This was the ever first tournament of this type at the WSOP: no blinds and an option to bring in for the smallest chip in play, but players ante every hand. Greg Hobson outlasted a field of 939 players to claim the bracelet and $256,691 in cash.
The extra chips in play put the action into the next gear and the field moved at the pace not seen at regular tournaments: the initial 939 was reduced to 110 by the end of the first day and the final nine were decided by the end of the second after just eight levels of play.
Here are the final table chip counts.
Eugene Du Plessis 996,000
Mike Sowers 824,000
Seth Davies 640,000
Greg Hobson 608,000
Harrison Gimbel 325,000
Justin Schwartz 252,000
John Hayes 229,000
Mike McDonald 205,000
Sameer Aljanedi 167,000
Justin Schwartz was on the receiving end of the first elimination when, after six players brought in for 1,000 only to be reraised to 24,000 by Greg Hobson, Schwartz moved all in on A
K
for 285,000. Hobson called and showed A
A
. The 2JQ gave Schwartz hope to catch Broadway and get out of trouble, but the 27 turn and river ended it for him. Justin finished ninth and received $18,292.
Sameer Aljanedi was the next casualty when he decided to squeeze from late position on A9. Greg Hobson, who started the action was the only caller, but had a better ace, AQ. It was smooth sailing for Hobson when he paired his queen on the QK7 flop: the 4 turn and 5 did not change matters and Aljanedi was sent out in eighth for $23,343.
Seth Davis got crippled by a bad beat losing an all in on pocket queens against A6 and was eliminated in the next hand when he pushed the last of his stack on A8. Gimbel called on K9 and paired his king on the 3K1035 board, sending Davies home in seventh for $30,373.
Mike McDonald ended being sandwiched between a raiser and a re-raiser with a suited ace and chose to call Hayes’ all in for his tournament life on A9. Hayes tabled 1010 and left McDonald searching for a runner runner when he flopped a top set on the 3510 board. 5on the turn gave Hayes a nut full house and knocked Mike McDonald out in fifth place for a $39,931 payday.
Eugene Du Plessis was the next elimination. He moved all in on AK and got the call from Hobson with AQ. The 10Q4 flop gave Hobson an overwhelming advantage with a pair and flush draw and 7 on the turn sealed the deal for him. Du Plessis was eliminated in fifth place, picking up $53,267 from the cashier.
Harrison Gimbel lost all of his chips in a postflop clash with Mike Sowers. Holding A3he moved all in when A on the turn that followed the 36J flop gave him two pair. To his dismay, he realized he was crushed when Sowers called and showed A6 for a higher two pair. The 9 finished the board and Gimbel was knocked out in fourth place, worth $72,155.
Hayes was eliminated on the very next hand, three-betting all in his 77 on the K26 flop. Sowers was his opponent with K8. He called with no hesitation and achieved back-to-back eliminations when the board ran out 49. Hayes collected $99,409 for his third place showing.
Sowers and Hobson went into heads-up with even chipstacks, but Hobson quickly took the initiative and soon achieved a commanding 3:1 lead. Finally, he clinched the victory calling Sowers’ all in on 77. Sowers had A7 and Hobson only needed to fade an ace to prevail. The board was dealt out 9K598 and the players shook hands, Sowers taking home the runner-up’s $158,887 and Hobson taking the rest of the prize money, $256,691, and the WSOP bracelet to go with it.