Cornel Andrew Cimpan - 1st place

Final table money results:

*Plus a $25,500 seat in the Season 7 WPT Championship.

	Binh Nguyen - 2nd place

HU hand 164: Binh moved all-in from the button and Andrew called, showing 62 off (I kid you not). Binh was ahead with J9 suited. The board came 9 4 4 5 7 and Binh doubled up to about 2.5 million.

Binh has moved all-in a few times on his button and Andrew folded each time, so Binh added 250k to his stack each time.

Somewhere around HU hand 187, they got all-in pre-flop. Binh held A9 off and was ahead (but we know that means nothing here). Andrew held K5 suited. The board came T 5 3 T 4 and Andrew took the pot with two pair, finally putting an end to this debacle.

Cornel Andrew Cimpan finished in 1st place, earning $1,686,760, plus a $35k seat in the Season 7 WPT Championship.

Binh Nguyen finished in 2nd place, earning $935,424.

Another tape change break, then play continued.

HU hand 155: Andrew limped, Binh checked. Flop came A 8 3, check, check. Turn was an 8, check, check. River was a 9. Binh checked, Andrew bet 400k, and Binh called. Andrew showed pocket Jacks and Binh mucked.

Level 35: Blinds 125k/250k. Play continued.

Hu Hand 157: Andrew limped, Binh checked. Flop came J 9 4 rainbow. Binh checked, Andrew fired 500k, Binh raised to 1.3 million, and Andrew surrendered.

Hand 159: Andrew limped, Binh checked. Flop came A T 4. Binh checked, Andrew bet 500k, and Binh called. Turn was the Q and both checked. River was the K. Binh bet 500k, then Andrew raised to 1.5 million. Binh folded.

Hand 162: Binh opened for 575k, Andrew moved all-in, and Binh called. Andrew held A 4. Binh was ahead with pocket Tens -- but we know that means nothing here, right?? The board came 8 6 4 8 5 and Andrew back-doors the flush to double-up. He's now got ~12.8 million, leaving Binh with just about 1 million.

HU hand 127: Andrew completed the small and in a rare deviation from the norm, Binh raised 400k on top from the big blind. Andrew made the call and the flop came K 8 2 rainbow. Binh bet 400k and Andrew let it go.

Hand 134: Binh opened for 500k on the button, then Andrew moved all-in. Binh folded.

Hand 135: Andrew limped, Binh checked. Flop came A A 3, both checked. Turn was a King. Binh checked, Andrew bet 275k, and Binh called. River was a 2. Binh checked, Andrew bet 700k, and Binh thought for a few moments, then called. Andrew said "good call". Binh showed KQ for two pair and Andrew mucked. Andrew now has 7.9 million to Binh's 6 million.

Hand 139: Limp/check. Flop came T 5 2. Binh checked. Andrew bet 300k and Binh called. Turn was the 8. Binh checked, Andrew bet 700k, Binh checked-raised another 1 million on top. After a few moments, Andrew announced he was all-in. Binh released his hand and Andrew picked up the pot.

Hand 142: Binh moved all-in from the button. After getting the count, Andrew called, showing KJ off. Binh held K5 off and was badly dominated...but as we've learned tonight, that means nothing here. The flop came 9 9 8 and changed nothing. Turn was a 3 and Andrew was one card and three outs away from winning $1.6 million. Then a 5 hit the river, shipping the pot to Binh and doubling him up, putting him back in the chip lead. He's got 7.95 million, leaving 5.95 million for Andrew.

Level 34: Blinds 100k/200k. Heads-up play continued.

On the first hand at the new level, Andrew actually opened for a raise to 600k on the button. Binh folded.

Next hand, Binh raised to 500k on the button and Andrew folded.

Heads-up hand 114: Binh raised to 500k on the button and Andrew announced all-in. Binh folded. Andrew showed J2 suited.

Hand 116: Ditto above, except this time Binh asked for a count. Andrew was all-in for 3.5 million. Binh folded.

