5/31/2012 8:44:34 PM PST
Congratulations to Leif Force, Winner of Event 3: $3,000 Heads Up NLH/PLO ($207,708)

The final round of nine matches has concluded in Event 3, $3,000 Heads Up No Limit Hold'em/Pot Limit Omaha, at the World Series of Poker. Leif Force has claimed his first WSOP bracelet and 207,708 reasons to party after defeating Jason Koon in a short heads up battle.
The day began with eight players returning and they matched up like this:
Quarterfinal Matchups
| Jason Koon | vs | Annette Obrestad |
| Simeon Naydenov | vs | David Benefield |
| Julian Powell | vs | Gregg Merkow |
| Leif Force | vs | Andy Frankenberger |
Koon advanced over Obrestad, Naydenov advanced over David Benefield, Powell advanced over Merkow and Force bested Frankenberger to move on.
The match of Powell vs. Merkow took almost all three hours allotted for each session. Powell defeated Merkow with only 15 minutes remaining in the hour so the start of the semifinal matches were pushed back an additional 15 minutes to allow for a break.
Semifinal Matchups
| Jason Koon | vs | Simeon Naydenov |
| Leif Force | vs | Julian Powell |
Force never cashed in any of his rebuy lammers during his match against Powell and stayed in control of the match. After Powell cashed in his final lamer he opened to 40,000 and Force made it 120,000 to play. Powell called and the flop came
and Force quickly put Powell all in. Powell folded and his last hand came ten minutes later when Force made a better two pair during the PLO round.
Koon took a six-to-four chip lead in a hand where he made top pair and Naydenov had middle pair. That loss forced Naydenov to cash in both his rebuy lammers. Koon then crippled Naydenov when he paired his ace and Naydenov had pocket sixes. Koon finished off the Naydenov after hitting a pair of nines on the river when Naydanov had only ace high.
The championship match between Force and Koon lasted less than four full levels. Force took an early lead in the opening two levels and stretched his chip lead to 1.1 million to 300,000. At the start of the third level Koon cashed in his first rebuy lammer.
Koon evened things up when he got all in during the Hold'em round holding pocket jacks. Force called with
but Koon flopped a set and rivered a full house.
Force then got felted holding king high when Koon had a king high with a higher kicker. Force then used just one rebuy lammer to continue play.
Just minutes later Force evened things up again when he rivered a flush during PLO. Then took a big lead when he made two pair and Koon missed every draw imaginable.
The last hand happened with just a few minutes remaining in the fourth level. They saw a flop of
, Force shoved and Koon called.
Force:

Koon:

Koon was ahead with two pair but the
turn gave Force a flush draw. He prayed for a club and the dealer delivered with the
. Force claimed his first WSOP bracelet and over $200,000.
5/31/2012 8:36:57 PM PST
Jason Koon Eliminated in 2nd Place ($128,660)

It was painful, but at least it was quick for Jason Koon.
The last hand came about when the two players saw a 

flop. Force tried to force Koon off his hand but he called all-in.
Koon: 


for two-pair.
Force: 


for a pair of eights.
Force needed running cards to win and when the turn came
he commented, "Wow, that was a good card for me!"
He clenched his hands together, almost looking like he was praying as the river was revealed as
to make his flush! It gave him all the chips and the coveted WSOP bracelet.
Congratulation to Jason Koon on getting oh so close to his first bracelet. He'll be back, that's for sure.
| Leif Force | 4,068,000 | 2,034,000  |
| Jason Koon | 0 | -2,034,000  |
5/31/2012 8:10:35 PM PST
"Give Us A Wave"
If you spent anytime at a Final Table last year when the Brits were out in force on the rail then you know how loud they can be. They are just getting warmed up singing "Give Us A Wave" and "Take Your Shoes Off." The clanging of bottles fill the dead air when they're not singing.
5/31/2012 8:08:17 PM PST
Pot Limit Omaha
The game has switched back to Pot Limit Omaha.
5/31/2012 8:07:42 PM PST
Level 4 started
|
Level:
|
4
| |
Blinds:
|
20000/40000
| |
Ante:
|
0
|
|
5/31/2012 8:06:49 PM PST
Force Cashes Lammer

