https://betting.betfair.com/poker/wsop/2012/10/ en Copyright 2026 Wed, 31 Oct 2012 19:53:00 +0000 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification After fighting through a total field of 6,598 to a spot in the final nine, then surviving a final table lasting nearly 400 hands over the last two days, Greg Merson of Maryland became the newest World Series of Poker Main Event champion, pocketing a cool $8,531,853 for his triumph.  Merson's win also catapulted him past WSOP Europe Main Event winner Phil Hellmuth to clinch the top spot in the 2012 WSOP Player of the Year race. On Monday afternoon the final nine players reassembled in the Penn & Teller theater at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada to determine who among them would emerge as champion.  Merson began the final table third in chips behind fellow American Jesse Sylvia and the lone non-American final tablist, Andras Koroknai of Hungary. Here's how the counts looked when the first hand of the final table was dealt: 1. Jesse Sylvia -- 43,875,000 2. Andras Koroknai -- 29,375,000 3. Greg Merson -- 28,725,000 4. Russell Thomas -- 24,800,000 5. Steve Gee -- 16,860,000 6. Michael Esposito -- 16,260,000 7. Robert Salaburu -- 15,155,000 8. Jake Balsiger -- 13,115,000 9. Jeremy Ausmus -- 9,805,000 It would take 30 hands for the first elimination to come.  The 57-year-old Steve Gee -- the oldest player at the final table -- was eliminated in a dramatic hand versus Russell Thomas in which Gee shoved all in on a 7c-5d-4h-Jc-3s board holding 8d-8c and after a long tank Thomas called with Qd-Qc. Thirty-five hands after that it was a short-stacked Robert Salaburu finding himself in the big blind and watching Sylvia open-raise all in from the small blind.  Salaburu called with 7d-7h and saw Sylvia turn over Qc-5c, and Salaburu was safe after the Ad-As-4c flop and 2d turn.  But the river brought the Qh to knock Salaburu out in eighth. Just a few hands later, Michael Esposito began shoving his short stack all in repeatedly, finally getting a call from Merson in a hand in which Esposito held As-Jh but unfortunately for him had run into Merson's Ac-Ks.  The community cards came 9s-7d-4s-6s-8c, and after 70 hands they were down to six. Koroknai continued to maintain a healthy stack of more than 40 million chips, but got himself into a preflop raising war with Merson that resulted in Koroknai six-bet shoving with Kh-Qd and getting called by Merson who held As-Ks.  The board ran out eight-high, and as Merson had Koroknai barely outchipped the latter was out in sixth while Merson assumed the lead. Jeremy Ausmus began the final table ninth of nine, but managed to hold his own and wasn't at risk until committing his stack on a 9c-8s-3s-3d board with 10s-7d (open-ended straight draw) and getting called by Sylvia who held Ac-9h (nines and treys).  The river was the 5s, sending Ausmus railward in fifth. It was on Hand No. 135 of the final table that the next elimination would occur when Russell Thomas saw his Ah-9d fail to improve against the As-Kc of Jake Balsiger.   Play was then halted, and the final three players rested up for what would turn out to be an especially arduous and hard-fought battle Tuesday night. When the trio returned, Merson led the way with Sylvia second and Balsiger the short stack.  Here's what the leaderboard looked like at the start of play Tuesday: 1.  Greg Merson -- 88,350,000 2.  Jesse Sylvia -- 62,750,000 3.  Jake Balsiger -- 46,875,000 Play once again started in the afternoon, and as it happened it wouldn't be until almost dawn on Wednesday for the tourney to be decided.  In all it would take an incredible 264 more hands -- 399 total for the final table -- to find a winner, with all three players remaining alive for much of the way. There were a few dramatic close calls before Balsiger finally was eliminated in third, and in fact all three players managed to hold the chip lead at one point during the night, although Merson was in first position for the majority of the way. In one two-hand sequence, Balsiger survived an all-in with Ah-10s against Sylvia's Ac-Qs when a ten fell on the turn, then Sylvia turned around and made it through an all-in of his own with Ah-Ks versus Merson's Kd-Kh when the river brought Sylvia a saving wheel. Ultimately Balsiger would fall in Hand No. 382 of the final table in a hand versus Merson.  All in with Qh-10d against Merson's Kc-Qs, the board came 6s-6d-6c-Jc-5h and just two players were left. Heads-up play began with Merson in front with 117,600,000 to Sylvia's 80,600,000.  The pair traded small-to-medium pots for 16 hands, then finally a hand arose in which Merson had four-bet-shoved from the button and after a long period of contemplation Sylvia called with his remaining chips. Merson had Kd-5d and Sylvia Qs-Js, and after the board came 9d-6c-3h-6s-7c, Merson had won. 2012 WSOP Main Event final table payouts: 1st:  Greg Merson (United States) -- $8,531,853 2nd:  Jesse Sylvia (United States) -- $5,295,149 3rd:  Jake Balsiger (United States) -- $3,799,073 4th:  Russell Thomas (United States) -- $2,851,537 5th:  Jeremy Ausmus (United States) -- $2,155,313 6th:  Andras Koroknai (Hungary) -- $1,640,902 7th:  Michael Esposito (United States) -- $1,258,040 8th:  Robert Salaburu (United States) -- $971,360 9th:  Steve Gee (United States) -- $754,798  As mentioned, the win also meant Merson wins the 2012 WSOP Player of the Year race, with Phil Hellmuth finishing in second (for the second year in a row) and Antonio Esfandiari third.  Join Betfair Poker Now. https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/greg-merson-survives-epic-final-table-wins-2012-wsop-main-event-311012-77.