Alan Smurfit Wins Event No. 33 ($464,867)
Jun 22, '07
Blinds Up
The blinds are now $80,000-$160,000
Take Forever – Part V
The heads-up match has now gone over 250 hands and the chip stacks are about back to even.
Smurfit Takes the Lead
Just like a shift in the tide, Smurfit took down a pot with a pot-sized raise. This once again gave him the chip lead.
Alan Smurfit Wins Event No. 33 ($464,867)
On a flop of J
8
6
Qushqar Morad moved all in and Alan Smurfit made the call. Smurfit turned up Q J 8 2 and Morad turned over 10 9 9
6. The turn and river cards were dealt 6 8. Smurfit won the hand, and $464,867. He also took home the gold bracelet after a 167 hand marathon heads-up battle. Morad took home $279,595 for his second-place finish.
Player Tags: Alan Smurfit, Qushqar Morad
Hour Seven
Jun 22, '07
Chip Counts:
Alan Smurfitt: $2,400,000
Qushqar Morad: $900,000
Smurfit Closes the Door
Alan Smurfitt picked up yet another pot off of Morad with a pair of jacks. Morad is now in dire straights with under $400,000 going into the 100th hand of heads-up action.
Take Forever – Part IV
The heads-up match has now gone more hands than all the preceding final table action.
Blinds Up
The blinds are now $60,000-$120,000.
Even Steven
The chip stacks just got back to even.
Morad Fights Back
Qushqar Morad won a $960,000 pot to jump back into contention.
The Swing of the Pendulum
On a flop of A K 10 Smurfit had Morad covered all in. Smurfit flipped up A Q J 6 for a straight and Morad turned over A K 10 7. The turn paired the board and gave Morad a full house when the 10 was dealt. The river brought the 9 and Morad doubled up to reclaim the chip lead.
Smurfit Doubles Up
Smurfit moved all in for $253,000 on a board of K 5 3 A and Morad made the call. Morad showed 8 7 6 4 and Smurfit revealed K 10 9 5 and doubled up when the 10 hit on the river.
Player Tags: Alan Smurfit, Qushqar Morad
Hour Six
Jun 22, '07
Take Forever – Part III
The heads-up match has now gone 75 hands.
The Price of Poker Has Gone Up – Astronomically
The players then went on a 15 minute break. When they returned the blinds were kicked up to $50,000-$100,000. Geeezzzz…
Smurfit Refuses to Quit
Alan Smurfit made a pot-sized $600,000 bet and Qushqar Morad made the call on a board of 9 7 6 8. The river brought the K and Smurfit moved all in. Morad called and Smurfit flipped over the A and 2 for a flush. Morad mucked and Smurfit double up again. This time he took the chip lead:
Alan Smurfit: $2,300,000
Qushqar Morad: $1,100,000
200 Hands – 96 Heads Up
‘Nuff said.
Player Tags: Alan Smurfit, Qushqar Morad
Hour Five
Jun 22, '07
Suck Out City
Qushqar Morad makes a pot-sized raise and Alan Smurfit re-pots it, putting himself all in. He flipped over A 5 5 3 and Morad turned over A K K 8. The board was dealt 10 9 4 9 5 to hit one of two remaining outs in the deck and survive.
Take Forever – Part II
After the improbable win by Smurfit in his all-in pot he still held a dangerously low amount of chips. He hung tough though, and Morad seemed unable to send him to the rail. He wasn’t in too big of a rush though, and was content to wait for the next big confrontation. The blinds then kicked up to $40,000-$80,000. The first person to raise would have to do so for $240,000 at this point. Something would happen soon thanks to the blinds. One hundred and fifty hands had transpired at this point.
The Big 5 - 0
The heads up match has now gone 50 hands.
The Tables Have Turned
On a flop of Q 8 3 Alan Smurfit bet the pot for $480,000 and Morad made the call. The turn brought the 7 and Smurfit moved all in for his last $185,000. Morad called and flipped over A A 9 J. Smurfit showed down Q 9 9 8. The river brought the Q and we now have a new chip leader in Smurfit.
Alan Smurfit: $1,840,000
Qushqar Morad: $1,675,000
Or Have They?
Morad fought back and reclaimed the chip lead a few hands later. He once again held over $2 million.
Player Tags: Alan Smurfit, Qushqar Morad
Hour Four
Jun 22, '07
Take Forever
The final three players didn’t seem too interested in advancing the action, so the blinds were kicked up again. The blinds were now $30,000-$60,000.
Van Marcus Eliminated in Third Place ($190,326)
After a rapid succession raise, reraise, all-in push; Van Marcus found himself all in against Alan Smurfit with a flop of 7 6 6 on the table. Smurfit revealed K 9 7 7 and Marcus turned up 9 8 6 3. The turn and river cards were dealt Q Q. Smurfit scored a full house and the pot. Marcus scored a trip to the rail in third place. He took home $190,326 as a consolation prize.
Heads Up
Qushqar Morad: $2,125,000
Alan Smurfit: $1,300,000
Early Tussle
On a board of A 8 8 8 Smurfit bet $100,000 and Qushqar Morad raised to $400,000 total. Smurfitt mucked his hand and he lost over $300,000 on the hand. Morad now had an even larger lead and the pace of the match would be his to determine.
Avoiding the Inevitable
Morad and Smurfit’s heads-up match went by with out much action for the next half hour but the blinds were cutting into Smurfit’s stack. Morad seemed content to just lean into him and wait for the issue to press itself. Smurfit had less than $900,000 at this point.
