Event #7: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em
The final day of this event saw 5 amateurs who combined for $2,968 in WSOP earnings and five established pros with more than $4 million in combined earnings. After several hours of play, Matt Waxman and Eric Baldwin were the last men standing and Waxman had 3.1 million to Baldwin's 2.4 million. The two would battle for, believe it or not, 187 hands over the course of almost seven hours before a winner finally had been decided.
Although Waxman lost the chip lead several times during the epic battle, he managed to keep a cool head and eventually defeat Balwin, who was looking to win a second gold bracelet. Matt Waxman received $305,952 and his first WSOP bracelet for winning the tournament, and Baldwin received $189,200 as a "consolation".
Event #8: $2,500 Eight-Game Mix
The eight event at the 44th Annual World Series of Poker saw a field of 388 players playing 8 different card games for three days. The final day of the tournament started with 19 players, including notables such as Robert Mizrachi, Chris Reslock and Randy Ohel. However, at the end of the day, it was a relatively unknown player who took down the tournament.
Michael Malm, from Canada, was down to just around 2 big bets at one point during the heads-up match against Steven Wolansky, but he doubled up quickly and took down a few big pots to even out the score. Then it didn't take long before he overtook the chip lead. After a pre flop all in, Malm made the nut flush on the river to eliminate Wolansky in second place. Michael Malm was awarded his first gold bracelet and a whopping $225,104 for winning the tournament!
Event #9: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout
Not less than 4 gold bracelet winners were among the final 10 players who returned to the final day of this event. Cliff Josephy was one of them and he was ranked 6th when the cards were in the air. Josephy quickly doubled up through David "Bakes" Baker and remained in the chip lead for most of the day. After 8 players had been sent packing, Josephy and Evan Silverstein were playing heads-up for the title.
Josephy had a slight lead over his opponent when the match started, and it took 46 hands for him to capture his second bracelet and $299,486 in prize money. Evan Silverstein received $185,487 for his second place finish.
Event #10: $1,500 Limit Hold'em
Brent Wheeler entered the final table 7th in chips and made it to heads-up with a slight lead. His opponent, Mark Mierkalns, played very well and had a 2-1 chip lead in Level 27. But Wheeler refused to give up and, after 121 hands of heads-up battle, he eliminated Mierkalns in Level 28. Here is how the final hand was played out:
Wheeler raised on the button, Mierkalns responded with a three-bet, and Wheeler called.
The flop came down 9
9
3
The two began betting back and forth until Mierkalns was all in for his remaining 705k.
Mierkalns: A
10
Wheeler: A3
Mierkalns needed a 10 or a higher pair than 3's on the table to double up. The turn card was the 2, which left him with even less outs. The final card was the 8 and Wheeler took down the pot (and the tournament) with 2 pairs - Nines over threes and laid hands on $191,605 and a first bracelet!
