WSOP What To Watch For: Mueller vs. Baker in Event #37; Hinkle and Clements Chase Gold
At the 2012 World Series of Poker, several events have needed an unscheduled Day 4 to crown a champion. Event #37: $2,500 Eight-Game Mix is another one of those events and will be completed on Friday. Also aiming to complete with be Event 38: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em. These two events are the focus of this edition of the PokerNews What To Watch For.
Event #37: $2,500 Eight-Game Mix
Mueller vs. Baker for the Gold
On Thursday, it was mentioned that an extremely stacked field of 27 players was left for this event and two of those players were Greg "FBT" Mueller and David "ODB" Baker.
Mueller already holds two WSOP gold bracelets coming from a double-bracelet year in 2009, but Baker has yet to lock up a WSOP win. These two men have made it to heads-up play and will return on Friday to battle for the title. Mueller will be looking to snatch his third piece of gold jewelry while Baker wants his first — both historical feats in their own right. Going into the final day of play, Mueller has the edge in chips with 2.655 million to 925,000. The difference in prize money between first and second is slightly more than $100,000 and with the bet sizes being so large, the fireworks should start early. It's going to be an exciting finale you won't want to miss.
Event 38: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em
Hinkle and Clements Looking for More WSOP Accomplishments
Only one of the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em events so far has actually made it to a final table on schedule and that was Event #9: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Re-Entry, which had a lengthened schedule in anticipation for a large field. Event #38 joins that group as 21 players will return for Day 3.
Among 21 who remain are Blair Hinkle and Scott Clements. Hinkle earned his first gold bracelet in 2008 when he won the $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em event for over $500,000. Clements has two WSOP gold bracelets coming from 2006 and 2007, but both are in Omaha events. The closest Clements has come to winning a no-limit hold'em bracelet was in 2007 when he took fifth in a $1,500 event.
Hinkle will be able to separate himself from the large group of players that have just one bracelet and move into a much more elite tier if he's able to win his second on Friday. He will enter the day packing plenty of ammunition because he is fourth in chips. Clements could move to an even more elite tier of bracelet winners than that if he's able to capture his third and join the likes Chau Giang, Mike Matusow, Sammy Farha, Barry Greenstein[/b] and Daniel Alaei who all have three. Clements will have a bit more work to do than Hinkle as he enters Day 3 16th in chips.
As always, you can find PokerNews' coverage of the 2012 WSOP on our Live Reporting Pages. We look forward to having you follow along and stay tuned for plenty more from our What To Watch For series.
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