Steve Brecher - 1st place

Hand 319: Kathy shoved, Steve called. Kathy held Q T and was behind Steve's A9 off. She picked up some outs when the flop came 6 6 2 but then the last two came 2 4 and it is OVER!!!

Steve Brecher finished in 1st place, earning $1,000,000 plus a $25,500 seat in the WPT Championship, plus the $5,000 Shooting Star bounty.

Kathy Liebert finished in 2nd place, earning $550,000.

Steve Brecher was born in San Diego and raised in Queens, New York and has been playing poker for most of his life. He's a retired computer software developer who is a fixture on the poker circuit. This is just his second WPT Final Table, but his first was a big one -- the 2004 WPT World Championship, where he finished sixth. He also final-tabled a PPT event and finished third in the televised 2005 U.S. Poker Championship.

Kathy Liebert is the greatest female tournament poker player in the world, with a little less than $5 million in career earnings. She was the first woman to win $1 million in a single tournament, back in 2002 when she won the PartyPoker Million. She is also 39th on the all-time money list. This was Kathy's sixth WPT Final Table, and she has rmade seven WSOP final tables. She also won a WSOP bracelet in 2004 in $1,500 limit hold'em shootout.

Kathy took hands 298 - 302, chipping up to ~1.8 million in the process.

Hand 303: Limped to flop of K T 6 rainbow. Steve checked, Kathy bet 50k, Steve raised to 150k, and Kathy called. Turn was a 3. Kathy checked, Steve fired 275k, and Kathy called. River was a 4. Steve announced he was all-in. Kathy tanked, then mucked, dropping back to ~1.3 million.

With the conclusion of that hand, this is officially the longest WPT final table by number of hands. The previous record was 303 hands, at the LAPC just last month.

Steve took hands 303 - 307, then Kathy got a walk in 308. Steve then took hands 309 - 312. Kathy was down to 835k.

Hand 276: Steve folded his button and Kathy showed pocket Aces.

Hand 277: Kathy opened for 150k and Steve called. The flop came K 9 3 rainbow. Steve checked, Kathy bet 200k, and Steve folded. Kathy showed pocket Aces -- again!

Hand 278: Steve opened for 150k and Kathy called. The flop came 7 6 6 and both checked. Turn was a Jack and both checked. River was a Ten and Kathy bet 200k. Steve called. Kathy showed 76 for the full house. Steve mucked. Kathy chipped up to 2.1 million.

Hand 283: Kathy opened for 150k and Steve called. The flop came K 5 4 -- all spades. Steve checked, Kathy bet 200k, and Steve called. Turn was a 9 and both checked. River was another 9 and Steve checked. Kathy bet 400k and Steve tanked for a minute, then called. Kathy said "good call" and Steve showed a 5 for a pair of fives. Kathy mucked and Steve took the pot. Kathy was back down to ~1.25 million.

Steve had been chipping away at Kathy, until...

Hand 288: Steve opened for 125k and Kathy moved all-in. Steve called, showing QT suited. Kathy held the lead with pocket 4s. The flop was scary, as there was a Queen in the door, but right behind it was a 4. The board ran out Q 5 4 7 K and Kathy doubled up to ~1.4 million.

Several hands into heads-up play and there had not been a lot of movement, until...

Hand 274: Steve opened for 125k and Kathy called. They both checked the flop of A 8 7. Turn was the 4. Kathy bet 150k, Steve raised to 425k and Kathy tanked, then folded.

Hand 275: Kathy raised to 150k and Steve called. Flop came T 8 3. Steve checked, Kathy bet 200k, and Steve moved all-in. Kathy tanked for a bit, then folded.

After those hands, Steve was up to ~6.2 million to Kathy's ~1.6 million.

	Chris Moore - 3rd place

After hand 263...

Level 28: Blinds 25k/50k with 5k antes. Play continued.

Hand 265: Chris opened for 125k from the small blind and Steve called from the big. The flop came 9 5 4 and all Chris' chips went into the middle. Steve called holding K 3 for the flush draw. Chris held A K for two overs with backdoor flush draw. Turn was the 5 and changed nothing. River was the beautiful 6 completing the flush. With this pot, Steve is over 6.1 million, leaving ~1.6 million for Kathy.

Chris Moore finished in 3rd place, earning $291,500.

