Main Event
Day 3 Completed
Main Event
Day 3 Completed
After four full days of poker in Black Hawk, Colorado, the next 2012-13 World Series of Poker Main Event champion has been crowned. The well-deserved champion, who beat out 420 other players, was Jonathan Taylor, and he walked away with $138,938. In addition, Taylor won a beautiful gold ring, his third of the season. Even though he automatically gets a seat to the National Championship in May, he can’t use it, as he was the Casino Champion in Southern Indiana. This opens up an extra seat for one more lucky qualifier.
On Day 3, 11 runners returned, and it only took about 20 minutes to reach our final table. Bryan Campanello bowed out in 11th place when his could not catch up to the of Kevin Eyster. That got the field down to 10, and we only played for about five minutes before we lost Ting Ho. Ho turn an eight-high flush, but it was no good, as Taylor held the king-high flush draw. Ho had an open-ended straight flush redraw, but she didn’t catch it. Just like that, we had our final nine. Here’s how the stacks looked when we got started.
Seat | Player | Chips |
---|---|---|
1 | Jonathan Taylor | 1,900,000 |
2 | Jerry Johnson | 482,000 |
3 | Allan Hedin | 1,100,000 |
4 | Ashly Butler | 1,190,000 |
5 | Isaac Kirchner | 490,000 |
6 | Lawrence Blazer | 320,000 |
7 | Kevin Eyster | 1,620,000 |
8 | Benjamin Kim | 340,000 |
9 | Rosie Paules | 800,000 |
It took about 40 minutes to lose the first final table player, and that was Isaac Kirchner. Kirchner got it in preflop holding the and was up against the of Allan Hedin. Hedin flopped an ace and Kirchner never caught up.
Ashly Butler was next to go out, and it was in quite a quick and shocking fashion. After losing a big pot the hand before to the set of sevens of Eyster, Butler busted in a huge pot to Rosie Paules. The board read . Butler check-called the shove of Paules, but mucked his hand when she tabled the for a flopped full house.
Play was seven handed for over an hour before Lawrence Blazer was eliminated. It was another preflop coin flip, and Blazer held the up against the of Benjamin Kim. The board ran down , and Blazer walked away with $20,877 in his pocket.
There was another lengthy delay between bustouts, lasting about two hours. Then, two players busted in 10 minutes. The first player to bow out was Kim, and he was the victim of a cooler. On a board that read , Kim held for top set, but it was no good, with Eyster holding the nuts with the .
Eyster played executioner again when he eliminated Paules in fifth place. The two got all the money in on an all-spade flop: . Paules had the nut flush draw, holding the , and she would need to hit that draw, as Eyster had the . The board was completed with the and , and Paules walked out with $35,124.
Jerry Johnson busted in fourth thirty minutes later, and once again, it was Eyster who did the dirty work. Johnson had the on a flop that read . He was ahead of the that Eyster had, and while the turn was the , the river completed Eyster’s flush with the to send Johnson out the door.
Hedin was the third-place finisher, busting shortly after the players returned from dinner. Hedin got the last of his 555,000 in the middle holding the , but unfortunately for him, Taylor woke up with the in the big blind. Hedin flopped a flush draw, but it never came, and he was eliminated. That left a heads-up battle between Taylor and Eyster.
The two were virtually even when heads-up play started, but Eyster was the one that jumped out to a big lead. Taylor was out-chipped 2-1 when he won a crucial coin flip. Taylor’s held up against the of Eyster with the board running out . From there, Taylor ground Eyster down until the final hand. With the board completed , Taylor bet enough to put Eyster all in. Eyster made the call, and Taylor tabled the for a flush. Eyster mucked, and that gave Taylor the title.
It cannot go unnoticed how impressive Taylor has been on the WSOP Circuit this year. Taylor won a ring in both Biloxi and Bossier City late last year, then won the Casino Champions race in Southern Indiana, due in large part to his runner-up finish in that Main Event. This time, Taylor did one better with the victory.
Final Table Payouts
Place | Name | Prize |
---|---|---|
1 | Jonathan Taylor | $138,938 |
2 | Kevin Eyster | $85,852 |
3 | Allan Hedin | $62,733 |
4 | Jerry Johnson | $46,579 |
5 | Rosie Paules | $35,124 |
6 | Benjamin Kim | $26,883 |
7 | Lawrence Blazer | $20,877 |
8 | Ashly Butler | $16,444 |
9 | Isaac Kirchner | $13,135 |
Thanks for tuning into the PokerNews coverage this weekend. Good night from Black Hawk, Colorado!
