One of the most hotly contested battles of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament, Event #17 on the schedule, which concluded this morning. Eighteen players came back from the original field of 792 to play down to an eventual champion, with top online player Jason “TheMasterJ33” DeWitt leading a field that included DoylesRoom pro Amit “amak316” Makhija, David “theASHMAN103” Benefield, Jeff “yellowsub86” Williams, Perry Friedman, and Victory Poker’s Antonio Esfandiari. After slightly more than three hours of play, Makhija, holding pocket Jacks, made a superb call against Friedman’s A-Q to eliminate the Full Tilt Poker pro on the final table bubble.
Williams was the early ruler at the final table, eliminating Manny Minaya in ninth place and frequently three-betting his opposition into submission. After being the chip leader coming into the final table, DeWitt went the opposite direction, finding himself in the middle of the pack soon after the dinner break. Joining them in their assault on the WSOP bracelet was England’s Sam Trickett, who hovered just off the top five at the start of play on Thursday.
The trio would take turns eliminating players – with DeWitt and Williams each eliminating one and Trickett taking out two – to move to three-way action. Through his double knockouts, Trickett moved into the chip lead momentarily before DeWitt’s dismissal of Williams in third place gave him back the chip lead. After a two-hour heads-up battle, DeWitt was able to vanquish the valiant Trickett and seize the WSOP bracelet for the event.
1. Jason DeWitt (Granger, IN) $818,959
2. Samuel Trickett (Nottingham, United Kingdom) $505,725
3. Jeff Williams (Dunwoody, GA) $328,762
4. Peter Gilmore (Kingston, NH) $241,472
5. Amit Makhija (Brookfield, WI) $179,866
6. David Benefield (Croton on Hudson, NY) $135,718
7. James Carroll (Garland, TX) $103,594
8. Paul Foltyn (Yorkshire, United Kingdom) 79,957
9. Manny Minaya (Tampa, FL) $62,350
Two tournaments attempted to make their final tables on Thursday night, but were derailed by the 3:00am curfew at the WSOP. Event #18, the $2,000 Limit Hold’em tournament that started on Wednesday, reached the final 10 players before action was called early Friday morning. The winner of the previous $1,500 Limit Hold’em event at this year’s WSOP, Matt Matros, is in the mix to win his second bracelet, but will have to battle back from a short stack to do so. 2009 November Niner Eric Buchman carries a slight lead over Hansu Chu when action continues later this afternoon.
In the latest $10,000 World Championship Event, the No Limit Deuce To Seven Draw Lowball tournament, David Baker continues on what has been a tremendous run at this year’s WSOP. Baker, who finished sixth in the $50,000 Players’ Championship, leads a loaded field of ten players that includes bracelet owners such as Erik Seidel, John Juanda, Daniel Negreanu, and Andy Bloch, who is surprisingly looking for his first ever WSOP bracelet. The remaining gentlemen in the field will play down to a champion on Friday.
Two tournaments began the day on Thursday with sizeable fields. The $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha tournament, Event #20 on the WSOP schedule, started with a field of 885 runners before being brutally whittled down to only 95 by night’s end. Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little and Christian “charder30” Harder lead the pack as play begins on Friday, with the money bubble bursting at 81st place.
Event #21, $1,500 Seven Card Stud , drew an impressive 408 players on Thursday. By the end of play on Friday morning, 128 remained in the field, with several top pros still in the running. 2010 L.A. Poker Classic High Roller winner Scott Seiver is the chip leader when play resumes this afternoon, with former WSOP Main Event champion Carlos Mortensen, Jean “Prince” Gaspard, Rodeen Talebi, and Chip Jett in hot pursuit.
Along with continued play in the above mentioned events, the ladies of poker will take center stage on Friday. The $1,000 Ladies No Limit Hold’em championship is slated for Day One play beginning at Noon PT, with the $2,500 Six-Handed Limit Hold’em event starting its Day One at 5:00pm. With two bracelets to be awarded and four other events in various stages of action, it promises to be another active day at the World Series of Poker.
