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World Series Of Poker
2003 World Championship Report |
LAS VEGAS
April 19th - May 23rd, 2003  |
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Complete
Result - Jesse May Reports -
Pictures
Day One -
Day Two -
Day Three -
Day Four - Last Hand |
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19 - 23rd
May - $10,000 World Championship Event (No limit
Holdem) -
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| Final Day |
Before the start of this final it was clear that it
could be like no other. Sure there was Harrington, the 1995 World Champion, and
Jason Lester, a journeyman professional gambler of Backgammon then poker. But
Benevenitsi got through via $125 satellite tournament which is big bucks
compared to Chris Moneymaker (I kid you not) who made his first real world
poker tournament debut via Pokerstars' $40 online qualifier!
Grey and
Singer are good cash players, Farha quite a big cash player and Pak had some
World Series tournament cashes. The difference here, apart from the lack of big
names, was the dominant chip leader and probable favourite was the man who had
qualified for $40. Anyway the final started with $10k-$20k blinds and $3k
antes.
| Final Start
Pos |
Chips |
| Amir
Vahedi |
$1,407,000 |
| Tomer
Benvisitsi |
$922,000 |
| Sam
Farha |
$999,000 |
| Yung
Pak |
$360,000 |
| Jason
Lester |
$695,000 |
| Dan Harrington
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$574,000 |
| David
Grey |
$338,000 |
| Chris
Moneymaker |
$2,344,000 |
| David
Singer |
$750,000 |
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Promise of a ripping final was indicated when on
hand 24, David Singer got aggressive with his A-10. Call by Vahedi. The flop
showed Q-6-2 and Singer bet again, being called by Vahedi holding A-6 and
therefore a pair of sixes. When the turn came an Ace he checked hoping to trap
and was glad when Vahedi bet. He moved all in and Vahedi called instantly. The
river did nothing so Vahedi had Aces and Sixes ahead of Singer's pair. Singer
9th.
Only 40 minutes later David Grey was out 8th. Both Vahedi and
Moneymaker calling his all-in short stack and Moneymaker making two pair with
5-4 (a useful hand later). The promise of fire was on.
| At Diner,
7p.m |
Chips |
| Amir
Vahedi |
$0.6 |
| Tomer
Benvisitsi |
$0.5 |
| Sam
Farha |
$2.0m |
| Jason
Lester |
$1.1 |
| Dan Harrington
|
$0.95 |
| Chris
Moneymaker |
$3.2m |
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However it was slow from here on with Pak playing
4 hands in 4 hours. Farha was aggressive and no one was prepared to do serious
battle. Coming up to 4 hours in and 7 o'clock Las Vegas time, Pak found Ace-Ten
to go all-in for under $200k. Jason Lestor, the experienced gambler from New
York, found an Ace-King to call with. The flop was delt swiftly, A-A-3-J-8 and
Pak was out 7th.
Shortly after the dinner break, and finally, the two
chip leaders Farha and Moneymaker got to grips with a pot. Farha opened before
the flop and got called. They checked the flop but Moneymaker bet the turn only
to be raised, which he called. An Ace hit the board on the end and Moneymaker
bluffed with a substantial bet. Farha had an Ace an took the pot to go chip
leader for the first time.
| Five
left |
Chips |
| Tomer
Benvisitsi |
$0.7m |
| Sam
Farha |
$3.6m |
| Jason
Lester |
$0.9 |
| Dan Harrington
|
$1m |
| Chris
Moneymaker |
$2m |
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Soon after that Vahedi cracked after more than 6
hours of little action. He made a complete all-in bluff after the flop and
Farha called with a pair. Farha now went bigger chip leader and there were 5
left in it.
Twenty minuts later after Harrington had opened with a bet,
Benvenitsi moved all-in for his now pressurized stack of about half a million.
Harrington passed but Moneymaker called. The world was slightly shocked to see
him turn over Ace-Deuce. Had made a read on the guy or was he gambling?
Benvenitsi had J-T and the Ace nailed him into fifth spot.
