Day 1

Phil Ivey Takes the Lead Late in the Day

The World Poker Challenge here in Reno has been a staple on the World Poker Tour since its inception six years ago, but despite its rich history the tournament is not included on the upcoming Season VII schedule. As a result of the decision and other competition in various parts of the country, the $7,500 buy-in tournament attracted just 261 players, down from last year's count of 425. The resulting prize pool yielded a first-place prize just short of $500,000.

The day started with a bit of controversy as many of the well-known professionals who registered late were all seated with each other at the far end of the room, while the local satellite winners all kept each other company on the other side. The tremendously stacked tables featured some of the game's best, and not much else in terms of dead money.

While many complained about their situation, Mike Matusow chose to look at it optimistically, stating he was happy to have the aggressive John Phan to his direct right. Matusow got his wish when Phan called his all in with A-J against his A-Q, but Phan caught a jack on the flop to send the Mouth packing.

Perhaps the biggest disputant of the stacked table situation was Greg Mueller. Mueller, who was at one point threatened with an expulsion if his complaints continued, was fortunate enough to survive his table draw but not the aggressive play of George Panagakis. Mueller was all in for a 55,000 pot with top two pair against Panagakis' open-ended straight draw. The river came in the form of a cruel eight-outer and Mueller was eliminated from the tournament.

The field continued to shrink throughout the schedule of nine 75-minute levels and many top pros were sent to the rail. Among the fallen were Jonathan Little, Joe Sebok, Men Nguyen, Lee Watkinson, Jerry Yang, Gavin Smith, and Barry Greenstein.

During the last level of play, Phil Ivey made his usual expected surge for the chip lead. On a flop of [9h8c7c] Ivey bet 4,000 from late position and the button raised to 12,000. Ivey called and the turn brought the [10c]. Ivey bet 20,000 and the button decided to just call. The river was the [3d] and Ivey moved all in for 54,000. His opponent called showing [Js10d] for a flopped straight, but Ivey turned over [Ac9c] for the nut flush to double up to 160,000. A pretty impressive feat considering he overslept for an hour past the dinner break, blinding down to just over 10,000 in chips before beginning his comeback.

At around 1:30 a.m. PDT, play finally concluded for the day and the final 75 players bagged and tagged their chips. Play will resume tomorrow at noon and continue until 27 players remain at the final three tables.

Here are the top 10 stacks remaining.

1. Phil Ivey - 179,900
2. Eli Elezra - 173,800
3. Alan Epstein - 135,200
4. Jordan Rich - 131,300
5. Steve Conigliaro - 130,200
6. Tim West - 121,000
7. Hasan Habib - 110,300
8. Steve Faulty - 99,500
9. Don Dooley - 97,900
10. Bill Edler - 93,300

Day 2

Day 2 Starts Fast and then Crawls to the Final 27

If Day 1 at the World Poker Tour stop in Reno, Nevada for the World Poker Challenge was a long, slow grind into the night, Day 2 was its schizophrenic twin. It started fast, but then hit a wall toward the end of play to finish slow. A field of 75 returned from the original 261, and they got down to business in a hurry to reach the final 45 players. But then, the money bubble loomed close on the horizon, and play slowed down considerably on the path to 27.

Jordan Rich kept things light early when he brought some reading material with him to the table he shared with Erick Lindgren. It was a copy of Lindgren's strategy book World Poker Tour: Making the Final Table. He flipped through the chapters and asked Lindgren about key points in the book to E-Dog's mild amusement.

The quick start of the morning saw many of the short stacks perish on their final hands. Among the professionals lost during the first level were Eugene Todd, Tom Schneider, and Brandon Cantu. Cantu fell at the hands of Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi when his pocket eights ran into the pocket jacks of the Grinder. The jacks held on a board of [10s7s4dKhKd], and Cantu was eliminated from the tournament. This pot gave Mizrachi 135,000, which put him near the top of the leader board, but still far away from the early chip leader, Phil Ivey. Ivey dominated during the early chaos of the day and he increased his stack to 243,500, and then to 274,000, at a time when no one else approached 200,000.

After the first break only 55 players remained, and things showed no sign of slowing down as the field managed to shrink to five tables by the end of the second level. The chips kept flying in and out of pots, and player's stacks at a fast rate, and Huck Seed, Bob Stupak, Steve Sung, and Bill Edler were lost along the way. In some cases it was professionals busting professionals as Lindgren sent Peter Feldman to the rail with pocket eights over pocket fives.

