Shan Jing Dominates Final Table
Earning $72,600
The $1,500 No Limit Hold'em tournament concluded its second day in a three-hour final table that played out without a chip count deal. 121 players entered and there were 10 left as the final table was set with each player eyeing the first prize of $72,600.
The final table started with plenty of action. On hand #3, Paramjit Gill, the short stack, re-raised all-in against Lance Tahata. Lance was getting about 2:1 on the all-in, he called and showed A-6. Gill showed pocket Jacks. The board A-A-Q-Q-4 and Lance flopped trip Aces and filled up on the turn. Gill was drawing dead on the river and finished in 10th place for $2,725.
On the very next hand, Lance re-raised Benny Nguyen who was on the line for his tournament life. Benny went into the tank and finally called and showed pocket 10's. Lance showed pocket Jacks. Benny needed help but the board was A-K-9-4-2. Benny finished in 9th place and earned $3,175.
On hand #19, Lance was re-raised by Chung Yong Woo. Lance called with A-9o and Chung showed Jc-10c. The flop was A-10-8c and Lance extended his lead. The turn was the 7c and Chung picked up the flush draw. The river was a Queen and Chung could not find an out. Chung Yong Woo was eliminated in 8th place and received $3,630.
On hand #38, Robert Fisher re-raised all-in preflop and was called by Shan Jing. The original raiser Allen Le folded. Robert got caught and showed 9-10o. Shan held pocket Jacks and the board was 9-6-4-5-3. The Jacks held up and Robert Fisher finished in 7th place and took $4,535 of the remaining prize pool.
On the next hand, Gerard Rechnitzer raised all-in preflop and was called by Shan Jing. Gerard, with multiple final tables and one title in the last two weeks, showed K-2 and was dominated by Shan's A-K. The flop was A-K-9. Shan extends his lead and Gerard needed runner-runner. The turn 4 and river Queen sealed Gerard's fate and he finished in 6th place earning $6,350.
One orbit later, Jay Chang raised preflop and was re-raised by Shan Jing from the button. Jay called all-in and showed A-Qo. He was dominated by Shan's A-Ko and the board was 10-8-2-6-8 and Shan's King played. Jay Chang finished in 5th place for $8,165.
On hand #58, Lance Tahata raised preflop and was called all-in by Trish 'Corp Mom' LeBlanc. Trish showed A-3o and Lance held pocket 7's. The board was 8-4-4-2-3 and Trish missed her Ace or 5 on the river. Trish LeBlanc finished in 4th place and earned $10,890. She outlasted her 7 other 'Live at the Bike' peers and coincidentally was paid 7 times the buy-in. Was this the ultimate last longer bet? Congrats on solid final table play.
On hand #61, the two chip leaders chose to do battle. Shan flat called on the button and Lance raised from the big blind. Allan Le, the short stack at the table, decided to watch this one from the sidelines and folded. Shan called and the flop was 9-8-7. Lance bet out 20,000 and Shan raised an additional 30,000. Lance re-raised all-in and Shan insta-called. Lance had flopped the straight with his J-10 and was up against Lance's pocket Aces. The turn and river were Q-7 and Shan had cracked pocket Aces. Lance was eliminated in 3rd place and earned $17,240.
Heads-up play commenced at 11:45pm with Shan holding a commanding chip lead over Allan (about 335,000 to 28,000). Allan said he wanted 'to make history' and play for the win. Heads-up play would last for three hands when the final hand of the match occurred. On hand #64, Allan flat called from the button and Shan, as if by reflex, raised to 8,000. Allan check-raised all-in and Shan called. Allan showed A-Jo and had a 64%-36% lead over Shan's 9-7o. The flop was 10-9-5 and Shan took the lead. The turn and river were both deuces and Shan's paired 9 won the pot and the match. Allan Le finished in 2nd place and earned $34,485.
Shan Jing was the winner of the trophy, a suede final table jacket, and $72,600.
-Jay 'Bugsy' Siegel
BIOGRAPHY
Shan Jing has been playing poker for only 15 months. He was a big fan of The World Poker Tour on television and transferred out to Los Angeles from New York City. He realized he had arrived at the Poker Capitol of the world and started learning & training to play tournament No Limit Hold'em. A computer engineer for a top national bank, Shan plays exclusively tournaments and has won entries into many tournaments through on-line and live satellites. Shan played in the 2006 WSOP and has most recently placed 17th place in the most recent $10k event at Commerce Casino. Shan attributes his results to lots of PokerStars on-line training and obsessive poker reading including the 2+2 forum (twoplustwo.com). Shan says his style is similar to T.J. Cloutier (tight-aggressive) and he also believes that he can read his opponents well. He will adapt his style of play appropriately after he has made a read of this table.
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