Brandon Cantu - Winner!

Final table money results:

* Includes $25,500 for WPT Championship seat.

	Steve Sung - 2nd place

Heads-Up Hand (HUH) 6: Brandon raised to 80k and Steve called. Flop was 6 5 5 and Steve checked. Brandon fired 150k and Steve folded.

HUH 7: Steve completed the small and Brandon raised 100k from the big. Steve called and the flop came 8 7 6. Brandon bet 200k and Steve called. Turn was an Ace -- both checked. River was a Jack and Brandon bet 500k. Steve took about a minute, then said "call". Brandon showed pocket Jacks for the set. Steve looked disgusted as he tossed his cards into the muck, then shipped half his chips across the table.

HUH 8: Brandon completed the small and Brandon min-raised from the big. Brandon called the extra 20k and the flop was T 3 2. Steve lead for 30 and Brandon raised to 250k. Steve mucked.

The next 6 hands were walks.

HUH 15: Both saw the flop for the minimum: K Q 9 . Brandon checked, Steve fired 100k, Brandon moved all-in and Steve called. Brandon held J 9 (pair of 9s with gutshot). Steve held K5 off for a pair of Kings and was ahead. Last two cards were 8 6 and Brandon doubled up to more than 700k.

HUH 16: Brandon raised to 80k, then Steve moved all-in. Brandon called, showing pocket 4s. Steve held pocket 3s and was crushed. Board came A 9 7 6 8 and it IS OVER!

Brandon Cantu finished in 1st place, earning $1,000,000 (which includes a $25,500 seat to the WPT Championship.

Steve Sung finished in 2nd place, earning $585,500.

Chip counts at the beginning of heads-up play:

	Jennifer Harman - 3rd place

Level 24: Blinds 10k/20k with 3k antes. Play continues.

Hand 136: Steve completed the small and Jennifer moved all in from the big. Steve mucked.

Hand 137: Jennifer moved all in from the small blind -- Brandon folded.

Hand 141: Jennifer moved all in from the button and all folded.

Hand 144: Jennifer moved all in from the button and Brandon said "all-in" from the small blind. Steve got out of the way and Jennifer showed A K . Brandon held pocket 9s and was ahead. Jennifer would need help to survive. Board came K J 9 and although she flopped a pair, Brandon hit his set. Last two cards came 4 K and Jennifer was busted.

Jennifer Harman, the last Shooting Star, finished in 3rd place, earning $330,000.

There will be a short delay as they film the money presentation and prepare for heads-up play.

Chip counts as of the break:

Hand 124: Brandon raised to 100k from the button and Jennifer moved all in for 102k more from the big blind. Brandon called, showing JT off. Jennifer said "I only looked at one" and turned over A8 off. Board came Q 8 7 6 4 and Jennifer doubled up.

Hand 125: Jennifer raised to 55k from the small and Brandon called from the big. Flop was A T 8 and Jennifer lead with 75k. Brandon folded.

	Noah Jefferson - 4th place

Hand 113: Noah opened for 60k, then Brandon raised to 200k (button). Back to Noah, who moved all-in (~480k more). Brandon folded, flashing an Ace and Noah showed AK.

Hand 114: Brandon raised to 55k, then Steve (button) raised to 170. Brandon folded.

Hand 119: Jennifer opened for 45k, (button) Noah raised to 233k, then Brandon announced all-in. Jennifer folded and Noah gave it about a minute, then folded.

Hand 120: Noah raised to 110k from the button and Steve moved all-in from the big. Noah insta-called all-in, showing A K . Steve held pocket 7s (both red) and it was race time. Board came J 5 3 9 7 and Steve's hand held up to felt Noah.

Noah Jefferson finished in 4th place, earning $265,000.

Time for another tape-change break.

Hand 97: Noah called from the button, Brandon called from the small, and Steve checked. Flop was T T 4. Brandon bet 50k and Steve called. Noah folded. Turn was a 5 and both checked. River was another 4 and both checked. Steve showed a 4 for 4s-full and Brandon mucked.

Rough chip counts:

Hand 100: Jennifer raised to 50k from the button and Brandon called from the big. Flop was A 8 3 . Both checked. Turn was the Q -- both checked. River was the 7 -- both checked. Jennifer showed pocket Kings and Brandon mucked.

Hands 101, 102, and 105: Brandon raised to 55k and everyone folded.

