Play has concluded in The World Poker Tour's World Championship!
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| Carlos Mortensen - Champion! | |
Saturday, 28th of April 2007 12:23 AM
Carlos Mortensen is our champion and earns the top prize of $3,970,415! Not only that, but he becomes the only person to win both the WSOP Main Event and the WPT World Championship. At one point, Carlos was down to just one million in chips when we were four-handed, but his aggressive play got him back into contention. The heads-up match with Kirk Morrison turned into an epic back-and forth battle that only befits a title of this prestige. Congratulations Carlos!
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| Kirk Morrison - Second Place! | |
Saturday, 28th of April 2007 12:02 AM
Carlos raised to 6.5M and Kirk went all-in. Carlos called. Kirk had A 4 and Carlos had K J . The flop was safe for Kirk, as it came 4 7 3 . But the J on the turn sent Carlos in the lead. Kirk would need an ace or a four, but the river came 3 . Kirk Morrison finally succumbs and finishes in second place, earning a whopping $2,011,135.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:57 PM
We are still waiting. Lesson #1 in WPT final tables: there is no such thing as a short break.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:55 PM
Kirk Morrison just ordered a beer from the cocktail waitress and took a big tug from it. I feel the same way, my friend. It has been a long haul this past week.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:51 PM
The current chip situation is 18.8M for Carlos Mortensen and 13.4M for Kirk Morrison.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:49 PM
We are on a short break so that the WPT crew can change tapes in the cameras.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:47 PM
Kirk moves all-in and Carlos folds.
Carlos folds the button.
Kirk moves all-in and Carlos folds.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:45 PM
Kirk folds the button.
Carlos moves all-in and Kirk looks exasperated as he folds again. I can only assume that he is getting positively dreadful hands.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:43 PM
Carlos moved all-in again on the button and Kirk folded again.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:41 PM
Kirk called, Carlos checked. Flop was 7 8 4 . Carlos checked, Kirk bet 2M, and Carlos folded.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:39 PM
Kirk folds the button.
Carlos moves all-in again and Kirk turns up 7-2 offsuit. Carlos has a 19M to 13M lead.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:37 PM
Kirk calls, Carlos moves all-in, Kirk folds.
Carlos moves in, Kirk sighs, flashes the 2 , and folds.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:35 PM
Kirk moved all-in from the button and Carlos folded.
Carlos folded the button the next hand.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:34 PM
Carlos limped, Kirk checked. The flop was 7 7 A . Kirk checked, Carlos bet 1.6M, Kirk folded.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:32 PM
Blinds are now up to a stratospheric 800K/1.6M with a 300K ante.Kirk called, Carlos moved all-in, Kirk folded. Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:29 PM
They took turns folding the button.
Kirk called, Carlos checked. The flop was 4 4 5 . Both checked. On the T turn, Carlos bet 1.2M and Kirk called. On the J river, Carlos checked, Kirk bet, Carlos folded.Carlos folded the button.
Kirk folded the button. Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:26 PM
Kirk now has the 18M to 14M chip lead.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:25 PM
On the very next hand, Carlos moved all-in and Kirk called. Carlos turned over Q 9 and Kirk had A 6 . The flop was just what the doctor ordered for Kirk: A 2 6 . Kirk had flopped two pair. But the T turn kept things interesting, giving Carlos the flush draw. Let's see a river ... 5 . Kirk doubles up two hands back to back!Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:21 PM
Kirk moved in from the button and Carlos called. Kirk had 8 7 and Carlos had K T . The flop came 2 6 6 , giving Kirk his flush draw. The Q turn was a blank, shrinking Kirk's chances. But the T on the river came to his rescue! Kirk Morrison doubles through!Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:18 PM
Kirk folded the button again. On the next hand, Carlos moved in from the button and Kirk folded.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:17 PM
Carlos called, Kirk moved all-in, and Carlos folded. The crowd just gave a big round of applause to these two for playing a dynamite match tonight.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:16 PM
