In one of the wildest endings at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) thus far, Richard Austin came out on top to win the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha event (#35). Austin won a shocking three-way all-in against prominent pros Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi and Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy to earn his first bracelet and a payday of $409,484.
On the final hand, with Austin holding the cheap lead, he limped on the button. Mizzi completed from the small blind and Josephy raised the pot (150,000) from the big blind. Austin called, and, unexpectedly, Mizzi put in another raise to 750,000. Josephy moved all-in for a total of 950,000, Austin called, and Mizzi called, leaving himself with around 600,000.
The flop ran out [Kc][9d][3c]. Mizzi moved all-in and Austin called:
Josephy: [Ad][Kh][Ks][8d]
Mizzi: [As][Ah][5d][3d]
Austin: [Qh][Js][8c][5c]
Turn: [8s]
River: [7c]
Mizzi had the best hand pre-flop and Josephy flopped a set of kings to take the lead, but the river gave Austin a flush to eliminate both. It took a few moments for the players and tournament staff to realize who had won the final hand, but Josephy pointed to Austin, shrugged his shoulders, and shook each player’s hand before walking away with $166,771. Josephy was the only bracelet winner at a final table in which every player listed himself as a poker pro. He earned his hardware in the $1,500 Seven Card Stud event during the 2005 WSOP.
Mizzi, a Team Betfair pro and native of Toronto, fell just short of a bracelet for the second time in his young career. The 23 year-old took second place in the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship during the 2008 WSOP Europe in September. Friday’s runner-up finish was the third biggest cash of his live poker career, the largest coming as part of a chop of the 2007 Irish Open.
Mizzi took the chip lead midway through the final table after taking out Felipe Ramos in sixth place and Rifat Palevic in fifth. Ramos made an unfortunate exit when Mizzi came from behind to make a straight against Ramos’ aces after all of the chips had gone in pre-flop. Mizzi then eliminated Palevic holding the best hand pre-flop to send the 29 year-old Swede away with $85,516.
The fourth place finisher was Dan Hindin of Danbury, Connecticut. Hindin got all of his chips in pre-flop with single-suited kings against Austin’s single-suited aces and was unable to improve, sending him home with $116,748. It was the first-ever cash at the WSOP for the 24 year-old.
A humble Austin declined to be interviewed by the WSOP media staff after his win and chose not to participate in the gold bracelet ceremony on Saturday. It will mark the first time this year that a player has declined to take part in the tradition. A WSOP tournament official told Poker News Daily, “The WSOP is disappointed that one of our tournament’s winners did not shine in his moment of glory.”
Here are the final results from Event #35:
1. Richard Austin – $409,484
2. Sorel Mizzi – $253,048
3. Cliff Josephy – $166,771
4. Dan Hindin – $116,748
5. Rifat Palevic – $85,516
6. Felipe Ramos – $67,663
7. Van Marcus – $55,687
8. Peter Jetten – $48,112
9. Samuel Ngai – $43,539
Two more bracelets will be awarded on Saturday as the $2,000 No Limit Hold’em event (#36) and $10,000 Seven Card Stud High-Low World Championship (Event #37) will play down to winners. Event #36 will get underway at 1:00pm Pacific Time with 17 players remaining. The field will be chasing chip leader Steven Tabb to win the bracelet and $586,212 prize.
As expected, the final day of the $10,000 Stud World Championship is loaded with big names. The final 11 include chip leader Abe Mosseri, Doyle Brunson, Scotty Nguyen, Justin “Boosted J” Smith, and Jeff Lisandro, who is eyeing his second bracelet of this year’s WSOP. The winner will collect $431,656 for his three days of work.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for updates on all of today’s events at the 2009 WSOP.