TOURNAMENT HEADLINESBang! Bang! Bang! Josh Tieman Wipes Out Three Consecutive Tables and Wins No-Limit Hold’em ShootoutChicago Poker Pro Collects First Gold Bracelet and Banks $441,692No-Limit Hold’em Shootout Attendance Rockets Up 28 Percent over Last YearOVERVIEW
The Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Shootout concluded tonight with Joshua Tieman as the last survivor. He won first–place prize money totaling $441,692 and the game’s most coveted prize – the WSOP gold bracelet. Tieman overcame a brutally tough field of 358 players who each posted the $5,000 entry fee en route to a career-first WSOP victory. Tieman is a 27-year-old poker pro from Chicago, IL. This was his 10th time to cash in the WSOP – all since 2006. His best previous showing was a third-place finish in a No-Limit Hold’em event played that first year. Tieman also made the final table of the $1,500 buy-in Shootout last year – finishing ninth. The Six-Handed Shootout format required that players defeat all players at their respective table(s), which means advancing the next round. Tieman, the tournament champion, ended up winning three consecutive matches en route to the victory. That might sound easy, but given the quality of competition, many tables ran long and lasted up to 12 hours. Among those who cashed were former WSOP gold bracelet winners Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Max Pescatori, Blair Hinkle, and Dario Minieri. Attendance for this event increased by 28 percent over last year – 280 entries in 2009 versus 358 in 2010.
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ABOUT THE CHAMPION – Josh Tieman
The $5,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em Shootout champion (Event #6) is Josh Tieman, from Chicago, IL.Tieman is 27-years-old.Tieman is pronounced TEA-MAN.Tieman is a graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University. He earned his degree in Business Administration with a minor in economics in 2005.Tieman is a professional poker player. He has been playing full time since 2006.Tieman lives on Chicago’s north side, near Wrigley Field.Tieman spends more time playing online poker than playing in live tournaments. However, he has an impressive record of cashes in major tournaments, particularly the WSOP. Tieman’s first recorded cash took place in 2005. He stated that his first time to win money overall at the WSOP (after entry fees and expenses) came last year. Tieman estimates that he cleared between $5,000 and $10,000 in profit at the 2009 WSOP. Tieman now has 10 WSOP cashes, three final table appearance, and one win. His career WSOP winnings now total $591,089. Tieman collected $441,692 for first place. He was presented with his first WSOP gold bracelet.WINNER QUOTES:On what winning the WSOP gold bracelet means: “It’s definitely a huge breakthrough. I feel like I’ve been playing really good poker since the first time I came out to the World Series in 2005. I’ve had some success but have never really had that breakthrough cash….I didn’t want to leave (this year) a loser, and now I can say I’m a winner in Vegas.”On playing against three British players at the final table: “I did notice some accents. I know some people think of players from some countries (playing in a certain way). Like the Swedish countries, their guys are super aggressive. But I did not have any ideas about British players and how they would play exactly.”On being patient and waiting for the right moment, particularly during short-handed play: “I play a lot of No-Limit heads up. I was not sure how much experience the others had. I just wanted to remain patient and wait for my spots. I waited five years to win the gold bracelet. I can certainly wait a few more hours.”On his route to victory, defeating all opponents in three successive shootouts: “I lost about a third of my stack in the first two rounds before I ever won a hand. The first round, I was short stacked most of the way but just hung around. Then, when it got three-handed I started picking up some hands. In the second round, that was the longest and most grueling. I could not get a read on one of the players and I was not picking up hands….but I won a big hand and then gained some momentum and then won after a few more hours.”On what winning a gold bracelet early at the WSOP means: “I was already planning on playing in a lot of events this year. I have been working on my mixed games. I’m still feeling my way out in those games, especially for the $10,000 (buy-in level). I think I’m pretty good, but the competition is going to be really tough. So, I do not plan on jumping right in. But I will play some smaller events….Just making the final table allows me to basically pay for my whole World Series….It’s a great start. I was happy to just make the final, but to win it is really exciting.” On meeting the goal of winning a WSOP gold bracelet: “I set the goal to win a bracelet at this year’s WSOP. I would have been happy to make a final table. I like to set my goals high. Maybe after today, I should now set my goals a little higher.”THE FINAL TABLE The final table consisted of no former WSOP gold bracelet winners. This guaranteed a first-time champion.The final table was truly an international poker competition, pitting the United States against Great Britain. Three of the six finalists were Americans. Three were British.Two of the finalists were from the Chicago area – Josh Tieman and Joseph Elpayaa. Two of the players were from London – Neil Channing and Nicolas Levi.The final table began six-handed.Final table participants ranged in age from 21 to 42.The runner up was Neil Channing, from London, England. Channing now has 21 WSOP cashes and more than $600,000 in career winnings in Las Vegas. Channing, one of England’s top pros, also cashed in this event last year (30th place). He also final-tabled an event the first year of WSOP Europe in 2007.Channing’s name increasingly gets mentioned on the short list of players who have paid their dues in the game, but have yet to win a gold bracelet. When reminded of this following his second-place finish in a post-tournament interview, Channing snapped: “I think I deserve a gold bracelet, but all I get are these $10 food vouchers. I have like 600 ten-dollar food vouchers at my house!” Channing commented afterward: “I’m a min-casher. I