WSOP Race for the Bracelets 2008

Poker's richest and most prestigious event, the World Series of Poker, is now under way. From May 30 to July 14, the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino is the epicenter of the poker world, hosting 55 different bracelet events over 47 action-packed days.

The 2008 bracelet race includes a number of new events, and this year, all tournaments with a buy-in of $10,000 or more are designated as official world championship events. Ten tournaments, including the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event and the main event, are in this elite group.

As of this writing, we're two weeks into the Series, and a number of big-name pros and exciting up-and-comers already have adorned their wrists with championship gold.

In this special section, Card Player features all of the newest WSOP champions. The first 14 events of the Series appear here, with more events to come in the next issue.

Nenad Medic Wins Event No. 1 (Pot-Limit Hold'em World Championship)
By Ryan Lucchesi

Buy-in: $10,000
Entrants: 352
Prize Pool: $3,308,800
First-Place Prize: $794,112

The first event of the 39th-annual World Series of Poker got off on a high note. Not only was it the first of eight $10,000 world championship events, it also produced one of the strongest WSOP final tables in recent memory. Every player at the final table was a professional. Two veterans were looking to add to their bracelet collections (Mike Sexton and Kathy Liebert), and they were joined by two Internet young guns who were seeking their first (Amit Makhija and Mike Sowers), as well as five seasoned professionals who were aiming to leave the best-player-without-a-bracelet club (Nenad Medic, Chris Bell, Andy Bloch, Phil Laak, and Patrik Antonius).

The final table hummed along at the start, and Laak, Sowers, Antonius, Bell, and Makhija fell in succession. With four players remaining, the action hit a lull for some time before Sexton exited in fourth place and Liebert followed him to the rail in third place. "Once it got down to fourhanded, it took a while. I don't know, earlier, everybody was getting hands. Fourhanded, nobody seemed to pick up any hands, so there were a lot of small pots -- maneuvering, going back and forth, nothing too big. I like that style; I like to play small pots. I was fortunate to win more of the small pots," said Medic.

In the end, Medic got down to a heads-up match with Bloch, and he prevailed to win his first gold bracelet. Medic added this big win ($794,112) to his career tournament winnings ($3,660,397). The young professional has accumulated big-time winnings in just a few years' time. He owes some of that success to the competitive edge he gained from playing basketball in college: "Whenever I played basketball, it was all about the win. It's the same thing with poker; you have to go in gunning for the win. Second place, third place, none of that matters; you've got to go for the win."

Grant Hinkle Wins Event No. 2 (No-Limit Hold'em)
By Ryan Lucchesi

Buy-in: $1,500
Entrants: 3,929
Prize Pool: $5,363,085
First-Place Prize: $831,462

The second event of the 2008 World Series of Poker was the fourth-largest poker tournament of all time. Only the WSOP main events in 2005, 2006, and 2007 attracted more participants. A non-main event record field of 3,929 players tested the limits of players' stamina and determination, as more than 40 hours of poker took place over the course of the three-day tournament. Play ended on day 2 in the wee hours of the morning with 18 players remaining, and they'd return for the final day. After eight of those players were eliminated on day 3, the final 10 players relocated to the main stage in the front corner of the Amazon Room, and the real business of the evening began.

Despite the relatively small buy-in ($1,500), the massive field built a huge first-place prize worth $831,462. Many players were gunning for that prize, including a familiar star who has won five gold bracelets. Chris "Jesus" Ferguson made his 27th WSOP final-table appearance a memorable one by putting on a show en route to a third-place finish, but in the end it came down to a battle of young players. Grant Hinkle jousted with Englishman James Akenhead for more than 50 hands before four cards put a decisive end to the tournament. On the final hand, Hinkle held 10-4, flopped a full house, and then made quad tens on the turn to give him a decisive victory.

Grant is the brother of poker professional Blair Hinkle, who was sweating Grant at the final table and giving him advice on breaks. "He is just so relentless and so aggressive; he just keeps applying pressure. I'm talking to him about different situations, and it's hard to get comfortable with some of the stuff he's suggesting," said Grant of his brother. The aggression paid off in the end for Grant. After a period in which Akenhead took control of the heads-up match early, Grant dug in and began firing reraises back at his competitor, which directly led to the final hand and the victory. "That credit goes back to Blair, James Mackey, and 'Echo,' who were back there supporting me. They were great, and they really helped me to get to where I was; I've got to give them a lot of credit," said Hinkle.

