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July 17th 2006
WSOP Update: Epic heads-up H.O.R.S.E battle brings fitting end to greatest ever WSOP tournament
This was the WSOP event the world had been dreaming of. Ever since Harrah’s scheduled the $50,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E event for this year’s WSOP people have been whispering that this could be the greatest WSOP event in history, and that the winner could truly be proclaimed the world champion of poker. Sure enough, the H.O.R.S.E event was everything the world was hoping for, and more.
When I last wrote about the H.O.R.S.E event it was 4:30am on Friday and play was still in full swing with 18 players battling it out for a place on the final table. Play continued until 9am that morning, before the unfortunate Robert Williamson III was knocked out in tenth place, and the remaining nine players could get some well earned rest.
Unsurprisingly the final table was a collection of some of the best and best known players in the world, with 37 WSOP bracelets between them. They would begin play with the following chip counts:
1) Chip Reese - $1,756,000 – (Regular at “The Big Game” in the Bellagio and considered by many of his peers to be the greatest cash game player alive). SEAT 3
2) Doyle Brunson - $1,227,000 – (Regular at “The Big Game”. Holder of 10 WSOP bracelets, WSOP main-event winner in 1976 & 1977). SEAT 2
3) Andy Bloch - $934,000 – (MIT & Harvard graduate, Full Tilt Poker Pro with over $1 million in tournament winnings). SEAT 5
4) Phil Ivey - $885,000 – (Regular at “The Big Game”. Holder of 5 WSOP bracelets. 6 WPT final tables & over $6 million tournament earnings. Aged just 27 Ivey is already considered by many to be the greatest living poker player). SEAT 9
5) Jim Bechtel - $841,000 – (1993 WSOP winner with over $1 million in career tournament earnings). SEAT 1
6) David Singer - $745,000 – (3 WPT final tables & over $1.3 million career tournament earnings). SEAT 7
7) Dewey Tomko - $438,000 – (3 WSOP bracelets, twice WSOP main-event runner-up, 34 WSOP cashes and over $2.5 million in tournament earnings). SEAT 4
8) T.J. Cloutier - $351,000 – (6 WSOP bracelets, twice WSOP main-event runner-up, 48 WSOP cashes and over $5.5 million tournament earnings). SEAT 6
9) Patrik Antonius - $13,000 – (EPT winner & WPT runner-up with over $1.5 million tournament earnings). SEAT 8
Before play began it was already clear that the younger players had a big edge. Playing till 9am (a 19 hour session) had been a big ask for the older generation; Jim Bechtel and Dewey Tomko both said they had misread their cards in the last few hours of that marathon session.
With only a maximum of 8 hours rest behind them they would have to be careful as, with the final table being exclusively no-limit Texas Hold’em (as oppose to the mix of limit games played up to this point), the stakes were now much higher: one mistake could cost them their entire stack.
First out was Patrik Antonius. The young Finnish sensation had lost a big pot to Chip Reese on the final hand of Day Two and was desperately shortstacked. He managed to make one double-up but ended up pot-committed on his big blind and called all-in with A-4. Chip Reese’s 8-8 stood-up and Antonius was out in ninth, with $205,920 compensation.
Next out was the legendary Doyle Brunson. Brunson had begun second in chips and was a good bet to make the final three at least, but he lost a number of big pots early in the day and with them a large chunk of his chip stack. Whether or not the previous day’s long session had anything to do with it we won’t know until the TV coverage is aired, but twice Brunson made a huge raise on the flop only to muck his cards immediately upon being re-raised. Those two hands cost him over $750,000 in chips and he then lost a coin-flip with K-J all-in against T.J. Cloutier’s 9-9. He was crippled with less than $100k in chips, and was quickly knocked out when all-in with J-6 on the big blind.
Brunson was followed by another of the old guard in Dewey Tomko. Tomko admitted the 9am session the day before had taken it out of him, saying: “I'm exhausted; I didn't get any sleep at all. I drank so much tea yesterday and (couldn’t get to sleep) - too much caffeine. I'm not used to it any more. I used to do (long sessions) all the time but not any more.” He ended up all-in with 8-8 against Andy Bloch’s Q-Q and the help he needed never arrived.
