The "Cat" Has Nine Lives
In what was arguably the most exciting final table in World Poker Open history, John "the Cat" Trudeau survived nine all-in hands and pulled off a staggering comeback to win the Pot-Limit Texas Holdem event. Trudeau arrived at the final table with a meager $8K and was outchipped by Joe Rutledge and Chuck Thompson by a 10-to-1 margin. But "the Cat" used each of his nine lives and won $66,392 in one of the most stunning displays of tournament poker ever recorded.
Trudeau's first all-in situation came just three hands into the tournament. His A-K held up to split a pot, giving him life. John Womack would not be so fortunate. He was dealt A-Q of clubs and raised the pot enough to go all-in. Joe Rutledge called with 6-6. Womack faield to hit a pair, which meant a 9th place finish for the former government attorney from Florida. It was Womack's second final table at this year's World Poker Open. He collected $2,871.
On the next hand, a bit of drama unfolded when defending World Poker Open Champion, Humberto Brenes, got into a pre-flop raising war with Roger Easterday. When Easterday revealed J-J, Humberto jokingly lambasted his opponent for moving all-in with such a "weak hand." Brenes then smiled to the crowd and turned over an identical J-J. Another split pot.
A short time later, "the Cat's" second life was spent when he went all-in with A-K and flopped a life-saving king against Billy Swords, taking down a $20K pot. Then, Roger Easterday, a Las Vegas attorney, moved all-in with 8-8 and was called immediately by Joel Harwood with J-J. The flop came Q-7-7-7-6, giving Harwood a higher full house. Easterday's motion to stay at the final table was denied, and he received $3,589 for 8th place.
The third all-in for "the Cat" came when he raised all-in before the flop and no one called. Then, Humberto Brenes got into some trouble when he lost a big pot to Jimmy Doolittle. Brenes was aggressor during most of the first hour, as his chip position wavered wildly between $10K and $40K. However, despite his fierce reputation, Brenes was never a serious threat to seize the chip lead at any point. Brenes' final hand of the night occured when he went all-in with A-K versus Billy Swords' 7-7. The pair of 7s survived and Costa Rican Brenes, who is currently the all-time leading money winner in World Poker Open history, added $4,486 to his tournament winnings.
Joel Harwood was next to go out. Low on chips, Harwood made his final stand with A-7 of diamonds, but found himself dominated by Joe Rutledge's A-J. When a jack fell on the flop without any diamonds, Harwood's fate was sealed and he soon went out in 6th place. Harwood, who is a semi-pro gamesman who excels at bridge, backgammon, and poker, received $6,281.
One would think that the player in Seat 8 at the final table, Jimmy Doolittle, would be a pilot. The truth is -- Doolittle lives on a sailboat. In his first time to ever play in a pot-limit tournament, Doolittle outfoxed 365 entrants and ended up in 5th place. Doolittle's final hand came when he went all-in with Q-10 after the flop came with a 10-high. Unfortunately, Trudeau was hiding in the jungle with K-K. He beat Doolittle into the pot with his chips, and won -- which meant Doolittle crashed and burned in 5th place. Nevertheless, the talented Texan who lives on the ocean, received $8,075 for 5th place.
One of the crowd favorites was Billy Swords, from Alabama. Swords survived three all-ins, but his luck finally ran out when he took Q-J up against Joe Rutledge's K-7 of diamonds. Swords could catch neither a queen nor a jack, and was cut out of the final table picture in 4th place, good for $10,767. Swords, who plays poker primarily in Biloxi-Gulport and New Orleans, should be proud of his performance.
The three finalists dueled for over 90 minutes. Initially, it looked as if chip-leader Rutledge might run away with the tournament. He dominated play during much of the final table, consistently keeping his opponents off-balance with numerous raises and re-raises. However, a key hand came when "the Cat" used up another of his nine lives when he took A-Q up against Rutledge's K-Q. Both players caught a queen on the flop, but Trudeau's ace was the better kicker.
That hand prompted some good-natured verbal jousting by the finalists. Rutledge asked Trudeau "where" he was from. Trudeau replied that he lives right here in Robinsonville, Mississippi. Trudeau added that he was actually born in Michigan. "Oh, so you're a Yankee!" Rutledge barked. "No, I'm an Indian," replied Trudeau proudly. "That has nothing to do with being a Yankee!"
The next key hand of the tournament occured when "the Cat" was dealt A-K against Rutledge's 7-7. After the board showed K-8-2-6-6, all Rutledge could do was shake his head and watch Trudeau as he reached for the pot and moved into second chip position.
The most enigmatic figure at the final table was veteran tournament pro, Chuck Thompson. He came to the final table with a slight chip-lead but sat powerless during most of the first three hours and failed to make a major move. Thompson later said he kept waiting for the right time to come over the top of the hyper-aggressive Rutledge. But each time Rutledge made a large bet, Thompson couldn't catch a hand worth betting. The best bluff of the final table took place when Thompson squared off against Rutledge. Thompson was dealt K-5 in the blind. Rutledge bet $32K into a final board that showed J-J-10-5-K and Thompson thought for a long time, then threw finally his hand away. Rutledge then showed 6-7, wich amounted to a stone-cold bluff. It was a masterful play.
But Rutledge couldn't fool the Cat. After Thompson doubled-up on a big hand to get back to $100K in chips, Trudeau's 8th all-in occured when he was dealt 5-5 against Rutledge's A-K. When a 5 flopped, that gave Trudeau a set of fives and a huge pot. Amazingly -- Trudeau, Thompson, and Rutledge were now about even in chips.
Sensing that the tournament was slipping away, Rutledge tried to steal by moving over the top of Trudeau after he made a $21K pre-flop raise. Rutledge re-raised and both players pushed their stacks into the pot. For the Texan, it was a case of bad timing. Rutledge had K-9, and was at a sizable disadvantage to Trudeau's 10-10. The flop came 10-2-8-J-6, which meant Rutledge was out in 3rd place. The crowd roared and all Rutledge could do was stare at the table in stunned disbelief. Rutledge, a softball coach and well-respected pot-limit specialist, received $17,048.
With his expression masked by mirrored-glasses and a straw hat, no one could see Trudeau's reaction when Chuck Thompson decided to move all-in with 3-3. It must have been a smile. Trudeau jammed the pot with every chip in front of him and rolled over what might as well have been a sledgehammer. Pocket aces. All Thompson could do was pray for a trey to save him from extinction. When the board was dealt, an ace fell on the turn, making Trudeau's staggering comeback complete. Chuck Thompson, representing the Bay 101 Casino in San Jose, California collected $34,096 for 2nd place.
On this night, there was no stopping the winner, John "the Cat" Trudeau. He stalked his prey and ultimately received $66,392 in cash, winning his first World Poker Open Championship. The lion had roared.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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