| FINAL TABLE SAVAGED
For pictures of this event, please check out Mark Napolitano's videos on the homepage.
There were 176 entries for a total prize pool of $239,447. 18 were paid.
FINAL TABLE
Seat/Player/Hometown/Chip Count
1 Chris Tsiprailidis Syracuse NY 22,000
2 Robert Perry Highland Beach FL 67,000
3 Max Stern Las Vegas NV 21,000
4 Chris Savage Baton Rouge LA 71,500
5 Tom Franklin Gulfport MS 12,000
6 Raja Kattamuri Dallas TX 29,500
7 Gerard Johnston St Charles MO 7,500
8 Mike Haney Marion AR 16,500
9 Frank Kassela Germantown TN 17,500
42:02 remained in the 500/1,500 level.
For all those veteran tournament players who hoped that the new Internet hotshots wouldn't be able to play live, you are in for a big disappointment. If today's event is any indication, these guys can play anywhere.
The mind boggles when Chris Savage (online nickname "brsavage") talks about his 2004 in cyber space. How about twelve Aruba seats, online! He also won nine seats in another event. The only guy hotter than Chris on the Internet is probably Erik123. Erik "Superman" Sagstrom has won a reported $10 million on the net.
Savage dominated a table that had no chopped liver. Chris went wire-to-wire with the chip lead, untouched and unchallenged. No veteran has come close to a performance like this in the WPO 2005.
Here's how the title was decided.
This table was unusual because two players had half the beginning chips. The closest anyone got to Chris Savage, with a starting stack of 71,500, was the 4,500 fewer that Robert Perry started with. After these two, as Jack McClelland would say, the other seven had all the rest.
Of the un-Magnificent Seven, Gerard Johnston barely limped into today's play with only 7,500. Johnston was dead meat from the get-go. On the second hand from the big blind, Gerard went all-in on the turn when a 7 came with A 7 off. Raja Kattamuri had raised Johnston from the small blind with a real hand, K 9 off. Unable to protect his top pair and top kicker, Gerard looked on in horror as the Prince of India rivered a gutshot straight with the 8. The board came 5 6 2 7 8. That's why ya gotta have chips.
I have been correctly chastised for droning on about how boring Limit Hold'em events are to watch. It always helps to have some characters at the table. "Captain" Tom Franklin is one of those colorful players that entertain even while getting knocked out. Franklin was next in line as a pygmy stack. He had no illusions about his chances to stay around. When the first empty chair was pulled away from the table, Tom said, "Don't worry, you will have lots of room in a minute." Meanwhile, Franklin went into a dead-on imitation of the comic Foster Brooks. That's the guy who used to do the drunk so hilariously. Tom should be invited to perform in Daniel Negreanu's next Cabaret act. On hand 20, Franklin's J 8 of Clubs all-in for 3k was smushed by Max Stern's J 10 and a board of 10 4 2 J J.
If we were going to go by the ascending order of starting chips, Mike Haney was the scheduled 7th place finisher. But something happened to screw up the order, as it always does. Mike Haney, the Arkansas Traveler (long-haul truck driver), won some pots. That left Frank Kassela next in line to the rail. Haney survived pocket Aces by Kassela all-in from the big blind on hand 24. Kassela had chipped himself off in the Jacks full pot with Max Stern a few hands earlier, and he couldn't maximize the profit with the Aces. On hand 41, Kassela walked into the buzzsaw that was Chris Savage. Kassela raised all-in for 4k with the 8 6 of Spades and second pair on the flop. Chris only had trip 4's on the same flop.
(This is exciting, Karl, really! LOL.)
With Mike Haney safely out of harm's way, we continued to climb the ladder. Retired Pediatrician Dr. Max Stern couldn't revive his dead cards after the early full house. Doc went all-in for a raise, under the gun, with A 8 offsuit. Chris Savage is a smart guy, but he didn't have to be too clever to call on this hand with an A 9 offsuit right behind Stern. The 9 continues to be a hot card in these events. With an Ace on the flop, the 9 would have played anyway, but another one came on the river. There is nothing Stern about Max. He's as affable as they come. If there is anything we've learned about the good doctor over the last many years, he knows how to make Final Tables.
Now we were getting seriously shorthanded. Any Ace was a monster. Well, maybe not any Ace. In a pivotal hand that would reverberate later, Robert Perry had a chance to finally get rid of the resilient Mike Haney. Perry bet into Haney with an A 7. Mike kept on truckin' down the road with an all-in reraise and A 4 with a 4 on the flop.
Another fixture at Final Tables around the world is "Syracuse" Chris Tsiprailidis. With nearly $400,000 in tournament wins last year, Tsiprailidis dwarfed the earnings of all the others combined in live tournament play. But, you know, so what? That was 2004. History. An interesting confrontation between old friends sealed Tsiprailidis into the five spot. Chris and Robert Perry both grew up in Syracuse, New York. They've been playing together for 16 or 20 years depending on which one of them you ask. Now they were sitting next to each other here. Robert put a read on Chris that seemed to shock the big-time pro. Robert just smiled at Chris when he showed him a King high bluff. Now Chris was shorter than a blade of grass. He goes all-in on the next hand with A 10 off. Knowing that Chris can't bet anymore, Raja Kattamuri calls from the big blind with J 4 offsuit. When a Jack flops, we were down to only one Chris at the table, the prohibitive chip leader Savage.
Four handed, it was obvious that three are playing for second place. The first to leave was Raja Kattamuri. When you are running good, nothing can stop you. Mike Haney beat A 7 with A 4 earlier, and then he won with A 7 against the A 4 of Kattamuri. Raja raised his last 2,500 rupees into the pot from the big blind. Any Ace, at this point. Unfortunately for his highness, Mike Haney had the 18-wheeler right behind Raja. The seven kicker played, on a board of 8 6 2 J K.
Three handed it looked like two foothills and one alp. Could the miraculous Mike "Maniac" Haney really finish second after starting eighth in chips? Rhetorical questions don't require answers. In the key hand of the day as far as money distribution is concerned, Mike Haney put a move on Robert Perry that Robert will not soon forget. The board was 9 7 7 Q, with two hearts. Perry was pounding Haney until the Queen of Hearts arrived on the turn. At that point Haney bet out from the small blind. Then Mike hid his face to avoid giving any tells. Robert only had 9k left in a large pot. He folded. "I had a good draw" Haney said coyly and turned over the K 4 of Hearts for only a flush draw and King high.
It was all over but for the shouting. Hand 109 put Robert Perry's day in the deep freeze. His nemesis slammed the freezer lid down with a 10 8 offsuit and an 8 on the flop. Robert was all-in for 6k with the K 7 of Diamonds. The board came 8 5 3 Q J.
Twice this year we've had huge reversals of fortune at this table. Today there wouldn't be a third. The miracle run of Mike Haney screeched to a halt in six hands. Chris Savage started with a 7-1 chip lead heads up. The way he was catching cards, no one was going to come from behind to beat him. Haney went all-in with a pretty big edge, the K 3 of Clubs, versus the 7 6 of Clubs for Savage. Was there any doubt that a six would flop?
Chris Savage gives props to pros Shawn Rice and Scott Fischman for working with him to show him the way the best tournament players handle different situations. But you can't teach instinct. Showing that reading is fundamental, Chris Savage knew where he was at all day. To make it all sweeter, because of his online notoriety, Chris has found some backers so he can spend his money on the twins that are due.
To coin a phrase, Chris savaged this table.
In the last few years, Internet players have come, they've seen, they've conquered. Tournament poker will never be the same.
Mike Paulle
| 
