David Chiu Comes From Behind to Defeat Gus Hansen in a WPT World Championship

David Chiu Comes From Behind to Defeat Gus Hansen in a WPT World Championship

Posted on April 28, 2008 by Tony Jones

By BJ Nemeth

In a twist, the big story at the final table of the WPT World Championship wasn't the winner -- it was the runner-up. Regardless of the final result, this evening belonged to the Great Dane, Gus Hansen.

First, the formalities. David Chiu, who Mike Sexton described as a "Pro's pro," won the last hand to lay claim to the title of Season VI WPT World Champion and the first prize of $3.38 million. It's a major milestone for Chiu, an accomplished player (four WSOP bracelets) with the respect of the top pros (Daniel Negreanu, Erick Lindgren, and Gavin Smith were all sweating him from the rail). This was Chiu's first televised final table since the first season of the World Poker Tour, when he finished third in the WPT Celebrity Invitational. This victory should put David Chiu's name back in the minds of poker fans as one of the top pros.


Gus Hansen Steamrolls the First Four Players

At the start of play, all eyes were on fan favorite Gus Hansen. He was starting with the chip lead, going for his record fourth WPT title, and a victory would also give him the top spot on the WPT all-time money list. For those of us in the media, a Hansen victory would practically write itself.

In an un-Gus-like development, Hansen showed an unusual amount of patience, waiting a full four hands before entering his first pot of the night. But then he was back to his trademark loose style of playing any two cards, playing 16 out of the next 19 hands. In that span, he would eliminate four of his five opponents.

Jeff King was all in with AQ against Hansen's 109 in Hand #12, but a ten on the river would end King's tournament in sixth place. In Hand #15, Nhan "Tommy Legend" Le flopped a set of fives, only to find Hansen flopped a set of tens -- Le was out in fifth place.


The Hand of the Night Season

Hand #16 was the most dramatic, pivotal hand of the night, between the two big stacks at the table. Hansen raised from the cutoff to 480,000, respected online pro Cory 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. It was a bold move, challenging the only other player at the table that could seriously harm him.

With so much at stake and a check on the flop from Carroll, you might expect him to either quickly call or quickly fold. (Checking after a preflop reraise usually indicates the extremes -- weakness or great strength.) But Carroll studied the situation for several long minutes before coming to a decision -- and then stopped to think for a few more minutes. He had to be sure; the biggest tournament of his life was at stake in this hand.

Carroll eventually called with AJ -- second pair. Hansen showed 75 for a diamond flush draw. Carroll made the right call, as he was a 2-to-1 favorite.

But Lady Luck can be a cruel mistress, and the right calls don't always bring the right results. The lowly 3 fell on the river to fill Hansen's flush, and moments after making the call of his life, Carroll was eliminated in fourth place.


Gus Hansen Continues to Win With the Worst of It

Hansen had a dominating chip lead, with nearly three times as many chips as his two opponents combined.

It took only six more hands before John "Kicker" Roveto moved all in with KK. Hansen, no doubt feeling invulnerable at this point, quickly called with A10. The flop was a good one for Hansen, falling J98 to give him a straight draw. Nobody was surprised when the 7 fell on the river to crack Roveto's kings with a jack-high straight -- the audience actually laughed through their applause as Roveto finished in third place, enjoying the "Gus Hansen Show."


Where's David Chiu?

You might be wondering why I haven't mentioned David Chiu, who supposedly won this event. That's because Chiu entered this final table with a plan to avoid Gus Hansen, and so far, it was working perfectly. Well, perhaps not perfectly -- these were the official chip counts with the blinds at 80,000-160,000 (15,000 ante):

Gus Hansen - 22,905,000
David Chiu - 4,360,000

Chiu expected Hansen to challenge anyone and everyone, so Chiu stayed out of his way. Remember when I wrote that Hansen played 16 out of 19 hands? Well, Chiu played only two hands before reaching heads-up play, and both times he raised from the button after Hansen folded in the cutoff. Chiu's first goal was to get heads-up with Hansen, and he had made it. Both players were already guaranteed at least $1.7 million, but both of them had their sights set on a victory.


The Unexpected Heads-Up Marathon

Everyone but David Chiu expected the heads-up match to end quickly. The final table had lasted just 75 minutes and 22 hands, and it seemed like a certainty that it would break WPT records for shortest final table. During the money presentation before heads-up play, one audience member said, "Those women should just present the money directly to Gus."

