| Final Table Report
The Flying Dutchman Towers Over Huge Omaha-High Field: Ed de Haas, from Amsterdam, Wins First Event at 2004 World Poker Open
The first thing you notice about Ed de Haas is his physical stature. Standing at nearly 7-feet tall, he's an imposing figure. However, his performance at the kickoff event at this year's World Poker Open was even more impressive. De Haas, a pot-limit Omaha cash game specialist
who plays regularly at Casinos Holland in Amsterdam, won a whopping $100,126 and his first-ever gold and diamond bracelet. Although De Haas has previously won major poker tournaments over in Europe – including at cardrooms in Paris (France) and Bregenz (Austria) -- this victory marks his biggest payday ever.
Entries increased by ten percent in this event over last year, which amounted to a record-breaking 259 entries with 320 rebuys, making the prize pool over a quarter of a million dollars. On the first day, 250 players were eliminated. Play on Day Two started with the final nine
players representing a broad range of poker backgrounds and
geographical regions. But in the end, it was a Dutchman who towered over the field.
Well-traveled tournament pro Tony Cousineau was the first player to exit. He was short-stacked and made an "all-in" raise with K-J-10-10. David Cowan was getting a fair price from the big blind and called the small raise with 9-8-7-6. The flop might as well been a sledgehammer to Cousineau's skull, as the first three cards showed 9-9-9. To no one's surprise, Cowan's four 9s held up and Cousineau was destined for another nice payoff, but not the big-money victory he was seeking. He received 4,330 for ninth place.
Hoyt Corkins, originally from Alabama but now living in Las Vegas, has enjoyed a stellar year on the tournament circuit. He won the million dollar top prize at the World Poker Tour event at Foxwoods in November. The savvy poker veteran of many tournament wars also won the pot-limit Omaha championship at the World Series of Poker back in
1992. However, Corkins could do no better than eighth place in this tournament as he was forced to make his final stand with A-Q-J-4 versus Ed de Haas' monster pre-flop hand, A-A-K-J. Corkins needed a lot of help from the deck, but failed to catch a miracle. He exited with $5,412 in prize money.
Doug Kim came in third in chips, but didn't enjoy much success at the final table. In his one hour stay on the final day, he failed to win a pot of any significance and was gradually grinded down to a short stack. When Kim flopped a straight with K-J-9-8 to the board's 7-9-10,
Kim moved his remaining chips into the pot. David Cowan was happy to call getting favorable pot odds with a flush raw. When the river brought a third heart, Cowan had completed his flush, and Kim was bounced off the final table in seventh place. He collected $6,765.
Art Young, from Biloxi, MS has several impressive tournament finishes on his resume, including a win many years ago at the Super Bowl of Poker. He also finished second in the Eight-or-Better event at last year's World Poker Open. Young's chances to move higher into the money
were dashed 1:10 into play at the final table, when his A-K-K-9 lost to Scott Downes A-A-8-4. Minutes later, left with only $17K in chips, he played his last hand of the night when he raised with A-K-Q-5 and was called by David Cowan with J-9-7-6. The final board showed 10-10-3-Q-K, giving Cowan a king-high straight. When the river card
fell, Mr. Young suddenly looked very old and hobbled away from the final table in sixth place, good for a $9,472 payday.
Scott Downes took the second of two brutal beats at the final table when he lost a $180K pot (and the chip lead) to Tony (a.k.a. "Tekkno") Seunsom. On the turn, Tekkno bet his last $40K, after repeatedly betting pre- and post-flop. Tekkno was on a draw and Downes, with A-A-Q-4 (two diamonds) made the correct call holding the best hand at
the time. However, Tekkno had K-J-9-3 and bolted out of his seat in jubilation when the board cards fell Q-9-6-7-10. Tekkno spiked a 10 on the river to complete the straight, which completely changed the dynamics at the final table.
David Cowan, an Oklahoma University graduate from Norman, watched with disappointment when his team lost the national championship game last week. Cowan suffered a much more personal blow at the final table, when he was the next player to exit, in fifth place. Cowan picked up a
huge draw on the turn when his A-K-9-5 was double-suited with clubs and diamonds to the board's 10-10-5-Q, with both suits. With a club, diamond, and straight draw, Cowan was a favorite to win the pot, but lost when non-connected 6 fell on the river. Ed de Haas scooped the $100K pot and Cowan went home "Sooner" than he expected, with $12,178.
As stated earlier, Scott Downes took a number of blows at the final table. At one point he was the chip leader, but after a few bad breaks Downes made his final stand with A-J-10-9, losing to Ed de Haas with two pair. Downes from Spokane, WA added a fourth-place finish at the World Poker Open to two previous tournament cashes at the Bellagio
Five Diamond Classic (in late 2003). He collected $16,237.
Local player Chuck Doumitt came into the final table with the chip lead, but was involved in relatively few confrontations during the first two hours of play. When action became three-handed, he was down about 2 to 1 to both Tekkno and de Haas -- who shared the chip lead.
Doumitt couldn't play passively when play became short-handed and moved all-in on a straight draw. Doumitt was dealt 4-6-7-Q and tried a semi-bluff with an open-ended straight draw when the flop came K-5-4, which was called by Tekkno, with K-J-7-5 -- good for two pair. The Ks
and 5s held up, which kicked Doumitt away from the final table in third place. Doumitt, who finished high in the money at last year's Mid-America Poker Classic (Horseshoe -- Tunica, MS), added $25,708 to his tournament winnings.
Tekkno held a slight chip advantage when heads-up play began. The most critical hand of the tournament came just three hands later. Tekkno was dealt J-J-3-2 with suited diamonds. When the flop came K-9-3, with two diamonds both players moved their stacks into the pot. Tekkno managed to catch the 8 of diamonds on the turn for the flush, but was
horrified to see De Haas roll over A-A-K-4, with the A-K of diamonds -- good for the higher flush. That left Tekkno drawing dead and down to just $15K in chips when the smoke cleared and the applause ended.
Tekkno made things interesting over the next ten minutes, when he rivered two winning pots in a row and ran his small stack back up to a respectable $70K. But with the blinds at $5K-10K, Tekkno would need a near miracle to stage such a big comeback. It wasn't to be.
The final hand of the tournament came when Tekkno committed his remaining chips with Q-8-6-3 versus De Haas' K-K-Q-6. De Haas ended Tekkno's hopes of a comeback when he flopped a third king. The final board showed K-9-3-J-5 giving De Haas trip kings and his first American tournament victory.
Tony "Tekkno" Seunsom, from Houston, had to be happy with his performance and $51,417 in prize money. Cheered on by an enthusiastic gallery of fans, Tekkno made things interesting for viewers by bouncing back and forth between elimination and the chip lead most of the night. But in the end, his enthusiasm and desire to win could not top a precision performance by the Dutchman.
Afterward, De Haas reamrked that he came to the World Poker Open specifically to play pot-limit Omaha. Since "PLO" is much more popular in Europe than in the U.S., De Haas had heard that the Omaha games in
Tunica were, by far, the best on this side of the Atlantic.
Incredibly, De Haas almost decided not to enter this tournament.
"I didn't want to play yesterday," De Haas said. "I came here for the cash games. But a friend encouraged me to enter, and now here I am with a first-place finish."
He added: "There certainly is a lot of luck in Omaha, but I really think I played well in this tournament."
In the end, there were 100,126 reasons and 258 players standing on the rail who had to agree. De Haas played "very well" in this tournament, indeed.
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