David Williams Wins the 2010 World Poker Tour Championship

“I had a vision of this, right here,” said Bodog pro David Williams (pictured right) as he held up two fistfuls of $100 bills and posed for winner photos after capturing the 2010 World Poker Tour Championship tonight at Bellagio. Williams beat a very talented collection of professionals to win his first WPT title at his fourth final-table appearance on the tour. He was awarded $1,530,537 in prize money and he grew his career earnings to an impressive $7,884,005. What follows is the story of how he added a WPT title to his trophy case. Here is a look at the chip counts at the start of the final table:

Seat 1: John O’Shea – 1,200,000
Seat 2: Billy Baxter – 2,440,000
Seat 3: Eric Baldwin – 4,490,000
Seat 4: David Williams – 4,700,000
Seat 5: David Benyamine – 4,705,000
Seat 6: Shawn Buchanan – 1,965,000

John O’Shea was on a mission to double-up quickly and win the tournament or bust out trying when the day began. His end result was the latter. He hit the rail in sixth place after Billy Baxter called him down with A-10 and all that O’Shea could muster was 6-3. Baxter busted a short time later in fifth place when his aces up fell to a flopped Broadway straight that was held by Williams.

The battle for fourth place raged on for hours before David Benyamine shoved preflop with Q-J. Shawn Buchanan made the call with A-5 and a 5 on the turn sent Benyamine out in fourth place. Quickly after that Buchanan found his own stack at risk. He moved all in preflop with pocket queens and Williams made the call with pocket nines. A third 9 fell on the flop and Buchanan was out in third.

Williams took a 3-1 chip advantage into the heads-up final against Eric Baldwin. The 2009 Card Player Player of the Year was never able to get much going against Williams and the first major hand they played against one another was the final hand of the tournament. Baldwin moved all in preflop with A-5 and Williams made the call with pocket deuces. The A-7-6-2-4 board took everyone in the room on a wild ride before settling the dispute of who would be the 2010 WPT world champion. Baldwin was eliminated in second place and Williams took home one of the top titles in poker.

Final-Table Results:

1: David Williams — $1,530,537
2: Eric Baldwin — $1,034,715
3: Shawn Buchanan — $587,906
4: David Benyamine — $329,228
5: Billy Baxter — $246,921
6: John O’Shea — $199,888

Here is a look at the elimination hands as featured on CardPlayer.com’s live updates:

John O’Shea Eliminated in Sixth Place ($199,888)

John O’Shea moved all in preflop for 1,130,000 from the small blind and Billy Baxter went into the tank before making the call. Their cards:

Baxter: A 10
O’Shea: 6 3

Board: J 8 4 4 7

Baxter won the hand with ace-high and he grew his stack to 4.37 million. O’Shea was eliminated in sixth place and he will take home $199,888 in prize money.

Billy Baxter Eliminated in Fifth Place ($246,921)

Billy Baxter moved all in preflop for 1,370,000 from the button and David Williams made the call. Their cards:

Baxter: A J
Williams: K 10

Board: A Q J 6 3

Williams won the hand with a straight to grow his stack to 10,490,000 and Baxter was eliminated in fifth place. He took home $246,921 in prize money.

David Benyamine Eliminated in Fourth Place ($329,228)

David Benyamine moved all in preflop for 3,205,000 from the small blind and Shawn Buchanan went into the tank for a long time on the big blind before making the call. Their cards:

Buchanan: A 5
Benyamine: Q J

Board: 9 7 2 5 7

Buchanan won the hand with two pair and he grew his stack to 6.79 million. Benyamine was eliminated in fourth place and he took home $329,228 in prize money.

Shawn Buchanan Eliminated in Third Place ($587,906)

David Williams raised to 500,000 from the button preflop and Shawn Buchanan raised to 2.2 million from the small blind. Williams went into the tank for a moment and then he decided to move all in. Buchanan made the all-in call and they flipped over their cards:

Williams: 9 9
Buchanan: Q Q

Board: J 9 2 4 6

Williams won the hand with a set of nines and he grew his stack to 15,105,000. Buchanan was eliminated in third place and he will take home $587,906 in prize money.

David Williams Wins the WPT Championship ($1,530,537) — Eric Baldwin Eliminated in Second Place ($1,034,715)

David Williams raised to 500,000 preflop and Eric Baldwin moved all in for 4,765,000. Williams went into the tank for more than a minute and then he made the call. Everyone in the Fontana Lounge rose to their feet and the two final players in the tournament flipped over their cards:

Williams: 2 2
Baldwin: A 5

Board: A 7 6 2 4

The crowd cheered loud for the ace on the flop, which gave Baldwin the lead, but they were even louder when a third deuce fell on the turn. Williams won the tournament with a set and Baldwin was eliminated in second place. The 2009 Card Player Player of the Year received his first million-dollar cash as runner up ($1,034,715).

Williams won his first WPT title at his fourth final-table appearance on the tour. He won $1,530,537 in prize money and the title of WPT world champion. Williams adds the win to his list of career achievements that include a World Series of Poker gold bracelet and a runner-up finish at the 2004 WSOP main event.

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