Worst Bad Beats In WSOP Main Event since 2000

Reminiscing about the 2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP) main event, I look back fondly as my 13th place-finish kickstarted my poker career. However, the memory of that fateful day is also bittersweet, as Aaron Kanter beat me on my final hand on a five-outer on the river.

Year after year, the WSOP main event introduces new names to the poker world, but also produces astonishing bad beats that sometimes crushes the victim’s poker dreams forever.

As the WSOP begins its seven-week odyssey, culminating with the main event, let’s look back at the most memorable WSOP main event bad beats each year since 2000. Although there have been horrendous bad beats early in the tournament as well (e.g., in 2005, Jen Harmon one-outed on the river by Corey Zeidman’s straight flush; in 2008, Motoyuki Mabuchi’s quad aces beaten by Justin Phillips’ royal flush), I will focus on hands that occurred with 18 players or less (the final two tables) remaining.

Let the heartbreak begin…

2000: Chris Ferguson Chops And Rivers TJ Cloutier

Twice earlier in the heads-up battle between the upstart and the legend, Ferguson was all-in and behind (first with A 7 vs A K; second with A 2 vs A 7). However, both times, the board resulted in a chopped pot, answering Jesus’ prayers. Finally, on Hand 93 of the mano-a-mano battle, the two combatants pushed all-in preflop and, once again, Ferguson was behind with his A 9 vs Cloutier’s A Q. With a flop and turn (K 4 2 K), another chop was possible. However, this time a miraculous 9 fell on the river. This miracle crowned “Jesus” the 2000 WSOP main event champion and crushed the hopes of Cloutier, as he was unable to capture the most coveted title that eluded him his entire, illustrious career.

2001: Tomko’s Aces Cracked

In back-to-back years, the heads-up battle was decided by a bad beat. With a flop of J 10 3, the young Spaniard Carlos Mortensen pushed all-in with his flush and straight draws holding K Q. However, the wily veteran Dewey Tomko was ahead, holding A A. While the turn (3) didn’t change the outcome, the 9 on the river completed a straight, beginning the celebration for Mortensen and the heartache for Tomko.

2002: River Flush Is Beat By Full House

Many players recognize 10-2 as the hand called “Doyle Brunson.” But do you know that Q-10 was deemed “Robert Varkonyi” by Phil Hellmuth? During the 2002 WSOP main event final table telecast, The Poker Brat recalled a hand he was eliminated on while Varkonyi was holding Q-10. Hellmuth incorrectly predicted that the amateur would never win the WSOP main event. During the final hand, the flop came Q 4 4 with Varkonyi holding, what else, Q 10, call an all-in bet by Julian Gardner, who held J 8 for a flush draw. After the turn brought 10, the Englishman could win with any club but the ten of clubs. As the dealer began to flip over the river, many could see the card was a club to give Julian a flush; however, amazing it was the one club that Gardner couldn’t afford to see – the 10, giving Varkonyi a full house. Although not truly a bad beat, I am sure it was heartbreaking to Gardner after he saw the card was a club.

2003: David (aka Moneymaker) vs Goliath (aka Ivey)

Chris Moneymaker changed the face of poker forever. His victory in the 2003 WSOP main event made him a poker icon, especially the legendary bluff versus Sam Farha heads-up. However, Moneymaker would never have entered the final table wtih such a massive chip lead had he not beaten the legendary Phil Ivey. On the final table bubble, Moneymaker raised with A Q, but was called by two poker pros – Phil Ivey holding 9 9 and Jason Lester holding 10 10. On a Q Q 6 flop, Moneymaker fired with only Ivey making the call. When the 9 turned, Ivey raised all-in with his full-house and was quickly called by Moneymaker and his three queens. Miraculously, the Ace of spades fell on the river, eliminating Ivey. This hand set up Moneymaker as the monumental chip leader heading into the final table, and the rest is history.

2004: Fossilman Adds To The Agony Of Defeat

In 2003, Mike McClain had the dubious honor of being the face of “Agony of Defeat” on the ESPN WSOP telecasts. By making the 2004 WSOP main event final table, he was hoping to erase those memories. As one of the short stacks, he was thrilled to see A A right away and was called by the chip leader, Greg “Fossilman” Raymer and his 10 10. Unfortunately, the agony continued for McClain, as Fossilman flopped a 10, eliminating McClain in ninth place.

