Online superstar Carter Phillips wins WSOP Event #16

Poker News / Matthew Pitt / 10 June 2010 / Leave a Comment

Photo courtesy of www.worldseriesofpoker.com

Event #16 of the 2010 World Series of Poker attracted 1,663, a record for a six-handed no-limit Hold'em tournament and it was Carter Phillips from Charlotte, North Carolina who won every single chip in play to win his first-ever WSOP bracelet.

Phillips, who is extremely well-known in online poker circles, has only been playing full time for 18 months and has already amassed over $1,800,000 from live tournaments. Amazingly, the $482,774 he won from this event is not his largest career cash, as he won €850,000 ($1,216,033) when he won the 2009 EPT Barcelona.

The final table was the second youngest in WSOP history with an average age of just 22.8 years and it was 21-year old Phillips who lead the way with 3,175,000 chips. Craig Bergeron started in second place almost 1,000,000 chips behind with a 1,214,000 chips, narrowly ahead of Russell Thoman and Samuel Gerber on 1,075,000 and 1,057,000 respectively. The two short stacks, David Diaz (490,000) and Hugo Perez (485,000) had some real work to do to progress up the pay ladder.

David Diaz was actually the first player to be eliminated after he moved all-in over the top of Craig Bergeron's under-the-gun raise to 70,000. Diaz made the call and found himself in a coinflip with his AdJs racing against Bergeron's TdTh. Any hopes of a double quickly faded when the flop came down 9s4cTs and when the 6s arrived on the turn Diaz was drawing dead and heading for the cashier's cage to collect his $58,483.

He was joined less than ten minutes later by Russell Thomas. Samuel Gerber raised on the button to 70,000 and Thomas three-bet with AsKd to 202,000 from the small blind. Gerber wasted little time in announcing he was all-in and Thomas called just as quickly, only to find out he had run into a pair of kings. A flop of 4d9cJh failed to change anything, nor did the 9s on the turn. The Qc on the river locked up the hand for Gerber and Thomas was eliminated in fifth place, worth $84,256.

It took almost three more hours of play until the next player busted out. Hugo Perez, the oldest member of the final table at just 26-years young, moved all-in for 385,000 with blinds at 20,000/40,000 only to be called by Bergeron. With the cards on their backs it was quickly apparent Perez's Qc8d needed some luck to outrun his opponent's KdJd. Both players flopped a pair on a Jh8s5s board but a 3d turn and 2d river meant Perez who go down in the record books as finishing fourth for $124,690.

Earlier in the tournament Carter Phillips had been running red hot but he saved some run good for the final table. He raised on the button and then four-bet all-in when Craig Bergeron made it 295,000 to play. Bergeron quickly called and flipped his cards to show a pair of sevens whilst Phillips sheepishly revealed Js7s. Poker can be a funny old game at times and this was one of those times as a jack appeared on the JhAc8h flop. A 9s on the turn meant Bergeron could hit the case seven for the win or a ten for a split but it was the 9c on the river to send him to the rail, albeit $189,661 richer.

Phillips took a three-to-one chip lead into heads up and to be honest there was never going to be any other result than a win for the talented youngster. He sealed the deal rather quickly when Samuel Gerber raised to 100,000 on the button, Phillips re-raised to 275,000 only for Gerber to move all-in. Phillips instantly called and showed AdKc, nicely in front of the Qc8d of his opponent. A 7sAh9d flop left Gerber drawing extremely thinly and a Jc turn and 5d river failed to alter proceedings and he finished in second place, good for $298,726.

When asked about how it felt to win a bracelet an ecstatic Phillips replied, ""It's 10 times more exciting that anything I could have imagined. After I turned 21, winning a bracelet was my main priority. I was playing a lot in Europe before I turned 21. I won an EPT event in Barcelona in September (2009). But winning something on my home turf means much more."