Chris is a 25-year-old online cash game player who primarily plays heads-up and short-handed events.
In March, 2007, he finished third in the $10,000 Championship at the Wynn Classic in Las Vegas. In March, 2008, he won that same event. This year, he skipped that event to play here at Bay 101. He played his way to the final match in the LA Poker Classic $10,000 Heads-Up Championship by going undefeated in the Winner's Bracket.  He finished runner-up to Vivek Rajkumar, who also cashed in this event (16th). Chris was born and raised in Illinois, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin.

Play stopped as they filmed the money presentation and prepared for heads-up play, then they got back to business.

	Kathy Liebert

Hand 237: Kathy opened for 110k from the small blind and Chris called from the big. They checked down the board of K 6 4 T 8 and then Chris bet 150k. Kathy acknowledged that she played this hand badly as she called the bet and showed pocket Kings for the flopped set. Chris mucked and she collected the pot. She was up to ~1.4 million.

Hand 238: Chris opened for 130k from the small and Steve re-raised to 440k from the big. Chris called and they checked down the board of A Q J 9 J. Chris bet 500k on the river and Steve called. Chris held pocket 8s, but Steve held A7 for Aces-up to take the pot. Steve was up to ~4.6 million with that pot.

Hand 234: Steve limped on the button, the Kathy raised to 240k from the small blind. Chris called and Steve opted out. The flop came K 8 3 rainbow. Kathy led out for 250k and Chris moved all-in. Kathy tanked for about 5 minutes, then decided to fold.

Another tape change break occured.

Hand 216: Kathy completed the small blind, then Chris raised to 125k from the big. Kathy called and the flop came 9 4 2. Kathy checked, Chris bet 175k, Kathy re-raised to 475k and Chris moved all-in. Kathy tanked for a minute, then let it go.

Hand 221: Steve opened for 125k from the small blind and Kathy moved all-in from the big. After getting a count (about 800k) Steve folded.

Hand 227: Chris opened for 110k on the button and Steve re-raised to 375k from the small blind. Chris moved all-in. Steve took a few moments, then folded.

	Steve Brecher

Hand 197: Chris opened for 100k on the button and Steve called from the small blind. The flop came Q T 7 rainbow. Steve checked, Chris bet 125k, Steve raised to 500k and Chris let it go.

Hand 205: Chris completed the small and Steve checked. Flop came 9 7 2. Chris bet 30k, Steve raised to 125k, and Chris called. Turn was the 9. Chris checked. Steve bet 225k. Chris let it go.

After hand 211, the blinds went up.

Level 27: Blinds 20k/40k with 5k antes. Play continued.

Hands 212-215 were taken by a pre-flop raise, two by Kathy and one by Chris.

Another tape change break occured after 187 hands.

Hand 194: Chris opened for 100k on the button and Steve raised to 400k from the small bind. Chris folded.

Hand 195: Steve opened for 95k from the button and Kathy moved all-in. Steve folded.

Hand 171: Chris made it 90k to go from the button. Kathy called from the big blind. The flop came K 9 7 and Kathy fired 125k. Turn was the 3 and both checked. River was the J and both checked. Kathy showed QJ for a pair of Jacks, but Chris showed AK for a pair of Kings to take the pot.

Hand 173: Kathy opened for 90k on the button and Chris popped it to 350k from the small blind. Kathy tanked, then folded.

Hand 178: Steve opened for 95k on the button and Kathy popped it to 600k from the small blind. Steve moved in and Kathy called. Steve's AQ off was dominated by Kathy's AK suited. Then the board came K J 5 T 7 giving Steve the Broadway straight and the double-up. Steve takes the chip lead with ~4.16 million. Kathy was left with ~1.3 million.

Hand 161: Chris completed the small and Steve checked. The flop came 8 7 2 and Chris bet 35k. Steve called. Turn was the 9 and Chris bet 70k. Steve called. River was the Q. Chris fired 175k. Steve called. Chris showed Q 9 for two pair and Steve mucked. With that pot, Chris moved ahead of Steve in the chip counts.

Hand 164: Same two guys and preflop action as above. The flop came Q 6 2 -- all hearts. Chris bet and Steve called. Turn was an offsuit 8 and Chris checked. Steve bet 70k and Chris called. Turn was an offsuit 3 and Chris checked, Steve bet 175k, and Chris called. Steve showed T 4 for the flush to take the pot.

