NEWS
FTOPS Event No. 16 – Pot-Limit Omaha Knockout ($200,000 Guarantee) Buy-In: $240+$16 Final Table Results: 1. bd3109 — $35,036* *Based on a four-way deal made at the final table. FTOPS Event No. 17 – Six-Max No-Limit Hold’em With Rebuys ($1,000,000 Guarantee)
Buy-In: $300+$22 Final Table Results: 1. gametime1111 — $191,301* *Based on a heads-up deal made at the final table. FTOPS Event No. 18 – No-Limit Hold’em Cashout ($150,000 Guarantee)
Buy-In: $200+$16 Final Table Results: 1. m_hawk1 — $53,545* FTOPS Event No. 19 – Six-Max Limit Hold’em ($150,000 Guarantee)
Buy-In: $200+$16 Final Table Results: 1. Greg “FBT” Mueller — $36,081 (pictured right) FTOPS Event No. 20 – No-Limit Hold’em ($400,000 Guarantee)
Buy-In: $200+$16 Final Table Results: 1. Steven “UFman2” Burkholder — $102,240* (pictured right) *Based on a heads-up deal made at the final table. FTOPS Event No. 21 – Razz ($150,000 Guarantee)
Buy-In: $300+$22 Final Table Results: 1. BaDnEwS216 — $18,060* *Based on a five-way deal made at the final table. Take a look at the event details below: FTOPS Event No. 23 – Pot-Limit Omaha With Rebuys ($400,000 Guarantee) Buy-In: $100+$9 Final Table Results: 1. Chris “Genius28” Lee — $93,302
WSOP– GREG Mueller is Fourth Double BRacelet Winner of 2009 (Cardplayer.com)Picks Up Second Career Bracelet in Event No. 50 and Pockets $194,854by Rafael Guerrero | Published: Jun 29, 2009 |
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Greg Mueller entered the 2009 World Series of Poker with 13 career WSOP cashes and no bracelets. His best showings were two runner-up finishes. After last night, Mueller became the fourth player to win at least two bracelets at the 2009 World Series of Poker, joining an elite list featuring Jeff Lisandro, Brock Parker, and Phil Ivey.
Mueller won his first career bracelet by winning event No. 33 ($10,000 world championship limit hold’em). He topped a field of 185 and a final table that included Matt Hawrilenko, Pat Pezzin, and bracelet winner Daniel Alaei to win that event, pocketing $460,836.
To win his second bracelet tonight in event No. 50 ($1,500 limit hold’em shootout), Mueller had to win two tables in a shootout format to advance, including defeating Tom Schneider heads up on day two to make the final table.
The event began with 572 players divided among 64 tables on day 1. Some of the notables who could not cut the mustard on day 1 included Shaun Deeb, Jeff Williams, Thomas Keller, Victor Ramdin, and J.C. Tran. Each table played down to one final survivor, and each winner would have to do it all again on day 2 for a chance at the final table. Each winner on day 1 was guaranteed to cash in for $4,350. Some of the notables who were able to pull off this feat included double bracelet winner Brock Parker, Dan Heimiller, Jean-Robert Bellande, Juha Helppi, Shawn Buchanan, and Nick Binger.
Mueller entered a final table that included David Williams and event No. 38-winner Marc Naalden ($2,000 limit hold’em). All eight players at the final table started the day with 450,000 in chips, but it did not take too long for Jose Barbero to become the first casualty of the night. By the time it was all said and done, only Naalden and Mueller were left standing to battle it out to see who would be the fourth double bracelet winner of the 2009 WSOP.
Mueller entered heads-up play with nearly a 3-1 chip lead, but Naalden battled back to take the chip lead away from Mueller. The chip lead would change hands a few more times before Mueller made a set against Naalden’s top pair to reclaim the chip lead for good. Mueller proceeded to steamroll his opponent and build a 5-1 chip lead before the final hand of the night took place. Mueller called a preflop raise from Naalden and called a bet from Naalden on the flop. By the turn, Mueller had Naalden all in holding top pair with a weak kicker. Mueller held top pair with a better kicker, and the river offered no help to Naalden, giving Mueller the victory. Mueller took home his second piece of WSOP jewelry and $194,854.
Here are the official final-table results:
1. Greg Mueller — $194,854
2. Marc Naalden — $120,614
3. Mille Phung Shiu — $77,138
4. David Williams — $51,145
5. Matthew Sterling — $35,058
6. Flaminio Malaguti — $24,824
7. Joep van den Bijgaart — $18,136
8. Jose Barbero — $13,655
Here are the elimination hands, as reported on CardPlayer.com’s live updates:
Jose Barbero Eliminated in Eighth Place ($13,655)
Greg Mueller raises before the flop, and Jose Barbero calls from the big blind.
The flop comes A
10
7, Barbero bets out, Mueller raises, Barbero three-bets, and Mueller four-bets him all in. Barbero calls.