Kirk folded the button. Kirk trails now 5M to Carlos' 27M.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:14 PM
Carlos moved all-in and Kirk instantly called. Carlos had A K and Kirk had T T . It's a race! The flop came 3 5 2 , adding the four fours in the deck as outs for Carlos. The A on the turn vaulted Carlos ahead. Now, Kirk could chop with a four or win the tournament outright with a ten. But the Q on the river means Carlos will double up and have the substantial chip lead.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:10 PM
Carlos called, Kirk checked. Flop K-2-3. Kirk checked, Carlos bet 1.5M, Kirk folded.Linda Johnson announced that these are the highest blinds ever for a WPT final table. Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:09 PM
Carlos folded the button. On the next hand, Kirk raised to 3.7M and Carlos folded.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:07 PM
Kirk called, Carlos moved all-in, Kirk folded. I should copy that to my Windows clipboard and just paste it every time it happens.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:06 PM
Kirk folded the button. Carlos folded the button.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:05 PM
Carlos called, Kirk checked. Flop was K Q 8 . Kirk checked, Carlos bet 1.2M, Kirk checked.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:03 PM
Kirk called and Carlos pushed all-in. Kirk folded.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:03 PM
Carlos folded the button and Kirk turned up pocket queens.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:02 PM
Blinds are up to ... OMG! ... 600K/1.2M with a 200K ante. Kirk has about 22M to Carlos' 10M.Friday, 27th of April 2007 11:01 PM
Carlos called and Kirk checked. On the flop of 2 5 7 , Kirk checks, Carlos bet 1M and Kirk bumps it to 2M. Carlos called. With the 6 turn, Kirk led out with 2M and Carlos folded.Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:58 PM
Carlos raised to 1.6M and Kirk folded.Carlos bet 1M on the river on a 9-Q-T-K-8 boards. Kirk folded. Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:56 PM
Kirk called, Carlos checked. Both checked the K 9 3 flop. Carlos bets 800K on the 5 turn and Kirk calls. On the 7 river, Carlos fires again, this time for 1.6M. Kirk calls. Carlos shows 9-8 for a pair of nines. Kirk mucks.Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:53 PM
Carlos won a limp pot by betting 1M on the river.Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:51 PM
Kirk raised to 2.8M and Carlos folded.Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:51 PM
Carlos moved in and Kirk folded.Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:50 PM
Kirk now has 24.5M to Carlos' 7.5M.Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:49 PM
Carlos called, Kirk checked. Flop A Q 6 . Check check. Turn 3 . Kirk bets 1M, Carlos raises to 2M. Kirk moves all-in and Carlos instantly calls. Kirk had A T for top pair. Carlos had Q 6 for two pair. Kirk was in trouble and needed an ace, ten, or three to survive. And the river was ... T . The crowd gasped and then erupted into applause!Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:44 PM
They just split their first pot when both paired their four on a 7-7-A-4-T board.Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:43 PM
Carlos calls, Kirk checks. Flop was T T 4 . Kirk checks, Carlos bets 1M, Kirk folds. Notice a trend here?Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:41 PM
Carlos raised to 1.6M, Kirk folded.
Kirk called, Carlos raised to 1M, Kirk folded.Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:39 PM
Carlos now has a slight chip lead: 16.5M to 15.5M.Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:38 PM
Carlos called, Kirk checked. Flop was 3 2 7 . Check check. Turn J . Check check. River 4 . Kirk bets 1M and Carlos raises to 4M. Kirk makes the call, only to find himself staring at the nuts: Carlos had 5-6 for the straight.Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:36 PM
Kirk limped again, Carlos moved all-in again, and Kirk folded again. If I were Kirk and I looked down at a big hand on the button, I would limp and pray that Carlos tries that again.Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:34 PM
Carlos won by betting on the flop. Then Kirk folded the button for the first time in this heads-up match. Carlos had folded the button two or three times already.Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:31 PM
Here we go. On the first hand, Kirk called from the button, Carlos moved all-in, and Kirk folded.Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:29 PM
The short break continues at the WPT crew is giving out T-shirts and poker chip sets to audience members.Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:16 PM
