Champ Leo Wolpert

In the final hand, Leo Wolpert limped on the button and John Duthie checked. The flop came T  3  5  and John Duthie checked. Leo Wolpert bet 120,000 and John Duthie immediately announced all in. Wolpert quickly calls and shows 5  3 for a flopped two pair. Duthie turns over T  2  for top pair and will need to catch on the turn or the river to win. The turn bricks for Duthie as it is a J . The river comes a Q  and John Duthie is the second place finisher.

John Duthie takes home $386,636 for his second place finish.

Leo Wolpert takes home $625,682 for his win. We want to wish Leo a big congratulations.

(Kaelaine Minton reporting)

Leo opened for 200k and John called. Flop came A T 6 and John checked. Leo checked behind. Turn was the Q and both checked again. River was the K . Check, check. Leo showed 6 5 for the flush to take the pot.

John has just under 2 million and Leo has all the rest.

Leo opened for 200k and John called. Flop came K 8 6 and both checked. Turn was the 6 and John bet 200k. Leo called. River was the 9 . John bet 900k and Leo mucked.

Leo opened for 200k (get the recurring theme here?) and John called. They checked down the board of Q 8 6 2 2 and John showed 65 suited for a pair of 6s to beat Leo's Ace-high.

Leo opened for 200k and after a brief pause, John announced he was all-in. Leo let it go.

Leo opened for, you got it, 200k. John called. Flop came J T 5 rainbow and John checked again. Leo bet 280k and John took some time, then raised to 880k. Leo let it go.

Leo opened for 200k and John raised it to 700k. Leo mucked.

Level 5 concluded and players took a short bio-break.

Play continued into

Level 6: Blinds 50k/100k.

Leo held ~4.73 million to John's ~2.95 million.

Leo opened for 250k and John raised to 750k. Leo moved all-in and John let it go.

John opened for 200k and Leo moved all-in. John let it go.

Leo opened for 250k and John moved all-in. Leo let it go.

Looked like a new theme was developing, then

John limped and Leo checked. Flop came J 5 2 rainbow. Both checked. Turn was a 4 and Let bet 130k. John folded.

Leo opened for 225k and John moved all-in. Let let it go and they're back in the groove.

Leo - 250k. John - all-in. Leo - fold.

John limped, Leo checked. Flop: J 6 5 rainbow. Check, check. Turn: 9. Leo bet 130k and John called. River: 7. Leo bet 335k and John folded.

(Kaelaine Minton reporting)

John opened for 125k and Leo called. On the flop of K 7 5 rainbow, Leo checked, John bet 300k, Leo asked what he had let, then moved all-in. John called all-in showing 86 off for the open-ender. Leo held KJ off for top pair. The last two came 8 4 and John rivered the straight to double up. He's got ~3.18 million to Leo's ~4.25 million.

Leo opened for 150k. John called. Flop came A K T rainbow. Both checked. Turn was a 3 and both checked. River was a 2 and John bet 200k. Leo folded.

Leo raised to 150k, John called. Flop came A J 4 rainbow. John checked. Leo bet 180k. John raised it up to 580k. Leo mucked.

Leo opened for 150k. John called. Flop came J 5 3 rainbow. Check, check. Turn was a 4. John checked, Leo bet 220k and John let it go.

John limped and Leo checked. Flop came K 5 2. Both checked. Turn was a 3 and Leo checked, John bet 100k, and Leo called. River was an Ace. Leo checked. John bet 200k and Leo let it go.

Leo again opened for 150k. John called. Flop came 8 8 2. John checked. Let bet 200k. John called. Turn was an Ace. John checked, Leo fired 420k. John tanked, then let it go.

Players took a short break. Leo's got 5.3 million to John's 2.3 million.

Play continued, still in level 5.

Leo opened for 200k and John called. The flop came Q 4 2 and John checked. Leo bet 290k and John called. Turn was the Q . Again John checked. Leo checked behind. River was the 3. John led out for 500k. Leo let it go and John gained some ground.

Leo opened for 200k and this time John kicked it up to 750k. Leo let it go.

John's turn to open for 200k. Leo called. Flop was J 4 3 . Leo checked, John bet 300k, and Leo called. Turn was the 8 and Leo checked. John checked behind. River was the T and they checked it down. Leo showed J 9 for a pair of Jacks and John mucked.

