A very busy Monday at the 2008 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) at PokerStars saw three different winners crowned and bracelets awarded. The biggest story of all was the conclusion of Event #20, which saw 43 players on hand to decide the lion’s share of a $3,647,000 prize pool. The final five survivors eventually agreed on a deal that netted them an average of more than a quarter million dollars each.

WCOOP Event #20, $1,000+50 NLHE, $3,000,000 Guaranteed, Day 2

Day 2 of Event #20 of the 2008 WCOOP, $1000+50 No-Limit Hold’em, concluded Monday night. 43 players returned with hopes of winning the title. Among them were Team
PokerStars pros Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier and Humberto Brenes, but both fell short of the final table. ElkY saw his

outflopped by

and finished in 14th place ($14,561.40) while Brenes ran

into

to finish in 15th place ($14,561.40). Taylor “ElMasterMind” McFarland finished in 18th for $8,667.50. High finishers who didn’t survive to Day 2 included Hoss_TBF in 56th ($5,547.20), Dani “supernova9″ Stern in 86th ($5,200.50), Mr. Tim Caum in 90th ($5,200.50), Andre “aakkari” Akkari in 191st ($3,813.70), Joe Hachem in 240th ($3,467) and Noah “Exclusive” Boeken in 350th ($2,426.90).

The chip counts to start the final table were as follows:

QuasiFiction – 17,614,385
Mary 717 – 11,817,844
CamoJr – 6,325,276
Christian “C.K.” Krue – 4,630,228
NYC P.I.M.P – 4,068,719
henri72 – 3,134,664
Jeff “JSchnett” Schnettler – 2,093,726
Sumar07 – 1,223,614
VuaXi`Tô’ – 1,096,544

The first to be eliminated was Sumar07. With blinds of 80,000/160,000 and an ante of 16,000, Sumar07 moved all in from middle position for 1,559,614 with

. On his immediate left, Jeff “JSchnett” Schnettler reraised all in and isolated the action with

. The board rolled out

and Sumar07 took home $31,203 for ninth. Later in the level, VuaXi`Tô’ moved all in under the gun for 1,745,088 and CamoJr called from the big blind. VuaXi`Tô’s JdTd needed help to beat CamoJr’s

, but was unable to find any. VuaXi`Tô’ finished in eighth place for $45,071.

WCOOP Event #7 winner Mary 717 certainly showed what it takes to win a WCOOP event, and continued here by eliminating henri72 in seventh place. The blinds and antes had moved to the 100,000/200,000/20,000 level, when, on the button, Mary 717 moved all in for 9,393,669 with

to force the smaller stacks in the blinds to pick up hands and make decisions for their tournament lives. Henri72 woke up with

and quickly called. Unfortunately for henri72, the board rolled out

to give Mary 717 a straight, eliminating henri72 in seventh place for $72,807. Sixth place was determined when Jeff “JSchnett” Schnettler moved all in from the cutoff for 2,485,340 and was called by Christian “C.K.” Krue in the big blind. Schnettler’s

ran into Krue’s

, and only a king would come on the board, not enough to save Schnettler. He earned $107,477 for sixth.

The remaining five players discussed a chip count chop and with a slight adjustment, a deal was reached. Each was guaranteed as follows:

QuasiFiction – $340,000
Mary 717 – $288,155.21
CamoJr – $230,388.83
Christian “C.K.” Krue – $226,965.07
NYC P.I.M.P. – $197,953

The remaining $60,000 would be awarded to the winner as would be the championship bracelet. Play slowed down for a while but eliminations soon came at a frantic pace. At the 150,000/300,000/30,000 level, QuasiFiction opened to 700,000 and Mary 717 reraised to 2.4 million. QuasiFiction moved all in and Mary 717 called all in showing

, but was in a precarious position seeing QuasiFiction’s

. The board ran out 10-high and Mary 717 finished in fifth place. The next hand, Christian “C.K.” Krue moved all in for 1,424,330 and NYC P.I.M.P reraised, successfully isolating the action. Krue showed

but was trailing NYC P.I.M.P’s

. No king would pair Krue’s hand as he finished the tournament in fourth place. It would take only five hands for the next player to fall. CamoJr made it 800,000 to go and NYC P.I.M.P moved all in for just over ten million. CamoJr called all in with

but was dominated by NYC P.I.M.P’s

. The board rolled out

and CamoJr placed third.