Carlos won a small pot. Blinds are up to 400K/800K with a 100K ante. They are coloring up the 25K chips, so we are on a supposedly short break.Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:13 PM
Kirk called, Carlos raised to 1.8M, and Kirk re-raised to 3.0M, which Carlos called. The flop came 9 J 5 . Carlos checked and Kirk went all-in. Carlos folded and Kirk took down the big pot.Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:10 PM
About 20M for Kirk to 12M for Carlos.Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:10 PM
Carlos limped, Kirk checked. Flop was 8 5 A . Kirk checked, Carlos bet 600K, and Kirk folded.Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:08 PM
Kirk raised to 1.2M and Carlos folded.Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:06 PM
Another puzzling river bet from Carlos. Kirk limped, Carlos checked. Flop was J 7 A . Carlos checked, Kirk bet 700K, and Carlos called. Both checked the 5 turn. On the 3 river, Carlos bet 4M into the 2.7M pot. Kirk folded.Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:03 PM
Kirk limp, Carlos check. Flop 7 9 2 . Carlos 600K. Kirk fold. Caveman talk easier.Friday, 27th of April 2007 10:00 PM
Carlos just took down another smallish pot by making a big 4M river bet. Kirk folded immediately.Friday, 27th of April 2007 09:57 PM
It's about 23M for Kirk and 9M for Carlos.Friday, 27th of April 2007 09:56 PM
Kirk called, Carlos moved all-in, Kirk folded.Friday, 27th of April 2007 09:55 PM
Carlos wins two consecutive pots that were checked down every street.Friday, 27th of April 2007 09:51 PM
Carlos called, Kirk checked. Flop was T 5 9 . Kirk checked, Carlos bet 600K, and Kirk raised it up to 2.6M. Carlos folded.Friday, 27th of April 2007 09:49 PM
Blinds are now up to 300K/600K with a 75K ante.Friday, 27th of April 2007 09:48 PM
Carlos moved all-in preflop for 4.3M and Kirk furled his brow and then made the call. Carlos had A T and Kirk had K 6 . Carlos got what he wanted with the A 9 Q flop. With the T turn, any jack would have won the tournament for Kirk, but the 2 came off. Carlos doubles up to nine million.Friday, 27th of April 2007 09:44 PM
Kirk wins another small pot. I can't get over how seldom these two are raising preflop. I'll bet that nine out of the past ten hands were limped and checked preflop. This is not typical of an aggressive heads-up match.Friday, 27th of April 2007 09:42 PM
A lot of little pots. Several hands have been checked all the way to the river. It is only a matter of time before they both pick up strong hands and the fireworks go off.Friday, 27th of April 2007 09:38 PM
Carlos moved all-in on the button and Kirk folded.Kirk won a nice pot when he paired his ten and Carlos had paired his nine. Friday, 27th of April 2007 09:35 PM
Carlos just won two hands in a row, once in a showdown and once by betting on the flop. Both were small pots.Friday, 27th of April 2007 09:32 PM
Carlos raised to 1.2M and Kirk folds.Friday, 27th of April 2007 09:31 PM
Kirk just whittled Carlos some more. On a 8 4 T 6 board, Carlos bet 500K and Kirk called. On the 3 river, Carlos checked, Kirk fired 1.3M and Carlos let it go.Friday, 27th of April 2007 09:28 PM
Carlos moved all-in and Kirk folded.Friday, 27th of April 2007 09:27 PM
Kirk raises to 1M and Carlos calls. Both check the 8 T 3 flop. On the T turn, Carlos bets 1.6M and Kirk calls. Then the T river comes and the crowd murmurs. Carlos leads out right away with 4M. Kirk takes a long time, giving Carlos a stern look, and makes the call. Carlos has K-2 and Kirk has A-J. The ace is good and Kirk takes down the huge pot. What a call!Friday, 27th of April 2007 09:21 PM
Kirk wins one, Carlos wins one. Small pots.Friday, 27th of April 2007 09:19 PM
Carlos calls, Kirk pops it for another million, Carlos folds.Friday, 27th of April 2007 09:17 PM
Carlos wins a 1.5M pot by betting on the turn.Friday, 27th of April 2007 09:16 PM
And here we go in heads-up play. Carlos folds the button. Kirk had A-K.Friday, 27th of April 2007 09:11 PM
The scantily clad women have performed the money presentation. There is now a mountain of cash bricks sitting on top of the table.Friday, 27th of April 2007 09:10 PM
For some reason, Gavin Smith and then Daniel Negreanu were interviewed by Linda Johnson and got to weigh in on their opinions about this upcoming heads-up match. Gavin gave the edge to Carlos, despite the chip disadvantage. Daniel said he hopes whoever wins has the best hand rather than putting a bad beat on the other. Then Daniel did a very amusing impression of Carlos Mortensen, which Carlos took in good fun.Friday, 27th of April 2007 09:01 PM
Kirk will have an approximate 19M to 13M advantage going into heads-up play.
