Friday, March 30, 2007

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Tran gets his major: the World Poker Challenge

By Erin Warner

J.C. Tran, consider yourself paid in full. After winning the World Poker Challenge and $683,437 in Reno, Nev., Tran's quest for a World Poker Tour title came to an end Wednesday.

Not one month ago, Tran was heads-up a the L.A. Poker Classic and banking on a win following a handful of WPT final tables.

"I'm owed a major," he told PokerListings.com March 1 as he made his way to the table as chip leader.

Though it wasn't to be in L.A., Tran found his moment in Reno as he helped clear the poker table for heads-up action with J.C. Alvarado.

Tran's chip lead was generous, as he stacked $3.9 million to 21-year-old Alvarado's $780,000.

Despite losing a big pot in one-on-one play, Tran wouldn't relinquish his lead and took out Alvarado with pocket tens to the other J.C.'s A-6 after the board failed to deliver to either player.

"Man, it's a great feeling," he told PokerListings.com following the win. "It feels a lot better than finishing second in L.A. even though that paid a lot more money. But winning a WPT title was one of my goals coming into poker, and accomplishing that is a big step for me in becoming a force in the poker world."

Final table results for the World Poker Challenge are as follows:

PlaceNamePrize

1st	J.C. Tran	$683,473
2nd	J.C. Alvarado	$366,798
3rd	David Pham	$182,260
4th	Mark Seif	$159,478
5th	John Hom	$136,695
6th	Danny Wong	$623,000

To read the PokerListings.com updates or winner's interview with Tran, please visit our Live Tournaments Section.

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