Hand #4: 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event champ Jonathan Duhamel opened for 65,000 under the gun and received calls from George Danzer and Matthew Ashton, who were in the hijack and big blind respectively.
When the flop fell , Ashton checked, as did Duhamel, and Danzer bet 130,000. Ashton folded and then Duhamel check-raised the pot to 600,000. Danzer pushed back with a three-bet and Duhamel called off his remaining chips.
Danzer:
Duhamel:
Danzer was ahead with two pair, but Duhamel had an over pair with an open-ended straight draw. The turn gave Duhamel a pair of queens, but he needed help on the river to stay alive. The dealer burned one last time and put out the .
Duhamel rapped the table, shook hands with the remaining players and then took his leave in eighth place, good for $207,630.
Hand #3: Matthew Ashton put in a raise from under the gun, Jonathan Duhamel three-bet to 120,000 on his direct left, and the action folded back to Ashton, who called. The dealer fanned , Ashton checked, and Duhamel continued for 160,000. Ashton called.
Both players checked when the turn brought the , and the completed the board. Ashton led out for 320,000, Duhamel called, and Duhamel mucked when Ashton showed for a club flush.
Hand #2: Don Nguyen opened for 65,000 from the hijack and George Danzer called from the button. Minh Ly then came along from the small blind, the big folded and three players saw a flop of . Ly checked, Nguyen bet 155,000 and Danzer called. Ly did the same and then all three players checked the turn as well as the river.
Ly tabled the for a flush and it was good as both Ly and Danzer folded.
Hand #1: David Benyamine raised to 75,000 in early position, Don Nguyen called in the cutoff, and Minh Ly defended his big blind. The flop fell , Ly and Benyamine both checked, and Nguyen fired 160,000. Only Ly called.
The turn was the , both players checked, and the completed the board. Ly checked, Nguyen fired out 340,000, and Ly folded.
Very few players who've made a bigger impression at the 2013 World Series of Poker than Liverpool's Matthew Ashton. The single 25-year-old Brit hasn't won a bracelet yet, but today marks his fourth final table of the summer!
Ashton actually made the final table of the 2011 WSOP $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship where he finished sixth for $101,813. It was a nice score, but one easily written off as luck. Fast forward to May of this year when he won the €5,000 8 Game Event at the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo for $57,171 and then followed that up by taking third in the 2013 WSOP Event #5 $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo a few weeks later. Suddenly Ashton, who took home $86,437 for the latter score, wasn't looking like a one-hit wonder.
One week later, Ashton was back at a final table when he ultimately finished runner-up to Mike "The Mouth" Matusow in Event #13 $5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo for $164,700. One week after that, Ashton was back at it when he finished seventh in Event #23 $2,500 Seven Card Stud for $18,266.
Ashton begins this final table second in chips, and whether or not he's able to capture his first bracelet, his accomplishments this summer are truly remarkable.
Jonathan Duhamel really needs no introduction, but we'll give him one anyway. Born in Boucherville, Quebec, the Canadian native began taking the game seriously when he was only sixteen. “I started playing with the older brother of one of my friends and a few other friends, just like almost everyone,” Duhamel said. “I loved it from the start and I immediately realized that in this game, there were good players and very bad players too. The difference was evident.”
Duhamel attended college in pursuit of a finance career, but his plans soon changed. He discovered that he was making so much money playing online poker that he needed to take it more seriously. Against the advice of his family and friends, Duhamel took the plunge and pursued poker full time. Obviously that decision paid off when he made the November Nine at the 2010 World Series of Poker.
As you no doubt know, Duhamel went on to win that event for $8,944,310 and etched his name in poker history. At this year's WSOP, which has been called the "Year of the Canadians" as ten bracelets have been awarded to citizens of that country, Duhamel has cashed three times for $36,595 (including a tenth-place finish in Event #25 $5,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better).
“My greatest quality, I think, is my calm. I manage to never tilt," Duhamel has said in the past. "What I need the most to improve is to stop playing the sheriff and respect more players, especially the bad players who also have good hands sometimes.”
Today Duhamel hopes to become the 11th Canadian to capture a bracelet this summer, which would be his second piece of gold.
To be honest, little is known about our chip leader, Don Nguyen other than the fact that he hails from Chino Hills, California and has made his presence known here at the 2013 World Series of Poker.
Nguyen's first-ever WSOP cash came last year when he finished 24th in Event #34 $5,000 PLO Six Handed for $16,463. In June of this year, Nguyen finished 33rd in Event #8 $2,500 Eight-Game Mix for $4,784. Nothing too special, but then came Event #16 $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em five days later.
Nguyen impressed on his way to the final four, which is where he squared off against online legend Ben "Sauce123" Sulsky. All eyes were on Sulsky as the man who has consistently dominated the virtual felt was in the midst of a deep run in one of the most prestigious live tournaments around. Nguyen, however, made quick work of Sulsky, defeating him in just 41 short hands. On the final hand, Nguyen raised to 60,000 from the button, Sulsky three-bet to 145,000, Nguyen pushed out what looked like 800,000 in chips, and Sulsky moved all in for 935,000. Sulsky showed and was ahead of Nguyen's . However, after the board ran out , Nguyen was able to seize victory with his straight and secure his seat in the finals.
Nguyen was one player away from a WSOP bracelet, but he ultimately fell to Mark Radoja in the final match. Even so, Nguyen took home $204,648 for his runner-up finish in one of the summer's most prestigious tournament and established himself as a one to watch here at the WSOP.
No matter where Nguyen finishes today, and he's the best positioned to make a run at the title, he'll score the biggest cash of his young career.
Mike Wattel could very well be the most underestimated player at the table which is compounded by the fact that he starts as the short stack. The truth is Wattel is one of the most formidable players in the poker, especially when it comes to mixed games.
Wattel has one World Series of Poker bracelet to his credit. It came back in 1999 in the 30th Annual WSOP Event #15 $1,500 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo after he defeated a final table that included Scotty Nguyem, Howard "Tahoe" Andrew, Chris Bjorin, Mike Matusow and Marsha Waggoner. Wattel earned $134,865 for that score.
Since then, Wattel has amassed 35 WSOP cashes for $1,607,396 including several six-figure scores. His largest actually came in the 2010 WSOP when he finished fifth in Event #56 $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em for $186,250. No matter where Wattel finishes today he'll score the biggest WSOP cash of his career.
With that said, Wattel's biggest score ever actually came in April 2007 when he finished sixth in the $25,000 World Poker Tour Championship for $309,405. Other notable tournament cashes include runner-up in the 2001 WSOP $1,500 Razz for $41,900, runner-up in the 2005 WSOP $1,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo for $88,800, 95th in the 2005 WSOP Main Event for $77,710, seventh in the 2009 $10,000 World Championship Mixed Events 8 Game for $64,373, and tenth in the 2009 $50,000 World Championship H.O.R.S.E. for $123,895.
On a more personal note, the 42-year-old Wattel, born in Illinois, currently lives in Chandler, Arizona and is the father of two boys.
, Ashton checked, as did Duhamel, and Danzer bet 130,000. Ashton folded and then Duhamel check-raised the pot to 600,000. Danzer pushed back with a three-bet and Duhamel called off his remaining chips.
turn gave Duhamel a pair of queens, but he needed help on the river to stay alive. The dealer burned one last time and put out the 
.
![[user101598]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
, Ashton checked, and Duhamel continued for 160,000. Ashton called.
, and the 
turn as well as the 
river.
, both players checked, and the 
, Nguyen was able to seize victory with his straight and secure his seat in the finals.