The third level of play saw a huge slowdown take over the tournament as the money bubble was a realistic aspiration for the short stacks remaining to acheive. During this change in the order of the day Ivey continued to play well, but a number of players closed the gap on him. Jason Gray became the second player to cross the 200,000 threshold just as Ivey fell to 190,000, but Gray wasn't able to sustain this early success and ended the day with just 44,600.

It took well over two hours for the field to shrink from five tables to four and just 36 remained in play. The professionals that fell during this stretch of play included "Bodog" Ari Engel, Hasan Habib, David Redlin, and Arnold Spee (who won this event during Season III). It took another long stretch for the final nine to make an exit, but there was no shortage of chip movement during the process. Rich charged into first place as he built his stack to 270,000, but Zach Hyman topped him when he eliminated Lindgren to become the first player to cross the 300,000 mark.

Even Hyman's reign at the top was short-lived because Don Dooley won a huge pot to grow his stack to 311,000 a few minutes later. A few more professionals were among the final nine to hit the rail with no prize money, and they included Ted Forrest and Eli Elezra, who made their exit before the dinner break. The last eliminations of the night proved to be the toughest - it took almost two hours for the money bubble to burst after 30 players returned from the dinner break. Robert Goldfarb took the dubious distinction of bubble boy, busting out in 28th place, but he made a valiant stand and clung to life for 45 minutes on a short stack before he was eliminated by Hyman juts before 10 p.m. PDT.

While a number of professional players were eliminated today. Some top flight talent remains as well. Ivey, Mizrachi, Rich, and Hyman will be joined at the final three tables by 2007 Card Player Player of the Year, David "The Dragon" Pham, as well as Chau Giang, Tim West, Lee Markholt, and Erik Seidel. We will see which of these professionals emerge to make the final table, but one safe bet is Ivey, who has made the final table in every WPT event where he has made the money.

The final 27 players will return tomorrow at 2 p.m., and play down to a final television table of six, which will take place on Friday, March 28, at 5 p.m. PDT. Here is a look at the top of the leader board heading into the play-down day tomorrow:

1. Jason Potter - 351,700
2. Jordan Rich - 327,900
3. Ron Linden - 301,400
4. Zachary Hyman - 298,000
5. Phil Ivey - 286,100
6. Michael Mizrachi - 255,900
7. Chris Back - 244,300
8. David Pham - 195,100
9. Lee Markholt - 183,700
10. Bryan Devonshire - 182,500

Day 3

Lee Markholt and David Pham Headline the Final Table

History was on the line Thursday during Day 3 of the World Poker Challenge. The small field produced a final 27 littered with the game's most recognizable faces. Phil Ivey came into the day with his ninth World Poker Tour cash, and if history was any indication, Ivey would be a shoo-in for yet another WPT final table. Ivey had made the six-handed final table in each of the eight times he cashed, but despite making it all the way to the last table in play, Ivey failed to reach his goal by busting in 10th place.

Due to the relatively long bubble play the night before, the field boasted more than a few unknown short stacks to start the day, with the exception of three online professionals. They quickly got what was left of their chips all in and were eliminated, bringing the remaining 18 players to the final two tables. Here is the list of those finished 27th- 19th, earning $18,733.

27. Becky Makar
26. Boris Zivotov
25. Keith Carter
24. Jason "JasonGray" Gray
23. Stephen Ladowsky
22. Martin Wong
21. Jamie "TheNew" Robbins
20. Jonathan "UFPokerStar" Westra
19. Brian Green

After consolidating at the final two tables, Bryan Devonshire took out two players in a massive pot that had him threatening for the chip lead. Devonshire raised to 14,500 from the button and was called by Don Dooley and Ron Linden in the blinds. The flop came [10h9s6c] and Dooley led out for 15,000. Linden moved all in for roughly 100,000 and Devonshire, who had both players covered, moved all in as well. Dooley called all in and showed [7s6h] for a pair and a gutshot straight draw, Linden sheepishly turned over [5c5d] for an under pair to the board, and Devonshire turned over [10c10s] for top set. Devonshire was a huge favorite to win the pot but the turn was the [8d] giving Dooley his straight. Both Devonshire and his friend Jason Potter were disgusted by the miracle card on the turn and pleaded with the dealer to pair the board. The river was the [8s] and Devonshire let out a loud, "Yes! One Time!" as the board paired, giving him a full house and a stack of 455,000.

