Go Deeb: $50K HORSE Champion!

By Matthew Showell Jun 29, 2007 | 1 year ago

Heads-up at the final table of Event 39, $50,000 HORSE World Championship, 2007 WSOP

The $50,000 HORSE World Championship is two for two when it comes to epic final table matches. Markedly better handled than last year's, this one lasted a mere fifteen hours. With three-handed play stretching into the early morning, John Hanson was dispatched in third and Freddy Deeb and Bruno Fitoussi went heads-up for the title.

Deeb was able to extend his lead over Fitoussi and ended the tournament in a round of Seven-Stud Eight or Better. It was a long haul and the media theatrics after the match's conclusion were a lot for the already fatigued Deeb.

He handled the situation well but was surprisingly short on the kind of verbosity we're so used to hearing. Extremely focused while playing, Freddy nonetheless shared a few laughs with his heads-up opponent.

Put'em up.

After receiving the bracelet and spending a few minutes on the cell phone, Deeb was nice enough to speak with PokerListings.

Congratulations, you're no stranger to final tables and titles so what does this mean to you?

It's a great accomplishment. It's an all-around best player I think, a real championship tournament. I've never been a player to worry about holding a bracelet or not. But holding this bracelet is like holding ten others, all together. Because this was an all-around, top-notch field.

You certainly don't need any confirmation as a player but do you think this will change the way people think of you?

Freddy Deeb

I respect people's opinions but I really don't worry about it much. I worry more about me and the way I play. And that I finally played so perfect. Like I said earlier I really deserve this, I played the best poker anyone can play. I didn't make any mistakes. I did screw around a bit yesterday but today, when it counted, I didn't mess around. I made big laydowns and picked my spots and I think I played really well.

You were down really low, like $350,000, what was going through your mind then and when you started building it back up?

You know, for some reason I told my friend, Farzad Bonyadi, that I had taken a lot of bad beats, and I said that normally I'm pissed when I have no chips in a tournament, after having lots of chips, but in this tournament if I go broke I'm not going to worry about it. I played the best poker I've ever played in my life and I was just going to sit there and try to grind it out with this money and I'm not going to throw it away. So then boom boom boom, I'm back in the game.

Three-handed.

You were talking about the importance of saving bets whenever you can.

That's what limit games are all about. It's all about making an extra bet here and saving a bet there. And that adds up in the long run. That's what it's all about.

Let's talk about the final table. How did you feel about the players you were up against?

I really liked my chances. They were good players; I'm not going to say they're not. But I liked my chances. I have a lot of experience in these mixed games and besides that I have kind of a bad image. I know I'm going to get action when I get a hand. I have a bad reputation because I've shown so many bluffs on TV. They can never figure me out.

You and Bruno seemed to get along really well. How did you feel about beating him?

Mano a mano.

It really wasn't a defeat. He just lost to me. Bruno's a friend of mine. It was a great accomplishment for him to go that far. He's only been playing mixed games for two years so I really respect his play.

There's not much difference between first and second in my opinion. But unfortunately it's not really that way. No one ever remembers who came in second.

Well you came in first today, congratulations.

Freddy Deeb pulled off an amazing recovery, coming back fromm next to nothing to take control of the final table. He got unlucky numerous times against John Hanson but eventually closed the deal. Heads-up there was no stopping him and in victory he was a gentleman. Sure to be the first of many, Freddy Deeb joins Chip Reese on the shortlist of WSOP HORSE Champions.