Year of 'The Kid' as 21-Year-Old Joe Cada Wins 2009 WSOP Main Event
Joe Cada has won the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event, defeating Darvin Moon heads-up after an enthralling 364-hand final table.
The 21-year-old Cada topped a 6,494-player field, in doing so breaking the record for youngest-ever WSOP Main Event champion, just twelve months after Peter Eastgate broke the same record with his victory in poker's most prestigious tournament.
There was disappointment for Phil Ivey, with fans lining up for hours to see the poker legend attempt to win poker's biggest prize. Ultimately, his run would end in seventh place. Asked when we'll see him at another WSOP final table, he replied, smiling, "Next year, probably."
For now, the WSOP Main Event bracelet, $8,547,044 in prize money and the limelight are all Cada's.
2009 WSOP Main Event Final Table Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | COUNTRY | PRIZE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe Cada | United States | $8,547,044 |
| 2 | Darvin Moon | United States | $5,182,927 |
| 3 | Antoine Saout | France | $3,479,669 |
| 4 | Eric Buchman | United States | $2,502,890 |
| 5 | Jeff Shulman | United States | $1,953,452 |
| 6 | Steve Begleiter | United States | $1,587,160 |
| 7 | Phil Ivey | United States | $1,404,014 |
| 8 | Kevin Schaffel | United States | $1,300,231 |
| 9 | James Akenhead | United Kingdom | $1,263,602 |
Final Table Action
Action began slowly and steadily with no excitement for the first few hours. The crowd waited with bated breath for the first big bust-out hand or the first big double-up.
James Akenhead was the start-of-day short stack, and the last remaining Brit survived his first all-in confrontation, hitting a miracle queen on the river with his king-queen vs Eric Buchman's ace-king. However, Akenhead could not ride the momentum, running his pocket kings into the pocket aces of Kevin Schaffel less than an hour later.
Akenhead would eventually hit the rail shortly thereafter when he moved the remainder of his chips in with pocket threes only to run into Jeff Shulman's nines.
Next to hit the rail was Schaffel. Despite being the beneficiary of most of Akenhead's chips, Schaffel got involved, again with aces, this time against the pocket kings of Buchman, who had him covered and duly turned quads to catapult towards the chip lead.
Phil Ivey Eliminated
Play slowed considerably after Schaffel's elimination, and it seemed as if the players were hunkering down for a long night. Phil Ivey was still a clear favorite among the crowd. His patience showed, and it seemed as though nobody was tempted by the idea of doubling him up.
Finally, after letting himself slip close to the dreaded ten-big blind threshold, Ivey made his final stand. Moving all-in with A♣K♠, Ivey found one caller in Darvin Moon, who was well-behind with A♦Q♠. The flop, however, was a cruel one for Ivey, as Moon flopped a queen that put Ivey on the brink of elimination and the crowd into a frenzy. The turn and river were no help, and Ivey was eliminated in seventh place.
Moon used the Ivey elimination to give himself a burst of momentum that saw him knock out the sixth-place finisher, Steve Begleiter, just minutes later.
After a preflop raise from Begleiter, Moon quickly waved his hands signaling he was all-in. Begleiter quickly made the call with pocket queens and was well ahead of Moon's A♣Q♥. The flop was safe for "Begs" with the 8♠7♠4♦ landing on the felt. While the 3♦ turn card was good for Begleiter, the A♦ on the river, however, sent the crowd back into a frenzy and another wave of chips over to Moon.
The pace slowed to a halt as the players had been at it for well over 12 hours. At one point, play went close to 15 hands without seeing a flop.
Finally, Shulman, who had become the short stack, and who had a lot of difficulty moving up the chip counts during the day, made his final stand with pocket sevens. Antoine Saout who had reraised Shulman's initial raise, was pot-committed and called with A♣9♠.
Unfortunately for Shulman, the board ran out 10♠9♦6♠Q♣4♠ with Saout's pair of nines good enough for him to take the pot and eliminate Shulman in fifth place.
Four-Handed Play
With the final table reaching four-handed play in the wee hours of the Las Vegas morning, Moon, who had relinquished his chip lead with a few ill-timed bluffs, began to turn up the heat.
Even though there was no need to move all-in with the chip stacks all hovering in the 60 big-blind raise, Moon seemed uninterested in doing anything but moving all-in. His strategy worked; none of the other players wanted to risk their entire stack, which allowed Moon to climb back into the lead.