David Singer Wins His First Bracelet in Event No. 3 (Pot-Limit Hold'em)
By Julio Rodriguez

Buy-in: $1,500
Entrants: 713
Prize Pool: $973,245
First-Place Prize: $214,131

David Singer has been on quite the hot streak since he won the Caesars Palace Classic last October. Although he has been known to fly a bit under the radar, Singer has consistently put up solid results year after year and has roughly $4 million in lifetime tournament earnings to show for it. Since finishing second to Allen Cunningham in the Vegas Open at The Venetian in one of the longest heads-up matches in the history of tournament poker, Singer has proven that he has what it takes to close it out. He recently bested one of the toughest fields of all time to win the $25,000 buy-in Full Tilt Poker Heads-Up Championship. At this year's World Series, he one-upped himself by beating a very game opponent in Jacobo Fernandez in a marathon battle to claim his first bracelet in the $1,500 pot-limit hold'em event.

Coming to the final table as the short stack, Singer had an uphill climb to the top, taking on a talented field that included two World Poker Tour final-table players (Joe Tehan and Al Barbieri) and an up-and-coming online professional (Zachary "ckingusc" King). Perhaps Singer's biggest threat at the table -- Joe Tehan, a WPT champion -- quickly became a non-issue thanks to some bad luck and unfortunate timing. Despite coming in with the chip lead, Tehan finished in a very disappointing sixth place.

After Gregory Alston was eliminated in third place on a bad beat courtesy of Fernandez, Singer and Fernandez settled in for what would prove to be a marathon heads-up session that lasted more than four hours and saw both players' chip stacks seesaw back and forth.

Eventually, they decided to play for it all. On the penultimate hand of the tournament, Singer moved all in with the A K, and was called by the pocket fives of Fernandez. Singer caught two pair on the flop, and safe turn and river cards quickly changed the momentum.

In the last hand, holding two pair on the turn, Fernandez committed the remainder of his stack against Singer's made straight. When the river brought a brick, Singer shot his fist into the air in celebration.

Despite the relatively small payout, Singer put his victory into perspective when asked where this win ranked on his list of accomplishments. "Well, it's not the most money, but it probably makes me the happiest, to tell you the truth," he said.

Erick Lindgren Wins Event No. 4 (Mixed Hold'em)
By Ryan Lucchesi

Buy-in: $5,000
Entrants: 332
Prize Pool: $1,560,400
First-Place Prize: $374,505

Another final table was stacked with professional players in the $5,000 mixed-hold'em event at the 2008 World Series of Poker. Familiar faces from the live, online, and international arenas were present and accounted for in the strong lineup. Erick Lindgren was arguably the best player at the final table never to have won a gold bracelet; in fact, he was arguably the best player in the world never to have won a gold bracelet -- but not anymore.

Lindgren took home $374,505 for the win, but the money took an obvious back seat to the title that Lindgren has been chasing for some time now. "The history means a lot, especially with Chip Reese passing; I think this is a really important World Series for me, just because he was my hero. If I can do well, and 30 years down the line have a career that Chip would have been proud of, I'll be proud of myself," said Lindgren. His first bracelet win was not an easy task, though; after Isaac Haxton, Pat Pezzin, David Williams, Howard Lederer, David Rheem, Roland De Wolfe, and Andrew Robl took their leave, Lindgren still had to beat Justin Bonomo heads up to seal the deal and come to terms with his WSOP demons. Lindgren came to the table in sixth chip position, but after nine and a half hours of play, he took the chip lead and proved himself worthy of his first WSOP win.

Lindgren prevailed primarily by attacking during the limit portions of this mixed-hold'em event, especially during the heads-up match. "Once we got down to fivehanded, the other guys' strengths were in no-limit, so it was time to accelerate in limit and play more hands. I just really knew where I was in every hand," said Lindgren. Lindgren adds this win to an impressive career that includes more than $5 million in tournament winnings, two World Poker Tour titles, cash-game success, and perhaps the biggest prize a poker player can receive, the respect of his peers.

Michael Banducci Wins Event No. 5 (No-Limit Hold'em With Rebuys)
By Ryan Lucchesi

Buy-in: $1,000
Entrants: 766 (2,258 rebuys)
Prize Pool: $2,894,094
First-Place Prize: $636,736

The fifth event of the 39th World Series of Poker was the first with rebuys, and as is usually the case, the rebuys encouraged a ton of action. They also contributed to building a prize pool of almost $3 million. Many of the final nine players hailed from the online world. Jonathan "FatalError" Aguiar and Jeff "yellowsub86" Williams joined Michael Binger at the final table, but in the end it was none of these professionals who won the gold bracelet. Up-and-coming online pro Michael Banducci prevailed after a 10-hour ordeal that saw shifts from fast action early (three players were eliminated in the first eight hands) to long periods of sixhanded and threehanded play. Banducci took home $636,736 with his first major-tournament victory.