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| Paul Lee - 3rd Place | |
Friday, 27th of April 2007 08:59 PM
Now Kirk raised to 1.2M and Paul goes all-in for another 25K, which Kirk of course calls. Kirk had A T against Paul's A 9 . Paul needed a nine to stay alive. The flop came Q 7 2 . When the T came on the turn, Kirk had sealed up the hand and the crowd cheered wildly. The 2 river was just a formality. Paul Lee, who started out with the chip lead tonight, is out in 3rd place, taking home $1,082,920.Friday, 27th of April 2007 08:54 PM
Paul Lee raised to 1.3M and Carlos Mortensen called from the big blind. The flop came A 4 T . Carlos bet 1.1M, Paul moved all-in, and Carlos called right away. Carlos showed A 9 and Paul shook his head and turned over T 9 . Paul needed another ten, but the turn and river were J 5 . Carlos doubles up and Paul Lee is crippled.Friday, 27th of April 2007 08:50 PM
Going around and around, with raises and folds. Just waiting for the next big showdown,Friday, 27th of April 2007 08:46 PM
Approximate chip counts:
Kirk - 18.0M
Paul - 7.2M
Carlos - 7.1MFriday, 27th of April 2007 08:45 PM
Joanne "J.J." Liu is here and watching from the first row. She told me earlier that she is a big fan of PokerPages.Friday, 27th of April 2007 08:43 PM
They are coloring up and removing the aqua 10K chips from play.Friday, 27th of April 2007 08:42 PM
After this hand, the blinds will be cranked up to 200K/400K with a 50K ante.Friday, 27th of April 2007 08:40 PM
In a family pot, Kirk bet 600K on the flop and won.Friday, 27th of April 2007 08:37 PM
Kirk called from the small and Carlos checked from the big. Both checked the Q 2 7 flop. On the T turn, Kirk bet 400K, Carlos raised to 1.3M, and Kirk moved all-in. Carlos called. Kirk had T 6 for a pair of tens, but Carlos had Q 8 for a pair of queens. Kirk needed a ten or six to knock Carlos out of the tournament, but got a 9 instead.
Friday, 27th of April 2007 08:33 PM
Carlos moved in and the other two folded.Friday, 27th of April 2007 08:31 PM
A quick snapshot at the chip situation:
Kirk Morrison - 22.0M
Paul Lee - 7.1M
Carlos Mortensen - 3.1M
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| Guy Laliberte - 4th place | |
Friday, 27th of April 2007 08:29 PM
Guy Laliberte, who hadn't raised in some time, made it one million to go from under the gun and Kirk Morrison made the call from the big blind. Out came the 6 Q 3 flop. Kirk checked, Guy pushed out two million, and Kirk check-raised all-in. Guy called and showed A J . Kirk had 2 2 for technically the best hand. With the 3 turn, Guy picked up a ton more outs. Now he would win the pot with any six, queen, ace, jack, or club. But the 8 river was not one of those and Guy Laliberte finishes in 4th place, earning $696,220.Friday, 27th of April 2007 08:23 PM
No flops for awhile. On the last hand, Carlos called from the small and Paul Lee moved all-in from the big, causing Carlos to fold.Friday, 27th of April 2007 08:20 PM
Now Kirk took a decent pot from Paul by betting on the flop and firing a second bullet on the turn.Friday, 27th of April 2007 08:18 PM
Kirk raised to 700K and Carlos Mortensen pushed all-in for his 1.5M total. Kirk made the call right away and showed A 6 . Carlos was in much better shape with A T . Both paired their undercard on the 6 2 T flop. Withthe 3 turn, Kirk was down to just one out, the six of hearts. But the Q made the flush for Carlos, not that he needed it, and Carlos has doubled up to more than three million.Friday, 27th of April 2007 08:12 PM
The rich get richer. Kirk raised and won the blinds. Then he called from the small blind and bet out on the flop and got no action from Guy.Friday, 27th of April 2007 08:08 PM