David Singer was the fourth player eliminated. He had moved up to second in chips at one point, but then fell victim to a string of unlucky beats to slip below $300,000 chips. He eventually moved all-in under-the-gun with As-Ts and was called by Chip Reese with J-J. The jacks held up and Singer was eliminated in sixth place, pocketing $411,840).
T.J. Cloutier was next to go. He had been unable to build upon a moderate chip stack and didn’t have enough chips to frighten Andy Bloch when he made a $100,000 preflop raise. Bloch pushed all-in with T-T and Cloutier decided to call. When the cards were on their backs Cloutier’s 7-7 was a big underdog, and the board didn’t help. He made $480,480 for fifth place.
With four players left Chip Reese was way out in front, but Andy Bloch went a long way to narrowing the gap by eliminating Jim Bechtel in fourth place. Again it was Bloch’s T-T that defeated an opponent’s 7-7. This time Bechtel had raised from the button, and when Bloch re-raised from the big blind it looked to Bechtel like Bloch thought he was on a steal. Bechtel re-raised all-in and Bloch called, with his pocket tens standing up to win him a huge pot. Bechtel took down $549,120 for fourth spot.
Down to three players and Phil Ivey was in trouble. Both Bloch and Chip Reese were at the $3 million mark, with Ivey well behind on $885,000. And it proved decisive. Bloch’s deep chip stack enabled him to call a preflop raise with 5d-4d and gave him the confidence to call an all-in by Ivey on the flop containing two diamonds. Ivey was ahead with middle pair, but the ace of diamonds on the flop gave Bloch the flush. It also gave Ivey two pair, and a re-draw to a full house, but the river was a blank and Ivey was out in third place. He collected $617,760.
Given the previous day’s marathon 19 hour session it was perhaps surprising that it took just 2 ½ hours to reach the heads-up stage of the final table. While this may have had a lot to do with the fact that the final table was no-limit Hold’em only, it didn’t prevent Chip Reese and Andy Bloch playing out the longest heads-up match in WSOP History.
Reese and Bloch battled for over seven hours before a winner was finally produced. In that time they played some terrific poker, with Bloch taking the initial advantage after adapting his play brilliantly to the aggressive style of Reese.
With a 3:1 chip lead the tournament appeared to be Bloch’s when the two player got their chips in the middle on a flop of 7h-4c-3h. Bloch’s 7-2 was ugly, but it was still top pair, and in the face of Reese’s T-5 it looked decidedly prettier. Still, the 6d on the turn gave Reese an unlikely straight and another lease of life.
Reese began to claw his way back into the game, and made a number of key double ups, first with A-T against K-J, and then with K-K against Bloch’s 9-9. Another big pot later and the two players were almost even in chips.
Cue the deciding hand. After a few hours of trading the chip lead Reese, marginally behind in chips, check-raised Bloch all-in on a flop of 9s-8d-3d. Bloch decided to make the call with 9-7 (top pair) and Reese turned over Kd-6d for the flush draw. It would come down to a coin flip.
Reese won, with the 5d falling on the turn. It gave him an insurmountable lead and tournament would finish shortly after.
11 hands later the terminally short-stacked Bloch called Reese’s all-in with 9-8. Reese turned over A-Q and the board blanked out the give Reese the bracelet with an ace high.
It was perhaps a shame that Bloch should see his challenge end in a coin-flip, but it was also a fitting end to an historic confrontation. After all, the two men had demonstrated they were inseparable. A coin-flip was perhaps the only way to split them apart. Like a football game decided by penalties, it was harsh, but inevitable. It was only a shame there had to be a loser at all.
Still, Bloch can rest assured that his part in that battle will never be forgotten. Speaking after the event he said: “I’m exhausted and a little disappointed but Chip put up a tough fight. It was a great battle. I figured I’d win one of the races but it didn’t work out.” Bloch pocketed $1,029,600 for second spot. Reese collected the $1,784,640 first prize.
Submitted: 17/07/2006 11:59:59
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