By now you know that Matt Graham won his second World Series of Poker bracelet last night, so there’s no news to break here. But I took some pics of the final table last night that you might enjoy and I think for the most part they explain themselves. So, without further etc etc:
Tags: Matt Graham, wsop bracelet
So sue me, I got home around 6:30 in the morning after watching Matt Graham win his second World Series of Poker bracelet and writing up a post about it. I got home and the sun was UP, man, and it didn’t help that after I put head to pillow housekeeping came a-knocking 90 minutes later because I forgot to put the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the doorknob. I was pretty beat, so I slept till noon, staggered around until I was fairly clean and haphazardly dressed, and headed to the Rio.
I had to be here by 2:20pm to see the bracelet ceremony but as I wandered over the stage was dark and no one seemed to be about. I walked through the field of the $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold-Em event and was a bit surprised to see this:
Yup, Matt Graham, playing in the noon tourney. Perhaps this makes sense, as he just won the $10K Pot-Limit OMAHA event and you should always keep going when you’re on a roll. The tournament today didn’t start until 12:45 because so many players arrived late, so the bracelet ceremony won’t begin until 2:50. I’ll have pictures of that, as well as more pictures from the two final tables last night. Now I think I’m gonna follow Matt’s lead and grab a Red Bull.
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, Matt Graham, ultimatebet, WSOP
It was apparent early in the evening that it might be a big night. Brandon Cantu was among the chip leaders of the $1,500 No-Limit Hold-Em tournament, while Matt Graham was the chip leader of the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship. I followed both final tables as they played down, with Brandon bounding up and down the leaderboard while Matt held steady near the top.
For a time it looked like Alex Jacob might put a hammerlock on the Hold-Em event, but he lost a huge pot to Ray Foley and was eliminated soon after. Just a few minutes later Cantu eliminated Wei Mu and we were down to heads-up play. The players took a brief break and I ran back to get a pop. A near-fatal mistake–as I walked back to the final table I saw the crowd suddenly press forward against the rail. I broke into a run and arrived to find Brandon out of his seat and the dealer spreading cards on the felt. All the money went in before the flop and Cantu had Foley dominated, A-Q to A-7. The 5s-8h-8d flop kept Cantu in the lead, but when the 6c fell on the turn Foley picked up a straight draw. His fingers steepled against his lips, Brandon watched the dealer burn and turn over the…5h. That put two pair on the board, both their Aces played, and the pot was chopped up.
That didn’t seem to discourage Brandon, who was the more aggressive player and won the majority of pots large and small. On the hand that proved to be the turning point Foley raised to 300,000 and Brandon shoved. Foley called and his pocket tens needed to hold off Brandon’s K-9. This they failed to do–Cantu caught a King on the flop and the crowd went wild as Brandon jumped out of his chair and circled around the table. He pressed the balls of his hands into his mouth, as if to keep himself from screaming out of anticipation and anxiety.
And then, on the turn, the dealer revealed the…10s. Foley hit his two outer and Brandon slumped forward on the table. So close to victory, twice, and now the two players reversed stacks and it was Foley who had the 2-1 lead. The end came soon after–Cantu raised preflop, Foley called, and the flop came Jh-3d-9c, and when Ray checked Brandon bet 450,000. Foley check-raised all-in, and after some thought Cantu made the call.
To find that his J-7 was dominated by Ray’s Q-J. This time there was no come-from-behind story–the board ran out 10c-5s and Ray Foley was mobbed by his friends. While Brandon Cantu stood, shook Foley’s hand, and slowly walked off the stage and out of the Amazon Room. It’s hard to imagine how one must feel after playing poker for three days, outlasting 2,713 players, being THAT CLOSE to your ultimate goal, and then see it snatched away so cruelly. And maybe it is a good thing it’s hard to imagine, because it had to be utterly devastating, especially after how well Brandon had played over the last three days.
