David Pham Wins the Heads-Up Title at the MirageThe Dragon Defeats Eric Froehlich in the Eighth Event of the Mirage Poker Showdown |
|
Four players returned for the final day of competition in the $5,000 no-limit hold'em heads-up event at the Mirage Poker Showdown. Here were the matchups:
Eric Froehlich vs. Aaron Been
David Pham vs. Jonathan Little
While an aggressive battle between Jonathan Little and David "The Dragon" Pham raged on the other side of the championship table, Eric Froehlich made quick work of Aaron Been. Froehlich won the first game with two pair, fives and fours, in 50 minutes. E-Fro struck again a mere three hands into the second game. Aaron Been bet $600 on the button and Froehlich called. The flop came A
10 5
, Froehlich checked, and Been fired out $800. Froehlich then check-raised to $2,300 total and Been came over the top of him for $5,000 more. Froehlich moved all in and Been made the call with K 7. Froehlich turned over 5 2 and the last two cards were dealt 2 J
. Froehlich had advanced to the finals, but whom he would play remained a mystery.
Pham and Little looked focused early and played solid poker. Little built a chip lead up to $28,000 early in the match. Pham was able to pull back to even when he made a straight to double up against Little's trip eights. The two then traded the chip lead back and forth as the first game approached the one-hour milestone. Then Pham bet out $1,400 on a board of 6 32 6 K
. Little raised to $4,000 and Pham reraised it to $7,700. Little mucked and Pham let loose a big smile. He turned to the rail and said, "Learn from that!" Little was down to just over $11,000 after the hand. Riding the momentum from this big pot, Pham went on to win the first game 15 minutes later.
The second game between Pham and Little picked up right where the other left off. In one busy four-hand sequence, Little moved all in and doubled up, then Pham moved all in and Little folded. On the next hand Pham check-raised Little to $4,600 and he folded, and finally Little moved all in and Pham folded. Little was down to $10,000 at this point and Pham continued to pour on the pressure. Fifteen minutes after the four hands of fury went down, Little pushed all in for his last $8,000. Pham quickly called and turned over A 8. Little reluctantly threw down his A 3 after seeing that he was dominated and the board came J 8 5 5 7.
Little was out of the title hunt, but he defeated Been 2-1 in their third-place match and took home $26,354 in prize money. Little played well throughout the event and posted some impressive victories over Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi and Nenad Medic.
Froehlich jumped out to an early lead in the first game of the championship match with Pham, building his stack to $29,000. It looked like Froehlich was going to score a quick point when a very rare hand occurred for a heads-up match. Pham was all in for $2,100 and Froehlich called with K K. That was when Pham flipped over A A. The board came Q 10 8 Q 5 and Pham doubled up to $4,200. Froehlich did eventually win the first point, but Pham fought back in the second game. The Dragon took less than 20 minutes to even the score.
In the rubber match, Pham jumped out to the lead with two pair and never looked back. He poured on his trademark aggression and The Dragon increased his chip stack to $31,000 with large, well-timed raises. Froehlich was able to fight back a little and he increased his stack to $13,000 at one point, but it was Pham's day. On the final hand, Froehlich made a pair of sevens on a board of 10 5 A 4 7 with 9 7 in the hole. It was not enough to beat Pham, who won the championship match with pocket queens. "Eric, He's a tough one," remarked Pham at the end of the day. "This heads-up [event] I love because [we] play three sets. So, if you lose one you still have a chance," said Pham.
Pham won $155,200, the championship trophy, and a $25,000 seat in the World Poker Tour Championship. Tune in to CardPlayer.com for all the live updates, chip counts, and tournament photos when the championship event begins at noon on Saturday, May 19.
Copyright © 2001-2024
CardPlayer.com. All rights reserved.