Hand 168: All three saw the flop for the minimum: J J 6. The blinds checked to Chris, who bet 50k. Steve folded and Kathy raised to 150k. Chris called. Turn was the 3. Kathy led out for 200k and Chris called. River was the A. Both checked. Chris showed 8 6 for two pair. Kathy mucked and Chris took the pot.

Level 26: Blinds 15k/30k with 5k antes. Play continued.

Hand 169: Steve opened for 95k from the button. Chris called from the big blind. The flop came J 7 2. Both checked. Turn was the 5. Chris bet 125k and Steve raised to 425k. Chris tanked, then folded.

Hand 147: Chris opened for 70k on the button, Steve called from the big blind, then Kathy raised to 325k. Both folded and Kathy took the pot.

Hand 148: Steve raised to 75k on the button and Chris called from the big blind. Flop came A J 5 rainbow. Chris chcked, Steve bet 115k and Chris called. Turn was a Queen and both checked. River was a 7 and both checked. Steve showed KQ for a pair of Queens to take the pot.

Hand 152: Chris opened for 75k from the small blind and Steve called from the big. the flop came K Q 6. Chris bet 90k and Steve called. Turn was the 9 and Chris checked. Steve fired 225k and Chris folded.

Hand 155: Chris completed the small and Steve checked. The flop came 9 8 3 and Chris bet 30k.  Steve alled.. Turn was the A and Chris bet 70k. Steve called. River was the J. Chris bet 140k and Steve tanked, then folded.

Chris had not won a pot since hand 124, when he got a walk in his big blind, until...

Hand 136: Steve opened for 75k on the button and Chris called from the big blind. The flop came K T 7 -- both checked. Turn was the 7 -- both checked. River was the 3 and Chris led out for 100k. Steve folded.

Hand 137: Chris opened for 75k from the small blind and Steve moved all-in. Chris called all-in, showing pocket 6s. Steve held AK off. The board came Q 9 7 J 8 and Chris doubled up to ~1.74 million. Steve was left with ~1.74 million.

Hand 139: Steve opened for 75k on the button and Kathy came over the top for 300k from the small blind. Steve let it go.

Hand 140: Kathy opened for 75k on the button and Steve called from the big blind. The flop came 8 8 7 and both checked. Turn was a 3 and Steve checked. Kathy bet 100k and Steve called. Turn wsa another 8. Both checked. Steve showed 43 suited for the full boat to take the pot.

Hand 145: Kathy completed the small and Chris checked. Flop came J 7 4 and both checked. Turn was a Ten. Kathy bet 60k and Chris called. Turn was a Queen. Both checked. Kathy showed pocket 8s, but Chris showed J5 off to take the pot with a pair of Jacks.

Another tape change break occured after hand 146.

Hand 119: Kathy opened for 60k on the button and Steve raised to 200k from the big blind. Kathy called and the flop came A J 7. Steve checked, Kathy fired 300k, and Steve moved in. Kathy let it go.

Level 25:  Blinds 12k/24k with 4k antes.  Play continued.

Hands 125 - 128: Kathy takes three out of four with pre-flop raises.

Hand 129:  Chris opened for 70k on the button and Kathy called from the big blind.  Flop was T 9 7 and both checked.  Turn was another 9.  Kathy bet 100k and Chris folded.

Hand 130: Steve opened for 75k on the button and Chris raised to 240k from the big blind. Steve tanked, then made the call. Flop was K 6 3. Chris checked, Steve bet 325k, and Chris surrendered.

	Tony Behari - 4th place

Hand 117: After Chris Moore opened for 55k utg, Tony moved all-in from the small blind for 388k and Kathy called. Chris mucked. Tony held K8 suited and was trailing Kathy's pocket Tens. The board came J 7 2 3 4 and Kathy took the pot.

Tony Behari finished in 4th place, earning $230,000.

Tony is 32 and lives in Pittsburgh, CA, with his wife and child. This is only his ssecond WPT event and he won his seat in a $1,025 satellite.

Hand 96: Steve opened for 65k from the small blind, then Tony raised to 175k from the big. Steve came over the top for 550k. Tony tanked for a couple of minutes, then folded.

Hand 98: Tony opened for 60k from the button and Kathy called from the small blind. The flop came 9 9 5 and both checked. Turn was a 4 and Kathy checked. Tony bet 75k, Kathy raised to 200k, Tony moved all-in and Kathy insta-called all-in. Tony held KJ off for nothing but air. Kathy held pocket 5s for the flopped full house. River was an irrelevant 8. Kathy doubled up to over 4 million taking a commanding chip lead. Tony was left with ~600k. Steve 2.0 million. Chris 1.2 million.

