After four months of waiting, the much anticipated final table action of the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event have played out and left Joe Cada as the youngest ever World Series of Poker champion. The 21 year old walked away with a total of $8,546,435 along with the coveted World Series of Poker Main Event world championship bracelet.
Within just two and a half hours of heads up play, Cada was able to eliminate Darvin Moon, the 46 year old logger from Maryland. It was not without a fight though. One hour into the action, Moon was able to use aggressive play to establish a 100 million chip lead on Cada. Cada was able to catch some luck with a rivered straight though, and then a little later won a very decisive hand in which Moon had moved all-in. Moon was riding on a straight draw and Cada was able to take the massive pot with a pair of 10s and 9s. The final hand came down to an all-in preflop hand, Cada holding pocket 9s and Moon holding Q-J suited. Again, two pair favored Cada as the board ran out 8-2-7-K-7, and it was all over for Moon. Moon received $5,182,601 for his second place finish.
Cada, a Shelby Township, Michigan resident, traded in community college for the art of playing cards and hasn’t looked back since. Prior to the Main Event he already had a considerable amount in poker winnings and two cashes in the 2009 WSOP. His recent win, unexpected by many, is certainly something that most young poker players only dream about. Cada stated, “I’ve dreamed of winning this tournament, and to do it the first year out of the gate is unbelievable. This is just amazing.”
Winning the Main Event has already brought about several opportunities for Cada, including a signing with Team PokerStars PRO. He will be joining the likes of Chris Moneymaker, Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, and Peter Eastgate, last year’s WSOP Main Event champion.