2007 WSOP Event #19 – Francois Safieddine Wins $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em

It is never easy going from the short stack to start a final table to winning the whole thing, but in no-limit hold’em it is never out of the question.  Francois Safieddine did just that, coming back all the way from the bottom of the ladder to win the bracelet in the $2,500 no-limit hold’em event, as well as $521,785. 

It was a tough table through which to navigate, with the likes of John Phan, Humberto Brenes (making his third final table appearance at this WSOP), and internet stars Devin Porter and Bertrand Grospellier. 

Safieddine began his rise on the ninth hand, doubling through Grospellier.  The chips got in the middle after a 7d-4d-2h flop, Safieddine holding Qd-2d and Grospellier with nothing but Kh-3h.  The turn gave Safieddine a flush and Grospellier was drawing dead on the river. 

Two hands later, Grospellier moved all-in pre-flop for $240,000 with 2h-3h and was called by Porter and his A-J.  Grospellier caught up on the turn, catching a 2, but an Ace on the river eliminated him in 9^th place. 

By the first break, Safieddine had given a lot of chips back and remained the shortest stack at the table, actually with fewer chips than he had to start.  Porter and Lars Bonding, the chip leaders to begin the final table (in reverse order) remained at the top. 

On hand 25, a short-stacked Alex Bolotin moved all-in pre-flop with 5d-7d and was called by Marcus Obser, who had 8d-8c.  The board did not help Bolotin (and improved Obser to a full house), and he was gone in 8^th place. 

The next two eliminations occurred within the span of the next seven hands.  First to go was Brenes, with an Ac-Kh that could not pair up against Porter’s 9c-9d.  Then, leaving in 6^th place was Bonding, who just a few hands previously was second in chips.  He and John Phan got into a raising war pre-flop, not stopping until they were both all-in.  Bonding’s Kc-Qc picked up a flush draw on the flop, but Phan’s 7d-7c became a set.  The turn gave Phan a boat, removing any chance for Bonding to catch up. 

After that hand, Safieddine stayed alive by doubling through Phan, but he was still quite short.  But that was just the start of a blistering ascent in the standings.  On the very next hand, he doubled-up again, calling all-in with only Jh-8d.  It was better than Shawn Hattem’s 10h-5d, though, and it held up.  Hattem was knocked out in 5^th place two hands later. 

Two hands after Hattem’s demise, Safieddine check-raised Phan out of a big pot on the flop, increasing his stack to $900,000. 

Going into the second break, Obser and Phan were virtually tied at about $1.5 million, Porter had $1.1 million, and Safieddine was now a much more comfortable “short” stack at $915,000. 

While Phan was probably the most dominant player for the first ten or so hands after the break, Safieddine got the best of him on a big hand, thanks to a little luck.  In a raised pot, Safieddine moved all-in over the top of Phan’s bet on a flop of Ks-6d-5d with only As-3s (bluff?).  Phan made a good call with a pair of 9’s.  The Queen of spades on the turn gave Safieddine a flush draw, but the Ace on the river was all he needed to double-up.   

At the end of the level, Obser had taken the lead, mainly because of the chips Phan lost on the hand to Safieddine, as he was only up to $1.6 million.  Phan recovered just fine, sitting in second with $1.35 million.  Safieddine was next at $1.2 million, and Porter had $840,000. 

Safieddine’s next huge move came on hand 77, when he knocked out Devin Porter.  Porter had Ah-Jh and Safieddine had, appropriately, 7h-7s.  The pair turned into a set on the flop and Porter could not hit his runner-runner and was thus eliminated in 4^th place. 

That gave Safieddine as many chips as both remaining players combined.  He went into heads-up play with a $2.2 million chip lead, thanks to his elimination of Obser on hand 97. 

During the first half of heads-up, Phan definitely looked like the seasoned veteran, bullying Safieddine hand after hand.  But before he could get back to even, Safieddine was able to win a big pot on the river (although he did start with the best hand) to push Phan back down to almost $1 million in chips.  Safieddine had more than a 3-to-1 chip lead. 

The final hand was the 121^st and featured a heck of a load of bad luck for Phan and another lucky river for Safieddine.  Phan got all of his chips in the middle with A-A, while Safieddine called with 4-4.  The river produced Safieddine’s two-outer, giving him the bracelet. 

Final Table Standings 

1. Francois Safieddine -- $521,785
2. John Phan -- $330,846
3. Marcus Obser -- $212,021
4. Devin Porter -- $139,794
5. Shawn Hattem -- $97,856
6. Lars Bonding -- $74,557
7. Humberto Brenes -- $55,918
8. Alex Bolotin -- $40,773
9. Bertrand Grospellier -- $29,124