cash a lot in the middle. I don’t play the mixed-games that much. When it comes to poker, I’m down in the trenches. I play with 2,500 or 3,000 people every day. Last year, I played 25 events and I made 11 Day Twos. And that was the events with like 1,500 players or more. For 36 straight days I came to the Rio each day thinking this is going to be a long day. It’s hard work.” When Nikolay Evdakov set the record with ten cashes at the 2008 WSOP, he broke the previous record for most cashes in a single year, which had previously been eight. That same year, Neil Channing had nine WSOP cashes, which is the second most ever.The third-place finisher was Stuart Rutter, from Birmingham, England. He previously won the Grosvenor Poker Tour main event, earlier this year.The fourth-place finisher was Joseph Elpayaa, from Forest Park, IL. He is 21-years-old. This was his first time to play at the WSOP.The fifth-place finisher was Nicholas Levi, from London, England. This marked his seventh time to cash at the WSOP.The sixth-place finisher was Brent Hanks, from Las Vegas, NV. He is a former teacher-turned poker pro. Hanks writes a poker blog for Bluff Magazine.The final table officially began at 2:00 pm and ended at 6:30 pm. Clocking in at 4.5 hours, this was the quickest final table of the year, so far.OTHER IN-THE-MONEY FINISHERS The top 36 finishers collected prize money. To cash, players were required to win their first table (round one). Former WSOP gold bracelet finishers who cashed in this event included – Blair Hinkle, Keven Stammen, Dario Minieri, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson and Max Pescatori. Two recent WSOP Main Event finalists (“November Nine”) cashed, including David “Chino” Rheem from 2008 and James Akenhead from 2009.John Duthie, who helped to create the European Poker Tour, cashed in this event.With his cash in this tournament, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson now has 61 in-the-money finishes. This currently ranks third on the all-time list, five finishes behind Men “the Master” Nguyen and 14 behind Phil Hellmuth.Peter Traply, from Hungary, was the winner last year. The defending champion played again this year, but did not cash.ODDS AND ENDSThis is the 836th gold bracelet event in World Series of Poker history. Note: This figure includes every official WSOP event played, including tournaments during the early years when there were no actual gold bracelets awarded. It also includes the 11 gold bracelets awarded at WSOP Europe (to date).The final table was played on the so-called secondary ESPN stage (which is actually just as nice and some might say more spectator friendly than the main stage). The official WSOP gold bracelet ceremony takes place on the day following the winner’s victory (or some hours later when the tournament runs past midnight). The ceremony takes place inside the Pavilion Ballroom, which is the expansive main tournament room hosting all noon starts this year. The ceremony begins at the conclusion of the first break of the noon tournament, usually around 2:20 pm. The national anthem of the winner’s nation is played. The entire presentation is open to public and media. Video and photography are permitted by both public and members of the media.Tieman requested that the national anthem of United States be played at his WSOP gold bracelet ceremony.EVENT HISTORYNo-Limit Hold'em has been the only game included on the WSOP schedule every year since its inception in 1970. Six-Handed games and tournaments were largely created by the online poker craze. Some players prefer shorter-handed games, and Six-Handed poker naturally evolved from this interest. Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em debuted at the 2005 WSOP.There is only one former winner of this event (at the $5,000 buy-in level) – Peter Traply. There are five former winners of this event at the $1,500 buy-on level.Attendance for this event increased by 28 percent over last year – 280 entries in 2009, versus 358 in 2010.TOURNAMENT PLAYThe tournament was played over three consecutive days, from June 1-3, 2010. A “Shootout” means the objective is to win all the chips at a table in order to advance to the next round. On Day One, the tournament began with 358 players competing in what amounted to 36 mostly six-handed Sit n' Gos (tables varied due to the odd number of players). One player from each table (the winner) progressed to play in the second round. On Day Two, those 36 winners were divided into six tables, each playing a six-handed Sit n' Go. The six winners from the second round progressed to Day Three to take seats at the final table -- which was played six-handed. Essentially, the winner of the tournament was required to win three consecutive rounds. Players who won the first round were guaranteed prize money. Players who won the first and second round made it to the final table. The player who won three rounds won the gold bracelet.Shootouts emphasize short-handed poker skills. This generally requires competitors to play cards out of the standard range of starting-hand requirements. It also makes post-flop skill paramount to victory. In a sense, each round is a “final table” for all the competitors since the objective is to accumulate chips and eliminate opponents.The final hand of the tournament came when Neil Channing moved all in pre-flop with . He was snap-called by Josh Tieman, who showed . The final board ran out , which gave Tieman a straight and his first WSOP victory.The tournament officially began on Tuesday, May 30th at noon. The tournament officially ended on Thursday, June 3rd, at 6:30 pm.2010 WSOP STATISTICS Through the conclusion of Event #6, the 2010 WSOP has attracted 8,450 total entries; $15,514,050 in prize money has been awarded to winners.Through the conclusion of Event #6, the nationalities of winners have been:United States (4)Canada (1)England (1)Through the conclusion of Event #6, the national origin (birthplace) of winners has been:United States (3)Vietnam (1)Canada (1)England (1)Through the conclusion of Event #6, the ratio of professional poker players to semi-pros and amateurs who have won gold bracelets is as follows:Professional Players (4): Michael Chow, Michael Mizrachi, Praz Bansi, Josh TiemanSemi-Pros (0): NoneAmateurs (2): Duc Pham, Aadam Daya -- by Nolan Dalla