(Kaelaine Minton reporting)

John and Leo traded lots of small-ish pots back and forth with none going to showdown (and very few even going to the river). Then...

John completed the small and Leo checked. Flop came K T 6. Both checked. Turn was a 4. Leo checked, John bet 100k, and Leo called. River was a Queen. Both checked. John showed T8 suited for a pair of Tens. Good enough - Leo mucked.

A couple of hands later, John opened for 150k and Leo called. The flop came A 5 2 and Leo checked. John bet 300k, Leo raised to 925k, and John tanked. After a couple of minutes, he decided to let it go.

Leo's up to 5.4 million. John has ~2.3 million.

Leo opened for 125k and John called. Flop came Q J 5 and both checked. Turn was a 3 and John fired 150k. Leo called. River was a King. Both checked. John showed K6 for a pair of Kings -- good enough.

A few hands later, Leo opened for 125k and John called. The flop came K Q T and John checked. Leo bet 160k and John called. Turn was a 4. John checked, Leo launced a 420k salvo, and John called. River was a 2. John checked, Leo bet 930k. John tanked, then mucked.

Level 4 ran out and players took a ten. Leo's up 6.17 million to John's ~1.5 million.

Play resumed with

Level 5: Blinds 40k/80k.

John limped and Leo checked. Flop was Q 9 8. Both checked. Turn was a 7 and Leo bet 90k. John checked. River was a 2 and Leo checked. John bet 250k and Leo mucked.

(Kaelaine Minton reporting)

Play continued into

Level 2: Blinds 20k/40k.

Leo opened for 120k and John called. The flop came 8 7 2 and both checked. Turn was a Queen and again both checked. River was an 8, pairing the board and also putting three diamonds up. John bet 125k. Leo called, John patted the table in the universal "good call" gesture, and Leo showed J2 for a pair of ducks to take the pot.

Players took a short mid-level break, then got back to work. Leo was up to almost 5 million while John held ~2.7 million.

Leo won the first five hands after the break without a showdown. Then after Leo raised yet again, John three-bet to 350k. This time Leo let it go. John went on to take the next three pots without a showdown.

John completed the small blind and Leo checked. The flop came A K 6 with two clubs. Leo fired 60k and John raised ot 200k. Leo called. Turn was the J . Both checked. River was the 4 . Leo checked, John fired 450k, and Leo let it go.

Leo opened for 120k and John called. Flop came A 9 2 . John checked, Leo fired 160k and John called. Turn was the 8 . Both checked. River was the T . John bet 250k and Leo surrendered.

Play continued into

Level 3: Blinds 25k/50k.

Leo has about a 1.6 million lead over John.

Leo raised to 125 and John called. Flop came K Q 8. Both checked. Turn was a 2. Both checked. River was a 3. John checked, Leo bet 160k, and John called. Leo showed Q6 suited for a pair of Queens to take the pot.

(Kaelaine Minton reporting)

They began round two with 3.84 million chips each and

Level 1: Blinds 15k/30k.

On the second hand, John completed the small bind and Leo raised to 125k. John called and the flop came T 8 6 . Leo fired 160k and John called. Turn was the T and they both checked. River was the 2 and Leo bet 420k. John called, showing T9 off for trip Tens. Leo open-mucked his pocket Aces (with the A).

On hand #9, Leo opened for 90k and John called. The flop came A 9 6 rainbow. John checked, Leo fired 130k and John raised it up to 300k. Leo called. Turn was a 2 and John checked. Leo bet 420k, John shoved, and Leo snap-called. John held AK off for top pair, but was crushed by Leo's pocket 6s (set). River was irrelevant as John was drawing dead.

The stacks were very close and had to be counted down. Leo held 20k more than John, so Leo won round two and it was time for the rubber-game of the match.

Players began again with 3.84 million chips each and

Level 1: Blinds 15k/30k.

Things started out slowly this time, but Leo was building a chip lead.

John opened for 105k and Leo called. On the T 7 4 flop, Leo checked, John bet 175k, Leo kicked it up to 575k, and John tanked for a bit. He finally decided to let it go. Leo was up by about 2 million chips.