Hand 108: Brandon (sb) raised to 55k and Steve (bb) called. Flop was 9 4 2 and Brandon fired 100k. Steve called. Turn was the 8 . Brandon checked, Steve launched 150k, and Brandon announced "all-in". Steve folded.

Hand 110: Brandon raised to 55k and Steve (button) made it 170k smooth. Brandon folded.

Hand 87: Brandon raised to 42k and Jennifer moved all in from the small blind for 390k more. Brandon took a couple of minutes, then folded.

Hand 90: Brandon raised to 42k from the button (he does that a lot) and Steve called from the small. Jennifer raised 125k on top from the big and both guys surendered.

Hand 92: Steve called, Noah called from the small, then Brandon raised 50k from the big. Steve called; Noah folded. Flop was 6 4 2 . Brandon lead out for 100k and Steve came over the top for 150k more. Brandon folded.

Hand 95: Brandon raised to 42k (again). Steve (button) and Noah (bb) called. Flop came 4 3 2 . Noah checked, Brandon checked, Steve fired 100k and both folded.

Brandon got a walk on hand 96, then the Blinds went up to 8K/16k. Antes are still 2k.

Rough chip counts:

Hand 81: Noah raised to 45k from the button and both blinds called. Flop was A 8 2 and Brandon (sb) checked, Steve bet 45k, and Noah moved all-in. All folded.

Hand 82: Noah opened for 45k, Brandon (button) called, Steve (sb) called and Jennifer (bb) folded. Flop was T 3 2. Steve opened for 45k and Noah reached over to the dealer, grabbed the big blue ALL IN button and tossed it on the table. Everyone folded.

Hand 84: Steve raised and Brandon (bb) called. Flop was 9 8 2 -- both checked. Turn was the T and Brandon checked. Steve fired 40k and Brandon called. River was the Q and Brandon lead out for 125k. Steve tanked for several minutes, then finally folded.

After that hand, they're taking a tape change break.

Hand 67: Brandon raised to 42k and everybody called. Flop was 9 7 4 -- everybody checked. Turn was the 6 and Jennifer lead out for 80k. Noah moved all in and everybody folded. That was the first all-in we've seen since Mike Baker hit the rail.

Hand 69: Brandon raised to 42k from the small and Steve called from the big. Flop was A K J . Brandon bet 60k and Steve called. Turn was the 9. Brandon bet 150k and Steve called. River was the 7 and they checked it down. Steve showed AT for a pair of Aces and Brandon mucked.

Hands 71-73. Jennifer raised and everyone folded.

Hand 79: Brandon raised to 42k and both Steve and Noah called. Flop was 6 6 3 . Noah (bb) checked, Brandon bet 75k, Steve folded, and Noah raised to 300k straight. Brandon made the call and the turn was the A - both checked. River was the T. Noah checked, Brandon moved all in and Noah tanked for a few minutes. He finally said "you must have a 6" and folded.

Hand 59: Brandon called, Steve called from the button, and Jennifer raised to 45k from the small blind. Both callers called and the flop came 7 7 6. Jennifer lead for 60k, Brandon folded, and Steve raised to 120k. Jennifer called and the turn was 2 . Both checked and the river was the 6 . Jennifer bet 150k. Steve thought about it for a bit, but finally tossed in the call. He has a 6 for the under-full-house. Jennifer mucked.

After hand 62, the blinds went up to 6k/12k with 2k antes.

Back from another tape change break. Here are the chip counts:

For the last half hour, they've been trading small pots back and forth:

Hand 26: Brandon re-raised Noah's opening bet to take it.
Hand 27: Brandon bet 50k on the turn and Noah surrendered.
Hand 28: Jennifer bet 35k on the river and Brandon folded.
Hand 29: Steve bet 40k on the turn and Brandon folded.
Hand 30: Steve came over the top of Brandon's opening raise and took it.

Hand 31: Brandon raised to 30k and Steve called from the button. Both checked the A K J flop. Turn was the 2 and both checked again. River was the T and Brandon bet 60k. Steve called and Brandon showed Q7 for the straight. Steve mucked.

Hand 40: Steve raised to 30k and both blinds called. Flop was Q 9 6. All three checked. Turn was 8 . Noah (small) checked. Brandon (big) bet 75k and Steve called (Noah folded). River was the K and Brandon bet 150k. Steve tanked for a bit, then called. Brandon showed A9 for a pair of 9s and Steve mucked (??).

