Ferguson's
Fifth
I
played very differently at the beginning
of the tournament than at the end. In
tournaments, you want to last a long as
possible. So, you have to avoid taking
risks. You don't put yourself in a position
where you are taking risks. But at the
end of the tournament, it's different
-- you have to play on the razor's edge.
Any small edge you have, you have to take
advantage of it. So, if you are a 55-45
favorite early on, you may not want to
risk all of your chips based on being
such a small favorite. But at the end
of the tournament, you have to take risks.
-- Chris "JESUS" Ferguson
For
the second time in less than a week, Chris
Ferguson won a gold bracelet at the World
Series of Poker. His wire-to-wire victory
in the "Half Hold'em / Half Stud" event
now gives him five World Series of Poker
titles, and puts him in position to win
a record third championship within a single
year (an honor shared only by Ted Forrest,
Phil Hellmuth, and Phil Ivey).
Ferguson
came into the final table with a 3 to
2 chip advantage over his closest opponent.
He was never in serious jeopardy of losing
the chip lead at any point. In fact, during
most of the five-hour battle, Ferguson
was ahead at least 2 to 1 in chips over
everyone else. This is not to say there
weren't moments when things could have
turned out differently, particularly if
Diego Cordovez -- who finished second
in this event -- had won a few key hands
and acquired enough chips to pose a challenge
to Ferguson. But in the end, Chris "JESUS"
Ferguson showed why he's such a worthy
former world poker champion and is arguably
the most serious threat to catch Doyle
Brunson for lifetime wins at the World
Series of Poker (Brunson won his ninth
title yesterday).
By
any measure it was a tough final table.
Five of the eight finalists were former
gold bracelet winners, including Diego
Cordovez (2000 no-limit hold'em), Kevin
Song (1997 limit hold'em), Humberto Brenes
(1993 -- limit hold'em and pot-limit Omaha),
Thor Hansen (2002 ace to five draw lowball
and 1988 seven card stud), and Chris Ferguson
(2003 Omaha high-low, 2001 Omaha high-low,
2000 championship event, 2000 seven-card
stud). The field was rounded out by Dean
Shulman who was making his second straight
final table at this year's tournament
(also his first time to play), Jimmy Cha
(his second time to cash), and newcomer
Andy Hallenbeck.
Given the fact Shulman, Cha, and Hallenbeck
have played at relatively few final tables
compared to the other five, their odds
of winning were reduced by the fact that
each player came in lowest in chips. Within
the first hour, Shulman, Cha, and Hallenbeck
went out -- which left the five former
champions to compete for yet another title
between them.
Thor
Hansen was the first former bracelet winner
to fall. Hansen came into the final table
in decent chip position, but ran "card
cold" at the worst possible time -- just
as the competition was improving and the
limits were escalating. Hansen took fifth
place, leaving the final four.
It appeared that Korean-born Kevin Song
might pose the most serious threat to
Ferguson. Song has an impressive tournament
record over the years and has proven he
can win at this level. However, Song has
also taken long lapses from the tournament
scene in recent years, which may or may
not have helped his game. Song's "comeback"
was cut short when he took a brutal series
of ugly beats against Cordovez and Brenes.
He finished fourth.
Humberto
Brenes, the World Poker Open champion
in 2001, staged a brief rally at one point
when play got down to three-handed. But
in the end, Ferguson and Cordozez cut
down Brenes and eliminated the great Costa
Rican poker player in third place. That
final hand wasn't much to look at -- as
Chris Ferguson tabled a vulnerable pair
of 8s in the seven-card stud round. But
it was enough of a hand to top Brenes,
who missed everything on the final card.
"There
are a lot of tough decisions to make,"
said Ferguson later. "I made a bunch of
very tight value bets that paid off."
Heads-up
play between Ferguson and Cordovez began
with Ferguson holding a 5 to 2 chip lead.
While Ferguson suggests that, for him,
hold'em is (slightly) a stronger game
than stud, he knew he was also playing
against one of the best limit hold'em
players in the world. The match was also
interesting for other reasons. Cordovez,
a University of Stanford graduate was
playing against a UCLA graduate, Ferguson.
Cordovez,
nicknamed "The D Train," certainly did
not play cautiously. He launched into
an aggressive style which consistently
put pressure on Ferguson and forced him
to make some very tough calls. When faced
with the prospect of calling a raise with
a mediocre hand, or getting the extra
bet out of a marginal hand, Ferguson made
most of the right decisions. Nevertheless,
the duel lasted two hours as Cordovez's
chip count swung back and forth between
$15K and $65K (Ferguson always had over
$100K during the entire heads-up match).
The
end came when "The D Train" tried to run
a bluff in the hold'em round against Ferguson.
Cordovez missed an outside straight draw,
and since his hand was hopeless unless
he forced Ferguson to fold, he fired $6K
into the pot after the river card was
dealt. Ferguson called immediately and
took down the pot with a straight, setting
the stage for the final hand of the night.
With
the board showing K-Q-8-7 on the turn,
Cordovez held A-7, for a pair of 7s. Meanwhile,
Ferguson had K-9 for a pair of kings.
Cordovez needed an ace or a seven on the
final card -- which failed to come. A
blank fell on the river, derailing "The
D Train," just as Ferguson threw his hands
high up in the air to declare victory.
Always
the gentleman, both at and away from the
poker table, Ferguson reflected on his
win afterward and ascribed at least part
of his success to receiving a favorable
run of cards at key moments during the
tournament. "The deck hit me hard at times
here at the final table," said Ferguson.
"I felt I got a few more breaks from the
deck than Diego (Cordovez) did."
Ferguson's
victory rounds out a fabulous three day
stretch at this year's World Series of
Poker. Just two days ago, Erik Seidel
topped Men "the Master" Nguyen in a dramatic
heads-up confrontation. Yesterday, poker
legend Doyle Brunson won his ninth championship.
And today, Chris Ferguson won his second
bracelet at this year's tournament. With
still a month to go at this year's World
Series of Poker, odds are that we have
not heard nor seen the last of Chris Ferguson.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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