Final Table Set: WPT L...

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Final Table Set: WPT Legends Day 4

By Arthur Crowson | Live Tournaments

Bustouts were a dime a dozen in the first few levels of play on Day 4 of the 2008 WPT Legends but during the last four hours you couldn't buy one for $140,830.

If it was up to Amit "amak316" Makhija he probably would have been alright with playing until there was a winner because he controlled play for most of the day and finished with $3.2 million chips for the chip lead.

A total of 27 players entered the day and it took just two hours of play to relegate eight of them to the rail.

Surprisingly it was some of the most well-known players that took a dive early. Both former chip leader Adam Weinraub, online player Ben Fineman and the always dangerous Allen Cunningham were gone in the first two levels of play.


No Maria Ho = Sad PokerListings.com.

Maria Ho was the last woman standing in the event (which reminded of us of the 2007 WSOP Main Event when she performed the same feat) and was looking for her first major final table appearance.

Unfortunately for Ho, and poker geeks everywhere, her day was cut short when she lost a coinflip for her tournament life. It's a shame because poker needs more Ho's.

One player who wasn't sent packing early was online killer Makhija who really seemed to hit his stride on Day 3 and was absolutely unbeatable throughout most of Day 4.

Not only was Makhija playing well he was also winning almost all his races, which can be a deadly combination.

Vancouver pro Kyle Wilson is headed for the final table.

PL.com tends to recognize greatness so we grabbed amak316 for a quick interview part way through the day and got his thoughts on the tournament. Check out our interview section for more information.

Although the action slowed considerably with around 10 players left things really slowed down when the players were consolidated to the nine-player faux final table.

It took more than an hour to eliminate Raymond Voskanian who did his best barnacle impression and stuck around longer than anyone thought possible.

It then took close to two hours before the next elimination would occur and as it happened it was big-name pro Layne Flack who fell at that hands of a certain John "Razor" Phan.

The hand was not exactly a fun one for Flack either. Phan moved all-in with pocket sevens and Flack made the easy call with pocket rockets.

Incredibly Phan hit a set on the flop and improved to quad sevens on the turn in a massive suckout.

The WPT organizers who were looking for a star-studded final table were likely very disappointed to see the former Full Tilt poker pro get eliminated.

To make matters worse the PL.com squad was forced with the prospect of paying for their own drinks after Flack's departure.

No flack-jacket on earth could have prepared Layne for his bad luck on Day 4.

Flack's elimination seemed to open the game up and with blinds of $30,000/$60,000 and a $5,000 ante there was good reason to play fast.

Matt Keikoan, who won his first WSOP bracelet this summer, would be the final table bubble boy. Keikoan and his slick white fedora were sent packing when he shoved his short-stack into the middle with 7-4 and couldn't improve against Zach Clark's big slick.

Although Makhija goes into the final table with the chip lead it was Phan who stole the show. The Razor passed Erik Seidel in most player of the year contests and $2.4 million chips Phan could make some serious noise at the final table tomorrow.

Even if he busts out first Phan has already booked five WSOP cashes, won two WSOP bracelets, made three WPT final tables and basically proven he can play a little poker.

The rest of the final table is filled out some incredibly talented online players in Kyle "krisqueen" Wilson, Paul "uclabruinz" Smith and Zachary "CrazyZachary" Clark.

Picking up the rear is the wickedly named Trong Nguyen who fills out the required quota of Nguyen per major final table.

It should be a hell of a final table tomorrow with the brawl for it all getting started at 4 p.m. PDT. PL.com will be fully entrenched in the Bike so be sure to check the site for red hot final table updates.

Here's a look at the chip counts heading into the final table: