The largest live six-handed tournament in history played out at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP). The field in Event #16 ($1,500 No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed) numbered 1,663 and, when the smoke cleared, PocketFives.com member and North Carolina native Carter Bdybldngpkrplyr Phillips came out on top for $482,000. The cash was Phillips’ first at the WSOP. The 21 year-old is the sixth youngest World Series of Poker bracelet winner ever.
Phillips can now add a WSOP bracelet to his chest of accolades, which also includes a European Poker Tour (EPT) title. Phillips came out on top in the EPT Barcelona Main Event last September for over $1.2 million. He compared his WSOP and EPT runs to officials following his bracelet win last night: “This was one of the toughest fields I have ever played. The second table I had was the toughest field I have ever had at any tournament. I think the EPT is a little softer than the deeper fields in these tournaments. This is especially true in the 6-max because all the best players come out.”
Third place in the NLHE six-handed event went to Craig HU4ROLLZBergeron (pictured). In his final hand, Bergeron was all-in with pocket sevens and in prime shape to double up against Phillips’ J-7 of spades. However, a jack hit on the flop and no help came on the turn or river, sending the Michigan native home $189,000 richer for his efforts. Ironically, Bergeron and Phillips are close friends and have both had success on the EPT. Bergeron took third in EPT Deauville in January for $312,000 and won a preliminary event in Dortmund one year ago for $158,000.
Here’s how the final six cashed out in Event #16:
1. Carter BdybldngpkrplyrPhillips – $482,774
2. Samuel Gerber – $298,726
3. Craig HU4ROLLZBergeron – $189,661
4. Hugo Perez – $124,690
5. Russell Thomas – $84,256
6. David Diaz – $58,483
Steven Gee took down the second open $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament (#13) on the 2010 WSOP schedule, besting a field of 3,042 players. Finishing tops among members of the online poker community was Nicholas SalamanderHeather (pictured), who landed in fourth place and earned $149,000. Heather came out on the short end of a race for his tournament life with pocket deuces against Matt Vance‘s A-7 when the flop came A-6-8. Heather picked up a flush draw on the turn, but the river blanked out and he was relegated to the rails.
Jeffrey kidwhowonGross and Jared TheWacoKiddHamby finished fifth and eighth, respectively, in Event #13 and cashed for $109,000 and $46,000. Gross was eliminated after running A-J into pocket queens, while Hamby was dismissed after his pocket nines could not hold up against A-K. Here’s how the final leaderboard looked in Event #13:
1. Steven Gee – $472,479
2. Matthew Vance – $292,232
3. David Baker – $206,813
4. Nicholas SalamanderHeather – $149,702
5. Jeffrey kidwhowonGross – $109,621
6. Daniel Thomas – $81,203
7. Kyung Han – $60,833
8. Jared TheWacoKiddHamby – $46,077
9. Mats Gavatin – $35,290
Several PocketFivers remain in the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event (#17). Eighteen players are left standing after two days of action and the winner will pocket a colossal $818,000. Jason TheMasterJ33Dewitt (pictured) sits high above the chip counts at 1.8 million, well ahead of former EPT champ Jeff yellowsubWilliams’ and DoylesRoompro Amit amak316Makhija’s mounds of 1.3 million. Pros like Victory Poker‘s Antonio Esfandiari and bracelet winner Perry Friedman are also left standing:
1. Jason TheMasterJ33DeWitt – 1,873,000
2. Jeff yellowsubWilliams – 1,323,000
3. Amit amak316Makhija – 1,317,000
4. Paul badpab2Foltyn – 1,246,000
5. Samuel Trickett – 945,000
6. Antonio Esfandiari – 883,000
7. James croll103Carroll – 637,000
8. Joshua Cooper – 475,000
9. Jesse Chinni – 400,000
10. Joshua Macciello – 385,000
11. Peter Gilmore – 380,000
12. Perry Friedman – 361,000
13. Nico behlinhoBehling – 352,000
14. David Benefield – 326,000
15. Manelic Minaya – 300,000
16. Veronica Dunn – 252,000
17. Anthony drunkpplayaGargano – 233,000
18. Dragan Galic – 226,000
Will a member of PocketFives.com claim the fourth bracelet of 2010 in the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament? Stay tuned to find out. Check out our partial list of PocketFives.com member cashes.