The heads-up match between Erik Seidel and Chad Brown began with Brown holding a large chip advantage. Almost 3-to-1 in fact. Over the course of an hour Seidel pulled off a gutsy performance, where he was all in multiple times before mounting a comeback. He turned the tables on Brown and reversed his fortune in a drive to an eighth bracelet. Here is how the final hand came down.
Brown bet $250,000 and Seidel made the call. Seidel drew two cards and Brown drew one. Seidel then bet $250,000 and Brown reraised with an all-in push for $600,000. Seidel called and turned over an 8-7 low, which narrowly defeated the 9-7 low that Brown exposed. The win gave Seidel his eighth gold bracelet and $538,835 in prize money. Brown won $324,777 for his second-place finish. Seidel is now fifth on the career bracelet list with eight bracelets, behind Phil Hellmuth (11), Doyle Brunson (10), Johnny Chan (10), and Johnny Moss (9).
Shawn Sheikhan Eliminated in Third Place ($206,676)
Posted: Thu, Jul 05, 07, 5:22 PM
Chad Brown bet $170,000 and Shawn Shiekhan moved all in for $240,000 more. Brown called and both players drew one card. Sheikhan turned up a 10-8 low, while Brown showed down a 9-7 low to take the pot. Sheikhan was eliminated in third place on the hand, and he will take home $206,676 in prize money.
Lamar Wilkinson Eliminated in Fourth Place ($162,389)
Posted: Thu, Jul 05, 07, 4:05 PM
Lamar Wilkinson moved all in for $170,000 and Shawn Sheikhan made the call. He stood pat while Wilkinson drew one card. Sheikhan then revealed a nine-low and Wilkinson mucked. He was eliminated in fourth place and took home $162,389 in prize money.
Andrew Black moved all in for $230,000 and both Erik Seidel and Chad Brown made the call. All three players drew a card and then Seidel moved all in. Brown folded and Seidel showed a 9-8 low. Black had paired his seven on the draw and was eliminated in fifth place as a result. He walked away with $118,101 in prize money.
Freddy Deeb moved all in for $45,000 and Shawn Sheikhan raised to $80,000. Erik Seidel made the call and drew two cards. Sheikhan stood pat and Deeb drew one card. Seidel then led out for $145,000 and Sheikhan reraised all in. Seidel folded his hand and Sheikhan showed an 8-7 low. Deeb mucked his hand and was eliminated in sixth place. He took home $73,813 in prize money.
The players have now gone on dinner break and they will return at 10:15 p.m.
Todd Brunson Eliminated in Seventh Place ($51,669)
Posted: Thu, Jul 05, 07, 1:00 PM
Lamar Wilkinson raised to $60,000 and Todd Brunson made an all-in call for $51,000, Freddy Deeb called as well. Wilkinson stood pat, while both Deeb and Brunson drew one card. Wilkinson and Deeb checked and Wilkinson showed a 9-8 low. Deeb paired his seven and Brunson showed a 10. Brunson was eliminated in seventh place and he took home $51,669.
Seat No. 1: Erik Seidel
Seat No. 2: Chad Brown
Seat No. 3: Todd Brunson
Seat No. 4: Andrew Black
Seat No. 5: Barry Greenstein
Seat No. 6: Freddy Deeb
Seat No. 7: Lamar Wilkinson
Seat No. 8: Shawn Sheikhan
Barry Greensetin Eliminated in Eighth Place in Two Parts
Act I
Lamar Wilkinson moved all in and Greenstein made the call after drawing one card. Wilkinson had stood pat and turned over a 10-8 low. Greenstein mucked his hand and was down to $3,000.
Act II
He was all in shortly after against Erik Seidel and drew two cards. Seidel made a 9-5 -4-3-2 and Greenstein showed a 9-8 low. He was eliminated in eighth place on the hand, and the promptly made his way to the media event.