2005: The Mouth is Silenced

In 2001, Mike Matusow reached the WSOP main event final table, eventually finishing in sixth place. Just four years later, he incredibly accomplished the same feat again, this time trying to better his previous finish. As the final table began, he shoved all-in with K K after Scott Lazar’s three-bet. Once Lazar quickly called with his A A, Matusow lamented his luck. However, “The Mouth” jumped for joy when the flop delivered K Q 6. When the dealer turned the 2, it gave Lazar more outs with his flush draw. The tables were ultimately turned around when the J fell on the river, completely Lazar’s flush and silencing the Mouth, who ultimately finished in ninth place.

2006: Gold Was King On This Day

In 2006, Jamie Gold had a WSOP main event for the ages. His verbose style ran over table after table, day after day, leading to an almost wire-to-wire victory. Gold made the right move at the right time, whether he was bluffing or had a better hand. However, three-handed versus Michael Binger (A 10) and Paul Wasicka (8 7), he had the worst hand (4 3) and had to come from behind. After a flop of 10 6 5, Gold check-raised Binger all-in with his straight draw. Incredibly, Wasicka had an open-ended straight flush draw, which he eventually mucked. After Binger called, Gold’s incredible run continued as the 7 fell on the turn and the Q on the river. Unbelievably, not only did Gold make his straight to eliminate Binger, but he also avoided Wasicka’s flush on the river.

2007: Yang “Aces” His Final Table Test

From four-handed play at the 2007 WSOP main event final table, three all-ins were called with an Ace and they were all behind his opponent’s pocket pair, as seen below.

Tuan Lam A 5 vs Raymond Rahme Q Q
Raymond Rahme A Q vs Jerry Yang Q Q
Jerry Yang A 5 vs Raymond Rahme K K

However, although they were 30:70 underdogs, every time an Ace flopped, beating the opponent’s pocket pair. The last hand was the most pivotal as the diminutive Jerry Yang eliminated the South African Rahme to finally go heads-up with Tuan Lam for the title and bracelet.

2008: Eastgate Finds The Final 6 In The Deck

On the WSOP main event final table bubble, the shorter stack Craig Marquis with A Q was in dire straits against Dean Hamrick holding Q Q. After a flop of J 7 3, the turn (4) gave Marquis more flush outs. The 5 on the river stunned the crowd and continued the bubble, of which Hamrick eventually bowed out.

However, the true bad beat of the 2008 WSOP main event occurred with five players remaining. With five players remaining, the Canadian Scott Montgomery shoved all-in with A 3 and was called by Denmark’s Peter Eastgate and his 6 6. After Dennis Phillips stated that he folded a 6, the dealer flopped A Q 4, putting Montgomery far ahead. Jokingly, Montgomery stated that “Now, it is going to make it even uglier when the six comes on the river.” After the A fell on the turn, Montgomery looked prophetic when the 6 – a true one-outer – fell on the river, eliminating him in fifth place.

2009: Cada “Sets” The Standard

This final table saw its fair share of bad beats including Phil Ivey’s A K being outflopped by Darvin Moon’s A Q, leading to the superstar’s elimination in seventh place. However, the young Joe Cada “set” the standard for bad beats on his way to becoming the 2009 WSOP main event champion. With five players remaining, he was the shortstack, shoving all-in preflop with 3 3. The other short stack, Jeff Shulman, decided to call with J J. However, the poker gods were on Cada’s side that day, as the 3 appeared right in the window. Later, three-handed, Cada once again pushed all-in, this time with 2 2. He was called and once again behind, this time to Antoine Saout’s Q Q. Nevertheless, he out flopped the Frenchman when the 2 hit the flop and he went on to win the most coveted title in poker.

2010: The Year of the Bad Beat

This year’s WSOP main event had more memorable bad beats than any other in recent memory. Italian Filippo Candio got out of line by calling an all-in bet with 7 5 after a 6 6 5 flop versus Joseph Cheong’s A A. After the 8 created additional straight outs, the 4 ignited a frenzied and crazed celebration by the Italian. Additionally, with eight players remaining, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi battled Canadian Matt Jarvis in a hand reminiscent to Moneymaker’s hand versus Ivey (see 2003 above). Jarvis held 9 9, while Mizrachi was dealt A Q. After a flop of Q Q 8, the seesaw hand delivered the 9 on the turn to tilt the favor back to Jarvis. However, just like in 2003, the river capped an incredible hand with the Ace of spades, eliminating Jarvis in eighth place.

