Mike Sexton is the Winner of the 2006 Tournament of Champions and collects $1,000,000

Mike Sexton limps in and Daniel Negreanu raises to to 64k. Sexton then raises up to 180k and gets a call. The flop comes 10d 8d 4s and Negreanu pushes all in.
Sexton immediately calls and shows Ah Ac. Negreanu shows his cards Qh Jh and knows he need to improve.
The turn brings the Ad, giving Sexton trips but also giving Negreanu a double gutted straight draw. The river is no help to Daniel - 8c. Mike Sexton wins the 2006 Tournament of Champions and $1,000,000.

Daniel Negreanu finishes second and wins $325,000.

Daniel Negreanu has raised two pots in a row, preflop and Mike Sexton has moved all on over the top.
These are the first times Mike Sexton has moved all in preflop for the entire 14 hours of the final table.

"Do you want some breakfast...?" Daniel asked

Daniel Negreanu raised to 56k before the the flop, Mike Sexton reraised it to 112k. Daniel called and the flop came - Kd 8d 4h.
Mike bets 225k on the flop and Negreanu raised to 510k.

Sexton reraises all-in on the flop and Negreanu called.

Mike Sexton Ks Qh
Daniel Negreanu Qd Jd

The turn and river came 7c 5c and Sexton took this pot with his top pair and doubles up to about 2m.

The players returned from their break, antes 4k, blinds 12k-24k.

The players left for a quick break between the blinds.

Mike Sexton continues to hammer Daniel Negreanu. He is attempting to put the last nail in before breakfast. Mike raised to 50K preflop and Daniel called. The flop came the Jh Ts 9s. Daniel checked and Mike bet 55K. Daniel “Im really not a calling station” Negreanu called once again. The turn was the Qh. Daniel check, Mike bet 120K ……Daniel called…once again. The river was the 6c. Daniel tapped the table for a check and Mike bumped his bet to 300K. Daniel folded.

After 6 hours of heads up play, t he announcer has a sense of humor, apparently. He remarks after about four or five actionless folds in a row: "This.......... is heads up action." The audience wakes up to laugh and then goes back to sleep.

	No fair cat napping guys!

Preflop, Mike raised to 45K and Daniel called. The flop came the 9c 5h 4h. Daniel checked and Mike fired 60K at it. Daniel repsonded with a call. The turn came the Ad. Daniel checked and Mike bet 125K. Daniel called. The river, the Js caused Daniel to check to Mike who bet 300K. Daniel called. He showed the AQ for a pair of aces with a nice kicker, but Mike turned over pocket fives for a set to take the pot. That could have been the straw for Daniel. Now we will see his mettle. Can he recover?

Negreanu just pulled a nice bluff on Sexton. Daniel put a 250,000 bet out on the river when the board paired and Sexton thought seriously for about 2 minutes before laying it down.

"There ya go!" he said, holding a finger up and standing, grinning. : "I don't normally do this but I gotta..." : He then stood, grabbed his hand, and flipped over the 5s 7c for a stone cold bluff.

Back at it, just a little higher and a little sleepier...antes are 3K with 10K / 20K blinds......

They switched the chairs for them at the final table and Mike remarked: "If they're going to switch the chairs they better bring in the sleepers."

Mike Sexton was stretching on his break when Dorris (that his wife?) remarked: "I'm worried about our babysitter who's been at it for 16 hours." "Don't worry," he said, glancing at the table behind her. "We'll pay her double tonight."

Time for another break.

Daniel recovers a few chips when the board brings five hearts but Daniel held a bigger one in his hand. Little by little, chip by chip.

Sexton takes a 4.5 to 1 lead over Negreanu.

Every once in a while, a little limping does a fella good. Mike tried it on the button and Daniel checked his option. Flop arrived with the 9d 7h 6d. Daniel tossed 20K out and Mike merely called. The turn was the 4h. This time, no betteing from either. The river was the 6s. Daniel checked and Mike made it 90K if Daniel wanted to stay in the hand. Apparently he did, and he called. Mike showed the Ts 6c for three of a kind and Dainel gave it up to him.

15 minute break

Sexton shows his prowess and takes down another nice pot. Daniel made it 30K to play and Mike gave him the call. The clop was the As Ts 9h. Daniel bet 30K again but this time Mike came over him to 80K. Daniel called. The turn came the Kh. Mike put 120K in as his bet and Daniel obliged with a call. The Kd popped up on the river and this time they both checked. Mike showed the Qs 6s for a broken flush drawn, but his Q must have been heavy because Daniel tossed his cards to the muck. Whoaaaaaaa Nelly!

