Play Resumes The 15 minute break has ended and we are once again heads up. The blind have been raised to $400,000-$800,00 with a $100,000 ante. Tuan Lam Doubles up
Lam moves all in from the small blind with 43, and is called by Jerry Yang with A9. The board comes K846K, and Lam makes a pair of fours which is good for the pot. He now has $18,300,000 to Yang's $109,175,000.
More Than Just Money For Tuan Lam this title is about more then just money. His group of fans are proud of their Canadian heritage and it is reflected by their Canadian flags and constant pro-Canada declarations. Its clear Lam isn't just playing for himself but for his whole country.
Lam Gets Aggressive
After being pushed around earlier in the match, Lam has woken up. He has used the all in bet effectively, forcing Yang to lay down hands in a few key spots. Lam has now run his stack to $23,900,000.
Jerry Yang Wins 2007 WSOP ($8,250,000) After a 16 hour odyssey, Jerry Yang has emerged as the last man standing in the 2007 WSOP. On the final hand Jerry Yang raises to $2,300,000 and Tuan Lam moves all in. Yang calls quickly and tables 88, while Lam shows AQ. Both players cheer with their respective sections, celebrating their coin flip. Lam grabs the Canadian flag and starts waiving it, while Yang's supporters chant, "USA, USA, USA!" Their chants don't change the flop, as it comes Q95. Lam's supporters explode in triumph, but as every player knows there are still two more cards to come. Yang picks up some outs when the turn brings the 7, and he can with any eight or six. The river brings the 6, giving Yang the straight and the WSOP title! He is embraced by his supporters as the rest of the crowd again chants "USA, USA, USA!" He takes down $8250,000 for his efforts. Tuan Lam wins the second place money of $4,840,981, and the envy of Canadians as well as poker players, across the globe.
Heads Up Action Underway Tuan Lam and Jerry Yang are currently living the poker players dream, playing heads up for a main event bracelet. The pots have been small so far but Yang has been playing very aggressively up to this point. Expect that trend to continue.
Jerry Yang Fires First Yang raises to $2,600,000 from the button and Lam makes the call. The flop comes KQ6 and both players check. The turn is the 5 and Lam fires out $3,000,000. Yang moves all in, and Lam folds. Yang now has a $100,000,000 chip lead over Lam.
Break Players are on a 15 minute break, here are the chip counts:
Jerry Yang -- $117,425,000
Tuan Lam -- $10,050,000
Play resumes Play has restarted after a 20 minute break. Blinds will go up in one hour.
Raymond Rahme Eliminated 3rd (3,048,025)
Jerry Yang raises to $2,500,000 and is reraised by Pokerstars qualifier Raymond Rahme to $8,600,000. Yang makes the call, and the flop comes A J 8. Rahme checks and Yang fires out a $10,000,000 bet. Rahme moves all in, and Yang is faced with his biggest decision of the tournament. Rahme looks calm as he pushes all of his chips into the middle, and Yang looks unsure of his decision. He goes into the tank for several minutes, and the ESPN arena is silent. Yang looks up then says, "I call." Rahme says, "nice call" and turns over K K. Yang does his patented double fist pump and rolls over A 5. The next two cards brick for Rahme when they come 3 2, and he is sent home with over three million dollars.
Heads Up Chip Counts Here are the chip counts going into heads up play:
Jerry Yang -- $104,450,000
Tuan Lam -- $23,025,000
Tuan Lam Doubles Up Jerry Yang raises to $2,500,000, and www.pokerstars.com online qualifier Tuan Lam moves all in. Raymond Rahme moves in over the top and Yang folds. Rahme tables QQ, and Lam A5. The flop comes A1010, and again the Canadians burst into applause. But Lam still has to dodge two cards. The turn brings the 2, and Lam us just one card away from doubling up. The river is the A, Lam fills up and again is mobbed by his supporters. They break out into the national anthem, but it fades after a few lines. After the players are reseated Lam now has $26,000,000 and Rahme just $17,100,000.
Updated Chip Counts Here are the latest chip counts
Jerry Yang -- $51,225,000
Tuan Lam -- $32,050,000
Raymond Rahme -- $21,100,000
Alex Kravchenko -- $21,100,000
Blinds raised The blinds are now $300,000-$600,000 with a $75,000 ante.
Alex Kravchenko bet $1,500,000 and Jerry Yang raised to $6 million. PokerStars online qualifier, Raymond Rahme then moved all in. Rahme flipped over A Q and Yang turned up pocket queens. But, the trend of the tournament continued, and one of the three aces in the deck emerged on a flop of A 9 4. The South African contingent went wild at this point and they continued to do so as the 3 was peeled off on the turn, and the 5 was turned over on the river.
The Never-Ending Tournament
The mood of lady luck seems determined to keep this tournament running as long as possible. Ever since things got down to fourhanded the brakes have been applied to that action, even more so after the dinner break. Each and every single time that Jerry Yang has had an opponent covered all in, he has lost the hand, and his opponent has doubled up. All three players have done this, so technically, the tournament could be over at this point if all those hands had gone the other way. But hey, that’s poker.
