The World Poker Finals Main Event at Foxwoods
Casino in Connecticut has come to a close, resulting in a $1.7 million first
first place finish and a tie for the highest placing female poker player in
World Poker Tour history. Twenty-three year old Canadian, Nenad Medic, took the
first place jackpot, after patiently sitting through an onslaught of aggressive
play lasting only three hours at the final table.
Credit must be be given to Medic for his poise and
judgment. However, second place finisher, E.G. Harvin, was the most impressive
player at the table. He nearly single-handedly eliminated four other players at
the table, something which Medic clearly appreciated when he referred to Harvin
as doing most of the work for him. Harvin made it to the tournament with a $150
buy-in at an online poker satellite tournament.
When it came down to the final two, heads-up play
lasted only eight hands. It was a combination of Medic's stack and his strategic
play that left him on top. Harvin's demise was going all-in after the river,
with community cards showing 3-5-5-9-9. Harvin began playing aggressive
immediately after a Flop of 5-5-3, which should have given good reason for Medic
to believe he was bluffing. Harvin didn't have anything in his hole cards, while
Medic held a five, thus giving him a Full House.
Much of the attention at the final table went to
the two ladies who were present - Kathy Liebert and "Mimi" Tran. No woman has
ever won a WPT championship, and most of the fans watching the game were hoping
that would be the case at Foxwoods Casino. Liebert finished in fifth place after
going all in with a Flush that was beat out by Harvin, who held a higher ranking
Flush. Tran looked as if she had a great chance, but her aggressive play and
second Pairs ended up biting her in the end.
Medic, who is one of the poker circuit's most
promising next-generation players, said he plans on putting a lot of his
winnings back into high-stakes cash tournaments. In the meantime, his sites are
focused on next year's WPT Championship and the World Series of Poker, for which
he says he will prepare for by entering more tournaments leading up to these
high profile poker tournaments.