Huy Nguyen Wins the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event in Choctaw
After just over eight hours of play on Day 3, Huy Nguyen is the winner of the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event at Choctaw. He received $232,706 for his victory and bested a field that included WSOP-C Ring winners Charles "Woody" Moore and Drazen Ilich, and WSOP bracelet winner Robert Cheung.
The final day began with 14 players and Neal Seiwert as the chip leader. Austin, Texas' Basil Lombardo was the first to go and then Seiwert busted soon after. He lost two huge flips, A♦K♥ against 8♠8♣ and Q♠Q♥ against A♥K♦ for his tournament life, eliminating him in 13th place.
John Loza was the next to go after a massive hand against Nguyen. The two got four million chips in the middle at 20,000/40,000/5,000 in a blind-for-blind battle, and Nguyen's A♦K♠ had Loza's A♣Q♣ crushed. Nguyen held and Loza busted in 12th shortly after.
Next to exit was Joe Bui in 11th place. He was very short when he open-shoved with A♣7♣ and ran into Victor Haynes' A♦A♠.
Moore made the unofficial final table but couldn't quite make his third official final table of the 2011 WSOP-C. He busted in 10th when he moved in with K♠Q♠ and was reshoved by Bobby "Shooter" Hempkins with A♣J♠. Hempkins held and Moore headed to the cage to collect his $17,662 in prize money.
Cheung and Andrew Watson were eliminated in ninth and eighth places respectively, and both were dominated when their chips went in. Cheung ran a set into the nut-straight and Watson ran wired fours into pocket queens. Both players were KO'd by the eventual winner — Nguyen.
Victor Haynes was the next victim. He doubled twice during Level 31, but the third time he was all-in for his tournament life he did not survive. Haynes' K♣Q♥ was dominated by Shallum Lynch's Q♣Q♦ and the queens held, sending Haynes home in seventh place.
Ilich failed to capture his second WSOP-C ring and finished sixth when he shoved with J♠10♠ on a A♠9♥4♠3♥ board. Nguyen called with A♥6♥ and held when the 5♥ fell on the river.
Hempkins coasted to the final table without getting involved in too many big hands, but once play was five-handed he three-bet shoved for 900,000 with 4♠4♦. Lynch snapped it off with K♣K♥, and just like in every other elimination, the best hand held.
Dinner break came and went, and play slowed mightily upon return. The four remaining players knew they were on a six-digit pay-jump and everybody played noticeably tighter. It wasn't until Jeff Gibralter tried to make a hero-call that the fireworks start shooting.
Gibralter opened to 255,000 on the button and Nguyen called from the small blind. The dealer flopped 3♥8♦3♠ and Nguyen led for 755,000. Gibralter called.The turn was the K♥ and Nguyen moved all-in for effectively 3.5 million. Gibralter went deep into the tank before calling with just 4♦4♥ and was crushed by Nguyen's Q♣Q♠. The river was the K♠ and Gibralter was eliminated in fourth place.
Only a few hands later Lynch three-bet shoved for 2.1 million with 4♣4♠. Nguyen, the original raiser, quickly called with A♥A♦ and held, giving him a massive chip lead entering heads-up play with the last female standing — Traci Brown.
It was Brown's birthday (literally) and she couldn't be stopped. She won two big flips and cracked Nguyen's kings with ace-king when play was six-handed to stay alive. She could not overcome the deficit; however, when she open-shoved with A♦9♦ and Nguyen called with A♥Q♠. The board ran K♦5♠2♥6♦A♣ and Nguyen was the WSOP-C Main Event champion!
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huy Nguyen | $232,706 |
| 2 | Traci Brown | $143,462 |
| 3 | Shallum Lynch | $105,764 |
| 4 | Jeff Gibralter | $78,828 |
| 5 | Bobby "Shooter" Hempkins | $59,537 |
| 6 | Drazen Ilich | $45,552 |
| 7 | Victor Haynes | $35,290 |
| 8 | Philippe Plouffe | $27,680 |
| 9 | Robert Cheung | $21,979 |
For besting a field of 808 players and playing great poker for three days, he receives $232,706, a seat in the National Championship and, of course, the WSOP-C Ring.
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*Photo courtesy of Eric Butler at Image Masters