Devonshire continued to chip up, knocking out Erik Seidel by making trips on the turn after Seidel had flopped two pair. But then it was Michael Mizrachi's turn to heat up. Mizrachi started things off by taking out Chris Back, then his pocket queens held up against short stack Joe LePorre to chip up to 400,000.

Jordan Rich came into the day second in chips, but struggled with his table draw, doubling up David Pham, among others to put himself in jeopardy. Eventually, Rich ran into the set of nines of Jason Potter to bust in 13th.

Another player who had struggled throughout the day was none other than Phil Ivey. Ivey took some hits to his stack as players chipped away, grinding him down to just under 100,000. It took a battle of the blinds with Tim West to put him back into contention. West got it all in with [KdJc] but was dominated by Ivey's [AcJh]. The flop brought a king, but Ivey hit a runner-runner straight to knock out the online pro and keep his streak alive, at least temporarily.

Steve Conigliaro had battled with a below-average stack all day, and eventually busted on the final table bubble when his pocket fours were out-flopped by Pham's A-10. Here is a summary of 18th-11th.

18. Ron Linden
17. Don Dooley
16. Erik Seidel
15. Jordan Rich
14. Chris Back
13. Joe LePorre
12. Tim West
11. Steve Conigliaro

Heading into the final table of ten, here is what the stacks looked like:

Seat 1 – Zack Hyman – 422,000
Seat 2 – Michael Mizrachi – 505,000
Seat 3 – Jeff DeWitt – 175,000
Seat 4 – Chau Giang – 140,000
Seat 5 – David Pham – 343,000
Seat 6 – Jason Potter – 380,000
Seat 7 – Bryan Devonshire – 665,000
Seat 8 – Lee Markholt – 615,000
Seat 9 – Phil Ivey – 264,000
Seat 10 – Pat Poels – 305,000

Play continued for over an hour without an elimination, but after losing a big pot to Hyman, it was Ivey's turn to hit the rail. Markholt put Ivey all in from the small blind and Ivey made the call, showing [Jc10c]. Markholt turned over [As8d] and the board came [7h6s3h10d9d] to bust Ivey in 10th. Despite making the final table of ten, Ivey's WPT final table streak came to an end at eight.

Another excruciatingly long hour later and Poels was felted. Poels got it all in with pocket threes against DeWitt's A-J, but the board paired twice to counterfeit Poels and send him home in 9th place.

Giang lost most of his stack to the Grinder when he was forced to lay down A-Q to Mizrachi's pocket aces. His good fold didn't leave him with much of a choice and he was all in shortly after with pocket tens. This time Mizrachi had the worst hand, but ended up making a nine-high straight with K-8 to get play down to the bubble.

Mizrachi wasn't able to hold on to his chips, however, as he got it all in after flopping a pair of aces. Unfortunately for the Grinder, he was up against a better kicker from Potter and couldn't catch up. Mizrachi may have bubbled, but the remaining six make up one of the more solid TV final tables of the season.

Here are the final chip counts for the final six players:

Zach Hyman – 285,000
Jeff DeWitt – 249,000
David Pham – 406,000
Jason Potter – 1,156,000
Bryan Devonshire – 674,000
Lee Markholt – 1,137,000

The final table will resume tomorrow at 5:00 P.M. PDT. Be sure to check back for hand-for-hand updates and chip counts to see which player will take home the nearly $500,000 first-place prize.

Final Table

Markholt Makes his 15th Cash on the WPT his Most Impressive

The final table at the 2008 WPT World Poker Challenge featured two talented professional players looking for their first WPT win, and four solid, up-and-coming players. The reigning Card Player Player of the Year, David “The Dragon” Pham, made his sixth final-table appearance, and his second in Reno (he finished third in this event last year). Lee Markholt embarked on his first final-table venture, which gives him 15 cashes for his career on the WPT. These two pros both had high hopes when the final table began, but they held quite different chip stacks when the cards got into the air shortly after 5 p.m. PDT:

Seat 1: Zachary Hyman - 285,000
Seat 2: Jeff DeWitt - 249,000
Seat 3: David "The Dragon" Pham - 406,000
Seat 4: Jason Potter - 1,156,000
Seat 5: Bryan Devonshire - 674,000
Seat 6: Lee Markholt - 1,137,000

