For those of you who are not familiar with 8-Game Mix, this is the game of the true poker pro. Consisting of a rotation of 8 games (Fixed Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball, Fixed Limit Texas Holdem, Fixed Limit Omaha High/Low, Fixed Limit Razz, Fixed Limit Seven Card Stud, Fixed Limit Seven Card Stud High/Low, No Limit Texas Holdem, Pot Limit Omaha), this is where players have to good at 8 different games to be successful.

With a $2,500 buy in, Event #8 attracted 388 player, creating a $882,700 prize pool with $225,104 going to the winner! Despite having one of the smallest fields among the WSOP events, the level of talent playing in this event was definitely higher per capita than most other events!

For every final table there is someone who will always just miss getting there and this time it was 9th place finisher Travis Pearson. The elimination took place in a rotation of good old fashion No Limit Holdem and it was Travis Pearson who was eliminated first. Chipleader Steven Wolansky opened the action to 18,000 from middle position and got re-raised by Eric Crain from the cut off to 35,000. After it folded around to Travis in the small blind, he shoved all in for his remaining 135,000. Wolansky gave up his hand but Crain decided to look him up and called with A  K . Pearson tabled T T and they were off to the races. On a 5 Q T flop, it seemed like the race was over, but while Pearson was still cheering his luck, a J hit the river, stunning the table. Pearson still had a lot of outs to catch on the river, but a 3 sealed the deal and left Pearson with a glimpse of the final table and $16,118 in his pocket.

This was the picture going into the final table:

Steven Wolansky – 715,000 chips

Michael Malm – 525,000 chips

Eric Crain – 490,000 chips

Greg Mueller – 325,000 chips

Michael Hurey – 295,000 chips

Dario Alioto – 230,000 chips

Marco Johnson – 90,000 chips

Mike Wattel – 73,000 chips

An interesting fact about this final table – all eliminations happened while playing Holdem or Omaha and 6 out of nine players were eliminated playing either No Limit or Fixed Limit Holdem.

Not surprising that the first elimination also happened on a rotation of No Limit Holdem. This time the casualty was Marco Johnson. Marco shoved for 74,500 over a raise from Greg Mueller and after some though Mueller decided to call, showing A Q , this was good news for Marco who showed A A . The good news didn’t last long though, as the queen appeared right in the window and the rest of the board ran dry. And just like that Marco was out in 8th place, but $20,699 richer!

Next up was short stack’s Mike Wattel’s turn as he was down to a critically low stack. On a rotation of Omaha Eight or Better Greg Mueller raised from UTG and it folded around to Wattel in the big blind who called. On a flop of 3 7 T Wattel check – raised flop for his remaining chips. Mueller called and showed A 4 2 J for a strong low draw but no high made. Wattel was slightly ahead with 2 3 J 5 for a high pair but a much weaker low draw. The turn brought even more suspense as the K hit the board. The river dealt a final blow to Wattel as the A rolled out, giving Mueller a flush and a better low. With that Wattel left the table pocketing $26,966 for his efforts.

Short stacks did not have much luck at this final table and the next elimination was brought once again by a rotation of Omaha Eight or Better. On a J 2 5 flop Eric Crain and Dario Alioto re-raised each other until the cap was reached at which point Dario was almost all in. On a A turn Dario moved all in but was quickly called by Eric who tabled 8 8 4 3 for  a made wheel, while Dario got counterfeited badly with A K 9 3 and needed a lot of help to stay alive. Unfortunately for him, the river bricked and he was out in 6th place which was good for $35,634.

Next it was Michael Hurey who was on the ropes with a shrinking stack. In a rotation of Limit Holdem he only had 5 big bets to work with and was in the big blind. Steven Wolansky opened the action from the button and Michael decided to commit to the pot, re-raising straight away. Unfortunately for him it Wolansky was going nowhere as he gladly raised on. Eventually all of Hurey’s chips were in the middle but his A 7 was in bad shape against Steven’s pocket aces. The board didn’t bring Hurey any help and he departed in 5th place.

After some time without eliminations, it was Eric Crain who lost a substantial amount of chips and was headed for a final stand. Eventually he got it in pre-flop with A 4 on a rotation of Limit Holdem against Wolansky who was holding A K . The flop brought Wolansky a pair of kings which sealed the deal and Eric was out in 4th, earning $64,975.

Greg Mueller was playing solid but after running into some unpleasant pot’s he too was on the brink of elimination. Once again it was Wolansky who dealt the final blow. On a board of 3 8 6 9 , both players got it in, but Mueller got unlucky on the turn, where his T 8 was now behind Wolansky’s A 9 . The river did not bring any help and last year’s runner up in this very same tournament was eliminated.

Heads up between Malm and Wolansky went on for quite some time with momentum swinging from one player to the other, but eventually it was a rotation of No Limit Holdem that sealed the deal. Wolansky raised pre-flop from the button to 48,000 and Malm 3-bet to 124,000 which was called by Wolansky. On a K 9 T flop players got it in very quickly and Malm was the first to smack K K on the table. Wolansky looked disgusted slowly turning over K Q . The turn brought the best possible card for Wolansky, the A , but the river bricked and the tournament was over. Congratulations to Michael Malm for navigating such a tough field!

Final Table Payouts

1 Michael Malm $225,104

2 Steven Wolansky $139,034

3 Greg Mueller $89,673

4 Eric Crain $64,975

5 Michael Hurey $47,771

6 Dario Alioto $35,634

7 Mike Wattel $26,966

8 Marco Johnson $20,699