WSOP

WSOP

Event #48 ($2,500 LHE 6-max) of the WSOP played down to a winner Friday night. That winner was Marco Johnson, of Walnut Creek, California, who was finally able to clinch his first career WSOP bracelet, after three second place finishes. In addition to the gold bracelet, Marco won $206,786 for besting the 343 entrants.

Day 3 of play began with 12 contenders split between two tables. Among those 12 players was David “Bakes” Baker, however he was unable to make it to the final table, instead finishing in 10th place. After about three hours of play, the seven-player unofficial final table was ready when Mike Watson’s
A5 failed to hold up against Johnson’s QJ, and he was eliminated in 8th place with $19,430 in winnings. The chip counts as the remaining seven continued play:

1. Maria Ho – 620,000
2. Marco Johnson – 410,000
3. Juha Helppi – 385,000
4. Jeff Thompson – 380,000
5. Mike Schiffman – 370,000
6. Danny Warchol – 320,000
7. Danny Le – 105,000

Marco Johnson, winner of WSOP Event #48

Marco Johnson, winner of WSOP Event #48

None of these players had ever won a WSOP event before, so whoever prevailed would become a first-time winner. Danny Le’s days were numbered, as he had less than a third of the chips of his next closest competitor. He was eliminated in 7th place when his 44 was outflopped by Mike Schiffman’s AQ, and the official final table was set to begin. Le took home $19,430 for his 7th place finish.

Maria Ho had seen her stack dwindle continually since they got seven-handed, and she went from being the chip leader to the short stack within an hour. Finally, she got her last chips in the middle in a multiway pot. Her K9 failed to improve, and she lost the showdown to Juha Helppi’s middle pair. Maria Ho was knocked out in 6th place, earning $26,858.

About an hour and a half later, a large pot played out. Marco Johnson open-raised, and Mike Schiffman three-bet. Johnson called, and the two players went to a flop of A56. Schiffman bet out, and Johnson called. The turn came the T, and when Schiffman barrelled, Johnson raised him all-in. Schiffman made the call with the A6 for two-pair . Johnson turned over the TT for a turned set. The river changed nothing, and Schiffman was sent packing in 5th place with $38,905.

Next was Danny Warchol’s turn. He lost a large pot to Jeff Thompson and was in trouble. Warchol tried to fight back, and he won a few small pots, but then he raised all-in and got called in three spots. Warchol’s A8 did not hit the board, and Johnson made trips to knock him out. Danny Warchol exited the tournament in 4th place, winning $44,457.

Johnson seemed to dominate three-handed play, winning pot after pot. At one point, he held over 75% of the chips in play. But it was Jeff Thompson who wound up knocking Juha Helppi out. First, Thompson moved Helppi off his hand on the turn in a four-bet pot. Then a few hands later, all three players saw a flop for three bets, with Helppi all-in. Thompson bet out on the K52 flop, and Johnson folded. The two remaining players showed their hands:

Thompson: JJ
Helppi: 44

Helppi needed to hit a 4 or runner-runner straight to win, but the Q turn and 7 river were no help to him. Juha Helppi left the final table in 3rd place, receiving a prize of $82,956.

In heads-up play, Marco Johnson quickly won a nice pot with KK that went to showdown and was best. Johnson followed this up by spiking top pair on the flop in a four-bet pot. Then, he was fortunate enough to make a winning pair on the turn with his T9. Jeff Thompson was on the ropes at this point, and would have needed extraordinary luck to come back from a huge deficit.

While we have seen incredible comebacks and valiant upsets a number of times at this year’s WSOP, this was not destined to be one of those times. In the final hand of the tournament, Thompson raised on his button, Johnson reraised, and Thompson called. The flop was 583, and Johnson led out with a bet, which Thompson called. The turn came the 7, and Johnson bet again. Thompson counted his chips and went into the tank. He finally raised, and Johnson reraised him for the rest of his chips. Thompson made the call. Thompson revealed the A6 for an open-ended straight draw, while Johnson had A5 for a pair of fives. The 7 river changed nothing, and Thompson had to settle for 2nd place and a $127,801 payout.

After turning in a stellar performance over three days of play, Marco Johnson was rewarded with the bracelet and $206,796. This was his first WSOP win, after finishing second in events in 2008, 2012 and earlier this year. The complete final table winnings were:

1. Marco Johnson – $206,796
2. Jeff Thompson – $127,801
3. Juha Helppi – $82,956
4. Danny Warcol – $55,457
5. Michael Schiffman – $38,095
6. Maria Ho – $26,858