Jason Koon opened the button with enough to put Leif Force all in. Force called and the hands were tabled.
Koon:

Force:

The board ran
and Force was felted. He opted use one his rebuy lammers and still has one behind. Both players have cashed one lammer in at this point.
5/31/2012 8:01:04 PM PST
Double Force
Leif Force decided not to take his lammer and try his luck with his 72,000-chip stack.
He shoved with 
and Koon called with 
.
The board ran 



.
Force's queen-high was good for a double-up.
5/31/2012 7:56:38 PM PST
Koon Doubles Up

Leif Force opened for 60,000 and Jason Koon re-raised to 160,000. Force moved all in and Koon snap called.
Koon:

Force:

The board ran
and Koon's full house evened things up.
5/31/2012 7:54:04 PM PST
Announcer Getting Grief from the Rail
One of the Brits on the rail, Sam Grafton, has been giving our announcer some grief.
"Come on mate, make it interesting. I'm falling asleep over here!"
"Make it sound more colorful like 'Koon stares at his opponent, reaches for chips, dressed like Bono'." was an example of what he was shouting.
5/31/2012 7:49:27 PM PST
No Limit Hold'em
The game has switched back to No Limit Hold'em and Koon has cashed in one of his rebuy lammers.
5/31/2012 7:48:43 PM PST
Level 3 started
|
Level:
|
3
| |
Blinds:
|
15000/30000
| |
Ante:
|
0
|
|
5/31/2012 7:39:56 PM PST
Force Streching Out
Leif Force has about a 1.1m to 300k advantage (first lammer) over Jason Koon after his latest pot-win.
Koon limped in and called when Force raised to 60,000. The flop came 

and Force continued for 80,00. Call.
Both players checked the
turn before Koon folded to a 160,000 bet on the
river.
5/31/2012 7:39:13 PM PST
Two Small Ones for Force
Jason Koon won a pot with a big four-bet pre flop, and then Leif Force won two small ones.
Force three-bet to 150,000 off the big blind and then made a pot-sized bet on the 

flop. Koon called the first bet but folded on the flop.
The next hand Force raised to 50,000 and Koon called. The flop came 

and Koon called a 60,000 c-bet. The turn came
and 175,000 bet from Force was too much for Koon to handle.
5/31/2012 7:28:11 PM PST
Pot Limit Omaha
They have switched to Pot Limit Omaha for this level.
5/31/2012 7:27:34 PM PST
Level 2 started
|
Level:
|
2
| |
Blinds:
|
10000/20000
| |
Ante:
|
0
|
|
5/31/2012 7:23:51 PM PST
Force Off to Good Start
Leif Force has gotten the better of the early exchanges. He four-bet all-in and then won a pot that made it to the river.
Jason Koon opened to 25,000 and Force defended to see a 

flop.
Koon continued for 32,000 and Force check-called before both players checked the
turn. The river fell
and Force took the pot with a 40,000 as Koon folded.
5/31/2012 7:18:56 PM PST
Join Us in the Thunderdome
A large collection of pros are starting to fill in the seats at the ESPN Main Stage. We've spotted Tom Marchese, Chris Moorman, Scott Clements, Sam Grafton and Amit Makhija are all in attendance to rail Jason Koon.
5/31/2012 7:07:42 PM PST
Level 1 started
|
Level:
|
1
| |
Blinds:
|
6000/12000
| |
Ante:
|
0
|
|
5/31/2012 7:05:53 PM PST
Final Match Set to Begin
The best floorman in the business, Robbie Thompson, is making the introductions and we should be underway shortly.