Sunday, June 20, 2010 4:21 AM Local Time
After more than four hours of heads-up battle with Men Nguyen, Jeffrey Papola has finally won his first WSOP bracelet. This is his second shot at it in four days as well. He finished second in the previous six-handed event, a $2,500, outlasting 1,243 people. Then he turned around and started all over again in the $5,000 six-handed tournament. And this time, the law student/poker pro from New York City bested all 567 opponents and closed the deal. The $667,443 he gets for first boosts Papola to more than $1.1 million in career WSOP earnings. Men Nguyen refused to go quietly but after surviving a remarkable number of all-ins, he simply couldn't hang on any longer. Though he didn't pick up a second 2010 bracelet, Nguyen earned enough points for his second place finish to tie Michael Mizrachi and James Dempsey for the top spot in the WSOP Player of the Year race.
Twelve players returned for Day 3, meaning six had to hit the rail pre-final table. Lucas Greenwood was the first to go in 12th place, followed by French pro Anthony Roux. Evan Panesis, Paul Sheng, and Darren Elias were also eliminated to bring the field down to seven. Taylor McFarland and Erick Lindgren had been tangling in big pots all day, and it seemed inevitable one would take out the other. On the final table bubble, McFarland picked the wrong spot to test Lindgren and wound up out in seventh.
Lindgren outlasted McFarland to get to the final table, but he didn't make it any further than that. Lindgren picked up queens and came very close to folding to Men Nguyen's cold four-bet, but E-dog made the call and was eliminated in sixth place at the hands of Nguyen's pocket kings. Orlando Delacruz was next to go in fifth, followed minutes later by Bruno Launais in fourth. After all that action, Nguyen, Papola, and Mark Radoja played three-handed for three hours without an elimination before dispatiching a disappointed Radoja in third place.
Papola held a better than 3:1 chip lead when heads-up play began. Two hours later, Nguyen took over the chip lead. And for the next two hours, they traded it back and forth until Papola finally finished off the Master.
The next six max event, the much anticipated debut of the $25,000 Six Handed No-Limit Hold'em tournament, will begin on Wednesday, June 30th. Can Papola final table that one too? Stay tuned to PokerNews for live coverage of that event and every one in between.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 4:12 AM Local Time
Jeffrey Papola raised to 320,000 with the button, Men Nguyen moved all in for a little over 2,000,000 and Papola snapped it off.
Showdown
Papola:
Nguyen:
The few people that were left in the ESPN arena rushed to the stage to catch the flop.
You could hear a pin drop as the dealer wrapped the table and the fell on the turn.
Somebody called for a nine from Nguyen's rail, but in actuality only a king would double him.
The river was high, but the was not enough and Nguyen was eliminated in second place. He shook Papola's hand before collecting his things and stepping away from the table. Nguyen's smile disappered quickly though, and he had a few unkind words for one of the dealers.
Hopefully, $412,746 will put a smile on Mr. Nguyen's face.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 3:59 AM Local Time
Jeffrey Papola raised to 300,000 preflop, and Men Nguyen called. The flop came out , and Nguyen checked. Papola bet 375,000, and not surprisingly, Nguyen check-raised. But his 900,000 bet was much larger than usual. Either Papola had a monster or sniffed out the sizing, because it only took him a minute to announce "all in." Men froze. He started the tanking process, but this was different. He looked miserable, counting down what was left of his stack, his eyes darting around the room as if hoping help would come from somewhere. After three minutes, he acknowledged the inevitable and gave up his hand.
Nguyen is down to 2.5 million, and Papola is back to a commanding lead with 6 million.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 3:48 AM Local Time
Back to Papola.
He raised to 320,000 the button and Men Nguyen called.
They checked it down and the board ran .
"Three," Papola uttered opening .
Nguyen folded and Papola is back ahead.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 3:44 AM Local Time
Jeffrey Papola bet 175,000 on a board, and Men Nguyen called. The river was the , and Nguyen bet out 400,000. Papola called the large bet but mucked when he saw Men's for top pair with a jack kicker. With that hand, Nguyen took back the lead.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 3:42 AM Local Time
Jeffrey Papola raised to 320,000 with the button and Men Nguyen called.
The dealer fanned and Nguyen led for 200,000. Papola called.
Both players checked the on the turn and the on the river.
Nguyen showed for ten-high and Papola showed for ace-high.
Papola is back in the lead with 4,720,000.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 3:35 AM Local Time
Jeffrey Papola raised to 320,000 with the button and Men Nguyen called.