	Heads up play

Be still my heart, we had a big hand…and here it is. Mike raised to 30K preflop and Daniel called him. The flop brought the Th 4c 4s. Daniel checked to Mike who fired 35K out there this time. Daniel saw it once again. With a turn of the 5h, Daniel became the aggressor and bet 50K. Mike promptly raised to 150K. Daniel gave him action. The river was the 8d. Daniel checked this time and Mike bet 200K. Daniel couldn’t dance anymore and he shipped the enormous pot to Mike Sexton.

We are at the "somebody shoot me" stage of the game. With these two players, it could go on forever....lets hope not....shall we??

Heads up they do battle with 2K antes and 6K / 12K blinds.

Oh goody, the players take a 15 minute break.

When Mike raised to 30K on the button, Daniel limped in for a call. The flop came the 6s 4c 3c. Daniel, being first to act made it 30K to rock and roll. Mike tossed his donation into the pot. The turn came the 5d. Checked by both with the river coming the Jd. Daniel bet 60K this time and Mike called him again. Daniel showed the A 7 and he pulled out a double belly buster straight. Any 2 or 7 made his hand. Mike dumped his cards and Daniel picks up a sweet pot.

Heads up between Daniel Negreanu and Mike Sexton. Chip stacks are about even with Mike Sexton taking the lead by a few hundred grand.

When Daniel raised to 25K from the button, he got a call from the small blind, Mike Sexton. At that point, Mike Matusow pushed all in for his 200K from the big blind. Daniel escaped and Mike Sexton called. Mike Matusow showed the As 4d and Mike Sexton a nice little pocket pair of sevens. Delightful. We see the board and it brings the Ks Jc 3c 4c 6s and the sevens are golden.

Mike Matusow takes 3rd for $250,000.

	Mike Matasow , from Las Vegas, Nevada. The defending champion of this event, who last year took home the I million dollar top prize. He also finished 9th in the WSOP main event last year, earning another 1 million dollars. {mostime:6/26/2006 22:27

Well, finally, some action….Mike Matusow had the button and was first to act. He reaised to 30K and Mike Sexton took it all the way to 100K in the big blind. Mike Matusow moved all in and Mike Sexton bowed out and let his 100 grand dance over to Mikes stack.

The next level moves to a 1K ante with 5K / 10K blinds. Should be very interesting now.

Players take a 15 minute respite.

Well, interestingly enough, The WPT guru is sitting at a WSOP event and seems to be making strong headway to trying to pull off the win. Mike Sexton went on quite the run just before break. With 3 left, who will it be????

Approximate Chip Count

And then there were 3. Chris Reslock made a move….but didn’t intend on it being out of his chair. He raised to 25K preflop and Daniel Negreanu called him from the small followed by Mike Sexton in the big. The flop brought the Qh Qd Ts. Checked to Chris Reslock, he moved all in for about 180K. Daniel Negreanu gave it up and Mike Sexton called. Chris turned over the Tc 9c and Mike Sexton the Ks Th. Chris was looking at a really tough draw here ….and then came, the Js. Well, that opened up possibilities, but, no go. The 4d hit the river and Mike Sexton and his King kicker took the pot and took out Chris Reslock in 4^th for $150,000.

	Chris Reslock , from Atlantic City, NJ. Chris won the Showboat at Atlantic City WSOP Circuit event. He was tough on the first day, eliminating three players, but he ran cold towards the end of day one . What a great comback to take 4th from 10th position!

Seems we have hit that point where we do the "and he takes the blinds and antes" routine. That million dollars is looking really tasty to all four players and the mistakes have to be held to an absolute minimum. Stand by, something will break loose here in a bit.

Finally we get some action. Mike Sexton made a move and picked off 150K from Daniel Negreanu.

	Da Spoils!!!

Last week I watched as Daniel Negreanu's "protege" player from Full Contact Poker took down 2nd in the main event at Harrahs Lake Tahoe during the WSOP Circuit. He was getting some lets call it "grief" for busting out the first day while his protege ended up in much better position. He was ribbed that perhaps the teacher should become the student. Well......not today! Daniel Negreanu is struttin' his stuff. I wont be surprised if he doesnt take this down and show us who is the true champion of these tournaments!