After busting Mike, Brandon was over 5 million in chips (out of 7.5 million in play) and the massive chip leader.

Level 21: Blinds 5k/10k with 1k antes. Play continues.

Hand 25: Jennifer raised to 30k and Brandon called from the small. Flop came J 7 2 . Brandon checked, Jennifer bet 50k and Brandon called. Turn was the A. Brandon checked, Jennifer bet 100k, and Brandon called. River was the 2. Brandon checked again. Jennifer thought about betting, then said "I can't take the pressure" and checked. Brandon had a 7 for a pair of 7s, but Jennifer had an Ace for top pair and she took the pot.

Just back from a tape change break. Here are some rough chip counts:

	Michael Baker - 5th place

Hand 22:  Mike opened for 30k, then Brandon (button) made it 75k to go.  Mike made it 200k smooth, then Brandon hit it again for another 300k on top.  After a bit of thought, Mike made the call and both players went to the flop with half a million chips each in the pot.  Flop was Q T 2 .  Mike checked, then Brandon moved all-in.  Mike tanked for a couple of minutes, then said "OK, let's gamble" and called all-in.  Brandon showed pocket Aces (both red).  Mike rolled over K 3  (??) for the flush draw.  He would need a diamond, but not two diamonds, to double up (or two running Kings/threes).  Last two cards came 5 5  and just like that, Mike Baker was done.

Mike Baker finished in 5th place, earning $200,000.

	John 'the Razor' Phan - 6th place

Hand 19: John moved all in utg for 70k. The others folded around to Noah in the big blind, who made the call. John's Q 8 was essentially racing against Noah's pocket 6s. The flop was no help to John: K 3 2. The the turn was a dagger in his heart: 6, giving Noah the set. John was drawing dead.

John 'the Razor' Phan was cut in 6th place, earning $135,000.

Hand 13: Brandon raised to 30k, Jennifer called from the button and Mike called from the small blind. Flop was 9 6 4 . Mike checked, Brandon lead for 100k and after a few seconds thought, Jennifer moved all-in for another 348k on top. Mike folded and Brandon tanked for about a minute, then called, showing T 2 for the flush draw. Jennifer held pocket 6s for middle set and the lead. She had to fade all the clubs that wouldn't pair the board. Turn was the T giving Brandon a useless pair. River was the 9 pairing the board and giving Jennifer the full house and the double-up.

Hand 4: Noah raised to 24k and Steve called from the big blind. The first flop of the day came 9 4 2 . Steve checked, Noah fired 30k, and Steve folded.

	Brandon Cantu - chip leader

Hand 5: John raised to 24k from the cutoff and Brandon called from the button. Flop was 9 8 7 and John fired another 24k. Brandon raised to 75k and after a couple of minutes, John made the call. Turn was a very scary 6 putting a 4-straight on the board. John checked, Brandon bet 100k, and John went into the tank. He stacked up all his chips like he was going to move in, but then picked up his cards, flashed the 9, and folded. Brandon took the pot.

Hand 6:  Jennifer bet 60k on the turn with a board of 5 2 2 Q .  Brandon raised and she released her hand.

Hand 7:  Flop was Q 8 3  and Brandon checked, Steve bet 50k, and took it down.

Hand 8:  At the river the board read K Q 8 9 2  and Noah bet 100k --- John and Steve folded.

Hand 11: John raised to 22k and was called by Brandon (button) and Jennifer (big blind).  Flop was Q 5 2 .  Jennifer checked, John bet, Brandon called, and Jennifer folded.  Turn was the J . John bet 75k and Brandon raised to 225k.  After about a minute, John folded.

Level 20 (still): Blinds 4k/8k with 1k antes. Cards are in the air. 74 minutes remain in this level.

Still waiting to get underway....

Final table action is scheduled to begin at 4pm PDT Friday. Here's the final table lineup and a reminder of what they are playing for:

Kaelaine Minton Reporting

Kaelaine is one of the hardest working reporters on the tournament cicruit, and she can play poker, too! She won the 2007 World Poker Open Media Tournament at the Goldstrike in Tunica, besting a field of 50 to win the event and the WPO gold bracelet! Her motto is "will do anything poker-related for money".

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