WSOP Event #29: Leo Wolpert Claims The Title
After an exhausting marathon best-of-three match, Leo Wolpert won the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Heads-up title. It took him hundreds of hands to bring down his opponent John Duthie.
The $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Heads-up event came down to a battlebetween Leo Wolpert and John Duthie. It took them three days to reach
the finals and an epic best-of-three match on Day 4 to determine the
winner.
The first round saw Wolpert holding the chip lead for quite a while,
but it was Duthie who eventually managed to win a big pot and then
quickly take the rest of the chips from his opponent. It was their 91st
hand, Wolpert raised to 150,000 and Duthie called. The flop came 
, Duthie checked, Wolpert bet 180,000 and Duthie called.
The turn brought 
,
Duthie checked again, Wolpert fired 420,000 this time and Duthie was
already prepared with his chips to push for a total of 2,420,000.
Wolpert moved all-in and Duthie made the call with his remaining
400,000. Wolpert turned over 
and Duthie showed 
. The river came 
to give Duthie the flush and a monster pot which got him up to 6,730 while Wolpert was crippled to just 950,000.
Five hands later and it was all over. Duthie raised, Wolpert moved all-in for 920,000 and Duthie insta-called. Duthie revealed 
and Wolpert showed 
. The board came 
and Duthie won the first round.
The second round featured Wolpert taking down the first hand. He raised
to 90,000, Duthie re-raised to 340,000 and Wolpert called. The flop
came 
and both players checked. The turn brought 
,
Duthie checked and Wolpert bet 365,000. Duthie stared at his opponent
for a moment and decided to lay it down. Wolpert's supporters shouted, "Chip leader!", drawing a little smirk from him.
Even though he lost the first hand, Duthie didn't have a reason to
complain about the beginning of the second match because the following
hand went pretty well for him. Duthie limped into the pot, Wolpert
raised to 125,000 and Duthie called. The flop came 
, Wolpert bet 160,00 and Duthie called. The turn brought 
and both players checked. The river came 
, Wolpert bet 420,000 and Duthie quickly called, turning over 
for a set of tens and Wolpert showed .
Cracked aces were not enough to stop Wolpert. He soon finished the
second match in the 9th hand. He raised to 90,000 and Duthie called.
The flop came 
,
Duthie checked, Wolpert bet 130,000, Duthie check-raised to 300,000 and
Wolpert had to take another look at his hole cards before making the
call. The turn brought 
, Duthie checked, Wolpert bet 420,000, Duthie quickly moved all-in and Wolpert insta-called.
Wolpert showed 
and Duthie showed . The river came 
and the chips were counted down. Wolpert held a 3,460,000 to 3,440,000 favour, thus winning the second round.
 |
| Source: IMPDI for 2009 WSOP |
In the third and the final round, Leo Wolpert (pictured right) managed to take the lead and hold on to it. The hand that gave Wolpert the lead saw him opening with a raise to 90,000 and Duthie making the call. The flop brought , Duthie bet 150,000, Wolpert checked his two cards again and made the call.
The turn came 
, Duthie bet 250,000 and Wolpert did one more check of his hole cards before making a raise to 725,000. Now it was Duthie who had to see his cards again and after a long pause and staring at Wolpert, he decided to fold. Wolpert took down the pot which got him up to 5,265,000 while Duthie was down to 2,415,000.
By the end of Level 4, Wolpert's lead rose to 6,170,000 to Duthie's 1,510,000. After a small break, the play was resumed. Duthie managed to double up and after they played nearly 100 hands, the situation was somewhat balanced with Duthie holding 3,180,000 and Wolpert 4,250,000.
It took nearly 200 hands to determine the winner, as Wolpert finally managed to win the title in 191st hand. Wolpert limped and Duthie checked. The flop came , Duthie checked, Wolpert bet 120,000 and Duthie announced he was all-in. Wolpert immediately called and turned over while Duthie held . The turn came 
and with the river card 
, Duthie was eliminated in 2nd place which earned him $386,636.
Leo Wolpert is a former professional player who decided to go back to school and study law, but the WSOP lit up his desire for poker and he figured it wouldn't hurt to give it a try in the $10,000 WSOP Heads-up Championship event. This proved to be a great decision, as he now walks away with the bracelet and $625,682 in prize money.
Related news:
