Eric Buchman nabbed his second World Series of Poker bracelet today, winning a short final table of Event #34: $1,500 Seven-Card Stud for $118,785. Few could question Buchman's limit poker prowess, as he has a bracelet in limit hold'em along with a second-place finish in eight-game, a second-place finish in limit hold'em, and a third-place finish in stud at the WSOP.
Buchman may be best known for a deep run in the 2009 Main Event, which resulted in a fourth-place score for over $2.5 million. Coincidentally, Buchman made it two 2009 November Niners to take down bracelets in two days after 2009 winner Joe Cada scored a second bracelet last night.
New York native Buchman topped a field of 345 to take down the title, but only six came back for Day 3 today. That didn't mean the path was easy, as tough pros Bryn Kenney and Alex Kravchenko were among the players returning. Kenney bowed out in fifth early on, and Buchman took about a two-to-one chip lead into heads-up play against Kravchenko after Day 3 chip leader Aleksandr Denisov busted in third. The two battled for about an hour, with Buchman ultimately finishing off Kravchenko after taking most of his chips with a ten-high straight.
We talked to Buchman right after the photo's with his second bracelet were done:
Thanks for tuning in to another great WSOP event here on PokerNews, but since this one's done so early, there's still a smorgasbord of poker coverage from which to choose.
Alex Kravchenko completed with , and Eric Buchman called with . Buchman raised when he picked up , only to see Kravchenko raise it right back with the . Kravchenko then bet fifth and sixth, but Buchman fired a raise then. Kravchenko called.
Kravchenko: /
Buchman: /
Buchman bet the river, and Kravchenko called. Buchman showed for a straight to the ten, crippling Kravchenko down to 34,000.
A couple of hands later, Kravchenko was all in on fourth.
Kravchenko: /
Buchman: /
Buchman had tens, while Kravchenko had sevens and a three-straight. Fifth street for Buchman was the , giving him trips, while Kravchenko also caught good with the for a straight draw. Buchman received the to fill up on sixth though, ending the tournament.
Alex Kravchenko completed with the , and Aleksandr Denisov raised with . Eric Buchman woke up with a reraise from the bring-in - showing the - and Kravchenko got out of the way. Denisov called bets until a raise on fifth street put him all in.
Denisov: /
Buchman: /
Buchman picked up a set and Denisov was in bad shape with aces up. Both players got dealt a on sixth street. The river for Denisov signaled the end for the chip leader coming into today.
Aleksandr Denisov completed with the and was called by William Thompson with the . Thompson called two more bets through fifth street, which put him all in.
Denisov: /
Thompson: /
Denisov had a hidden monster: aces up. Thompson was dealt no more help, as the dealer threw him the followed by the .
William Thompson completed with the , and Bryn Kenney called with . It was Kenney then taking the betting lead on the next street, and Thompson called him down.
Kenney: /
Thompson: /
Unfortunately for Kenney, Thompson made two pair on the river, and Kenney's nines were no good.
The next hand, Alex Kravchenko completed with and was raised by Bryn Kenney. Aleksandr Denisov also saw fourth street, and Kenney kept the lead there with the . Fifth street is when the action got crazy.
Kravchenko: /
Kenney: /
Denisov: /
Kenney fired again, and Denisov called. Kravchenko raised though, and Kenney made it three bets. Undeterred, Denisov called the double bet, and Kravchenko popped it up to four bets. Kenney was all in at this point, and Denisov called. Denisov called one more bet on sixth when he caught and Kravchenko caught before both players checked the river.
Kravchenko had for a set of fours, and Kenney had for tens up. He had caught a jack on sixth, no help, and he's done in fifth.
A short-stacked Nabih Helmi came in with just three big bets and he got them all in on fifth street with Alex Kravchenko betting into him on the very first hand.
Kravchenko: /
Helmi: /
Helmi had jacks, but he needed to improve to catch Kravchenko's aces. The and were blanks for Helmi and it was one hand out, one player out here at the final table.
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Aleksandr Denisov has almost half of the chips six-handed.
Aleksandr Denisov will bring a sizable chip lead into today's Day 3 of Event #34: $1,500 Seven-Card Stud, but he still has plenty of obstacles to overcome on the road to his first bracelet.
Only six players remain, but three of them are millionaires multiple times over from poker. Bryn Kenney, Eric Buchman, and Alex Kravchenko may be down in the chip counts, but they all still present significant threats to Denisov, who brings 668,000 in chips into the final day. None of that trio has even half of Denisov's stack, but if any of them make a few hands and grab the chip lead, they will be tough to unseat. Still, it's Denisov with nearly half of the chips in play, with William Thompson at 415,000 sporting the second-biggest stack by far.
With only Denisov and Thompson having more than 10 big bets, we expect the action to start out fast, so be sure to tune in as soon as the cards are in the air, scheduled for 2 p.m. local time.
, and Eric Buchman called with 
. Buchman raised when he picked up 
, only to see Kravchenko raise it right back with the 
. Kravchenko then bet fifth and sixth, but Buchman fired a raise then. Kravchenko called.
for a straight to the ten, crippling Kravchenko down to 34,000.
/
, giving him trips, while Kravchenko also caught good with the 
for a straight draw. Buchman received the 
to fill up on sixth though, ending the tournament.
- and Kravchenko got out of the way. Denisov called bets until a raise on fifth street put him all in.
/
/
on sixth street. The 
river for Denisov signaled the end for the chip leader coming into today.
. Thompson called two more bets through fifth street, which put him all in.
/
followed by the 
. It was Kenney then taking the betting lead on the next street, and Thompson called him down.
/
and Kravchenko caught 
for tens up. He had caught a jack on sixth, no help, and he's done in fifth.
/
and 
were blanks for Helmi and it was one hand out, one player out here at the final table.