Leader Board
Raymond Rahme: $36,600,000
Alex Kravchenko: $20,325,000
Jerry Yang: $41,625,000
Tuan Lam: $28,925,000
Alex Kravchenko Eliminated in Fourth Place ($1,852,721)
A turning point hand at the final table just occurred. Jerry Yang moves all in preflop and Alex Kravchenko makes the call. Kravchenko flips over his initials, in the form of A K. Yang turns up pocket eights. The flop rolls out Q 9 8 and the crowd goes wild. Yang, Raymond Rahme, and Tuan Lam spring to their prospective corners to celebrate, because the likely elimination of Kravchenko would mean at least a $3,048,025 payday for all three. Things take a moment to calm down, and then the turn and river bring 4 3. Kravchenko is eliminated in fourth place, and he takes home $1,852,721 in prize money.
Mike Matusow and Shawn Sheikhan have appeared on the rail to sweat the action, which induced Jack Effel to introduce the infamous two players. After which, he said, “Guys, I only gave you ten minutes, not two years,” in reference to their penalties at the 2005 main event.
Leader Board
Seat No. 1: Raymond Rhame - $30,500,000
Seat No. 2: Alex Kravchenko - $13,500,000
Seat No. 3: Jerry Yang - $61,220,000
Seat No. 4: Tuan Lam - $22,450,000
The Mad Russian Double up Machine
Alex Kravchenko moved all in preflop and Jerry Yang made the call after an intense stare down. Kravchneko has the face of the most angry person to ever sit at a main event final table, according to his piercing gaze. Yang eventually made the call and flipped over A 10. Kravchenko flipped over pocket aces without any change in emotion. The board rolled out 8 6 6 3 2 and Kravchenko doubled. Yang once again failed to eliminate an opponent he had covered all in.
Holding on For a Hero
The play at this final table has hit a wall. As the chip stacks continue to even out more and more, the players tighten up more and more.
Seat No.1: PokerStars online qualifier, Raymond Rahme - $30,400,000
Seat No. 2: Alex Kravchenko - $27,100,000
Seat No. 3: Jerry Yang - $56,675,000
Seat No. 4: PokerStars online qualifier, Tuan Lam - $13,300,000
100 We have reached 100 hands, and are currently averaging one hand every four minutes.
Blinds Raised The blinds have been raised to $250,000-$500,000 with a $50,000 ante.
Poker Stars Online Qualifier
Tuan Lam 22,250,000 www.pokerstars .com
Play Resumes
Posted: Tue, Jul 17, 07, 2:00 PM
Play Resumes Play has restarted after the dinner break. There is still 50 minutes left in the $200,000-$400,000 with a $50,000 ante level.
Chip Counts Here are the chip counts as play restarts
Jerry Yang -- $71,275,000
Raymond Rahme -- $33,200,000
Alex Kravchenko -- $11,750,000
Tuan Lam -- $11,250,000
Tuan Lam Doubles Up Alex Kravchenko limps Yang limps and Tuan Lam checks from the big blind. The flop comes J104, Yang checks and Lam bets out $1,500,000. Kravchenko folds, and Yang raises to $4,500,000. Tuan Lam pushes all of his chips in the middle and moves all in. Yang thinks, says a prayer, then makes the call. He has the lead in the hand when he shows A10, but Lam has an open-ended straight draw with two overs with KQ. The turn is good for Yang as it comes 4, and Lam is down to his last card. The river is peeled off, and it comes Q, giving Lam a pair of queens and the best hand. The Canadian contingent erupts in celebration and mobs Lam on stage. He is literally wrapped in the Canadian flag as his supporters celebrate. Anh Van Nguyen, manages to separate Lam from his fans, and leads him back to the table to refocus. Lam now has $23,000,000, but is still way behind Yang's $60,775,000.
The players are on dinner break, and they will return to the final table at 8:30 p.m.
Hour Six
Posted: Tue, Jul 17, 07, 11:42 AM
Kravchenko Doubled Up Again
Alex Kravchenko moved all in for $7,550,000 and Jerry Yang made the call. Kravchenko showed down pocket threes and Yang flipped up K Q. The flop hit the felt 8 3 2 and the crowd went wild. Most notably Kravchenko’s Moscow buddies up in the ‘No Limit Lounge’. The turn and river brought the 5 and the K. Kravchenko doubled up yet again and he now has over $17 million.
Power Moves
Jerry Yang made his standard operating procedure raise of $1.5 million and www.pokerstars.com online qualifier Raymond Rahme reraised an additional $5 million. Yang tanked fo a second, but mucked his hand.
The Slow Down
Due to the insistent double ups by the short stacks as of late, the pace of play has slowed as everyone has a lot of chips to play with now. The players will head to dinner break a 7 p.m., which could also have an adverse effect on the speed of play.
3
9
. The board comes K
4
