While many in the United States were celebrating the Memorial Day weekend, 63 players took part in the Full Tilt Poker Heads-Up World Championship on Saturday and Sunday.
The 63 players involved put up a massive $25,000 buy-in to take part in the tournament, which, as its price tag would suggest, was dotted with professional players and online experts from around the world. Such live pros as David Singer, David “The Dragon” Pham, Erick Lindgren, and World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event champion John Juanda faced off against notable online players like Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies, Justin “Boosted J” Smith, Jason “pr1nnyraid” Rosenkrantz, and Dani “Ansky451” Stern.
The first day of action on Saturday played down to the Final Four and some of the battles featured surprising endings. Pham was able to eliminate fellow professional Tony G in the first round, Lindgren was upset by “TUFF_FISH,” and “Ansky451” dropped at the hands of “MIRTTINUR”. As the tournament wore on, the final eight were determined and each was guaranteed at least a $94,500 payday.
The Elite Eight saw poker professional David Benefield earn his way into Sunday’s action after defeating “IVANLENDL,” who had many wondering if he was the former tennis champion. “WINNERFISH” was the victor over “VAGA_LION” for the right to take on Benefield in the Final Four. The other two spots were taken when “YOGIBLAIR” knocked off “KADABRA” and “THEASHMAN103” eliminated “PAST.”
Play in the Final Four restarted on Sunday and both Benefield and “THEASHMAN103” defeated their opponents, working their way to the final heads-up match. “THEASHMAN103” took control of the match from the start and quickly worked up to a sizeable 6:1 edge over Benefield before the final hand played out.
With “THEASHMAN103” holding the button, he min-raised to 100 and Benefield called. On a 7d-9h-9s flop, Benefield seized the action with a bet of 125, which “THEASHMAN103” called. A turn of 8d brought the final action in the tournament, as Benefield pushed a 325 chip bet and “THEASHMAN103” moved all-in. Benefield called and the duo saw the Qs on the river. Once “THEASHMAN103” turned up 9d-3s for flopped trips, Benefield realized that his busted straight draw and two pair of 8s-6s was beaten and a new champion for the Full Tilt Poker $25K Heads-Up World Championship was crowned.
The full results from the tournament were as follows:
1. THEASHMAN103 (United States) – $551,250
2. DAVID BENEFIELD (United States) – $315,000
3. WINNERFISH (United States) – $165,375
4. YOGIBLAIR (Canada) – $165,375
5. PAST (United States) – $94,500
6. KADABRA (United States) – $94,500
7. IVANLENDL (Sweden) – $94,500
8. VAGA_LION (United Kingdom) – $94,500