I didn’t have much time to dwell on Brandon’s unfortunate end because Matt Graham was about to take on Vitaly Lunkin for the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha crown. Lunkin, who won the $40,000 No-Limit Hold-Em tournment that kicked off this World Series, built up a big chip lead as the night wore on. But after Graham knocked Van Marcus out in 3rd place the two entered heads-up play nearly even in chips.
And Matt had the best of it early on, taking a few sizeable pots from Lunkin and building a 1.8 million chip lead. But then followed a huge hand where Graham flopped top two and Lunkin bottom two and the nut flush draw. All the money went in and Lunkin made his flush on the turn. Matt failed to make a full house on the river and Vitaly seized a big chip lead.
Things looked bleak until Matt doubled up when he turned the nut straight and Lunkin made the 2nd-nut straight. That got Matt back up to 3.2 million chips…but not for long. Again the money went in before the flop, with Matt holding Qs-Qh-8s-7h to Lunkin’s Ac-Kc-5s-3d. Matt seemed amazed Lunkin called his all-in bet with that hand, but his amazement turned to disbelief when the flop came Ad-2c-4c, giving Vitaly a wheel and the nut flush draw. The 2d on the turn gave Matt some outs but the 6d fell on the river and Lunkin ran out to a massive 8.25 million to 600,000 lead.
But Graham refused to lose. He doubled up, doubled up again (both times dodging the usual gaggle of outs you find in PLO) and then doubled AGAIN when he cracked Lunkin’s Ad-Ah-9c-6d with 9h-8c-7s-5c. Lunkin flopped top two pair but Graham picked up a wrap, and he made his straight on the turn. This time it was Vitaly who wasn’t able to boat up, and just like that Matt was back in the chip lead. “This was the hand we were waiting for!!!” said Matt’s friend Scott Seiver. “Wait until Vitaly has aces and trap him!”
And the end came just ten minutes later. After a 6d-4h-10 flop Graham check-raised Lunkin and the Russian chose to call. The turn brought the 9s, Matt bet 1.1 million, and Vitaly moved in. Graham quickly called and showed that he’d flopped a set of tens, while Lunkin had a gutshot and flush draw. Standing now and with his friends gathered just a few feet away, he shouted “Hold!!” as the dealer set the As on the felt. And then, pandemonium, as Matt realized he’d won the hand and rushed into arms of his ecstatic friends.
There was a bit of drama still left, however. The players’ stacks were so close that it wasn’t quite clear that Matt had Vitaly covered. It took a minute to count down the stacks and verify that, yes, Matt Graham was the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha World Champion. Another round of high-fives and hugs, and a friendly handshake with the classy champion Vitaly Lunkin. And then it was time to sit at the table with the chips and the bracelet and smile for all the cameras, what every poker player dreams happens to them when they sit down at a World Series of Poker Event. For Matt Graham, last night was the second time that dream came true.
I’ll be posting more pictures of the two final tables tomorrow…err, today. It’s 6AM and I have to be back to the Rio by 2PM at the latest to photograph Matt’s bracelet ceremony. Wonder if Sao Paolo is serving breakfast this early…
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, Matt Graham, matt graham second bracelet, matt graham wsop bracelet, world series of poker, WSOP
The $1,500 No-Limit Hold-Em event has gone on a one-hour dinner break and that gives me enough breathing space to run over and put up a quick post. Brandon Cantu has continued to yo-yo up and down the leaderboard–he arrived at the final table with 880,000, but after busting Patrick O’Connor he’s back up to 1.7 million and in second chip-position:
Over at the Feature Table Matt Graham is doing Brandon one better, as he’s still the chip leader in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event (which you can watch online at espn360.c0m). They’re still nine-handed and they could be playing deep into the night:
And, oh, by the way, Michael Binger is 2nd in chips in the $2,500 Mixed Game event (with the top 40 getting paid). And Annie Duke is playing in the $2,500 Razz event. Shoulda worn my track shoes tonight.
