2008 WSOP Event #22 $3,000 H.O.R.S.E.: Jens Voertmann Best of Show
16 players out of an original field of 414 returned to the Amazon Ballroom at the Rio for Day 3 of Event #22, $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. at the 2008 World Series of Poker. At the end of three long days of limit mixed games, it was Jens Voertmann who outlasted superstars including Todd Brunson, Jennifer Harman and Marcel Luske to capture $298,253 and his first WSOP bracelet.
Marcel Luske took the chip lead into the final two tables, but it didn't take long for the field to thin down to the final eight. David Levi went out in 15th, and soon after, Todd Brunson got the last of his chips in the middle of a hold'em round. Brunson moved all in on the flop of K♣7♠Q♠, and was called by Marcel Luske with K♥9♦. Luske's pair improved on the K♠ turn, but Brunson had outs to the flush or the Broadway straight. The 2♣ river wasn't any of them, and Brunson exited in 12th ($ 19,424).
Paul Zimbler was the final-table bubble boy when Jennifer Harman bounced him in ninth place ($25,138). Zimbler got all the money in preflop with 8♣7♦K♣10♣ in an Omaha hi/lo hand against Harman's J♠10♥3♥A♥. The board ran out Q♣5♦5♣5♥J♥, and Harman made trips with an ace kicker to beat Zimbler's king kicker and set the final table.
After Zimbler's elimination, Hoyt Corkins took the lead into the final table, with these chip counts:
Seat 1: Rostislav Tsodikov 140,000
Seat 2: Doug Ganger 405,000
Seat 3: Jennifer Harman 271,000
Seat 4: Steve Zolotow 180,000
Seat 5: Jens Voertmann 485,000
Seat 6: Jared Davis 185,000
Seat 7: Hoyt Corkins 595,000
Seat 8: Marcel Luske 572,000
Jennifer Harman was the first casualty of the final table, when she ran into a 7-low from Doug Ganger in razz and couldn't catch up. Ganger tabled 7-5-4-3-2, and Harman mucked her cards on the way to pick up $30,851 for her eighth-place finish.
Rostislav Tsodikov headed to the rail almost immediately after Harman when Jens Voertmann busted him in seventh place ($36,564). The game had switched to stud hi, and Tsodikov's pair of nines was no match for Voertmann's queens up, and he was eliminated. Soon after, all of Steve Zolotow's chips went in on fourth street against Hoyt Corkins in stud hi, and Corkins made the nut flush with a board of [K♠6♠] 5♠8♠J♥-x-[A♠], sending Zolotow home in sixth place ($47,990).
Stud remained the most lethal game when Jared Davis busted to Jens Voertmann in fifth place ($61,702). Davis bet on seventh street with up cards of Q♦6♠10♣6♥. Voertmann raised with A♦8♦5♠6♣ showing, and Davis called all in. Voertmann showed nearly perfect underneath when he tabled A♠A♥K♠ for a hidden set of aces, and Davis was done.
It took only minutes into the hold'em round for Hoyt Corkins to get all his chips in on a flop of A♦10♠K♦. Marcel Luske called with A♣9♦, and Corkins tabled K♥Q♣ for second pair and gutshot straight draw. Luske's top pair improved to trip on the A♠ turn, and the 3♥ on the river finished Corkins off, sending him to the rail in fourth place ($81,698).
Three-handed play lasted for nearly four hours, with chips flying back and forth between Luske, Voertmann and Doug Ganger. Finally, Luske put the last of his chips in the middle in a stud hand against Jens Voertmann and watched as his board ran out [9♥5♥] 9♣Q♥4♦J♠ [x] to Voertmann's [J♥9♦] A♣7♥8♣A♥ [K♣]. Voertmann's aces were good, and Luske was eliminated in third place ($110,264).
Voertmann took a nearly 2:1 chip lead into the heads-up match, and it didn't take him long to bust Doug Ganger in second place ($182,822) and claim his first WSOP bracelet. The final hand was in stud hi/lo, and all the money went in on third street. Ganger held [8♣8♥] 9♣ for buried eights, and Voertmann had [5♦5♣] 7♣ for buried fives. Ganger picked up the 9♦ on fourth street to make two pair, but Voertmann's final board read [5♦5♣] 7♣A♣J♥J♦ [x] for jacks up and the win. Voertmann picked up $298,253 for his first-place finish against a very tough field in the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. event.