Guy raised to 900K from the small blind and Carlos decided to wait for a better spot to try and double up.Friday, 27th of April 2007 08:06 PM
Paul, Kirk, and Guy saw a J T 8 flop. Kirk checked, Guy moved in for five million, and Paul and Kirk folded.Friday, 27th of April 2007 08:02 PM
Play has resumed.Friday, 27th of April 2007 08:01 PM
Some faces here in the crowd: Gavin Smith, Daniel Negreanu, Isabelle Mercier, Mike Matusow, J.C. Alvarado, Erick Lindgren, and Joe Sebok.Friday, 27th of April 2007 07:48 PM
We are on a short break now.Friday, 27th of April 2007 07:46 PM
It folded to Guy in the small blind, who just called, and Carlos moved in again and Guy folded. Carlos is getting healthier by the minute!Friday, 27th of April 2007 07:44 PM
Carlos moved all-in again and got no caller. He now have well over two million. These guys better be careful; letting him get chipped back up is a really bad idea.Friday, 27th of April 2007 07:42 PM
Approximate chip counts:
Guy - 8.0M
Carlos - 1.6M
Paul - 7.6M
Kirk - 16.0MFriday, 27th of April 2007 07:40 PM
And now they gave Carlos a walk in the big blind. Bizarre! Their hands must have been pretty cruddy not to take a chance to take out Carlos.Friday, 27th of April 2007 07:39 PM
Carlos moved all-in with his final 1.14M and surprisingly (to me) got no callers.Friday, 27th of April 2007 07:38 PM
Paul Lee wins the first pot at the new level, in a battle of the blinds with Kirk Morrison.Friday, 27th of April 2007 07:36 PM
The blinds just went up to 150K/300K with a 30K ante. Carlos is squarely in the desperation zone, needing to move in soon with any two cards.Friday, 27th of April 2007 07:35 PM
The very next hand, Kirk raises to 700K and Carlos makes it 2.7M to go. Kirk looks a little uneasy, like he had a bad omelet this morning or something. Kirk makes the gigantic call. Out comes the flop: Q J 9 . The cards barely found a resting place on the table and Carlos moved all-in. Kirk asked for a count and is told that Carlos has 6.6 million. Kirk counts his and he has 5.4M. Kirk makes the call and turns over J J for the flopped set! What took him so long??? Carlos has A Q for top pair top kicker. The turn comes an interesting A , giving Carlos two pair and a four-outer chance to win the hand. But the 9 drops on the river and Kirk Morrison wins the enormous pot and cripples Carlos Mortensen down to one million.Friday, 27th of April 2007 07:27 PM
Kirk limped from the button and Carlos raised from the small blind to 700K, which Kirk called. The flop came 8 9 T and Carlos bets one million, which Kirk called. On the K turn, Carlos pushes all-in for 5.8 million (but has Kirk covered). Kirk Morrison gives Carlos the Evil Poker Stare and resettles himself into his chair. Finally, he folds, joking with the dealer that he wanted to rabbit hunt the river.Friday, 27th of April 2007 07:22 PM
Now Carlos raised to 550K again and Paul Lee came over the top for 1.7M. Carlos folded again.Friday, 27th of April 2007 07:21 PM
Carlos raised and Kirk re-raised 3.0M on top. Carlos couldn't take that heat and folded, but as he did, I saw a black ace as his bottom card.Friday, 27th of April 2007 07:19 PM
Guy raised to 500K from the button and Carlos called from the small blind. On the 8 K T flop, Carlos led out with a million and Guy folded A-Q face up.Friday, 27th of April 2007 07:13 PM
Carlos raised to 550K and got callers in Kirk and Guy. On the 9 T 2 flop, both Kirk and Guy checked and Carlos bet 1.4M. Kirk folded but Guy made the call. On the 8 turn, Guy moved all-in for 4.07M. Carlos looked pretty puzzled. He would have to call four million to win eight million, so he would be getting 2:1 on his money. Finally, he folded.Friday, 27th of April 2007 07:07 PM