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, Annie Duke, Brandon Cantu, Matt Graham, Michael Binger, ub, ultimatebet, world series of poker, WSOP
A quick note–the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event is moving to the ESPN Feature Table, and so that’s where I’m going. And when the $1,500 No-Limit Hold-Em event moves to the secondary feature table I’ll bop over there as well. As you might expect I won’t be carrying my laptop with me, and even if that was practical it wouldn’t be permissable because only PokerNews’ folks are allowed to have laptops right there on the floor.
So I will be updating as best I can via Twitter, posting chip counts and notes and photos of rather middling quality. I’ll sprint back to my computer whenever possible, but chances are it won’t often be possible. And you should be following along with us on Twitter anyway because I do post updates there and, anyway, it’s was the cool kids are doing. So tweet along with me and let’s see if Matt Graham and Brandon Cantu can take down a brace of bracelets.
Tags: 2009 twitter, 2009 world series of poker, Brandon Cantu, Matt Graham, poker twitter, twitter wsop, ub twitter, ultimatebet twitter, world series of poker, WSOP, wsop final table twitter updates, wsop twitter, wsop twitter updates
In the Amazon Room the restart area is the Green section, tucked up against the ESPN Final Table stage. In years past that’s where Day 2 of many tournaments would play down, in part because it’s fairly small and because it allows for more fans to crowd close and watch their friends and favorites play for a final table.
This year the Green section has gotten even crazier because of the new rule halting Day 2 play at 3AM. Because now we’re seeing a lot of Day 3 action there, and at times there are TWO separate events playing there at the same time. That’s the case today, as the $1,500 No-Limit Hold-Em event and the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship play down to their final tables. I’m guessing that when they reach the final nine the PLO event will go to the main ESPN Feature Table and the Hold-Em event will move to the secondary feature table.
But for now, it’s totally insane over there. You have the players packed in tight at four tables, spectators pressing close on three sides (and watching from above on the elevated stage) and then you have the dozens of media types (like me) milling around trying to catch the action. I literally had to wait in line to get a picture of Brandon Cantu, whose stack has see-sawed so violently today that I’m almost afraid to post updates. He’s down to a few hundred thousand…he’s the chip leader. He doubled someone up…he doubled up himself. According to the most recent chip-counts he’s in second place with 1.5 million…but give it a minute, that’s likely to change. Dramatically.
Matt Graham has also been at or near the chip lead of the $10,000 PLO World Championship most of the day (he’s top dog as I write this). The field could accurately be described as “sick”, with Barry Greenstein, Chau Giang, Josh Arieh, Vitaly Lunkin, and Richard Austin (who won a bracelet last week in the $5K PLO) still in the hunt. One player who was in the hunt, but is no longer, is Howard Lederer, who was seated next to Matt and was just eliminated in 12th place.
There are 11 players left in the PLO, 14 in the Hold-Em. Another hour or two and each event will adjourn to a feature table, where those left standing will play for the bracelet. Gonna be a long night.
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, Brandon Cantu, Howard Lederer, Matt Graham, WSOP
While Adam Levy and Brandon Cantu press forward in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold-Em event, three familiar names are battling it out in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship. And just as Adam Levy was before him in the Hold-Em event, Matt Graham is the current chip leader. And I didn’t cooler him when I walked over to take his picture, giving up both reason to smile:
Michael Binger also returned on Day 2 and finds himself very much in contention with around 110,000. Come to think of it, Michael’s pretty much always very much in contention:
And Matt Vengrin is among the final 66 players and has rebuilt his stack up to 70,000 thanks to a timely double-up through Erick Lindgren:
Sixty-six players remain, twenty-seven get paid. The money bubble is a long way off and the railbirds will no doubt be crowding close as this star-studded field is winnowed down to the final table–or, maybe we’ll get down to the final nine before play is automatically suspended at 3AM. The PLO events have tended to play the fastest, a few of them have reached the final nine before that 3AM deadline. But this is a $10K event, a World Championship, with many of the best players in the world, so that may lead to a slower rate of attrition. Perhaps. We shall see.
