On the first hand of heads-up play this tournament is over!

Erik Seidel raises to $260,000 on the button and Robert Richardson makes the call. The flop comes A K 9 and Richardson checks to Seidel, who bets out $300,000. Richardson thinks for a minute before he makes the call; the turn is the 8. Richardson moves all-in for his last $1,275,000 and Seidel looks down at his cards before making the call and turning up A J to Richardson's 9 7.

The Gentle Giant needs only to dodge a nine or a seven to win his first World Poker Tour title and after the river card is the K he has done it, capturing the Foxwoods Poker Classic after a marathon final table!

For the win, Seidel takes home $967,390, an entry into the WPT World Championship in a couple of weeks, a vase and the honor of an exclusive PokerListings.com interview, while runner-up Robert Richardson earns $558,792. Congratulations to both finalists!

The women have been found and the money dumped and we're heads-up from Foxwoods. Here are the chip counts as we resume play in the Grand Ballroom:

Erik Seidel	$8,530,000
Robert Richardson	$1,850,000

 

As the WPT producers scramble to find enough scantily clad women at this late hour to make up the required bevy for the money presentation, Erik Seidel and Robert Richardson are taking a quick break and so are we. Action will resume shortly, we hope.

It was bound to happen. Andrew Barta played with fire one too many times and finally, as the saying goes, was burned. Barta had moved all-in indiscriminately over the course of the last level, taking down the blinds and antes with massive overshoves as his opponents bided their time waiting for the right hand with which to pick him off.

In Barta's climactic hand, Erik Seidel raised to $280,000 on the button and saw Barta move all-in for a total of $4,160,000. Seidel quickly called off his last $4,130,000 and turned up J J to Barta's A Q. Seidel was racing for his tournament life.

The flop came J 6 3 and Seidel flopped a set to make him the massive favorite. The 5 on the turn sealed the deal and after the river was the 6, Seidel had doubled through Barta to take over the chip lead and cripple his counterpart, who was left with only $30,000 to his name.

On the next hand, Robert Richardson limped from the button with Barta all-in in the small blind and Erik Seidel checked his option. Seidel and Richardson checked down the 8 5 4 J J board and Seidel showed A-Q to take the side pot over Richardson's Q-6. Barta could only muster Q-10 and was eliminated, out in third place for a $281,011 payout.

 

Erik Seidel raises to $280,000 in the small blind and Robert Richardson moves all-in over the top for his last $1,540,000. Seidel thinks, but not that long, before making the call with A J and he's in dominating position against Richardson's A T. The flop comes 9 8 5 and Seidel takes away one of Richardson's outs. The turn is the 5 and Richardson regains some outs for the chop, and the river is the 9 leading to exactly that. The players chop the pot and we continue play three-handed.

It's 10 minutes after three in the morning in the Grand Ballroom at Foxwoods and the two players not named Erik Seidel seem to have hit a wall. Despite still holding about $2.5 million per man and being quite deep-stacked for this stage of the tournament, both Andrew Barta and Robert Richardson have abandoned all pretense of strategy and are moving all-in pre-flop every hand.

Andrew Barta summed it up thus as he waited for Richardson to decide whether or not to call (he didn't): "It's the best scenario, because the other player has enough chips to play with Erik heads-up."

The argument has thus far failed to sway Richardson, though Barta has moved in on almost every hand since the return from the last TV timeout.

Erik Seidel had chipped up, taking a lead on Robert Richardson and Andrew Barta, before giving at least a little back.

In a recent hand Seidel made it $280k to go from the small blind and Richardson pushed all-in. Those looking for action would not find it here, though, as Seidel folded.

The very next hand Seidel made it $275k, Richardson moved in again and both Barta and Seidel folded. As it stands right now, Sedel has $5 million and Barta and Richardson $2.5 million each.

The blinds are up; hopefully we'll see a little more action at this level.

 

Robert Richardson and Andrew Barta see a flop come Q 7 3 and both players check. The turn is the 5 and Barta bets out $175,000. Richardson raises to $300,000 and Barta makes the call. The river is the A and both players check, with Richardson showing 6-4 for the seven-high straight to take the pot.

Seidel Checks to Victory!

All three players see the flop come 7 4 3 and the action checks around. The turn is the 5 and Richardson and Barta check to Seidel, who bets out $150,000. Richardson makes the call and the river is the 9, prompting checks from both players. Richardson has 10-5 for a pair of fives but Seidel has A 2 for the wheel and he takes it.

Andrew All-in

Robert Richardson raises to $240,000 and Andrew Barta moves all-in for another $2.6 million. The action folds around and Barta takes the pot.

Play has ground to a complete halt here at Foxwoods. With all three players deep-stacked and a in a dead heat they seem unwilling to gamble at this point. PL.com has resorted to praying for rain. Not sure if it'll help but that's our plan.

Here's the chip counts:

1. Erik Seidel	$3,790,000
2. Andrew Barta	$3,425,000
3. Robert Richardson	$3,165,000