The 2006 Tournament of ChampionsFinal Table |
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"Good luck, donkeys." - Mike "The Mouth" Matusow
The Tournament of Champions final table played out in a conspicuous corner of the Rio's Amazon Room. While over 1,000 casino employees participated in the first "official" event of the 2006 World Series of Poker, the majority of fans in attendance crowded around the one table adorned with black starlit curtains and fawned over by an ESPN film crew.
While all the paraphernalia and equipment of television production attracted curious onlookers, the poker faithful packed the rails and bleachers to watch a final table that featured some of the biggest names, and personalities, in the sport.
Assistant tournament supervisor Jon Vince brought the buzz to fever pitch levels with his introductions of the final 10 players. The audience cheered throughout, but fan favorites Mike "The Mouth" Matusow, Daniel Negreanu, Chris Ferguson, Gus Hansen and Mike Sexton received the loudest ovations.
At 2 p.m. PDT, with cameras and boom mikes swirling around the final table set, the first cards hit the air. Play began with $2,000-$4,000 blinds and $500 antes. Tournament officials also increased each player's chip count by 10 times, a move used to generate the kind of massive stacks viewers love to see on TV.
Despite the chip boost, fans needed to wait only 20 minutes to witness the TOC final table's first casualty. Gus Hansen's A
K
failed to improve against Andrew Black's 99
and he finished the tournament in 10th place.
Hansen's elimination also meant that the money bubble had burst, and the remaining players were guaranteed at least $25,000 for two days' work.
Nearly one hour later, Daniel Bergsdorf achieved the unenviable distinction of being the first player paid in the TOC. A flopped nut 
straight by Negreanu cracked Bergsdorf's pocket kings and Bergsdorf, the 2005 WSOP main event seventh-place finisher, hit the rail in ninth place ($25,000)
Thang "Kido" Pham followed as the eighth-place finisher. After an apparent preflop bluff, Pham found himself all in with J3 against Black's A7. The KK1072
board gave Pham no help, and he took home $25,000.
Crowd favorite Chris Ferguson, a short stack for much of the day, bowed out of the tournament in seventh place when his pocket sixes ran into the pocket eights of Darrell "Gigabet" Dicken. Fans chanted for a miracle six, but Dicken's eights held up, and Ferguson left the final table $50,000 richer.
On the first hand after the dinner break, Dicken and Mike Sexton barely let their food settle before squaring off in a big hand. The popular World Poker Tour host called an all-in reraise by the Internet poker star. With a K44 flop, Dicken flipped up the A5, giving him a nut flush draw, and Sexton showed the K5, for top pair. Dicken missed his flush when the 4 and 2 came on the turn and the river. The sixth-place finish netted Dicken $75,000 in prize money.
Andrew Black entered the day with the chip lead, but lost a huge pot to Negreanu, and spent the later portion of the final table on a marginal stack. Black's tournament run ended at the six-hour mark after Mike Matusow's pocket kings held up against his K9. Black, a victim of Negreanu's pocket kings earlier in the day, finished the tournament in
fifth place ($100,000)
At 9:35 p.m., Chris Reslock, a WSOP Circuit winner, became the fourth-place finisher ($150,000) in the TOC. His exit set up a three-way match between "Kid Poker," "The Ambassador of Poker," and a man know simply as "The Mouth."
After two hours of back and forth play, Mike Matusow moved all in from the big blind for his remaining $170,000. Mike Sexton, the small blind, made the call. Matusow, who had just lost on a river flush to Negreanu, flipped up A4 and Sexton showed 77. The K J 6 4 3 board gave Sexton the winning hand, and he eliminated the defending champion from the tournament ($250,000).
Matusow left the final table set visibly upset and told the media that the accomplishment of winning the TOC twice in a row meant more to him than the $1 million first-place prize.
When asked by Card Player's Rich Belsky about the loss, "The Mouth," famous for his sense of humor, quipped, "Maybe it's good I didn't win this. 'Cause if I did, I might not have shown up for the rest of the World Series."
With Matusow eliminated, two of the most popular personalities in poker squared off for $1 million and the TOC gold trophy.
The heads-up play unfolded more like a heavyweight boxing match than a poker game. Negreanu and Sexton employed defensive tactics, and each player picked spots to deliver haymakers. In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Sexton connected with the knockout blow.
On the hand, Negreanu raised to $64,000 and Sexton repopped an additional $180,000. Negreanu called and then pushed all in on the 108
4 flop. Sexton immediately made the call and showed AA. Negreanu frowned and flipped over Q J. The A turn and 8 river gave Sexton a full house, and he eliminated Negreanu from the tournament ($325,000).
Sexton, who created the original concept for the Tournament of Champions eight years ago, played in the 2006 version for charity and planned to donate half of his $1 million first-place prize.
The 2006 World Series of Poker Begins
The 2006 World Series of Poker kicked off today with day 1 of the casino employees' no-limit hold'em event. The $500 buy-in event drew a field of over 1,100 entrants, a number that smashed last year's 663.
The tournament, reserved exclusively for Nevada casino employees, featured a total prize pool of $495,000. Players entered action expecting the top 99 players to finish in the money, but due to a change in tournament structure, the money bubble burst with theelimination of 102nd place.
The final 18 players return tomorrow at 2 p.m. PDT.
Stay tuned to CardPlayer.com for live updates, chip counts, photos, videos, and a new episode of "The Circuit" radio show.
Quote of the Day: "It's overtime!" - Daniel Negreanu at 5:40 a.m., hour six of his heads-up battle with Mike Sexton
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