After hand 105 another tape change break took place.

Hand 78: Steve opened for 65k utg and Kathy moved all in. After getting the count (672k on top) Steve let it go.

Hand 79: Kathy opened for 70k from the button and Chris (sb) raised to ??k from the small blind. Kathy moved all-in and Chris called, showing pocket Tens. Kathy held pocket Aces. The board came J 9 3 J Q and Kathy doubled up to ~1.56 million.

Hand 80: Kathy opened to 60k utg and Steve called. Flop came A T 8 rainbow. Steve checked, Kathy bet 50k, and Steve called. Turn was a 3 and again Steve checked. Kathy bet 150k and Steve folded.

Hand 81: Kathy got a walk in her big blind. That's four in a row for Kathy.

Hand 83: Kathy opened for 60k from the button and took it down.

Hand 84: Kathy opened for 60k utg. Both blinds called. Flop came 9 9 6. Steve and Tony checked to Kathy, who bet 100k. They folded and Kathy took the pot.

Hand 85: Walk for Kathy in the big blind.

Hand 86: Kathy opened for 60k from the small blind and Chris called from the big. The flop came K 8 5. Kathy bet 90k and Chris folded. That's 8 of the last 9 hands for Kathy.

Hand 90: Tony opened for 60k on the button, Kathy called from the small blind and Chris called from the big blind. The flop came A Q J and it checked around. Turn was the 5 and it checked around again. River was the Q and Kathy checked. Chris bet 110k, Tony folded, and Kathy called. Chris showed pocket 3s for two pair. Kathy also showed pocket 3s, but she had the 3 for the flush to take the pot.

Chip counts as of the break:

Hand 69: Tony completed the small and Kathy checked. Flop came 8 5 2 rainbow. Tony checked, Kathy bet 25k, Tony raised to 100k, and Kathy folded.

Hand 70: Tony raised to 41k on the button and Chris called from the big blind. Flop came 8 6 3 and both checked. Turn was the 7. Chris checked, Tony bet 85k and Chris called. River was the 9. Tony bet 150k and Chris called, showing 5x for the 8-high straight, but Tony showed JT off for the Jack-high straight to take the pot.

Hand 72: Steve opened for 52k on the button and Kathy called from the big blind. The flop came A Q 5 rainbow. Kathy checked, Steve fired 75k and Kathy folded.

Hand 75: Kathy opened for 50k on the button and Steve made it 156k to go. Kathy folded.

Hand 77: Steve opened for 52k on the button and both blinds called. The flop came K T 4. Tony (sb) checked, Kathy (bb) bet 110k, and Steve called. Then Tony check-raised to 500k. Kathy mucked and Steve tanked for a while, then folded.

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

	Kathy Liebert

Hand 59: All four players take the flop for the minimum: Q 9 9. They checked to Kathy on the button, who bet 30k. Tony was the only caller. Turn was the 8. Tony checked, Kathy bet 75k, Tony raised to 225k and Kathy called. River was the 6 and Tony led for 300k. Kathy tanked, then made the call. Tony showed 5 4 for the flush and Kathy mucked.

Hand 64:  Kathy opened for 50k utg, then Chris raised to 175k from the button.  Tony jacked it up to half a million from the big blind.  The other two folded and Tony took the pot.

Hand 67:  Kathy opened for 50k on the button and Chris raised to 175k from the small blind.  Kathy called and the flop came 8 5 3 rainbow.  Both checked.  Turn was a Ten.  Both checked.  River was a 3 and both checked  Chris showed pocket 4s and Kathy mucked.

Time for another tape change break.

	Tony Behari

Hand 38: Tony opened for 42k on the button and Chris called from the big blind. The flop came K 8 7 rainbow. Chris checked, Tony bet 62k, then Chris check-raised to 175k. After about a minute, Tony released his hand.

Hand 43: Kathy opened for 50k on the button and Steve (bb) raised to 155k. Kathy took about a half a minute, then folded.

Hand 44: Chris opened for 45k on the button and Steve called from the small blind. The flop came 6 3 2. Both checked. Turn was the Q and Steve led out for 70k. Chris called. River was the 6. Steve checked, Chris bet 170k, and Steve thought for a few moments, then called. Chris showed T 6 for trip 6s. Steve mucked and Chris pulled the pot.

