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December 11th 2006
WPC: Tran triumphs on all-star table as “The Dragon” multi-tasks
The final table of the $2000 NL Hold’em event in the Five Diamond World Poker Classic was like a throwback to the pre-Moneymaker days, to a time when final tables with more than one recognisable pro were the rule, rather than the exception.
With J.C. Tran, Barry Greenstein, David “The Dragon” Pham, Men “The Master” Nguyen and two 2006 WPC finalists in Justin Bonomo and Peter Gould all sat on the same table this was by far the highest calibre final table of the WPC so far, and it was no surprise that a large crowd gathered to watch the action.
Anyone supporting the underdog was in for a disappointment as the four relatively unknown quantities were the first players to hit the rail, but this was just what the majority of the watching fans were hoping for.
The first of the big name pros to go was Barry Greenstein, who lost a coin flip with 6-6 against Ac-Ks when David Pham hit a club flush on the river. He was followed to the rail by Justin Bonomo who made a dubious all-in call with 8h-9h and lost to Men Nguyen’s pocket jacks.
That left the three celebrated Vietnamese pros Pham, Nguyen and Tran, to battle it out for the first prize, and the men were clearly delighted to be in the final three together. In fact the mood was so jolly that Jack McClelland, the tournament director, didn’t have the heart to enforce the English only rule at the table as the men chatted away in their native tongue.
Tran and Nguyen even helped David Pham by agreeing to an extended break after level 15 that allowed “The Dragon” to run off to Event #8, the $2500 Hold’em tournament that started at noon, so he could try and double up before returning to the final table.
When he returned the title was decided in a hurry. “The Master” hit the rail first, caught making an all-in steal from the button when he ran headfirst into the AcKc of his cousin David Pham. Nguyen turned over Tc-7c and was soon on his way.
With barely a minute gone since Nguyen’s elimination the tournament was over; Pham pushed all-in with pocket tens and was called by Tran with the hand that did for Nguyen. The Ac-Kc proved superior once again, and Tran had his second six figure tournament win in two months. Added to the $700,000 Tran collected for winning the WCOOP main-event on PokerStars in October it brought Tran’s winnings for the last three months to about $1.2 million. He now stands third in the Player of the Year race.
Pham meanwhile did not even have time to collect his $149,050 runner-up prize before rushing off to continue in the $2500 tournament. Fast forward to the next day and Pham was still there, sitting happily on the final table. “The Dragon” promptly went on to book another second place, besting the 2006 WSOP main-event 5th placed finisher Rhett Butler (4th) and the 2006 WSOP player of the year Jeff Madsen (3rd) but eventually losing out to Danny Wong, who added $319,420 to the $561,000 he won in August for his second place finish in the Bellagio Cup II main-event.
The following day saw the conclusion of event #9, the $3000 tournament, which also had a relatively star studded final table. Eric “The Poker Princess” Schoenberg sat alongside the Card Player editor Jeff Shulman, and a 2006 WSOP bracelet winner in Jason Lester. The tournament was won by Daniel Quach, who first came to prominence with a $1.2 million second place finish in the 2006 LA Poker Classic. He collected $325,525 for first.
Submitted: 11/12/2006 12:32:16
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