Martin Finger
German pro Martin Finger overcame 805 others – one of the biggest fields yet at this year’s edition of WSOP – to win his first WSOP bracelet and $506,764 in cash winning event #21, $3K 6-max NL HE.
By Thursday evening, the third day of play, the field was eventually reduced to the final six. The final table started at blind level 25: 12,000 – 24,000; 4,000 antes. The top three: Martin Finger, Andrew Dean, and Matt Stout were pretty evenly stacked at 1,807,000, 1,729,000, and 1,624,000 respectively. David Pham was in fourth with 1,089,000 in chips, followed by Nikolai Sears at 582,000 and Matt Berkey at 395,000. On hand 3, Dean doubled up Stout when, as cheap leader, he did not manage to stare down Stout’s JJ preflop that called Dean’s six-bet all in. The jacks held like they should in 80% of these situations and Dean was knocked down from cheap leader to shortstack. Five hands later, it was Stout again with the dominating hand that showed Dean the door this time. Calling Stout’s raise all in for the remaining 40,000 in chips on 10
6, Dean was less than thrilled to see Stout’s J
6, which went on to further dominate on the 7J
6 board and saw him out after the 8 turn and 3 river. Andrew Dean received $62,458 for finishing sixth.
On hand 16, Nikolai Spears, who by then had just a little over 20 big blinds left, woke up holding a monster, K
K. Making a 2.5xBB opening raise, he snap-called a shove from Berkey, who held 1010. Flopping an open-ended straight draw as J, 9, and Q were dealt out, he grabbed the lead on the turn with 8. Only needing to fade one of the two remaining tens on the river, he secured himself at least fourth place pay eliminating Sears in 5th, for $89,402, when 2 completed the board.
David Pham was to hit the rail next. Twelve hands into the four-hand play, he three-bet all in a raise from Martin Finger for 696,000 holding pocket tens. Finger hesitated, but eventually called on KQ. The players headed roughly even into the postflop and maintained parity on the 24 flop. 8 “turned” things for the worse for Pham, who was suddenly fishing for a ten or four to stay alive. He was eliminated with the A river and took home $131,679 for his fourth-place finish.
The three remaining players, Finger, Stout, and Berkey, headed into the three-way action with 3.3, 2.4, and 1.5 million respective chip counts. The slugfest continued for about thirty hands when Berkey, finding himself holding 99 and facing a raise from the button from Stout, believed in his hand enough to re-raise and then call the five-bet shove. Ace on the 52A flop gave Stout’s AK the lead that the subsequent 8 and Q could not overcome for Berkey. Berkey bowed out in third, collecting a handsome $199,733.
Thus, Stout and Finger went into the heads-up play, Stout holding and almost 4:1 lead at 5,745,000 vs. Finger’s 1,480,000. Stout held the chip lead for the next 90 hands but could never quite find a move to put Finger away. Finger was not as courteous when the tables turned and, as soon as he managed to inch ahead of his opponent, finished Stout off almost immediately. On hand #157, at blind level 30, each player having just about 40 big blinds, Stout had the button and raised on A7. Martin Finger came over the top on QQ, to which Stout four-bet all in. Finger snapped him off and Stout did not find his Ace as the board ran out 49JKK, bringing Finger his first WSOP championship, a bracelet, and $596,764. Matt Stout had to put up with second place and the $313,370 cash prize.