Hand 51: Three players took the flop for the minimum: 7 4 2 rainbow. Chris (sb) bet 26k, Steve (bb) called, and Tony (utg) called. Turn was a King. Chris bet 75k, Steve called, and Tony folded. River was a 9 and Chris fired 200k. Steve tanked for a couple of minutes, then called. Chris insta-mucked, so Steve won the pot without showing his hand.

Chip counts as of the break:

	Steve Brecher

Hand 29: Steve opened for k on the button and Tony called from the small blind. The flop came 8 8 4. Tony checked, Steve bet 65k, and Tony raised to 200k. After a little thought, Steve called. Turn was a 6. Tony led out for 175k. Steve tanked for a couple of minutes, then mucked.

After hand 30, the blinds increased.

Level 23: Blinds 8k/16k with 2k antes. Play continued.

With stacks this deep (the short stack has almost 95 big blinds) it could be a while before we see another elimination.

	Chris Moore

Hand 12: Chris brought it in for 34k from the cutoff and Tony called from the big blind. The flop was A 8 5 and both checked. Turn was the T and Tony launched 51k into the pot. Chris called. River was the 8. Tony checked, Chris bet 90k, and Tony check-raised to 300k. Chris surrenderd and Tony took the pot.

Hand 14: Steve opened for 38k utg and Chris called from the big blind. Flop came Q 3 3. Chris checked, Steve bet 55k, and Chris called. Turn was an 8 and again Chris checked. Steve checked behind. River was a 9 and Chris led out for 125k. Steve called, showing KQ for Queens-up. Chris mucked.

Hand 26: Tony made it 31k to play from the button. Chris called from the big blind. Flop was 8 5 3 and Chris led with 50k. Tony raised to 150k, then Chris popped it to 500k straight. Tony asked what Chris had left (~800k) and after a bit of thought, decided to let it go.

There was a tape change break following hand 26.

	Thoa Le - 5th place

Hand 9: Kathy completed the small and Chris checked his option. The flop came Q 9 9 and both checked. Turn was the A. Kathy bet 15k and Chris called. River was the 8 . Kathy bet 40k and Chris called. Kathy showed J T for the straight.

Hand 10: Tony opened for 31k from the cutoff and Kathy kicked it up to 121k on the button. Tony surrendered and Kathy took the pot.

Hand 11: Kathy opened for 36k from the cutoff and Thao called from the small blind. The flop came 5 2 2 and Thao checked. Kathy bet 40k and Thao called. Turn was a 6. Thao led out for 80k and Kathy raised to 230k. Thao moved all-in for 796k. After about two minutes, Kathy made the call. Thao showed pocket Queens. Kathy was out front with pocket Aces. The river was a 7 and Kathy too the pot with Aces-up, chipping up to ~2.16 million.

Thao Le finished in 5th place, earning $180,000.

Thao is 28 years old and plays locally here in San Jose, where he works as a manufacturing technician.

	Chau Vu - 6th place

Hand #6: Tony opened for 36k utg and action folded to Chris on the button, who raised to 105k. Tony called and the flop came 8 8 3. Tony checked, Chris fired 125k, and Tony called. turn was a Queen. Both checked. River was a 5. Tony checked, Chris fired 300k, and Tony folded.

Hand 8: Chau moved all-in utg. Action folded to Tony in the small blind, who asked for the county -- 202k. He decided to call, showing pocket 8s. Chau was in bad shape with A8 off. The board came K J T 9 3 and Chau was busted. Tony is now over 1.9 million.

Chau Vu finished in 6th place, earning $135,000.

Chau is a 38-year-old prop player, right here in San Jose. He is a regular in the 100-200 Limit Hold'em game here at Bay 101. He finished 8th in this event in 2005 ($130,000) and actually won this event in 2000, before the WPT existed (it was a $1,000 buy-in back then) according to Matt Savage. He's married with one child.

Level 22 (continued): Blinds 6k/12k with 2k antes. Cards are in the air. About 81 minutes remain in this level.

In a bizzarre coincidence, five of the six final table players started day 3 on the same table:

	Steve Brecher - chip leader

Final table action begins at 4pm pacific time Friday. Six players return with one Shooting Star still alive:

*Shooting Star bounty

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

*includes a $25,500 seat in the WPT Championship.

	Kaelaine in the 2006 WSOP Main Event

Kaelaine Minton Reporting

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