Events at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) that don’t feature No Limit Hold’em are generally ignored by the general public, and even much of the poker community. Even at the WSOP, final tables of such events are often relegated to an area off of the main stage. But the great thing about them is that we are usually introduced to excellent players we were not previously familiar with. Such is the case with 2010 WSOP Event #14, $1,500 2-7 Draw Lowball, won by Yan Chen. For his win, Chen took home $92,817 and, of course, the coveted gold bracelet.
Chen does not have a long, illustrious history at the WSOP, but in recent years, he has done quite well. In 2008, he just missed a final table, placing 11th in a $2,000 No Limit Hold’em event. Last year, he had several strong finishes: 3rd in $2,500 2-7 Lowball, 5th in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Championship, and 24th in $2,500 Razz. Last night’s victory, however, was his first at the WSOP.
Nick Binger, brother of 2006 WSOP Main Event third place finisher Michael Binger, went into the final table as the chip leader, but ran into trouble, watching both Chen and Mike Wattel pull away from the field. Wattel is another one of those players that the general poker public knows nothing about, but he is far from an unknown to regulars. He is a specialist in just about anything that isn’t No Limit Hold’em. Wattel has 23 WSOP cashes, most of them in tournaments involving Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Stud Hi-Lo, Razz, and Mixed events. He has one bracelet, in a $1,500 Omaha 8 or Better event in 1999, as well 12 other final tables appearances. So, if he cashes, the odds are good that he is making a final table.
Chen entered heads-up play with a 620,000 to 505,000 chip advantage over Wattel. The lead flip-flopped a couple of times during the first hour, but after that, Chen took over and didn’t look back. Eventually, Wattel had to make a move, pushing all-in with Q-J against Chen’s T-8. Lowball is the name of the game and Chen had the lowest hand, so it was all over for Wattel as Chen won his first bracelet.
2010 WSOP $1,500 2-7 Draw Lowball Final Table Results
1. Yan Chen – $92,817
2. Mike Wattel – $57,375
3. Nick Binger – $37,857
4. Derric Haynie – $25,839
5. Todd Bui – $18,096
6. James Bord – $12,997
7. Alexander Kravchenko – $9,568
Elsewhere at the 2010 WSOP on Monday, Day 2 ended in Event #13, $1,000 No Limit Hold’em, with the field whittled down to 56 from the 3,042 that started over the weekend. Matthew Vance leads the largely unknown group of remaining players with 547,000 chips. The only other player with more than a half million is Christopher Brammer with 518,000. Here is what the top ten looks like as play enters Day 3:
1. Matthew Vance – 547,000
2. Christopher Brammer – 518,000
3. Mats Gavatin – 453,000
4. Daniel Carter – 417,000
5. Carl “colson10” Olson – 325,000
6. Philip Sparta – 280,000
7. Kyung Han – 259,000
8. Jeremy Defrande – 247,000
9. Jasper Wetemans – 228,000
10. Duane Blanchard – 218,000
The $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split 8 or Better Championship, Event #15, also completed its second day, with 18 of 170 players left fighting for the $447,446 first prize. Tennessee’s Frank Kassela, already with a 10th place finish in $1,500 Limit Hold’em this year, is the chip leader with 515,000. Notables still remaining include Team Full Tilt members John Juanda (6th) and Jennifer Harman (13th), Team PokerStars Pro Dario Minieri (15th), Team PokerStars Online member George “Jorj95” Lind (18th), Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler (8th), Blair Rodman (11th), Chip Jett (14th), and Toto Leonidas (16th). Also of note is Vladimir Schmelev, who is trying to make his third final table of the WSOP. The complete rundown of the remaining players is as follows:
1. Frank Kassela – $515,000
2. Sergey Altbregin – $497,000
3. Kirill Rabtsov – $388,000
4. Alessio Isaia – $382,000
5. Marco Johnson – $379,000
6. John Juanda – $368,000
7. Christopher George – $317,000
8. Allen Kessler – $316,000
9. Steve Zolotow – $301,000
10.Gary Benson – $300,000
11. Blair Rodman – $284,000
12. Vladimir Schmelev – $275,000
13. Jennifer Harman Traniello – $197,000
14. Chip Jett – $178,000
15. Dario Minieri – $139,000
16. Toto Leonidas – $112,000
17. Alexander Dovzhenko – $80,000
18. George Lind – $76,000
It was a busy day at the WSOP on Monday, as there was one more tournament in action. Event #16, $1,500 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em, began with 1,663 players and, as has been the case in several events so far, eliminations were fast and furious. By the end of the day, the remaining 146 players were already in the money. Roger Teska is the chip leader by a fairly substantial amount with 221,000 chips, almost 50% more than his nearest competitor. The top ten in this event:
1. Roger Teska – $221,000
2. Kevin Iacofano – $149,200
3. Dorlan Schick – $139,600
4. Timothy Adams – $138,900
5. Sanghyon Cheong – $126,300
6. Anthony Licastro – $119,000
7. David “Doc Sands” Sands – $117,800
8. Francois Billard – $117,000
9. Mark Flowers – $112,700
10. Blake Slade – $106,700
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for continued updates from the 2010 World Series of Poker.
