Online Poker News » June 2006
» June 26, 2006.
Official Report From 2006 Tournament Of Champions. As final table begins, Irishman Andrew Black is the chip leader, Daniel Negreanu a distant second, eight more round-out the field..
The third annual Tournament of Champions kicked off today at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The TOC is a one-of-a-kind
freeroll competition consisting of the top World Series of Poker and WSOP Circuit players of the past year. The high-level of competition
makes the tournament one of the toughest events to win in poker. Annie Duke was victorious the inaugural TOC held in 2004. Last year,
Mike "the Mouth" Matusow won the championship.
The invitational tournament offers a total prize pool of $2 million - including a million-dollar first-prize. Nine places will be paid. For all players -- the special event cost nothing to enter, as all prize money is posted by Harrah's Entertainment and its esteemed corporate partners -- including Sobe Adrenaline Rush (energy drink) and PartyPoker.net (online poker school).
The 27 invited players this year included all of the WSOP Circuit event winners from August 2005 through June 2006 (12 seats). Players who made it to the final table of the 2005 WSOP main event were also invited (nine seats). The remaining seats were filled by individuals selected by Harrah's Entertainment and its sponsors (six seats). Those players ranged from poker legend and two-time WSOP champion Doyle Brunson, to Sarah Strong, who beat out 100,000 competitors to win sandwich-king Quizno's special promotional qualifying tournament.
With so much prize money and bragging rights for one of poker's most prestigious titles at stake, ESPN was on hand to film the entire event for future broadcast.
On Day One, 17 players busted-out. Players were eliminated in the following order:
27th - Abe Korotki went out first when he flopped a set of eights against Daniel Negreanu's set of jacks. The higher set won.
26th - 1989 WSOP champion Phil Hellmuth went out early when his Q-Q was flattened by 2000 WSOP champion Chris "Jesus" Ferguson.
25th - Greg Merkow flopped top pair but lost to Gus Hansen's 6-6 when "The Great Dane" caught a six, good for a set.
24th - Peter Feldman was dealt 4-4 and had the best hand until Chris "Jesus" Ferguson caught a jack on the river to go with A-J. Feldman went out 24th.
23rd - Steve Dannenmann was eliminated when his 8-8 lost in a big three-way pot with Daniel Negreanu and Joe Hachem. Negreanu had A-Q and flopped an ace, putting Dannenmann out of the tournament.
22nd - The reigning world poker champion Joe Hachem had the best hand when he moved all-in with Q-Q. Steve Dannenmann was all-in as well, holding 8-8. Daniel Negreanu had A-Q and caught an ace on the flop, eliminating the top two finishers of the 2005 WSOP in one single hand.
21st - Jeff King started his final hand with A-K but lost to Andrew Black's 9-9. A nine came on the river, which was the crowing blow for King.
20th - Law student Brad Kondracki busted out with A-J. He ran into Chris "Jesus" Ferguson's Q-Q. A queen came on the turn and ended Kondracki's hopes of a winning verdict.
19th - Sarah Strom, a crowd favorite, showed she could play poker with the best. She outlasted champions Hachem and Hellmuth, and might have finished higher had it not been for some very bad luck. Strom was low on chips and moved all-in with A-Q against Daniel Negreanu, holding an embarrassingly bad hand - 5-2. When the flop came A-3-4 giving Negreanu a straight, he went over and gave Strom a conciliatory hug. Strom smiled and waved to the crowd. She could be proud of her play in this tournament.
18th - John Spadavecchia, a veteran of many poker battles lost this one when he played an A-8 aggressively and missed, losing to Doyle Brunson when the final board showed J-10-7-8-5.
17th - Mike O'Malley busted-out when his A-Q was crushed by Daniel Negreanu's 3-2. It proved to be yet another weak hand that turned into a monster. O'Malley moved all-in holding top pair when an ace flopped, and Negreanu called with a pair of threes. Another three fell on the turn (good for three-of-a-kind) and O'Malley waved goodbye.
16th - Vinny Vinh went out with 6-6 against Chris Reslock's 7-7. Reslock would be a giant killer over the next hour, as he eliminated three consecutive players.
15th - Clint Baskin was eliminated when his 9-9 was cracked by Chris Reslock's A-K. Reslock rivered a king, and Baskin melted away in 15th place.