Approximate Chip Count of remaining 4 players.

The incoming chip leader today has finished in 5^th. Preflop, Mike Matusow raised to 100K. Andy Black answered by moving his last 113K in the middle for a raise. Mike showed no qualm in calling. Mike showed a huge hand, the K K and Andy the K 9 . Drum roll…and out came the board…the Q 5 4
Q T . After the flop, no diamond in the rough for Andy Black and he takes a 5^th for $100,000.

	Andrew Black came in today with the chip lead with 94,175,from Dublin, Ireland. He finished 5th in the WSOP main event last year, earning $1.75 million. .{mostime:6/26/2006 20:59

Mike Sexton elimnates Darrell "gigabet" Dicken.

Darrell took it to 20K and Mike Sexton got into the game by calling. The flop came the K 4 4 . Dicken started the betting with 20K and Sexton came over the top for 80K more. In turn, Dicken pushed all in and Sexton called. Mike showed the K 5 for two pair and a backdoor flush draw and Dicket the A 5 for a diamond draw. Nothing came for either when the 4 2 came in after the flop to keep the king Mike Sexton had wholesome and pure. Darrell Dicken takes 6^th for $75,000.

	Darrel Dicken , From Las Vegas, Nevad. Darrel aka GigaBet won the WSOP Circuit event at Harrah's Rincon, Near San Diego.

Players go to grab some substinance and will return at 7:30pm pst.

Approximate Chip Count

On the last hand before break, we have heads up play with the flop of the 7 5 9 . Darrel Dicken and Daniel Negreanu are toe to toe. No action. The turn comes the A . Daniel checks and Darrell bet 20K. Daniel flies over the top for an all in move. After a short visit to the think tank, Darrell lets his hand go and ships the pot to Daniel.

Chris Ferguson moved all in for the remainder of his chips and he is followed by an all in made by Darrell Dicken. Chris showed the 6 6 and Darrell “gigabit” Dicken the 8 8 . The board marched out the 2 Q 9 A 4 and the eights outdo the sixes for the takedown. Chris Ferguson takes 7^th for $50,000.

	Chris Ferguson , from Pacific Palisades, CA. He is one of the worlds most popular poker players. He won the World Series of Poker in 2000, and currently owns 5 gold bracelets.

Daniel Negreanu puts a hit on Andy Black. Daniel takes his pocket kings to the ring against Andy's AK and the board was useless for either. Negreanu doubles up.

Chris Reslock starts to hit his stride. He raised to 20K preflop and Daniel Negreanu called him. The flop brought the 6s 4c 3h. Negreanu liked it and pushed all in. He had Chris covered. Chris called. Chris had the Q Q and Daniel the As 5s. On a draw, Daniel didn’t make good when the 9h Ts followed keeping the QQ pure

Sorry folks, my computer had jumped to May instead of June. The date is now correct. That is my birthday and I guess my computer thought it would be funny...or maybe a belated birthday gag.

Chris Reslock woke up with a hand he could wager with and pushed all in from the small blind for 77K. Mike Matusow, now having the taste of winning, called. Resnick showed the A Q and Matusow the K J . The board brought the Q T 8 2 2 and Reslock wins the hand to double through Matusow.

We finally get action from the Mouth. Daniel Negreanu raised preflop and got action from Darrell Dicken and Mike Matusow. The flop came the A T 4 . Massive all around checking. The turn brought the A . Matusow pushed 21K in and Negreanu opted to dance. The river brought one more ace, the A . Matusow bet 21K again and again Negreanu called. Matuson showed the K T and we didn’t get to see Negreanu’s hand.

With Chris Ferguson limping from the small blind, Darrell Dicken checks his option and we have the battle of the blinds. The flop come the A K 9 . Ferguson makes it 13K to play and Dicken calls that 13K. The turn came the 6 . This time Ferguson checked to Dicken who bet 18K. Over the top comes Ferguson for an additional 35K. Dicken stays for the call. The river brought the 2 . Again, Ferguson checked and again Dicken bet, this time, 40K. Ferguson smooth calls. Dicken shows canine ( K 9) for two pair and Ferguson meekly shows a lone ace and mucks. Dicken regains some lost chippage.

