The last hand of Jeffrey Manza's tournament played out over several minutes and this is how it went down. Dung Nguyen opened it up to 70,000 preflop and Jeffrey Manza three-bet in the small blind. Nguyen contemplated the call as Manza said, "You know, folding is an option." Not for Nguyen though, as he made the call and the dealer readied three cards.
Flop:
Manza led for 150,000 here and Nguyen raised it to 350,000. Manza then made it 550,000 to go. As Nguyen thought what to do, Manza said, "Are you going to double me up?" Nguyen then moved all-in, putting Manza to a decision.
"If you weren't so bad i wouldn't even be thinking about calling," said Manza as he thought hard. Eventually he decided to make the call and was at risk with his behind Nguyen's . The turn and river changed nothing and it was all over in eighth place for Manza.
Zachary Korik had his short stack all-in preflop holding against the of Blair Hinkle. By the time the queen on the turn of a board had been dealt, it was all over for Korik in seventh place.
With that, we are down to six players and each remaining player is guaranteed a six-figure payday.
Folded to Dung Nguyen on the button, he would flick in a raise to 100,000. Kristijonas then three-bet shoved his small stack and it was back on Nguyen. He made a quick call and the two players turned their hands over.
Nguyen:
Kristijonas:
The cards one the board needed to change something or we would be losing our sixth-place finisher. Unfortunately for Kristijonas, the board was of no help and was eliminated with a $103,995 payday.
One of the first hands back from the dinner break and we have already had an elimination. It all started when Bahman Jahanguiri opened it up to 150,000. David Pham then three-bet shoved and Jahanguiri instantly called.
Jahanguiri:
Pham:
Pham was in desperate need of some help on the board, but when the dealer spread along the felt, it was all over in fifth place for Pham.
For that effort, Pham adds $140,736 in prize money to his poker resume that already includes more than $8 million in tournament winnings.
When Bahman Jahanguiri opened the button to 150,000, Theo Tran would three-bet all in from the big blind. Jahanguiri went with a call and found out his was in good shape against the all-in Theo Tran who held .
The flop slammed onto the felt and when the turn and the river changed nothing, Tran had managed to catch his nine to stay alive and thrive. With that, Jahanguiri is now our short stack.
Theo Tran folded his button and it was on Bahman Jahanguiri in the small blind. He put in a raise and then Dung Nguyen three-bet. Back on Jahanguiri and he would four-bet shove. Nguyen got to his feet and almost immediately made the call, putting Jahanguiri at risk.
Nguyen:
Jahanguiri:
By the time the board ran out , Jahanguiri was pleading for a jack or queen, but it wasn't meant to be as the on the river ensured that Jahanguiri would be heading home in third place.
The first time Theo Tran got his stack all-in preflop and received a call from Dung Nguyen, he was in great shape to double-up. Tran held and Nguyen was behind with .
When the flop was dealt on the felt, Tran was still in front and looking good. At this point Nguyen's rail was up on their feet, screaming for a queen. They wouldn't get their wish, but a would be enough to put Nguyen in front.
It was looking bleak for Tran, but he now had outs to the flush as well. He needed any ace, any king or any diamond. However, it wasn't meant to be as a dealt the final blow to Tran's tournament life. For that great effort, Tran goes home in second place, taking home $377,565. That is the second time that Tran has finished in the runner-up spot in a World Series of Poker event and as such, we are sure he will be even hungrier to find his first bracelet soon.
After a long and exciting day of poker, Dung Nguyen has been crowned the champion of Event 38: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em. Nguyen overcame a field of 2,502 players to take home all the glory, the $607,200 first-place prize and of course, the World Series of Poker gold bracelet.
When the play began today, there were 21 players still in contention to take it all down. However, for the final table to be set, 12 players had to fall by the wayside. Jia Liu was the first player to do just that, hitting the rail in 21st place. Next to go were Bastian Fischer (20th), Jason Lester (19th), Jesse Wilke (18th) and Michael Borovetz (17th).
Blake Cahail was still in contention at this point but would end up hitting the rail in 16th place when he had short stack all-in holding against Tyler Patterson’s . No help came for Cahail and he was sent home. Mihails Morosovs was eliminated in 15th place just a short while later and then Marcus Gurley (14th), Miguel Proulx (13th) and Ricky Crandell (12th) joined him on the rail.
When Matthew Pierce started the day, he had one of the largest chip stacks in the room. It didn’t stay that way though as he busted in 11th place, bringing us to our “unofficial” final table. At this point it was Dung Nguyen who lead the way, while Scott Clements was the short stack. He was so short in fact, that it didn’t take long for him to get his stack in.
The last hand of Clement’s tournament saw him all-in preflop holding . Unfortunately he ran into the of Theo Tran and when no help came for Clements, it was all over in 10th place. Here’s how the final nine stacked up.
Final Table Lineup
Seat
Player
Chips
1
Dung Nguyen
3,270,000
2
Kristijonas Andrulis
1,295,000
3
Theo Tran
1,910,000
4
Blair Hinkle
325,000
5
Zachary Korik
580,000
6
Tyler Patterson
400,000
7
Jeffrey Manza
1,735,000
8
David Pham
1,035,000
9
Bahman Jahanguiri
870,000
As you can see, it was Dung Nguyen who went into the final table with a big chip lead and it stayed that way as Tyler Patterson was sent home in ninth place and Jeffrey Manza in eighth. Nguyen was the player to eliminate Manza, with Nguyen putting Manza to an all-in decision on a board. After tanking for a long time, Manza called and rolled over , well behind Nguyen’s . The turn and river changed nothing and Nguyen gobbled up more chips as we were down to seven.
Zachary Korik was the next player to hit the rail, eliminated in seventh, with Blair Hinkle the man to deal the fatal blow. Hinkle, who started the final table with the smallest stack, was now sitting pretty and looking good to make it even deeper in the tournament.
Kristijonas Andrulis was the next player sent home, with his sixth-place elimination seeing him run his short stack holding into the of Nguyen. There was no stopping Nguyen at this point, with more than half the total chips in play being part of his towering stack.
The fifth-place spot would end up being filled by two-time WSOP gold bracelet winner , David Pham. The end of Pham’s tournament saw him all-in holding against Bahman Jahanguiri’s . The kings held up and Pham was sent packing.
The play really slowed down at this point as Nguyen continued to edge away from the competition. Blair Hinkle was one of the four remaining and he is one player who has seen success on the big stage of the WSOP before, winning his first gold bracelet in 2008. He will need to search for that second bracelet elsewhere though, as he was eliminated in fourth place earlier this evening.
Three-handed play would last a very long time, but it was Bahman Jahanguiri who would end up finding the rail in third place. After dozens of hands with barely any action, Jahanguiri would suddenly ship his stack all-in preflop holding and have to come up against Nguyen's . The board was uneventful and Jahanguiri was sent home.
Coming into heads-up, Nguyen held an almost 3-1 chip lead and would carry that lead all the way to a victory. When the last hand of the night played out, Nguyen's rail burst onto the stage and he was practically tackled by several well wishes. It was great to see and we congratulate Nguyen for taking down the bracelet and the $607,200 to go along with it.