Kevin Eyster made it 120,000 to go, and Jonathan Taylor made the call. The flop came down , and Taylor fired out 100,000. Eyster made the call, and the turn was the . Taylor led again, this time for 375,000, and Eyster made the call.
The river brought the . Taylor thought for about 20 seconds before putting out a bet of 1.7 million. This bet had Eyster covered, and he stood up out of his chair. Eventually, he dropped a chip in for the call, and Taylor rolled over for a jack high flush. Eyster mucked his hand, and that was all she wrote!
Eyster played a fantastic tournament, and he will walk away with $85,852.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Jonathan Taylor |
8,420,000
2,220,000
|
2,220,000 |
Kevin Eyster | Busted | |
|
Jonathan Taylor made it 120,000 to go, and Kevin Eyster three bet it to 300,000. Taylor made the call, and the flop came . Eyster made it 300,000 to go, and Taylor folded.
After that hand, Eyster is back up to 2.2 million.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Jonathan Taylor |
6,200,000
-500,000
|
-500,000 |
Kevin Eyster |
2,200,000
500,000
|
500,000 |
|
Jonathan Taylor has quietly taken another 300,000 from Kevin Eyster, and he now has a near 4 to 1 chip lead.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Jonathan Taylor |
6,700,000
300,000
|
300,000 |
Kevin Eyster |
1,700,000
-300,000
|
-300,000 |
|
Jonathan Taylor opened the action to 120,000, and Kevin Eyster three bet to 350,000. Taylor tanked for about 20 seconds before putting out a four bet to 580,000, and it was back to Eyster.
Eyster was in the tank for about 30 seconds, before he out out a full stack of blue T100,000 chips, and made it a five bet to 2.35 million! This was for virtually all of Taylor's stack, so he spent quite some time on the decision. After about 90 seconds, he announced all in, and Eyster made the call!
Eyster:
Taylor:
It was a coin flip to decide whether Taylor would double up, or if Eyster would win the title. The flop was safe for Taylor, coming . The turn brought the , and Eyster picked up three more outs, as another seven would now work for him. But the river was the , and Taylor scored the double to 5.9 million, while Eyster falls to 2.3 million.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Jonathan Taylor |
5,900,000
2,700,000
|
2,700,000 |
Kevin Eyster |
2,300,000
-2,700,000
|
-2,700,000 |
|
Level: 31
Blinds: 30,000/60,000
Ante: 10,000
Jonathan Taylor raised it up to 100,000, and Kevin Eyster three bet it to 275,000. Taylor made the call, and the flop came . Eyster checked to Taylor, who fired out 220,000. It was back on Eyster, and he grabbed a stack of chips worth 500,000 even, and stuck it in the middle. Taylor made the call, and the turn brought the .
Eyster checked again, and undeterred by the flop check raise, Taylor bet out 650,000. Eyster took just a few moments to fold, and Taylor collected his first big pot of heads up play to get back up to 3.2 million.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Kevin Eyster |
5,000,000
-800,000
|
-800,000 |
|
||
Jonathan Taylor |
3,200,000
800,000
|
800,000 |
Jonathan Taylor made it 100,000 to go, and Kevin Eyster made the call. The flop came , and Eyster check called a bet of 80,000. The turn brought the , and once again, Eyster check called a bet, this time of 175,000.
The river brought the , and Eyster checked one more time. Taylor cut out a hefty bet of 350,000, and stuck it in the middle. Eyster spent about a minute in the tank before making the call, and Taylor could only show for a busted straight draw.
Eyster tabled for fourth pair on board, and it was good enough to take the huge pot. After that one, Eyster is approaching six million in chips.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Kevin Eyster |
5,800,000
670,000
|
670,000 |
|
||
Jonathan Taylor |
2,400,000
-670,000
|
-670,000 |
Slowly but surely, Kevin Eyster is widening his gap in this heads up battle, as he has just cracked the five million chip barrier.
In the last hand, Taylor raised to 100,000 on the button, and Eyster called. The flop came , and Eyster check called a bet of 80,000. Both players checked the on the turn, and when the river came the , Eyster fired out 80,000. Taylor folded, giving the pot to Eyster.
Player | Chips | Progress |
---|---|---|
Kevin Eyster |
5,130,000
410,000
|
410,000 |
|
||
Jonathan Taylor |
3,070,000
-410,000
|
-410,000 |