World Series of Poker -- Matt Matros Wins Event No. 12Card Player Writer Earns first WSOP Bracelet of Career |
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Card Player writer Matt Matros entered the 2010 World Series of Poker with more than $1.3 million in tournament winnings in his career, but throughout all of his success on the felt a WSOP bracelet had always eluded him.
So it only seemed fitting that the poker coach and writer would use a textbook display of poker at the final table of event No. 12 ($1,500 limit hold’em) to get his first taste of WSOP glory.
Matros entered the final table Sunday as one of the shorter stacks but he gradually chipped up, eliminating Jameson Painter in seventh place and a few hours later besting Ahmad Abghari heads up.
Here’s a look at the final-table results:
1. Matt Matros — $189,870
2. Ahmad Abghari — $117,272
3. Terrence Chan — $83,185
4. Georgios Kapalas — $59,838
5. Adrian Dresel-Velasquez — $43,647
6. Jason Potter — $32,281
7. Jameson Painter — $24,198
8. Roberto Truijers — $18,385
9. Mark Burford — $14,149
Here is a look at the action as it appeared in the Card Player live updates.
Following the dinner break, chips started flying around and the final table quickly lost some players.
Mark Burford Gone in Ninth Place ($14,149)
A short-stacked Mark Burford raised and faced a re-raise from Georgios Kapalas. With nearly half of his remaining stack already in the pot, Burford re-raised his last 3,000 and saw what appeared to be good news when Kapalas called.
Kapalas held A 4 and he was trailing Burford’s A K.
The flop made it interesting, coming Q 5 2. The 6 turn didn’t help, but the river was disgusting for Burford. The 3 hit, giving Kapalas a straight and eliminating Burford in ninth place.
Truijers Falls in Eighth Place ($18,385)
Roberto Truijers was short on chips and he raised all in from the big blind preflop. He was called by Jameson Painter and Ahmad Abghari. The two callers checked the entire board of K 10 4 K 3 and showed down. Their hands:
Truijers: A Q
Abghari: 6 6
Painter: Muck
Truijers was eliminated in eighth place, as Abghari took it down with two pair, increasing his stack to 325,000.
Painter Finishes in Seventh Place ($24,198)
On a flop of K 9 8 Matt Matros bet and Jameson Painter raised. Painter was all in holding A Q and he had been outdrawn by Matros’ A 8.
The 3 turn and 5 river were meaningless and Painter hit the rail in seventh place. The pot boosted Matros to second in chips with 550,000.
Jason Potter Next to Go, in Sixth Place ($32,281)
Jason Potter got all in with his last few chips, holding A J. His opponent Georgios Kapalas was holding 9 9 and the race was on. The board ran 10 10 4 2 8.
Potter missed his outs and was knocked out in sixth place.
Dresel-Velasquez Busts in Fifth Place ($43,647)
Adrian Dresel-Velasquez got his short stack all in preflop and got three callers. The entire board was checked down, reading 8 6 2 10 Q. Their hands:
Dresel-Velasquez: 7 6
Kapalas: A 4
Matros: A 3
Abghari: K Q
Abghari hit a pair of queens on the river and with that Dresel-Velasquez was gone in fifth place.
Kapalas Loses Flip, Out in Fourth Place ($59,838)
Very short on chips, Georgios Kapalas got all in with 10 10 and was in a race situation against Terrence Chan’s A J.
The first card on the board was bad for Kapalas, and it didn’t get any better. It ran: Q J 3 2 5
Chan paired his jack and held on to knock Kapalas out in fourth place.
Chan Out in Third ($83,185)
Terrence Chan nearly got all in after a series of back and forth raises heads up against Ahmad Abghari on a flop of A 10 8.
On the 7 turn Chan got the rest of it in and was called.
Chan showed Q 6 for a flush draw and inside straight draw, while Abghari held A 7 for two pair.
The river K helped nobody and Chan was eliminated in third place, and it set the heads-up match between Matt Matros and Ahmad Abghari.
Matt Matros Wins Event No. 12 ($189,870) — Abghari Finishes Second Place ($117,272)
After a back and forth heads-up match, a short-stacked Ahmad Abghari bet on a flop of Q 4 4 and Matt Matros raised.
Abghari bet again on the 3 turn and Matros again raised, followed by Abghari re-raising to put his few remaining chips all in.
Matros called and flipped over Q 8 for two pair, while Abghari showed A 10, needing an ace on the river to stay alive.
It wasn’t to be, as the 8 hit and Matros took the title down, along with $189,870 and his first ever WSOP bracelet.
Abghari’s runner-up performance earned him $117,272.