Monday, July 5, 2010 9:02 PM Local Time
While much of the poker world's attention has been focused down the hall in the Amazon Room for Day 1a of the Main Event today, there was some serious drama here in the Pavilion Room as Event #54 played out to its conclusion.
A total of 3,844 came out for this last of the open-field, $1,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em events, and after four days of play, Dutch player Marcel Vonk has outlasted all to take the title. It is an historic day -- Vonk becomes the first from the Netherlands ever to win a WSOP bracelet in no-limit hold'em.
Vonk is currently getting his picture taken with his shiny new WSOP bracelet, having survived an exciting heads-up battle against David Peters to take the title. It only seemed right those two would be there at the end. Peters and Vonk came into today's final day of play one-two in chips, and one or the other remained at the top of the counts for most of play today.
Vonk, an accomplished online pro who has written strategy articles concerning subjects like ROI, has turned his one grand buy-in into a $570,960 payday! That'll probably show up on the graph.
Congratulations to Marcel Volk, Event #54 winner. Thanks for following our coverage of this and all of the preliminary events, and be sure to check back with PokerNews over the next couple of weeks for all your Main Event coverage!
Monday, July 5, 2010 8:53 PM Local Time
After that crippling hand versus Marcel Vonk, Peters lost another and was down to about 1 million chips when Vonk open-raised all in from the button. Peters checked his cards, and didn't waste much time making the call.
Peters
Vonk
The flop brought an ace -- -- but gave Peters a pair as well, which meant he wasn't drawing dead after the turn. But the river brought the , and after leading for much of this heads-up battle, Peters was eliminated.
Volk has won!
Monday, July 5, 2010 8:52 PM Local Time
On the button, Marcel Vonk opened the pot with a 230,000-chip raise and David Peters popped it to 620,000 chips. Vonk re-popped it to 1 million and Peters moved all in. Vonk snap-called.
Showdown
Vonk:
Peters:
The board ran out and Vonk doubled up. Vonk is now up to almost 10,000,000 chips while Peters has slipped to a little over 1,500,000.
Monday, July 5, 2010 8:40 PM Local Time
Marcel Vonk had taken a couple of pots to move up about 2.4 million when the following hand took place. Vonk opened with a raise to 230,000, and David Peters responded by announcing he was all in. Vonk took just a few seconds, then said "I call."
Peters
Vonk
Vonk stood to watch the community cards being dealt, while Peters remained seated. The flop came , pairing Vonk. The turn brought the , and Vonk retook his seat as he could no longer lose the hand. The dealer delivered the as the inconsequential fifth street, and pushed the pot to Vonk.
Peters still has the advantage, but the pair have drawn much closer now. Peters has about 6.5 million and Vonk about 5 million.
Monday, July 5, 2010 8:31 PM Local Time
David Peters limped in from the button and Marcel Vonk checked the action.
Flop: Vonk check-raise to 300,0000 a 105,000-chip bet fired by Peters.
The turn card was a and Vonk moved all in. Peters tanked and eventually folded.
Vonk is now up to 1,950,000 chips.
0Monday, July 5, 2010 8:24 PM Local Time
David Peters raised to 210,000 from the button, and Vonk called. Both then checked the flop. The turn was the , and Vonk bet 300,000. Peters paused, then called.
The river was the . Vonk pushed out a bet of 500,000 this time. Peters took a look at Vonk, then went to reach for chips. Then he looked up again. He saw something, apparently, as he soon decided to make the call, tabling for king-high. Vonk mucked, and Peters took the pot.
Peters is up over 9.7 million now, and Vonk down to 1.75 million.
Monday, July 5, 2010 8:20 PM Local Time
On the button, Marcel Vonk opened the pot with a 230,000-chip raise, and was called by David Peters.
The flop ran out and both players checked. The turn card was a and Peters fired a 320,000-chip bet. Vonk called.
The river brought a and Peters fired another bet, now worth 810,000. Vonk tanked and eventually called.
Peters tabled and Vonk showed . Pot for Peters, is now up to 8,680,000 chips, Vonk slipped to 2,850,000.
Monday, July 5, 2010 8:08 PM Local Time
The blinds are big, but the stacks are relatively deep, and both players are showing patience here during the first part of Level 29.
Most hands are ending with preflop raises, and both Marcel Vonk and David Peters still have essentially the stacks they came back to following dinner.
Monday, July 5, 2010 7:57 PM Local Time
On the second hand back from the break, David Peters opened with a raise to 185,000 from the small blind/button, and Marcel Vonk called. The flop came . Vonk checked, Peters bet 220,000, Vonk check-raised to 600,000, and Peters folded.
On the next one, Vonk opened with a raise to 230,000, Peters repopped it to 605,000, and Vonk called. The flop came . Peters bet 610,000, and Vonk took about a minute before letting his hand go.
After these early skirmishes, the pair are about where they were at the break, with Peters at 7.25 million and Vonk at 4.28 million.
Monday, July 5, 2010 6:48 PM Local Time
We're now on a 60-minute dinner break.
Chip Count
David Peters - 7,115,000
Marcel Vonk - 4,415,000
Monday, July 5, 2010 6:44 PM Local Time
And that's it! Pot for Peters, Pot for Vonk...