Paul Lee raised to 700K from the small blind and Kirk Morrison called from the big. The flop came Q 7 3 . Paul led out with 900K and Kirk called. On the J turn, Paul checked, Kirk bet 1.5 million and Paul, after aasking for a count of Kirk's chips, folded. Kirk showed A T .Friday, 27th of April 2007 07:03 PM
In other words, the shortest stack has 30 big blinds and the biggest stack has just 50 or so. This is treacherous poker at these levels. Getting involved in any pot requires a large percentage of one's stack.Friday, 27th of April 2007 07:01 PM
Approximate chip counts:
Kirk Morrison - 6.0M
Carlos Mortensen - 10.5M
Paul Lee - 8.6M
Guy Lilaberte - 6.5MFriday, 27th of April 2007 06:59 PM
Carlos raised to 500K from the button and both Paul and Kirk called from the blinds. All checked the 2 J 8 flop. On the K turn, it checked to Carlos, who fired 800K and took it down.Friday, 27th of April 2007 06:56 PM
Guy raised to 500K from the button and Carlos called from the small. Flop was A Q 3 . Carlos checked, Guy bet one million and Carlos mucked.Friday, 27th of April 2007 06:53 PM
Now Carlos raised to 570K, got two callers, bet the flop, and took down a nice pot.Friday, 27th of April 2007 06:52 PM
Well here is something as rare as a white rhino: Guy limped, Carlos limped, Paul limped, and Kirk checked. Family pot with all four players seeing the 9 4 Q flop. Then all four players checked! The 5 turn came and Kirk Morrison fired 700K and won the pot.Friday, 27th of April 2007 06:45 PM
OK, I got it confirmed that we are playing 100K/200K blinds with a 20K ante.Friday, 27th of April 2007 06:43 PM
Guy raised to 500K and Carlos re-raised to 2.2M. Guy folded.
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| Tim Phan - 5th Place | |
Friday, 27th of April 2007 06:40 PM
Now Tim Phan moved all-in for his 1.7M and had to know he was in trouble when Kirk Morrison moved all-in over the top. Fold, fold behind him. Phan turned over 9 9 and Morrison had A A . The board offered little to Tim as it came J 8 4 J 7 . Tim Phan has been eliminated in 5th place, earning $464,110.Friday, 27th of April 2007 06:36 PM
I am uncertain what the new blind level is. It is either 80K/160K or 100K/200K with a 20K ante.Friday, 27th of April 2007 06:34 PM
It folded to Paul Lee in the small blind, and he moved all-in for 9M. Tim Phan, the short stack in the big blind, folded immediately.Friday, 27th of April 2007 06:32 PM
Guy and Carlos each just took a pot from the other.Friday, 27th of April 2007 06:29 PM
We are back playing now. Carlos raised to 800K and Guy called. The flop came A 4 4 . Guy checked, Carlos bet 1.5M and Guy folded.Friday, 27th of April 2007 06:17 PM
A few hands ago, we had a rare dealer mistake. All of the players had received their two hole cards and then the dealer inadvertently knocked a card from her deck and it landed face up on the table. Linda Johnson announced the exposed card and then the dealer mistakenly spread the remaining deck and began a new riffle. All the players went, "Whoa!!!" but it was too late. Linda Johnson declared a misdeal and all the players returned their cards for a reshuffle. Thankfully, all the players took it well and no one seemed too upset.Friday, 27th of April 2007 06:14 PM
We have just reached the next blind level and are on a short break. They are coloring up the brown 1K chips.Friday, 27th of April 2007 06:12 PM
Tim Phan raised to 500K and Guy Laliberte called. When the 2 2 7 flop came out and Phan bet 800K, Guy immediately moved all-in and "accidentally" flashed the A to Tim. I say it must have been an accident, as it otherwise would have been a penalty. In any case, Phan folded.
