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March 31st 2006
Mike Simon wins WPT World Poker Challenge
Mike Simon, a relative unknown four days ago, has been catapulted to poker fame with his win in the WPT World Poker Challenge from the Reno Hilton.
Despite suggestions from this writer that Barry Greenstein was the clear favourite to capture the title after day three (Greenstein was second in chips and had by far more final table experience than all the other players put together) things didn’t go quite to plan for the former WPT winner.
In fact on just the fourth hand of the final table Greenstein was fatally crippled when both he and chip leader Mike Simon flopped a set of eights. Simon’s ace kicker was good enough to win the hand, and Greenstein was eliminated five hands later, picking up $85,370. No doubt, like he has done with all his previous tournament winnings, the incredibly generous Greenstein will donate every penny of the prize to charity.
It took a while for he next player to go, a further 85 hands in fact, but after that the pace was relentless. Jonas Norrman qualified online for this event for just $6.40 and will have been ecstatic to make the final table. He will, however, doubtless be devastated by the way in which he was knocked out, after his pair of queens were beaten on the river by Jason Stern’s two-pair. Still, he received $113,830 for fifth place, not a bad return on $6.40.
Just seven hands after Norrman’s elimination it was the turn of former professional hockey player Greg “FBT” Mueller. He got all his money in with A-8 but Mike Simon’s K-Q found another K and Q on the board, and that was enough to end it for Mueller. He won $142,285 for fourth place.
It appeared the players were in a hurry at this point, and it just moments later that Tom Schneider took his leave of the table. He moved all-in with K-3 from the small blind on a semi-bluff/steal, only for Jason Stern to make a gutsy and courageous call from the big blind with A-2. The better hand held up, and Schneider walked away with $256,115 for third.
Reaching the heads-up stage seemed to calm things down a bit, and Stern and Simon played over fifty hands before the title was settled. With Stern left pretty short stacked after Simon flopped a ten when all-in with J-T against Stern’s Q-J, the two were all-in again a few hands later: this time Simon had K-4 and Stern J-8. When a jack hit on the turn it looked like Stern was right back in the contest, but a king fell on the river to hand the title to Simon. Stern picked up $529,300, with Simon pocketing the first prize of $1,052,890.
Submitted: 31/03/2006 11:54:21
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