WSOP: Sebastian Ruthenberg Wins Event No. 33

Sebastian Ruthenberg had a tall order to start the day. On just a few hours of sleep he had to run the guantlet at a final table that included Steve Sung, Marcel Luske, and Annie Duke. After he accomplished that feat, waiting for him was the toughest heads-up match of the summer against Chris "Jesus" Ferguson. In both cases Ruthenberg came out on top and he won his first gold bracelet and $328,756 as his just rewards. A loud group of German supporters was with him every step of the way, creating an internationl party atmosphere for the second night in a row at the World Series of Poker.

Here were the starting stacks when play began.

Seat 1: Bob Lauria -- 44,000
Seat 2: Marcel Luske -- 308,000
Seat 3: Steve Sung -- 207,000
Seat 4: Annie Duke -- 277,000
Seat 5: Alessio Isaia -- 398,000
Seat 6: Sebastian Ruthenberg -- 663,000
Seat 7: Chris Ferguson -- 434,000
Seat 8: Bob Beveridge -- 280,000

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

The Doubling Dutchman

 Marcel Luske got all of his chips into the middle early and often here at the final table. First, he scooped a pot with aces and fives against Chris Ferguson to double up when Ferguson did not qualify low. Second, Luske took the low half against Ferguson in a subsequent pot with a 6-5 low to survive, and third, Luske scooped anothet pot with a full house when Sebastain Ruthenberg failed to qualify low. Luske now holds over 300,000.

Bob Beveridge Eliminated in Eighth Place ($36,801)

Bob Beveridge got the last of his chips into the middle against Marcel Luske after multiple raises on the first round of betting, and they turned up their hands:

Luske: (A 2) 5 5 7 6 (8)
Beveridge: (A K) 6 9 4 8 (5)

Luske scooped the high and the low and Beveridge was eliminated in eighth place, taking home $38,081 in prize money.

Steve Sung Eliminated in Seventh Place ($46,001)

Steve Sung and Annie Duke got involved in some heavy betting on every single street with the following cards exposed:

Duke: 6 K 2 4
Sung: 7 6 7 K

At the end of the action Sung was all in and Duke flipped over A K 3 to scoop the high and the low. Sung mucked his hand and was eliminated in seventh place ($46,001).

Alessio Isaia Eliminated in Sixth Place ($58,268)

Alessio Isaia was busted out of the tournament by Sebastian Ruthenberg when Isaia got all of his chips into the middle on fifth street and Ruthenberg spiked an ace on sixth street. The ace gave Ruthenberg a pair of aces and a 7-5 low, which scooped the high and the low pot when Isaia did not improve.

Annie Duke Eliminated in Fifth Place ($73,602)

Annie Duke got the last of her chips into the middle on third street and both Chris Ferguson and Ruthenberg made the call. Ferguson then bet Ruthenberg out of the pot on fourth street before he and Duke rolled over their cards:

Ferguson: (K K) J 7 3 9 (J)
Duke: (10 10) 5 2 8 9 (A)

Ferguson won the high with kings up and Duke failed to qualify low. She was eliminated in fifth place, and took home $73,602 in prize money.

Marcel Luske Eliminated in Fourth Place ($95,069)

Marcel Luske moved all in for the seventh time at the final table on sixth street against Bob Lauria with the following cards exposed for each player:

Lauria: (A 2) 3 8 7 Q...
Luske: (A 5) 10 J 5 9...

Each player was then dealt their seventh street card facedown and each took a moment before turning over their holdings. Lauria showed down the 7 for a pair of sevens. Luske turned up the 8 and he was eliminated in fourth place, taking home $95,069 in prize money.

Bob Lauria Eliminated in Third Place ($125,737)

Bob Lauria finally hit the rail when his three 8's ran into the full house of Chris Ferguson. Lauria was eliminated in third place, and he took home $125,737 in prize money. Ferguson was up to 1.6 million heading into the heads-up match.

Ferguson Takes a Hit

Chris Ferguson and Sebastian Ruthenberg bet, raised, and reraised a pot to where 1.4 million sat on the table on seventh street. Their cards:

Ferguson: 5 5 8 K exposed
Ruthenberg: (A 6) A 2 8 A (5)

Ferguson mucked the 5 to show he had made a set with the case 5, but it was Ruthenberg who took down the pot, and a massive chip lead. Ferguson was down to 825,000 after the hand.

Digging Deep for Bracelet No. 6

Chris Ferguson has been chipping away at Ruthenberg relentlessly. Jesus is picking up all of the small pots and avoiding any large confrontations with his opponent. While it is not too much fun to watch it is highly effective. Ferguson has just about closed the gap in chip counts after being in a dire position a little while ago. Thanks to the high limits, all of those small pots have swung the chip lead back to Ferguson's favor.

Ruthenberg Takes a Hit

A series of bets and raises built another large pot between Sebastian Ruthenberg and Chris Ferguson when their full hands were revealed:

Ferguson: (A-Q) 8 Q K 8 (5)
Ruthenberg: (A-Q) 7 7 3 9 (9)

Ferguson won another large hand and Ruthenberg was knocked all the way down to 400,000.

Ruthenberg on a Rush

Ruthenberg took his 400,000 and doubled up not once, but twice to take his stack to 800,000 during the next 20 minutes.

Penultimate Hand of the Match

Another pot was grown to gargantuan levels beween the two players before they revealed their hands after seventh street:

Ruthenberg: (A-2) A 6 6 3 (9)
Ferguson: (7-8) 2 10 5 5 (10)

Ruthenberg took down the massive pot with aces up and completly turned the tables of the heads-up match back around. He now held 1.85 million to Ferguson's 760,000.

Sebastian Ruthenberg Wins Event No. 33 ($328,756)

Chris Ferguson committed the last of his chips on fifth street after a series of bets and raises. Their cards:

Ruthenberg: (6-2) 7 4 Q 4x (3)
Ferguson: (A-9) 5 A 4 Jx (muck)

Ferguson was eliminated in second place, and he took home $202,406 in prize money. Ruthenberg won the tournament, his first bracelet, and $328,756 in prize money.

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