David Williams Wins First Bracelet In 2006 WSOP Seven-Card Stud Event$1,500 Limit Event Reaches Final Table and $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em Begins |
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For the second day in a row a 2006 WSOP final table featured a player on the verge of making poker history. Last night Phil Hellmuth, Jr. fell short of winning his tenth bracelet when he lost an epic heads-up battle against 22-year-old WSOP first-timer Jeff Cabanillas. At today's $1,500 seven-card stud final table, Johnny Chan, tied for the all-time lead in bracelet wins, sat down to contend for his record-breaking eleventh.
The three other tournaments held on the twelfth day of the World Series of Poker were: day 1 of the $2,500 no-limit hold'em; day 2 of the $1,500 limit hold'em; and day 2 of the $5,000 Omaha eight-or-better, which would play down and award the second WSOP bracelet of the day.
Despite the army of poker players gathered in the Amazon Room, and the upcoming late night final table, at 2 p.m. PDT, all eyes were on Mr. Chan.
Chan drew the most attention coming into the event, but he was not the only big name in the group. Along with the 10-time bracelet winner, the $1,500 seven-card stud table also featured 2004 WSOP runner-up David Williams, and respected poker veteran "Miami" John Cernuto.
The chip counts coming into the final table were as follows:
1. John Hoang - $170,000 (Seat 8)
2. David Williams - $142,000 (Seat 4)
3. Ivan Schertzer - $118,500 (Seat 6)
4. Jack Duncan - $106,000 (Seat 2)
5. "Miami" John Cernuto - $86,000 (Seat 1)
6. Mitchell Ledis - $42,500 (Seat 3)
7. Matt Hawrilenko - $32,000 (Seat 5)
8. Johnny Chan - $26,500 (Seat 7)
After the first hand the blind level went up and action began with $1,000 antes, $1,000 low-card bring-in, $4,000 completion, and stakes of $4,000-$8,000.
Despite coming into the final table as the short stack, Chan doubled up twice, first through Williams and then through Jack Duncan, and survived past the first elimination. Matt Hawrilenko, the next player closest to the felt, was not so lucky. He exited the tournament in eighth place ($16,312) when his pair of jacks ran into John Hoang's pair of kings.
Chan's run at history, now one place closer to happening, suffered the same, albeit shorter, fate as Hellmuth's. He moved all in with pocket sevens, only to have Cernuto call him with trip nines. Chan still has a month to capture bracelet No. 11, but today he had to settle for seventh place ($22,836).
Three minutes later, Ivan Schertzer took a trip to the rail as the sixth-place finisher ($29,361), courtesy of William's trip kings.
Cernuto, a three-time WSOP bracelet winner, finished the tournament in the same position he entered the final table - in fifth place ($35,886).
With the rapid eliminations of the shorter stacks, the rest of the table failed to ever gain any ground on Hoang and Williams. Mitchell Ledis survived with a paltry $43,000 in chips for longer than expected, but he went home in fourth place ($45,673) when his K
K
A
9 5 3 hand collided with Williams' 7 7 7
Q J 9 8
Duncan doubled up and won a number of pots, but still never threatened the two chip bosses. He finished in third place ($71,772) after moving all in with a pair of queens against Hoang's aces.
Williams, most famous for finishing second to Greg Raymer in the 2004 main event, has made numerous WPT final tables since then, but has yet to win a WSOP bracelet. He entered heads-up action as a near 2-to-1 chip leader over Hoang.
Play lasted for over three hours, and, while Hoang's stack fluctuated, Williams never relinquished the lead. As Williams pulled further away from Hoang, a large crowd gathered along the rails. Some big names in poker joined the railbirds to watch Williams attempt to win his first bracelet, including Scott Fischman, Jean Gluck, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi, and Men "The Master" Nguyen, the lone pro rooting for Hoang.
On the final hand of the $1,500 seven-card stud event, Hoang made a raise from the bring-in. With Hoang's 4 up, Williams, showing the K, made the call. Fourth street brought the 5 for Hoang and the 3 for Williams. Both players checked, and after getting the 9, Hoang bet the last of his chips. Williams' fifth street brought the 4 and he made the call. Fans circled the final table as Hoang flipped up A 8 and Williams showed 6 4. With Williams' pair of fours in the lead, the dealer tossed out seventh street. Williams immediately flipped over the 8 and then ran over to Hoang. Looking together, Williams threw his hands in the air, and Hoang turned over the 10.
Hoang earned $110,920 for his second-place finish.
Upon winning his first bracelet, Williams, usually a stone-faced poker player, could not hide his joy. "I'm fighting tears," he told Card Player's Jay Newnum, "This is the greatest moment of my life."
Along with the gold bracelet, Williams took home a $163,189 first-place prize.
If the remaining field of 41 lacked the star power of the $1,500 seven-card stud and $5,000 Omaha eight-or-better events, the fast action provided enough entertainment to draw fans to the rails.
One big-name pro, Joe Sebok, entered the day near the top of the leader board. He continued to build on his stack during the first levels, but took a huge hit when an opponent hit a two-outer on the river. The hand crippled Sebok, and he exited the tournament soon after.
At 8:58 p.m., Michelle Lancaster finished in tenth place and the final table bubble burst.
The chip counts for the nine remaining players are as follows:
1. Graham Duke - $$184,000
2. Bob Chalmers - $175,000
3. Doug Saab - $150,000
4. Tam Ho - $149,000
5. David Calla - $147,000
6. Warren Woolridge - $74,000
7. Thanh Nguyen - $72,000
8. Bob Bartmann - $64,000
9. Jan Sjavik - $37,000
Final table action begins tomorrow at 2 p.m. PDT.
The action started at noon with $25-25 blinds. Right after the first cards hit the air, the first player exited. Full Tilt member David Singer exited tournament play on hand No. 1 after he moved all in with pocket jacks, only to have his opponent eliminate him with two pair, nines and deuces.
Other pros who failed to survive day 1 included Huck Seed, Greg Raymer, Josh Arieh, Daniel Negreanu, John Juanda, Tuan Le, and Tony "Tony G" Guoga.
With a goal of reaching the money bubble, day 1 concluded at 1:15 a.m. when five players were eliminated on the bubble.
Play resumes tomorrow at 2 p.m. PDT, and the remaining field of 96 will play down to the final table.
Stay tuned to CardPlayer.com for live updates, chip counts, photos, videos, and for new episodes of "The Circuit" and "The Series."
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