John Phan wins Event 29

John Phan secured his first bracelet in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Event. In the heads-up he defeated Johnny Neckar and received a prize money of $434,789.

Finally a Bracelet for John 'Razor' Phan

John Phan really deserved the bracelet! For years, the American has already been active in tournament poker and has countless cashes to show. In the WSOP alone he already finished 12 times in the money before - the first time in 2000. Furthermore, he has eight ITM finishes at the WPT. The top positions in smaller events are hardly countable. 13 tourney wins are already on his name.

 

Calling John Phan
The later winner already caused a stir when he appeared too late for the final table. Phan had made a mistake with the set start time and still played in another tournament. A quick phone call remedied the situation though, and John Phan switched to the final table of Event 29.

Aggressive Start by Phan
John Phan started aggressively into the finale and often tried to steal the blinds - but almost as often he had to fold his cards after a re-raise. His own blinds he defended vehemently. After a few missed steal attempts, Phan was relatively short. Thuy Doan raised from the button to 62,000 and Phan pushed all-in with his remaining 240,000. Doan folded, and
Phan said: "You're always raising my blind. That's what you get when
you keep raising my blind."

Phan eliminates Doan
(Rank 7)
A bit later, both clashed again. Doan pushed all-in from the button. John Phan called and covered her. Doan showed , Phan held for the coin flip (~ 55% to 45% for Doan). The flop came with and gave Phan the top pair. Doan only had the remaining two sixes and about 12%. Turn and River didn't help her. She dropped out as seventh.

... and Newman (Rank 6)
Stewart Newman was Phan's next victim: Newman went all-in pre-flop, and Phan called. Newman held . Phan flipped over and was clearly dominated with about 25% to 75%. Already on the flop
came the needed jack though and put Phan with 85% in the lead. Newman's hope to see a queen burst and he had to join the rail on rank 6.

... and Singer (Rank 5)
Only about 10 minutes later, Phan also took David Singer out of the tournament. From UTG he raised pre-flop. Everybody folded to Singer in the small blind, who called. The flop came with , Singer checked to Phan who made a conti-bet. After a long respite, Singer announced his all-in. Phan called and showed for middle two pair and backdoor flush draw. Singer only held for the gutshot. Phan was an 84% favourite. Turn and river changed nothing. Singer had to clear his seat on rank 5.

... and Bolotin (Rank 4)
Bolotin shoved all-in pre-flop, and Phan called. Bolotin held , Phan had . Bolotin was ahead with his pockets (~ 55% to 45% for Bolotin). The board gave Phan the needed cards again though: . Bolotin remained with rank 4.

Neckar eliminates Vengrin (Rank 3)
Pre-flop, Necker went all-in after his raise and a re-raise from Vengrin. Neckar held , Vengrin showed .
Neckar dominated Vengrin with about 75% to 25%. The flop gave both an ace, the kicker kicked in. Vengrin dropped out as third.


Six-hour Heads-Up

The heads-up should turn into a real battle, taking more than six hours. Phan went into the finale with a very small chip lead, which kept on switching all the time though. No end was in sight.

Ace from Space for Phan
When you finally thought it was all over, an ace on the river secured Phan's survival. Phan had , Neckar held .
On the flop came the king, and Phan was drawing slim. The river gave him the ace though. Instead of dropping out, Phan took over - yet again - the lead.

Bluff!? - Monster Pot for Phan without Showdown
A monster pot
put Phan in the lead after almost 4 hours. Neckar raised pre-flop to 150,000 and Phan called. The flop came with . Phan donked for 150,000 and Neckar called. The turn card was the , Phan checked, and Neckar bet 225,000. Phan called. On the river came the .
Phan checked. Neckar bet 600,000, and Phan insta-called with his quickest call of the tournament. Neckar mucked his cards as quickly as Phan had called. Phan didn't show his cards either. He took the monster pot and grabbed the lead with 3.4M to 0.9M.

All-In – In the dark
After over six hours, the leading John Phan coaxed his opponent into going all-in blindly. Phan called, of course also without looking at his cards. Phan's were facing Neckar's . The board came with a nine. Neckar doubled up and took over the lead again with 2.4M chips.

Phan takes over – yet again – the Chip Lead
After several blind battles, Phan secured a bigger pot again with a river bet - both had only checked the turn. Phan was in the lead again with 3.2M chips.

The decisive hand
In the last hand of the tournament, Phan raised from the button and Neckar went all-in. Phan called. Neckar showed , Phan showed
- Coin flip (~ 45% to 55%). The flop helped neither of them. The turn was also a blank. On the river came the ace. Phan won his first bracelet.

 

WSOP 2008 Event 29 $3.000 No-Limit Hold'em
Rank	Name	Prize money
1	John Phan	$434,789
2	Johnny Neckar	$277,452
3	Matt Vengrin	$167,973
4	Alex Bolotin	$137,343
5	David Singer	$112,641
6	Stewart Newman	$88,927
7	Thuy Doan	$69,165
8	Tony Dunst	$54,344
9	Sebastian Segovia	$39,523