Tuesday, October 15, 2013 12:32 AM Local Time
The 2013-14 World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Southern Indiana Main Event has officially come to a close! After just over 29 levels it was Zal Irani who was able to overcome Michael Hahn heads up to take down the $106,103 in first place prize money and the gold WSOP Circuit ring. On top of that, Irani's victory has secured him a seat in the National Championship in May.
The day began with Robert Georato holding a commanding chip lead but that would all change rather quickly. After the early eliminations of short stacks Donald Crabtree and Allan Vrooman in ninth and eighth place respectively, Georato seemed to end up on the losing side of most of the showdowns. Shortly after Vrooman's bust out, Georato played a big pot with pocket jacks against Day 1A chip leader Sean Lippel's pocket queens. The two moved all the money in on the turn and Lippel's hand held, crippling Georato. Despite a double up the next hand, Georate was eliminated from play in seventh place.
Robert Geith fell in sixth place when he ran pocket nines into Irani's pocket aces before the flop. A few hands later pocket nines became the cards to end Nick Phillips' tournament as well. Phillips' nines could not improve against Lippel's pocket queens and he was eliminated in fifth place.
Four-handed play stretched quite some time with chips and the chip lead changing hands several times. Eventually, it was Ryan Jones who fell as the fourth place finisher. If four-handed play went on for a stretch, then three-handed play could easily be considered a marathon. The three competitors battled over two 75-minute levels until the match finally came to a head in a unique way.
During the hand in question, Irani moved all in on the river holding a rivered straight. Lippel announced what both Irani and the dealer heard as "Call," as he flashed pocket jacks for just a pair of jacks. As the dealer cut out Irani's chips to be counted down, Lippel yelled in a fervor that he announced "I can't call," as opposed to "call." The argument over the hand waged on for over fifteen minutes while the floor was called over and the tournament director was called for a specific ruling. Ultimately, the ruling was made in favor of Irani and he eliminated Lippel once the chips were counted down to reveal that Irani had him covered by just 20,000 in chips.
The heads up match between Irani and Hahn remained even for quite some time with neither player stringing together enough hands to clinch a dominating chip lead. The match came to a head when Irani flopped two pair and was able to fade Hahn's flush draw and outs for a higher two pair that he picked up on the turn. The match saw its final hand a few deals later with Irani coming out on top of a preflop all in confrontation.
Here is a closer look at the final table results from the Horseshoe Souther Indiana Circuit Main Event:
1st: Zal Irani - $106,103
2nd: Michael Hahn - $63,928
3rd: Sean Lippel - $47,647
4th: Ryan Jones - $35,194
5th: Nick Phillips- $26,422
6th: Robert Geith - $20,150
7th: Robert Georato - $15,608
8th: Allan Vrooman - $12,272
9th: Donald Crabtree - $9,793
That does it from the Horseshoe Southern Indiana tournament floor. The Circuit will see its next stop at Horseshoe Hammond so be sure to check back on WSOP.com for all of the latest updates!
Monday, October 14, 2013 11:49 PM Local Time
Soon after doubling up Zal Irani, Michael Hahn gets the rest of his stack all in before the flop.
Irani:
Hahn:
Arani is in a commanding position and calls to his rail for no queens. The flop comes clean with and Hahn stands up from his seat. The hits the turn and Irani is one card away from winning the Horseshoe Southern Indiana Main Event.
The river is the and Irani seizes the title, the money, and the seat to the National Championship.
Zal Irani - 6.02 million
Michael Hahn - eliminated in 2nd place for $63,928
Monday, October 14, 2013 11:43 PM Local Time
On a flop of , Michael Hahn bets 150,000 and Zal Irani raises to 300,000. Hahn moves all-in and Irani calls. They turn over:
Hahn -
Irani -
Irani flops two pair and Hahn has the diamond flush draw. The comes on the turn, giving Hahn a pair of aces but he ultimately cannot improve past that as the bricks out the river.
Monday, October 14, 2013 11:37 PM Local Time
Level: 30
Blinds: 40,000/80,000
Ante: 10,000
Monday, October 14, 2013 11:24 PM Local Time
Zal Irani limps his button and Michael Hahn checks from the big blind. The flop comes and both players check.
Fourth street brings the and Hahn check-calls a bet of 100,000. The finishes off the board and Hahn takes the lead for 160,000. Irani instantly announces an all in bet and Hahn goes into the tank.
Well over four minutes pass while Hahn ponders his action. Eventually, he mucks his cards and Irani takes down the pot.
Zai Irani - 3.245 million (54 BBs)
Michael Hahn - 2.775 million (46 BBs)
Monday, October 14, 2013 10:31 PM Local Time
Michael Hahn raises to 130,000 before the flop and Zal Irani announces that he is all-in. Hahn calls all-in for his last 1,775,000 and they turn over:
Michael Hahn -
Zal Irani -
The board runs out and Hahn makes aces and kings to double up.
Michael Hahn - 3,430,000 (57 BBs)
Zal Irani - 2,590,000 (43 BBs)
Monday, October 14, 2013 10:09 PM Local Time
Level: 29
Blinds: 30,000/60,000
Ante: 10,000
Monday, October 14, 2013 9:58 PM Local Time
On a flop of , Zal Irani checks and Michael Hahn checks it back from the button. The board pairs with the on the turn and Irani moves forward 100,000. Hahn calls and the river is the , putting two pair on the felt. Irani bets 300,000 and Hahn thinks for a moment before releasing his cards.
