World Poker Open - Live Updates

After a long and grueling heads-up match we have our champion and it is Brett Faustman! Hoyt Corkins limped from the button and Faustman popped it to $280,000. Corkins made the call and the flop came down 9♥ 9♣ 3♣. Faustman led out for $280,000 and Corkins quickly moved all-in. "Do you have a nine?" said Faustman before making the call.

When the cards were tabled we saw Hoyt was in terrible shape with pocket deuces to the pocket queens of Faustman. Corkins would need one of the two remaining twos but after the board finished out 6♠ J♠ it was all over. Hoyt is out in second for $458,267 and Brett Faustman is champion and will take $892,413 and a seat to the $25k WPT Championship.

Midnight Chip Count

Another Big One for Faustman

Hoyt Corkins limps from the button and after Faustman checks the flop rolls out 9♠ 4♣ 4♥. Both players check and the J♦ hits the turn. Faustman leads out with a $120,000 bet and Corkins raises to $350,000. The river brings the K♠ and Faustman checks. Corkins checks as well and Faustman shows A-4 for trips.

Faustman Regains the Chip Lead

After giving up the lead through a succession of lost hands Brett Faustman is back in control. Hoyt limped from the button and Faustman checked his big blind. The flop came A♠ 9♥ 2♣ and after a check from Faustman, Corkins bet out $80,000. The call was made and the 3♠ hit the turn. This time Faustman led out for $140,000 and Corkins raised to $600,000. Faustman paused a beat before announcing all-in. Corkins took a short dwell before mucking his hand and conceding the pot.

The action has been somewhat restrained in this heads-up match but we just saw a big hand that solidified Brett Faustman's chip lead. The hand in question started with Corkins completing from the small blind and Faustman checking in the big. The flop came down 6♠ 6♥ 5♥ and Corkins led out with a $60k bet.

Faustman announced raise, making it $200,000, and Corkins announced re-raise, making it $600k. Faustman made the call and the turn brought the 4♥. Both players checked and the river was the 7♥. Corkins checked and Faustman reached for chips, settling on a $400,000 bet. Corkins tanked for a moment before releasing his hand and Faustman showed A♠ A♥ for the nut flush.

West Side Chip Count

Faustman with the Check-Raise (The Sequel)

It seems Brett Faustman is holding his own against the veteran Corkins and has just taken another pot with a check-raise. Corkins completed from the small blind and after Faustman checked in the big blind the flop came K♥ 6♥ 3♠. Faustman checked, Hoyt bet $80,000 and Faustman quickly raised to $280,000. Corkins folds and Brett rakes the pot.

Faustman with the Check-Raise

The first substantial pot of heads-up play has just been pushed to Brett Faustman. Faustman called from the small blind and Corkins used his option to raise an additional $200,000. Faustman made the call and the flop came down 9♣ 5♦ 2♣. Faustman checked and Corkins slowly counted out chips, settling on a $400,000 bet. Faustman quickly announced all-in and after a few moments Hoyt's cards go in the muck.

We are now down to two and ready to begin the heads-up match with the elimination of Men "The Master" Nguyen in third place. Hoyt Corkins got the party started with a raise to $220,000 and Nguyen moved all-in, of course saying, "All you can eat baby!" Corkins beat him into the pot and turned over J♣ J♠ which was in great shape against Nguyen's K♦ T♦. The board ran 9♠ 8♥ 3♠ 7♠ Q♣ and Nguyen is sent to the rail $241,193 richer.

Here are counts going into heads-up play.

In the Heat of the Chip Count

Freddy's Dead

Freddy Deeb has been eliminated! After losing a large portion of his stack in the hand below Deeb got all-in bad against Brett Faustman and failed to improve to stay alive. Deeb open-shoved and got a snap-call from Faustman who tabled A♥ K♥. Deeb was in bad shape with 7♦ 8♦ and realized it was even worse than he thought as Hoyt folded pocket sevens face up. After the board had run 6♥ 6♠ 4♦ 6♣ 9♣ it was all over. Deeb is out in fourth and will take $168,835.

The Master Flops the Nuts

Men Nguyen limps from under the gun and Freddy Deeb calls from the small blind. Brett Faustman checks in the big blind and the flop comes 9♣ 8♥ 7♣. It's checked to Nguyen and he fires $80,000. Deeb is the only caller and the 4♥ hits the turn. Deeb check-calls another bet from The Master, this time $150,000, and the Q♠ lands on the river. Deeb checks and after a bit of thought Nguyen bets $250,000. Deeb calls and The Master shows T♦ J♦ for the flopped straight. Deeb is now crippled with just over $200k.

A Beautiful Chip Count

Now Entering Push/Fold Territory

It seems the increased blinds have stimulated a little bit of action. In the last three hands Hoyt Corkins has moved all-in twice and Men Nguyen has shipped it once, picking up the blinds and antes.