In the last one they played, Peters opened the pot with a 170,000-chip raise and Marcel Vonk popped it to 450,000. Peters called.
The flop ran out and first to speak, Vonk fired a 600,000-chip bet. Peters eventually folded and is still in the lead.
Monday, July 5, 2010 6:29 PM Local Time
Marcel Vonk limped, and David Peters checked his option. The flop came . Peters checked, Vonk bet 100,000, Peters check-raised to 300,000, and Vonk called.
The turn was the . Peters led for 535,000 this time, and Vonk again called.
The river was the . Peters cut out a couple of tall stacks of green (25,000) chips), topped them off with a few more, and pushed out a bet of 1.36 million. Vonk tanked. Perhaps he was remembering that three-barrel bluff hand with Peters from a short while ago as some of us watching did. Finally Vonk made the call.
No bluff this time, as Peters tabled for the flopped two pair. Peters retakes the lead, moving to 7.17 million to Vonk's 4.36 million.
Monday, July 5, 2010 6:25 PM Local Time
Peters opened with a minimum-raise to 160,000 from the small blind/button, then Marcel Vonk reraised to 400,000. Peters made the call.
The flop came . Vonk bet 550,000, and Peters quickly called. The both players checked the turn and river.
Vonk showed , and Peters mucked. Vonk moves up to 6.7 million to Peters' 4.8 million here early in heads-up play.
Monday, July 5, 2010 6:19 PM Local Time
David Peters and Paul Kerr went to see the flop, without a preflop raise, something rare.
Peters fired a 115,000-chip bet and Kerr just called.
The turn card was a , and once more Peters fired a bet, now worth 270,000 chips. Kerr announced re-raise all in and Peters called.
Showdown
Kerr:
Peters:
The river card was magical for Peters -- -- and Paul Kerr is our third-place finisher.
Monday, July 5, 2010 6:00 PM Local Time
Marcel Vonk opened for 200,000 from the small blind, and as he had done just a few hands before, David Peters called from the BB.
The flop came . Vonk continued for 300,000, and Peters called. Both then checked the turn and river. Peters showed , and Vonk mucked.
Marcel Vonk -- 5.55 million
David Peters -- 3.8 million
Paul Kerr -- 2.05 million
Monday, July 5, 2010 5:53 PM Local Time
Marcel Vonk opened with a raise to 150,000 from the small blind, and David Peters quickly called in the big blind.
The flop came a provocative . Vonk checked, and Peters pushed out a bet of 185,000. Vonk spent little time before making the call.
The turn was a proverbial hold'em "blank" card -- the . Vonk again checked, and this time Peters bet 410,000. Vonk thought a little longer this time before calling.
The river was the , putting a third spade on board. Vonk checked once more, and Peters fired a third time, for 1.23 million this time.
Vonk leaned back in his chair, hands behind his back, and thought about what to do. After a couple of minutes he leaned forward and cut out the chips needed to call. Finally, he pushed the chips forward.
"You got it," said Peters, who was reluctant to show his hand. Eventually both players ended up tabling their cards. Peters showed his , while Vonk showed he'd made a big call there with his .
That one moves Vonk up to 6.4 million, and drops Peters to 3.25 million.
Monday, July 5, 2010 5:46 PM Local Time
On the button, David Peters opened the pot with a 130,000-chip raise. Next to speak, Paul Kerr moved all in for about 1,050,000 chips. The action arrived to the big blind, Marcel Vonk and he moved all in too. Peters released.
Showdown
Kerr:
Vonk:
The board ran out and Kerr doubled up, is now up to 2,100,000 chips. Marcel Vonk slipped to 4,450,000 chips.
Monday, July 5, 2010 5:37 PM Local Time
David Peters limped in from the small blind, and the action was on Paul Kerr in the big blind. Kerr held a fist over his mouth and coughed -- as he often does before acting -- then checked behind.
The flop came . Peters bet 85,000, and Kerr called. The turn was the , and this time Peters checked. Kerr bet 175,000, and Peters called. The river then brought the . Peters checked quickly, and Kerr waited about 30 seconds before checking as well.
Peters tabled , and Kerr mucked. Peters is back around the 5-million chip mark again, still close to even with Marcel Vonk. Meanwhile, Kerr is looking up at both with his 1.11 million.
Monday, July 5, 2010 5:28 PM Local Time
Once more, Marcel Vonk opened the pot with a 150,000-chip raise on the button. In the small blind, Nathan Jessen moved all in for about 1,080,000 chips, and Vonk called.
Simply as this!
Showdown
Jessen:
Vonk:
The board ran out and Nathan Jessen is our 4th place finisher. After this elimination, Vonk is up to 5,500,000 chips.
Monday, July 5, 2010 5:24 PM Local Time
David Peters -- both under the gun and in the cutoff at the four-handed table -- opened with a raise to 130,000, and it folded around to Nathan Jessen who called from the big blind.
The flop came . Jessen checked, Peters bet 110,000, and Jessen called. The turn brought the , and both players checked.
The river was the , putting a second pair on the board. Jessen checked, then looked at Peters as he carved out a bet of 330,000. Jessen thought a bit, then called.
Peters showed , and Jessen mucked. Peters moves to about 4.7 million -- very close to Marcel Vonk at the moment -- while Jessen slips to about 1.1 million.