio Esfandiari, Michael Mizrachi, Jeff Madsen, James Van Alstyne, John Juanda, and Barry Shulman had already been sent to the rail.
Devin Porter, known for his unpredictable play and consistent cashes, took the chip lead a few hours into the tournament when he and an opponent got all in on a queen-high flop. His opponent showed pocket aces, but Porter turned over pocket queens for a set. The set held up and Porter was quickly up to nearly $50,000 and had taken over the chip lead. However, Porter's lead was short-lived, as he would give it up just 10 minutes later.
Joe Sebok has been one of the hottest players on the tour of late, cashing in multiple events and just missing the televised final table at Bay 101. Sebok has seemed to be able to accumulate chips early in tournaments and carry that momentum on through to the money. The
WPC was no exception, as Sebok quickly put himself in a dominating position on the tournament's first day.
On a board of 9
6
5
, with one player all in, more than $21,000 in the main pot, and more than $20,000 in the side pot, Sebok moved all in for his last $20,725. His opponent called and all of the players flipped their cards over. The short-stacked player who was all in preflop showed the J
J
, the second player turned over the Q
Q
, and Sebok flipped up the A
A
. The turn was the 4
and the river brought the 10
. Sebok's aces held up and he more than doubled up to $92,000. Sebok took a commanding chip lead and seemed doubly blessed, as day one was also his 30th birthday.
When the dust had settled at the end of day one, eight levels had been played and 82 percent of the field had been sent home. Of the 88 players remaining, David Pham led the field with $180,000 in chips and was followed closely by both Porter with $155,000 and David Williams with $130,000. Despite the elimination of so many players, the field still touted such names as Sebok, Mark Seif, Brandon Cantu, Barry Greenstein, Mike Matusow, Erick Lindgren, Mimi Tran, Joe Pelton, and Nam Le.
One player quietly snuck into day two with $95,000 in chips. It was none other than J.C. Tran, simply the hottest player in poker. Tran had made the final table in two of the previous three
World Poker Tour events, and was setting himself up for another spectacular finish.
Day Two
The torrid rate of eliminations continued on the second day of the
World Poker Challenge. If the pace of day one was fast, day two ran at breakneck speeds. Play was scheduled to continue until only 27 players remained, and it took less than five and a half hours to complete that task.
One of the biggest casualties of day two was David Williams, who came into the day third in chips with $130,000. Williams lost a number of big pots early on and was never able to recover. Only an hour after play started, Williams was eliminated when his A
2
was unable to improve against the pocket queens of Gina Hewitt.
Just two hours into play, Chantel McNulty raised to $7,000 preflop and Derrick Harrington reraised to $22,500. Erick Lindgren, having both players covered, moved all in. Both McNulty and Harrington made the call. Lindgren showed the A
K
, McNulty turned over the Q
Q
, and Harrington flipped up the A
A
. However, the board came J
9
7
K
10
. McNulty had made her straight, but Lindgren had made a heart flush to win the pot and eliminate both players. Lindgren now had built his stack up to around $170,000 in chips.
After Lindgren raked the pot, there were suddenly only 46 players remaining, with the top 45 spots finishing in the money. It took only a few minutes for the money bubble to burst in the form of Barry Greenstein. Greenstein got all in preflop with the A
A
against the 10
10
of Brandon Cantu. The board came Q
9
7
3
10
, and Cantu had rivered a set to win the pot and eliminate Greenstein in 46th place.
Less than three hours later, only the final 27 players were left standing. Mark Seif led the way with $535,000 in chips, followed by online specialist J.C. Alvarado with $456,500. Some of the other remaining players included David Pham ($384,500), Danny Wong ($325,000), Joe Sebok ($241,500), Erick Lindgren ($188,000), Mike Matusow ($165,500), Brandon Cantu ($142,500), and Mimi Tran ($75,500).
Sitting in the middle of the pack with $152,000 was J.C. Tran. One of the quietest players on the circuit, Tran did nothing but amass chips during the course of play. He was now just 21 players away from an unprecedented third final table in four events.
Day Three
Day three of the
World Poker Challenge started with all 27 players eyeing the televised
World Poker Tour final table. However, that dream ended for nine players within the first hour. Among the casualties were Mimi Tran, Mike Matusow, Court Harrington, and Brandon Cantu.
Less than an hour later, with only 13 players remaining, a monster hand between the two hottest players on tour, Joe Sebok and J.C. Tran, took place. Sebok raised to $20,000 from the button and Tran called from the big blind. The flop came 10
5
3
and Tran checked. Sebok bet $30,000 and Tran moved all in. Sebok called immediately, showing the 10
9
for top pair and a flush draw. Tran flipped over the A
2
for a gutshot-straight draw. The turn was the 4
and Tran made his straight. Sebok needed a heart on the river, but didn't receive any help when the 6
fell. Tran won the pot and eliminated Sebok from the tournament in 13th place.