Raising preflop, Darrell Dicken makes it 18K to go. Around to the small blind, Daniel Negreanu calls. The flop came the J 8 3 . Dicken shot 27K in the middle and Negreanu called. Here came the big turn, the A . Checked by both. Another ace, the A came on the river. Negreanu won the hand with aces and eights

Approximate Chip Count

Bump it up a notch. The ante is 1K with 3K / 6K blinds.

	A peek at some true greats!

Players take a 15 minute break.

More chips leave the Black stack as Daniel Negreanu takes some to his camp.

Black raised to 17K preflop and UTG. Daniel Negreanu calls the raise from the big blind and we see the flop. It is the T 6 5 . Checked by both. The turn brought the 2 . Negreanu, first to act, checks and Black bets 20K at the pot. Once again, Negreanu made the call. The river is a 3 . This time Negreanu fires 40K into the middle and he gets the call from Black. Negreanu flipped over the 4 5 for a straight and Black discards his cards.

Chris Reslock is breathing easier as he doubles through chip leader Andy Black.

Reslock made the raise to 15K preflop and Black gave him the anticipated jingle. The flop came the J T 2 . At this point, Reslock took the gamble and moved all in for his remaining 35K chips. Once again, Black called and both players revealed their cards. Reslock had the 2 2 for a set and Black the 4 4 for just that, a pair of fours. The turn brought the 2 to give Reslock the nuts, quad twoss and the K was negligible when it hit the river.

Approximate Chip Count

Andy Black made it 16,500 to go and Kido moved all his chips, about 115K, to the middle. After a moment in the think tank, Black made the call. He showed the A 7 and Kido the J 3 . Ut oh…… bad moon rising on this one……the board brought the K K 2 7 T and Black pairs his seven for the take down. Kido Pham takes 8th for $25,000.

	Kido Pham from Dallas, TX, . Thang Kido Pham was born in Vietnam. He pulled off a major upset in the Ballys Las Vegas WSOP Circuit Championship and arrives at the final table in Fourth Place.

Daniel Bergsdorf is next to go.

Daniel Negreanu gets a notch on his belt as he takes out number 9. With the flop of the 9 J 8 , Bergsdorf was in the middle for the race against Daniel Negreanu. He bet 20K and Negreanu topped it with a raise of another 30K. Bergdorf pushed all in for 214K and Negreanu was pleased to call. Bergsdorf had a fat pair of pocket kings when he got involved in this mess and Negreanu was sitting on the the Q T and had flopped a monster with the nut straight. The turn was the 8 which opened Bergsdorf up for a house. The crowd ooo’d and ah’dddd but when the 7 took center stage on the river, we see the straight hold up for the bustout.

Daniel Bergsdorf takes home $25,000 from his TOC experience in 9th.

	Daniel Bergsdorf , from Umea, Sweden. Daniel finished 7th in the WSOP main event last year earning $1.3 Million.

Back at it. Antes are still 500 but the blinds have increased to 2,500 / 5,000

We shift to another level and the players take a 15 minute break.

We lose Gus Hansen. Andy Black takes him out.

	Gus Hansen is first to go today!

Daniel Negreanu limped in hoping to see a cheap flop, but Andy Black increased the risk to 16K. Gus Hansen pushed all his chips to the middle and we lost Daniel but the game was on when Andy Black tossed in his call. The mighty big slick held by Hansen was run over by a made hand held by Black. Black had a pair of nines and with the board ironing out the 8 3 2 Q J , big slick left another player hung out to dry. Gus gets the title as bubble boy this trip around.....

Alrighty then…lets play some poker. Darrell Dicken made it 12K to go and Daniel Negreanu obliges by calling from the button. Heads up, the flop of the 8 7 7 arrives. Dicken is first to act and he checks it to Negreanu who promptly fires 20K at the pot. Dicken smooth calls him. The turn brought the 4 . Dicken checked to Daniel who just checked this time. The 9 came on the river. More checking. Dicken flips over pocket sixes and Negreanu released his cards to the muck.

Finally, Houston, we have lift off! The players are ready to shake it up with a 500 ante and 2K / 4K blinds.

An overall recap of the players, their seat assignments and chip counts:

The final table of the TOC is preparing to get started. Page one of this blog entry has pictures of the remaining 10 players and a little bit about each, the payout structure. I will be following the event live until we have our Million Dollar winner! Let's do it!

One player goes home on the bubble....who will it be?