Although the $5,000 deuce-to-seven single-draw lowball event played in the shadow of the main event, which loomed large as satellites ran nonstop, and under the bright glow of Hollywood stars in the "Ante Up For Africa" charity event, it was easily the diamond in the rough at the World Series of Poker. It featured a superb final table, a historic win, and a daring heads-up comeback. Here is selected final table action from the CardPlayer.com event logs:
Best Final Table of the Series
Seat No. 1: Erik Seidel
Seat No. 2: Chad Brown
Seat No. 3: Todd Brunson
Seat No. 4: Andrew Black
Seat No. 5: Barry Greenstein
Seat No. 6: Freddy Deeb
Seat No. 7: Lamar Wilkinson
Seat No. 8: Shawn Sheikhan
Barry Greenstein Eliminated in Eighth Place in Two Parts
Act I
Lamar Wilkinson moved all in and Greenstein made the call after drawing one card. Wilkinson had stood pat and turned over a 10-8 low. Greenstein mucked his hand and was down to $3,000.
Act II
He was all in shortly after against Erik Seidel and drew two cards. Seidel made a 9-5 -4-3-2 and Greenstein showed a 9-8 low. He was eliminated in eighth place on the hand, and then promptly made his way to the media event.
Todd Brunson Eliminated in Seventh Place ($51,669)
Lamar Wilkinson raised to $60,000 and Todd Brunson made an all-in call for $51,000, Freddy Deeb called as well. Wilkinson stood pat, while both Deeb and Brunson drew one card. Wilkinson and Deeb checked and Wilkinson showed a 9-8 low. Deeb paired his 7 and Brunson showed a 10. Brunson was eliminated in seventh place and he took home $51,669.
Freddy Deeb Eliminated in Sixth Place ($73,813)
Freddy Deeb moved all in for $45,000 and Shawn Sheikhan raised to $80,000. Erik Seidel made the call and drew two cards. Sheikhan stood pat and Deeb drew one card. Seidel then led out for $145,000 and Sheikhan reraised all in. Seidel folded his hand and Sheikhan showed an 8-7 low. Deeb mucked his hand and was eliminated in sixth place. He took home $73,813 in prize money.
Andrew Black Eliminated in Fifth Place ($118,101)
Andrew Black moved all in for $230,000 and both Erik Seidel and Chad Brown made the call. All three players drew a card and then Seidel moved all in. Brown folded and Seidel showed a 9-8 low. Black had paired his seven on the draw and was eliminated in fifth place as a result. He walked away with $118,101 in prize money.
Lamar Wilkinson Eliminated in Fourth Place ($162,389)
Lamar Wilkinson moved all in for $170,000 and Shawn Sheikhan made the call. He stood pat while Wilkinson drew one card. Sheikhan then revealed a 9 low and Wilkinson mucked. He was eliminated in fourth place and took home $162,389 in prize money.
Shawn Sheikhan Eliminated in Third Place ($206,676)
Chad Brown bet $170,000 and Shawn Sheikhan moved all in for $240,000 more. Brown called and both players drew one card. Sheikhan turned up a 10-8 low, while Brown showed down a 9-7 low to take the pot. Sheikhan was eliminated in third place on the hand, and he took home $206,676 in prize money.
Erik Seidel Wins Event No. 54 ($538,835)
The heads-up match between Erik Seidel and Chad Brown began with Brown holding a large chip advantage, almost 3-to-1. Over the course of an hour, Seidel pulled off a gutsy performance, in which he was all in multiple times before mounting a comeback. He turned the tables on Brown and reversed his fortune in a drive to an eighth bracelet. Here is how the final hand came down:
Brown bet $250,000 and Seidel made the call. Seidel drew two cards and Brown drew one. Seidel then bet $250,000 and Brown raised with an all-in push for $600,000. Seidel called and turned over an 8-7 low, which defeated the 9-7 low that Brown exposed. The win gave Seidel his eighth gold bracelet and $538,835 in prize money. Brown won $324,777 for his second-place finish. Seidel is now fifth on the career bracelet list with eight bracelets, behind Phil Hellmuth (11), Doyle Brunson (10), Johnny Chan (10), and Johnny Moss (9).
