As the Bubble Bursts, the Big Stacks Bully

And we have our bubble boy.

Twenty-five-year-old Carl Ygborn of Gothenborg, Sweden, who won his seat in a $1,000 super satellite the day before the main event, was eliminated in 561th place, becoming the last person of this year’s WSOP to walk away with a goose egg cash. As a consolation gift he did receive a toaster and, oh yeh, a free seat into next year’s main event. Very nice of the WSOP folks although I’m sure Ygborn would prefer a cash payout instead. While we’re not sure if he’ll take the toaster back with him to Scandinavia, based on his comments afterwards, the down but not destroyed Ygborn will likely be back next year. When asked if he was trying to play tight because they were finally down to one from the money, Ygborn declared proudly, “I wasn’t playing for 560th place. I was playing to win.”

Standing in the way of those plans was 22-year-old Corey Cheresnick, who took all of Ygborn’s chips with a flopped Jack high straight. Failing to sense strength, Ygborn thought his pair of tens with an ace kicker was the best hand and went all-in on the turn. With Cheresnick quickly calling and a king landing on the river, Ygborn was out and 560 players were left competing for the $7.5 million prize. All remaining are ensured of at least a $12,500 walk away.

When played started this morning it was almost two hours of brutal, snails-pace play as they went hand-for-hand until eight were knocked out. For the online players still in who won their seat on the cheap, the wait was well worth it, and when word got out that we were down to 560, a roar of gitty excitement went across the room as players congratulated each other on the cash and called family and friends. While the $12,500 pay out for 501 to 560 is far from riches, it’s still a nice cash for those who qualified through satellites.

For the pros though, there’s only one thing they’re playing for and that’s the gold bracelet in the largest poker tournament ever held. While Pardey, Jr. and Phan were out ahead this morning, word is being passed around that Raymer may be in the lead as well as an amateur or two with over $400k in chips. By the looks of it, Raymer still seems short of the top as well as a long shot to join the ranks of Moss, Brunson, Ungar and Chan by winning back-to-back championships, but the Fossilman is putting himself in great position and we all saw last year how he can bully with the big stack.

Things are moving fast as the big stacks gobble up the small stacks, many who were just hanging in there for the cash, and we'll be seeing the chip leader changing frequently throughout the day. As I type, 487 players left.

Comments

[Will]

Great coverage.