2005 Tournament of Champions
Caesars Palace – Las Vegas
Official Report
Final Day
No-Limit Hold’em
Number of Entries: 114
Total Prize Money: $2,000,000
Official Results:
1st – Mike “The Mouth” Matusow Las Vegas, NV $1,000,000
2nd – Hoyt Corkins Glenwood, AL $ 325,000
3rd – Phil Hellmuth, Jr. Palo Alto, CA $ 250,000
4th – Tony ‘The Lizard’ Bloom London, England $ 150,000
5th – Steve Dannenmann Severn, MD $ 100,000
6th – Grant ‘G-Money’ Lang Brookfield, CT $ 75,000
7th – David Levi Las Vegas, NV $ 50,000
8th – Keith Sexton Dayton, OH $ 25,000
9th – Brandon Adams New Orleans, LA $ 25,000
Veni, Vidi, Vici!
Mike Matusow Comes, Sees and Conquers
the 2005 Tournament of Champions at Caesars Palace Las Vegas
After a long year of many disappointments, Matusow wins electrifying final table
It was, quite simply, one of the greatest final tables of all time. It had everything – drama, tragedy, humor, passion, laughter, tears, a fight, a downfall, a comeback, and an ending no one could possibly have predicted.
It was twenty times longer than an episode of “SportsCenter”, eight times longer than the movie “Rounders”, and four times longer than a Super Bowl game. Clocking in at just over 11 hours, it was perhaps the only final table where the standing-room only crowd departed the arena feeling completely exhausted -- yet wanting, even screaming for more.
It was a final table which had nine compelling stories. The second place finisher in the Main Event at this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP); a player who arrived at the final table as chip leader at his last big tournament, busted out a disappointing fifth; a player who has grinded out a living for ten years on the tournament trail but who has yet to earn a televised breakthrough victory; a poker megalomaniac who finished second in the Tournament of Champions (TOC) last year; a player who has enjoyed tremendous success in poker recently, but who had not won a WSOP-related event in 13 long years; a professional poker player who has yet to win a major poker tournament. although he has made it to several final tables; a player from New Orleans who barely qualified for the TOC and lost much in the devastation that was Hurricane Katrina; an Englishman who has won big events overseas, but who has yet to make it big on the American poker scene; and finally, there was a fabulously-talented, admired by some, despised by others poker pro who started off the year as far away from a table at Caesars Palace and ESPN television cameras as humanly possible. Whoever won, had a great story.
The 2005 TOC concluded in a way which will be the yardstick of all future televised tournaments. Some events, such as the World Series of Poker may be considerably bigger, but no major poker tournament has ever offered so much human drama as the three-day invitational event, which concluded late on a Tuesday night at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Fortunately, ESPN was there to capture it all for posterity. A special three-hour telecast will air on Dec. 24 from 1-4 pm EST. Postpone the holidays and let Santa Claus wait on the delivery of presents. When the TOC airs on Christmas Eve, you won’t want to miss this one.
The nine finalists for the 2005 Tournament of Champions and starting chip-counts were:
SEAT 1: Steve Dannenmann $122,000 in chips
SEAT 2: Grant Lang $ 61,500 in chips
SEAT 3: David Levi $ 41,000 in chips
SEAT 4: Phil Hellmuth $281,500 in chips
SEAT 5: Hoyt Corkins $ 95,000 in chips
SEAT 6: Keith Sexton $ 95,500 in chips
SEAT 7: Brandon Adams $135,500 in chips
SEAT 8: Tony Bloom $130,000 in chips
SEAT 9: Mike Matusow $179,000 in chips
The final table’s opening moments began with a series of hysterical pranks. The banter made it seem more like a comedy act than a multi-million dollar poker tournament. Given the colorful cast of characters, it was hardly surprising that egoistical Phil Hellmuth would be everyone’s favorite target. It all started off when Mike Matusow joked with Hellmuth about his new line of designer sunglasses. Matusow had his own designer label and whipped out a pair of sunglasses, which will require one to use the imagination. Superimposed in the lenses was a hand, with one extended finger, tilted upward. One gets the idea.
Steve Dannenmann had his own prank in store for Hellmuth. Knowing that the telecast will air on Christmas Eve, Dannenmann presented Hellmuth with a colorfully wrapped holiday gift. Hellmuth was shocked. Encouraged to open the gift by the audience, Hellmuth unwrapped his box like a 4-year-old and pulled out a doll resembling a donkey. The audience roared. Even Hellmuth cracked a smile. Ironically, the jovial spirit which characterized the Hellmuth-Dannenmann relationship early would become increasingly poisonous from that moment forward.
With cards in the air, the first big hand of the day took place when Hoyt Corkins found himself in a horrible spot. He was dealt pocket Queens against Brandon Adams’ pocket Aces. Just when it looked like Corkins would be the first casualty of the day, an angelic Queen on the turn delivered saintly salvation and Corkins went from being one step away from the rail to second place in the chip count. What a huge hand that turned out to be. The $220,000 pot put Corkins onto the heels of Hellmuth. Meanwhile, Brandon Adams was down to his last $30,000.
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