On the 41st hand of heads-up play, Carlos Mortensen took the chiplead. The one thing Kirk Morrison did not want to do was give Mortensen more bullets to play with. His passive play over the last 10-15 hands has cost him dearly.
At this juncture, you have to give the edge to Mortensen. He's got experience on his side and he's playing with more confidence than Morrison.
Hand #132 - Carlos Mortensen has the button, he limps for 800,000, and Morrison checks. The flop comes , Morrison checks, Mortensen bets 1 million, and Morrison folds. Mortensen takes the pot.
Hand #133 - Kirk Morrison has the button, he limps for 800,000, and Mortensen checks. The flop comes , and both players check. The turn card is the , Mortensen checks, Morrison bets 800,000, and Mortensen calls. The river card is the , and both players check.
Mortensen shows 5-4 and Morrison shows 6-4 -- and they chop the pot with two pair, sevens and fours, with an ace kicker.
Hand #134 - Carlos Mortensen has the button, he limps for 800,000, and Morrison checks. The flop comes , and both players check. The turn card is the , Morrison bets 1 million, Mortensen immediately raises to 2 million, Morrison thinks for about two minutes and moves all in for 9.4 million. Mortensen immediately calls.
Kirk Morrison shows for a pair of aces, but Carlos Mortensen has for two pair. Morrison needs an ace, a ten, or a three on the river to stay alive.
The river card is -- the ! The crowd reacts loudly as victory is snatched from Mortensen's grasp and Morrison is given new life.
Talk about a swing in emotions here at the ballroom at the Bellagio. Carlos Mortensen was ready to make history until that spiked on the river. That miracle card allowed Kirk Morrison to double up. A stunned Mortensen shook his head in disgust as Morrison ran over to the rail and gave his friends a few high fives. The Mortensenheads sat in silence while Morrison's fans exploded with adulation.
Just when it appeared that Mortensen made the comeback of the year, a simple crushed his chances of making history. He's back to where he was over an hour ago... seriously shortstacked with a lot of work ahead of him if he wants to win.
Hand #137 - Kirk Morrison has the button, he raises to 2.8 million, and Mortensen folds.
Hand #138 - Carlos Mortensen has the button, he limps for 800,000, and Morrison checks. The flop comes , and both players check. The turn card is the , and they check again. The river card pairs the board with the , Morrison checks, Mortensen bets 1 million, and Morrison folds. Mortensen takes the pot.
Hand #139 - Kirk Morrison has the button, he limps for 800,000, and Mortensen checks. The flop comes , and both players check. The turn card is the , Mortensen bets 800,000, and Morrison calls. The river card is the , Mortensen bets 1.6 million, and Morrison grabs a stack of chips as he closely studies Mortensen for any possible tells.
After a minute, he considers the board, and appears to replay the hand in his mind. Then he studies Mortensen some more.
After about three minutes, Morrison calls. Mortensen shows 9-8 for a pair of nines, and Morrison mucks his cards. Mortensen takes the pot.
Kirk Morrison has another chance to shut the door on Carlos Mortensen. Morrison had lost the lead and appeared physcially tired as well as mentally drained. When he rivered that on Hand #34, it seemed to energize him. Can Morrison use this most recent burst of energy to his advantage and play more aggressively? Or will Mortensen come from behind once again to pull even in chips?