Heads-up play began with these chip counts:

QuasiFiction – 34,796,431
NYC P.I.M.P – 17,208,569

It took 30 hands for NYC P.I.M.P to double up with pocket aces and eventually take down the title. The winning hand came on a limped pot that brought out a flop of

. QuasiFiction check-called a bet of 550,000 and the turn delivered the

. This time QuasiFiction led out for 1,200,000 but was raised all in by NYC P.I.M.P. After a few moments of pondering, QuasiFiction called and showed

but was behind NYC P.I.M.P’s

. The river was the

and the tournament was over. QuasiFiction finished as runner-up, but still took home the biggest payday of $340,000.

The winner of WCOOP Event #20 was NYC P.I.M.P. After securing $197,953 per the five-way deal, NYC P.I.M.P battled valiantly to win the championship bracelet and the additional $60,000 to take home a total of $257,953. The final results:

*1. NYC P.I.M.P – $257,953
*2. QuasiFiction – $340,000
*3. CamoJr – $230,388.83
*4. Christian “C.K.” Krue – $226,965.07
*5. Mary 717 – $288,155.21
6. Jeff “JSchnett” Schnettler – $107,477
7. henri72 – $72,807
8. VuaXi`Tô’ – $45,071
9. Sumar07 – $31,203

* — five-way chop for remaining prize money, $60,000 to eventual winner

WCOOP Event #21, $500+30 Stud Hi/Lo, $200,000 Guaranteed

Though it had a relatively low number of entrants at 525, the $530 Stud Hi/Lo event generated a prize pool of $262,500, easily eclipsing its pre-tourney guarantee. Just missing out on the final table were Scott “emptyseat88″ Fischman in 14th place ($3,412.50) and Chad “ChadBrownPRO” Brown in 16th place ($3,412.50). Other top finishers included Lee “LeeNelsonP*” Nelson in 29th ($1,968.75), Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi in 30th ($1,968.75), Shane “Shaniac” Schleger in 41st ($1,312.50), Andre “aakkari” Akkari in 44th ($1,312.50) and Isabelle “NoMercy” Mercier in 72nd ($918.75).

The final table still possessed star power, though, as James “Andy McLEOD” Obst finished in seventh place for $6,562.50. In the end, weaktight defeated aldenpogi to capture the $530 Stud Hi/Lo title. The final results were as follows:

*1. weaktight – $42,735.78
*2. aldenpogi – $34,439.22
3. sagwise – $19,687.50
4. Bad Beat Oz – $14,437.50
5. CR00K – $9,187.50
6. The_Drow – $7,875
7. James “Andy McLEOD” Obst – $6,562.50
8. 7CardRyon – $5,250

* — two-way deal for remaining prize money, $4,000 to eventual winner

WCOOP #22, $500+30 O/8 Mixed (6-max) $200,000 Guaranteed

Event #22 was a unique mixed game that went back and forth between limit Omaha Hi/Lo and Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo. It drew 620 entrants for a prize pool totaling $310,000. Notable finishes included Scott “BigRiskky” Clements in 10th place ($4,030), Victor Ramdin in 14th place ($2,790), 2007 WCOOP bracelet winner copi in 31st ($1,550), horryclutch in 32nd ($1,550), Alexander “allingomes” Gomes in 33rd ($1,550), Dario “Dariominieri” Minieri in 45th ($1,178) and Chris “Money800″ Moneymaker in 58th ($1,023).

