2009 L.A. Poker Classic

$10,000 No Limit Hold'em Championship
Day: 6
Event Info

2009 L.A. Poker Classic

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
k5
Prize
$1,686,260
Event Info
Buy-in
$9,600
Entries
696
Level Info
Level
35
Blinds
125,000 / 250,000
Ante
0

Ferguson Eliminated; Walsh Doubles Twice

Chris "Jesus" Ferguson - 6th Place
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson - 6th Place
7:01pm -- Walsh Doubles Again

Pat Walsh looked down at {10-Clubs} {10-Diamonds} and quickly moved his stack in the middle. He was called by Mike Sowers, who showed {A-Hearts} {J-Clubs}. Could it be that we would have back-to-back eliminations? Not at this tournament. Following the established trend, Walsh doubled up on a board of {5-Hearts} {10-Spades} {8-Clubs} {2-Diamonds} {5-Diamonds}, robbing the audience of any kind of sweat.

Following that hand, the players went on break.

6:50pm -- Chris Ferguson Eliminated in 6th Place ($240,538)

The fateful elimination finally came, and it was the player who started as the shortest stack of the day. Chris Ferguson raised to 300,000 and was called by Cornel Andrew Cimpan. Ferguson checked a flop of {10-Spades} {8-Diamonds} {8-Hearts}, prompting Cimpan to move all in.

I've covered Ferguson at countless tournaments over the course of the last year, and I can never remember him tanking as long as he did here. He seemed genuinely stuck and unsure what to do with his hand. After three minutes, a few restless railbirds started shouting for Cimpan to call a clock. TD Savage immediately got on the mic and threatened to throw them out if they didn't stop. Ferguson thought it over for another 30 seconds, then called all in. He was the player at risk of elimination as the cards were exposed:

Cimpan: {4-Spades} {4-Hearts}
Ferguson: {A-Clubs} {K-Clubs}

Ferguson had gone with his gut and called all in with unimproved ace-king, but he was behind Cimpan's pocket pair. The turn was the {6-Clubs}, no help for Ferguson. He needed any ace, any king, any ten or any six on the river to stave off elimination. The river {3-Clubs} sent him to the rail, the first player eliminated from the TV table.

6:38pm -- Sowers Back to Work

Mike Sowers has lots of rebuilding to do after getting caught bluffing earlier this afternoon. He raised to 250,000 from middle position and was called by Chris Karagulleyan out of the blinds. Karagulleyan had first action on a flop of {7-Hearts} {9-Diamonds} {2-Diamonds}. He checked, then folded to a bet of 350,000 from Sowers.

6:25pm -- Pat Walsh Doubles Up

The crowd was on its feet for the second time in minutes when Pat Walsh moved all in and was called by Cornel Andrew Cimpan. Cimpan called with {A-Spades} {J-Clubs} but found himself dominated by Walsh's {A-Hearts} {Q-Spades}. A chop was a possibility as the board developed {K-Hearts} {3-Clubs} {6-Hearts} {A-Diamonds}, but the river {10-Hearts} gave Walsh the double-up, prolonging a trend that started yesterday of short stacks doubling up.

Tags: Chris Ferguson