WSOP: Mike Matusow Wins Event No. 18

Eighty-five of the best poker players in the world bought into the $5,000 no-limit deuce-to-seven draw lowball tournament, and at the end of play tonight, one of the most recognizable poker players in the world emerged victorious. Mike "The Mouth" Matusow captured his third gold bracelet at a table that was just as tough, if not tougher than the one he faced to win the 2005 WSOP Tournament of Champions. The heads-up match came down to Matusow and Jeffrey Lisandro after prolonged periods of four handed and three-handed competition. Two very close hands made the end of the night very exciting, and the jam-packed crowd at the final-table stage roared their approval even as things closed in on 3 a.m. It was truly a memorable night at the WSOP.

Here were the final table seating assignments and chip counts when things started at 3 p.m...

Seat 1 - Jeffrey Lisandro - 461,000
Seat 2 - Mike Matusow - 520,000
Seat 3 - Tom Schneider - 162,000
Seat 4 - Erick Lindgren - 1,104,000
Seat 5 - Barry Greenstein - 541,000
Seat 6 - Tony Guoga - 394,000
Seat 7 - David Benyamine - 410,000

Here are highlights from all of the action, as featured in CardPlayer.com’s live coverage of the final table:

Tom Schneider Doubles Through David Benyamine

David Benyamine raised to 30,000 under the gun and Tom Schneider moved all in for 126,000. Benyamine made the call and drew one card, throwing away a jack. Schneider stood pat and turned over 10-7-5-3-2. Benyamine revealed his four original cards for 9-5-4-3 and needed his last card to be an eight, seven, six, or deuce to bust Schneider. After taking a peek, Benyamine threw his hand into the muck. Schneider now had roughly 275,000.

David Benyamine Eliminated in Seventh Place ($58,990)

Erick Lindgren raised to 40,000 and Tony G made the call. David Benymaine then moved all in for 146,000 and Lindgren was the only caller. Benyamine stood pat and Lindgren drew one. Benyamine then turned over J-8-7-4-2 and Lindgren showed his draw, 8-5-4-2. Lindgren needed a three, six, seven, nine, ten, or jack to bust Benyamine, and he turned over a 7 to make his hand. Benyamine finished in seventh place and Lindgren chips up to 1.4 million.

Tony G Eliminated in Sixth Place ($78,075)

Erick Lindgren raised to 40,000 and Tony G moved all in for his last 140,000. Lindgren called and both drew one card. Lindgren drew a 9-8-6-5-4 and Tony G paired his deuce to bust in sixth place. Lindgren was back up to 1.2 million.

Barry Greenstein Ribs Mike Matusow

Erick Lindgren raised to 50,000 from the small blind and Barry Greenstein called in the big blind. Lindgren drew one and Greenstein drew two. After both players checked, Greenstein showed down his jack low to take the pot. After flashing his all black hand, Greenstein announced, "Oh no, they're all clubs!" which got the entire table to laugh. Greenstein was referencing a hand that Mike Matusow played on the bubble yesterday, when he stood pat with five clubs in his hand without realizing it.

Tom Schneider Eliminated in Fifth Place ($104,101)

Jeffrey Lisandro raised to 60,000 and Mike Matusow made the call. Tom Schneider then moved all in from the button for 185,000. Both Lisandro and Matusow made the call and the pot grew even larger. Lisandro and Matusow each drew one, and Schneider stood pat. Lisandro checked after drawing and Matusow bet 200,000. Lisandro looked disappointed as he discarded his 8-5-3-2-8. Matusow then announced 9-5-4-3-2 and Schneider mucked his hand. Matusow won the huge pot and Schneider was eliminated in fifth place.

Mike Matusow Calls With King High

Jeffrey Lisandro raised to 60,000 from the cutoff and Mike Matusow called on the button. Both players drew one card, and Lisandro bet 100,000. Matusow looked him up and down and finally decided to call. Lisandro announced that he paired up and Matusow broke out into a celebration showing his K-9-7-3-2.

Erick Lindgren Eliminated in Fourth Place ($156,151)

Jeffrey Lisandro raised to 85,000 and Mike Matusow called in the small blind. Erick Lindgren then moved all in from the big blind and Matusow was the only caller. Matusow drew two to make a 8-7-6-4-2 and Lindgren needed some help with his 7-low draw. Unfortunately, he paired his deuce and was sent to the rail in fourth place.

Mike Matusow Continues To Win

Mike Matusow raised to 90,000 and was called by Jeffrey Lisandro in the big blind. Both players drew one card and Lisandro led out for 140,000. Matusow called and Lisandro didn't turn over his cards. Matusow knew he had won, but wanted to see anyway. Lisandro showed a straight and Matusow flashed his 10-9-8-7-3 to take it down.

Barry Greenstein Eliminated in 3rd Place ($225,552)

Barry Greenstein moved all in preflop for 330,000 and Jeffrey Lisandro made the call. Each player drew one card with the following hands:

Greenstein: 9-7-6-2
Lisandro: 10-8-5-4

Greenstein turned up a 7 for his final card and Lisandro showed down an ace. Greenstein was eliminated on the hand, and he took home $225,552 in prize money.

Mike Matusow Doubles Up!

The heads-up match was on its first hand when Mike Matusow moved all in preflop and Jeffrey Lisandro made the call. Each player drew one card holding the following hands:

Matusow: 9-6-5-3
Lisandro: 10-8-5-2

They looked at their final cards and Matusow revealed a 10. Lisandro turned over an 8 to pair up and Matusow went into jubilant celebration. The crowd joined in and the noise echoed accross the Amazon Room. Matusow has not looked back after gaining new -ound life, and he continues to lean on Lisandro with open-shoves all in preflop. Things could come to an end soon.

Mike Matusow Wins Event No. 18 ($537,862)

Jeffrey Lisandro managed to double up with a 10-8-5 against Matusow's 10-8-7 to keep the exciting match going by a slim margin, but Matusow still held a nice chip lead, and he once again put the pressure on Lisandro to shrink his stack back down to size.

Lisandro held 580,000 when Matusow open-shoved all in, and he decided to make the call. After the call Lisandro asked for one card and Matusow went into the tank. He hemmed and hawed about whether he should stand pat, or try and improve his hand against Lisandro. He eventually to decided to do battle with the hand he was dealt. Their cards:

Lisandro: 9-6-5-3
Matusow: Q-8-7-4-3

Lisandro was dealt one last card and he took a peek before flipping up a queen for all to see. The crowd went wild as the bracelet was decided by just one card! Lisandro was eliminated in second place, and he took home $347,704 for his strong performance. Matusow was awarded his third gold bracelet, as well as $537,862 in prize money, and he was visibly overjoyed as he received his bounty.

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