After fifteen hours of play the winner was determined when Matt “BUCKIZ6″ Schulte outlasted jamie2000 and the rest of the field. Schulte’s triumph brought him a $55,800 first-place payday. The final results:

1. Matt “BUCKIZ6″ Schulte – $55,800
2. jamie2000 – $41,850
3. PieOhMy – $31,000
4. lovesimi – $21,700
5. iamaction – $15,500
6. Londolozi – $9,300

Day 7 of the World Championship of Online Poker saw the return of a tournament with a guaranteed prize pool of $1 million, along with a smaller stud event that still cruised past its pre-start guarantee by a wide margin. The $215-plus-rebuys Event #13 at PokerStars featured lots of star power late, with Josh Arieh and Kevin Saul the focal points of attention in the event before “lrdvoldemort” surged to the win.

WCOOP Event #13: $200+15 No-Limit Hold’em w/ Rebuys, $1,000,000 Guaranteed

The $200+15 NLHE event with rebuys had 2,234 entrants, who collectively rebought 2,635 times and added on another 1,524 times. Put it all
together and it made a prize pool of $1,278,600. Several big names made it close to the final table but fell just short. Among them were Rami “arbianight” Boukai in 14th place (7,671.60), Zach “nofingclue11″ Clark in 17th place ($5,114.40), Cliff “JohnnyBax” Josephy in 20th place ($2,685.06), UH Big Tex in 39th ($2,301.48), Stuart “the donator” Paterson in 78th ($1,917.90), Juan “Vietcong01″ Barros in 82nd ($1,917.90), and Team PokerStars Pro member Chad Brown in 144th ($1,662.18).

The final table itself had its share of big names, too. Leading the way in chips was Josh “nitbuster” Arieh, and right behind him was Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul. Saul led with roughly 30 players left, but found himself holding the shortest stack with 16 remaining. However, a flurry of good luck (K-9 over A-3, A-9 over A-J, K-K over A-A – all three were all-ins preflop and each doubled his stack) propelled him towards the top of the leader board. An exciting final table was sure to come.

The chip counts as the final table began:

Josh “nitbuster” Arieh – 3,738,562
Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul – 2,717,000
ACESEDAI – 2,057,663
Doug “imcastleman” Dicken – 1,702,714
omalos – 1,490,448
moe32746 – 1,257,246
TheKaas – 1,161,020
lrdvoldemort – 1,045,133
Sykoen – 664,214

The first one to be eliminated from the final table was ACESEDAI, who started third in chips before things went downhill. With the blinds at 20,000/40,000 and an ante of 4,000, ACESEDAI made it 120,000 to go from middle position and moe32746 called from the big blind. The

flop saw moe32746 check and ACESEDAI bet 240,000, which was quickly called. The

came on the turn and again it was checked to ACESEDAI, who moved all in for 1,079,663. Moe32746 snap-called and showed

for a straight. ACESEDAI’s

needed a nine for an unlikely chop but the river was the

, eliminating ACESEDAI in ninth place for $14,192.46.

Next to go was TheKaas. The blinds and antes were now at the 25,000/50,000/5,000 level. From the cutoff, lrdvoldemort moved all in for 1,346,266 and TheKaas wasted little time calling all-in for 1,114,974, He showed

, well ahead of lrdvoldemort’s

. However, the board ran out

, felting TheKaas in eighth place for a payday of $23,014.80. Two hands later the tournament was down to six players. Doug “imcastleman” Dicken moved all in from the small blind for his last 782,512 and Sykoen called all-in from the big blind for 561,939. Dicken showed

but had run into

. Dicken would need a nine or diamonds to win the hand and the latter would come. The board ran out

and Dicken made the nut flush to eliminate Sykoen in seventh place for $35,800.80.