Hand 118: Ditto above, except this time Binh called, showing A9 off. Andrew held KQ suited and was behind, but we know this means nothing here. The board cmae K J 2 K T and Andrew made trip Kings to double up to ~7.8 million, good for the chip lead. That leaves Binh with only 6.1 million.

Hand 122: For the first time since they got heads-up, Binh folded his button, giving Andrew a walk.

Hand 123: Andrew completed the small and Binh checked. Flop came K 9 7 and both checked. Turn was another 7 and both checked. River was another 9 and Binh bet 400k. Andrew moved all-in. Binh took a few seconds, then folded.

HU hand 95: Andrew completed the small and Binh checked. Flop came A 9 2. Binh checked, Andrew bet 200k, and Binh called. Turn was the T and Binh checked. Andrew fired 450k. Binh announced "raise" and added 700k on top. Andrew folded.

Binh continues to chip away with constant button raises. He's up to 9.5 million, leaving Andrew with 4.4 million.

	Cornel Andrew Cimpan

With the constant button raises, Binh has been chipping away at Andrew's stack. On the ~75th hand of heads-up, Binh raised to 375k from the button, as usual, but this time Andrew said he was all-in. This is the first time Andrew has raised pre-flop since they started heads-up play. Needless to say, Binh folded. Andrew showed T9 offsuit.

A few hands later, Binh raised to 375k on the button, as usual, and Andrew said he was all-in. Binh insta-called, showing AQ off. Andrew held QT off and was badly dominated, but that means nothing here. The board came Q T 5 T 4 and Andrew doubled up with a full house. His all-in amount was 2.165 million, so he doubled to ~4.3 million.

Hand 84 of heads-up play: Binh opened for 375k on the button and Andrew called. The flop came Q 8 5 and both checked. Turn was a 4 and both checked. River was another 8 and Andrew led out for 425k. Binh called and Andrew showed QT (again) for Queens-up. Binh mucked.

After 86 heads-up hands, it was time for another tape change break.

Binh Nguyen: 8.925 million
Andrew Cimpan: 4.975 million

About 53 hands into heads-up: Binh raised to 375k from the button and Andrew called. The flop came Q 6 3 and both players checked. Turn was the J. Andrew checked, Binh bet 400k, and Andrew check-raised to an even million. Binh thought for a bit, then called. River was the 8 and both checked. Binh showed KQ for top pair and Andrew mucked. Binh extended his lead to ~10 million to Andrew's ~3.7 million.

About 60 hands in: Andrew completed the small blind, as usual, but this time Binh raised another 400k on top (remember Binh didn't raise pre-flop out of position when he held pocket Aces). Andrew called the raise and the flop came 9 6 2 rainbow. Binh bet 600k and Andrew folded.

On the first hand after the break, Andrew called from the button, as usual, and Binh checked. The flop came 8 6 4. Binh bet 175k and Andrew called. Turn was the 4. Binh bet 350k and Andrew called. River was a 3. Binh fired 600k and Andrew tanked for a bit, then called. Binh showed pocket Aces and Andrew mucked. Binh chipped up to ~8.3 million.

Level 33: Blinds 75k/150k (they have dropped the antes during heads-up play). Play continued.

A pattern has developed during this heads-up match. When Binh has the button, he always raises. Andrew either calls or folds. When Andrew has the button, he only calls or folds -- he never raises (at least not so far). On hand 17 of the match, Andrew called from the button and Binh checked. The flop was K Q 8 rainbow and both checked. Turn was a Ten and Binh bet 175k. Andrew called. River was a 3. Binh checked, Andrew bet 300k, and Binh called. Andrew showed AK for top/top and Binh mucked. Remember that Andrew did not raise this hand pre-flop even though he was on the button holding AK!

On hand 29 of heads-up, Binh raised to 310k, as usual, from the button and Andrew called from the big blind. The flop came A 5 2 rainbow. Andrew checked, Binh fired 500k, and Andrew called. Turn was a King and both checked. River was a Queen and Andrew checked. Binh bet 1 million. Andrew folded and Binh took the pot.