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| Jason Lester |
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With four people left and Jason Lester now the
short stack he was glad to see Moneymaker open for a good bet. Jason bet a
large portion of his chips as a raise holding the premium hand of Ace-Queen.
Moneymaker called and we had a big pot on our hands.
When the flop
turned up as T-9-8 Jason bet the rest of his chips which wasn't much but then
he had no where else to go. Moneymaker called in a flash. After the 5th flop
card Jason had to stand up as Moneymaker had flopped the absolute nuts with a
Queen-Jack. Unlucky Jason Lester was 4th.
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| Dan Harrington |
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With three left, Moneymaker and Farha were equal
with Harrington way behind with around $1m in chips. Harrington soon got all in
with the worst hand against Moneymaker but his Ten paired the board and
Moneymakers' Ace high was no good.. Harrington had doubled his
chips.
From this point on though the final took on a new life. Suddenly
Moneymaker began making moves all over the place, taking chips from both
players. It was as though this man, who had never played a real tournament
before, was the reincarnation of Stu Ungar, else how had he come to gain this
ability?
When Moneymaker reached about $4.5m in chips, he met
Harrington in a desperate situation. However the 1995 World Champion had hit
the flop with middle pair and one to a flush, he had to call the big bet from
Moneymaker holding top pair. Sadly for Dan the last two cards were blank and it
was heads-up. |
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| The
Heads-up Battle |
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| Sami Farha |
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| Chris
Moneymaker |
The heads up battle started with Chris Moneymaker
in commanding lead with just under $6m and Sami Farha around the $2.4m figure.
The blinds are 20,000-40,000 with antes of 5,000.
Chris is an internet
poker player, never really playing tournaments in the real world. Sami is a
high stakes Pot Limit Omaha specialist.
Amazingly during the break,
Chris Moneymaker offers a deal to split the cash and play for the title. Farha
turns it down, thinking the money is what will help him win the
title!
Farha, normally a very aggressive heads-up cash player, lost his
normal style and began to try and chip away at Moneymaker's stacks. He made
some progress and then got involved on a flop of 2-6-9 (2 spades), betting
300k, only to be raised 800k which he called. The 4th card was 8 spades,
check-check. The last card was a 3 and Chris bet all, which Sami passed on
after a while.
| Final |
Win |
| Chris
Moneymaker |
$2.5m |
| Sam
Farha |
$1.3m |
| Dan Harrington
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$650k |
| Jason
Lester |
$440k |
| Tomer
Benvisitsi |
$320k |
| Amir
Vahedi |
$650k |
| Yung
Pak |
$200k |
| David
Grey |
$160k |
| David
Singer |
$120k |
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Chris now near $7m, Sami near $1.4m
chips.
With the blinds just called, the flop turns up J-5-4. Chris finds
5-4 in the hole and bets 175k. Sami is holding J-10 and bets out with all his
chips, a bold move giving him no more options. Chris quickly calls. The 4th
flop card came an 8 and the 5th flop card another 5, giving Chris a full house
Fives over Fours beating Sami's two pair.
Chris Moneymaker, a qualifier
from Pokerstars online cardroom, parleyed his small entry fee into $2,500,000
and the crown of Poker Champion of the World. Complete Result
Moneymaker, a father
of a 3-month-old girl, was among 37 players sent to the tournament after paying
$40 and qualifying at PokerStars.com. Dan Goldman, vice president of marketing
for PokerStars.com, credited Moneymaker's win to his natural card sense and the
experience he gained while playing online.
Chris also sold 20 percent
stakes in his WSOP championship performance to his father and friend David
Gamble (I kid you not for the second time) for $2,000 each, cash Moneymaker
used to finance his Las Vegas trip. His father, Mike Moneymaker, and Gamble
each stand to collect $½million (minus income tax which applies to
gambling winnings in the USA) on their investment. The winner also pledged 1
percent of his win, $25,000, to cancer research.
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| Complete Result -
Jesse May Reports -
Pictures -
Day One -
Day Two -
Day Three -
Day Four |
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