Friday, June 29, 2012 8:31 PM Local Time
Three days ago World Series of Poker history was made when this unique event kicked off. It was a standard no-limit hold'em event with one key difference: no blinds. Players would ante every hand and have the option to bring in for the smallest denomination chip in play. After three days of play and a field of 939 players, Greg Hobson was able to rise to the top to grab the first place prize of $256,691 as well as the first WSOP bracelet offered for this type of event.
When Day 1 of this event began kicked off, many were excited about the unique play that this structure of tournament would offer. What was not expected was how quickly the field would fly. The starting 939 was whittled down to the final 110 after just ten levels of play on Day 1, which was enough to make the money. Among those to come out for the event and go home without a cash were Daniel Negreanu, Barry Shulman, Joe Cada, Matt Glantz, Dennis Phillips, David Williams, Jennifer Tilly, Christian Harder, Phil Hellmuth, Randy Lew, and many more.
The pace of the tournament did not slow down on Day 2 when the final 110 returned to the felt. Dan O'Brien, Jeff Williams, Mickey Petersen, David Chicotsky, Max Pescatori, Melanie Weisner, John Racener, Men Nguyen, Mike Leah, and Erick Lindgren were among those to return for Day 2 only to hit the rail before the final table.
Day 2 ended after a little more than eight levels of play as a final nine were reached.
Final Table Chip Counts
Seat | Player | Chips |
1 | Seth Davies | 640,000 |
2 | Sameer Aljanedi | 167,000 |
3 | Justin Schwartz | 252,000 |
4 | Eugene Du Plessis | 996,000 |
5 | Mike McDonald | 205,000 |
6 | Greg Hobson | 608,000 |
7 | Mike Sowers | 824,000 |
8 | John Hayes | 229,000 |
9 | Harrison Gimbel | 325,000 |
Play at the final table began just as fast and furious it had been for the first two days of the tournament. Justin Schwartz became the first casualty, however, when he was unfortunate enough to run his into Greg Hobson's during a preflop all in confrontation. Schwartz flopped a gutshot Broadway draw but was unable to hit it and was sent to the rail in ninth place.
Soon after Schwartz's elimination Sameer Aljanedi got it all in with before the flop and was called by eventual champion Greg Hobson's . Hobson paired his queen on the flop and that was all she wrote for Aljanedi.
Play slowed down after this for what seemed to be the first time in the entire tournament. This lull in the action ended, however, when Harrison Gimbel got his stack all in against Seth Davies. Gimbel was way behind with to Davies' pocket queens. Davies' hand held up all the way until the river when the hit to give Gimbel a pair of aces. A crippled Davies was the next to go when Harrison Gimbel finished off his short-stack during the next hand.
Mike "Timex" McDonald was the next player to be eliminated from the field. McDonald moved all in before the flop and was called by John Hayes.
Showdown
McDonald:
Hayes:
Hayes was in the lead and jumped into an even more secure place when he flopped top set on the flop. The board paired fives on the turn and McDonald was drawing dead. Timex collected $39,931 for his sixth place finish.
Eugene Du Plessis was the chip leader coming into play but remained quiet for a majority of the final table. Eventually he moved all in before the flop holding ace-king but was sent packing when Greg Hobson's ace-queen drilled a queen on the flop. Harrison Gimbel was the next to go when he showed two pair against Mike Sowers. Sowers held a better two pair and Gimbel was out the door.
Immediately after Gimbel's elimination, John Hayes moved all in with pocket sevens on a flop. Mike Sowers called with for top pair and Hayes failed to improve. Hayes' third place elimination put Greg Hobson and Mike Sowers heads up with virtually even chip stacks.
Hobson came out to an quick lead winning two substantial pots early on in heads up play. Sowers was able to fight back a little but in the end it just was not enough. About thirty minutes after returning from the dinner break, Sowers moved all in with and was snap called by Hobson's . The board fell and Sowers was forced to settle for a second place finish and $158,887 in prize money.
PokerNews sends its congratulations to Greg Hobson as the champion of the first ever Ante-Only No-Limit Hold'em event in World Series of Poker History.
Final Table Payouts
Place | Player | Prize |
1 | Greg Hobson | $256,691 |
2 | Mike Sowers | $158,887 |
3 | John Hayes | $99,409 |
4 | Harrison Gimbel | $72,155 |
5 | Eugene Du Plessis | $53,267 |
6 | Mike McDonald | $39,931 |
7 | Seth Davies | $30,373 |
8 | Sameer Aljanedi | $23,413 |
9 | Justin Schwartz | $18,292 |
That does it for our coverage of Event 49: $1,500 Ante-Only No-Limit Hold'em. Be sure to check out our live reporting page for more updates from the 2012 World Series of Poker!
Friday, June 29, 2012 8:09 PM Local Time
Mike Sowers had the button.
Greg Hobson was the bring in for 30,000. Mike Sowers moved all in before the flop and Hobson snap called.
Hobson:
Sowers:
Hobson was ahead and needed to fade an ace to clinch the win. The flop obliged and Sowers was two cards away from being sent home in second place.
The turn brought the and Sowers still needed one of the three remaining aces to continue heads up play. The dealer produced the on fifth street and Sowers was sent to the rail with a second place finish. Sowers will take home $158,887 for his efforts.
Friday, June 29, 2012 7:52 PM Local Time
Greg Hobson brought in for 30,000 and Mike Sowers raised to 70,000 from the button. Hobson called and the flop was . Hobson checked and Sowers fired 105,000. Hobson called.
Both players checked the turn and the river. Hobson tabled for a flopped pair of tens and took down the pot.
Friday, June 29, 2012 7:44 PM Local Time
Cards are back in the air for this heads up battle.