Buchman was eliminated next when his A♦5♠ could not hold up against Moon K♦J♦. Moon hit a king on the turn, knocking out the Buchman and bringing everyone a step closer to ending the day.
After a short break, the action picked up and the remaining three players seemed exhausted and willing to get their chips in with any playable hand. Cada miraculously doubled up when he hit a deuce on the flop with his pocket deuces while allin against Saout's pocket queens.
Just minutes later, the two battled again, this time with Saout holding pocket eights against Cada's A♦K♠. The 5♠5♣4♠ flop was good for Saout and so was the 10♦ on the turn.
The river, however, sealed the Frenchman's fate as the K♣ shook the felt and caused the small crowd to roar one final time for Cada as he prepared to face off against Moon.
Heads-Up Play
Play resumed the following evening, and after a ceremony congratulating the other seven "November Nine" combatants, and a "Shuffle up and Deal" by Motley Crue front man Vince Neil, play got underway at around 10:30 p.m. PST.
- Joe Cada - 136,925,000
- Darvin Moon - 58,875,000
It only took one hand for the fireworks to start as a raising war broke out on a K♦3♠2♦ flop. When the A♦ fell on the turn, Cada checked, and Moon bet 10,000,000.
Cada called rather quickly, and both players checked the K♠ river. Moon showed down pocket queens, which were good against Cada's nines, giving Moon a huge boost in chips.
Moon used the first hand of play as a catalyst, and began his march towards the chip lead. Cada seemed to be overmatched and slightly out of sorts playing against the hyper-aggressive Moon. Each time Cada tried to play back at Moon, the logger from Maryland would fire right back, many times three-betting and four-betting his younger foe, who many thought would be able to pick apart the less experienced Moon.
At one point, after a twenty-minute break, Moon took control, winning 14 of 21 hands dealt.
Cada knew he couldn't let Moon walk over him all night and finally made a stand. Cada raised to 3,000,000 from the buttona nd Moon made the call. The flop came down 10♣9♥5♦ and both players checked. The 10♦ on the turn brought about another check from Moon, and Cada decided to test the waters with a bet of 3,000,000.
Moon quickly announced he was all in, leaving Cada to make a decision for his World Series of Poker Main Event life. Cada took a sip of water as he patiently pondered the action.
Finally, and quietly, Cada said, "I call," revealing J♥9♦ for two pair, nines and tens. Moon flipped over 8♠7♠ and would need a six or a jack to claim the title. The river was the 3♥ and Cada doubled into the chip lead, with about 108 million in chips.
Cada had clearly grabbed the momentum and was pushing forward looking for the knock out blow. On the 364th hand of the final table, only eight hands after he doubled up, Cada had the opportunity to close out victory.
He raised from 3,000,000 on the button and Moon three-bet to 8,000,000. Cada four-bet shoved and Moon called for his tournament life.
Darvin Moon: Q♦J♦
Joe Cada: 9♣9♦
It was the second time Cada had picked up pocket nines, the first being the first hand of heads-up play. With the eyes of the poker world staring directly at the table, the dealer burned a card and ran the flop: 8♣7♠2♣
The flop was clean and safe flop for Cada, now two cards away from poker glory. Moon stood up behind his chair with a blank stare. The turn was the K♥, meaning Moon would need to catch a queen or a jack to prevent Cada's victory. The river 7♣ was welcomed by a deafening roar as Joe Cada was swarmed by his friends and family in the crowd.
Moon shook his head and paced slowly away from the table. Cada quickly came over to shake his hand, and the two men exchanged pleasantries before Moon's exit. After a truly legendary run for Moon, his Main Event was over.
World Series of Poker commissioner Jeffrey Pollack came to the stage and first congratulated Darvin Moon on his spectacular accomplishment before awarding the World Series of Poker Main Event bracelet to the twenty-one year old Cada. With tears in his eyes, the newest PokerStars sponsored World Series of Poker champion, Cada proudly held the bracelet above his head thanking his supporters and paying tribute to his competitor Darvin Moon.
We have a new champion ladies and gentleman and his name is Joe Cada.
With thanks to original reporting from Matthew Parvis and Eric Ramsey. Pictures courtesy of The Hendon Mob and the WSOP
