WSOP 2010: Jonathan Duhamel Wins the Main Event and $9 Million
Going into the heads-up with a 6-1 chiplead, Jonathan Duhamel was the obvious favorite over John Racener in the very last stage of the Main Event. Racener eventually succumbed after 42 hands, making Duhamel the Main Event champion.
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| Duhamel takes it all Picture courtesy of WSOP.com |
The biggest poker event of 2010 has come to a close. Last night at around 10pm local Las Vegas time, Jonathan Duhamel's 
held up against John Racener's 
in the last hand of heads-up play, securing him the most coveted bracelet in the poker world and a staggering $8,944,310 in cash. John Racener went home with $5,545,955 for his second place finish.
It was an uphill battle for Racener from the beginning of the heads-up. He was a 6-1 underdog with only 30 million chips to start with and Jonathan Duhamel didn't do him the courtesy of making it easy for him. Racener won the first all-in confrontation with 
against Duhamel's 
, but he never got the breathing room necessary to put real pressure on his opponent.
After all, John Racener will probably not be overly depressed about his second place finish. He owed his seat in the heads-up to a great extent to Joseph Cheong, the chip leader while play was still three-handed. Even though both Cheong and Duhamel were both sitting on a very healthy stack and under no pressure at all to make a move, Cheong six-bet shoved 
from the Small Blind into Jonathan Duhamel in the Big Blind. Duhamel called and showed down 
. The queens held up, crippling Cheong's stack and making way for his exit soon afterwards.
Read on for a full recap of all the action leading up to the heads-up of the 2010 WSOP Main Event:
Out in 9th: Soi Nguyen
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| Out in 9th: Soi Nguyen Picture courtesy of PokerNews.com |
First to leave was the only amateur in the field, Soi Nguyen, who had joined the final table 8th in chips, but slowly dwindled down to a stack where pushing became the only option. He open shoved from the Button and got called by another shortstack, Jason Senti, who had him covered by just a few chips.
Nguyen: 
Senti:
Board: 
Even though the queen on the flop was obviously horrendous for Nguyen, he at least picked up a gutshot straight draw. Senti dodged all the jacks in the deck and doubled up, while Nguyen was awarded $811,823 for his efforts.
Out in 8th: Matthew Jarvis
The next bustout came in one of the most exciting hands of the final table. Matthew Jarvis had lost a few chips early on to Joseph Cheong without a showdown. With a raise and a call in front of him, he saw an opportunity to make a squeeze play by shoving. The original caller, Michael 'The Grinder' Mizrachi, called again.
Jarvis: 
Mizrachi:
Board:
The Mizrachi crowd went wild when two queens hit the flop, but the Full House for Jarvis on the turn made their emotions go in the exact opposite direction. However, the hand was not over yet and when the 'ace from space' hit on the river, the Mizrachi fan base had all the right reasons to go nuts again. Jarvis was sent packing with a cheque of $1,045,743.
Out in 7th: Jason Senti
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| Out in 7th: Jason Senti Picture courtesy of PokerNews.com |
After Matthew Jarvis' exit, it took four and a half hours, plus a dinner break,before the next player left the table. Jason Senti had the smallest stack at the beginning of the day, but the PokerStars Pro earned a little breathing room after winning Soi Nguyen's stack. It took a while, but he eventually dropped below 20BB again, and had to start shoving. He found a caller in Joseph Cheong the second time he moved all of his chips across the line.
Cheong: 
Senti:
Board: 
Yet another interesting board developed in this hand and it was once again the bigger stack who hit one of his few outs on the river. Senti got eliminated in seventh place with a $1,356,720 consolation prize. Not bad considering that he was the underdog right from the start.
Out in 6th: John Dolan
John Dolan was second in chips coming into the final table, but he couldn't get anything going the whole day. He remained passive for most of the final table and lost a few key showdowns, until he was eventually left with less than 15BB. With action on him in the Small Blind, he made a move, and the Big Blind, Jonathan Duhamel, called.
Dolan: 
Duhamel: 
Board: 
The board brought plenty of hearts, but no pairs for John Dolan to top Duhamel's fours After missing all his outs, John Dolan left in sixth place, taking home $1,772,959.
Out in 5th: Michael Mizrachi
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| Out in 5th: Michael 'The Grinder' Mizrachi Picture courtesy of PokerNews.com |
He had been among the favourites coming into this final table. Despite his small stack, the expectations got bigger and bigger with every chip Mizrachi took from his opponents. At some point, the Grinder even became chip leader and it seemed very likely to most bystanders that he would be one of the two people still standing at the end of the day.
Unfortunately for him, he lost a large chuck of his stack after doubling up a shortstack, and subsequently became a shortstack himself. With a bit more than 20 Big Blinds at his disposal, Mizrachi moved all-in on the flop after Jonathan Duhamel had raised the Grinder's flop bet.
Mizrachi: 
Duhamel: 
Board: 
With only two more cards to be dealt, Mizrachi could not hit a third queen or an eight to avoid elimination by Duhamel's aces. He left with $2,332,992 in tow.
Out in 4th: Filippo Candio
The last European in the tournament was Filippo Candio and he had some success with his gutsy shoves to outlast most of the other participants of the final table. However, his stack eventually decreased to a point where pushing made sense. Being first-in on the Small Blind he moved all-in, and the Big Blind, Joseph Cheong, made the call.
Candio:
Cheong:
Board: 
With an ace on the flop, Candio needed a small miracle on the turn and river to avoid elimination.It wasn't granted to him, and he hit the rails in fourth place, receiving a $3,092,545 payday.
Out in 3rd: Joseph Cheong
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| Out in 3th: Joseph Cheong Picture courtesy of PokerNews.com |
With Candio out of the picture, the crowd was already anticipating a heads-up match between Joseph Cheong and Jonathan Duhamel. John Racener, third in chips at that point, was trailing far behind the big stacks and it seemed like only a matter of time until he became the next player to exit the Penn & Teller Theatre. Cheong however, had other plans. After Racener folded from the button, Cheong engaged in a preflop betting war with Duhamel and eventually shoved all-in. Duhamel made the call which left the crowd frozen in astonishment.
Duhamel:
Cheong:
Board: 
This hand, the biggest one of this year's WSOP, left Cheong crippled with just a few Big Blinds and he exited shortly after that. He earned a total of $4,130,049, but it's not hard to imagine that it could have been a lot more.
The full results at a glance:
| WSOP 2010 Main Event Results | ||
| Place | Name | Prize Money |
| 1st | Jonathan Duhamel | $8,944,310 |
| 2nd | John Racener | $5,545,955 |
| 3rd | Joseph Cheong | $4,130,049 |
| 4th | Filippo Candio | $3,092,545 |
| 5th | Michael Mizrachi | $2,332,992 |
| 6th | John Dolan | $1,772,959 |
| 7th | Jason Senti | $1,356,720 |
| 8th | Matthew Jarvis | $1,045,743 |
| 9th | Soi Nguyen | $811823 |