Leo opened for 90k and John called. On the flop of K 5 4 , John led out for 150k. Leo called. Turn was the 7 . John fired 250k. Leo raised to 725k. John tanked for quite a while, then let it go. Leo continued to add to his lead.

(Kaelaine Minton reporting)

Leo opened for 125k and John called. Flop came 8 7 6 rainbow and they both checked. Turn was a Ten and they checked again. River was a King and John bet 100k. Leo called and John showed 54 off for the flopped straight. Leo mucked.

Recent action brought Leo's lead down to about 800k.

On the last hand of level three, Leo raised to 125k and John three-bet to 375k. Leo called. Flop came J 7 3 rainbow. Both checked. Turn was an 8 and both checked again. River was a 7. John checked, Leo bet 425k. John tanked for a bit, then let it go.

Leo's lead is back up to ~1 million.

Play continued into

Level 4: Blinds 30k/60k.

Leo opened for 150k and John called. Flop was K 9 2 rainbow. John checked, Leo fired 190k, and John called. Turn was a 4 and both checked. River was a 3 and they checked it down. John showed QJ for top pair and Leo mucked.

Turning point of the match:

Leo opened for 150k and John called. the flop came K 8 3. John checked, Leo fired 180k, and John called. Turn was the 9 and John checked. Leo fired 420k and John raised to 2.42 million. Leo moved all-in and John snap-called. Leo held pocket Kings for top set. John held T 7 for the open-ender with flush draw. River was the 4 and John's flush was complete. He doubled up to over 6.7 million, leaving just under 1 million for Leo.

John raised and Leo shoved. John called, showing AQ suited. Leo was dominated with KQ suited. The board came 8 5 3 2 A and John took the pot and the first round of the match.

Players are taking twenty before beginning the second match.

(Kaelaine Minton reporting)

They've played about 50 hands already without any fireworks. Just before the end of the level, Leo opened for 120k on his button and John opted for the flat-call. The flop came 6 2 2 and both checked.

Turn was the T and John led out for 150k. Leo flats. River was the Q . John leads for 450k. Leo tanks for a bit, then calls, showing K T for a pair of Tens. John mucked his hand and Leo picked up a substantial pot, containing 720k of John's chips.

The second level came to an end and they decided on a 10 minute break.

Leo now has 5.465 million to John's 2.215 million. Play resumed with

Level 3: Blinds 25k/50k.

These guys have been tossing the button back and forth and decided on a $100 prop bet if the other player can land the puck in the WSOP logo. Must be 'all-in' the logo, none of that halfway stuff. Leo is apparently up one-nothing on John.

On a flop of A 3 2 rainbow, Leo checked, John bet 75k from the button, Leo check-raised to 260k and John thought for a bit, then called. Turn was a 6. Leo checked again and John fired 350k. Leo thought for a bit, then let it go. John got some of his chips back.

(Kaelaine Minton reporting)

They got the cards in the air shortly after noon. Players started with 3.84 million chips each and this will be a best two out of three format. Levels last forty minutes.

Level 1: Blinds 15k/30k.

With more than 120 times the big blind, there is no rush here. In the early action, both players were silent except for the occasional "raise" or "call". Then a hand came down where neither player had paired up at the river. John Duthie said "Queen" and Leo Wolpert tossed his cards face-down toward the dealer. Then he reached to grab them back and asked if John had a pair of Queens. No, John held Queen-high. Leo retreived his cards and tabled King-high to take the pot. The dealer glanced at the TD, who was right on top of the table. He nodded his approval and they moved on to the next hand.

"Thanks" Leo said, "for letting me un-muck. That's what I get for not playing more live." That seemed to break the ice and the two started talking more.

"You started the EPT, right?" Leo asked. "Yes" John replied. "Thanks for that" Leo said. Turns out Leo played the 2007 EPT Barcelona event. "How'd you do?" asked John. "I doubled up on the first hand". He went on to say that he didn't survive the first day.

From that point forward, there was a little more chatter. There have been a couple of all-ins, but no calls yet. John has made a little progress, moving up to 3.87 million, leaving Leo with 3.81 million. That's only a difference of 30k from where they started (that's one big blind). This could take a while, folks.

They continued into

Level 2: Blinds 20k/40k.

Final table best two-out-of-three match: