2009 WSOP Final Table Recap - Latest News fro

After months of speculation and anticipation, the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event kicked off Saturday afternoon.  Darvin Moon led a stacked final table in the chase to the last bracelet of 2009.

While each player had their supporters, no player at the final table had more support than pro Phil Ivey.  This was Ivey's first WSOP Main Event final table and he was the odds on favorite to come back and win it, although he was the third shortest in chips to start.

Akenhead and Schaffel Fall Early

James Akenhead started the final with the shortest stack at 6.8 Million.  He was able to double up early after his K-Q outdrew the A-K of Eric Buchman.  However, the double up did not last long.  He soon found himself all-in with pocket threes and far behind the pocket nines of Kevin Schaffel.  Schaffel made nines-full by the river and Akenhead was the first eliminated, taking home $1.26 Million in prize money.

Kevin Schaffel then took a major bad beat that resulted in his elimination.  He was all-in pre-flop with pocket aces and Eric Buchman made the call with pocket kings.  Buchman was hoping to hit a two outer to knock out Schaffel.  Not only did Buchman hit one of his two out, he hit them both.  The flop fell with a king to give Buchman a set of kings and the turn fell to give him quads.  Schaffel headed out of the tournament area to collect his $1.3 Million prize.

Phil Ivey Eliminated in 7th

Phil Ivey never really got much going at the final table.  He was able to double his stack, but only through blind stealing.  His double up did not last long and he dwindled dwn to around 6.3 Million in chips.  Ivey found his potential double up hand against Darvin Moon, but it was not meant to be.  Ivey moved all-in with A-K and Moon called with A-Q.  The entire arena started chanting "Ivey, Ivey, Ivey" in an attempt to will him to a double up.  Their chants became silence when a queen hit the flop to put Moon in the lead.  The turn and river failed to bring a king, and Phil Ivey finished in 7th place.  Ivey took home $1.4 Million but he would much rather have the bracelet.

As an interesting side note, Ivey was back online within an hour of busting and playing in high stakes mixed games on Full Tilt Poker.  His quote, "Back to work."

Moon Gets Lucky Again

Darvin Moon played amazingly tight for long stretches at the final table, but when he did play, many times luck was on his side.  In a hand against Steven Begleiter, Moon chose the wrong time to push with A-Q and Begleiter woke up with pocket queens.  Moon was a 3 to 1 underdog to win, but that did not seem to matter.  The flop and turn missed both players, but the river delivered an ace and sent Begleiter out the door.  Steve Begleiter took home $1.58 Million for his 6th place run.

Shulman Loses Race

Jeff Shulman was the short stack with five players left and put his last 5.8 Million at risk with pocket eights.  Antoine Saout called with A-9 and proceeded to hit a nine on the flop.  Saout's pair of nines were good enough to send the Phil Hellmuth coached Shulman out in 5th place.  Shulman received $1.95 Million for his efforts

Buchman Crippled, Doubles, and Busts

Eric Buchman went the gambit of emotions in three short hands.  First, he moved all-in pre-flop with A-Q against Antoine Saout and Saout made the call with A-K.  Kings on both the flop and turn doubled up Saout and crippled Buchman, leaving him with less than 10 Million in chips.  Then a few hands later, Buchman moved in with K-10 and was called by Darvin Moon holding A-7.  A king on the flop doubled Buchman up to 23 Million and put him back in contention.  Instead of slowing down a bit, Buchman kept the pressure on, moving all-in on the next hand after a raise from Moon.  Moon called with Kd-Jd and Buchman held Ad-5c.  The flop missed both players, but a king fell on the turn to give Moon a pair of kings.  A five on the river ended Buchman's roller coaster ride and sent him packing in 4th place.  Eric Buchman took home $2.5 Million for a strong effort.

From Penthouse to Outhouse in Two Hands

Antoine Saout held the chip lead with three players left at 80 Million.  Joseph Cada was the short stack with 39 Million.  In two short hands, fortunes would change and result in Saout's elimination.  Cada four-bet all-in pre-flop and was snap-called by Saout who was holding pocket queens.  Cada was holding pocket deuces.  Things looked good for a Saout-Moon heads-up final, but the flop changed things when a deuce hit.  A queen failed to come on either the turn or river and Cada was now in the chip lead with 78 Million.

A few holdem hands later, Saout shoved all-in pre-flop for 47 Million over the top of a raise from Cada.  Cada made the call holding Ad-Ks and found himself racing against Saout's pocket eights.  The flop and turn missed both players, but since suckouts were the norm on this final table, one was bound to occur on this hand.  Sure enough, the Kc hit the river to give Cada a pair of kings and send Saout out in 3rd place.  Antoine Saout received $3.47 Million for his 3rd place finish, but is likely still stinging from the bad beat.

Moon vs. Cada For the Whole Shebang

Joe Cada will face Darvin Moon Monday night at 9 P.M. PST and play heads-up for the WSOP Main Event title.  Cada takes a lead of 135 Million in chips to heads-up play, while Moon will start with 58.85 Million.  Play will continue until the bracelet has been awarded.  Will Cada be able to seal the deal or will the "Suckout Express" be able to make his way back and take the $8.54 Million back to Maryland?

Be sure to check back with PokerJunkie.com as we bring you the recap from the action at the final table of the WSOP Main Event.

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