Prahlad Friedman Wins the WPT Legends of Poker

When the final table at the 2009 World Poker Tour Legends of Poker $10,000 no-limit hold’em championship began, Kevin Schaffel held the chip lead. Schaffel was appearing in his first live tournament after making the November Nine in the World Series of Poker main event, and he was riding a world of momentum as he stacked chips throughout the week in L.A.

While Schaffel is still looking for his first WSOP gold bracelet, Prahlad Friedman was one of two players at the Legends final table who already held one (Toto Leonidas being the other). By the end of the night, Friedman had captured his first WPT title before Schaffel, as well, beating out the November Niner in the heads-up final to win the first-place prize of $1,009,000. Friedman proved once again that poker is fun for everyone — except for his opponents.

Mike Krescanko fell quickly in sixth place to begin the action shortly after play began this afternoon, and then there was a long lull in the action. This was partially due to slow play at the table, but also due to a series of technical difficulties. It took a couple of hours before Sam Stein fell in fifth place and the final four was set.

Leonidas was the next to fall after hanging on for a long time with a short stack. He doubled up multiple times, but he eventually fell in fourth place. Todd Terry looked like he might be the favorite to win the tournament during the final two days of play as he flirted with the chip lead, but his fortunes changed during the final stretch of play as he busted in third place.

The heads-up final began with Friedman holding a healthy portion of the remaining chips in play (6,605,000). Schaffel entered heads-up play with just 1,850,000, but he was able to to double up quickly to bring the chip counts close to even. Just 14 hands later, though, the final table came to a close, and Friedman was the champion.

Here are the final results:

1: Prahlad Friedman — $1,009,000
2: Kevin Schaffel — $471,670
3: Todd Terry — $231,300
4: Toto Leonidas — $144,600
5: Sam Stein — $116,225
6: Mike Krescanko — $89,220

Here are the elimination hands from CardPlayer.com’s live updates:

Mike Krescanko Eliminated in Sixth Place ($89,220)

Prahlad Friedman raised to 65,000 from the small blind, and Mike Krescanko (pictured right) moved all in for 450,000. Friedman made the call, and they flipped up their cards:

Krescanko: A Q
Friedman: K K

Board: K 9 2 Q 8

Friedman won the hand with a set of kings, and he now held 2,070,000. Krescanko was eliminated in sixth place and he will take home $89,220 in prize money.

Sam Stein Eliminated in Fifth Place ($116,215)

Kevin Schaffel raised from the cutoff to 150,000, and Sam Stein (pictured left) moved all in from the big blind for 755,000. Schaffel called and they flipped up their cards.

Schaffel: 7 7
Stein: K Q

Board: 8 7 3 2 2

Stein was eliminated on the hand in fifth place, and he will take home $116,215 in prize money. Schaffel increased his chip lead to 3.5 million.

Toto Leonidas Eliminated in Fourth Place ($144,600)

Prahlad Friedman raised to 200,000 under the gun preflop, and Toto Leonidas (pictured right) made the call from the button. The flop was dealt K 6 2, and Friedman bet 350,000. Leonidas thought for a moment and then moved all in for 1,390,000. Friedman made the call and they flipped up their cards:

Friedman: A K
Leonidas: A 9

Turn and River: J 2

Leonidas was eliminated on the hand in fourth place, and he will take home $144,600 in prize money. Friedman grew his chip stack to 4,445,000 and took the chip lead.

Todd Terry Eliminated in Third Place ($231,200)

Prahlad Friedman raised in the small blind to 200,000, and Todd Terry (pictured left) moved all in from the big blind for the rest of his stack. Friedman quickly called with the A Q, and Terry was racing with pocket fours.

The board came Q J 6 K K, and Terry was eliminated in third place. After the hand, Friedman’s stack grew to nearly 7 million.

Kevin Schaffel Eliminated in Second Place ($471,670) Prahlad Friedman Wins 2009 WPT Legends of Poker Main Event ($1,009,000)

All things considered, the end came quickly, despite a final table that featured numerous delays and unscheduled breaks.

Kevin Schaffel opened with a raise on the final hand to 300,000, and Prahlad Friedman (pictured right) reraised to 800,000. Schaffel thought it over for about 30 seconds before moving all in, causing Friedman to go into the tank.

With 2.8 million more, Friedman decided to make the call with A Q. Schaffel turned over K J and had live cards to double up.

The dealer rolled over a board of 10 3 2 4 9, and Schaffel (pictured left) was eliminated. Friedman celebrated in the stands with wife Dee Luong and the rest of his cheering section.

Schaffel clearly didn’t practice avoidance, but was rewarded with $471,670 for his efforts. Friedman earned $1,009,000 in victory along with a $25,000 seat to the Bellagio WPT Championship in April.

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