In Event #18 of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), $2,000 Limit Hold’em, 2009 November Niner Eric Buchman held a slim lead over Hansu Chu when 10-handed action began, but Buchman was able to extend that lead in the early going by eliminating Daniel Quach in tenth place.
Already a winner this year in a previous Limit Hold’em event, WSOP bracelet winner Matt Matros was the next victim at the table, unable to revive his short stack against the onslaught of Matt Grapenthien. After William Jensen dispatched Gary Bogdanski in eighth, Grapenthien fell at the hands of Buchman, extending his lead. Within three hours, Buchman cracked the one million chip mark and continued to pressure his opponents.
Of the final six players at the table, Buchman, who finished in fourth place in the Main Event last year, was responsible for eliminating three of them on the way to heads-up play against Brent Courson. Holding a monumental 5:1 chip advantage, Buchman continued on his hot streak during heads-up play, wearing down Courson over the span of their half-hour fight.
On the final hand, with a board of 2-Q-2-7 rainbow, Courson’s last chips hit the felt holding Big Slick; Buchman’s success continued, as he called and tabled 10-7, making two pair on the turn. When no Ace or King came to the rescue for Courson, Buchman picked up a well-deserved WSOP bracelet:
1. Eric Buchman (Valley Stream, NY) – $203,607
2. Brent Courson (Grand Rapids, MI) – $125,737
3. Steven Hustoft (Lacey, WA) – $90,928
4. Flavio Ferrari (Rome, Italy) – $66,446
5. Hansu Chu (McLean, VA) – $49,068
6. William Jensen (Silver Spring, MD) – $36,619
7. Matt Grapenthien (Chicago, IL) – $27,609
8. Gary Bogdanski (Lyndhurst, NJ) – $21,025
9. Matt Matros (Brooklyn, NY) – $16,174
In one of the most watched tournaments of the day, the $10,000 No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball World Championship, David Baker, who made the final table in the $50,000 Player’s Championship, led a stacked ten-player field that included Erik Seidel, John Juanda, Daniel Negreanu, and Andy Bloch, who was eliminated in ninth.
Baker continued to take the fight to the remainder of the field, bumping Negreanu in eighth, Seidel in sixth, and David Booth in fifth. Juanda departed in fourth at the hands of Baker and George Danzer dropped out in third after being beaten by Eric Cloutier. Holding almost a 3:1 chip lead at the start of heads-up play, Baker stormed to his first WSOP bracelet after only a 20-minute battle:
1. David Baker (Rochester Hills, MI) – $294,321
2. Eric Cloutier (Lafayette, LA) – $181,886
3. George Danzer (Munchen, Germany) – $115,295
4. John Juanda (Las Vegas, NV) – $78,088
5. Doug Booth (Bowling Green, KY) – $55,482
6. Erik Seidel (Las Vegas, NV) – $41,270
7. Eric Kesselman (New York, NY) – $32,080
The $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha tournament, Event #20 on this year’s WSOP schedule, reached its final table just before curfew. When Full Tilt Poker’s Nenad Medic eliminated Peter Costa in tenth place, the final table that includes Blair Rodman and John “Tex” Barch was set, with play picking up this afternoon. Medic, with a chip stack of 1.5 million, has a monstrous one million chip lead over his closest competitor, Barch.
The $1,500 Seven Card Stud tournament also was able to reach its eight-handed final table prior to the 3:00am curfew. Titan Poker pro Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi will lead the pack when play continues this afternoon, with Darren Shebell, Richard Ashby, and Dan Heimiller his closest competitors. Christine Pietsch will represent the ladies at the final table, while Jon “PearlJammer” Turner will start out on the second shortest stack.
The $1,000 Ladies’ Championship drew a sizeable field of 1,054, which included approximately 15 men – most notably Shaun “shaundeeb” Deeb – but none made it to Day 2. A total of 138 ladies will return for that action, with La Sengphet topping the field. Attention will more than likely be on the second largest chip stack in the room, 2008 WSOP Ladies’ Champion Svetlana Gromenkova, as she attempts to join poker legends Barbara Enright, Susie Isaacs, and Nani Dollison as the only two-time winners of the tournament.
In the $2,500 Six-Handed Limit Hold’em tournament, Event #23, 122 players will return for Day 2 out of the 384 who started the event. Leading the field is Pennsylvania’s Alexander Queen, but two other Americans in the top 10 will be watched heavily. Fresh off his bracelet win, Baker multitasked his way into seventh place to start today’s play, while Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo will begin play in fifth place.
