Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari Makes
Rivals’ Chips Disappear in Final Table Magic Show
-- Bay-Area Poker Pro Wins Pot-Limit Hold’em WSOP Event
My first bracelet! This means more to me than the money. I mean the money is nice, but this is what I really wanted – the gold bracelet.
-- Antonio Esfandiari
Antonio Esfandiari used to be a professional magician. He peformed magic tricks and wowed audiences of all ages. But his greatest performance might have been on this night, as Esfandiari, a.k.a. “The Magician,” reached deep into his bag of card tricks in the $2,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Hold’em event at this year’s World Series of Poker. He topped a world-class field of 324 players – the highest ever to enter this event in the 35-year history of the tournament. It wasn’t so amazing that Esfandiari won. What was amazing was how he earned his first gold bracelet and WSOP victory. To call it “magical” would be a gross understatement.
Many of the hands at the final table electrified the standing room only crowd cramped inside the Horseshoe second floor ballroom. Although this was one of the non-televised events of this years WSOP (ESPN is showing nearly half of all events), this was positively the most exciting final table of the year. It also attracted the biggest crowd, to date. There were numerous bad beats, chip lead changes, and tense moments during the five-hour finale.
After the 315 players were eliminated on the first day, the nine finalists returned for day two. Many eyes were focused on the two former world champions sitting at the final table – Chris “JESUS” Ferguson, the 2000 winner, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr., the 1989 champ. Lots of excitement was expected, and the players did not disappoint.
Although skill is compulsory, every poker tournament requires some luck in order to win. After all, the best hand does not always take down the pot. No one knows this better than the players at the final table, who squared off against Esfandiari. One by one, they went from favorites to dogs at the turn of a single stunning card – that might as well have been a printed ticket out of the casino directly to valet parking. “The Magician’s” ultimate destiny -- a victory at the World Series – was brought to mind the old poker adage about “putting yourself in a position to win.”
Consider Esfandiari’s good fortune.
Early at the final table, Esfandiari won with 2-2 versus 8-8, after a deuce came on the turn.
Esfandiari’s most critical hand came when he took Q-Q against Phil Hellmuth’s K-K and won (see report below)
A short time later, Esfandiari eliminated Hellmuth with K-9 versus A-8.
Esfandiari’s A-6 topped Phi Nguyen’s A-9 on the final hand of the tournament.
Indeed, it was a real magic act. Players were eliminated in the following order:
9th – VEGARD NYGAARD – Norwegian poker players have become a viable force on the European circuit, and at the World Series of Poker. This relatively small, but very talented group of players includes Thor Hansen, and others. Nygaard, is also from Norway’s capital, Oslo. He came to the final table as the shortest stack and was the first player to exit. He received $11,920.
8th – TONY COUSINEAU – The touring pro from Florida is one of the best players in the game at lasting deep into major tournaments. Cousineau often jokes that he has more “bubble” finishes than anyone in poker (the notoriously worst place to finish -- because it’s in the top percentile of finishers, but pays absolutely nothing). Cousineau went beyond the bubble in this tournament, and in the process was making his 19th lifetime “cash” at the WSOP. However, Cousineau fell short of winning when he ran into pocket rockets – Ivo Donev’s A-A versus his A-K. An ace came on the flop – and all the money went into the pot. Cousineau was out as the 8th place finisher. He collected $17,880.
7th – CHRIS COMPTON – Compton experienced a roller coaster of emotions during his final hand of the tournament. He started with A-10 against Mark O’Bryan’s Q-Q. Jubilation came when an ace flopped and Compton looked like he might double up. But those hopes were shattered when a queen fell on the river. Compton was ripped away from the final table with $23,840 for 7th place.
