PokerTableRatings

A Crazy 2010 Main Event Final Table

I have to admit I was pretty excited to watch ESPN's coverage of the final table. It's always been cool to watch someone have the best day in America while becoming an instant multi-millionaire. There's no other tournament like it, and I've watched it every year since Moneymaker pulled off that sick bluff against Sammy Farha in 2003. In all those years, however, I don’t remember it ever being so………unmemorable. Maybe I’m getting older and have seen too many of these things, but I doubt it.

I really thought the coverage lacked substance and any sense of continuity when it came to showing what mattered----the hands. It was full of extravagant intros, bright lights, and [weak] attempts at character development, but was totally devoid of any real story on the felt. I admit that the hands that were shown were insane and there were some ridiculous beats, but there were barely any hands shown. It was very tough to feel the flow of the game in any concrete way because every hand was interrupted by six commercials and two stories we’ve already heard. That’s what the other 20-odd episodes are for---character development. When I tune into the final table of the biggest poker tournament in the world, I’d much rather see how interesting it is than hear how interesting it is. There were only 24 hands shown in the entire two hours (2 heads-up), and almost all of them were all-ins---not particularly interesting from a strategic point of view. It would be nice if ESPN would broadcast some more extensive coverage when it comes to the real action at hand. I know that it was streamed online, but staring at a computer screen just doesn’t do it for me.

Congratulations, however, to Jonathan Duhamel for his superb play, especially in the face of so many setbacks. He stayed remarkably cool for all the beats he took throughout the session, made the right decisions at the right times, and eventually came out on top to win his first bracelet and the $8,944,310 top prize. He and 2nd place finisher John Racener seemed to be playing the most solid poker at the final table (although we didn’t see much of it), so it seemed fitting that they finished first and second. Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi also briefly held the chip-lead, but quickly lost the majority of his stack after going all in pre-flop with Ad8d and 33, losing both hands to Racener (AK) and Duhamel (A9), respectively. It was surprising to see The Grinder push his chips around with such marginal holdings once he gained the chip-lead.

And Joseph Cheong’s monumental 6-bet 90,000,000 chip catastrophe with A7 off-suit? When the difference between 2nd and 3rd is 1.4 million and Racener only has ~35 million chips? I don’t think I can even talk about it.

Until next year…

Get used to Jonathan Duhamel’s face. You’re going to be seeing a lot of it.

Discuss the final table coverage here

-Will Wright