Barbero: K 2
Mueller: A
10
Mueller flopped top two pair while Barbero flopped the nut-flush draw. The turn and river are the 6 and the J, no help to Jose Barbero, who is eliminated in eighth place ($13,655).
Joep Van Den Bijgaart Eliminated in Seventh Place ($18,136)!
Joep Van Den Bijgaart comes in for a raise from late position, and Marc Naalden reraises from the big blind.
The flop comes A 7
2, and Naalden bets out. Bijgaart raises all in, and Naalden calls.
Bijgaart: Q 8
Naalden: A 10
Naalden flops top pair. The turn and river are the K and the 7, no help for Joep Van Den Bijgaart, who is eliminated seventh place ($18,136).
Flaminio Malaguti Eliminated in Sixth Place ($24,824)
Flaminio Malaguti was short-stacked and committed the rest of his stack from the small blind with A K against the A 5 of David Williams.
The flop was safe for Malaguti, but a 5 on the turn was good enough to eliminate him from the tournament.
Matt Sterling Eliminated in Fifth Place ($35,058)
Matt Sterling was all in preflop against Greg Mueller and David Williams. The flop came out 7 5 4, and Mueller bet. Williams called, and the turn was the 10.
Mueller bet again, and Williams folded. Mueller showed 9 7 for a pair of sevens, and Sterling showed Q 8 for a straight draw.
The river was the 9, giving Mueller two pair and busting Sterling.
David Williams Eliminated in Fourth Place ($51,145)
Millie Shiu raised and Greg Mueller reraised. David Williams called all in, and Shiu reraised. Mueller called, and the flop came K 8 4.
Shiu bet, Mueller called, and the turn was the J. Shiu bet, Mueller raised, and Shiu called. The river was the 7, and Mueller bet. Shiu called with pocket aces, but was turned by the pocket jacks of Mueller.
Williams could only show 5 4 and was eliminated.
Millie Shiu Eliminated in Third Place ($77,138)
Millie Shiu was all in on the big blind, and both Greg Mueller and Marc Naalden saw a flop of 10 8 5. Mueller bet, Naalden folded, and Shiu showed 4 2. Mueller’s 8 7 was well ahead, and it held to get him heads up.
Greg Mueller Wins Event No. 50($194,854), Marc Naalden Finishes In Second Place($120,614)
It was a seesaw-battle between Marc Naalden and Greg Mueller, as both men traded the chip lead throughout their heads-up match. Both men were going for their second bracelet of the 2008 WSOP, and Mueller was able to gain the upper hand late into the night and finish off Naalden.
Naalden raised to 80,000 from the button, and Mueller made the call. The flop came down 10 4 3, and Mueller check-called Naalden’s 40,000 bet. The turn was the K, and Mueller checked again. Naalden fired 80,000, and Mueller pounced, raising to 160,000. Naalden raised one more time, putting himself all in, and Mueller made the call.
Mueller showed K 5 for top pair, and Naalden showed K 2 for the same hand with a weaker kicker. The river was the J, and Mueller’s kicker played, giving him the hand and his second bracelet at this year’s WSOP. Mueller pocketed $194,854 for the win, and he added his name to the list of double bracelet winners in 2009.
WSOP: Greg Mueller Skates Away with Limit World Championship
- Lance Bradley | June 18, 2009
Before becoming a professional poker player Greg Mueller had dreams of playing in the National Hockey League. So on a day when the most prized trophy in hockey, the Stanley Cup, made an appearance at the World Series of Poker it’s only fitting that Mueller captured his most coveted prize – a WSOP bracelet.
Limit Hold’em is not only a game of skill but a test of one’s patience. Wednesday evening Mueller showed plenty of both on his way to taking down the $10,000 Limit Hold’em World Championship to win that bracelet and $460,836 cash.
“Seeing the NHL guys, seeing the Cup and hearing the Anthem – it was right during our dinner break,” said Mueller, who played pro hockey in Europe. “I went to my car, I had goosebumps. I was so jacked because of the anthems, the hockey, the Stanley Cup.”
The Stanley Cup, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and a group of NHL superstars were in attendance for the filming of the NHL Charity Shootout – an event being filmed for broadcast on the NHL Network. The annual NHL Awards are being hosted across the street at The Palms Thursday night.
“I was like ‘Oh my god, maybe this is destiny – maybe it’s my night.”
While the night did end up belonging to Mueller the day actually started with 12 players remaining before Jennifer Harman, Maria Ho and Mark Klecan all hit the rail before the final table began. Once it did Mueller waited for his opportunity to strike and when it came there was no stopping him.
