There seems to be a trend going on among poker players where champs get younger and younger. When Peter Eastgate won the WSOP Main Event last 2008, people were surprised. But he wasn’t even given the chance to warm his seat as Joe Cada became the new youngest WSOP champ merely a year later. Now, one John Riordan has just become the youngest ever to win a WSOP circuit event. He managed to defeat a field of 712 players who had come to partake in the tournament which was held at the Palm Beach Kennel Club in Florida.
An odd venue
If you find it odd that a poker tournament would be held at a kennel club, then rest assured that you’re not alone. But if the people who joined the circuit found it odd, then they certainly didn’t show it. People came out en masse in order to partake in the poker festivities. In fact, the buy-ins of the 712 who decided to join created a massive prize pool of $1,037,960 – the largest prize to be offered in a poker tourney in the state of Florida. However, of the 712 hopefuls, only 72 would finish in the money, and only 9 would make it into the final table. Jerry Timmons, crippled with a short stack, still managed to hang on to for about two hours before he had to exit at ninth place. He was followed by Jesse Okonczak, whose luck in day 2 could not hold until final table play.
At seventh place was David MacDonald, followed by Jon Brody, then Ryan Lenaghan at fourth place. Thomas Aprea was the last one to go before heads up play. Riordan has been very active in ousting these other players, but that still did not mean that he had the chip lead going into heads up play.
Heads up between Riordan and Morton
Things started out pretty slowly in the heads up match between these two. But then something rather interesting happened. Morton pushed all in, with the board having 6-5-3-3. Riordan had pocket tens, which gave him the better two pair. Morton actually had 6-4, which gave him the poorer hand. He still had hope, however, if the river got him a 6 or perhaps a 2 or 7, which would have given him a straight. But then the river was revealed to be an 8, and the championship went to John Riordan.
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