Congratulations to all of Full Tilt Poker's 2009 World Series of Poker bracelet winners!
Matt Hawrilenko - 2009 WSOP Event #56
Matt Hawrilenko took down WSOP Event #56 to claim his 1st bracelet and a whopping payday of over $1 million. This $5,000 buy-in, 6-handed No-Limit Hold ‘em tournament played out over three intense days of short-handed action, with 928 entrants gunning for the final WSOP bracelet awarded before the start of the Main Event. Full Tilt Poker pros Bill Edler, Ben Roberts and David Chiu were among the 89 players to make the money.
Final-table play moved quickly at first, only to stall for over an hour when the table got down to the final three players. Hawrilenko won a race with A-K versus his opponent’s pocket Queens to take a nearly 2-to-1 chip lead into heads-up play. It was all over four hands later, with Hawrilenko’s pocket Jacks holding up versus his opponent’s A-9 to seal the victory for one of poker’s best young players. With this win, Hawrilenko boosted his career tournament earnings to nearly $1.3 million.
Greg Mueller – 2009 WSOP Event #50
Greg “FBT” Mueller won his second 2009 World Series of Poker bracelet in Event #50, the $1.5K Limit Hold ‘em Shootout tournament. Mueller bested a field of 572 of some of the world’s best players for a payday of over $194K.
Mueller entered heads-up play as chip leader, and over the next two hours the lead swung from player to player. In the final hand, Naalden raised from the button and Mueller called to see a flop of 10-4-3. Mueller called Naalden’s bet and the turn showed a King. Mueller check-raised and Naalden re-raised, pushing all-in with K-2. The Jack on the river secured Mueller’s victory with K-5.
This victory saw Mueller become the second Full Tilt Poker pro to win two bracelets at this year’s Series. Team Full Tilt’s Phil Ivey won Event #8, the $2,5K No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Lowball tournament and Event #25, $2.5K Omaha/Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo, totaling seven bracelets throughout his career.
Greg Mueller - 2009 WSOP Event #33
Greg "FBT" Mueller was crowned the new Limit Hold ‘em World Champion with his win in the 2009 World Series of Poker Event #33, the $10,000 World Championship Limit Hold ‘em tournament. Mueller defeated a field of 185 of some of the world's best players, including Team Full Tilt's Howard Lederer and Jennifer Harman, who both finished the tournament in the money.
Mueller entered final-table play in 5th place with just under 600,000 chips. Fellow Full Tilt Poker pro Matt Hawrilenko was also at the final table, stacked at over 700,000 chips. A gruelling back and forth battle ensued, with almost every player holding the chip lead at one point.
After Hawrilenko busted in 5th place, Mueller built up his chip stack and eventually entered heads-up play with a better than 2-to-1 chip lead against his opponent. It took only seven hands of heads-up play for Mueller to emerge victorious, claiming his 1st WSOP bracelet and more than $460K in prize money. Mueller now has earned more than $1.5 million in career tournament winnings.
Roland de Wolfe - 2009 WSOP Event #27
Roland de Wolfe became only the 2nd player in history to complete poker's so-called "Triple Crown" with his victory in WSOP Event #27, a $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo 8-or-better tournament. He now has one WSOP bracelet, one World Poker Tour title and one European Poker Tour title to go along with nearly $4.5 million in career tournament earnings.
De Wolfe defeated a stacked final table at Event #27 to claim his first bracelet, overcoming a strong push from fellow Full Tilt Poker pros Scott Clements, regarded by many as the top Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo player in the world, and Andy Black. After making his way to three-handed play, Roland managed to knock out the once dominant Clements to take a better than 4-to-1 chip lead into heads-up play. It was all over a few hands later, with de Wolfe winning his 1st WSOP bracelet and more than $245K in prize money.
Phil Ivey - 2009 WSOP Event #25
Phil Ivey claimed his 2nd bracelet of the 2009 WSOP and the 7th of his career by winning Event #25, $2,500 Omaha/Seven-Card Stud Hi/Lo tournament. With this victory, Ivey becomes only the 2nd player of the 2009 WSOP to win multiple bracelets. Already considered by many to be the game's top player, this win cements Ivey's status as one of the world's greatest poker players and a force to be reckoned. He is now amongst an elite group of seven players to have won at least seven WSOP bracelets.
Final-table play began with Ivey sitting on a short stack, but after a few eliminations he made his move and went from short stack to chip leader in a matter of three hands. Facing stiff competition from Full Tilt Poker pro Jon Turner and other top-tier poker players, Ivey bulldozed his way to heads-up play with a sizable chip lead and steadily leaned on his opponent until he'd claimed his 7th bracelet and more than $220K in prize money.
Nick Schulman - 2009 WSOP Event #23
Nick Schulman emerged as the winner of the 2009 WSOP Event #23, the $10,000 No Limit Deuce to Seven Draw World Championship. Already the owner of two World Poker Tour titles, Schulman added his 1st WSOP bracelet and over $275K in prize money with this victory.
Schulman faced what many called the most stacked final table of the 2009 WSOP, which included opponents such as Team Full Tilt's John Juanda, recent bracelet winners Steve Sung and Ville Wahlbeck, and legendary gambler Archie Karas. Schulman ended the tournament in dramatic fashion, showing down 7-5-4-3-2 - the nuts in Deuce to Seven Draw - to send his final challenger to the rail.
Phil Ivey - 2009 WSOP Event #8
Phil Ivey added to his status as one of the world's greatest poker players by claiming the 6th WSOP bracelet of his career in the 2009 WSOP Event #8, a $2,500 No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Lowball tournament. Ivey bested a field of 147 of the world's best players to claim his new piece of hardware and more than $95K in prize money.
Final-table play began with Ivey sitting on a short stack, but after a quick double up he vaulted into the chip lead by winning a massive pot. Ivey entered heads-up play almost even with his opponent, and a back and forth heads-up battle ensued for over three hours. Finally, Ivey dealt a death-blow to his competition by making a 7-low versus his opponent's pair of 7s to claim bracelet number six and add another chapter to his already illustrious career.
Vitaly Lunkin - 2009 WSOP Event #2
Full Tilt Poker pro Vitaly Lunkin claimed his 2nd WSOP bracelet by winning the 2009 WSOP Event #2, the $40,000 buy-in Special 40th Annual No-Limit Hold'em Event. Lunkin defeated 200 runners to claim victory in what many consider to be one of the toughest fields ever assembled for a No-Limit Hold ‘em tournament, taking home more than $1.8 million in prize money.
Lunkin faced stiff competition at the final table, including poker heavyweights Ted Forrest and 2004 WSOP Main Event Champion Greg Raymer. Slowly and steadily chipping his way up throughout the final table, Lunkin captured the title by defeating his heads-up opponent with Pocket Rockets that he played to perfection. Lunkin has now earned more than $3 million in tournament winnings throughout his career and is considered to be one of the top Russian players in the world.
