Tuesday, June 26, 2012 12:17 AM Local Time
After another huge day of poker action, Henry Lu has been crowned the champion of Event 43: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em. A great effort from Lu saw him pocket a cool $654,380, along with taking home his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet. That's not to mention the fact that earlier in the day he was down to less than two big blinds, but we will get to that.
The day started with 20 players all hoping to make it where Lu stands right now. Of course, there can only be one winner and so 19 players fell by the wayside throughout the day. The first of those players was Michael De Gilio, followed by Andres Sanchez (20th), Adam Foster (19th), Carl DiVeglia III (18th), Daniel Zeihen (17th) and Michael Morgousky (16th).
At this point the eliminations started flying fast as Mark Ketteringham (14th) and Michael Judge (13th) joined the above players on the rail. Randy Lew started the day with one of the larger stacks, but was never able to get anything going on Day 3. The eventual last hand of Lew's tournament saw him all-in holding against the of Henry Lu. A board gave Lu enough to eliminate Lew in 12th place and we were one player away from the "unofficial" final table.
The story of the day was definitely the fact that Lu had seen his chip stack increase from just 40,000 earlier in the day, all the way to 1,400,000 by the time he had eliminated Lew. That amount was only good for a little more than one big blind. Lu then continued to see his stack increase as he amazingly eliminated Jess Yaginuma in 11th place to see us head to the "unofficial" final table.
With ten players still in contention, it was Zach Clark who couldn't survive to see an official final table appearance added to his poker resume this summer. Clark's final hand was an unlucky one and something which saw Lu continue his run good. Clark's was outflopped by Lu's , with Lu's set enough to send Clark to the rail.
With that, Lu had eliminated the last three players before the final table and would go into the final nine with 10,000 chips less than Neil Channing, who was the chip leader.
The first player to be eliminated at the final table was Jared Rosenbaum. It was Channing who dealt the fatal blow to Rosenbaum, with his too strong for Rosenbaum's as he increased his chip lead even further. The eighth place spot would go to Francois Dur and it would again be the of Channing that would prevail. This time Channing was up against and with no help for Dur, he was out the door with $63,459.
Balazs Botond was the next to go in seventh place, with his short-stack being shoved in the middle holding and not finding any help against John Nelson's . Neil Channing was still the chip leader at this point and that would grow even stronger as he eliminated Hovan Nguyen in sixth place.
Channing's chip lead would increase even further as he dealt the fatal blow to John Nelson. Channing held on a flop and was up against the all-in Nelson, who hel . No help came on the turn or river, and Nelson was eliminated in fifth place. Coming back from a dinner break, Channing held more than half the total chips in play and that continued as he took down the biggest pot of the tournament. Channing then went on to continue his dominance, eliminating Tom Alner in fourth place when Alner open shoved and couldn't compete with Channing's .
Going into three-handed play, Channing held three quarters of all the chips in play. James Mackey managed to win some of those chips by doubling up through Channing, but on the very next hand was eliminated in dramatic fashion. Mackey held and was up against Channing's . By the time the board had run out, it was looking Mackey would double yet again. However, the powers that be had other ideas, slamming down a on the river. With that, Channing had eliminated five players in the lead up to the heads-up battle and would hold a 5-1 chip lead over Henry Lu. However, Lu would not go down without a fight.
One of the earliest hands of heads-up saw Lu double up, then from there he took down a huge pot to see the chip lead swing his way. From there, it was a roller coaster ride of ups and downs, with Channing holding his huge chip lead on multiple occasions. Lu was all in and at risk twice, doubling both times. From there it was nothing less than epic battle that lasted almost three hours. Eventually the last hand of the night played out, and in classic tournament fashion, it was a flip for his life that Channing couldn't survive.
Channing look shattered after the loss, but must be commended for his gallant effort that sees him pocket $406,409. That amount sees Channing's all-time tournament winnings now eclipse $3 million, and we are sure he will continue searching for that WSOP gold bracelet that has eluded him so far.
Congratulations to Henry Lu for becoming the champion of Event 43 and taking down his first bracelet. He truly lived by the old poker adage that says a man only needs a "chip and a chair." That's all from us tonight, be sure to return soon as PokerNews continues their live coverage of the 2012 World Series of Poker.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012 12:12 AM Local Time
Neil Channing opened to 250,000 from the button and Henry Lu moved all in. Channing called for his tournament life and the cards were tabled.
Channing:
Lu:
The crowd rose to their feet and watched the flop come . The turn came and Channing picked up several more outs. But he would brick when the river fell .