Blinds Increase

We're now into a new level with the blinds going up to $30,000/$60,000 with a $10,000 ante.

Faustman Bluffs Deeb

With blinds still at $20,000/$40,000 Freddy Deeb opens the pot from the small blind to $120,000 and gets a call from Brett Faustman in the big blind. The flop comes down Q♣ 7♥ 7♦ and both players check. The turn is the 4♥ and Deeb leads out with a $120,000 bet. Faustman announces raise and makes it $300,000 straight. Deeb thinks for a few moments before mucking and Faustman flashes K-9 for nothing but king-high.

Brett Faustman just got incredibly lucky to double up and stay alive at this final table. It started with Corkins opening the pot from the button and Faustman moving all-in from the big blind. Hoyt snap-called and tabled A♥ K♣ which had Faustman's A♦ 4♣ dominated. The flop was great, coming 2-2-3 and giving Faustman some more outs for the win or the chop. The turn was a five, nailing Faustman's wheel straight and leaving Corkins drawing to the chop. The river was a six though and Faustman rakes the massive pot.

Gone with the Chip Count

The action has been slow for the last 30 minutes or so but we just saw a big hand between Hoyt Corkins and Gabe "Prince of Thieves" Costner which ended in the latter's elimination. Costner opened the pot to $100,000 from the cut-off and Corkins made it $300,000 from the button.

Costner then moved all-in for $690,000 and got a quick call from Hoyt. Pocket fives for the all-in Costner would need to hold up against Hoyt's A♣ J♥ but the A♥ 8♥ 6♣ flop put him way behind. It finished out 6♥ 7♣ and just like that Gabe Costner is out. He'll take $123,008 for his fifth-place finish.

Here are the counts after Costner's elimination.

The Silence of the Chip Counts

Costner Doubles

Gabe "Prince of Thieves" Costner was severely short-stacked but just managed to double up at the expense of Men Nguyen. They were in the blinds and got the money in before the flop with Costner's A♥ 3♥ holding a slight edge over Nguyen's T♣ J♦. The board went 9♠ 7♠ 3♣ A♣ 4♠ and Costner earns the check mark and the double.

Blind Increase

We are now into a new level with increased blinds of $20,000/$40,000 and a $5,000 ante.

Deeb Doubles

Freddy Deeb opens the pot to $80,000 from the cut-off and it's folded to Gabe Costner in the big blind, who moves all-in. He has Deeb covered and after a few moments Freddy makes the call and puts himself at risk of elimination. When the cards are on their backs we see Deeb's in good shape with pocket sevens to Costner's A♠ 5♣. Men Nguyen says he folded an ace and when the board runs Q♣ 9♥ 8♣ 6♥ 2♠ he's good for the double. He's now on about $600,000.

The Bridge Over River Chip Count

We've picked a brand new theme for our chip count titles. See if you can figure out what it is.

Men the Master Doubles; Takes Chip Lead

Men Nguyen has just doubled and taken the chip lead away from Freddy Deeb, Deeb open-raised to $60,000 and got a call from Nguyen on the button. The flop came down T♣ 9♥ 5♥ and Deeb led out for $150,000. Nguyen took a quick look at his chips before announcing, "All you can eat baby!" His all-in was for $641,000 total and after a bit of thought Deeb made the call. Pocket queens for the Master would need to hold up against Men's A♥ 7♥ and after the board finished out 7♠ 6♦ he was good for the double. He's now on about $1.4 million.

Spadavecchia Booted (Sixth)

Just a few hands into this final table we have our first elimination. Italy's John Spadavecchia open-shoved all-in from under the gun and it was folded around to Hoyt Corkins in the big blind. It was $152,000 for Corkins to call and after a bit of thought he deposited the chips in the middle, tabling J♦ Q♦. He was racing against Spadavecchia's pocket sixes.

Hoyt picked up a few extra outs with the K♥ 9♣ 5♥ flop and the Q♣ on the turn put him in the lead. The river was the 5♠ and just like that we're down to five. John Spadavecchia will receive $96,477.

Big Pot for Faustman

The first substantial pot of this final table has been shipped to Brett Faustman after he pushed his opponent out of the hand on the river. Gabe "Prince of Thieves" Costner open-raised to $60,000 and got calls from Freddy Deeb in the small blind and Faustman in the big blind. The flop came down J♠ 8♦ 7♠ and it was checked around.

The K♦ hit the turn and after checks from Deeb and Faustman, Costner led out at the pot with a $150,000 bet. Deeb got out of the way but Faustman announced raise, adding an additional $250k to the pot. After some thought Costner made the call and the 7♦ hit the river. Faustman open-shoved all-in and after a bit of thought Costner let it go.

Mr. All-In Moves All-In

Hoyt Corkins came into this final table as one of the short-stacks and wasted little time putting his chips into play. He moved all-in on the first two hands, picking up the blinds and antes on both occasions.