WSOP 2013 - Event #8: Eight-Game Mix - Result

[The Fox]

Buy-in: $2,500
Prizepool: $882,700
Entries: 388
Remaining: 192



Crain Leads Day 1; Bloch, Seiver & Lindgren Bag Respectable Stacks


Nearly nine hours ago Event #8 $2,500 Eight-Game Mix of the 2013 World Series of Poker kicked off as 388 players packed the White Section of the Pavilion Room for eight levels of play. By the end of the night, approximately 192 remained with Eric Crain and his stack of 69,925 leading the way.

The turnout was down from last year's 477—not too surprising considering all the events taking place at the Rio over the weekend—but there was still a sizeable prize pool of $882,700 up for grabs. That will be distributed to the top 40 finishers with a healthy $225,104 reserved for the eventual winner.

So how did the jovial Crain get all his chips? Well some of them came in Level 3 off a mistake that happened while playing no limit hold'em. It took place on Table 101 on a flop of with 1,400 already in the pot. Crain, who was in the hijack, check-called a bet of 725 from the player in the cutoff. After the dealer burned and turned the , Crain checked and the cutoff bet 1,375.

Crain splashed out some chips in an attempt to raise, but it wasn't enough to constitute a legal one. Instead it was counted as a call and the was put out on the river. Crain checked for a third time and watched his opponent bet 2,350.

"I was trying to raise the turn," Crain explained before calling and tabling the for a pair of aces. His opponent seemed a bit disgusted and mucked his cards.

Obviously not everyone was as fortunate as Crain. Among those to hit the rail were Jennifer Harman, Mike Matusow, Matt Glantz, Alexander Kostritsyn, Daniel Negreanu, Brian Hastings, Jason Mercier, Barry Greenstein and last year's champ David "ODB" Baker.

The exact details surrounding Baker's demise escaped us, but we do know that he was crippled by Allen Kessler, who had made a flush on a board in a hand of Stud in Level 7. A few minutes later Baker was dispatched while playing the same game against Thomas "Thunder" Keller, who you may remember as the man who defeated Martin De Knijff heads up in the 2004 WSOP Event #13 $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em for $382,020. We're not sure of Baker's hand but we do know Keller had made an ace-high diamond flush.

Last year's champ may have fallen, but last year's runner-up, Greg "FBT" Mueller, managed to survive with 20,200. Could he possibly redeem himself and finish one spot better? The possibility still exists.

Others still in contention for the top prize are Neal Friets (50,425), Marco Johnson (46,825), Kai Chang (44,150), Andy Bloch (36,525), Kyle Bowker (36,000), Scott Seiver (35,275), Erick Lindgren (34,825), Paul Volpe (28,400) and Phil Ivey (18,550), just to name a few.

The remaining players will return for Day 2 action on Monday at 2 p.m. PST. They'll be playing in the Amazon Room, and of course the PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be there to bring you all the action straight from the tournament floor.
6/3/2013 2:19:43 AM PST (about 1 hours and 9 minutes ago)

Notable End of the Night Chip Counts


Here some notable stack sizes as the players call it a night.
Eric Crain 69,925 0
Michael Malm 61,800
Neal Friets 50,425 50,425
Marco Johnson 46,825 9,825
Kai Chang 44,150 44,150
Zimnan Ziyard 42,475
Andy Bloch 36,525 8,025
Kyle Bowker 36,000 36,000
Scott Seiver 35,275 275
Erick Lindgren 34,825 12,825
Amnon Filippi 34,300 -700
Josh Arieh 33,800 20,800
Joe Cassidy 30,400 30,400
Eric Buchman 29,725 29,725
Paul Volpe 28,400 -7,600
Chris Reslock 26,550 -6,450
Chad Brown 24,125 10,625
Robert Mizrachi 22,175 19,575
Andrey Zaichenko 20,475 2,475
Greg Mueller 20,200 1,700
Christian Harder 20,075 8,075
Phil Ivey 18,550 1,550
David Williams 16,900 3,600
Jeff Lisandro 16,500 3,500
Chris Bell 16,225 16,225
Justin Bonomo 16,025 -3,975
Nick Schulman 15,600 8,300
Gavin Griffin 15,575 -5,925
Allen Kessler 14,725 0
Justin Smith 13,125 7,650
Fabrice Soulier 12,250 5,250
Todd Brunson 11,525 -5,475
Kathy Liebert 10,900 -100
Vanessa Selbst 9,675 -4,325
Matt Colvin 8,675 8,675
Greg Raymer 2,275 -7,725

