The 43rd hand dealt out at the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event final table will undoubtedly go down as one of the most exciting in history.
Michael “the Grinder” Mizrachi was dealt . He moved all-in and was called by Matthew Jarvis, who tabled . The excitement was just beginning.
Jarvis was all-in. The Grinder had his adversary barely covered. He desperately needed an ace or a queen on the flop. The Grinder got more than that. Much more.
The flop came , giving the Florida-based poker superstar a set of queens. The huge crowd roared. All Jarvis could do was agonize – and hope.
With thousands of eyes peeled towards the jumbo screens inside the Penn and Teller Theater, an incredible thing happened. A two-outer came for Jarvis. Bang!
It was a nine.
The on the turn electrified Jarvis and his supporters, leaving Mizrachi and his army in agony. Fortunes, literally, had been reversed at the turn of a single card.
There was more to come. More ecstasy. And, more agony.
Drawing to seven outs – including three remaining aces, three eights, or the case queen – Mizrachi’s magnificent magic act manifested in the most astounding of outcomes. An ace on the river, the no less, was the final chapter on one of the most incredible hands in WSOP history.
The Grinder scooped the 30 million pot and immediately moved into much more serious contention as the next possible world champion.
Meanwhile, Jarvis was in shock and was left to ponder the possibilities of what might have been.
“It was made for TV, that’s for sure,” Jarvis stated moments after becoming the official eighth-place finisher. “The nine came and I was bursting with energy. And then, it’s like it’s not over because he still had seven outs….it’s all good. He played the hand the way he had to. He played it right and I played it right, and it is what it is.”
Half an hour earlier, starting chip leader Jonathan Duhamel took his first major hit of the day when he lost 15 million in chips to Italian pro Filippo Candio. Duhamel was dealt A-K and moved all in pre-flop. Rival Candio could not get the remainder of his chips into the pot fast enough, showing A-A. The final board helped neither player, which meant Candio doubled up to 30 million.
As of 4:30 pm PST, the current chip leader is now Joseph Cheong, from La Mirada, CA.
Play will continue all day and night until only two players remain. Heads-up play will resume on Monday, November 8th at 8 pm PST when the final two will play down to a winner. Coverage of the final table will air in a two-hour telecast on Tuesday at 10 pm ET on ESPN.
The winner of this year’s Main Event, the second largest in the 40-year history of the WSOP with 7,319 entrants, will take home $8,944,310 in prize money. He will also be presented with the most coveted achievement in all of poker -- the World Series of Poker Main Event Championship gold bracelet.
Who will become the 2010 world poker champion? Keep it here at WSOP.COM for all the latest news, chip counts, and photos from the grand finale to find out. Be sure to tune in to ESPN’s telecast on Tuesday at 10 PM EST, to see how it all unfolded.