Good Hand
Erik Seidel bet $60,000 and Freddy Deeb made the call. Both payers drew one card and Seidel bet $80,000. Deeb made the call and Seidel flipped over a 9-7-6-5-4. Deeb quicjly micked his hand and said, "Good hand."
After returning from a break the final twelve players returned. Chris Ferguson was the first player from this final dozen to be eliminated, but he promptly made an exit, and went to the charity event where his chip stack was waiting.
Power Moves
Bold and powerful bets remained the order of the day, and they usually negated hands from continuing on to a showdown.
Worst 2-7 Hand Ever?
Freddy Deeb continued to stand strong with a short stack and he moved all in preflop against Andrew Black. Black started laughing when he peeked at his cards, then mucked three two's faceup on the table.
Dinner Bell a Ways Off
The dinner break will be at 8:30 p.m. tonight, that is, unless the tournament reaches a champion before that time. It's a safe bet that the players will be heading to dinner at 8:30 p.m. though.
Allen Cunningham Eliminated in 11th Place
In a close race with Sean Sheikhan, Allen Cunningham was eliminated with a jack low that he stood pat on before the drawing round. Sheikhan drew one card and made a ten-low to send Cunningham to the rail in eleventh place.
Parris "Butch' Holmes Eliminated in 10th Place
Parris Homes was the next player to take his leave when moved all in and Deeb reraised all in over the top of him. Deeb had a queen low and Holmes was busted in tenth place.
One Table - Two HORSE Champions
During this late stage in the tournament the two HORSE champions, Freddy Deeb, and Chip Reese were seated together at the same table.
Polite Clap
Phil Hellmuth had the open mic in his hand and was commentating the 'Ante Up For Africa' tournament in the Amazon room. Hellmuth is perfect for the job, but as you can imagine it made for a lot of background noise in the room. Upon the announcement that he would take a break and return to playing in the event, Barry Greenstein broke into a polite clap, round of applause.
Chip Reese Eliminated in Ninth Place
Reese was the next to go when he ran into the 8-7 low of Andrew Black. Reese mucked his hand and exited the field. The eight remaining player then went on a short break and will redraw for seats at the final table.
Barry Greenstein bets $25,000 and both Allen Cunningham and Sean Shiekhan call. Greenstein and Cunningham draw one card each, while Shiekhan draws two. Greenstein leads out for $40,000 and everyone folds.
A few hands later Erik Sediel checked after drawing one card and Shiekhan bet $40,000. Greenstein raised to $140,000 and everyone folded once again.
Deeb Fights the Good Fight
Freddy Deeb was on the short stack at this point, but just as he did in the HORSE tournament, he is fighting back aggressively. Todd Brunson raised to $25,000 and Deeb reraised all in for $75,000. Brunson mucked and he survived. A few hands later he bet $50,000 into a $50,000 pot before the drawing round and received no calls.
The Patriarch Sweats
Doyle Brunson stopped by to watch the action and sweat his son, Todd. He received more attention from Chip Reese though. "He's playing well," said Reese as he motioned in Todd's direction. Doyle is waiting to play in the 'Ante Up for Africa' charity event, which should begin shortly.
Sheikhan Doubled Up
Shiekhan moved all in for $130,000 and Chad Brown tanked, counted his chips, and finally made the call. He then drew one card before Shiekhan showed a J-9-7-5-3. Brown flipped over his single draw card, the Kd, then mucked his hand. Shiekhan doubled up and he is back in the hunt.
Sweet Irony
Overheard during the hour on the tournament P.A. system: "The mega-satellite will start right on time, two hours late."
A Resilient Bunch
Play continued slowly during the our and only two players hit the rail. Jeffrey Lisandro was eliminated in 14th place, and Thor Hansen was eliminated in 13th place. The rest of the players fiercely clung to their tournament lives, and it was clear that all of them coveted the 2-7 single draw gold bracelet, which is one of the most highly-respected among the pros.
Notable Chip Counts
