William Durkee Wins Event #10 at the WSOP

Another day at the World Series of Poker, another final table decided, another champion crowned. In what has become the early trend of this Series, the bracelet was once again defined just as much by who did not win the prize. This time it was Justin Bonomo who entered the final table with a massive chip stack. He played solid, aggressive poker, but it wasn't enough. Poker is a game of skill in the long run, but on any given day, lady luck can turn her back on you. Today was that day for Bonomo. She did manage to flash a smile in the direction of Williiam Durkee though; he took home the gold bracelet in the $2,000 no-limit hold'em event and the $566,916 in cash.

Here is how the action played out in selections from the CardPlayer.com hourly event logs:

The Harder they Fall

The two big stacks at the table got mixed up in a large hand. Bonomo flipped over pocket kings and Durkee was all in for his tournament life. Unfortunately, he flipped over pocket aces. The board helped neither player and Bonomo got one of his legs knocked out. He held only $485,000 after the hand and Durkee was the dominant chip leader with $3,850,000.

Justin Bonomo Eliminated in 4th Place ($156,040)

Bonomo moved all in on the next hand after he was crippled by Durkee. Durkee called him down and Bonomo flipped over K 10. Durkee turned over pocket sevens. The board was dealt Q J 7 5 4 and Bonomo was eliminated in fourth place. He took home $156,040 in prize money. Durkee was now the overwhelming chip leader heading into three-way action.

Hunter Frey Eliminated in Third Place ($231,173)

Hunter Frey was all in on an extremely short stack, and Todd Terry had him covered. Frey turned over 8 6 and Terry flipped over pocket nines. The board was dealt A A 10 J 7 and Frey was eliminated in third place. He took home $231,273 in prize money.

William Durkee now had a 3-to-1 chip advantage heading into the final matchup:

William Durkee: $4.5 million
Todd Terry: $1.5 million

The Rookie

The heads-up match kicked off and an interesting bit of information was discovered. Terry had made it not only to the final table, but also to the heads-up in just his first WSOP event. Both players were conservative in the early stages. This was peculiar on the part of Durkee, who held such a commanding chip lead.

Alligator Blood

Check, check, check, and after a dozen hands neither player had established himself as the captain of the heads-up match. Very passive poker was being played, especially for a heads-up match.

Price of Poker Goes Up

The blinds then kicked up to $30,000-$60,000 with a $5,000 ante.

A Friendly Game

Action plodded by and then Durkee moved all in on a flop of Q 8 3. Terry put his head in his hands and tanked. He eventually folded and Durkee flashed a queen towards Terry as he collected the pot. While the manners between these two competitors continued to be impeccable, the gap in the chip counts continued to widen:

William Durkee: $5 million
Todd Terry: $1 million

A Breakdown in Security

Terry now had less than 20 big blinds. In an attempt to trap Durkee, Terry checked down a board of J 6 5 J 8 with J 2. He won the small pot when Durkee flipped over K 2. Terry failed to protect his top pair on the flop though, and an opportunity passed him by.

The End Is Near

Terry moved all in twice over the next handful of hands and Durkee folded each time.

William Durkee Wins Event #10 ($566,916)

On a board of 10 9 8 Q, Todd Terry moved all in and William Durkee made the call. Terry flipped over A Q for top pair, top kicker. That was the good news; the bad news was that Durkee turned over the J for a queen high straight. To add insult to injury, the Q was dealt on the river. Terry was eliminated in second place, and he would take home $353,875. That made Durkee the champion of the $2,000 no-limit hold'em event. He took home the gold bracelet and $566,916.

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