Player Tags: Alan Smurfit, Qushqar Morad, Van Marcus
Hour Three
Jun 22, '07
Chris Bjorin Eliminated in Fourth Place ($129,691)
Chris Bjorin and Van Marcus got it all in with a flop of 9 6 2 out on the board. Bjorin revealed Q 10 9 7 and Marcus flipped up A J 10 7. The turn and river cards came 3 Q and Marcus made his diamond flush on the river. Bjorin was eliminated in fifth place by his opponent’s gain, and he will take home $129,691 in prize money.
Smurfitt Takes Down a Pot
Alan Smurfit grabbed a $500,000 pot from Qushqar Morad with three eights and a superior kicker. Both players held an eight, but the king kicker of Smurfitt gave him the large pot.
Morad Reclaims Some Chips
Morad and Smurfit have been exchanging punches as of late. They got involved in another large pot, and this time Morad was the victor. He revealed three nines after the action between Smurfit and Morad pumped the pot to $395,000.
Leader Board
Van Marcus: $545,000
Qushqar Morad: $1,980,000
Alan Smurfit: $945,000
Player Tags: Chris Bjorin, Alan Smurfit, Qushqar Morad, Van Marcus
Hour Two
Jun 22, '07
Brandon Adams Eliminated in Sixth Place ($75,794)
Brandon Adams moved all in for his last $105,000 and Qushqar Morad made the call on a flop of J J 9. Adams flipped up A A 8 6 and Morad turned over Q Q 3 3. Adams was in the lead with aces up until the 3 fell on the river to give Morad a full house. The river brought the 9 and Adams was eliminated in sixth place. He took home $75,794 in prize money. Morad has now sent three of the last four players to the rail.
Chau Giang Eliminated in Fifth Place ($96,005)
On a board of K Q 10 3 Chris Bjorin bet the pot and Chau Giang made an all-in call. Bjorin turned over A J 10 4 and Giang revealed 10 10 7 3. Giang would need to improve his set of tens on the river to eclipse the ace-high straight. He just missed when the 9 was dealt on the river. Giang was eliminated in fifth place, and he will take home $96,005 in prize money.
Leader Board
Van Marcus: $425,000
Qushqar Morad: $1,540,000
Alan Smurfit: $650,000
Chris Bjorin: $880,000
Break Time
The players then went on a fifteen minute break.
Player Tags: Chris Bjorin, Alan Smurfit, Chau Giang, Brandon Adams, Qushqar Morad, Van Marcus
Brandon Adams Eliminated in Sixth Place ($75,794)
Jun 22, '07
Brandon Adams moved all in for his last $105,000 and Qushqar Morad made the call on a flop of J J 9. Adams flipped up A A 8 6 and Morad turned over Q Q 3 3. Adams was in the lead with aces up until the 3 fell on the river to give Morad a full house. The river brought the 9 and Adams was eliminated in sixth place. He took home $75,794 in prize money. Morad has now sent three of the past four players to the rail.
Player Tags: Brandon Adams, Qushqar Morad
Hour One
Jun 22, '07
Double Ups and Elimination Abound
The first hour of Omaha action saw a number of double ups and a handful of eliminations. At the end of the hour Chau Giang and Brandon Adams still remained in the hunt for a bracelet. Alan Smurfit, Van Marcus, and Sunny Nijran were among those to double up quickly, but not in all cases did they survive.
Hilbert Shirey Eliminated in Ninth Place ($30,317)
On the second hand of the final table Hilbert Shirey was the first player to make his exit. He was discarded by the set of kings that Qushqar Morad possessed. Shirey was eliminated in ninth place and took home $30,317 in prize money.
Sunny Nijran Eliminated in Eighth Place ($42,108)
It was 20 hands later that Sunny Nijran had moved all in and once again Morad had an opponent covered. This time a six-high straight was the fatal blow that Morad owned. Nijran was sent to the rail in eighth place, and took home $42,108 in prize money.
Robert Fellner Eliminated in Seventh Place ($57,266)
Robert Fellner was covered by Chau Giang preflop. Giang flipped over Q J 9 8, while Fellner turned up K Q 9 8. The board was dealt A K 2 10 4. Giang held the correct two pieces for the straight, jigsaw puzzle and he eliminated Fellner in seventh place on the hand. Fellner walked away with $57,266 in prize money.
Rest Stop
After Fellner was eliminated the players went on a short bathroom break for five minutes and then the final six players returned to the table.
Player Tags: Hilbert Shirey, Alan Smurfit, Chau Giang, Brandon Adams, Qushqar Morad, Van Marcus, Robert Fellner
Final Table Set
Jun 21, '07
The final table bubble has burst and there are only nine players remaining. Erick Lindgren was the unfortunate player to finish in 10th place, just missing what would have been his second final table of the
2007 World Series of Poker.
Qushqar Morad raised preflop and Lindgren called from the big blind. The flop came 6
4
2
and Lindgren bet out. Morad raised enough to put Lindgren all in and Lindgren made the call. Lindgren showed 10-10-7-5 and Morad was in the lead with Q-Q-7-5. The turn brought an ace and the river was a two, eliminating Lindgren and squandering his ongoing quest for his first
World Series of Poker bracelet.
The following nine players will return tomorrow at 3 p.m. to battle down to a winner.
Qushqar Morad
Chris Bjorn
Brandon Adams
Chau Giang
Hilbert Shirey
Robert Fellner
Van Marcus
Birinder Nijran
Alan Smurfit
Come back tomorrow to
CardPlayer.com to follow all the action and see which lucky player will secure a spot in history.
Player Tags: Erick Lindgren, Hilbert Shirey, Alan Smurfit, Chau Giang, Birinder Nijran, Brandon Adams, Qushqar Morad, Van Marcus, Robert Fellner
