Published on June 16th, 2008 4:42 am EST
"Live" poker professionals are absolutely dominating the 2008 World Series of Poker so far. Sunday continued the trend, as Kenny "Sick Call" Tran and Barry Greenstein both took down WSOP bracelets.
Kenny Tran outlasted an incredibly tough field of 256 players to take down the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Heads-Up Championship on Sunday. This was his first World Series of Poker bracelet, but surely not his last. Tran defeated Alec Torelli in the finals to take down the $539k first place prize.
The finals was a best two out of three format, and Kenny Tran ended up winning 2-0. The final hand of the first match came when Torelli pushed the remainder of his stack in the middle on a flop of 4-8-2 rainbow, and Tran quickly called. Tran held A-4 for middle pair top kicker, and Torelli held A-J. This left Torelli hoping for a Jack, but the turn and river brought no help, and he was down 1-0 in the match.
The deciding hand of the second match came when the two players got all of their chips in the middle on a flop of 7-Q-4 with two clubs. Tran turned up A-8 of clubs for the nut flush draw, and Torelli turned over Q-10 for top pair. The turn brought the eight of hearts, giving Tran a couple more outs to win the hand. The river was the Jack of clubs, giving Tran the nut flush and the victory. Torelli received $336k for finishing in second place.
This tournament was absolutely stacked with talent, and Tran certainly earned his victory.
As mentioned, Barry Greenstein also captured a World Series of Poker bracelet on Sunday when he took down the $1500 Razz event for $157k. This was Greenstein's third career bracelet, as he previously took down the $5k No Limit Deuce to Seven Draw event in 2004 for $296k, and the $1500 Pot Limit Omaha event in 2005 for $128k.
Barry Greenstein topped Chris Klodnicki in heads-up play. Klodnicki received $97,389 for finishing in second place.
Greenstein is having a very strong 2008 World Series of Poker so far. This was his third cash of the tournament, and his second six-figure cash (he took third in the $5k No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball event for $225k). Greenstein spent no time savoring his victory - he immediately ran over to the $10k Limit Hold'em event and took his seat.
For Greenstein, this victory likely means hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra money earned from bracelet bets.
Greenstein and Tran join the likes of Daniel Negreanu, Mike Matusow and Erick Lindgren as well-known poker pros who have taken down bracelets at this year's World Series of Poker. So far, 2008 has definitely been the "Year of the Pro".
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Filed Under: The World Series of Poker
"Live" poker professionals are absolutely dominating the 2008 World Series of Poker so far. Sunday continued the trend, as Kenny "Sick Call" Tran and Barry Greenstein both took down WSOP bracelets.Kenny Tran outlasted an incredibly tough field of 256 players to take down the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Heads-Up Championship on Sunday. This was his first World Series of Poker bracelet, but surely not his last. Tran defeated Alec Torelli in the finals to take down the $539k first place prize.
The finals was a best two out of three format, and Kenny Tran ended up winning 2-0. The final hand of the first match came when Torelli pushed the remainder of his stack in the middle on a flop of 4-8-2 rainbow, and Tran quickly called. Tran held A-4 for middle pair top kicker, and Torelli held A-J. This left Torelli hoping for a Jack, but the turn and river brought no help, and he was down 1-0 in the match.
The deciding hand of the second match came when the two players got all of their chips in the middle on a flop of 7-Q-4 with two clubs. Tran turned up A-8 of clubs for the nut flush draw, and Torelli turned over Q-10 for top pair. The turn brought the eight of hearts, giving Tran a couple more outs to win the hand. The river was the Jack of clubs, giving Tran the nut flush and the victory. Torelli received $336k for finishing in second place.
This tournament was absolutely stacked with talent, and Tran certainly earned his victory.
As mentioned, Barry Greenstein also captured a World Series of Poker bracelet on Sunday when he took down the $1500 Razz event for $157k. This was Greenstein's third career bracelet, as he previously took down the $5k No Limit Deuce to Seven Draw event in 2004 for $296k, and the $1500 Pot Limit Omaha event in 2005 for $128k.
Barry Greenstein topped Chris Klodnicki in heads-up play. Klodnicki received $97,389 for finishing in second place.
Greenstein is having a very strong 2008 World Series of Poker so far. This was his third cash of the tournament, and his second six-figure cash (he took third in the $5k No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball event for $225k). Greenstein spent no time savoring his victory - he immediately ran over to the $10k Limit Hold'em event and took his seat.
For Greenstein, this victory likely means hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra money earned from bracelet bets.
Greenstein and Tran join the likes of Daniel Negreanu, Mike Matusow and Erick Lindgren as well-known poker pros who have taken down bracelets at this year's World Series of Poker. So far, 2008 has definitely been the "Year of the Pro".
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Filed Under: The World Series of Poker