29 hands into the heads-up match, they are about even on pots won, but Binh has re-claimed the chip lead. He's got 7.3 million to Andrew's 6.6 million.

Time for another tape change break.

After five hands of heads-up play, Andrew has taken four of them and also claimed the chip lead. Only one hand got shown down. With a final board of A Q T 7 2 Andrew bet 200k and Binh called. Andrew held a Queen for second pair and that was good.

	Mike Sowers - 3rd place

Hand 116: Mike opened for 300k on the button, then Binh kicked it on up to a cool million from the small blind.  Andrew got out of the way.  Mike then announced he was all-in (2.425 million).  Binh called, showing pocket Queens.  Mike held pocket 4s and was in bad shape.  He would need help from the board to survive, but it came J 9 8 J K and Mike was busted.

Mike Sowers finished in 3rd place, earning $654,797.

With just two players remaining, there was a pause in the action as they prepared and filmed the money presentation.

Here are the chip counts:

	Chris Karagulleyan - 4th place

Hand 110: Andrew moved all-in from the small blind and Chris called from the big. Andrew held Q8 suited and was trailing Chris' A9 off. Then the board came A Q T Q 7 giving Andrew trip Queens to take the pot.

Chris Karagulleyan finished in 4th place, earning $430,963.

Hand 114: Binh opened for 300k from the button, then Andrew moved all-in from the small blind. Mike thought about if for a few seconds, got the count (2.625 million) then moved in over the top. Binh got out of the way. Andrew held AQ off and was racing against Mike's pocket 5s. Andrew took the lead with the flop of A 4 2, but Mike picked up 4 outs with a gutshot. He needed a 3 or 5 to bust Andrew. The last two came K 2, however, and Andrew doubled up to ~5.6 million. Mike was left with ~2.8 million.

Level 32: Blinds 60k/120k with 20k antes. Play continued.

After 107 hands, it was time for another tape change break.

Hand 109: Mike opened for 320k from the button and Andrew called from the big blind. The flop came 9 5 5 and both checked. Turn was another 5 -- both checked. River was a Jack. Andrew checked, Mike bet 500k. Andrew called and Mike showed QJ suited for the full house. Andrew mucked and Mike took the pot.

	Pat Walsh - 5th place

Hand 92: Binh opened for 225k on the button and Pat called from the big blind. The flop came T 9 4. Pat checked, Binh bet 300k and Pat called. Turn was tthe 5 and Pat checked. Bin bet 500k. After a little thought, Pat called. River was the 7. Both players checked. Binh showed K T for top pair. Pat mucked and Binh took the pot.

Hand 93: Binh opened for 250k and Chris called from the big blind. The flop came K K T and both checked. Turn was a 2 and both checked. River was a 7 and Chris bet 425k. Binh called, showing A7 off for two pair. Chris mucked and Binh took another pot. He's now up to 6 million chips and solidly in the lead.

Hand 96: Mike opened for 250k on the button and Binh raised another 500k on top from the small blind. After Andrew mucked his big bilnd, Mike moved all-in for 2.065 more. After a couple of minutes in the tank, Binh made the call. Mike held K Q. Binh held pocket 7s. The board came Q 5 3 5 T and Mike took the pot with Queens-up, doubling up and taking the chip lead.

Hand 97: Binh opened for 250k, then Pat (bb) raised to 950k straight. Binh moved all-in and Pat called. Binh held A J and was dominating Pat's A2 off. The board came T T 7 3 5 and Binh took the pot, chipping up to over 5 million.

Pat Walsh finished in 5th place, earning $310,694.

Hand 78: Binh opened for 250k, getting called by Andrew (button) and Chris in the big blind. They checked down the board of 9 8 5 T9. Binh showed pocket 6s. Chris open-mucked his KQ off. Andrew showed pocket 7s, for the third time today, to win the pot.

Mike Sowers won five out of the last eight hands and has chipped back up to ~3 million chips.