14th - Tex Barch was short on chips and moved in with J-9 against Chris Reslock's K-Q. Reslock made a pair. Barch didn't. Barch went home.
13th - Poker icon Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson went out in unlucky 13th place when his K-Q lost to Aaron Kanto's Q-Q.
12th - Scott Lazar, a movie producer in Hollywood, went out next with A-K against Kido Pham's Q-Q. Lazar failed to make a pair, and was cut from the script in 12th place.
11th - Aaron Kantor took a tough beat when his A-K lost to Andrew Black's A-10. Black flopped two pair (aces and tens) and Kantor was left wondering what went wrong and ended up going out just short of the money.
That left ten players to return tomorrow for the final table. The ten finalists, born in six different nations, represent four different countries - USA, Sweden, Ireland, and Denmark. The ten finalists of the 2006 Tournament of Champions consist of the following players:
Seat 1: Kido Pham
Thang "Kido" Pham was born in Vietnam and now lives in Dallas. He pulled off a major upset in the Bally's Las Vegas WSOP Circuit championship and arrives at the final table in fourth place.
Seat 2: Chris "Jesus" Ferguson
Chris Ferguson is one of the world's most popular poker players. He won the WSOP in 2000, and currently owns five gold bracelets. He arrives at this final table in the middle of the pack.
Seat 3: Darrell Dicken
Darrell Dicken, a.k.a. "GigaBet" won the WSOP Circuit championship at Harrah's Rincon, near San Diego. He arrives with a modest chip stack.
Seat 4: Mike "the Mouth" Matusow
The defending champion of this event is Mike Matusow, who won last year's $1 million top prize. He also finished ninth in the WSOP main event last year, earning another $1 million. Should he repeat as TOC champion, he would truly be the million-dollar man.
Seat 5: Daniel Negreanu
Canadian-born Daniel Negreanu now lives in Las Vegas. When he won his first WSOP gold bracelet in 1998, he was the youngest winner in WSOP history at the time. He now owns three gold bracelets and arrives second in the chip count.
Seat 6: Andrew Black
Andrew Black finished fifth in the WSOP main event last year, earning $1.75 million. The mystical Irishman is clearly on a mission here and arrives with an impressive chip lead - twice the amount of chips as his closest rival.
Seat 7: Mike Sexton
Mike Sexton has evolved into one of poker's greatest ambassadors and is one of the game's most recognizable faces. Sexton is a widely- respected television poker commentator and writer and won a WSOP gold bracelet in 1989.
Seat 8: Gus Hansen
"The Great Dane" is one of poker's most aggressive players. He has enjoyed much success in poker - yet for all his poker glory, he has yet to win a WSOP gold bracelet. He has a big challenge at the final table, as the player in ninth position.
Seat 9: Chris Reslock
Chris Reslock won the Showboat Atlantic City WSOP Circuit championship. He was tough on the first day, eliminating three players. But he ran cold towards the end of Day One and arrives at the final table as the shortest stack.
Seat 10: Daniel Bergsdorf
Daniel Bergsdorf finished seventh in the WSOP main event last year, earning $1.3 million. The Swede is third in chips at the start of the final table.
Prize money will be distributed, as follows:
1st Place - $1,000,000
2nd Place - 325,000
3rd Place - 250,000
4th Place - 150,000
5th Place - 100,000
6th Place - 75,000
7th Place - 50,000
8th Place - 25,000
9th Place - 25,000
Final table play starts on Monday, June 26 at 12 noon PST.
Current Standings:
1 Andrew Black Dublin, Ireland 94,175
2 Daniel Negreanu Las Vegas, NV 44,325
3 Daniel Bergsdorf Umea, Sweden 24,500
4 Kido Pham Dallas, TX 23,825
5 Mike Matusow Las Vegas, NV 21,300
6 Chris "Jesus" Ferguson Pacific Palisades, CA 16,600
7 Mike Sexton Las Vegas, NV 16,100
8 Darrell Dicken Las Vegas, NV 15,425
9 Gus Hansen Copenhagen, Denmark 7,375
10 Chris Reslock Atlantic City, NJ 6,375
Source: www.WorldSeriesOfPoker.com, by Nolan Dalla
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