Men
"the Master" Wins First
Gold Bracelet Since 1996
Four-time
gold bracelet winner Men 'the Master"
Nguyen added number five to his collection,
with a victory in the $5,000 buy-in seven-card
stud event. The win was unforeseeable
for many reasons, not the least of which
was Men's chip position at the start of
the final table. He began the day with
just $37,000 in chips. Phil Ivey came
to the final table with a 2 to 1 chip
lead, about $130K to next closest rival,
Mel Judah with $67,000. Those three players
would end up battling in the showdown
for $178,560 in first-place prize money.
Hal Koch from Michigan went out first.
He was dealt 2-3-5-7 of diamonds on the
first four cards, then caught three successive
blanks on later streets -- unable to complete
either a flush or a straight. On the same
hand, Mel Judah made trip kings and won
the sizable pot. Koch went out in 8th
place, good for $13,400.
After
Frenchman Paul Testud went out in 7th
place and collected $17,860, a critical
hand developed when Rob Hollink, Men "the
Master" Nguyen, and Dr. Max Stern got
into a three-way pot worth over $110K.
Men the Master started out with rolled-up
jacks (J-J-J), but failed to improve over
the course of the hand. Hollink was dealt
two kings, then caught five consecutive
running cards to make a jack-high straight.
Meanwhile, Stern started out with pocket
aces, then caught five hearts to make
a heart flush -- which ended up being
the winning hand. The huge pot gave Stern
$110K in chips and catapulted him into
the co-chip lead with Mel Judah and Phil
Ivey. A few hands later, Hollink went
"all-in" with a draw to Q-J-10-9, but
missed on three successive rounds. Men
the Master picked up the pot and knocked
Hollink out in 6th place, good for $22,320.
The final five was a perennial all-star
lineup of superstars -- including Artie
Cobb, Mel Judah, Men the Master, Phil
Ivey, and Dr. Stern -- all names we have
become accustomed to seeing at the top
of the money winner's list over the years.
Artie Cobb made his move first and went
up to $100K in chips, as Men the Master
ran card cold during the middle stages
of the final table. With betting limits
at $6K-12K, Men the Master dodged a bullet
when he won a $60K pot with a pair of
fours (Phil Ivey had a monster draw with
big cards, but missed everything). Then,
Phil Ivey took a tough beat when he started
out with a pair of queens but failed to
improve his hand. Mel Judah made a pair
of kings and raked-in an $80K pot, leaving
Ivey with just $40K remaining in chips.
Dr.
Max Stern went out next when he started
off with a pair of sevens and picked up
an outside straight draw. However, Phil
Ivey made a king-high straight which made
Stern's draw irrelevant. Dr. Stern, originally
from Costa Rica and the winner of three
gold bracelets in his illustrious poker
career, received $26,780 for 5th place.
Mel Judah moved up to over $200K in chips,
as play entered the third hour. Artie
Cobb, who made his first final table at
the World Series way back in 1976, found
himself low on chips and moved-in on fourth
street holding (8-8) 9-3. Phil Ivey had
(K-J) 6-3 and three spades, and called
Cobb's final bet of the evening. Then,
Ivey caught 6-6 on 5th and 6th street
respectively, making three-of-a-kind,
Cobb managed to make a second pair, but
could not overcome the trip sixes, which
meant a 4th place finish for the legendary
stud player. Cobb added $31,240 to his
career winnings at the World Series of
Poker (over $700,000 in winnings).
Four-time
bracelet winner Phil Ivey came into day
two with the chip lead, but struggled
much of the day. Ivey was down in chips
after failing to rake in a pot for an
extended period and went "all-in" with
two small pair on fourth street, but failed
to improve, losing to Mel Judah's higher
two-pair -- kings and queens. Ivey, who
burst upon the poker tournament scene
in 2000 and won three titles last year
had to settle for 3rd place, and $53,560.
When
heads-up play began between Mel Judah
and Men the Master, the chips were about
even. The first major confrontation occurred
when Judah won a $90K pot with two pair
-- kings and eights against Men the Master's
two smaller pair. But Men the Master got
those chips back and a few more when his
pair of queens won (unimproved) versus
Judah's two jacks, just a short time later.
Then, Men ran cold again for the next
ten hands. With the chip counts at about
$100K for Men the Master and $340K for
Mel Judah, Men the Master won the next
big pot, making two pair (10s and 3s)
against Judah's single pair. That put
Men the Master back close to $200K.
Men the Master took the chip lead about
90 minutes into heads-up play when the
betting limits increased to $10K-20K.
Two pair continued to be the deciding
hand as Men scooped two more large pots
with two pair. Incredibly, over the course
of the heads-up duel Men the Master managed
to reverse a 3.5 to 1 chip disadvantage
and take the same percentage lead over
Judah, as the final table entered hour
number seven.
The
final hand of the night came when Judah
started off with three diamonds -- (9-8)
2 versus Men the Master's (8-7) 7. Judah's
last chip went into the pot and the final
hands read:
Judah:
(9-8) 2-J-6-10 (2) (four diamonds -- missed
flush draw)
Men the Master: (8-7) 7-K-A-10 (5)
Men
the Master's pair of sevens was the deciding
hand.
The
end result marks the end of a long streak
of second-place finishes for Men "the
Master" Nguyen. He was second in the Omaha
high-low and Pot-Limit Omaha events, this
year. Incredibly, Men the Master had not
won a gold bracelet since 1996 and finally
broke through with world title number
five, with this win.
"I
am so happy to win this title at the World
Series of Poker," Men Nguyen said afterward.
"I have been coming up short the last
several times I made it to the final table
-- now I can show everyone that I still
know how to play poker."
After
watching Men the Master at work, who could
argue?
-- by Nolan Dalla
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