The short stack at the final table wasted little time trying to make a move, and he risked all of his chips on the eighth hand of play:

Markholt raised under the gun to 40,000, and Jeff DeWitt called from the button. The flop came [Ks7d5d], Markholt bet 70,000, and DeWitt thought for about ten seconds before he announced, "All in." Markholt studied DeWitt and carefully examined the size of his stack. After a minute of deliberation, Markholt called with pocket queens and DeWitt turned over [Jd10d] for a diamond flush draw. The turn and river fell [2c4c] and Markholt's queens held to win the pot. DeWitt was eliminated in 6th place, earning $84,297.

Markholt now held the chip lead and he increased it even further when he tangled with the Dragon a few hands later. Markholt picked up a 407,000 pot off of Pham with a pair of jacks, which sent the two pros on divergent paths during early play. Markholt was in good shape, while Pham was the new short stack at the table. Markholt was not completely invincible though, and Zachary Hyman proved that point when he doubled up through Markholt to survive on the 18th hand of play. Hyman ironically faded 18 outs that Markholt had with the [AhJh] in the hole, and [10s8h7s3h] on the board on the turn, against his pocket fours. The river brought the [Qd] and Hyman survived. Hyman built on this momentum and challenged Markholt for the chip lead a short time later after he scored a 765,000 pot against Jason Potter. Hyman hit a perfect river card ([8s]) on the hand, which gave him a jack-high straight over Potter's set of eights, and Hyman crossed the million-chip mark after the hand.

Pham was pretty low at this point with just under 200,000, but he managed to more than double up without a single player calling his all-in bet of 115,000 on a flop of [8h7d5h]. Markholt, Hyman, and Bryan Devonshire all mucked their hands and Pham survived without having to show a single card. The next time the Dragon moved all in, he did have to show his cards and the outcome was a little different:

Pham raised under the gun to 86,000, and Markholt made the call from the small blind. The flop brought [AdQh7d], Markholt checked, and Pham bet 131,000. Markholt moved all in and Pham thought for a minute before he called all in with [As2c]. Markholt showed down [Ah10h] and he had Pham dominated.

The turn and river fell [10c2s], and both players finished with two pair, but Markholt won with aces and tens, to increase his stack to about 1.95 million. Pham was eliminated in fifth place, earning $93,664, and has now finished in sixth, fifth, fourth, third (twice), and second place at WPT final tables, but a WPT title still eludes him.

A few hands later Devonshire hit an ace on the river to double up through Potter, and the result of that hand led to Potter's ultimate demise on hand 61:

Hyman had the button in seat 1, and he raised to 140,000. Potter moves all in from the small blind for 190,000 and Hyman called with [As5h]. Potter showed down [Ac3d] and the board came [Qs8s4s8h7s]. Hyman hit a flush on the river to win the hand, increasing his stack to about 1,035,000. Potter was eliminated in fourth place, earning $103,030.

The next elimination followed suit and was set up by a huge blow a few hands before the third-place finisher made his exit. Markholt scored a huge pot worth 855,000 off of Hyman with a pair of kings, and this sent Hyman on an inevitable path to destruction. It only took one more hand before Hyman would hit the rail.

Hyman moved all in from the small blind for 385,000, and Devonshire called from the big blind with pocket nines. Hyman showed down [KhJh] and the board ran out [QsQd7d4c10s]. Devonshire won the pot with two pair, queens and nines, and Hyman was eliminated in third place, earning $149,862.

Heads-up play was a short-lived affair. Just two hands in, Devonshire got all of his chips in the middle. After he was quickly called, Devonshire knew he was in trouble with his pair of fours. Trouble was an understatement, because Markholt had him drawing dead with two pair. Devonshire certainly enjoyed his time at the final table, and his second-place finish earned him $271,625.

Markholt was more than excited to finally get the monkey off his back and take down a WPT title. The former bull-rider walked away with $493,815 and a $25,000 seat into the WPT World Championship this April at Bellagio.

Here are the final results:

1. Lee Markholt - $493,815
2. Bryan Devonshire - $271,625
3. Zach Hyman - $149,862
4. Jason Potter - $103,030
5. David Pham - $93,664
6. Jeff Dewitt - $84,297