But Chiu is a patient player who had about 27 big blinds, and he was in no hurry. Hansen did his best to end it quickly, moving all in twice in the first five hands, but Chiu waited him out. Hansen did increase his lead to 6.6-to-1, but in Hand #33, Hansen moved all in with 22, and Chiu called with 55. Contrary to the recent trend, the best hand held up, and Chiu doubled his stack, cutting Hansen's chip lead down to a more manageable 2.6-to-1.

Hansen was winning a lot of small pots, but Chiu was taking down a few larger pots, slowly chipping away at Hansen's lead. For the next 43 hands, Hansen's lead was around 2-to-1 or 2.5-to-1.

In Hand #76, they played their biggest pot yet. 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.

Two hands later, Hansen made a mistake that could ironically be blamed on patience. Both players checked to the river on a board of 554A9, and that's when Hansen bluffed at it with a small bet. Chiu called with 9-7, rivering a pair to win the pot, and taking the chip lead for the first time in the tournament. If Hansen had only bluffed at the ace on the turn, Chiu would almost certainly have folded his nine-high.

But the damage was done. Chiu had the chip lead, and Hansen, who seemed unbeatable earlier in the evening, was exposed as a mere mortal.


The Final Hand

Two hands after losing the chip lead (Hand #80), 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.

(Later, Chiu said he wanted to count down his stack to see what he would be left with if he lost that hand -- 4.175 million, more or less where he started the heads-up match. Could he come back from that? He felt that he could, so he called.)

Hansen actually had the best of it this time; his two pair were a 64-to-36 favorite. With one card to come, Chiu needed an ace, a nine, a five, or any spade to win the tournament; anything else, and Hansen would be back on top with a huge chip lead.

The river card was the A.

Chiu rivered trip aces to create the most unlikely finish anyone could have imagined a few hours earlier. Gus Hansen dominated play throughout the final table, and when he dropped his guard for a moment, Chiu took the chip lead, and two hands later, the tournament.

Like Pavlov's dog, the crowd cheered the suckout on the river before the true meaning sunk in -- the tournament was over. Gus Hansen had lost. The crowd stood in a stunned silence, as if waiting for another hand to be dealt. If the audience was dazed, Hansen was in actual shock with a blank look on his face. He wandered over to congratulate David Chiu, but his body was going through the end-of-tournament motions while his mind was still asking, "What just happened?"


Wrapping Up Season VI

In the final victory toast, Mike Sexton introduced runner-up Gus Hansen, who said, "You're kind of catching me at a bad time. I just lost a big hand." The crowd laughed, but Hansen was still coming to terms with that reality. Sexton added, "Now you know how those other guys felt." Hansen certainly won't receive any sympathy from Cory Carroll.

For his part, Chiu couldn't stop smiling, basking in a moment that he'll never forget. Chiu called this "the toughest tournament I ever played," from start to finish, and praised tournament director Jack McClelland, his Bellagio staff, and his tournament structure as the best in the world.

Here were the final table payouts:

1st - David Chiu - $3,389,140
2nd - Gus Hansen - $1,714,800
3rd - John Roveto - $923,355
4th - Cory Carroll - $593,645
5th - Tommy Le - $395,725
6th - Jeff King - $263,815

Combined with his second-place finish at the WPT Mirage Poker Showdown at the start of this season, Cory Carroll crosses the $1 million mark in career WPT earnings, becoming the 89th WPT Poker-Made Millionaire; David Chiu becomes the 90th.

The WPT Season VI Player of the Year is Jonathan Little, who finished with four cashes (totaling more than $1.89 million), two final tables, one TV bubble (7th place), and one victory. Little led the Player of the Year race all season long, winning the WPT Mirage Poker Showdown to start the season.

We'd also like to acknowledge long-time poker ambassadors Linda Johnson and Jan Fisher, who have been with the World Poker Tour for all six seasons. They're both retiring from the WPT before Season VII, but look for them at the poker tables.

The World Poker Tour airs Monday nights at 9 pm ET/8 pm CT on the GSN network. This episode (WPT World Championship) will be broadcast on Monday, August 25th, but new episodes will be airing weekly (every Monday night) until then.

Season VII starts with the Bellagio Cup IV here in Las Vegas on July 11th. We hope to see you there, and if you can't make it in person, be sure to follow the action with live updates at the World Poker Tour website.

Source: - www.WorldPokerTour.com

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