Coming in as the two biggest stacks, Josh Arieh and Kevin Saul were primed to clash. Arieh still held the top spot on the leader board while Saul had slipped. Their inevitable duel would soon occur, resulting in Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul’s sixth-place elimination. With blinds and antes at the 30,000/60,000/6,000 level, lrdvoldemort raised to 150,000 on the button and Saul called from the small blind. Arieh then reraised to 420,000, prompting lrdvoldemort to fold. Saul deliberated briefly before calling and seeing a flop of

. He checked it over to Arieh who immediately moved all in, putting Saul’s tournament life at potential risk. Eventually, Saul clicked the call button and showed

but trailed Arieh’s

. Unfortunately for Saul, the turn and river came

and

. Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul earned $48,586.80 for sixth place.

A few hands later lrdvoldemort won a monster pot that left the tournament three-handed. After a flurry of preflop raising involving four of the remaining five players, Doug “imcastleman” Dicken was all in with

as the short stack, omalos was all in with

, and lrdvoldemort had a chance to knock them both out with

. The flop almost certainly guaranteed it, coming out

. The turn brought the

, which gave omalos a chance, but the

river gave lrdvoldemort queens full. Doug “imcastleman” Dicken finished in fifth place for $61,372.80, and omalos was the fourth-place finisher for $74,158.80.

The chip counts at the start of three-handed play were:

Josh “nitbuster” Arieh – 7,154,759
lrdvoldemort – 5,713,069
moe32746 – 2,966,172

Surprisingly, it would be Josh Arieh finishing the tournament in third place. After committing himself to a call with

and failing to catch up to pocket kings, Arieh was the short stack. When the blinds were 40,000/80,000 with an 8,000 ante, Arieh put his remaining chips in with

, but was up against lrdvoldemort’s

. The board would not improve Arieh, coming out

. Josh “nitbuster” Arieh earned $110,215.32 for his third-place showing.

At the start of heads-up play, these were the chip counts:

lrdvoldemort – 8,285,112
moe32746 – 7,548,888

The battle for the bracelet was competitive, with each player managing his own double-up to stay in the fight. The chip lead swung back and forth, but in the end it was lrdvoldemort who reigned supreme. After winning a coin flip to take 4.5-to-1 chip lead, lrdvoldemort had the upper hand. With blinds of 60,000/120,000 and an ante of 12,000, lrdvoldemort min-raised to 240,000 and moe32746 called. The flop came

and moe32746 would soon be all in with

, needing to get lucky to catch lrdvoldemort’s

. The turn and river were no help to moe32746, who finished as runner-up for a prize of $153,432.00.

The winner of WCOOP Event #13 was lrdvoldemort, who bested a final table that boasted two of the game’s elite at the top of the chip counts. Lrdvoldemort battled from eighth in chips at the start to holding all of the chips at the end, winning the championship bracelet and $207,772.50.

The final results were:

1. lrdvoldemort – $207,772.50
2. moe32746 – $153,432.00
3. Josh “nitbuster” Arieh – $110,215.32
4. omalos – $74,158.80
5. Doug “imcastleman” Dicken – $61,372.80
6. Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul – $48,586.80
7. Sykoen – $35,800.80
8. TheKaas – $23,014.80
9. ACESEDAI – $14,192.46

WCOOP Event #14: $300+20 Seven-card Stud, $100,000 Guaranteed

The only seven-card stud tournament of the WCOOP took place on Day 7. A field of 627 made up a prize pool of $188,100. Notable finishes included Steve “Rabscuttle” Mil in 14th place ($2,351.25), “xthesteinx” in 16th place ($2,351.25), Steve “Thorladen” Weinstein in 17th ($1,881.00), Chris “TheTownhouse” Odle in 44th ($940.50), and Kevin “BeLOWaBOVe” Saul in 49th ($846.45). The final table came to a close 14 hours after play began and, following a two-way deal, Mildred53 outlasted the rest to capture the title and 28,608.50.