Kenny Hsiung saw his final table appearance end way too early considering he started the final day of play as the chip leader. Short on chips and in need of a double up the Hsiung got his last bets in with K
Q
against the A
8
of Daniel Alaei. The flop brought an ace for Alaei but it also brought three diamonds giving Hsiung a draw to the nut flush. The turn and river bricked however and Hsiung was out in ninth.
After losing a huge pot, and large piece of his stack, with kings against aces Soheil Shamseddin found himself in dire need of some help. Three consecutive double-ups were of little help to him when het ran into Matt Glantz. After Shamseddin raised from the button Glantz put another bet into the pot and Shamseddin called. The flop came Q Q 2, Glantz bet and Shamseddin made the call. The turn was the J and Glantz again led with a bet. Shamseddin raised and put himself all-in and Glantz called. Glantz turned over 9 9 while Shamseddin showed A 3. The river didn’t produce an ace and Shamseddin’s run was over.
It was at this point that Pat Pezzin went to work. A shortstacked Michiel Brummelhuis responded to a raise from Glantz by moving all-in for his last 115,000. Glantz, Pezzin and Chad Brown all called to see a flop of 8 4 2. Glantz bet the flop, Pezzin called and Brown folded. Pezzin and Glantz checked the K on the turn and the T on the river. Pezzin showed pocket nines, good enough to beat the pocket sevens of Glantz and Brummelhuis mucked his hand and exited, stage right.
Pezzin came back from dinner still looking to do work. Within 30 minutes of returning from his meal Pezzin sent Matt Glantz home in sixth and Matt Hawrilenko, considered one of the best heads-up Limit players in the world, home in fifth.
Glantz raised and Pezzin called from the big blind. After a flop of A Q 5 Pezzin put his last bet in and Glantz called. Pezzin turned over Q J for a flush draw while Glantz showed A 3. Glantz couldn’t fade the flush draw though as the K fell on the turn putting Glantz out in sixth spot. Only a few hands later Hawrilenko suffered the same fate when his Q 8 couldn’t outrun the Q 9 of Pezzin on a 6 3 2 K 3 board.
Pezzin then took a step back and let Mueller have his turn as the crusher of dreams. Alaei raised from the button and Mueller called from the big blind. The flop came Q T 6 and Mueller bet, Alaei raised, Mueller three-bet and Alaei called and was all-in. Mueller had flopped top pair with T 8 and need to avoid only an ace as Alaei held A 8. The turn and river both bricked out for Alaei and his run at being a double-bracelet winner was over with a fourth place showing.
Letting Mueller get hot may have been a mistake that Pezzin will regret. Over the next two hours the former professional hockey player went on a tear. Chad Brown found out just how brutal when both he and Mueller called a Pezzin raise to see a flop of J 7 6. The players checked around and when the Q hit the turn Brown put out a bet, Mueller raised and Pezzin folded. Brown made the call and the two players watched the 4 hit the river. Then it got silly – and painful for Brown. Brown checked, Mueller bet and Brown put out a raise and Mueller followed with a three-bet. Brown put in a another raise and Mueller capped the action. Brown called and mucked his hand in disgust as Mueller showed 3 5 for the straight flush. The result had Mueller in the chip lead and gave him some confidence moving forward.
“When I hit the straight flush and I got all those chips I said ‘today’s my day’,” said Mueller. “I don’t really want to Hollywood him too much. To get the fifth bet out of him I’ve got to stall for a second because he almost folded it. He’s check-raised me, I’m raising. I see him raising for chips I know he’s got the nut flush, the board’s not paired. He has to lose the max in that situation. It was an unbelievable hand and a sick cooler for Chad.”
It took nearly an hour but Brown faded enough to get all of his chips in the middle pre-flop with Mueller. Brown showed Q T and Mueller turned over A 9. The board ran dry for Brown and eventually gave Mueller an unneeded straight to send Brown home in third. With the National Hockey League Charity Shootout going on on the main stage it was only fitting that two Canadians do battle for the bracelet.
When heads-up play began Mueller held 3.8 million of the 5.5 million chips in play. Mueller then took four of the first five hands of one-on-one action to increase his lead and make the bracelet inevitable. On the final hand of the night Pezzin was only left with two bets and both ended up in the middle pre-flop. Mueller held pocket fives and Pezzin was flipping with T 8. The board ran dry for Pezzin and he was sent to the rail in second place giving Mueller the bracelet.
Mueller entered the final table Wednesday having made six final tables in the past three years. He’d finished runner-up twice, most recently to Philip Tom last summer. The win puts his lifetime tournament earnings over the $1.5 million mark.
$10,000 Limit World Championship Final Table Payouts
- Greg Mueller - $460,836
- Pat Pezzin - $285,196
- Chad Brown - $188,855
- Daniel Alaei - $134,733
- Matt Hawrilenko - $100,688
- Matt Glantz - $80,342
- Michiel Brummelhuis - $67,647
- Soheil Shamseddin - $59,996
- Kenny Hsiung - $55,996