Thang Luu Wins His First Bracelet in Event No. 6 (Omaha Eight-or-Better)
By Julio Rodriguez

Buy-in: $1,500
Entrants: 833
Prize Pool: $1,249,500
First-Place Prize: $243,356

Event No. 6, $1,500 Omaha eight-or-better, will go down in the record books as the largest Omaha eight-or-better tournament in poker history. The railbirds focused mostly on Scott Clements, who was vying for his third Omaha bracelet in as many years, but after his quick exit, Thang Luu, a 33-year-old professional poker player from Las Vegas, emerged from the pack to take home $243,356 and, most importantly, his first WSOP bracelet.

Luu came to the final table with the chip lead, but he had trouble holding on to it. As a result of his hyperaggressive play, his stack fluctuated wildly, many times giving the chip lead to his various opponents. As the blinds grew larger and larger, his aggression paid off as his opponents tightened up. Luu took a small lead into heads-up play, and fewer than 20 hands later, he had captured the title.

Matt Keikoan Joins the Ranks, Wins First Bracelet in Event No. 7 (No-Limit Hold'em)
By Andy Liakos

Buy-in: $2,000
Entrants: 1,592
Prize Pool: $2,899,260
First-Place Prize: $550,601

Theo Tran entered his second final table of the World Series of Poker as the chip leader, but had to settle for his second fourth-place finish, all while increasing his WSOP winnings to more than $500,000. Matt Keikoan, a respected cash-game player, sat down at the final table third in chips and was able to stay out of chip leader Theo Tran's way long enough to claim the chip lead for himself and then stave off an all-in attack from an insanely aggressive runner-up, Shannon Shorr. Heads-up play suddenly turned into an all-in shove-fest, and for the next 16 hands, despite an accidental limp and check to a single flop, both Keikoan and Shorr took turns open-shoving from their button while the other player kicked it in. Keikoan finally picked his spot with king high, calling Shorr's all-in bet and claiming his first gold bracelet, along with the lion's share ($550,601) of the prize pool.

Anthony 'tongni' Rivera Wins Event No. 8 (Mixed-Games Championship)
By Julio Rodriguez

Buy-in: $10,000
Entrants: 192
Prize Pool: $1,804,800
First-Place Prize: $483,688

Coming to the final table near the bottom of the pack, high-stakes cash-game professional Anthony "tongni" Rivera overcame a who's who of the poker world to capture his first bracelet in the World Series of Poker mixed-games championship. The event featured a rotation of eight games, including deuce-to-seven triple-draw lowball, limit hold'em, Omaha eight-or-better, razz, seven-card stud, stud eight-or-better, no-limit hold'em, and pot-limit Omaha, changing every eight hands. As the field dwindled, Rivera turned on the aggression and picked up some timely hands to take control of the table. When heads-up play began, it took only one hand to determine a champion, as Rivera took out James "mig.com" Mackey.

Despite the hype of a star-studded final table, the notable faces of the poker world went out in succession, as Jeff Madsen, Tom "durrrr" Dwan, Sam Farha, and Eli Elezra hit the rail. After pros Michael DeMichele and Matthew Glantz busted out, Mackey was within striking distance of winning his second bracelet in as many years, but it wasn't meant to be. On the first hand of heads-up play, Mackey's dominated ace went up against Rivera's big slick. Rivera's hand held up, and after the nearly equal stacks were counted down, there was a new champion.

Ralph 'Rep' Porter Wins Event No. 9 (No-Limit Hold'em Sixhanded)
By Ryan Lucchesi

Buy-in: $1,500
Entrants: 1,236
Prize Pool: $1,687,140
First-Place Prize: $372,843

The first sixhanded no-limit hold'em final table of the World Series featured a battle between two professional poker players with the last name of Porter. While Devin and Ralph "Rep" Porter share the same last name, they are not related. They also shared the success of heading to the final table, and one of them left it as the bracelet winner. Devin was eliminated in third place, which left the door open for Rep to take home his first title. He defeated Nathan Templeton heads up to do so, and the win, worth $372,843, put him above $1 million in career tournament winnings.

