From 8th to 1st: Martin Jacobson Wins 2014 WSOP Main Event
He's never won a major live poker tournament. He's second to last in chips to start the final table. He's too quiet to become the leading poker ambassador. No player from Sweden has ever won this tournament.
Those were all rumblings heard throughout the poker world about Martin Jacobson in the months leading up to the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event final table.
When it was all said and done, though, the man from Sweden proved to be the last player standing, topping poker's greatest event to win his first WSOP gold bracelet and the massive $10 million first-place prize.
2014 WSOP Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin Jacobson | Sweden | $10,000,000 |
| 2 | Felix Stephensen | Norway | $5,145,968 |
| 3 | Jorryt van Hoof | Netherlands | $3,806,402 |
| 4 | William Tonking | United States | $2,848,833 |
| 5 | Billy Pappas | United States | $2,143,174 |
| 6 | Andoni Larrabe | Spain | $1,622,080 |
| 7 | Dan Sindelar | United States | $1,235,862 |
| 8 | Bruno Politano | Brazil | $947,077 |
| 9 | Mark Newhouse | United States | $730,725 |
Final Table Recap
The November Nine returned on Monday at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The final nine players were led by Jorryt van Hoof, with the plan for the first night’s play to play down until the final three competitors were reached.
Coming into the final table, all eyes were on Mark Newhouse after he successfully reached the final table of the Main Event in back-to-back years. Newhouse finished in ninth place last year, and he had high hopes of finishing much higher this time around, given that he entered third in chips with a very healthy stack. Unfortunately for him, fate would have it another way.
Several hours and countless orbits around the table went by without an elimination. In fact, this year proved to be the longest time since the inception of the November Nine that play went without an all-in and call. But then, on Hand #56, that all changed.
Newhouse had a rough go of it to start the day, and his stack dwindled. After van Hoof opened the pot with a raise to 1.1 million from the hijack seat, Newhouse called from the cutoff seat, and William Tonking reraised to 3.75 million from the small blind.
Van Hoof got out of the way, but Newhouse made the call to see a flop of J♥4♣2♦. Tonking bet 3.5 million, and Newhouse called to see the 4♥ pair the board on the turn. Tonking checked, Newhouse bet 4.5 million, and Tonking called. Then, the J♣ added a second pair to the board on the river. After Tonking checked, Newhouse moved all in for 10.2 million. After about a minute of deliberating, Tonking announced a call and Newhouse flipped over the 10♥10♣. Tonking showed a better Q♦Q♣, and he would send Newhouse to the rail in shocking fashion. Just like that, Newhouse had once again finished in ninth place, this time taking home $730,725, and Tonking vaulted to the chip lead.
Almost just as many hands would be played before the next elimination came about. Brazil's Bruno Politano had a loud and heavy group of supporters, but even they couldn't will him to a victory that would've saved his tournament life on Hand #100.
Politano raised all in from the button for 8.1 million, and Felix Stephensen called from the big blind with the 7♠7♣. Politano had he Q♠10♣ and couldn't connect on the 6♥3♥2♣K♣9♥ board, earning $947,077 for the eighth-place finish.
Less than an orbit later, Dan Sindelar was eliminated at the hands of van Hoof, but it wasn't without some drama.
After a raise from Stephensen and a three-bet from van Hoof, Sindelar four-bet jammed. Stephensen folded, but van Hoof ended up making the call with the A♥3♥. Sindelar had the J♦J♣ to be in front, but the poker gods had other things in mind. The A♦7♥2♥ flop gave van Hoof the lead, and that was followed by the 3♦ on the turn and the Q♠ on the river. With that, Sindelar was out the door with a $1,235,862 payday, and the field was down to six.
Although the eliminations of Politano and Sindelar came close to one another, it took a bit of time before the sixth-place finisher was realized. That player proved to be Spain's Andoni Larrabe when his J♣10♣ failed to come from behind against the K♥5♥ for van Hoof. Larrabe earned $1,622,080 for his sixth-place finish.
Billy Pappas — the only true amateur remaining — hit the rail next. Like Larrabe, Pappas was done in by van Hoof after losing out the hand before to Martin Jacobson. In his final hand, Pappas' 7♠7♣ couldn't muster a victory against van Hoof's J♣J♥, and he was out the door in fifth place for $2,143,174.
With four players left, everyone knew the day's end was just around the corner, but that didn't mean the end was going to come easy. The final four battled for a handful more hands, exchanging several blows as the chip stacks moved up and down. All the while, though, van Hoof stayed out in front and kept the other three players at bay.
Then, on Hand #224, the man from New Jersey, Tonking, was eliminated by Jacobson when his 2♥2♣ couldn't find anything on the J♣5♣4♣6♦Q♠ board against the 10♦10♥. Tonking flopped the only flush draw, turned a straight draw, but still couldn't hit. He was gone in fourth place for $2,848,833, and everyone thought the day might be over.
However, it was decided that the final three players would play until the end of the current level, which they did. Another 20 hands were played out into the early hours of the morning, but there weren't any massive clashes.
When the dust settled at the end of Level 39, van Hoof was still the tallest man standing with his stack of 89.625 million. Jacobson finished in second with 64.75 million, and then Stephensen brought up the rear with 46.1 million.
Three-Handed Play
The final three players – all Europeans – returned on Tuesday, with van Hoof holding the chip lead by almost 25 million ahead of Jacobson in second place and Stephensen in third.
Each player was guaranteed at least more than $3.8 million, but it was all about the top prize and poker's most prestigious title.
Despite the big stack, van Hoof's chip lead wouldn't last, and the Dutchman would soon fall to the smallest stack of the three. The trio battled for 49 hands before van Hoof was sent to the rail in third place.
Van Hoof opened and then four-bet shoved with the A♦5♦ after Jacobson had three-bet him. Jacobson snap-called with the A♠10♣, and van Hoof was in a world of hurt. The board ran out 10♥5♠2♥Q♣Q♠, and van Hoof was off to collect his payday of more than $3.8 million.
At the start of heads-up play, Jacobson had 142 million to Stephensen's 58.5 million. The Swede had the chip lead, he had the momentum, and he had the skills, and it seemed as though nothing was going to stop him.
It proved true as he kept the pressure on his Norwegian opponent to grind Stephensen down to under 30 million in chips. Interestingly, Stephensen seemed to be winning most of the pots heads up to start, but all of the big, meaningful ones went to Jacobson.
Then, on Hand #328, all of the money went in for the final time.
Stephensen opened with a raise from the button, Jacobson moved all in, and Stephensen called with the A♥9♥. While a medium suited ace isn't a bad hand to go with when in the position Stephensen was in, Jacobson had a powerhouse with the 10♥10♦.
The 10♣9♣3♠ flop delivered Jacobson with top set of tens and really gave him a stranglehold on the hand. The turn was the K♦ to leave Stephensen drawing dead. Jacobson's supporters began to rush the stage as the dealer completed the board with the 4♣ to make it official.
With that, Martin Jacobson was crowned the champion of the world's greatest poker event — he secured his first major live poker tournament victory, and it proved to be the biggest and baddest of them all.
With thanks to original reporting from Donnie Peters.