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/greg-merson-survives-epic-final-table-wins-2012-wsop-main-event-311012-77.html News WSOP Wed, 31 Oct 2012 19:53:00 +0000 Three-and-a-half months after action was paused following Gaelle Baumann's dramatic elimination in 10th place, the final table of the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event is finally about to begin. Play resumes on Monday afternoon in the Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, where the nine survivors from the 6,598 who started the event will determine who among them will claim the winner's prize of $8,531,853 and the WSOP Championship Bracelet. Las Vegas resident Jesse Sylvia will begin play on Monday afternoon with the lead with a stack of 43,875,000 chips, with Andras Koroknai of Hungary his nearest challenger with 29,375,000. Play will pick up in the middle of Level 34 (blinds 150,000/300,000, ante 40,000). Here's a look at the current seating assignments and chip counts: Seat 1: Russell Thomas -- 24,800,000 Seat 2: Jake Balsiger -- 13,115,000 Seat 3: Jeremy Ausmus -- 9,805,000 Seat 4: Steven Gee -- 16,860,000 Seat 5: Greg Merson -- 28,725,000 Seat 6: Jesse Sylvia -- 43,875,000 Seat 7: Robert Salaburu -- 15,155,000 Seat 8: Andras Koroknai -- 29,375,000 Seat 9: Michael Esposito -- 16,260,000 The schedule on Monday, October 29 has players reconvening in the afternoon and cards going in the air at 4:45 p.m. Pacific time, from which point they will play down to three players before concluding for the night. The final trio will return on Tuesday, October 30 and the tournament will restart at 5:45 p.m. with play continuing until someone emerges as the winner. As was the case last year, the entire final table -- both Monday and Tuesday nights -- will be broadcast on a 15-minute delay. Coverage will be shown over cable television on ESPN2 and streaming via the web at ESPN3 and WSOP.com. Lon McEachern and Norman Chad will be on hand once again as commentators, with Antonio Esfandiari providing analysis and Kara Scott handling interviews and additional reporting. Following last year's format, hole cards of involved players will be shown after the conclusion of each hand. There remains over $27 million worth of riches to be divided among the final nine. That's nearly 44% of the overall prize pool of more than $62 million. In fact, the final nine players have all already been awarded ninth-place money ($754,798), with the remaining $20,454,658 placed in a money market account in July where it managed to earn $10,185 in interest -- i.e., just a little more than one Main Event buy-in. The interest was added to the 1st-8th place prizes on a percentage basis, thus creating the following adjusted payouts: 1st place: $8,531,853 2nd place: $5,295,149 3rd place: $3,799,073 4th place: $2,851,537 5th place: $2,155,313 6th place: $1,640,902 7th place: $1,258,040 8th place: $971,360 9th place: $754,798 Many who will watch the coverage on Monday and Tuesday will be relatively unfamiliar with the final nine players. Even so, the group brings several interesting stories to the final table. Russell Thomas (Seat 1, 24,800,000) is a 24-year-old graduate of Temple University who presently works as an actuary for an insurance company. "Run Good Russell" hired poker pro Jason Somerville -- who finished 69th in this year's Main Event -- to help him prepare for the final table. Jake Balsiger (Seat 2, 13,115,000) is a senior at Arizona State University where he is studying Political Science. Just 21 years old, Balsiger has a chance to break Joe Cada's record as the youngest-ever winner of a WSOP Main Event. Cada was just a few days shy of 22 at the time of his win, about three months older than Balsiger. Jeremy Ausmus (Seat 3, 9,805,000) is a 33-year-old graduate of Colorado State University whose wife gave birth to their first child in September. (The birth was early, as the due date had actually been right about the time of the ME final table!) Ausmus had nine cashes at this summer's WSOP. Steven Gee (Seat 4, 16,860,000) is a 57-year-old poker pro from California, the oldest remaining player in the Main Event. Gee is one of only two players at the final table with a WSOP bracelet, having won one in 2010 in a $1,000 no-limit hold'em event that featured a field of more than 3,000 players. Greg Merson (Seat 5, 28,725,000) is the other player at this year's final table with a bracelet, having won his this summer in Event #57, the $10,000 six-handed no-limit hold'em event. Thanks to his performance during the summer, the 24-year-old from Maryland has a chance to win 2012 WSOP Player of the Year, although he must win the Main Event in order to gain enough points to pass current leader Phil Hellmuth. Jesse Sylvia (Seat 6, 43,875,000) is a 24-year-old poker pro who actually roomed with fellow "Octo-Niner" Russell Thomas during part of the summer at this year's WSOP. From Day 2 onward, the pair had dinner every night during the Main Event. Robert Salaburu (Seat 7, 15,155,000) is a 27-year-old poker pro from San Antonio, Texas. This marks his first-ever WSOP cash. Andras Koroknai (Seat 8, 29,375,000) is from Debrecen, Hungary. Not only is the 30-year-old poker pro the only non-American at the final table, he's the first player from Hungary ever to make it this far in the Main Event. Koroknai won the World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic in 2010 for a $1,788,001, the biggest previous score of any player among the final nine. Michael Esposito (Seat 9, 16,260,000) is a 44-year-old commodity broker and avid triathalon competitor from New York City. Like Thomas (and perhaps the college student Balsiger), he's an amateur player. Of course, by Tuesday night the poker world will become plenty familiar with the "Octo-Niners," with the winner in particular earning not just the bracelet and cash, but a permanent spot in poker history as one of the few to win poker's most prestigious tournament. Join Betfair Poker Now. https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/its-here-the-2012-wsop-main-event-final-table-begins-monday-261012-77.html https://betting.betfair.com/poker/news/its-here-the-2012-wsop-main-event-final-table-begins-monday-261012-77.html News WSOP Fri, 26 Oct 2012 12:29:00 +0100