Zal Irani - 3.4 million (68 BBs)
Michael Hahn - 2.6 million (52 BBs)
Monday, October 14, 2013 9:35 PM Local Time
Monday, October 14, 2013 9:30 PM Local Time
After consulting with Tournament Director Charlie Ciresi, a decision on the previous hand has been reached. Since both the dealer and Zal Irani heard the phrase "Call" uttered and Sean Lippel's hand was tabled, the action was accepted as a call.
The chips are counted down and Irani's all in is for 1.22 million. Lippel holds 1.2 million in chips and is eliminated from play by a difference of just 20,000.
Zal Irani - 2.9 million (58 BBs)
Sean Lippel - eliminated in 3rd place for $47,647
Monday, October 14, 2013 9:20 PM Local Time
After a relatively quiet three-handed match with little action and few flops seen, drama has suddenly erupted at the final table.
The craziness began when Sean Lippel had the button and raised to 100,000. Zal Irani called from the big blind and the flop came down . Irani fired 100,000 and Lippel called. The turn brought the and Irani checked. Lippel moved 175,000 forward and Irani stuck around. The fell on the river and this is where the intensity began. Irani announced an all in bet and Lippel uttered a phrase that both Irani and the dealer perceive as "Call" and flashed his to the table. Irani tabled for a winning straight.
Irani tabled his cards and the dealer began counting out his stack. Lippel erupted in protest, announcing that he said "I can't call," and was showing the two jacks to show that Irani had outdrawn him on the river. The voices became louder and the discussion more heated as the two argued for a proper decision on the hand. The dealer insisted that she only heard "Call" and the floor was called over. Roughly three minutes of straight arguing occurred between the two players while the floor attempted to gauge information from the players and assess the situation.
Eventually, Michael Hahn chimed in and sided with Lippel, saying that Lippel said "I can't call."
"Of course you side with him," passionately remarked Irani to Hahn. "You're roommates!"
"That's why I wanted to stay out of it," quietly replied Hahn.
Tournament staff suggested that the players take a break while a decision is reached and that is exactly where we are at this moment. Despite the break in play, each player continues to feverishly argue their point to both their supporters and surrounding tournament staff. Updates will follow immediately after a decision is reached.
Monday, October 14, 2013 8:39 PM Local Time
Zal Irani (left), Sean Lippel and Michael Hahn at the Horseshoe Southern Indiana Circuit Main Event final table.
Monday, October 14, 2013 8:22 PM Local Time
The final three players are back from their ten-minute break. They will return to 25,000/50,000 with a 5,000 ante.
Monday, October 14, 2013 8:21 PM Local Time
Level: 28
Blinds: 25,000/50,000
Ante: 5,000
Monday, October 14, 2013 8:08 PM Local Time
On a board of , Zal Irani bets 100,000 and Michael Hahn raises to 300,000. Irani moves all-in and Hahn calls. They turn over:
Irani -
Hahn -
The turn is the and the river comes the . Hahn misses his straight and flush draws and ships 940,000 over to Irani.
Zal Irani - 2,150,000 (54 BBs)
Michael Hahn - 1,420,000 (36 BBs)
Monday, October 14, 2013 7:47 PM Local Time
Sean Lippel raises to 110,000 from the small blind and is called by Michael Hahn in the big blind. The flop comes and Lippel checks. Hahn bets out 100,000 and Lippel makes it 250,000.
Hahn calls the 250,000 and the turn is the . Lippel fires 250,000 and Hahn calls once more. The river is the and Lippel checks. Hahn thinks for just a moment before moving all-in. Lippel mucks and Hahn takes the pot.
Michael Hahn - 2,500,000 (63 BBs)
Sean Lippel - 2,050,000 (51 BBs)
Monday, October 14, 2013 7:11 PM Local Time
Michael Hahn gets all-in before the flop for his last 825,000 with against the of Sean Lippel.
The board runs out and Hahn pairs his king to win the pot and double up.
Michael Hahn - 1,685,000 (42 BBs)
Sean Lippel - 2,715,000 (68 BBs)
Monday, October 14, 2013 6:53 PM Local Time
Level: 27
Blinds: 20,000/40,000
Ante: 5,000
Monday, October 14, 2013 6:43 PM Local Time
The board reads and Michael Hahn checks. Zal Irani moves 100,000 forward and Hahn calls.
The river is the and Hahn checks once again. Irani fires 100,000 more and Hahn calls. Irani rolls over for two pair and wins the pot.
Zal Irani - 1.9 million (63 BBs)
Michael Hahn - 1.3 million (43 BBs)
Monday, October 14, 2013 6:36 PM Local Time
Sean Lippel raises to 70,000 before the flop and Ryan Jones three-bets to 160,000. Lippel thinks for just a few moments before making it 300,000 to go. Jones moves all-in and Lippel immediately calls all-in for 1,425,000. They turn over:
Sean Lippel -
Ryan Jones -
The board runs out and Lippel takes the massive pot with his pair of kings.
Sean Lippel - 2,900,000 (97 BBs)
Ryan Jones - 15,000 (1/2 BBs)
Left with just three antes, Jones was eliminated on the very next hand in 4th place for $35,194.