Ralph "Rep" Porter outlasted a field of 1,236 players to win Event #9 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em'/Six Handed) and capture his first World Series of Poker bracelet, something he's been chasing since before the world knew the name Chris Moneymaker.
The Washington state based poker pro began the final table third in chips, but two crucial pots against chip leader Michiel Brummelhuis gave Porter a sizable lead over the table and sent Brummelhuis packing in 6th place.
Porter quietly maintained his chip-lead until he was three handed with two fellow pros, 30-year-old Nathan Templeton and 24-year-old Devin Porter (no relation). The younger Porter briefly took over the chip lead but sent it all back when his A-J failed to overtake Rep's pocket tens in a crucial pre-flop race. The pot left Devin with less than two big blinds and he was eliminated on the very next hand, leaving Rep a 2.7 to 1 chip lead as he began the heads-up match against Templeton.
On just the fourth hand of heads-up action Rep called an all-in reraise from Templeton and found himself in great shape, holding K-Q over Templeton's K-9. The board failed to improve Templeton's hand and the Tennessee-based poker pro was eliminated in second place, earning $231,981.
"It's great. I've been trying to win one of these for a little while," Rep said, noting that over the past few years he's cashed ten times in WSOP events, including a runner-up finish in a WSOP Circuit event, a final table finish in 2006 and a 39th place finish in the 2007 Main Event.
Porter banked $372,929 for the win and said he'll be back for another 10 to 12 events, maybe even tomorrow's Event #16 ($2,000 Omaha Hi/Lo).