Phil Ivey Takes 5th WSOP Title

Phil Ivey plowed his way through a wall of gold bracelets Tuesday night en route to his fifth World Series of Poker (WSOP) championship and his first since 2002. When he finally dispatched of Robert Williamson III at 2:00am, Ivey pocketed $635,603 for his $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha victory.

The main stage was standing room only for the beginning of the final table, as the remaining field was oozing with star power. With Ivey, Williamson, Allen Cunningham, Phil Hellmuth, and Eddy Scharf all competing, there were 19 WSOP bracelets represented. In fact, Williamson, also known as “Mr. Omaha”, won this exact event in 2002. Apparently, Mr. Hellmuth thought “standing room only” applied to him, as well, as he did not take his seat until the player introductions were finished, soaking in the attention as everybody watched him adjust his headphones (which he was required to remove once play started).

For all the anticipation that resulted from the star-studded final table, play started out very slowly. Ivey had more than twice the number of chips as his closest competitor and for a while, everyone seemed content to just let him run over the table. Nobody seemed to want to be the first one out. It took almost two hours for the first two people to get knocked out.

Then, the excitement picked up for a short time. After a break, the play resumed at 5:00pm and starting at 5:30pm, four players were eliminated in a span of fifteen minutes. While there was no patented Phil Hellmuth conniption when he was knocked out in 8th, there were some fireworks when two players were shown the door on a single hand.

Williamson, Ivey, Cunningham, Scharf, and Sigi Stockinger all paid the minimum to see the flop of Qs-8s-2d. Then the chips started flying. Williamson bet $30,000, Cunningham folded, Ivey called, Scharf raised all-in, and Stockinger re-raised all-in for $189,000. This forced Williamson to fold, but Ivey called with his large stack. Without going into too much detail, Ivey had a flush draw, Stockinger had a set of Queens, and Scharf had a set of 2’s. Ivey caught his flush on the turn and Stockinger and Scharf were gone.

Two hands later, Surinder Sunar was eliminated in 5th place.

Once play became three-handed between Ivey, Williamson, and Davood Mehrman, things slowed to a crawl. Aside from a hand when Mehrman doubled-up to take the chip lead, the rest of the night was actually pretty excruciating. The following is the typical action for hours:

Scenario 1

Pre-flop: Limp, Check
Flop: Check, Check
Turn: Check, Check
River: Check, Check

Scenario 2

Pre-flop: Raise, Call
Flop: Bet, Fold

It was agonizing. What once was a packed stage now consisted of Williamson’s passionate cheering section (decked out in shirts bearing Williamson’s likeness), a few Ivey supporters, and a few Mehrman supporters. The other casual fans were smart enough to get some sleep once Tuesday became Wednesday.

Once Mehrman was sent home, Ivey had Williamson out-chipped, $1,394,000 to $425,000. Before the one-on-one match started, spectator and accomplished poker pro, Alan Boston, yelled to Williamson, “How far behind are you?”

Williamson replied, “About 3-to-1. I like these odds.”

That last sentence would have been a great headline for this article, but Williamson did not comply by winning.

He was crippled on hand 289 when Ivey outkicked him with trip Queens and finally bowed out on the very next hand. Williamson kept his sense of humor until the end, though. All-in after the flop, he grimaced when he saw that Ivey had flopped the nut straight, when all Williamson had was A-2-2-8, giving him a lowly pair of 8’s. When the turn paired the board, Williamson needed a 2 to stay alive. Upon seeing this, Williamson appealed to the dealer, the crowd, and the poker gods, “Give me the deuce of diamonds and I promise to start playing better.”

Unfortunately for Williamson, his prayers were not answered and Ivey took the crown.

Complete Final Table Standings

(Place/Player/Prize Money)

1. Phil Ivey - $635,603
2. Robert Williamson III - $353,115
3. Davood Mehrman - $194,210
4. Allen Cunningham - $141,245
5. Surinder Sunar - $123,590
6. Sigi Stockinger - $105,935
7. Eduard Scharf - $88,280
8. Phil Hellmuth Jr. - $70,625
9. E. C. Cohen - $52,965

Originally published June 29, 2005