The finals of the PokerStars sponsored “Million Dollar Challenge” aired on Sunday afternoon on Fox and featured 21 year old mother of one Jessica Cupini taking on show front man Daniel Negreanu. At stake was a $1 million grand prize.
A four-man sit and go to play Negreanu heads-up was held featuring four previous “Million Dollar Challenge” contestants. Cupini, the first challenger to appear on Season 2 of “Million Dollar Challenge,” squared off against lovable Texan Johnny Whitt; Ray Reid, the son of a preacher; and Carmenlita Cothron, the season’s only $100,000 winner.
Cothron was the first player eliminated. The sign language interpreter crippled her stack after doubling Cupini up with 8-5 of hearts against 6-3 of diamonds on a board of 9-6-8-3 with two hearts. Cothron had a bundle of outs on the river, but a queen of diamonds hit to send her stack plummeting to one small blind. Reid eliminated her on the next hand shown with A-8 against 8-5.
Whitt hit the deck in third place after Cupini flopped a set of jacks on a board of 5-8-J. Whitt moved all-in by the river after pairing his ace, but Cupini had him beat with a set. Whitt, who promised to build a deluxe chicken coop if he won the $1 million grand prize, settled for a trip to the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. He sought comfort in the arms of his wife and son, who were in the audience.
On the final hand of the Challenge of Champions, Cupini once again flopped a set of jacks. This time, the board came A-J-3-A and Reid checked with A-8 for trips. Cupini shoved with pocket jacks for a boat and Reid called all-in for his tournament life after a few seconds of deliberation. Cupini earned $100,000 and received a chance to play Negreanu for seven-figures.
Negreanu played for Make-A-Wish foundation and would receive $100,000 for the global charity if he outlasted the challenger. Each player was stacked with 40,000 in chips and the price of poker kicked off at a hefty 500/1,000.
Two notable hands from the final match were shown. In the first, Negreanu bet 4,000 on a flop of 10-2-J with two diamonds holding A-7 of the suit for the nut flush draw. Cupini raised to 11,000 with 10-7 for middle pair and Negreanu moved all-in over the top. Cupini tanked before releasing her hand and Negreanu quickly gained a 2:1 lead in chips.
Then, Negreanu called pre-flop with 10-2 and Cupini knocked the table with K-4 of hearts. The flop came K-Q-J, giving Negreanu a straight draw and Cupini top pair. The challenger led out for 4,000 and “Kid Poker” obliged. The turn was an ace, filling Negreanu’s straight, and Cupini open-shoved all-in. Negreanu swiftly called and the final card was a three, giving the PokerStars pro the win in the Season 2 finale of “Million Dollar Challenge.”
All was not lost for Cupini, who walked away with $100,000 in cash plus a trip to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Cupini told Negreanu, her coach throughout much of the show, “I got to play the best poker player in the world twice” and the credits rolled. Negreanu also defeated Cupini in a $100,000 match in the season opener on September 19th.
PokerStars has not officially announced whether “Million Dollar Challenge” will return for a third season sometime in 2011. However, the show’s promotions page still appears on the PokerStars website. PokerStars is the world’s largest online poker site and happily accepts players from the United States.
