2008 World Series of Poker

Congratulations to Phil Galfond, Champion of Event No. 28 ($817,781)

A wild mix of playing styles and personalities characterized Event No. 28, the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha with Rebuys event. 152 runners lined up for this one, many of whom came with deep pockets, making the frantic rebuy period a gambler's delight. Things settled down on Day 2, as players carefully combated with their deep stacks, and sometime after 4 a.m. Monday morning, our final nine were set.

And what a final nine it was. Our final table featured several poker luminaries, including Johnny Chan, John Juanda, Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, and David Benyamine. Of those, Chan emerged at one point as the chip leader, but a couple of damaging hands erased his big stack. Benyamine made the final three, but couldn't overcome a sizable chip deficit, and he, too, fell by the wayside.

Left standing were online stars Adam "the_houdini" Hourani and Phil "OMGClayAiken" Galfond, both of whom can be found playing high stakes PLO on Full Tilt (along with Benyamine and other big name pros). When heads-up began, Galfond enjoyed a 3-to-2 chip advantange, and while he never lost his lead Hourani proved a worthy adversary, battling for well over one hundred hands before Galfond finally took the last of his chips.

When asked afterwards whether he felt intimidated amid so many high profile pros, Galfond replied with a mix of humility and confidence. "I felt blessed to be here, but I didn't feel outmatched," answered Galfond. "I wasn't afraid. I just wanted to play my best game."

That he did. Congratulations to Phil Galfond for capturing his first WSOP bracelet. And thanks to everyone for following the coverage.

Tags: Phil Galfond.

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