Leo Wolpert Eliminated in 3rd Place ($187,812)

Leo Wolpert moved all in from the small blind for 425,000 and Greg Mueller called.

Wolpert: K3
Mueller: K2
Board: AQ852

Mueller spiked a deuce on the river, eliminating Leo Wolpert in 3rd place ($187,812)

Heads-Up Play Begins

Here were the chip counts going into heads-up play...

Tom: 3,600,000
Mueller: 2,400,000


Phil Tom Wins Event No. 11 ($477,990)
Greg Mueller Settles for 2nd ($298,638)

After grinding down and taking a few hits, Greg Mueller found himself in a tough postion. He would have to make a move soon before the blinds would begin to chip away at his already short stack. In the final hand of the night, Muller limped in on the button and Phil Tom checked his option from the big blind. The flop came J93, and both players checked. The turn was the 5 and Tom bet 150,000. Mueller raised to 350,000 and Tom reraised enough to put Mueller all in. Mueller called and turned over J8 for top pair while Tom showed AJ for top pair, top kicker. Mueller;s last hope at a bracelet tonight lingered on the river card. The river was the K, not an eight, and Greg Mueller was elimianted in 2nd place ($298,638) while Phil Tom was crowned our champion, taking home the top prize of $477,990.

 

Blinds: 20,000-40,000 with a 5,000 ante

Eliminations: Tim West (5th Place), Sirous Jamshidi (4th Place)

Chip Leaders: 

Tim "Tmay420" West Eliminated in 5th Place ($63,450)

Leo Wolpert raised to 100,000 and Tim West pushed all in. Wolpert instantly called and turned over KK. West needed help with the 99, but the board came 742J10 and he was eliminated in fifth place.

Sirous Jamshidi Eliminated in 4th Place ($118,440)

Sirous Jamshidi and Phillip Tom got it all in holding premium pairs. Jamshidi had JJ but he was up against Tom's AA. The board offered no help when it came K10527 and Jamshidi was eliminated in fourth place. Tom's stack grew to 1.8 million after the hand.

NOTE: Players are now on a one-hour dinner break until 8:15 PM PST.

Blinds: 12,000-24,000 with a 3,000 ante

Eliminations: None

Chip Leaders: 

Sirous Jamshidi Doubles Up Through Tim West

Tom Roupe limped, as did Tim West. Sirous Jamshidi completed from the small bind and Greg Mueller checked his option. The flop came 954 and Jamshidi bet 100,000. Everyone folded to West who put Jamshidi all in. Jamshidi made the call and turned over 54, and West needed help for his JJ to improve. The turn and river came 87 and Jamshidi doubled up to over 1.1 million in chips.

Philip Tom Doubles Through Greg Mueller

Philip Tom raised to 50,000 and Greg Mueller calls. The flop came J93 and both players check. The turn was the A and Mueller checked. Tom moved all in for 340,000 and after a bit, Mueller made the call. Mueller showed A10 but was behind to Tom's AQ. The river was the 5 and Tom doubled up.

Tim West Doubles Through Sirous Jamshidi

Tim West raised to 240,000 leaving himself with only 2,000 behind. Sirous Jamshidi called and both players got it all in dark. West showed 44 and Jamshidi had A10. The board ran out Q93J5 and West doubled up.

NOTE: The players then took a 5-minute break before the next level.

Blinds: 10,000-20,000 with a 3,000 ante

Eliminations: None

Chip Leaders: 

Greg "FBT" Mueller Takes Charge

Right out of the gate, Greg Mueller came out firing. With each player starting with 50 big blinds, stealing became a priority in the first round and Mueller seemed determine to get his fair share. He won 5 out of the first 10 hands without too much trouble, and then picked up even more chips the next few hands with big reraises. Mueller doesn't seem afraid to go out in sixth, but as a result, he's picked up a nice lead on the rest of the field.
 

Sirous Jamshidi Fires Back

Nobody wants to go out first, and everyone but Mueller is playing extra cautiously. So cautiously, in fact, that there wasn't a single confrontation until about 30 hands in, when Sirous Jamshidi finally had enough and moved all in. Mueller decided not to go with it and for now, Jamshidi keeps some distance between himself and the felt.

Leo "Superfluous Man" Wolpert Makes Some Noise

As the level came to an end, Leo Wolpert won four pots out of five to vault himself near the top of the leaderboard. At this point, We were still awaiting our first real clash of the final table.

Tim "Tmay420" West Doubles Up

After getting pretty short, Tim West was all in holding AK against the 99 of Greg Mueller. The board came K4256 and West doubled up to about 860,000.

NOTE: The players then took a 20-minute break.

The final table for event No. 11 begins today at 2:00pm, and is guaranteed to feature extremely tough competition.  The remaining six players battled their way through a total field of 360 players to arrive at today’s final table, but only one will go home with the gold bracelet and $477,990 in prize money.

Here’s a run-down of the players at the final table:

Quad sevens on the last hand of Sirous Jamshidi’s round two table sent him to the final table.  Jamshidi has yet to capture a gold bracelet despite finishing in fourth place in an Omaha event at the 2007 WSOP and a 16^th place finish in the 2006 main event.  Jamshidi hails from Broomall, Pennsylvania.

Noted online professional who plays under the name “Tmay420,” Tim West will be adding to over $40,000 in previous career World Series of Poker cashes, and is one of three players to cash in at least one other event so far this year at the WSOP.

From Seattle, Washington, Phillip Tom’s finish today is guaranteed to be his lifetime WSOP career best.  Tom has booked five cashes at the World Series since 2004, his highest being 30^th place in the mixed hold’em event earlier this month.

Perhaps the most seasoned pro at the final table, Canadian Greg Mueller needs almost no introduction.  Despite his impressive career record, Mueller has yet to capture a WSOP bracelet of his own.  Mueller fell short last year in the mixed hold’em, defeated heads-up by Steve Billirakis while earning $328,554 for his second place finish.

Internet pro Leo Walpert will be a first time casher at the World Series of Poker.  Nevertheless, while playing under the name “Superfluous Man,” Walpert has scored some major online cashes including a first place finish last year in an hold’em tournament to the tune of $31,000.

Tom Roupe from Houston, Texas will also be vying for the coveted title in this event, a nice compliment to his previous no-limit hold’em WSOP cashes.  Roupe finished 54^th in a preliminary hold’em event at the 2006 World Series, and bagged 127^th in the 2005 main event.