Hand 89: Andrew opened for 250k from the cutoff then Pat kicked it up to 750k from the button.  The flop came K 3 2 and Andrew moved all-in. After a few seconds, Pat called. Andrew held A Q (one overcard). Pat tabled K8 off for top pair. He needed to dodge the Aces to double up. The last two cards came 2 9 and Pat doubled up to ~3.3 million.

	Pat Walsh

Hand 70: Pat moved all in from the cutoff for1.24 million. Mike then moved all-in from the small blind. Binh folded the big blind and they turned up their hands. Pat held pocket Tens and was ahead. Mike held AJ offsuit. The board came T 8 5 2 5 and Pat doubled up with a full house.

Time for another tape change break.

Hand 71: Battle of the blinds, Binh called, Andrew checked. Flop was Q J 8 and BInh bet 125k. Andrew called. Turn was the A. Binh checked, Andrew bet 300k, then Binh check-raised another 600k on top. Andrew let it go.

Hand 75: Pat limped, then Binh raised to 400k from the big blind. Pat called and the flop came A 5 4. Binh fired half a million. Pat folded. With that pot, Binh has moved into the chip lead.

	Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson - 6th place

Hand 58: Pat got all-in with AQ off against Andrew, who held AJ offsuit. The board came K 6 3 A T and Pat doubled up.

Hand 59: Chris K. opened for 225k and Chris F. moved all in for just over a million. After a bit of thought, Chris K. let it go.

Level 31: Blinds 50k/100k with 10k antes. Play continued.

Hand 66: In a battle of the blinds, Chris Ferguson raised to 300k from the small and Andrew called from the big. The flop came T 8 8. Chris checked. After a few seconds, Andrew said he was all-in. Chris tanked for several minutes. He finally opted to call, showing A K for two overcards. Andrew held pocket 4s. Chris needed an Ace, King, Ten, or two runners to survive. The turn was the 6 which gave Chris three more outs, but the river was the 3 and Andrew took the pot (and the chip lead).

Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson finished in 6th place, earning $240,538.

	Mike Sowers

Hand 38: Binh opened for 200k and Chris Ferguson raised to 600k. Everyone dove for cover and Chris picked up another uncontested pot.

Hand 39: Andrew opened for 200k and Mike called from the big blind. The flop came A K Q and both checked. Turn was the K and again both checked. River was the 3. Mike bet 325k. Andrew thought for a few seconds, then called. Mike showed A 7 for Aces-up. Andrew mucked his hand and Mike picked up the pot.

Hand 42: Mike opened for 200k and Andrew called from the big blind. The flop came A A 4 and both checked. Turn was the 8 and both checked. River was the 9 and both checked. Andrew showed pocket 7s and Mike mucked.

Hand 43: Mike opened for 200k and Andrew called from the small blind. The flop came K 3 2. Andrew checked, Mike bet 325k, and Andrew called. Turn was the Q. Both checked. River was the K. Andrew checked, Mike bet 520k, and Andrew tanked. After a few minutes, he made the call. Mike was forced to show his 9 8 -- nothing but air. Andrew tabled pocket 7s, again, to take the pot. He's now over 3 million chips.

Hand 53: Andrew opened for 200k utg and Binh called from the small blind. The flop came Q J 8 -- both checked. Turn was the 9. Binh led out for 250k and Andrew called. River was the 7. Binh fired 350k. Andrew thought about it, but released his hand. Binh took the pot and it now back over 3 million.

Hand 54: Mike opened for 200k and Chris Ferguson called from the small blind. The flop came J 8 2. Chris checked. Mike bet 250k. After a bit of thought, Chris moved all-in. Mike called all-in, showing pocket Kings. Chris held Q J for top pair. He would need help or Mike would double up. The turn was the K and that sealed the deal. River was the 2 completing Mike's full house. He doubled up and Chris was left with about 1 million chips.

	Chris Karagulleyan

Hand 30: Chris Karagulleyan opened for 300k and Andrew, taking a page from Freguson's book, moved all in. Chris let it go.

