T.J. Cloutier takes down SNPC championship

Cloutier proves he's still got it with an SNPC IV championship win.

Battling his way through an eight-hour final table and some of the best players in poker (both young and old), the legendary T.J. Cloutier emerged as the champion of the $5,000 Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge IV championship event at the Cherokee Casino in Catoosa, just outside of Tulsa, Okla.

Cloutier was sitting around the middle of the chip stacks as the final table started and was joined at the felt by some of the world's top professionals. The host of the tournament series, Scotty Nguyen, was a part of the mix, which also featured top players Bill Edler and Gavin Smith.

One of the preliminary event winners of the SNPC, Noah Nodeen, used the buy-in he earned as a preliminary tournament champion to reach the final table, and chip leader Ray Henson (who nearly made the 2007 WSOP Main Event final table before finishing in 12th), along with Daniel Robertson, Brant Hale and a short-stacked Gil George rounded out the final table that started at noon on Tuesday.

It was expected that George would be first to go, but he made several key moves that allowed him to avoid that fate.

Edler first out of final table.

The first elimination came in the form of Bill Edler after Edler flopped two pair against Cloutier's flush and open-ended straight draw. The straight draw completed on the river and dispatched Edler in ninth. This elimination was key to shooting Cloutier to the top of the leaderboard.

Scotty Nguyen was cut short in his bid to win his own tournament.

Scotty Nguyen had visions of winning the title of his own tournament, but those dreams were dashed when Cloutier eliminated him in eighth place. Cloutier continued being a one-man wrecking crew as he mowed down Gil George next in seventh place.

George, who has to be commended for coming in to the final table with only $31,000 in chips, was able to double- or triple-up on at least three occasions to avoid elimination, but finally left the felt after three hours of play.

Final-table chip leader Ray Henson then stepped up and began eliminating players himself. He was responsible for taking out Daniel Robertson in sixth, then turned the same trick against Noah Nodeen, who was attempting to become the only double winner of the SNPC.

Birdguts bows out in fourth.

Gavin Smith was never able to get any action going with his strategically aggressive style but he did last to fourth place, at which point Henson took him out. Henson got the table down to heads-up action when he dispatched Brant Hale in third.

As heads-up play began, Henson had more than a 2.5-1 lead over Cloutier, but over the next three hours of play, the two put on an excellent demonstration of strategic, heads-up poker.

Cloutier slowly chipped pieces out of Henson's stack during this time, gradually drawing even and then passing Henson. The twosome continued to battle as the chip lead swung back and forth but Cloutier eventually put a decisive end to Henson's efforts.

Cloutier was able to turn two pair against Henson, who had flopped top pair with a better kicker, which crippled Henson. On the very next hand, Henson moved all-in with K-3 and was completely dominated by Cloutier's A-6.

After the board came an absolute blank for both players, Cloutier's ace grabbed the hand and left the six-time WSOP bracelet winner as the champion of the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge IV.

Here are the final standings for the $5,000 championship event:

With the victory, T.J. Cloutier only adds to his legendary status. Already the proud owner of those six WSOP bracelets, Cloutier is widely considered to be the man who has won the most tournaments with over a $5,000 buy-in.

The Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge championship was T.J.'s 60th such victory and, after combating the tough final table in Oklahoma, he deserves accolades for his performance.

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