This tournament is over and it is John Phan donning his first WSOP bracelet as the dust settles. This match had degenerated into a blind-shoving fest and we have it on good authority some sort of deal was reached before the final hand played out.

The last hand was not a blind all-in but started with Phan raising from the button and Johnny Neckar shipping from the big blind. Phan made the call and turned over A 9 which had a small edge over Neckar's J Q.

The flop fell K 8 7 and Razor's ace-high remained best. The turn was the 4, no help for Neckar, and the A on the river sealed the deal and ended this marathon of a heads-up match.

John Phan takes $434,789 and the title while Neckar pockets $277,452 for runner-up. Like we said there was almost certainly some sort of deal reached between the two but these are the official numbers.

We caught up with Johnny Neckar while Phan was snapping winner photos and asked him about his background. The 22-year-old from Madison, Wisc., has been playing poker for the last four years, mostly concentrating on no-limit hold'em tournaments with a little side game action to keep things mixed up a bit.

Given his lack of major live experience, we asked how he felt coming into the day. "I was pretty nervous coming into the final table, but once I got settled everything was fine," Neckar said. "Heads-up, I felt comfortable. I wasn’t getting any great reads off him, but I don’t think he was getting anything off me either. I sort of felt like I was playing a little bit better than him, but you know, he got the bracelet and it’s all good. I’m happy with what I got.”

Be sure to read our winner interview with John Phan for the inside scoop on what the victory means to him.

It’s worth noting that there were seven players remaining on the $10,000 Limit Hold’em final table when this heads-up match started. That event is now over, and we’re still in action.

John Phan: A New Hope

John Phan has mounted a comeback of epic proportions, surging into the chip lead in dramatic fashion.

The crowd around our heads-up match swelled to nearly 200 people while the $1,500 NLHE was on break, and everyone who came over got to see a monster hand. Phan raised another $175,000 on the button, and Johnny Neckar decided to move all-in. Phan didn’t take very long to call, flipping A J and finding himself in a commanding position against Neckar’s K J.

All that changed when the flop came K 4 2, giving Neckar a big lead. The kid didn’t flinch, but the crowd roared. The 4 on the turn changed nothing, prompting Phan to call for a little help from the poker gods.

“Give me the ace of diamonds,” he said - and the deck complied, bringing the A and sending his supporters into rapture. He ran over to the cheering throng, slapping hands, while Neckar counted out the chips to pay off the bet. He didn’t move much afterward, but he almost compulsively swirled his tongue around the inside of his mouth, clearly frustrated at having been so close to WSOP glory and fallen short on the river.

After that hand, Phan was up to $2,700,000, while Johnny Neckar was down to $1,500,000. The win gave Phan renewed confidence - he ordered 20 drinks for his supporters and took one for himself, and began repeatedly trying to engage Neckar in conversation. He got nothing from the kid, though, other than the occasional smile or raised eyebrow.

Neckar Strikes Back…

A few hands later, Neckar limped on the button and Phan raised it up to $235,000. Neckar then quietly shoved from the button and Phan went into the tank.

He took his time making his decision, half-standing with one knee on his chair.

“One-point-two-eight-five, right?” asked Phan. The kid gave up nothing.

“This could be it, the last hand,” Phan said. Again, nothing.

“I have a big decision here,” Phan said, drawing a roar of laughter from the crowd. Neckar, meanwhile, sat motionless and stared into the space between himself and the table.

“I can beat king-jack again, you know,” Phan said, looking back at his cards. He flashed the A and then folded.

Revenge of the Phan

After Neckar took that last pot, he kept a tight grip on the proceedings until this big pot came along.
Phan raised to $130,000 before the flop and Neckar called. The flop came J 7 6, drawing a check-call from neckar of Phan’s $160,000 bet. Bothmen checked the 4 turn and saw the A fall on the river. Neckar checked, and Phan bet $450,000. Neckar didn’t take too long, but he mucked as soon as Phan turned up A 2, scooping a big pot.

It’s All Part of My Chip Count Fantasy

Here’s the current status according to WorldSeriesOfPoker.com: