Nov 7 2011
WSOP November Nine: And Then There Were Three
written by: Will under News Comments: Comments Off
After months of anticipation, last night’s reconvening of the World Series of Poker November Nine was everything fans could’ve hoped for, with exciting action lasting well into the night and a boisterous rail cheering the competitors on. When play concluded for the day, only Martin Staszko, Pius Heinz and Ben Lamb remained.
Sam Holden was the first to face elimination when he ran into Ben Lamb’s A-K offsuit on the 51st hand. Holden pushed all-in with A-J suited, but Lamb had the better kicker when an ace came on the flop. The turn was a queen, giving Lamb a flush.
Anton Maklievskyi was then booted just eight hands later. He initially seemed strong when a K-J-J flop improved his K-Q offsuit. Pius Heinz was holding pocket nines, however, and another 9 on the turn created a full house. The elimination gave Heinz an enormous chip lead that would end up lasting through the remainder of the night.
Bodih Bounahra, the oldest competitor at the final table by a wide margin, was next to go. He brought A-5 offsuit to showdown against Staszko’s A-9 offsuit. The board provided no help to either player, sending Bounahra to the rail $1.3 million richer.
Next up was Ireland’s Eoghan O’Dea, who pushed all-in with Q-6 offsuit before the flop. Staszko called with pocket 8s. Another garbage board failed to improve any hands, an O’Dea hit the rail with $1.7 million.
Fan favorite Phil Collins of the U.S. dropped out on the next hand when he pushed all-in with A-7 suited. The flop came down 6-5-4 rainbow, giving Collins some hope for a straight. Heinz once again held pocket 9s however, and a 9 on the turn gave him a set. An 8 on the river would have secured the pot for Collins, but a 7 came instead. Collins received almost $2.27 million.
The final elimination for the night was delivered to Matt Giannetti, who held A-3 offsuit against the pocket kings of Ben Lamb. Lamb scored quad kings on the K-K-Q flop, forcing Giannetti to settle for fourth place and $3 million.
Heinz, Lamb and Staszko will resume play on Tuesday to compete for the $8.7 million first-place prize and the most prestigious title in poker.
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