Tags: 000 pot-limit omaha world championship, 10, 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, Matt Graham, matt vengrin, Michael Binger, PLO, pot-limit omaha, ub, ultimatebet, ultimatebet wsop, world series of poker, WSOP
The $2,500 No-Limit Hold-Em event just started and as I usually do I went out in search of the Team UB players in the field. And during my wanderings I came across a quartet of our players, each dressed in a relatively monochromatic way. So I thought I’d go with the motif and post some black-and-white photos:
Tiffany Michelle, catching me just as I triggered the shutter:
Matt Graham, contemplating a re-raise from PokerRoad Radio’s Court Harrington:
Liv Boeree, recording in minute detail every little thing going on at her table:
And Adam Levy, switching his allegiance from Barcelona to Chelsea today (”hey, I just like soccer,” he said.) Wonder if there’s an Arsenal jersey hanging in his closet:
Event #13 just went on its first break of the day, the $2,000 No-Limit Hold-Em restart is about to, uh, restart, with Phil Hellmuth and Brandon Cantu still in the running. Don’t see Phil over there yet, not that that’s a great surprise.
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, adam levy, Liv Boeree, Matt Graham, Tiffany "Tiffany M" Michelle, ub players at wsop, world series of poker, WSOP
We’ll be playing poker deep into the night here at the Rio (most likely the action will last past the dawn). The $1,000 Stimulus No-Limit event has to crown it’s champion, the $10,000 Seven-Card Stud World Championship has to play down to a final table, and so does the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha tournament. One player hoping to playing long after the Amazon Room empties out is UltimateBet’s Matt Graham, who is one of the final 50 players alive in the PLO event. He’s already locked up a $4,285 payday but with 45,000 in chips (and actually it’s more than that, as from my vantage point on Media Row it looks like he just won a big pot) Matt’s in position to make a run at his second WSOP bracelet.
UPDATE: According to PokerNews Matt has 145,000, which is considerably more than 45,000. Told you he scooped a big pot.
UPDATE 2: Matt was eliminated in 30th place when he held Ac-Ad-5s-2c to Greg Pappas’ Kc-Kd-10c-7d. The money went in after the Qs-7h-3d flop and Matt in the lead, but the turn brought the 10h and Matt couldn’t re-take the lead as the river brought the 4d. Matt takes home $5,797.
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, Matt Graham, matt graham pot-limit omaha, matt graham world series of poker, matt graham wsop, world series of poker, WSOP
I’ve been remiss in not mentioning the other UltimateBet pros who have been playing today. Matt Graham, who won his first bracelet during last year’s WSOP, is playing in today’s $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event. And he’s among the 144 players still alive out of the 809 who started play today.
Annie Duke is playing in the $10,000 Seven-Card Stud World Championship (and apparently having a delightful time with Sam Grizzle sitting at her table):
And the newest UltimateBet pro, Liv Boeree, cashed in the $1,000 Stimulus No-Limit event. I overlooked the fact that Liv was still going strong in the Stimulus event until after Phil Hellmuth was knocked out of the Champions Invitational, and as I headed over to the Brasilia Room to take some pictures I learned that she’d just been knocked out. Now, I know that it’s downright impossible to believe that the words “overlooked” and ” Liv Boeree” could ever be used together, the mere idea is disturbingly alien. Rest assured, I will not let her slip past without me taking a few pictures and posting a few updates. Seriously, stop with the dirty looks, the muttered curses, the bags of dog doo thrown at my head. I’m terribly, terribly sorry.
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, Annie Duke, Liv Boeree, Matt Graham, pot-limit omaha, ultimatebet, world series of poker, WSOP, wsop ub, wsop ultimatebet
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