Monday, June 27, 2011 3:33 PM Local Time
Boom! Ship it to Ben Lamb, winner of Event #42: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, a whopping $814,436 and his first-ever World Series of Poker gold bracelet!
The field size in this championship event was 361 players and coming into Day 3, Ben Lamb was on the top of the pack with 38 players remaining. The money bubble was set at 36, which meant everyone was in for a long Day 3. After ten levels of play on Sunday, the returning field was whittled down to just four players and again it was Lamb on top of the pack. From there, Lamb was able to maneuver himself to victory and take down the title.
First, Lamb was able to eliminate Christopher King in fourth place. Lamb was able to flop a flush on King's aces and hold from there after all of the money went in preflop. King earned $273,575 for his finish while Lamb extended his lead even more.
The aggressive Finn Sami Kelopuro was then able to find a double through John Shipley when three-handed. After doubling through the Brit, Kelopuro then eliminated Shipley shortly thereafter. Shipley took home $369,575 for his finish and the heads-up battle was set between Kelopuro and Lamb.
When heads-up play began, Lamb held the lead with 6.65 million in chips to Kelopuro's 4.18 million. Right away, Lamb was able to extend his lead and move over seven million in chips. From there, Kelopuro battled back to nearly even. He then took the lead from Lamb, but not by much as the two were virtually deadlocked. Lamb rebounded well and stole the lead right back before the final hand came up.
Kelopuro held the and Lamb the on the board when all of the money went in. The river completed the board with the and gave Lamb a straight to win the tournament. Kelopuro was eliminated in second place for $503,173.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|
| 1 | Ben Lamb | $814,436 |
| 2 | Sami Kelopuro | $503,173 |
| 3 | John Shipley | $369,575 |
| 4 | Christopher King | $273,575 |
| 5 | Dario Alioto | $204,113 |
| 6 | John Kabbaj | $153,517 |
| 7 | Cory Wood | $116,359 |
| 8 | Josh Tieman | $88,873 |
| 9 | Hans Winzeler | $68,410 |
Congratulations to all of the winners and especially to Ben Lamb for taking down Event #42 here at the 2011 WSOP! Be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all of our continuing coverage of the Series straight from the floor and thanks for following along in this one.
Monday, June 27, 2011 3:22 PM Local Time
Sami Kelopuro opened to 240,000 on the button and Ben Lamb defended his big blind.
The flop came down and Lamb check-called a bet of 275,000. The hit the turn and Lamb checked again. Kelopuro fired 675,000, to which Lamb responded by raising the pot. Kelopuro took a deep breath before re-raising all in, getting a quick call from Lamb.
Kelopuro:
Lamb:
Kelopuro, with top two pair, had a lot of outs to fade as Lamb held massive draws to a wheel and a flush. He got there with a wheel on the river when the fell, eliminating Kelopuro in second place.
Monday, June 27, 2011 3:15 PM Local Time
Ben Lamb raised with the button, Sami Kelopuro called, and the flop came down . Both players checked.
The two checked again after the turned, and Kelopuro knuckled a third time when the fell on the river. Lamb tossed out 300,000, and Kelopuro called.
Lamb fanned for kings and jacks, Kelopuro mucked, and Lamb retook the chip lead.
| Ben Lamb | 5,600,000 | 500,000  |
| Sami Kelopuro | 5,100,000 | -500,000  |
Monday, June 27, 2011 3:11 PM Local Time
Sami Kelopuro had the button and opened to 200,000. Ben Lamb defended, and the flop fell . Both players checked. Lamb check-called 250,000 from Kelopuro when the turned, and check-folded after the hit the river.
| Sami Kelopuro | 5,600,000 | 925,000 |
| Ben Lamb | 5,100,000 | -925,000 |
Monday, June 27, 2011 3:08 PM Local Time
Ben Lamb had the button and raised to 230,000. Sami Kelopuro defended his big blind, and the flop fell . Both players checked.
The turn was the , and Kelopuro led for 275,000. Lamb called.
The river was the , Kelopuro led again - this time for 745,000 - and Lamb again called.
Kelopuro tabled for the wheel, and won the pot.
| Ben Lamb | 6,025,000 | -1,125,000 |
| Sami Kelopuro | 4,675,000 | 1,125,000 |
Monday, June 27, 2011 3:01 PM Local Time
Sami Kelopuro had the button and raised to 200,000. Ben Lamb defended his big blind, and the flop came down . Lamb checked, Kelopuro tossed out 225,000, and Lamb check-raised to 600,000. Kelopuro folded, and Lamb took down the pot.
| Ben Lamb | 7,150,000 | 500,000 |
| Sami Kelopuro | 3,550,000 | -500,000 |
Monday, June 27, 2011 2:54 PM Local Time
| Ben Lamb | 6,650,000 | 250,000 |
| Sami Kelopuro | 4,180,000 | 970,000 |
Monday, June 27, 2011 2:50 PM Local Time
Sami Kelopuro opened to 200,000 on the button, Ben Lamb folded from the small blind, and John Shipley pushed his entire stack forward from the big blind. The bet was too much however - he was only allowed to raise to 650,000 - but Kelopuro instantly re-potted, and Shipley called.
