| BEATING A YOUNG CHAMPION
For pictures of this event, please check out Mark Napolitano's videos on the homepage.
There were 272 entries for a total prize pool of $128,836. 24 were paid.
FINAL TABLE
Seat/Player/Hometown/Chip Count
1 Jeff Richman, Philadelphia PA, 7,000
2 Jim Hagen, Melbourne FL, 24,500
3 Derek Taylor, Eastmond GA, 10,500
4 Scott Fischman, Las Vegas NV 69,500
5 Rick Abrell Terre Haute IN 64,000
6 Eddie Rayl, Fitzgerald GA 35,500
7 David Eller, Port Orange FL, 23,000
8 Tony Seco, Myrtle Beach SC 36,000
43:05 remained in the 3,000/6,000 level with 500 antes and 1,000 low card.
A year ago, this same Final Table would have been filled with relative unknowns. Then Scott Fischman had one of the great World Series of Poker ever. So this year there are seven relative unknowns and an instant super star, Scott Fischman. That's what two WSOP bracelets and ESPN will do for you.
So who's beginning chip leader? Who should it be if only by reputation? Scott Fischman lived up to his hype and came into today's action as chip leader. But there were seven dwarfs who weren't impressed.
You might think that with a high low game, we could get around the table once without a fatality. Or, if someone had to leave it would be one of the critically short stacked. You'd be wrong on both counts. Eddie Rayl played like he was betting he'd be first out. Eddie won that bet by chasing highs in a split game. How did this guy get here with 35,500 in chips? On hand 8, the second of two disastrous hands sent Rayl to the rail early.
On hand 6, Rayl called with a 10 showing, raised with a 10 5, bet with a 10 5 7 and called when a Queen came on 6th street. Meanwhile, Scott is showing 3 7 6 3. Predictably, Rayl couldn't call the bet on the river by Scott Fischman. Now he was short stacked and couldn't protect his hand against a flush draw by David Eller. The fifth club came on the river for Eller to float Eddie out fast.
It looked for all the world that the super aggressive Fischman was going to destroy this table in record time. When Scott got Jim Hagen covered all-in, Fischman was on a classic freeroll with a pair of 8's for high and an 8 6 low draw. Hagen had an 8 7 low made but his high failed. Sure enough, in poker vernacular, Scott caught good on the river for a scoop. The dry baby gave him an 8 6 low with the 8's for high. Jim Hagen left in a daze in 7th.
The next 20 hands had lots of chops, including a memorable Quad10/Wheel nut nut chop between Eller and Richman.
Absent from the party was Derek Taylor. He was throwing the party with his constant donations. Sick of it, Derek picked up pocket Jacks and sailed his last 8k all-in. Fischman was still on his rush. Scott said something about getting hit by the deck as his board came A 9 7 A 8 A. Derek was Taylor made for 6th.
Another 15 hands of sloshing around, until we lost two in a row. Jeff Richman played so well, starting out with only 7,000 in chips. He passed players with over five times his beginning stack. If he were a Richman, which he is, he'd go all-in with his Kings. Jeff made a nice high with Kings and nines, but there was no stopping Scott Fischman during this streak he was on. The young champion started on a wheel draw and spiked a third 4 to give poor Jeff only $7,934 for 5th.
The next hand brought us to three handed and a break. They do something nice here at the WPO. There are no scheduled breaks at the Final Table. When the players decide to go, they go. Trip fours was magic for the second consecutive hand. This time Rick Abrell did the spiking and Tony Seco did the leaving. Tony went all-in for his last few thousand with wired 7's. Rick didn't have much other than chips to call. Then his board tripled him up in fours. Sicko thought Seco in 4th.
Break time. Let's make a deal.
Fischman had about 60% of the chips and total table dominance. But Scott accepted a chip count split anyway. How do they get so smart so young?
The really smart one was Rick Abrell, because after the break Rick could hardly win a hand. It took a while, but on hand 91 Rick's spirit was broken when he had everything and won nothing. Abrell had a straight flush wheel draw against Scott Fischman and bricked out. Rick reraised all-in on the next hand with pocket Jacks and watched helplessly as David Eller caught a running two pair of 7's and 5's. So Abrell got better than second place money for finishing third.
Heads up, the young phenomenon Fischman had a 9-2 chip lead. This puppy was over except for the shouting, right? No one told David Eller he should faint at the sight of Scott Fischman across from him.
Eller is no chopped liver. He won a title in Omaha Hi-Lo here in 2001. He's a split game expert, by his own admission, and the money means nothing to him. He's a successful business owner who says he makes six figures playing on the net.
All of the above looked true as David basically dismantled Scott heads up. Fischman was talking to himself. He'd start with the best hand over and over only to have Eller run him down.
From hands 93 to 176, these two warriors battled it out. The first crack in Scott's armor came on hand 97 when David made trip 5's to make it a 4-3 chip lead for Fischman. Scott lost the chip lead soon thereafter, and then it seesawed back and forth. The turning point was on hand 109. Scott had a board of A 6 6 3. He's pounding it as usual.
On the river the calling Eller suddenly reraises with a board of 5 J 10 4 and two diamonds. Scott has 21k left and brilliantly saves it by reading Eller for a made hand. Eller later tells Scott of his gutshot straight. 'Unbelievable' is all Fischman can say.
Miraculously, for those who think Scott Fischman is a fluke, a flash in the pan. I'd suggest you reconsider. He fought back from three all-ins to retake the chip lead at one point. We had to go to the 8k/16k level before Scott's luck went south again. Hand 176 ended this marathon when Scott reraised all-in with the 3 5 7 of Hearts against Kings for Eller. Fischman has 3 4 5 7 on sixth street and rivered a trey.
In the interview afterward, I asked David Eller if he knew who he was playing against. David joked that he was going to fall backwards on the poker table when he won, but didn't. Beating the young champion was enough for him.
Mike Paulle
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