The 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event final table was one of the most exciting installments in the past several years. Due to the lengthy final table bubble back in July, the action was fast and furious with numerous all-ins, setting up several dramatic hands. With only two players sitting above the chip average at the start, several short stacks would have to make their stand within the first few hours. Once Jason Senti pushed all-in on the second hand of the night, the tone was definitely set and the players were off and running.
The final table witnessed a seesaw affair, as Jonathan Duhamel entered the night as the chip leader, but, to the excitement of the entire Penn and Teller Theater, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi took over the chip lead with seven players remaining. However, after “The Grinder’s” fifth place elimination, Joseph Cheong took control during short-handed play. Unfortunately, Cheong’s mistimed six-bet into Duhamel’s pocket queens basically ended his night. In the end, the chip lead came back full circle and Duhamel was crowned the 2010 WSOP Main Event champion.
Congratulations to Duhamel! Not only did he break the November Nine chip leader jinx, but the 23 year old Quebec native also became the first Canadian WSOP Main Event champion ever. I have spoken with him several times and gotten to know him during the Foxwoods Mega Stack this past August. I firmly believe that he will be a great poker ambassador during his year-long reign.
Here are some of my thoughts about this year’s WSOP Main Event final table:
Patches: For the WSOP final table, the rule is only three players are allowed to be patched by a single company. PokerStars did not have a problem this year, as they only had two players at the final table, Duhamel and Senti.
However, Full Tilt had a dilemma, as the online site had signed the other seven players. So, which three players would wear a Full Tilt patch? While Mizrachi and John Dolan (second in chips) were obviously choices, the debate for the third player was between Cheong and John Racener. In the end, Full Tilt chose Cheong because he was third in chips.
This decision did not leave Racener or the other three players patch-less. Racener, along with Matt Jarvis (fifth) and Filippo Candio (sixth), wore patches for Full Tilt’s affiliated training site, CardRunners, while Soi Nguyen (eighth) wore a patch for the Full Tilt poker show “Poker After Dark.” While everyone thought this was going to be a difficult decision, Full Tilt handled the situation extremely well.
Music: This year, each player entered the Penn and Teller Theater to their own chosen music. Living in the Boston area, my favorite selection was Duhamel’s choice, “I’m Shipping up to Boston” by the Dropkick Murphys (you may remember the song from “The Departed”). I was asked what song I would have chosen. It would be either Duhamel’s choice or “Learn to Fly” by the Foo Fighters, which is my radio show’s theme song.
Joe Cada: Although Joe Cada (the 2009 WSOP Main Event champion) was there at the beginning of heads-up play, I was a bit surprised that he wasn’t present at the beginning of the final table.
Chips: As play got underway, many people were uncertain what the denominations of the colored chips were. Well here you go: Green = 25,000; Pink = 100,000; Yellow = 250,000; and a new oversized Cranberry chip was added a few hours into the final table that equaled 500,000. It was interesting watching some of the players struggle trying to shuffle these extra large chips.
Trivia Question: Who was the only player at the final table with a WSOP bracelet? Answer: Of course, Mizrachi. Fresh off this year’s $50,000 Player’s Championship victory, he was wearing it on his left wrist.
Other Numbers Behind the Main Event:
Hats: 6 (Note: Five players wore them turned backward; only one player wore it forward: Candio)
Hoodies: 2 (Cheong and Duhamel)
Visor: 1 (Senti)
Sunglasses: 5 (Senti, Cheong, Jarvis, Racener, Nguyen)
Earrings: 2 (Mizrachi, Racener)
Sweater Wrapped Around Neck: 1 (Candio – wore his lucky sweater around his neck)
Biggest Coincidence: On Hand #43, Mizrachi eliminated Jarvis on a hand that was unbelievably similar to one that occurred seven years ago during the WSOP Main Event. With eight players remaining and blinds at 300,000/600,000 with an ante of 75,000, Duhamel raised from mid-position to 1.4 million. After Mizrachi called from the hijack seat, Jarvis decided to move all-in for about 14 million. After Duhamel folded, Mizrachi went into the think tank.
After asking for a count, Mizrachi realized that a call would be for two-thirds of his stack. After much deliberation, Mizrachi made the call, revealing Ad-Qd. When Jarvis showed his pocket nines (9h-9c), the race was on! The flop (Qs-8d-Qc) caused an eruption by the Mizrachi fan club. However, the dealer turned an unbelievable card – the 9s – flip-flipping the odds in Jarvis’ favor. With everyone anxiously awaiting the river, the dealer revealed the As, igniting another celebration by the entire Mizrachi clan.
Remarkably, the hand was almost identical to Chris Moneymaker’s 2003 hand that eliminated Phil Ivey in 10th place. Amazingly, Ivey held 9s-9h verses Moneymaker’s Ah-Qd with a board of Qh-6s-Qs-9c-As. I guess the ghosts of WSOP past are never far away.
Worst Blowup: When the action got three-handed, Cheong was the chip leader (95 million) with Duhamel close behind (90 million). It looked like these two would battle for the title heads-up after eventually eliminating the short stack, Racener. However, in a blind versus blind battle, Cheong eventually six-bet with As-7h into Duhamel’s Qd-Qc. After the board ran clean, Cheong was left with about four million chips and was eliminated in third place six hands later. Of course, the happiest person in the room was Racener, who slipped into second place.
Finally, in the coming weeks, “The Bernard Lee Poker Show” will have an audio blog of the WSOP final table from start to finish. I even interviewed some of the players during the breaks to hear how they felt they were doing. If you would like to hear these shows, or any past interviews with any member of the November Nine, you can download the podcast of “The Bernard Lee Poker Show” via iTunes or visit RoundersRadio.com.
Congratulations once again to our new WSOP Main Event Champion, Jonathan Duhamel. Not only did he take home the $8.9 million first prize, but more importantly, he also captured the 2010 WSOP Main Event bracelet, which was encrusted with diamonds and was truly a piece of art (Great job Steve Soffa!).
Since finishing 13th in the 2005 WSOP Main Event, Bernard Lee has cashed in numerous tournaments (most recently a third place finish at the WSOP $10,000 Circuit Regional Championship in Hammond), capturing three titles and earning over $1.7 million. He is the host of ESPN’s poker show, “Inside Deal.” He is a columnist for the Boston Herald and ESPN.com. He is also the radio host of “The Bernard Lee Poker Show.” Listen every Tuesday night from 6:00pm to 7:00pm ET on 1210AM in Massachusetts and RoundersRadio.com. The show is replayed several times during the week and is also available on podcast. Visit BernardLeePoker.com for the latest news regarding Lee.