Vitaly Lunkin Wins WSOP Event 2 $40,000 No Limit Holdem

To celebrate the 40 year anniversary of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) we have witnessed arguably the strongest field in a live poker event EVER! The 40th Anniversary No Limit Holdem event was run over a gruelling 4 days with 201 Entrants paying the $40,000 Buy in.

At the end of 3 days with the elimination of Tony G in 10th Place taking $172,120 The final table was as follows :

Seat 1 - Ted Forrest (560,000)
Seat 2 - Noah Schwartz (660,000)
Seat 3 - Alec Torelli (2,340,000)
Seat 4 - Isaac Haxton (5,955,000)
Seat 5 - Greg Raymer (3,345,000)
Seat 6 - Justin Bonomo (1,685,000)
Seat 7 - Lex Veldhuis (3,805,000)
Seat 8 - Dani Stern (1,300,000)
Seat 9 - Vitaly Lunkin (4,565,000)

After 110 hands all 3 players were seperated by less than 50,000 chips

Greg Raymer with 8,025,000, Vitaly Lunkin 8,010,000 and Isaac Haxton with 7,980,000

The Fossilman is eliminated with pocket 5s v pocket 9's

Hand 113 - Greg "The Fossilman" Raymer has the button, he raises 400,00, Lunkin folds and Haxton three-bets to 1,250,000. Raymer makes a move all in for his 8,105,000, Haxton has him covered and makes the call.

Raymer [5h] [5d], Hayton [9h] [9d] The flop comes down and its [Kc] [Qd] [Ts], Raymer needs a 5 or a runner, runner mirage to stay in the tournament. The turn is the [3h], the river is [3d] the crowd go crazy for "the Fossilman" as one of the true gentlemen of the game.

At the start of Heads up play, Haxton has 70% of the chips with 16,495,000 against Lunkin's 7,520,000. During the course of the next 50+ hands, we have 4 hands that gave Vitaly Lunkin his 2nd World Series of Poker bracklet following last year's win which he described as the highlight of his poker career.

Hand 154 - Lunkin Doubles through Isaac Haxton

Isaac Haxton has the button. He rauses to 400,000 and Lunkin comes in with a three-bet to 1.4 million. Haxton moves all in and Lunkin calls all in for 7,940,000. Haxton has Lunkin covered.

Lunkin [Th] [Tc], Haxton [Kc] [3c]. The flop is [Ts] [4s] [2h] Lunkin flops top set of tens. The turn is the [Jh]. Haxton is drawing dead, the river is a meaningless [Qh]. This is a hugh double up for Lunkin. Following Raymer's elimination Lunkin has 15,940,000 against Haxton 8,155,000.

Hand 160 - Isaac Haxton Doubles through Lunkin

Isaac Haxton has the button. He opens for 400,00 and Lunkin calls.

The flop is [Kc] [5c] [3h] Lunkin [As] [Ad] check-raises Haxton's 525,000 bet to 1,450,000, Haxton Calls. The turn is a [6s]. Lunkin bets 1.5 million, Haxton moves all in and Lunkin calls.

Haxton nees a king or a ten to survive. The river is a [Tc] and Haxton doubles to 13,970,000 while Lunkin drops down to 10,125,000

Hand 162 - Lunkin Doubles through Isaac Haxton

Isaac Haxton has the button. He makes it 400,000 to go and Lunkin reraises to 1.4 million. Haxton calls. The flop is [Ac] [5c] [4c], Lunkin leads out for 2,000,000, Haxton moves all in and Lunkin calls

Lunkin [Qc] [Ts], Haxton [Qs] [8c] Haxton is in big trouble he needs to hit an eight or running non-clubs straight cards to survive. The turn is the [8d], Haxton has gone from 11% to 77% with the river to go. The river is a [2c] leaving Haxton with 5,505,000 against Lunkin sits with 18,590,000 chips.

Hand 167 - Pocket Aces hold for the Lunkin and the win

Vitaly Lunkin has the button [As] [Ah], he limps in, Haxton [3d] [8c] raises an additional 600,000. Lunkin makes the call

The flop is [Qd] [Td] [8d], Haxton leads out with 1,200,000 with a pair of eights and 4 to the diamond flush, Lunkin moves all in and Haxton calls all in for 5,635,000.

Lunkin is 49% against Haxton's 47%, the turn is the [7c], Haxton needs a diamond, an eight or a three to stay alive. The river is the [Ks] and Vitaly Lunkin wins the tournament.

Haxton earns $1,168,566 as runner-up while Lunkin takes home $1,891,012 and his second WSOP bracklet

WSOP 2009 Event 2 40th Anniversary $40,000 No-Limit Hold'em Results

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