The two checked all the way down and the board read .
Nguyen opened and Papola mucked.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 3:25 AM Local Time
Most hands now are limped preflop and checked down, with maybe one bet or call somewhere along the way to showdown. Here's one that varied from that pattern:
Jeffrey Papola completed the small blind, and Men Nguyen checked the big to get to an flop. Men checked, and Papola bet 160,000. Then Nguyen raised to 350,000 total, and Papola folded to the small check-raise.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 3:17 AM Local Time
Men Nguyen limped in with the button and Jeffrey Papola checked.
The flop fell and the two checked. They both checked the on the river as well.
After the rivered Nguyen led for 200,000 and Papola called.
Nguyen showed the and Papola mucked his hand.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 3:14 AM Local Time
Jeffrey Papola limped in on the button and Men Nguyen checked his small blind.
Both players checked the flop and the was dealt on the turn. Nguyen check-called 160,000 from Papola.
The two checked the on the river and Nguyen opened for a pair of jacks. Papola showed though, and the six played giving him the best hand.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 3:09 AM Local Time
Jeff Papola was waiting by the table to restart play as soon as break started. He'd been willing to skip it all together, but Men Nguyen wanted a break and had actually been asking to take it sooner. As soon as Men decided he was ready to resume play, he marched up to the table and looked impatiently at Papola. "Let's go. It's too late already." Papola held is tongue and got back to the action.
Despite how late it is, Men still complained about the blind jump from 60k/120k to 80k/160k. "What? There's no 70?" The TD just shook his head. There are now 53 big blinds in play.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 3:01 AM Local Time
The TD just announced a 20-minute break. "Twenty max," he clarified. "Don't go too far."
Sunday, June 20, 2010 3:01 AM Local Time
Jeffrey Papola has taken the last three hands and is now back in the lead over Men Nguyen:
Papola - 4,420,000 chips
Nguyen - 4,080,000 chips
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:50 AM Local Time
Men Nguyen raised to 260,000, and Jeff Papola called to see the all heart flop. Papola checked, and Nguyen checked behind. The on the turn made things even redder, and Papola bet out 300,000. Nguyen called that bet, which was enough to make Papola check the river. Nguyen checked behind, showing a flush with the . That was good enough for the pot, putting Nguyen up to 4.6 million. That gives him his widest lead yet over Papola, who is down to 3.9 million.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:31 AM Local Time
Jeff Papola limped in on the button and Men Nguyen checked.
The flop fell and Nguyen check-called 120,000 from Papola.
Both players checked the on the turn and the river brought the . Nguyen checked, Papola bet 275,000 and Nguyen folded.
Papola took the next two pots as well, and is now back up to 4,700,000 chips.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:28 AM Local Time
Jeffrey Papola opened to 240,000 with the button and Men Nguyen called.
The dealer flopped and both players checked.
The turn was the and Nguyen checked to Papola who continued for 250,000. Nguyen moved all in and Papola folded.
Nguyen is now our chip leader, by a nose, with 4,300,000 chips.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:26 AM Local Time
This is becoming familiar. Men Nguyen gets short, then he doubles up, no problem. This time, he was down to 2.3 million when Jeff Papola raised to 240,000. Nguyen moved all in for another 2.1 million or so, and Papola looked him up.
Showdown
Nguyen:
Papola:
The flop added a straight draw to Nguyen's better kicker. And with the turn and river, Nguyen successfully doubled up to 4.1 million. That dropped Papola down to 4.4 million, making the two opponents closer than they've been the entire match.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:15 AM Local Time
Jeffrey Papola limped in on the button and Men Nguyen checked his option.
The dealer fanned and Nguyen checked. Papola bet 250,000, Nguyen raised to 500,000 and Papola re-raised to 750,000.
Nguyen folded.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:00 AM Local Time
Jeffrey Papola raised to 200,000 with the button and Men Nguyen called.
The flop fell and both players checked.
The turn was the and Nguyen check-called 250,000 from Papola.
After the rivered Nguyen put out a tiny, 150,000-chip bet. Papola quickly folded.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 1:50 AM Local Time
Jeffrey Papola raised to 200,000 with the button and Men Nguyen called. The flop fell and both players checked.
The turn was the and Nguyen tank-checked. Papola bet 300,000 and Nguyen folded.
The next hand Nguyen raised to 225,000 and Papola called. The flop was and Papola checked. Nguyen continued for 250,000 and Papola check-raised to 640,000. Nguyen folded.
Papola is now up to 5,600,000 chips and Nguyen is down to 2,900,000.