Eric Buchman, Jason DeWitt Take WSOP Gold

Day 15 of the 41st World Series of Poker produces plenty of thrills Eric Buchman and Jason DeWitt are the latest players to claim WSOP gold bracelets as the world's biggest poker tournament ends its 15th day. In the $5 000 buy-in NLHE (event number 17) the last 18 players from a field of 792 returned to the tables to decide who would win the big money. Jason DeWitt held the lead, an advantage he rarely relinquished in the ensuing action, which saw the field narrowed down to a final table of nine and ultimately to a heads up between DeWitt and UK player Sam Trickett. Trickett was unable to overcome a powerful stack and expert play from his opponent, and the main prize of $818,959 went to DeWitt. Trickett picked up a check for $505 725 to assuage his disappointment. After the game, DeWitt told reporters that it was the toughest final table he had experienced so far in his career. The young ace was delighted with his first WSOP bracelet, which he previously, and narrowly missed in other WSOP events after finishing in third and second place respectively in a 2009 PLO competition, and a 2009 $3,000 triple-chance tournament. In event 18 – the $2 000 Limit competition – Eric Buchman was victorious late Friday night, taking home a bracelet, the $203,607 main prize and ultimately besting a star-studded entry field of 476 after a thriller of a heads up against Brent Courson, whose second place finish was worth $125 737. Day 3 saw 10 remaining players start out with Buchman in the lead, chased closely by Hansu Chu. Others in contention included Daniel Quach, Steven Hustoft, William Jensen, Matt Grapenthien, Brent Courson, Matthew Matros, Gary Bogdanski and Flavio Ferrari. Buchman managed to turn his chip advantage into a winning bracelet just after 9pm Vegas time Friday at Level 26, a well deserved victory by the popular New York pro. Just five players were left in event 19 - the $10 000 buy-in 2-7 Championship –when InfoPowa went to press at 10.30pm Friday Vegas time. The survivors were all that remained of an ace-laden starter field of 101, narrowed down by Day 2 to 72 and then to just 10 by Friday after a thirteen hour marathon session. By 10.30pm Friday Vegas, play had reached level 24, with blinds at 12 000/24 000 and the ante at 6 000. Five players remained, led by George Danzer on 825 000, who was followed by David Baker (705,000), Doug Booth (640,000), John Juanda (625,000) and Eric Cloutier (450,000). 885 players entered for event 20, a $1 500 buy-in PLO competition, with only 10 percent of the field making it through the first day and hoping to make the bubble at the 81 player level. Among the survivors of the carnage were Christian Harder, internet ace Nenad Medic and Peter Costa, but it was Brit James Akenhead who impressed, playing strong and aggressive poker and hammering many opponents into the ground. By 10.30pm Friday night Vegas time the field had been further reduced to just 23 players at level 18, with blinds at 3 000/6 000 and Peter Costa holding on to a solid over 200 000 chip lead over nearest rivals Denton Pfister and Nenad Medic. Pat Pezzin was holding the chip lead in event 21, the $1 500 buy-in 7 Card Stud contest, which started Thursday with 408 entries, whittled away to 128 going through to Day 2. Scott Seiver was in charge of the survivors as play ended on Day 1, with James Kadlec some 20 000 chips behind him. Still in the running at the start of Day 2 play were Carlos Mortensen, Chip Jett and Scott Epstein, but Lex Veldhuis, Marcel Luske, Chau Giang and Chris Ferguson did not make it past Day 1. By 10.30pm Vegas time Friday, Day 2 play had reached level 15, with just 24 players left in the hunt. Pat Pezzin had the chip lead at 244 000, followed by internet whiz Sorel Mizzi on 210 000, Brian Johnson on 112 000, and Richard Ashby and Jon Turner who were tied on 100 000. Event 22, the $1,000 buy-in NLHE Ladies Championship kicked off at midday Friday, attracting a good entry field of 1 054 players in a convivial atmosphere. The field included well respected names like Liv Boeree, Shannon Elizabeth, Sara Underwood, Tiffany Michelle Kathy Liebert, Evelyn Ng, Leo Margets and Vanessa Rousso, all keen to compete for the first-place prize of $192,132. In 2009's event Hawaiian player Lisa Hamilton laid waste to a field of 1,060 players to win a $195,390 first place prize. By 10.30pm Friday, the Day 1 field had been reduced to 207 players by level 9, with blinds at 300/600 and the ante at 75. Svetlana Gromenkova was in the chip lead on an impressive 56,000, a solid 16 000 ahead of nearest rival Evelyn Ng, with Linda Johnson and Liv Boeree trailing on 40 000 nd 33 000 respectively. Event 23, a $2,500 buy-in Limit Hold'Em, six-handed tournament also saw cards in the air late afternoon Friday. Level 16 had been reached by the late evening, with 204 players left of the original field of 384. Greg Debora had the chip lead on 30,000 with Patty Gallagher only a thousand chips shy of his stack and Andre Akkari and JJ Liu close behind. The match has all the elements for an exciting finish, with good players still in the field and plenty of action.
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