WPT – The battle of the stars at the final table at the Bellagio
The WPT championship event in the Bellagio is one of the most exciting tournaments in the poker world. Lots of stars participated, among them Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu, big favourites in the event who unfortunately didn't survive to the final table.
Phil Ivey was the chipleader on day 1b,
and also dominated the following day, but he couldn't go on long
enough, and finished in 103rd place, just three places
from the money. Gus Hansen and Daniel Negreanu fared much better,
building large stacks into the following day. Day 5 started with 18
players, who would play to the final table. Among them were a lot of
poker stars like Erick Lindgren, Huck Seed, David Ulliot, Todd
Brunson and Jimmy Tran. The way to the final table wasn't looking
easy.
Daniel Negreanu, chip leader at the
beginning of play, didn't make it to the final table. He already held
two WPT titles, and had played very well in the preceding days,
making him a big favourite for a third title. Unfortunately, as
previously mentioned, it didn't go that well, as he was eliminated
before the final table. His efforts were rewarded by a 14th
place finish and $96,355. He started the day with an unlucky hand,
losing a 2 million chip pot with pocket kings versus aces, in a
three-way all-in. He lost half his stack in that hand, and was
eventually eliminated by Matt Casterella when his top pair with nut
flush draw failed to beat his opponent's two pair.
Erick Lindgren, who also has two WPT
titles to his name, fell short of the final table. He went out in
tenth place for $115,630, with two pair against a higher two pair.
Jordan Rich fared well during the day, building his chip stack up to
9 million, but despite eliminating Jimmy Tran from the tournament, he
ended up losing a third of his stack, to end the day second in chips
behind Eugene Katchalov.
Here are the chip counts for the final
table:
| WPT Championship Event Bellagio - Final Table |
||
| Ranking |
Name |
Chipcount |
| 1 | Eugene Katchalov | 8,360,000 |
| 2 | Jordan Rich | 6,585,000 |
| 3 | David Ulliott | 1,900,000 |
| 4 | Ted Kearly | 1,620,000 |
| 5 | Ken Rosen | 1,135,000 |
| 6 | Ryan Daut | 330,000 |