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| Mike Wattel - 6th Place | |
Friday, 27th of April 2007 06:07 PM
Kirk Morrison raised to 425K and Mike Wattel, in the big blind, pushed all-in for about a million total. Kirk decided to make the call and turned over K J . Wattel was dominated with J 9 . The board came 3 4 T 8 , giving Mike some hope with an open-end straight draw, but the A on the river sealed his fate. Mike Wattel finishes in 6th place, earning $309,405.Friday, 27th of April 2007 05:59 PM
The very next hand, Mike Wattel raised to 360K and Guy made the call from the big blind. The flop came A 5 T . Guy checked, Mike bet 500K, and Guy - who may or not have been a little tilty from the previous hand - moved all in on the check-raise. Wattel folded quickly.Friday, 27th of April 2007 05:57 PM
Now we got some action! Guy Laliberte raised to 500K and Tim Phan moved all-in for 1.1M total. Guy didn't like it but made the call, showing A Q . Tim had A K . The flop was 5 7 7 , giving some hope to Guy for a split pot if he didn't catch his queen outright. But the K on the turn settled the matter quickly. The 6 river was meaningless. Tim Phan doubles through Guy Laliberte.Friday, 27th of April 2007 05:52 PM
Carlos raised to 300K and Paul bumped it to 700K, which Carlos called. The flop came 9 8 6 and both checked. Both checked again on the A turn. On the 2 river, Paul bet one million, which smelled a little fishy to me. Carlos took a long, long time before folding. Paul claimed a bluff but did not show.Friday, 27th of April 2007 05:49 PM
Mike Wattel, when it folded to him in the small blind, moved all-in, a very dangerous proposition with the chip leader, Paul Lee, sitting in the big blind. This time, Paul put up no fight.Friday, 27th of April 2007 05:46 PM
Now Guy won a small pot from Paul by betting on the flop. This is serious lockdown poker we are playing here so far.Friday, 27th of April 2007 05:44 PM
Paul Lee raised to 400K and Carlos called. On the Q 8 3 flop, Carlos checked, Paul bet 600K and Carlos called. Both checked the 7 turn. On the A river, Carlos rifled out two million and Paul folded.
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| View of WPT Championship Final Table | |
Friday, 27th of April 2007 05:41 PM
Here is my view from the media perch here at the final table. Pretty sweet, huh?Friday, 27th of April 2007 05:40 PM
Mike Wattel raised to 550K and Guy called from the big blind. Flop came 5 6 Q . Guy checked, Mike bet 600K, and then Guy raised to 1.6M. Mike contemplated for several minutes before letting his hand go.Friday, 27th of April 2007 05:36 PM
More cautious poker. Each of the following raised and got no takers: Tim Phan, Carlos Mortensen, and Mike Wattel.Friday, 27th of April 2007 05:28 PM
A flop! Paul raised to 350K and both Kirk and Carlos called. On the 6 2 3 flop, Carlos and Paul checked, Kirk bet 700K and won the pot.Friday, 27th of April 2007 05:26 PM
Carlos raised to 350 and Guy raised to 1M. Carlos folded.Friday, 27th of April 2007 05:25 PM
Jack McClelland is regaling the crowd with stories and commentary between hands. Someone from the audience was yelling commentary good-naturedly back to him. I asked myself : who would do that? I looked closer at the guy: Mike "The Mouth" Matusow.Friday, 27th of April 2007 05:22 PM
Tim Phan raised and won the pot. Mike Wattel raised and won the next pot. We are yet to see a flop tonight.Friday, 27th of April 2007 05:19 PM
Paul Lee, the chip leader, raised to 350K, Carlos Mortensen hesitated, and Paul Lee said, "Come on in!" Carlos and the blinds folded. Paul showed A-Q.Friday, 27th of April 2007 05:13 PM
Mike Wattel raised the first hand and took it down uncontested.Friday, 27th of April 2007 05:12 PM
Shuffle up and deal!Friday, 27th of April 2007 05:11 PM
Starting blinds will be 60K/120K with a 15K ante.Friday, 27th of April 2007 05:09 PM
During the player introductions, I learned something new. Mike Wattel was the very last of the 639 players to earn his seat, having won a shootout satellite a half hour prior to the start of the event.Friday, 27th of April 2007 05:05 PM
Now Jack McClelland, the tournament director, is making final announcements. He reminded the crowd that Carlos Mortensen has the opportunity to be the first to win both the WSOP Main Event and the WPT Championship.Friday, 27th of April 2007 05:03 PM
Mike Sexton is awarding the Player of the Year award to J.C. Tran right now. Former winners who are also here are Erick Lindgren and Gavin Smith.
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| Steve Lipscomb, Mike Sexton, Vince Van Patten, Linda Johnson | |
Friday, 27th of April 2007 04:59 PM
Immediately prior to the taping of this final table, the World Poker Tour invited top players, VIPs, WPT execs, and select media (including yours truly!) to a 100th episode party and toast. Steve Lipscomb spoke about the five-year history that has led up to this milestone 100th episode and champagne was flowing freely. Ironically, the very first episode five years ago was filmed right here in the Bellagio. I'm not sure how good of an idea it was to ply the media with alcohol right before the final table, but what the heck? It's poker! We don't play be the usual rules!Friday, 27th of April 2007 04:29 PM
Just a half hour away now. I've finally gotten set up here at the media perch, with a great vantage point to see the final table action.