Shortly thereafter, Erick Lindgren made his last stand against Kirk Morrison. Lindgren raised to $22,000 from the button and Kirk Morrison reraised from the small blind to $62,000. Lindgren then pushed all in for about $35,000 more. Morrison made the call and showed the A
J
. Lindgren turned over the A
2
and the board came 10
8
6
8
K
. Morrison took down the pot and knocked Lindgren out of the tournament in 10th place.
Morrison's luck quickly ran out, though, as he was eliminated in ninth place. He was followed by Jimmy Diep, eighth, and Brent Bibby, seventh. In third place going to the final table was none other than J.C. Tran, making his third final table in four
WPT events. He went into the last day with $904,000 in chips and his sights set on his first
WPT victory.
The televised final was set, and the chip counts for the final six were as follows:
1. J.C. Tran, $904,000
2. David Pham, $1,655,000
3. J.C. Alvarado, $1,107,000
4. Danny Wong, $623,000
5. John Hom, $119,000
6. Mark Seif , $325,000
Final Table
The
World Poker Challenge had been a flurry of action during the first three days. Normally,
WPT final tables are the same, but nobody in the television audience expected what took place in the first few hands.
On the first hand of the final table, the tone was set for J.C. Tran. John Hom raised to $45,000 from middle position and Tran made the call from the small blind. David Pham called from the big blind, and the flop came J
10
9
. Tran checked and Pham bet $90,000. Hom folded, and Tran raised $250,000 more. Pham thought for a few moments before mucking his cards. Tran turned over K-Q for the nuts, and the final table was off and running.
Just three hands later, Tran raised to $45,000 and Danny Wong, in the small blind, reraised to $156,000. Tran moved all in and Wong made the call for his last $454,000. Tran turned over the Q
Q
and Wong showed the A
Q
. The board came 6
6
6
J
7
and Tran won the pot, eliminating Wong from the tournament. Wong earned $113,913 for his sixth-place finish.
Tran had boosted his chip stack to nearly $2,000,000. However, David Pham quickly closed the gap on the seventh hand when John Hom moved all in for $76,000. Pham made the call. Hom turned over the K
10
, but Pham showed the Q
Q
. The board came A
10
2
3
6
and Pham won the pot, eliminating Hom from the tournament. John Hom made $136,695 for finishing in fifth place.
On only the 12th hand of play, Mark Seif raised to $48,000 from under the gun and Tran reraised to $155,000 from the button. Seif thought for a few moments before moving all in for his last $168,000. Tran made the call and showed 9-9. Seif turned over A-6. The board came Q
J
6
8
K
and Tran won the pot, eliminating Seif from the tournament. Seif finished in fourth place and earned $159,478.
After the elimination of Seif, everyone at the final table was finally able to catch their breath. J.C. Tran, David Pham, and J.C. Alvarado traded pots back and forth until hand No. 60, when a short-stacked Pham was forced to make a stand. Tran raised to $120,000 from the button and Pham moved all in for $175,000 more. Tran made the call and showed the K
Q
. Pham turned over the A
8
and was in the lead. However, the board came 10
7
3
Q
7
, and Tran had caught a queen to win the pot and eliminate Pham. For his third-place finish, David Pham was awarded $182,260.
The heads-up battle of the J.C.'s didn't look like it would be much of a contest, especially with J.C. Tran holding $3,900,000 in chips to J.C. Alvarado's $785,000. But, the first hand of heads-up play put Alvarado right back in contention. He limped in from the button and Tran checked. The flop came Q
10
3
and Tran bet $50,000. Alvarado called, and the turn was the A
. Tran bet $200,000 and Alvarado moved all in. Tran called and showed the 10
3
for two pair. Alvarado turned over the K
10
for a pair of tens. However, the river brought the A
, giving Alvarado two pair with a king kicker. Alvarado had doubled up to around $1,600,000 and was back in the game.
Tran didn't let Alvarado enjoy his double-up for very long. Only four hands later, Tran put an end to his final-table disappointments. Alvarado limped in from the button and Tran raised $150,000. Alvarado moved all in and Tran made the call. Alvarado showed the A
6
and Tran turned over the 10
10
. The board came K
9
9
8
J
and Tran won the pot, eliminating Alvarado in second place. Alvarado earned $366,798 for his runner-up finish.
J.C. Tran, a regular at final tables, had finally broken through and captured his first
World Poker Tour victory at the
World Poker Challenge. For his victory, Tran earned a $25,000 seat in the
WPT Championship at Bellagio, along with $683,473. You can't really say that Tran has just now earned the respect of the poker world with his victory, though. He earned that a long, long time ago.