[The Fox]

Congratulations to Michael Malm, Winner of Event #8: $2,500 Eight-Game Mix ($225,104)!


Michael Malm - Champion

The 8th event of the 2013 World Series of Poker is officially in the books. After three grueling days of mixed game play, it was Michael Malm who rose above the star-studded field to claim the title, the gold WSOP bracelet, and the $225,104 in first-place prize money.

Malm's story proves the old adage that is so frequently spoken at the WSOP that "Anyone can win,". Malm, who recently chopped a Daily DeepStack tournament here at the WSOP, was going to register for another but found himself too late. Registration for this event, however, was still open. He decided to hop in and give it a go. Little did he know three days ago that he would be the one to rise above some of the top professional mixed game players in the world and earn himself his first WSOP championship.

The third and final day of Malm's journey began with a grand total of 19 runners returning to the felt. One by one the professional players began to hit the rail. The likes of Josh Arieh, Robert Mizrachi, Chris Reslock, Randy Ohel, and Chris Tryba all fell before the final table was reached. Travis Pearson became the official final table bubble boy during a hand of No-Limit Hold'em where he lost a coin flip to Eric Crain in dramatic fashion.

Marco Johnson was eliminated in eighth place just a few hands later when his ace-king was outdone by last year's runner-up Greg Mueller's ace-queen. Shorty thereafter, Mike Wattel was also slain by Mueller and had to settle for a seventh place finish.

The next casualty came just a few mere moments later when Crain made a wheel in Omaha Eight-or-Better to bust Dario Alioto in sixth place. Michael Hurey was next to follow when he ran into Steven Wolansky's pocket aces in limit hold'em.

The final four played for quite some time before Crain found himself the fourth-place finisher. The last casualty before heads up play was none other than last year's runner-up Mueller. Mueller was looking to improve on his finish and clinch the bracelet, but was unfortunately forced to settle for third place after a hand of limit hold'em resulted in his demise.

Malm and Wolansky began heads up play virtually even in chips and it was actually Wolansky who was the first to pull away. Wolansky had Malm down to just around two big bets at one point. After a key double up and a a grueling few levels of play, the match finally came to a head during a pot-limit omaha round. After a preflop all in, Malm was able to make the nut flush on the river and clinch the bracelet, eliminating Wolansky in second place in the process.

Final Table Payouts
Place Player Prize
1 Michael Malm $225,104
2 Steven Wolansky $139,034
3 Greg Mueller $89,673
4 Eric Crain $64,975
5 Michael Hurey $47,771
6 Dario Alioto $35,634
7 Mike Wattel $26,966
8 Marco Johnson $20,699

PokerNews extends its congratulations to Malm on his spectacular run and first WSOP victory. Be sure to stay tuned to our Live Reporting page as we continue to provide live updates from the tournament floor of the WSOP!
6/5/2013 3:56:23 AM PST (about 1 days and 1 hours ago)

Steven Wolansky Eliminated in 2nd Place ($139,034)


Steven Wolansky - 2nd Place

Pot-Limit Omaha

Michael Malm limped on the button. Steven Wolansky raised to 90,000 and Malm replied by raising pot. Wolansky moved all in and Malm called.

Wolansky paired up on the flop but Malm was adamantly cheering for a diamond. Wolansky made two pair on the turn when the hit, but it was all for naught as the struck the river and gave Malm the nut flush for the win. Wolansky was eliminated in 2nd place and will collect $139,034 for his efforts.