Nenad Medic Wins The 2006 World Poker Finals

Last year the World Poker Finals gave us Nick Schulman and his $2.1 million first place cash prize. This year, the popular Foxwoods' tournament provided another record-setting moment as two female participants reached a $10,000 buy in final table for the first time in World Poker Tour history.

At 4:00 p.m. EDT, fans packed the casino's Grand Ballroom, and, while each player had his/her own cheering section, many in the audience came to see Kathy Liebert and Mimi Tran vie for the honor of becoming the only female player to win a WPT championship event.

The chip counts coming into the final table were as follows:
1. E.G. Harvin - $4,680,000 (Seat #3)
2. Mimi Tran - $2,518,000 (Seat #4)
3. Kathy Liebert - $2,500,000 (Seat #2)
4. Nenad Medic - $1,281,000 (Seat #6)
5. Mike Perry - $682,000 (Seat #5)
6. Michael Omelchuk - $533,000 (Seat #1)

Play began with $15,000 - $30,000 blinds and $3,000 antes. For an excited packed house, the WPF final table provided immediate entertainment with an elimination on the day's first hand. In a battle between one of the short stacks and the chip boss, Mike Perry raised to $120,000 and E.G. Harvin re-raised all in. Perry smiled, called, and took a huge lead when he flipped over the K K to Harvin's 2 2. Despite hitting a king on the flop (A K 3), Perry became the WPF's 6th place finisher ($200,340) when the 10 river gave Harvin a flush.

Half an hour later, hopes of a female WPT champion took a serious hit courtesy of yet another Harvin heart flush. The action started when Kathy Liebert raised to $120,000 and Harvin, who said "call" and then attempted to re-raise, was forced to match the original amount. The K J 10 flop lead to a $400,000 bet by Harvin, followed by both players checking the 2 turn. On the 6 river, Harvin moved all in over the top of a $1,000,000 bet and Liebert immediately called.

Liebert, who admitted before the final table that anything short of the title would be a disappointment, stood and walked away from the table as Harvin flipped over the A J. The WSOP bracelet winner returned to her seat, showed the 5 4, and exited the WPF to a standing ovation as the 5th place finisher ($257,579).

Short stack Michael Omelchuk, after surviving his first all in confrontation by pairing a king to beat Harvin's pocket sixes, became the third player to bow out of the tournament in the final table's first hour.

Omelchuk reraised all in over the top of a $125,000 bet by Harvin on a J 10 6 flop, but the New York native found himself in a big hole after he turned over the J 9 and Harvin flipped up the Q J. Coming off a second place finish in the $3,000 WPF preliminary event, Omelchuk earned 4th place honors ($343,439) in the championship when the 10 turn and 5 river failed to improve his hand.

With the World Poker Finals down to three players, the action slowed. Mimi Tran took down a number of pots with $90,000 - $95,000 preflop raises, but, after making a $400,000 bet on a K J 6 5 board, mucked her hand when Harvin raised all in. Tran flipped over a jack, then laughed and showed the cards to the audience when Harvin turned up the A 10. The loss cost Tran over $800,000 and dropped her stack below the $1 million mark.

The next significant hand occurred twenty minutes later when, after a 10 10 2 flop, Harvin moved all in against a $1,100,000 reraise by Nenad Medic. For the first time, the WPF final table chip lead changed when Medic called, and turned over the 10 2. The full house crushed Harvin's A 8, making Medic the table's new chip boss.

On the 74th hand, Tran's bid to become the World Poker Tour's first female champion came to an end. In a heads up hand with Harvin, Tran bet $60,000 into a Q 6 2 flop. Harvin called, and then moved all in when Tran bet $200,000 on the A turn. With her mentor Barry Greenstein, and friend Joe Sebok looking on from the front row, Tran called. Harvin's Ad 9 top pair put him in the lead over Tran's Q J, and, after the K river, Tran walked off the WPT televised final table set as the 3rd place finisher ($472,228).

The chip counts going into heads up play were as follows:
1. E.G. Harvin - $6,640,000
2. Nenad Medic - $5,805,000

The $1.7 million first place cash prize now came down to Medic, a twenty-two year-old pro from Niagara Falls, Canada, and Harvin, an amateur player who satellited into the event for $150.

Already a WPT final table participant with a 6th place at the 2005 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Medic won a number of pots and quickly took the chip lead from the less experienced Harvin.

With the Grand Ballroom still filled to capacity, Medic ended heads up play in thirteen hands. With the board showing the 5 5 3Medic bet $150,000 and Harvin raised to $650,000. The 9 turn brought a $1,000,000 bet by Harvin, and, after thinking for a moment, Medic called. When the 9 came on the river, Harvin immediately pushed all in. Medic again thought through the decision, before tossing in his chips and turning over the 7 5. Medic's trip fives bested Harvin's A J and the 2006 World Poker Finals came to a close.

Harvin earned $904,389 for his runner-up finish.

"This is my third final table," Medic said after his win. "The first two times I finished sixth and third. Once you come that close you really just want to get that title."

Along with his $1,717,194 first place prize, Medic will have a shot at another coveted poker title when he takes his $25,000 seat at the WPT Championship event.

But first, the young pro planned on celebrating his current career accomplishment.

"There's definitely going to be a party somewhere," Medic smiled.

Quote of the Day: "I gotta give it up to E.G., he did all the work for me" - 2006 World Poker Finals champion Nenad Medic on his heads up opponent E.G. Harvin, who eliminated the final table's first four players.

Related Articles

WSOP: Smidinger Tops Record Seniors Event Field

2022 Poker Hall of Fame Finalists Announced

Re-Entry Tourneys: Good or Bad for Poker?

Most Viewed Articles