World Series Of Poker -- Michael Linn Wins Event No. 49

Michael Linn won event No. 49 ($1,500 no limit hold’em) to take home his first bracelet and $609,493. He defeated Taylor Larkin in a two-hour heads-up match.

There were 23 players who returned on the final day to play down to a champion. Linn entered the day with the chip lead and he ended the day where he began, at the top of the chip counts. It took five hours to get down to the official final table with John Myung bubbling in 10th place.

Linn entered the final table fourth in chips but he hung around until the table got four handed. That’s when he knocked out Ben Smith (4th) and Anonymous (3rd) to enter heads-up play against Larkin with a 2-1 chip lead. Larkin did manage to double up a few times, but Linn finally managed to claim his first bracelet when Larkin’s Q-J could not outrun Linn’s A-2 on the final hand of the night.

Here are the official final table results:

1. Michael Linn — $609,493
2. Taylor Larkin — $378,905
3. Anonymous
4. Ben Smith — $193,418
5. Chadwick Grimes — $141,235
6. Alexander Kuzmin — $104,364
7. Justin Zaki — $78,067
8. Erle Mankin — $59,082
9. Tyler Cornell — $45,247

Here are the elimination hands as they were reported on CardPlayer.com’s live updates:

Tyler Cornell Eliminated in Ninth Place ($45,247)

Tyler Cornell raised to 80,000 from the cutoff and Justin Zaki called, as did Chadwick Grimes.

The flop came down 9 6 5 and Cornell put his last 5,000 into the middle. Both opponents called and the turn was the Q.

Both players checked and they did the same when the 3 fell on the river. Cornell tabled J 9 for top pair on the flop, but Grimes turned over K Q for a better pair and Cornell was the first player to bust from the final table.

Erle Mankin Eliminated in Eighth Place ($59,082)

Erle Mankin found himself all in preflop against Taylor Larkin. Here were their hands:

Mankin: A J
Larkin: A K

Mankin was dominated and the board ran out K 10 2 8 10 and Mankin was eliminated.

Justin Zaki Eliminated in Seventh Place ($78,067)

Anonymous raised to 100,000 from the button and Justin Zaki moved all in for 775,000 from the big blind. Anonymous snap-called and the players turned over their hands:

Anonymous: A A
Zaki: 6 5

Zaki’s move failed miserably as he was up against the best starting hand in poker. The board ran out A 9 8 9 K and Zaki was eliminated.

Alexander Kuzmin Eliminated in Sixth Place ($104,364)

Alexander Kuzmin moved all in for 875,000 from under the gun and he was called by Taylor Larkin. Here were their cards:

Kuzmin: A Q
Larkin: J J

Kuzmin was racing for his tournament life and the board ran out 8 3 2 6 10 and Kuzmin found no help as he was sent to the rail.

Chadwick Grimes Eliminated in Fifth Place ($141,235)

Taylor Larkin raised to 100,000 preflop and Chadwick Grimes made the call. The flop hit the table A 4 3 and Grimes checked. Larkin bet 150,000 and Grimes made the call.

The J fell on the turn and Grimes bet 360,000. Larkin went into the tank and then made the call. The river fell 4 and Grimes moved all in. Larkin made the call. Larkin flipped over Q 10 and Grimes was eliminated in fifth place ($141,235) when he mucked.

Ben Smith Eliminated in Fourth Place ($193,418)

Ben Smith moved all in preflop and Michael Linn made the call. Their cards:

Smith: A 4
Linn: 8 8

Board: Q 10 5 J 8

Smith was eliminated in fourth place on the hand and he took home $193,418 in prize money.

Anonymous Eliminated in Third Place ($268,189)

Anonymous moved all in preflop for 1.5 million and Michael Linn made the call. Their cards:

Anonymous: 2 2
Linn: A 9

Board: A J 4 5 K

Anonymous was eliminated on the hand in third place and he took home $268,189 in prize money.

Michael Linn Wins Event No. 49 ($609,493), Taylor Larkin Eliminated in Second Place ($378,905)

Taylor Larkin found himself all in against Michael Linn preflop. Here were their cards:

Larkin: Q J
Linn: A 2

The board ran out 10 6 2 7 4 and Larkin was eliminated, surrendering the bracelet to Michael Linn.

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