ESPN is airing the final table of the biggest poker event of the year tonight. Starting at 5 p.m. PT, the final nine players remaining from the 6,358 entrants of the 2007 World Series of Poker main event will fight for the first-place prize of more than $8 million and a place in poker history.
Last week, viewers saw the former WSOP champion Scotty Nguyen bust out in eleventh place. Although he was the most recognized pro left in the field, there were still many accomplished players still in contention for their piece of the nearly $60 million prize pool.
The following are the chip counts and seat positions for the final nine players going into the final table:
Seat No. 1: Raymond Rahme – $16,320,000
Seat No. 2: Alex Kravchenko – $6,570,000
Seat No. 3: Lee Childs – $13,240,000
Seat No. 4: Jerry Yang – $8,450,000
Seat No. 5: Lee Watkinson – $9,925,000
Seat No. 6: Tuan Lam – $21,315,000
Seat No. 7: Philip Hilm – $22,070,000
Seat No. 8: Jon Kalmar – $20,320,000
Seat No. 9: Hevad "RainKhan" Khan – $9,205,000
All final-table participants were given a day off to clear their minds and prepare for the highly anticipated end to the 10-day tournament. The morning of the final table, the remaining players attended a press conference to address the public.
Card Player was there; to view the video, click here.
Warning: The following contains spoilers.
It was not long after 2006 main event champion Jamie Gold said, "Shuffle up and deal," that dealers were pushing huge pots to different players. Many who followed the live updates could not believe their browsers when they saw that the chip leader going in, Philip Hilm, was the first to be eliminated.
Long-time poker pro Lee Watkinson owns a bracelet from the 2006 $10,000 buy-in pot-limit Omaha event, but he was looking to win his first main event title. Unfortunately for him, he went out in eighth place.
Hevad "RainKhan" Khan's antics were in full-swing leading up to the final table but did not overshadow his talent and progress in the event. He entered the final table second-to-last in chips but battled back to finish in sixth place. After a grueling main
event, Khan was exhausted but stopped by the Card Player studios just after his elimination to reflect.
Click here to view that video.
Alex Kravchenko, a business-man from the former USSR, had won his first bracelet earlier in the 2007 WSOP. He took down the $1,500 Omaha eight-or-better event and continued his run in the main event. After his elimination in fourth place, it was down to three-way action.
The last three competitors included the oldest player at the table, at age 62, Raymond Rahme. He was also the first player from South Africa to ever make the main event final table. Vietnam-born Tuan Lam was also in the final three, despite not even planning to enter the main event. His last-minute decision to play proved to be quite lucrative, as he took the second-place prize of more than $4.8 million.
In the end, it was Jerry Yang, a psychologist and social worker from Temecula, California who won. Yang overcame the odds after entering the final table as the short-stack. As promised in the press conference before final table play began, Yang is donating a portion of his $8.25 million in winnings to charity.
Click here to view the interview with Yang about his win.
For more Poker On TV listings on Card Player, click here.