Friday, June 29, 2012 7:44 PM Local Time
Level: 25
Blinds: 0/0
Ante: 30000
Friday, June 29, 2012 6:39 PM Local Time
Here are the heads up chip counts as of the dinner break.
Greg Hobson | 2,935,000 | -165,000 |
Mike Sowers | 1,265,000 | 165,000 |
Friday, June 29, 2012 6:37 PM Local Time
Players are now on a 60-minute dinner break. Play will resume in an hour!
Friday, June 29, 2012 6:29 PM Local Time
Greg Hobson had the button and both players saw a flop for 20,000 a piece.
The flop was and Hobson fired 50,000. Mike Sowers raised to 130,000 and after about twenty seconds Hobson replied by announcing that he was all in. Hobson had Sowers covered and Sowers decided to muck his hand and look for a better spot.
Friday, June 29, 2012 6:19 PM Local Time
Mike Sowers had the button. Greg Hobson was the bring in for 20,000 and Sowers raised to 60,000. Hobson opted to re-raise, making it 190,000 total. Sowers called.
The flop was and Hobson continued for 170,000 only to find a call from Sowers. Both checked the turn and when Hobson checked the river, Sowers shot out a bet of 360,000. Hobson quickly folded and Sowers took the pot.
Friday, June 29, 2012 6:07 PM Local Time
Mike Sowers had the button.
On a flop of Greg Hobson bet 50,000. Sowers called and the turn was the . Hobson checked this time and Sowers took the opportunity to bet 105,000. Hobson called.
The river was the and Hobson checked once again. Sowers moved 210,000 out and Hobson went into the tank, leaning back and thinking for over a minute before folding his hand.
Friday, June 29, 2012 6:07 PM Local Time
Current 2012 WSOP Player of the Year Standings
Place | Player | Points |
1 | Phil Ivey | 539.70 |
2 | John Monnette | 524.25 |
3 | Michael Mizrachi | 486.20 |
4 | Andy Frankenberger | 406.66 |
5 | Phil Hellmuth | 368.70 |
6 | Andy Bloch | 340.50 |
7 | Jan-Peter Jachtmann | 325.63 |
8 | Michael Gathy | 321.25 |
9 | David "Bakes" Baker | 317.94 |
10 | David "ODB" Baker | 314.88 |
Friday, June 29, 2012 6:00 PM Local Time
Mike Sowers had the button. Greg Hobson brought in for 20,000 and Sowers raised to 60,000. Hobson called.
The flop was and both players checked. Hobson bet 80,000 when the hit fourth street. Sowers called and the came on fifth. Hobson moved 270,000 out into the center of the table and Sowers folded, awarding Hobson the pot.
Greg Hobson | 3,100,000 | 100,000 |
Mike Sowers | 1,100,000 | -100,000 |
Friday, June 29, 2012 5:47 PM Local Time
Action is moving at a lightning pace here at this heads up match. Picking up with the action of this hand on the turn, Greg Hobson had the button. The board read and Hobson checked. Sowers fired 100,000 and Hobson raised to 210,000. Sowers pushed out a call.
The river was the and Sowers checked. Hobson moved 315,000 into the middle and Sowers called. Hobson showed for two pair and was able to drag the pot.
Greg Hobson | 3,000,000 | 900,000 |
Mike Sowers | 1,200,000 | -900,000 |
Friday, June 29, 2012 5:41 PM Local Time
Mike Sowers had the button and raised to 50,000. Greg Hobson called and they both checked a flop of .
The turned and Hobson checked. Sowers fired 75,000 only to have Hobson check-raise to 160,000. Sowers quickly called and the river was the .
Hobson bet out 405,000 on the river and Sowers called. Hobson showed for a diamond flush and took down the pot.
Friday, June 29, 2012 5:35 PM Local Time
Level: 24
Blinds: 0/0
Ante: 20000
Friday, June 29, 2012 5:27 PM Local Time
Greg Hobson and Mike Sowers are virtually even in chips going into heads up play.
Greg Hobson | 2,100,000 | -100,000 |
Mike Sowers | 2,100,000 | 0 |
Friday, June 29, 2012 5:26 PM Local Time
The very next hand after Harrison Gimbel hit the rail, John Hayes fired out a bet on a flop of . Mike Sowers raised to 100,000 and Hayes replied by moving his stack of a little under 400,000 all in. Sowers quickly called with the for top pair and was ahead of Hayes' .
The hit the turn and the on the river, ensuring Hayes' elimination and thrusting us into heads up play.
Mike Sowers | 2,100,000 | 600,000 |
John Hayes | 0 | -490,000 |
Friday, June 29, 2012 5:23 PM Local Time
Harrison Gimbel had the button.
Mike Sowers limped and Gimbel raised to 80,000. Sowers called and the two were heads up to a flop of . They both checked and saw a turn of .
Sowers checked for a second time and Gimbel dipped into his stack, pushing 135,000 into the middle. Sowers replied by moving all in and Gimbel quickly called to realize he was crushed.
Sowers:
Gimbel:
Both had turned two pair with Sowers having the higher two pair. The finished the board and Gimbel was sent home in fourth place.
Mike Sowers | 1,500,000 | 630,000 |
Harrison Gimbel | 0 | -625,000 |
Friday, June 29, 2012 5:08 PM Local Time
With the flop reading , Greg Hobson checked to Harrison Gimbel who bet out 70,000. Hobson called and the turned. The same action occurred here with the bet amount at 130,000.
Hobson checked for a third time when the rivered. Gimbel moved 185,000 into the middle and Hobson called, showing for trip nines. Gimbel mucked and Hobson raked this sizable pot.
Greg Hobson | 2,200,000 | 400,000 |
Harrison Gimbel | 625,000 | -825,000 |