WSOP Circuit Tunica Main Event | WSOP Circuit Tunica Main Event

WSOP Circuit Tunica Main Event

Day 3 Completed

01-22-2008 22:38 UTC-5

The Final Goodbye From Tunica

[user40108]

That concludes our coverage of the 2008 Grand Tunica WSOPC Main Event Championship; we hope you enjoyed yourselves.

After three days of poker that could easily be described as "unusual," the 2008 WSOP Circuit Event - Tunica has drawn to a close. Day 1 saw 14 hours of play with 151 eliminations. Day 2 brought us to the other end of the spectrum, where we lost 20 players in just under five hours to set up the final table. Today started slow and many wondered if it would ever end, but things picked up considerably after the dinner break and a champion was crowned in just under nine and a half hours of play.

The PokerNews crew is headed to Europe next week for the European Poker Tour German Open in Dortmund, beginning Tuesday, January 29th. This €8,000 buy-in event expects to attract some of Europe's finest, including the likes of Katja Thater, Luca Pagano, Dario Minieri and recent PCA winner Bertrand Grospellier. We hope to see you then!

01-22-2008 22:25 UTC-5

Bart Tichelman is Our Champion ($428,210)

[user40108]

After three grueling days of tournament poker, Bart Tichelman of Atlanta, Georgia has emerged the victor. A self-described amateur, Tichelman could be overheard commenting on a regular basis how playing and succeeding in this tournament was the most fun he's ever had. Posing here with his wife LeslieAnn, the smile could not be pried from Tichelman's face. Along with a once-in-a-lifetime story, Tichelman takes home $428,210, a WSOP Circuit Championship ring, and a seat in the 2008 WSOP Main Event. Congratulations Bart!

01-22-2008 22:25 UTC-5

Donald Nicholson Eliminated in 2nd Place.

[user40108]

On just the second hand of heads-up play, Bart Tichelman had the button and announced, "Raise." Before Tichelman had announced the size of the raise, Donald Nicholson moved all in. Tichelman called and the players showed:

Tichelman: {K-Spades}

Nicholson: {Q-Spades}

The flop was decent for Tichelman as it came {A-Clubs}

. The

on the turn however was the best card Tichelman could see. It meant Nicholson was drawing dead and he had captured the title. Amongst the chaos, the dealer put down the meaningless {10-Diamonds}

on the river. Donald Nicholson is our runner-up and will take home $236,163 for his strong finish.

Tags: Bart Tichelman Donald Nicholson

01-22-2008 22:22 UTC-5

Play is Now Heads-Up

[user40108]

With the elimination of Giovanni Marcacci, play is now heads-up.

01-22-2008 22:12 UTC-5

Giovanni Marcacci Eliminated in 3rd Place ($129,760)

[user40108]

Giovanni Marcacci had the button in seat 4 and raised to 200,000. Bart Tichelman reraised from the small blind to 500,000 total. Marcacci made the call and it was heads-up to the flop of {9-Spades}

.

Tichelman was first to act and he moved all in. Marcacci stood up and paced around the stage, baffled. After about two minutes, Marcacci eventually called. The players showed:

Marcacci: {10-Hearts}

Tichelman: {A-Hearts}

Marcacci was in the lead but Tichelman was far from dead with an open-ended straight draw and an overcard. The turn came the {5-Diamonds}

catapulting Tichelman into the lead. Marcacci needed an eight to win the pot, but the river brought the {2-Clubs}

. Tichelman stacked the pot and has an enormous chip lead headed into heads-up play. Marcacci was eliminated in third place and leaves with $129,760.

Tags: Bart Tichelman Giovanni Marcacci

Level: 23

Blinds: 25,000/50,000

Ante: 5,000

01-22-2008 22:05 UTC-5

Play Resumes

[user40108]

Shuffle up and deal!

01-22-2008 22:04 UTC-5

Break Extended

[user40108]

The break has been extended while the players have a discussion.

01-22-2008 21:48 UTC-5

Updated Chip Counts

[user40108]

Here are the players' current chip counts:

Bart Tichelman - 1,800,000
Giovanni Marcacci - 1,235,000
Donald Nicholson - 570,000

Average stack - 1,200,000