Erik
Seidel Stages Dramatic Comeback in
Pot-Limit Omaha Event and
Wins Sixth Gold Bracelet
Look
at the face of Erik Seidel while he's
playing in a poker tournament and you
will see the look of a true champion.
It's a look of determination, experience,
and absolute confidence. It's a look we
have seen many times before at the World
Series of Poker. It's a look Seidel has
shown six times now -- with victories
in Limit Hold'em (1992), Omaha High-Low
(1993), Limit Hold'em (1994), No-Limit
Deuce-to-Seven Lowball (1998), No-Limit
Hold'em (2001), and now -- Pot-Limit Omaha
(2003).
In
the unlikeliest of scenarios, Seidel nourished
a small stack during nearly the entire
duration of the final table, and waited
patiently while rival four-time gold bracelet
winner Men "the Master" Nguyen glittered
in the spotlight. Men the Master played
to the gallery and had the standing-room
only crowd in stitches a number of times,
with humorous comments and good-natured
jesting directed towards his opponents
who could only sit and watch as most of
the chips on the table rested beside a
bottle of Corona. Anyone who follows the
poker scene knows what that means. Men
the Master absolutely dominated the final
table with his personality and high level
of performance. Once Men the Master seized
the chip lead early and took a 7-1 chip
advantage over Seidel at one point late
in the tournament, the victory appeared
to be a foregone conclusion.
But
Erik Seidel wasn't quite ready to concede
defeat. In a dramatic turnaround -- the
last 20 minutes of the final table was
a nightmare for Men the Master. Seidel
not only overcame a huge chip disadvantage,
but ended up defeating Men the Master
in a staggering comeback that left everyone
in a state of shock -- particularly Men.
There
were other interesting developments, as
well. Jon Brody and Chris Tsiprailidis
made their second final tables at this
year's World Series of Poker and finished
7th and 10th respectively. Scott Warbucks
survived seven "all-ins" but finally went
out on his eighth tempt of fate, finishing
5th. After a sensational first day, Jeff
Duvall could not sustain the momentum.
He lost a 2-1 chip advantage over his
closest rival coming into the finale,
and ended up in 4th place. That left three
players still in the tournament -- Men
the Master, Erik Seidel and Billy Duvall,
with Men the Master holding a 7-1 chip
lead over both of the shorter stacks.
One
of the most exciting hands of the final
table occurred when Seidel was dealt K-10-5-3
versus Men the Master's A-K-Q-J. Men the
Master had raised pre-flop, and Seidel
called in the big blind. The flop came
3-4-5, giving Seidel two small pair. Men
the Master tried to bluff with a pot-sized
bet, and Seidel took five full minutes
to think about his decision before finally
moving all-in. Men the Master didn't like
the situation, but called anyway. The
5s and 3s held up, and Seidel suddenly
had some chips.
The next key hand was a three-way pot
which allowed Men the Master to regain
his dominance. With the final board showing
6-3-2-10-5, Duarte checked and Seidel
bet about half of his stack -- $37K. Men
the Master raised enough to put both of
his opponents "all in." Duarte immediately
folded and then Seidel reluctantly folded,
as well. Men the Master then showed three
5s and took down the big pot. Once again,
he had a 7-1 chip advantage.
"I
want to bust you so bad," Men the Master
said to Billy Duarte at one point -- as
he ordered another round of his trademark
Corona. But it was Erik Seidel who ended
up eliminating Duarte, who hung in with
the best of them and took $36,140 for
third place.
Once
heads-up play began, Seidel did just about
everything right. One of the key hands
took place when Men the Master bet enough
on the turn to put Seidel "all-in" on
the turn. The board showed 10-10-3-4,
with one card to come. Men the Master
had two pair and an outside straight draw
with J-6-6-5. Seidel held A-A-Q-2 and
pondered the call for at least five minutes.
He finally called and showed two pair
-- aces and tens. The last card brought
another ten, giving Seidel a bigger full-house,
tens over aces versus Men the Master's
tens over sixes. With that pot, Seidel
was now about even in chips with The Master.
Men
the Master was no longer laughing and
joking. And the crowd, which had watched
the carnival sideshow for several hours
knew it was witnessing an epic confrontation
between two great poker champions. It
took no more than twenty minutes for Seidel
to stage his incredible comeback one-on-one
against Men the Master and to make poker
history.
After
Seidel won a few sizable pots, the final
hand of the night came when Seidel was
dealt K-Q-Q-J versus Men the Master's
6-5-5-7. Both players put in a series
of bets and raises that left Men the Master
"all in" on the turn, and had Seidel down
to just a few remaining chips. The world
championship of the $1,500 buy-in Pot-Limit
Omaha event all came down to a single
card. How ironic and how fitting, it was.
On
the turn, the board showed 4-3-3-J. Seidel
held two pair -- queens and threes. Men
the Master was on a draw. Any 2, 5, 6,
7, or club would give him the pot, and
mostly likely the victory. Nearly seven
hours into the final table, the last card
of the night rolled off the deck. It was
a queen, smashing Men the Master's hopes,
giving Seidel the championship.
Men
the Master was devastated by the loss,
and rightly so. He was within one card
of winning his fifth gold bracelet on
a number of occasions but could never
catch that final card to seize the victory.
At the same time, Erik Seidel proved why
he is one of the world's best poker players,
and arguably may be the very best when
it comes to overall talent and ability
in both cash games and tournaments. There
were several hands where Seidel could
conceivably have "given up" and let the
deck determine his fate. But he was patient
enough to wait and let the tide turn in
his favor, which eventually allowed him
to triumph.
This
victory means that Erik Seidel now has
six gold bracelets at the World Series
of Poker. He is one behind Johnny Chan
and Phil Hellmuth, Jr. (with 7 each) and
two behind legendary poker icon, Doyle
Brunson (with 8). Seidel is also in 5th
place on the all-time World Series of
Poker money list, with 28 times in the
money and $2,230,261 in lifetime earnings.
Aside from his rematch win against Johnny
Chan in the 2001 No-Limit Hold'em event,
this also had to be one of his most satisfying
wins. "It feels great to win it again,"
said Seidel, who snapped on the gold bracelet
like the victory was never in doubt. Indeed,
the look of confidence can be a powerful
force.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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