Nevertheless, the hand every poker fan remembers from 2010 was between the eventual WSOP main event champion, Jonathan Duhamel and American Matt Affleck, who had finished in 80th place in the event in 2009. The Canadian held J J, while Affleck had A A. After a min-raising war preflop, the two saw a flop of 10 9 7. After Duhamel check-called a big bet by Affleck post-flop, the dealer turned the Q. After a check by Duhamel, Affleck announced that he was all-in. After some deliberation, the Canadian decided to call, but saw that he was behind. Amazingly, the 8 fell on the river, completely the Canadian’s straight and eliminating the American in 15th place. This catapulted Duhamel into the chip lead, and eventually, to the title.

2011: Heinz Has “9” Lives

With 11 players remaining, all the players began to believe that they could make the 2011 November Nine. However, German Pius Heinz thought he might be going home just short of this goal. After three-betting all-in, he was quickly called by American John Hewitt and his A K. After revealing his K J, Heinz realized he needed help or he would fall just two places short of the November Nine. After the flop of 10 8 7 gave him some additional hope, the 6 on the turn didn’t help. With one card left, the perfect 9 fell on the river, completing a straight, allowing Heinz to double up. Meanwhile, Hewitt took a major hit to his stack and inevitably was the 2011 WSOP main event final table bubble boy.

2012: Andras Koroknai Clubs Marc Ladouceur

With 14 players remaining in the WSOP main event, every hand is magnified. Thus, when these two players pushed all-in to see matching hands (Koroknai’s A K vs Ladouceur’s A K), each player must have had a sigh of relief. However, when the dealer fanned out Q 10 2, Ladouceur and his entourage gasped. The turn finalized the horror as the 8 completed Koroknai’s flush and doubled him up. Ladouceur would lose about 2/3rds of his stack and would never recover, and he was eliminated in 13th place less than an hour later.

2013: Brummelhuis Straightens Out The Frenchman

No player from the Netherlands had ever made a WSOP main event final table. With 12 players remaining, Michiel Brummelhuis was trying to make history. Unfortunately, he was one of the short stacks and desperately needed a double up. After calling Frenchman Sylvain Loosli’s raise with J 9 from the big blind, the dealer spread out J 10 6. After the two Europeans eventually pushed-all-in, Brummelhuis saw he was in bad shape versus Loosli’s A J. After the turn (8) gave the Dutchman some additional hope, the river 7 completed his straight and doubled him up. A few hours later, Brummelhuis made history and eventually finished in seventh place.

2014: van Hoof Cracks Russian Aces

With only two tables remaining, Russian Andrey Zaichenko raised with A A from middle position and was only called by the big blind, Jorryt van Hoof. After a 9 8 7 flop, van Hoof led out and was called by the Russian. After a 4, van Hoof check-raised Zaichenko all-in. After a lengthy deliberation, Zaichenko decided to call, but was disgusted by the bad news that his opponent had flopped a straight with his 10 6. The Dutchman utilized these newly found chips to finish in third place.

2015: McKeehen Sets The Record Straight Versus Schwartz

One of the most devastating flops in poker is set over set. Both players are jubilant, while one will eventually be incredibly disappointed. Now, add the fact that this horrible event happened with 14 players remaining in the WSOP main event, the result is almost unbearable. After limping and then calling a raise preflop, the acerbic Justin Schwartz flopped a set of threes on a flop of 6 3 2. Schwartz check-raised all-in, only to have Joe McKeehen snap call with 6 6. The 7 on the turn and the 5 on the river provided no help to Schwartz, eliminating him from the 2015 main event. ♠

Bernard Lee is a poker columnist for ESPN.com, author of “The Final Table, Volume I and II” and radio host of “The Bernard Lee Poker Show,” which can be found on RoundersRadio.com or iTunes. Lee has over $2 million in career earnings, winning six titles. Lee is a team member of RunGoodGear.com and also spokesperson for specialty travel company, Blaycation. Follow Bernard Lee on Twitter: @BernardLeePoker or visit him at www.BernardLeePoker.com