6th – PHIL HELLMUTH – The 1989 world champion and nine-time gold bracelet winner took some tough beats. The worst hand for Hellmuth occurred when his K-K lost to Esfandiari’s Q-Q. It was arguably the most important hand of the final table and merits greater detail. Here’s what happened:
HELLMUTH: K-K
ESFANDIARI: Q-Q
Both players got into a raising war before the flop. Esfandiari was “all in” and Hellmuth had just enough chips to cover his opponent’s stack. The flop helped neither player, but three clubs on board made Hellmuth’s kings an even stronger favorite – since he had the lone club in his hand. Then, disaster struck for the former world champion. The queen of clubs fell on the turn, which brought the audience to its feet. Esfandiari had hit his two-outer. But the fourth club had also made a flush for Hellmuth. Esfandiari now had extra outs – and could win the huge pot if the board paired. That’s exactly what happened on the river when a second nine rained down from the poker gods above, giving Esfandiari a full-house against Hellmuth’s club flush. It was a brutal beat.
The self-described “poker brat” was remarkably self-controlled in defeat, when he went out with A-8 and lost to Esfiari’s K-9 when the final board showed 5-4-3-10-K. Hellmuth’s bid to become the first player in WSOP history to win ten gold bracelets fell short. He received $29,800 for 6th place. With this appearance, Hellmuth’s 45 lifetime cashes ranks as a new WSOP record.
5th – MARCUS O’BRYAN – The final hand of the night for O’Bryan took place when his A-Q lost to Ivo Donev’s Q-Q. An ace failed to rescue the native of Kokomo, IN, resulting in a 5th place finish worth $35,760.
4th – CHRIS “JESUS FERGUSON – The 2000 world poker champion survived a few “all ins” before his fate was finally sealed. Getting low on chips, “Jesus” went “all in” with K-Q and lost to Esfandiari, when an ace fell on the river – good for top pair. Jesus’ “passion” to win was not enough. He went out 4th with $41,740. Ferguson now has a second-place and a fourth-place finish within the past week at this year’s WSOP – worth about 200 grand in prize money.
3rd – IVO DONEV – Without doubt one of the most interesting personalities at the final table was Donev, from Austria. Like Ferguson, Donev was making his second final table within the past week. It was pocket kings that proved to be a killer. Donev took a horrible beat when his K-K lost to A-Q – making a straight when the board showed 2-3-4-5-x. Donev couldn’t bear to watch and was standing on the rail when the final card was dealt. He fell to his knees when the crowd exploded upon seeing the straight. Donev walked away in a daze and received $47,700.
When heads up play began, Esfandiari enjoyed about a 6 to 1 chip lead. The exact chip counts were as follows:
THE MAGICIAN : $564
PHI NGUYEN: $84K
Nguyen managed to double up a few times, but on each occasion he was worn down by the Magician’s relentless aggression. Nguyen did draw close to even at one point, but that lasted no more than a few hands. Most of the heads-up match had the Magician holding the cards, with better than a 2-1 chip disadvantage.
Nguyen’s most devastating blow came when he was dealt 10-9 and saw the flop come with a nine. Nguyen committed his chips to the pot, but Esfandiari was slowplaying K-K and won the biggest pot of the night. That hand gave Esfandiari a 15 to 1 chip lead and left Nguyen close to the felt.
The final hand was dealt when Nguyen raised “all in” with A-9 and was called by Esfandiari with A-6. Down essentially to three outs (6s), those are normally tough odds to overcome. But once again, the Magician justified his nickname when – abra cadabra -- the flop came A-6-x, which gave Esfandiari two pair. That was enough, and Esfandiari was declared the winner.
“The gold bracelet is about having respect,” Esfandiari said afterward. “It’s like when you on a team, you want to win the Super Bowl. That’s all you want to do. So being a professional poker player, you want the bracelet and the title.”
“It was weird. When there were about 45 people left in the tournament, I just decided I was going to win,” Esfandiari added. “I had the same feeling (when I won $1 million at the Commerce)…and in this tournament I had the same feeling, too.”
Call it what you want – premonition, magic, luck or skill. Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari is the new $2,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Hold’em world champion.
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