After successful careers in the financial and high-tech industries, Michael Cheser became fascinated with poker in early 2006. Defying all probabilities, he managed to cash in the 2006 WSOP Main Event. When not tournament reporting for PokerPages, he can be seen at no-limit tables in Las Vegas, cheerfully calling large river bets with second-best hands. Contact Michael.
The World Poker Tour has proven itself to be largely unaffected by the UIGEA. While most expect a more subdued field in the 2007 World Series of Poker's main event, at least in comparison to that of 2006, the World Poker Tour is going as strong as ever - if not stronger.Today, the final 6 players in the 2007 World Poker Tour championship will compete for a record first-place prize of almost $4 Million.
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| Kirk Morrison | |
Kirk Morisson of Topeka, KS, heads to the final table in the one-seat, fourth in chips. While Kirk may not be the most household of names, he may very well become as much in the near future. He has one World Series of Poker bracelet to his credit, coming in a 2006 WSOP 7-Stud Hi-Lo event. He took home just under $150,000 for that victory, his biggest cash to date. Kirk was also the winner of the recent Jennifer Harman Charity Poker Tournament, which earned him a seat in the $10,000 buy-in World Series of Poker main event this year, sponsored by PokerSchool Online. Regardless of Kirk's finish today, he will take home his biggest prize yet.
Guy Lilaberte, in the second seat and third in chips, will undoubtedly be making a move today. He's a multi-millionaire, and in fact is a street performer turned media mogul, having founded Cirque du Soleil. Having only played poker for about a year and a half, Guy already holds a spot on Forbes' 100 richest people. Perhaps today he can move up a few spots?
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| Carlos Mortensen | |
In the three-seat we have Carlos Mortensen. Who? Oh. Carlos Mortensen. That's right. Not only did Carlos take home a WPT title at the 2004 Festa al Lago, he is also a world poker champion, having taken home first in the 2001 World Series of Poker $10,000 main event. Carlos has more than $4 Million in live tournament winnings, and will be looking to nearly double that with a first place finish today.Hailing from Phoenix, AZ, Mike Wattel heads to the final table with just over a quarter of a million dollar's worth of chips, good enough for fifth place as the day starts. Mike's very first major tournament cash came in the 15th event of the 1999 World Series of Poker, where he took home first place and the coveted gold bracelet. Like Kirk, today's finish will be Mike's biggest payout yet.
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| Mike Wattel | |
Paul Lee, heading to the final table as the leader with nearly $12 Million, has proved himself to be more than a risk-taker. To finish up the day yesterday, Paul put his entire tournament life on the line with a call of A-Q to his opponnents A-10. Imagine putting your entire tournament on the line with not much better than a coinflip! Paul did it, and succeeded, and now has a very strong chance of taking this one down. As he enters this final day of play, Paul will no doubt be trying to hold true to his performance thus far in this series of tournaments, as he took home more than $200k for a first-place finish in one of the preliminary NLHE events.Finally, in the 6th seat and the short-stack at the table, Thien "Tim" Phan is no stranger to major poker tournaments. Phan has cashed in 21 major events, including a first place take in a WPT preliminary event in 2003, good for a payout of almost $40,000, as well as a first-place finish at last year's Winnin 'O' The Green worth more than $100k. So, while he takes his seat as the low stack with just over 2 Mil. in chips, Phan is far from out of the contest. Here are the official chip counts heading into the final day: |
| 1 | Kirk Morrison | 4,194,000 | | 2 | Guy Lilaberte | 4,690,000 | | 3 | Carlos Mortensen | 6,501,000 | | 4 | Mike Wattel | 2,587,000 | | 5 | Paul Lee | 1,1828,000 | | 6 | Thien "Tim" Phan | 2,162,000 |
And, here's what they're playing for: |
| 1 | $3,970,415 | | 2 | $2,011,135 | | 3 | $1,082,920 | | 4 | $696,220 | | 5 | $464,110 | | 6 | $309,405 |
Be here later today as PokerPages provides you the most in-depth and, well, entertaining live coverage anywhere! |