Hand 31: Chris K opened for 335k (I guess he figured he needed to raise more to get respect). Everyone folded and he picked up the blinds and antes.

Hand 32: Mike opened for 200k and Binh called on his left. The flop came 8 3 3. Mike led out with 350k and took it down.

Hand 33: Raise and take it by Chris Ferguson. With that pot, Chris was up to 1.9 million.

Hand 34: Pat opened for 290k and Chris K. called. The flop came T T 4. Pat led out for 400k and Chris called. Turn was the 4 double-pairing the board. Pat checked, Chris fired half a million, and Pat tanked, then folded. Chris K. picked up his first significant pot of the day and resumed his place as chip leader.

Hand 35: Mike opened for 200k on the button and Chris Ferguson called from the big blind. They checked the flop of Q 8 3 then checked the turn, which was the K. When the 7 landed on the river, Chris led out with 300k. Mike took about half a minute, then let it go.

Hand 37: Mike opened for 200k and Binh kicked it on up to 700k smooth. Mike let it go.

After that hand, there was a 12 minute tape change break.

Chips counts as of the break:

	Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson

Hand 17: Pat opened for 185k, then Binh (sb) raised another 550k. Pat surrendered.

Hand 18: Chris Karagulleyan opened for 175k, then Mike kicked it up to 525k. Chris let it go.

Hand 19: Mike opened for 150k and Andrew called from the small blind. The flop came 4 3 3 and both checked. Turn was the Q and again both checked. River was the 7 and both checked. Andrew showed QJ for Queens-up and Mike mucked his hand.

Hand 21: Chris Ferguson opened for 165k and Andrew called on his left. The flop came 7 5 4 and Chris took his time, then moved all his chips forward. Andrew asked for a count -- 810k. Andrew went into the tank, separated out the chips to call, then did the 'pump-fake' like he was going to call, but mucked his hand. Chris picked up the pot.

Hand 22: Andrew opened for 170k, then Mike made it 510k from the small blind. Andrew mucked.

Level 30: Blinds 40k/80k with 10k antes. Play continued.

Hand 23: Chris K. opened for 210k in the cutoff and Binh raised another 500k from the small blind. Chris let it go and Binh took the pot. He's now up to 3 million chips and has taken the chip lead.

Hand 25: Chris K opened for 275k and everyone folded. Chris K. picked up his first pot of the day.

Hands 27 & 28: Chris F. raised pre-flop and got no callers, picking up the blinds and antes (180k).

Hand 29: Pat opened for 260k and action folded to Chris Ferguson in the big blind. He moved all-in. Pat took a few seconds, then folded.

	Binh Nguyen

Chris Ferguson moved all in of hands 6 and 7, but got no callers.

Hand 12: Binh opened for 160k on the button and Andrew called from the big blind. The flop came 9 7 4 and Andrew checked. Binh fired 200k, then Andrew check-raised to 600k straight. Binh thought about it for a bit, then announced he was all-in. Andrew took some time in the tank, then let it go.

Hand 13: Andrew completed the small blind, then Pat raised another 300k on top from the big blind. Andrew folded.

Hand 16: Andrew opened for 175k from the cutoff and Chris Karagulleyan called from the small blind. The flop came A Q 6. Chris checked, Andrew bet 225k, and Chris surrendered.

	Cornel Andrew Cimpan

Hand 3: Chris Ferguson opened for 160k and Andrew called on his left. The flop came J 8 2 and both players checked. Turn was the 6. Chris checked, Andrew bet 175k, and after a little thought, Chris called. River was the T. Chris checked, Andrew bet 225k, Chris took some time, then made the call. Andrew showed pocket Queens. Chris mucked and Andrew picked up the first significant pot of the day.

Level 29 (continued): Blinds 30k/60k with 10k antes. Mike Sexton and Vince van Patten have recorded their intro and cards are in the air!

The final table gets underway at 4pm pacific time Thursday. Here are the players:

Here's a reminder of what they're playing for:

	Kaelaine in the 2006 WSOP Main Event

Kaelaine Minton Reporting

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