Seat 1: Darvin Moon (58,930,000)
Seat 2: James Akenhead (6,800,000)
Seat 3: Phil Ivey (9,765,000)
Seat 4: Kevin Schaffel (12,390,000)
Seat 5: Steven Begleiter (29,885,000)
Seat 6: Eric Buchman (34,800,000)
Seat 7: Joseph Cada (13,215,000)
Seat 8: Antoine Saout (9,500,000)
Seat 9: Jeff Shulman (19,580,000)
And now many hours later... the number of players has been reduced (at this time when I awoke to start reading up and post my own blog entry) down to 3 players left. As I read back through the coverage provided by PokerNews (no I didn't stay up to read and listen along, sorry cheer_dad's just not that dedicated from here in the hills of WV) here are some of the things which catch my eye and interest, including the names of those who have been eliminated thus far. So, if you want to keep it a surprise until it airs on TV... stop reading now! I'm serious, here we go... Last chance...
It was nearly an hour into play before a Turn and then a River card were even seen, at Hand #28. It was a check-down hand between Jeff Schulman and Eric Buchman. Buchman came up with the winner.
Just under 13 hours ago, James Akenhead was eliminated in 9th Place and thus finally lays claim to 9th place prize money of $1,263,602. Although, recall that everyone was already paid roughly that amount before the big break. Congratulations on having come so far Mr. Akenhead! And then there were 8.
Just over 12 hours ago, on hand #68 - Kevin Schaffel was eliminated in 8th Place ($1,300,231) with a gut wrenching hand! Schaffel got it all-in with his pocket Aces and found himself up against the pocket Kings of Eric Buchman. A gut wrenching King came out on the flop, only to have the only other King in the deck arrive on the TURN! Yeah, I think Quad Kings are good here! Ouch! Still, congratulations to Mr. Schaffel. And then there were 7.
This snippet update from PokerNews.com's "donpeters" made me laugh,
"Ivey Color Blind?
Phil Ivey just found an orange T5,000 chip mixed in with one of his stacks. Those chips were colored up a while ago and are not in play anymore. Ivey simply took the chip off the table and gave it to the tournament staff. Who needs an extra 5,000 anyway?"
At the Dinner Break (9pm Las Vegas time) they were still at 7 players and Eric Buchman was now in first place in the chip counts, instead of Darvin Moon, for a change of pace.
Tournament Directory Jack Effel reminded the crowd that it took 169 hands to get the final table down to a heads up match at last year's WSOP. Clearly that record is going down...
Hand #175... ugh! Two of my favorites come clashing together. Phil Ivey gets it all in only to be called by Darvin Moon. Phil rolls over AK to Darvin's AQ. Unfortunately for Ivey a Queen would peel off on the flop and that was all she wrote... Phil Ivey is eliminated in 7th Place ($1,404,014.) Congratulations to Phil, I know it's not what you were looking for and I had high hopes, but it happens. The crowd in the Penn and Teller theater begins to disperse. And then there were 6.
Not long after on hand #187 Moon would once again thin the field. And again he has AQ! Darvin would move all-in and get a snap call from Steve Begleiter, who rolled over QQ! Another gut-wrenching card rears its ugly head this time on the river as an Ace is displayed, dashing Begleiter's hopes and putting Darvin back on top of the chip counts. Steve Begleiter is eliminated in 6th Place ($1,587,160.) And then there were 5.
Things tightened up a great deal after Begleiter's departure, and snails were seen zipping by...
It would be hand #236 that would claim another victim, this time in the form of Jeff Shulman who was unfortunately eliminated in 5th Place ($1,953,452.) This time, Antoine Saout's A9 goes up against Shulman's pocket 7s. Again, fate is sealed when a stray 9 hits the board on the flop and Shulman doesn't improve. Congratulations to Mr. Shulman.
Hand #271 would claim another casualty. Eric Buchman was eliminated in 4th Place ($2,502,890) when he gets it all-in versus Darvin Moon. Buchman with A5os vs Moon's KJs. This time a King peels off the deck on the turn, sending Buchman to the rail. Congratulations to Mr. Buchman, but then there were 3.
It should be noted that last year's WSOP ran only a total of 275 hands, including heads-up play.
Hand #276, would bring things to a close for the Day 1! Antoine Saout was eliminated in 3rd Place ($3,479,670) at the hands of "21 year-old-youngster" Joe Cada. Saout would shove all-in with pocket 8s and get the call from Cada's AKos. This time, suspense reigns and a King comes off the deck on the RIVER! The crowd (full of Cada's supporters) goes wild. Congratulations to Mr. Saout on having come so far. And then finally there were 2.
And now... we are down to heads up and things wrap up quickly as two clearly weary players will now get some deserved rest (well maybe.)
Chip stacks of the two are now at:
Joseph Cada 135,950,000
Darvin Moon 58,850,000
Go get some sleep guys, honestly! Don't even think about the difference between 2nd place and 1st place, although it's $8,547,042 to the winner and a mere $ 5,182,928 for the other guy... Oh and don't forget some shiny jewelry!!!
My personal special thanks goes out to the phenomenal blogger/reporters of the PokerNews.com Team, who continued their coverage of Day 1 for 17-1/2 hours. They have done an outstanding job with their coverage of the WSOP 2009 and I for one greatly appreciate ALL their efforts!
Regards,
cheer_dad
1 comment:
I think that Moon appears to be the next Jerry Yang. He doesnt seem to play particularly skillfully and has benefited from very timely hands. I know ESPN shows only certain hands, so there is the potential that they framed things in this way and he is a pretty decent player.
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