The final standings were:

*1. Mildred53 – $28,608.50
*2. tiffaniejoy – $25,000
3. adsonvonmelk – $13,637.25
4. fly high989 – $9,405
5. yhcaep – $5,643
6. SanibelSanta – $4,702.50
7. AGame18 – $3,762
8. lilletrold – $3,291.75

* — two-way chop for remaining prize money; $2,000 to eventual winner

“I am thrilled and honored that I have been invited to be a part of Team USA for the Poker Nations Cup,” Williams said. “My teammates are extraordinary, as I have played against many of them in the past year, and now look forward to teaming up with them in our quest to defeat poker pros from around the globe.”

Other players from the USA include team captain Robert Williamson III, Chris Ferguson, Freddy Deeb, Chad Brown and Jamie Gold.

The tournament format consists of six heats, during which each player will take a turn playing and trying to score points for his team. Individual winners of these matches pocket $20,000 for their efforts. The preliminary heats are followed by a final tournament in a tag format, in which the team captains are responsible for substitutions, timeouts and other strategic decisions. The size of each team’s chip stack for the tag-format finale will depend on the points each individual player in the heats; the last player standing takes home the title for his team and nation.

Sweden edged out the USA to win last year’s event, while Great Britain won the inaugural Party Poker Nations Cup two years ago. Sweden’s lineup of professionals remains unchanged from last year; it includes team captain Bo Sehlstedt, William Thorsson, Johan Storakers, Mats Rahm, Anders Henriksson and qualifier Johan Ocklind. The British team is led by captain by Roland de Wolfe and features Joe Beevers, Neil Channing, Ian Frazer, Surinder Sunar and qualifier Francis Durbin.

Ireland is led by captain Padraig Parkinson, who is joined by Donnacha O’Dea, Marty Smith, Ciaran O’Leary, Liam Flood and qualifier Darren O’Brien. The German team is captained by Michael Keiner, whose teammates include Andreas Krause, Sebastian Ruthenber, Thomas Bihl and online qualifier Thomas Potzal. The Dutch team, featuring captain Marcel Luske, includes Thierry Van der Berg, Eric Van der Berg, Daan Ruiter and qualifier Quirijn Van Der Peet. Luske has one opening remaining to be filled.

“The array of talent on display for the 2008 PartyPoker Poker Nations Cup is brilliant,” PartyPoker stated in a news release.

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The $300+30 extended-play tourneys have found a popular niche in the Vegas poker market and have often been sold out during previous Deep Stack Extravaganza events. Each day’s event begins at 4 pm and starts with 4,500 in chips and 40-minute levels, with an additional 1,500 in chips available for a $10 dealer gratuity.

The Venetian had already established its Deep Stack Extravaganza I, II and III
series for 2008, with the 2008 DSE I running throughout much of February. The new April Series will now become 2008 DSE II.

The original 2008 Deep Stack Extravaganza II, meanwhile, has been renamed as 2008 DSE III and has been expanded to run from May 29th through July 16th, 2008, virtually paralleling the run of the World Series of Poker at the Rio, and, per its original schedule, includes a more varied level of buy-in amounts, up to $5,000 for the summer run’s final event. The original 2008 DSE III will now become 2008 DSE IV and remains on tap for November of 2008.

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“It was a clean sweep for the Europeans last year,” said World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack. “There are many, many talented players in the European poker community and I think it caught some of the world’s best known poker players by surprise. It’s safe to say the pros haven’t forgotten about last year and the young guns should expect a tougher fight in 2008.”

“Last year produced a fantastic tournament which exceeded all expectations,” said David Yu, CEO, Betfair, also noting that online qualifiers for WSOPE have begun on the site.

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Austria’s bwin Interactive Entertainment AG, one of Europe’s leading Internet-based gambling services, was disheartened by the German Federal Court of Justice’s dismissal of a motion to suspend enforcement proceedings against bwin, connected to a judgment issued in favor of Germany’s state-run lottery, Westlotto. Westlotto had pressed for enforcement of the February, 2006 decision after an initial bwin appeal was denied last year, prompted the motion made to the German Federal Court. Bwin has promised another appeal, but noted that the a final decision rendered against the company could have a “material adverse effect” on the firm’s finances. Bwin
remained confident, however, that infringement proceedings against Germany currently underway through European Union authorities would ultimately result in a decision favoring bwin, and reserved the right to seek damages in the event the German laws at the heart of Westlotto’s case are found incompatible with EU trade agreements.

