The 2013 World Series of Poker main event has reached a final table after seven days of grueling action for the final nine grinders. At around 3 a.m. local time in Las Vegas on Tuesday, an official final table of nine was formed after 2001 main event champion Carlos Mortensen was eliminated in 10th on the bubble.
A total of 6,352 players turned out for this year’s no-limit hold’em championship, and some big names are still alive to fight for the $8.3 million first-place prize this fall.
Here’s a look at the chip stacks:
JC Tran — 38,000,000; Amir Lehavot — 29,700,000; Marc McLaughlin — 26,525,000; Jay Farber — 25,975,000; Ryan Riess — 25,875,000; Sylvain Loosli — 19,600,000; Michiel Brummelhuis — 11,275,000; Mark Newhouse — 7,350,000; and David Benefield — 6,375,000.
Tran is by far the most accomplished no-limit hold’em tournament player at the final table. He has won nearly $9 million lifetime in poker tournaments over his career. He is looking for his third WSOP bracelet. He has been deep in the main event before, but never this deep.
Despite being the chip leader, Tran will have to run well to beat the likes of Lehavot, Newhouse and Benefield. Lehavot won a WSOP bracelet in 2011; Newhousea took down a World Poker Tour title in 2006 for $1,519,020; and David Benefield was once one of the toughest high-stakes cash game players on the Internet prior to his decision to focus on school.
2001 Champ Runs Out Of Steam
Mortensen was looking to have a chance at his second main event title, but he fell just short of another piece of poker history. It was Tran who busted him.
Mortensen’s final hand began with him raising to 800,000 from the cutoff. Action was folded to Tran, who called 400,000 more from the big blind. Both players saw a flop of 10
6 3
. Tran checked, Mortensen bet the same amount of 800,000, and Tran called.
The 9 fell on the turn. Tran shoved, which put Mortensen all in for about 3.5 million (about nine big blinds). Mortensen thought about it briefly before making the call.
Tran tabled the 8 7 for a straight, while Mortensen exposed the A 9
for a pair and the nut-flush draw. The pair was meaningless, as he could only stay alive with another club.
The 2
on the river ended the tournament for Mortensen. He walked away with $573,204 in prize money for his efforts.
Tran played excellent all day, and even knocked out a player by picking off a huge bluff.
Tran Makes Great Call To Bust Fabian Ortiz in 17th Place
One of Tran’s defining moments of the day began when Fabian Ortiz raised to 500,000 preflop. Action was folded to Tran, and he called. The flop fell K 9 7. Tran checked. Ortiz fired 500,000, and Tran decided to make the call.
The 4 landed on the turn, and action went check-check. The 6 on the river prompted another check from Tran. Ortiz shoved for 2.78 million.
Tran went into the tank before making the call.
Ortiz turned over the A Q for a stone-cold bluff, and Tran exposed the 9 8 for a pair of nines. He took the pot and knocked out Ortiz.
Tran and the other finalists played very well, but they were also aided by a couple of big names bowing out relatively early in the day.
Yevgeniy Timoshenko Eliminated in 22nd Place
Yevgeniy Timoshenko, arguably the most successful player in online poker tournament history, was short when he shoved for for 2,165,000 in the hijack. Next to act was Jan Nakladalt, and he made the call. The two were eventually heads up. Timoshenko flipped over the A 8, while Nakladal had A J.
The flop fell A J 10, putting Timoshenko in horrible shape. The king on the turn gave him some outs for a chop, but the jack on the river sealed the elimination. Timoshenko left with $285,408 and disappointment.
Steve Gee Eliminated in 24th Place
Steve Gee was looking to make the improbable back-to-back final table, but he fell short. His final hand began when he opened to 250,000 from the small blind. Anton Morgenstern, who was the chip leader at the time, raised to 550,000 from the big blind. Gee went all in for 2.93 million. Morgenstern called with pocket eights and was up against Gee’s 10 7.
The board ran out Q 8 2 A 3 and last year’s ninth-place finisher was gone with $285,408 in his pocket, but with another main event disappointment.
Morgenstern used the hand to build a huge chip lead, but he eventually crashed and burned.
Massive Chip Leader With 24 Left Exists In 20th
With close to 30 million with just 24 left, Morgenstern looked like a near lock to make the final table. However, Newhouse got in the way.
Newhouse was relatively short when he doubled up with A-Q versus Morgenstern’s pocket eights. A little bit later, the largest hand of the tournament at that point went down, and it was Newhouse vs. Morgenstern once again. The action began with Morgenstern raising to 325,000 from the hijack. Mark Newhouse called on the button. Everyone else folded.
The flop fell A A 2.
Morgenstern led for 425,000. Newhouse just called.
The 3 on the turn prompted a 750,000 bet from Morgenstern. Newhouse woke up with a raise to 2 million. Morgenstern made it 3.9 million. Newhouse moved all in for just fewer than 11 million total. Morgenstern called to put the North Carolina native at risk.
Newhouse exposed pocket deuces for a flopped full house, while Morgenstern had A-J for tips. The German was in bad shape, and a 4 on the river didn’t change things.
After the hand, Newhouse had more than 22 million, which was good for the chip lead, while Morgenstern had about 5 million and was one of the short stacks. He exited in 20th.
Stay tuned to CardPlayer.com for a closer look at all the finalists.
