Greatest WSOP Moments: Big Names Building Big Stacks in the Main Event
Since Chris Moneymaker's 2003 WSOP victory it has become rarer and rarer for big name poker professionals to make a final table, or even a deep run, in the Main Event. However, some have - here we take a look back at some impressive Main Event results by the pros.
Mike Matusow's double final tables
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| Mike Matusow |
Mike Matusow is well-known for his big mouth, so it is no surprise that he has been given the nickname "The Mouth". The former Full Tilt Pro once again proved that he has what it takes at the Main Event of the 2005 World Series of Poker.
In 2001, before the poker boom, he reached the final table and took a seat next to Phil Hellmuth, Phil Gordon and Carlos Mortensen. He didn't quite hit the jackpot, though, ending the tournament in sixth place and receiving $239,765.
While back then there were just 613 participants in the Main Event, in 2005 it had leapt to 5,619 players - and once again, "The Mouth" made it through to the last nine.
The final table began poorly for Matusow with an unpleasant hand against Scott Lazar.
However, Matusow did not let this cooler throw him off course and he fought on, bluffing Andy Black and Steve Dannenmann out of a pot and - of course - triumphantly showed them his worthless hole cards.
A short time later, though, it was over - Matusow lost a coinflip with 10-10 Dannenmann's A-J after the board brought Dannenmann a straight. "The Mouth" ended the tournament in ninth place with $1 million to take home.
Scotty Nguyen gets a taste of the final table
Allen Cunningham took part in the largest WSOP Main Event in 2006 and finished in fourth place out of 8,773 participants for $3.6 million, but the year after the rather more animated Scotty Nguyen made it very close to the coveted final.
The controversial pro performed extremely well for days, winning pot after pot, and was in the top 15 chip counts consistently - until one decisive hand:
Nguyen never really recovered after this hand and had to be content with eleventh place and $476,926 - surely a disappointing result for the Prince of Poker.
Big Slick with David 'Chino' Rheem and Phil Ivey
In both 2008 and 2009 a bad beat lead to the elimination of a top player at the final table. What's more, each time the pro held AK against a dominated AQ and finished in seventh place.
David "Chino" Rheem lost out in 2008 to eventual winner Peter Eastgate. One year later, Phil Ivey was knocked out by Darvin Moon.
The elimination of Ivey was especially surprising for the most of the railbirds. Almost all the fans were on the side of the legendary pro, hoping that he would win the Main Event bracelet. Here is a chance to relive the hand in question:
Michael Mizrachi finishes in fifth place
When Canadian online pro Jonathan Duhamel won the Main Event title two years ago, most eyes were fixed on Michael Mizrachi at the final table.
The Grinder had a great year at the 2010 WSOP, winning the $50,000 Poker Players' Championship for over $1.5 million and making the final tables of the $10,000 Limit Hold'em and $10,000 Seven Card Stud championships.
Even after all this, Mizrachi wasn't done and found himself at the final table of the Main Event. With only eight players remaining, the dealer gave us this hand:
Despite this pot, Michael Mizrachi was not able to get the coveted bracelet, losing out with Q-8 against Duhamel's A-A. For his fifth place finish, he received $2,332,992 in prize money.