South Africa Online Gambling Plans Move Forward

South African citizens’ hopes to gamble openly on the Internet moved forward this week with the passage of a planned regulatory bill to that nation’s Select Committee of National Provinces. Internet gambling is currently illegal in South Africa, though it is practiced by untold thousands of residents, and several sites in fact cater to the South African market. If passed through committee, the bill’s plans for regulation and online legalization would next move on to South Africa’s National Assembly for a formal vote.

Poker Royalty Signs “The Stunning One”

A big week for leading poker-representation agency Poker Royalty continued with the announcement that Bill “The Stunning One” Edler had come to terms with the agency for the handling of worldwide management and marketing representation, including sponsorship, licensing and speaking appearances. Edler joins Patrik Antonius in signing a deal with Las Vegas-based Poker Royalty in recent days.

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Costa Rica has reached a settlement with the US regarding Costa Rica’s outstanding claim as an affected party in the WTO judgment received by Antigua and Barbuda against the US. Antigua’s WTO judgment ($21M annually) concerned access to certain online-gambling markets, and Costa Rica was one of several countries that filed as an affected party in that matter. The new settlement, as reported in several Costa Rican outlets and made by Costa Rican Comercio Exterior minister Marco Vinicio Ruiz, maintains the US’s restrictions toward online gambling but opens up other WTO markets and opportunities to Costa Rica. Though of debatable real value, the
new opportunities for Costa Rica will be in research and development, warehousing, testing and technical analysis and certain postal and courier services.

Continuing IGREA Hearings to be Scheduled for April

A recent release by the Safe and Secure Gambling Initiative states that Congressman Barney Frank (D-CT) will again hold hearings in April, as part of his effort to build support for his proposed Internet Gambling and Regulation Enforcement Act (IGREA). Frank downplayed the importance of the hearings in a comment made for SSGI. Frank noted that the banking industry faces enormous challenges at the moment, such as the housing and mortgage crises, “The banks have a lot of other things to worry about right now,” said Frank. “I do not think poker should be one of them.”

McDermott Formally Introduces IGRTEA

Congressman James McDermott (D-WA) formally introduced his Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act of 2008 (IGRTEA). McDermott’s measure has been viewed as a supporting measure to Frank’s IGREA proposal, and has as of yet garnered less active support in Congress. Among the provisions of McDermott’s proposed bill: A 2% licensing fee on all online gambling companies offering their services to the US market, and a requirement forthese companies to provide annual profit/loss statements to U.S. customers.

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According to WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel, “We’ve received only positive comments about the 2008 schedule, which offers WSOP bracelets in eight variations of poker and at multiple buy-in levels. Because no alternates will be seated at the 2008 WSOP, we encourage players to pre-register early to guarantee their seats. Once
again, acceptable forms of payment will include cash, cashier’s checks, wire transfers and Rio casino chips.”

Pre-registration is available for all 55 events in the upcoming 39th WSOP, which runs from May 30 to July 16, 2008. Tournament rules are available on the website as are downloaded entry forms (in PDF format) for each of the 55 events. If entering remotely, players can either mail or fax the completed entry form(s) back to the Rio. Pre-registration for any event remains open until two weeks prior to the start of that event and must be accompanied by a deposit in the full amount of the entry fee for that event. Proof of identity must be supplied live at the Rio prior to the event’s start to complete the registration process.

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David Benyamine was the first player to make the money today when he defeated Barry Greenstein. After a series of pre-flop raises, all the chips went in the pot with Benyamine’s pocket tens
vying against Greenstein’s suited A-J. The board brought no help to Greenstein, who presented Benyamine with his signature bust-out gift, his book Ace on the River. With his defeat of Brian “sbrugby” Townsend, 1996 WSOP champion Huck Seed keeps his NBC Heads Up streak alive; he has cashed in all four annual events. Townsend met his demise when he called Seed’s check-raised all-in on a flop of T-7-5. Seed’s Q-T was in good shape against Townsend’s 6-5 and stayed that way as the board completed with 7-2.

