WSOP National Championship
Day 2 Completed
2012 World Series of Poker
WSOP National Championship
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2012 World Series of Poker
Buy-in
$10,000
Prize Pool
$1,570,000
Entries
157
Level
28
Blinds
20,000 / 40,000
Ante
5,000
Hwang Leads the Way Into Wednesday's National Championship Final Table
Level 21
: 5,000/10,000, 1,000 ante
On Saturday, Day 2 of the WSOP National Championship saw the remaining 39 players of a 157-entrant field return to battle down to a final table. The lineup was an eclectic mix of qualifiers from the WSOP POY and WSOPC Leaderboards, and by the end of the night, three from the former and five from the latter made up the final table with Yung Hwang and his stack of 1.224 million leading the way.
The day started off with 21 players leaving empty handed as only 18 were slated to get paid. Among the players to his the rail early were Chris Moorman, Nicolas Fierro, Joseph Cheong, Aaron Massey and Gene Dudek. They were soon joined by two other players after they became victims of Hwang’s early heater.
It happened when Josh Tieman moved all in from early position for 39,500 and cleared the field to Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier on the button. The Frenchman opted for a three-bet to 66,000, the small blind got out of the way, and Hwang moved all in from the big for 184,500. Grospellier, who had 180,500, splashed in a call and the cards were turned up:
Showdown
| Grospellier |   |
| Hwang |   |
| Tieman |   |
The board ran out a clean 
and Hwang scored the double elimination and vaulted toward the top of the chip counts.
From there, more eliminations occurred including that of Fabrice Soulier, Paul Sokoloff, Chris Tryba, Jerry Monroe, Jamie Kerstetter, Stephen Kats and Jacob Naquin, just to name a few. With 19 players remaining, the money bubble last nearly three hours before bursting. It final happened when Matt Keikoan raised to 18,000 from the hijack and Mitch Schock moved all in from the big blind for 34,000 total. Keikoan made the call with
, which was behind the
of Schock. Unfortunately for the latter, the board ran out 
and the bubble was burst, guaranteeing the remaining 18 players a $22,278 payday.
Once the money was reached, the action picked up and the eliminations resumed. Below is a list of those who fell short of the final table. Check out their elimination hands simply by clicking on their name.
In-the-Money Eliminations
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 9th | Justin Gardenhire | $39,030 |
| 10th | David Peters | $31,855 |
| 11th | Drazen Ilich | $31,855 |
| 12th | Mark Bonsack | $31,855 |
| 13th | Eugene Katchalov | $26,439 |
| 14th | Brian Rast | $26,439 |
| 15th | Nick Binger | $26,439 |
| 16th | Hao Le | $22,278 |
| 17th | Jonathan Sorscher | $22,278 |
| 18th | Allen Kessler | $22,278 |
Here’s a look at the 2012 WSOP National Championship Final Table, which will air on ESPN August 7th once completed.
2012 WSOP National Championship Final Table
| Seat | Player | Chips | Qualified |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David “ODB” Baker | 281,000 | WSOP POY Entrant |
| 2 | Amanda Musumeci | 322,000 | At-Large Qualifier |
| 3 | Sam Stein | 651,000 | WSOP POY Entrant |
| 4 | Huy Nguyen | 331,000 | At-Large Qualifier |
| 5 | Yung Hwang | 1,224,000 | At-Large Qualifier |
| 6 | Nikolas Stone | 471,000 | Harrah's St. Louis Casino Champ |
| 7 | Matt Keikoan | 957,000 | WSOP POY Entrant |
| 8 | Ryan Eriquezzo | 474,000 | Caesars AC Main Event Champ |
The remaining eight players will return at 1 PM PST on Wednesday, July 11 to play for the bracelet and $416,051 first-place prize. The action will be filmed on the ESPN Main Stage to be aired in August; in the meantime, you can catch all the action and eliminations as they happen here on PokerNews and WSOP.com.
Official Final Table Counts
![[user196975]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,224,000 | -76,000 |
|
957,000 | 2,000 |
|
651,000 | 191,000 |
|
474,000 | 14,000 |
|
471,000 | 96,000 |
|
331,000 | 81,000 |
|
322,000 | -238,000 |
|
281,000 | -164,000 |
Justin Gardenhire Eliminated in 9th Place ($39,030)
Justin Gardenhire raised to 24,000 from the cutoff and watch as both the button and small blind folded. Sam Stein was in the big blind and proceeded to move all in, prompting Gardenhire to snap-call off for around 200,000.
Showdown
Gardenhire: 
Stein: 
Gardenhire was a big favorite, but he couldn't stand to watch and made his way over to his friends on the rail. Surprisingly, there was little reaction from the table and railbirds when the flop came down 
, a heartbreaker for Gardenhire as it gave Stein a pair of nine.
It was about that time he turned around and discovered the bad news, and the look on his face said it all. Neither the 
turn nor river would deliver salvation, and Gardenhire exited in ninth place, missing out on the televised final table by one spot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted |
Eriquezzo Doubles Through Keikoan
Matt Keikoan and Ryan Eriquezzo went to a flop of 
. Keikoan bet 16,000 and Eriquezzo raised to 36,000. Keikoan played back at him and re-raised an additional 20,000 for a total of 56,000.
Eriquezzo moved all in and Keikoan called.
Eriquezzo:
Keikoan: 
The board finished 
and Eriquezzo's set held up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
955,000 | -45,000 |
|
|
460,000 | 140,000 |
Hwang & Gardenhire Play Large
Level 22
: 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante
Justin Gardenhire opened for 24,000 and Yung Hwang called from the big blind. The flop came and both players checked. The turn came , Hwang bet 28,000 and Gardenhire raised to 71,000. Hwang called and the river came . Both players checked and Hwang turned over 
. Gardenhire mucked and Hwang took the pot.
Feeling Each Other Out
Level 22
: 6,000/12,000, 2,000 ante
Since combining to the unofficial final table of nine, the action has slowed considerably. It's another big bubble, but this time instead of cash on the line it's the chance to appear on national television.
The last bubble lasted for nearly three hours, and we expect it might take a lengthy period of time to burst this one too.
Final Table Seat Draw
Level 21
: 5,000/10,000, 1,000 ante
Final Table
| Seat | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | David ODB Baker |
| 2 | Amanda Musumeci |
| 3 | Sam Stein |
| 4 | Huy Nguyen |
| 5 | Yung Hwang |
| 6 | Nikolas Stone |
| 7 | Matt Keikoan |
| 8 | Ryan Eriquezzo |
| 9 | Justin Gardenhire |
David Peters Eliminated in 10th Place ($31,855)
Yung Hwang opened the action for 20,000 under the gun and received calls from Ryan Eriquezzo and Matt Keikoan on the button and small blind respectively. David Peters was next to act in the big blind and thought for a few moments before moving all in for 165,000.
Hwang and Eriquezzo both folded, while Keikoan made a somewhat hesitant call.
Showdown
Keikoan: 
Peters: 
It was a flip with Peters' tournament life on the line. The railbirds leaned in close while the media and players from the other table gathered round. The dealer burned a card and put out the flop. It was dry for Peters, who would need some help if he was going to survive.
The 
turn was not what he was looking for, which meant he needed either an ace or nine on the river to stay alive. The dealer burned one last time and put out the . Peters closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and then followed the floor to the payout desk in tenth place while the remaining nine players combined to the unofficial final table.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,000,000 | 150,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 22
Blinds: 6,000/12,000
Ante: 2,000