Kelopuro:
Shipley:
The dealer fanned , giving Kelopuro a leading pair of queens. Shipley needed help, and the on the turn only made things worse - it gave Kelopuro a redraw to a flush, taking away outs from Shipley.
The bricked on the river, eliminating Shipley from the tournament in 3rd place. He stood up to shake his opponent's hands, and is off to the cage to collect some cash - $369,575 to be exact.
Monday, June 27, 2011 2:41 PM Local Time
John Shipley raised to 250,000 on the button. Sami Kelopuro re-raised the pot to 850,000 from the small blind and Ben Lamb folded from the big blind.
Shipley thought it over for about a minute before four-betting all in, resulting in a quick all-in call from Kelopuro.
Kelopuro:
Shipley:
The flop came down , to which Kelopuro commented, "Not bad." The turn was as safe as can be for Kelopuro, only needing to dodge a jack on the river to survive.
The river delivered the , securing the double for Kelopuro.
| Sami Kelopuro | 3,210,000 | 1,360,000 |
| John Shipley | 810,000 | -1,790,000 |
Monday, June 27, 2011 2:33 PM Local Time
| Ben Lamb | 6,400,000 | 0 |
| John Shipley | 2,600,000 | -450,000 |
| Sami Kelopuro | 1,850,000 | -305,000 |
Monday, June 27, 2011 2:29 PM Local Time
Sami Kelopuro raised to 200,000 on the button and Ben Lamb three-bet to 700,000 from the small blind. Christopher King went all in from the big blind for about 1.1 million, getting Kelopuro to fold. Lamb called and the hands were revealed.
King:
Lamb:
King was in a good spot to double, but Lamb took control of the hand when the flop rolled out to give him a flush. King was drawing dead when the hit the turn, making the river irrelevant.
After King wished his tablemates good luck, Lamb turned to Kelopuro and said, "All diamonds, eh?"
"When you're blessed, you're blessed," John Shipley added with a grin.
| Ben Lamb | 6,400,000 | 2,065,000 |
| Christopher King | 0 | -1,350,000 |
Monday, June 27, 2011 2:21 PM Local Time
Sami Kelopuro opened to 230,000 on the button, and Ben Lamb and Christopher King called from the blinds. The flop fell , and the action checked to Kelopuro who continued for 400,000. Lamb announced, "one-point-three million," King mucked, and the action was back on Kelopuro.
He too folded his cards, and Lamb took down the pot.
Monday, June 27, 2011 2:11 PM Local Time
Christopher King (from the big blind) called a John Shipley cutoff raise and saw an flop fall.
Both checked to see the turn where King fired 250,000. Shipley raised it to 1,050,000, forcing a quick fold from King.
| John Shipley | 3,050,000 | 345,000 |
| Christopher King | 1,350,000 | -295,000 |
Monday, June 27, 2011 2:03 PM Local Time
Level: 29
Blinds: 50000/100000
Ante: 0
Monday, June 27, 2011 12:45 PM Local Time
Here we are again, another stellar event at the 2011 World Series of Poker is down to the wire. This one, Event #42: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, has four players remaining. Leading the charge after Day 3 and into Day 4 is Ben Lamb with 4.335 million in chips.
This is Lamb's second final table here at the 2011 WSOP. Earlier this Series, Lamb took second place to 24th-place finisher in this event Sam Stein. For his runner-up finish in that event, Lamb earned $259,918. This run is Lamb's tenth WSOP cash and third WSOP final table. In 2009, Lamb made a super deep run in the WSOP Main Event, finishing 14th for $633,022.
John Shipley from England sits in second place with 2.705 million in chips. Shipley has 13 WSOP cashes on record, making this his 14th. He has five WSOP final tables previously and his best finish on record in a seventh-place finish in the 2002 WSOP Main Event that was won by Robert Varkonyi., Shipley took home $125,000 for that finish, the second largest score of his career. Already guaranteed nearly $275,000 here, this is now the second largest score of his career.
Sami Kelopuro has no WSOP cashes on record, but that doesn't mean he's a complete rookie. Kelopuro has played several WSOP events, just hadn't had the run he needed to make the money. He's making this one count though, as the young Finn finds himself in the final four of one of the most elite tournaments during the Series. He's in third with 2.155 million in chips and plays a very aggressive style of play, so anything could change quickly with him.
Christopher King has 1.645 million in chips coming into the final four on Day 4. King is a real estate developer from the United States and is making his first-ever WSOP cash. He's made the run all the way down to the final table, but it's going to take some work if he wants to climb out from the bottom of the barrel to win this one.
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|
| 1 | Sami Kelopuro | 2,155,000 |
| 2 | Ben Lamb | 4,335,000 |
| 3 | Christopher King | 1,645,000 |
| 4 | John Shipley | 2,705,000 |
The final table is set to kickoff at 3:00 PM PT, so stay tuned to PokerNews for our coverage as we will surely crown a winner in Event #42 today!