Chiu Upsets Hansen at WPT Championship

Chiu Upsets Hansen at WPT Championship

Posted on April 28, 2008

The big story of the WPT Championship at the Bellagio wasn't Gus Hansen dominating the tournament from wire to wire, it was David Chiu coming from a 5-1 chip deficit heads up to defeat Hansen and win almost $3.4 million dollars.

David Chiu is arguably the best limit holdem player in the world, but he proved his mettle by defeating the "Great Dane" Gus Hansen, and dominating a field that can only be described as the "cream of the crop" of poker en route to victory.

Before Chiu won, the story of the final table was Gus Hansen. He came in with a chip lead, and Gus likes to play poker. He knocked out the first four players in record time, hitting his hands at the right moments to add chips to his monster stack. He was about to create history with his fourth win at the WPT, but Chiu stood in his way.

Gus folded the first four hands he played, but after that he played 16 out of the next 19 hands. In the 12th hand, Hansen got all-in with T9 against the AQ of Jeff King. A ten on the river ended King's tournament, busting him in 6th place. King earned $263,815.

Going out in fifth place was Nam Le's brother Tommy, who got all-in with gus on a 5-T-x board. Le showed a set of fives, but was astounded when Hansen turned over a set of tens. Talk about a cooler at the wrong time! Le earned $395,725.

Almost immediately after Tommy Le busted out, Hansen played a huge hand against Cory "UGOTPZD" Carroll, the other big stack at the table. Hansen raised from the cutoff to 480,000, Carroll reraised from the big blind to 1.65 million, and Hansen called. The flop came QJ6, Carroll checked, and Hansen thought for about two minutes before moving all in.

Carroll was surprised at the overbet and he considered the situation for a few minutes. He seemed to come to a decision, then stopped and thought again. His tournament life was at stake, and this could be a $3,000,0000 call.

A call he made. Carroll turned over AJ for middle pair, and Gus showed 75 for a diamond flush draw. What an incredible call! The river, though, was the cruel 3 of diamonds, and Carroll's tournament came to an end. He earned $593,645 for his week of work.

Just six hands later, Hansen got it all in with John Roveto. Roveto showed KK and Hansen had AT. The board ran out J-9-8-x-7, giving Hansen the straight. At this point, it was unsurprising that Roveto's kings were cracked by Hansen, who was running hotter than the sun. Roveto earned just under $1,000,000 for his 3rd place finish.

David Chiu and Gus Hansen entered heads up play; Chiu had 4,360,000 and Hansen had 22,905,000 after eliminating all of his opponents. It looked like Hansen would just steamroll Chiu to victory, but Chiu had other plans.

Chiu was patient, had some chips to work with, and finally got the rest of his chips in with 55 against Hansen's 22. His hand held up, and Hansen's chip lead took a significant hit. Chiu won all of the big pots, Hansen won all of the small pots, and Chiu treaded water until the next big hand came up, breaking them even in chips.

Hansen raised from the button, and Chiu reraised. The flop came J63, Chiu bet, and Hansen called. The turn paired the board with the 6, Chiu moved all in, and Hansen quickly folded. Chiu now had about 12 million in chips to Hansen's 15 million, their closest margin of the night.

A few hands later, Chiu took the chip lead and then the final hand of the night came up. Hansen raised preflop and Chiu called. The flop was A108, and Chiu check-called a bet from Hansen. The turn was the 5, Chiu bet, and Hansen moved all in with 108 for two pair. Chiu had a strong hand with A9 (pair of aces, flush draw), but he still took two minutes to carefully assess the situation before calling.

Gus Hansen got all of his money in ahead this time, but the river was an ace giving Chiu trip aces to counterfeit Gus' 2 pair. The audience was shocked. Even Hansen was shocked that he lost this heads up match as a huge favorite.

Gus Hansen earned $1,714,800, and Chiu took down the lion's share of $3,389,140.

Chiu has four WSOP bracelets to his name and currently has a deal with Full Tilt Poker. This win was his most lucrative victory to date.

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