It’s been a couple of days since Sweden’s Martin Jacobson took down the 2014 World Series of Poker Championship Event and the $10 million first prize that went along with it (I believe that Martin is still celebrating it somewhere on planet Earth). Simply put, it was one of the more impressive displays of poker that we’ve seen in the past few years. The Poker News Daily crystal ball’s performance? It left a great deal to be desired! Here’s a breakdown of how it eventually finished and what the crystal ball’s predictions were.
Ninth – Mark Newhouse (Prediction: First)
Talk about a complete fan on this one! First, Newhouse’s run to back-to-back November Nine final tables is one of the greatest accomplishments in WSOP history. Secondly, it was inconceivable that Newhouse would finish in the same spot he did in 2013, especially since he had a much better stack this time around. The downfall came in what had been Newhouse’s style throughout the Championship Event: his aggression against his opponents.
It was tough enough that Newhouse ran his pocket tens into Will Tonking’s pocket Queens on the hand and, when the board ran out 2-4-J-4-J, Newhouse saw his moment to put some pressure on Tonking. Pushing all in with more than 20 million chips and slightly behind Tonking, Newhouse was attempting to display that he had the Jack for the boat. Tonking, however, didn’t buy it, eliminating Newhouse for the second year in a row in the ninth place slot.
Eighth – Bruno Politano (Prediction: Ninth)
The PND crystal ball was almost correct on this one. Politano never did gain any traction during the action at the final table and, once Newhouse was surprisingly gone, he seemed to be happy with the extra $200K or so that his finish brought him. Give the Brazilian some credit for playing a great WSOP and for forcing ESPN announcer Norman Chad to reference Mike Hargrove (AKA “The Human Rain Delay”) in describing his…let’s say “methodical” approach to his actions on the felt.
Seventh – Dan Sindelar (Prediction: Eighth)
Once again, the crystal ball seemed to be in tune with Sindelar’s finish. There were a couple of times that it looked like Sindelar might make a charge up the leaderboard but, with the two large stacks of Jorryt van Hoof and Tonking (after eliminating Newhouse) sitting on his left, it was going to be a tough road for Sindelar to get deep. Another player who had to be happy with his finish due to his starting stack at the final table.
Sixth – Andoni Larrabe (Prediction: Third)
Larrabe was another player who had to deal with being sandwiched in between van Hoof and Tonking. As such, he was fighting with inadequate ammunition for most of his stay at the final table. The youngest player on the table at 22, Larrabe did some things very well and I wouldn’t be surprised if we hear a bit more out of Larrabe in the future.
Fifth – William Pappaconstantinou (Prediction: Fifth)
The PND crystal ball did get one exactly correct! “Billy Pappas” was the “Caddyshack”-like “Cinderella story” that captured the attention of all in attendance in the Penn and Teller Theater and watching on ESPN. He didn’t embarrass himself; in fact, Pappaconstantinou handled the pressures of the final table on poker’s greatest stage quite well. It would have been interesting to see just what kind of “poker explosion” might have come about if the Foosball champion took poker’s World Championship.
Fourth – Will Tonking (Prediction: Sixth)
Tonking arguably was one of the stars of the early part of the Championship Event final table. His decision in calling against Newhouse was a really gutsy move, especially since both players were so close in chips and a loss would have basically doomed Tonking to ninth place. Once he got the win in that hand, though, there was that thought (and you could see it in Tonking’s demeanor) that he might be the next World Champion.
One decision by Tonking might be one that sticks with him for some time. After Tonking’s all in move with pocket deuces, Jacobson picked up pocket tens and isolated him with an all-in. The deuces, while a pair, are going to have a rough road against almost any hand. I believe that if Tonking had that hand back, he might have simply raised and been able to get away from it if there was significant action behind him. When Jacobson won the hand, Tonking was gone and might be wondering now what might have been.
Third – Jorryt van Hoof (Prediction: Second)
It was a tale of two days for van Hoof. On Monday night, there wasn’t a thing that van Hoof did wrong. All his moves worked (the all in against Larrabe when Larrabe had the bottom end of the straight and van Hoof had missed completely was absolutely ballsy), he controlled the table and he was getting some good cards when necessary.
Tuesday night was a completely different story. All the mojo that van Hoof had built up seemed to disappear, along with the cards. I don’t believe that van Hoof “lost” the World Championship, it was just an unfortunate circumstance that saw him come up a bit short.
Second – Felix Stephensen (Prediction: Fourth)
Stephensen was another pleasant surprise at the final table. With van Hoof on his right for the entirety of the final table, Stephensen was able to thrive instead of fade. He also was a player who made some excellent moves on the felt and, for a bit, it seemed like he would be taking the World Championship back to Norway.
First – Martin Jacobson (Prediction: Seventh)
The PND crystal ball’s hugest gaffe of the 2014 WSOP. While it did state that his lack of ammunition would be a problem, once Jacobson got some chips in his stack he was nothing short of masterful. It seemed he excelled at every point of the final table: short stack play, six-handed, three-handed and, once he got the lead, extending that lead. I don’t recall such a demonstration of thorough preparation for a final table over the past decade and it proves that Jacobson is more than worthy to carry the title of World Champion.
With the finish of the festivities on Tuesday night, the 2014 WSOP has closed its books and headed into history. It was the greatest final table in the history of the November Nine (at the very least) and any of its competitors would have been a deserving champion. But it was Jacobson, with that thorough preparation and outstanding play, who would outlast them all.