Lu's rail mobbed him on stage in celebration in stark contrast to Channing who sat motionless, completely stunned that the tournament was over. He finally got up from his chair, shook Lu's hand and walked out to a round of applause.
| Henry Lu | 12,465,000 | 3,550,000  |
| Neil Channing | 0 | -3,550,000  |
Tuesday, June 26, 2012 12:03 AM Local Time
| Henry Lu | 8,915,000 | 1,315,000 |
| Neil Channing | 3,550,000 | -1,315,000 |
Tuesday, June 26, 2012 12:01 AM Local Time
Neil Channing opened for 250,000 on the button and Henry Lu called. The flop came and both players checked. The turn came , Lu bet 280,000 and Channing called. The river came , Lu bet 350,000 and Channing folded.
Monday, June 25, 2012 11:56 PM Local Time
Henry Lu opened to 25000 on the button and Neil Channing called. The flop came , Channing checked and Lu bet 300,000. Channing called and the came on the turn. Channing checked, Lu bet 450,000 and Channing folded.
Monday, June 25, 2012 11:52 PM Local Time
Henry Lu was on the button when he opened it up to 250,000. Neil Channing called and then both players checked the flop and the turn of a board. On the river, Lu checked and Channing bet 450,000. Lu folded his hand and Channing took down the pot.
Monday, June 25, 2012 11:50 PM Local Time
| Henry Lu | 7,600,000 | 2,400,000 |
| Neil Channing | 4,865,000 | -2,400,000 |
Monday, June 25, 2012 11:47 PM Local Time
Neil Channing opened to 250,000 on the button and Henry Lu raised to 675,000. Channing took a good bit of time before he re-raised to 1.475 million. Lu moved all in and Channing let his hand go.
Monday, June 25, 2012 11:40 PM Local Time
Neil Channing limped the button and Henry Lu checked behind. Both players then checked the flop and checked the turn. On the river, Lu led out for 120,000 and Channing quickly mucked, sending the pot to Lu.
Monday, June 25, 2012 11:35 PM Local Time
For your information, the heads-up battle has last well over two hours so far. If it isn't over at the end of this level, the players will be given the option to play one more level or come back tomorrow.
Monday, June 25, 2012 11:32 PM Local Time
Level: 31
Blinds: 60000/120000
Ante: 15000
Monday, June 25, 2012 11:23 PM Local Time
Neil Channing was on the button and raised it up to 225,000. Henry Lu called and a flop was dealt. Lu check-called a bet of 350,000 here and then both players checked the turn and the river.
At showdown, Lu tabled and the high-ace was enough to see Channing's cards into the muck.
Monday, June 25, 2012 11:17 PM Local Time
Henry Lu opened for 200,000 and Neil Channing raised to 675,000. Lu called and the flop came . Channing led out with 900,000 and Lu called without hesitation.
The turn came and Channing moved all in. The crowd rose to their feet as Lu made his decision. He folded his hand and then quietly asked Channing, "Will you tell me your hand after the tournament?"
| Neil Channing | 7,265,000 | 2,065,000 |
| Henry Lu | 5,200,000 | -2,065,000 |
Monday, June 25, 2012 11:09 PM Local Time
| Henry Lu | 7,265,000 | 515,000 |
| Neil Channing | 5,200,000 | -515,000 |
Monday, June 25, 2012 11:08 PM Local Time
Neil Channing opened for 200,000 on the button and Henry Lu raised to 550,000. Channing called and the flop came . Lu bet 675,000 and Channing folded.
Monday, June 25, 2012 11:05 PM Local Time
The last hand saw the players get their stacks in the middle very quickly. Neil Channing was on the button and opened it up. Henry Lu then three-bet to 575,000 and Channing shoved his stack in. Lu snapped him off and the two players turned their hands over.
Channing's would need some help against Lu's if he was going to finish this tournament off. The board was no good for Channing, but great for Lu as he takes the chip lead.
| Henry Lu | 6,750,000 | 4,200,000 |
| Neil Channing | 5,715,000 | -4,200,000 |
Monday, June 25, 2012 11:01 PM Local Time
Henry Lu raised it up to 200,000 on the button and Neil Channing three-bet to 575,000. It was then back on Lu and he thought for some time before shoving all in. Channing instantly mucked his hand and Lu raked back a chips.
Monday, June 25, 2012 10:58 PM Local Time
The players haven't seen a flop in a few hands. A three-bet from the big blind will win the pot or the big blind got a walk.
Monday, June 25, 2012 10:53 PM Local Time
Henry Lu opened to 200,000 and Neil Channing asked how much Lu had behind. Silence gripped the crowd and Channing raised to 500,000. Lu folded quickly.
Channing then flashed the which drew a round of cheers from the British rail assembled at the ESPN Feature Table.
Monday, June 25, 2012 10:47 PM Local Time
Neil Channing opened on the button and Henry Lu called. The flop came , Lu bet 300,000 and Channing called. The turn came , Lu checked and Channing bet 450,000.
Lu called and the river came . Lu checked, Channing bet 600,000 and Lu convinced himself to call after several moments. Channing tabled for two pair and Lu mucked.
| Neil Channing | 9,915,000 | 2,700,000 |
| Henry Lu | 2,550,000 | -2,700,000 |