Andy Bloch has been beating up on the women. Yesterday Bloch, a last-minute addition for the absent comedian Brad Garrett, eliminated actress Shannon Elizabeth. Today Vanessa Rousso ultimately fell to Bloch when she re-raised all-in on a board of holding for top pair and the nut flush draw. Bloch called with K-5 for two pair. A blank on the river moved Bloch into the sweet sixteen. Scott Fischman tied Huck Seed’s record of four cashes in the NBC Heads Up when he defeated 2006 WSOP Champion Jamie Gold. All the money went in pre-flop with Fischman’s A-4 vs. Gold’s K-J. The board missed them both and Fischman prevailed with ace high.

Former Major League pitcher Hershiser took an early lead against Allen Cunningham, but Cunningham battled back in two consecutive hands to take the lead. Hershiser is no stranger to performing under pressure and it wasn’t long before he regained the advantage. The boys got it all in pre-flop, Hershiser holding an A-T to Cunningham’s K-6. The board brought a ten for Hershiser and no help to Cunningham, who graciously added his signature to the baseball. Clonie Gowen was less lucky with her A-T all-in against Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi. Mizrachi’s Q-J found a jack on the turn to send the last woman to the rail and himself into the sweet sixteen.

Two-time WSOP champion Doyle Brunson and Erick Lindgren were all in pre-flop on a race with Brunson’s pocket nines competing against Q-J. When the turn came, the board read 8-7-6-5 to give Brunson the straight and leaving Lindgren drawing dead. Freddy Deeb and Sam Grizzle battled it out the longest but finally terminated when Grizzle’s pocket kings couldn’t hold up against Deeb’s A-Q once an ace flopped. While Deeb moves on to the sweet sixteen, he is now on deck for Orel Hershiser in the next round.

Clubs and Spades Brackets:

A lot of people speculated that Phil Ivey wouldn’t be up for the NBC Heads Up championship after just winning the grueling LA Poker Classic. Instead, Ivey appears to be re-energized and demonstrated it by making quick work of two-time WSOP champion Johnny Chan. Chan and Ivey were all in on a J-9-3 flop; Ivey had the upper hand with K-J to Chan’s Q-9. The turn and river came 5-T and for the first time since the event’s inception, Ivey advanced to the money. In Round One, Gavin Smith was 6-for-6 winning hands where he was the underdog. The seventh time proved his undoing when his K-8 couldn’t catch up to Chris Ferguson’s pocket fours.

We lost our last player with acting creds when Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little called Gabe Kaplan’s all-in pre-flop bet; Little held A-8 to Kaplan’s J-4. The board delivered Q-3-4-8-K, giving Little the higher pair, and sending Kaplan off. “I can’t lay down two eights this time, baby,” said Scotty Nguyen to his second-round opponent, Gus Hansen, before calling Gus’ pre-flop all in bet. Hansen tabled K-9 and the race was on. At the turn, the board read to give the spade-less Hansen a higher pair and Nguyen, who held the , an embarrassment of outs. No outs came for Nguyen and Hansen advanced to the next round.

In Round One, Tom “durrrr” Dwan eliminated Phil Hellmuth on a decidedly bad beat when his pocket tens ultimately cracked Hellmuth’s pocket aces. Matusow, who was required to change into more politically correct attire prior to the match, may have had the extra motivation of avenging his friend’s bad beat when he faced off against Dwan. Whatever his motivation, Matusow successfully put away Dwan when his A-5 held up against Dwan’s K-T. 2007 WSOP champion Jerry Yang, holding K-8, re-raised Phil Laak all in pre-flop. Laak called with pocket nines and spiked a set on the flop to ensure his sweet sixteen appearance.

