Phil Ivey Denied Super High Roller Series Sochi Title
Phil Ivey may have been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons lately but it’s his poker prowess that everyone’s talking about again.
Only yesterday, Ivey finished seventh in the partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Super High Roller Series Sochi $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em event for $72,500. Today, he fell at the final hurdle of the $50,000 Short Deck and walked away with $525,000. The old Ivey we love seems to be back.
Event #5: $50,000 Short Deck Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wai Kin Yong | Malaysia | $800,000 |
| 2 | Phil Ivey | United States | $525,000 |
| 3 | Sam Greenwood | Canada | $350,000 |
| 4 | Cary Katz | United States | $250,000 |
| 5 | Aaron Van Blarcum | United States | $200,000 |
| 6 | Mikhail Rudoy | Russia | $150,000 |
| 7 | Seth Davies | United States | $125,000 |
| 8 | Paul Phua | Malaysia | $100,000 |
Exactly 50 entries were processed in this event, the 50th entrant being Wai Kin Yong. Yong was the last man standing when the curtain came down on the second and final day’s play. But how did that happen?
Yong was fast out of the blocks and had grabbed the chip lead by the horns by the time only two tables remained. Jason Koon and Michael Soyza were just two of Yong’s victims as the tournament progressed towards the bubble.
Bubble Bursts; Yong Secures Chip Lead
Ivan Leow was the unfortunate soul who burst the bubble, doing so after a clash with Yong. Leow called off his last 710,000 chips with ace-king after Yong open-shoved to put him to the test for his stack; Yong had done this with pocket nines. Yong flopped a set and improved to a boat on the river to send the remaining eight players into the money.
Paul Phua was the first player heading to the cashier’s desk after his ace-ten lost to Mikhail Rudoy’s king-jack with a jack on the river.
Big Double For Ivey
Ivey then doubled through Sam Greenwood who was the chip leader. Greenwood’s stack was decimated during Day 1 proceedings but he rallied back to claim the overnight lead. His king-jack proved no match for Ivey’s ace-jack in this all-in preflop encounter.
It wasn’t simple for Ivey, however, because Greenwood flopped a Broadway straight. Ivey hit running tens to improve to a hand-winning full house.
Seth Davies didn’t have to contend with a big stacked Ivey for long because he busted in seventh-place at the hands of Rudoy.
Rudoy himself was the next to bust, doing so in a clash with Ivey.
Ivey limped in late position with ace-king, Yong called in the cutoff with nine-six and Rudoy jammed on the button for 3,400,000 with a pair of red jacks. Ivey called, Yong ducked out of the way, and the dealer put the five community cards in play. The first of those cards was the king of spades, which was enough to win Ivey the hand and soar into a commanding chip lead.
Man of the moment Aaron Van Blarcum was the next to fall. Yong doubled through Van Blarcum which resulted in the latter jamming all-in blind for a couple of hands. The first ended in a chopped pot, the second saw his king-nine lose to the ace-queen of Greenwood.
Fourth-place went to Cary Katz whose nine-eight couldn’t crack the queens of Greenwood, before greenwood busted in the most spectacular of hands.
Sick Hand Goes Ivey’s Way to Bust Greenwood
Ivey limped in with red aces, Greenwood checked with king-eight of clubs and the flop fell ace-high with two clubs. Ivey bet 200,000 and Greenwood called. The turn was another ace, gifting Ivey quad aces. He unsurprisingly checked and Greenwood checked behind.
Ivey bet 400,000 on the flush-completing jack of clubs on the river, Greenwood raised to 1,950,000, Ivey shoved and Greenwood called the rest of his stack off, approximately the size of his raise. Greenwood unclipped his microphone, said his goodbyes all while Ivey stacked up 11,640,000 chips.
Yong had a lot of work to do because he trailed Ivey by almost 4-to-1 in chips. He managed to close the gap by doubling up after hitting a gutshot on the river when Ivey held two pair.
Ivey showed relentless aggression but couldn’t shake off Yong. Yong and Ivey both know poker tournaments can and do turn on their heads in a single hand. That happened here.
Yong open-shoved for his 4,800,000 stack with jack-ten and Ivey had the easiest call of his life with pocket aces. The flop came down with two tens and Ivey couldn’t find one of the two remaining aces in the deck.
The final hand soon followed.
Yong completed the 300,000 button ante with jack-ten of clubs before calling Ivey’s raise to 900,000 with queen-jack. A queen-nine-jack flop saw Yong set Ivey all-in and Ivey looked him up.
A king on the turn gave Yong a straight and a massive advantage. Ivey needed a queen or jack or he’d bust. The six of hearts was neither, busting Ivey in second-place and leaving Yong to win the $800,000 top prize.
Ivey is already back in action, grinding it out in the $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em event. Can he go all the way this time? Stay tuned to PokerNews to find out.