Farzad Rouhani Wins Event No. 10 (Omaha/Stud Eight-or-Better)
By Julio Rodriguez

Buy-in: $2,500
Entrants: 388
Prize Pool: $892,400
First-Place Prize: $232,911

Two years ago, Farzad Rouhani was just one opponent away from his first World Series of Poker title. After seeing the bracelet slip through his fingers, Rouhani would not be denied in his second chance. Coming to the final table with a massive chip lead, Rouhani steamrolled his opposition, which consisted of top-notch poker professionals, and came away with the bracelet, the title, and $232,911.

Even though the final table featured young, up-and-coming notables as well as seasoned veterans, Rouhani's confidence in his Omaha and stud eight-or-better play never waned. "I was confident in my ability," said Rouhani. "Besides Miami John, I was just better than they were at these games." When asked about the bracelet, Rouhani explained that the money is great, but the bracelet is much more important.

Phil Tom Wins Event No. 11 (No-Limit Hold'em Shootout)
By Julio Rodriguez

Buy-in: $5,000
Entrants: 360
Prize Pool: $1,692,000
First-Place Prize: $477,990

The $5,000 no-limit hold'em shootout is always one of the most popular events of the Series. The allure of having to win just two sit-and-gos for a chance at winning a gold bracelet is just too enticing to pass up. Not surprisingly, this year's event sold out relatively quickly at 360 players. On day one, players were forced to win a 10-handed table to weed out 90 percent of the field. When the surviving 36 winners had made the money, the next task before them was winning a sixhanded table to advance to the final table.

After two days of play, it came down to two online players, three live-tournament professionals, and a local financial advisor. In the end, Phil Tom defeated Greg Mueller for the bracelet, and Mueller went home for the second year in a row with a runner-up finish.

Jimmy Shultz Wins Event No. 12 (Limit Hold'em)
By Ryan Lucchesi

Buy-in: $1,500
Entrants: 880
Prize Pool: $1,201,200
First-Place Prize: $257,105

When nine firefighters perished in a warehouse blaze in Charleston, South Carolina, Jimmy Shultz knew that he wanted to do something to help the families of his hometown heroes; he just didn't know what. When he won his first gold bracelet and $257,105 in prize money at the World Series of Poker, he knew exactly what to do. He donated 25 percent of his winnings to the Charleston Fire Department to honor the fallen firemen. Shultz defeated a strong field to win the $1,500 limit hold'em event, which also featured deep finishes by Erick Lindgren (10th place), Ali Eslami (seventh place), and a boisterous Vinny Vinh (third place). "I'm thrilled to be in this position. It's a great feeling for me to be able to give back," said Shultz.

Duncan 'Pumper' Bell Wins Event No. 13 (No-Limit Hold'em)
By Julio Rodriguez

Buy-in: $2,500
Entrants: 1,397
Prize Pool: $3,213,100
First-Place Prize: $666,777

Duncan "Pumper" Bell came to the final table with a few things going for him. He had a rowdy fan base cheering his every move, a sizeable chip lead, and his good friend Shawn Buchanan sitting right next to him. The final-table players had played into the wee hours of the morning from the previous day to get to the final table, but each player was clearly fired up and ready to go at a final table that lasted an incredibly short 73 hands. In the span of just 16 hands, four players hit the rail.

In the end, Bell overcame a tough beat when heads up to battle back to claim the victory. Just a few hands into his heads-up match with Steven Merrifield, a professional poker player from Vancouver, Canada, he was crippled and facing a 5-1 chip deficit. Despite the blow, Bell kept himself composed and fought back to take the lead and eventually win his first World Series of Poker bracelet.

Eric Brooks Wins Event No. 14 (World Championship Seven-Card Stud)
By Ryan Lucchesi

Buy-in: $10,000
Entrants: 158
Prize Pool: $1,485,200
First-Place Prize: $415,856

The $10,000 seven-card stud world championship at the 2008 World Series of Poker attracted the best and brightest stud players in the poker world, as well as one of the most philanthropic. Among the players who made the final two tables but just missed a WSOP final-table appearance were David Levi (15th), Robert Mizrachi (14th), Alex Kravchenko (13th), Jacobo Fernandez (12th), Daniel Negreanu (11th), and Phil Ivey (ninth). Many talented pros did advance, including Erik Seidel, who was gunning for his ninth gold bracelet. In the end, it was Eric Brooks, a 48-year-old business owner from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, who emerged with the bracelet and, incredibly, his first cash in a major poker tournament. The first-place prize was $415,856, and he won't see a penny of it personally. Brooks decided to donate 100 percent of his winnings to the Decision Education Foundation.