JC Tran prevailed over TJ Cloutier when his pocket fours held up against Cloutier’s A-4. The last match of the day saw 2004 WSOP champion Greg Raymer prevail against Scott Clements. Short-stacked, Clements pushed in with an A-6, only to run into Raymer’s A-J. The board brought an ace, but no salvation for Clements.

Sweet Sixteen Match-Ups

Andy Bloch vs. Scott Fischman
Orel Hershiser vs. Freddy Deeb
Huck Seed vs. Michael Mizrachi
David Benyamine vs. Doyle Brunson
Jonathan Little vs Greg Raymer
Mike Matusow vs. Chris Ferguson
Gus Hansen vs. Phil Laak
Phil Ivey vs. JC Tran

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Huck Seed was the first player to advance into the semifinal round when David Benyamine, believing his pocket nines were good, moved all in on a board of 2-3-7-3-5. Seed, however, called with pocket twos for the boat. In 2006, Seed advanced to the NBC Heads-Up semifinals but was then defeated by Chris Ferguson.

Understandably, the feature table for the Hearts and Diamonds bracket hosted the match between Orel Hershiser and Andy Bloch. Bloch was able to gain a sizable advantage in the early going, but Hershiser pulled ahead when his all in with A-5 bested Bloch’s Q-J. The crowd erupted on the A-Q-8 flop. Although Hershiser was ahead, any queen or jack would give Bloch the edge. Bloch was also quick to point out, “A ten on the turn gives me a lot of outs.” The rest of the board filled in with running sixes and the game resumed. They seesawed back and forth until Bloch was finally able to put an end to Hershiser’s run. Bloch raised all in pre-flop with A-9 and got called by Hershiser with J-T. The board of 9-7-6-6-2 gave Bloch unneeded assistance and Hershiser signed his ball over to Bloch. While I’m sure there are many that have autographed baseballs by Hershiser, the provenance of this particular ball has to be the envy of any collector.

Perhaps the most intense quarterfinal battle was that between Chris Ferguson and Jonathan Little. Ferguson had advanced to the semifinal round in two out of the last three NBC Heads-Up events. This was Little’s first appearance in this event. It looked like an upset in the making when Little got off to an early lead and continued to extend it to a 6-to-1 advantage. Ferguson battled back, managing to execute two double-ups. The first double-up found Little with the against Ferguson’s . The flop gave both players the gutshot draw to a jack, but Ferguson’s would be the higher of the two potential straights. A paired Ferguson but gave Little the flush draw. The on the river pushed the pot to Ferguson. Ferguson’s pocket nines held against Little’s pocket fours for the subsequent double-up. Finally, at a slight chip disadvantage, Little pushed with a suited T-7 only to run into Ferguson’s pocket nines, which held for the win.

Phil Ivey had been chipping away at Gus Hansen for much of their match, gaining about a 2-to-1 chip lead. Hansen shoved all his chips in the middle on a flop, only to have Ivey call and flip over . Hanson grimaced as he turned over with only a runner-runner straight flush hope for survival. An on the turn left Hansen drawing dead and sent Ivey into the semis.

Semifinals

Off to a slow start, Chris Ferguson was able to eek out a slight advantage against Phil Ivey. About forty minutes into their match, Ivey pushed all in on a board of . Ferguson went into the tank for well over a minute but subsequently called with pocket eights; Ivey turned over pocket sixes. Ivey had outs to a set and straight but the fell, sending Ferguson to the semifinals for an unprecedented third time.

An hour into their match, Andy Bloch and Huck Seed were still virtually neck and neck. Bloch was finally able to get an edge on Seed before their final hand, where Bloch pushed all in with A-Q and got called by Seed with pocket nines. Bloch had to wait until the river for the ace that would send him through to the finals.

The finals between Chris Ferguson and Andy Bloch have begun as this report runs. Coincidently, back in the late 1990′s Bloch and Ferguson discovered that they had run the same computer simulations to determine a rank of hands for heads-up play.

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