Legens Of Poker Recap

After all the excitement in Vegas wraps up in mid-July, it is another month before what many players see as the start of the poker circuit season begins at the Bicycle Casino in August. The Legends of Poker, though not the official start of anything, is a fresh start for many in the world of live poker tournaments.

For John Phan, it turned out to be something totally different. Phan had an exceptionally successful World Series of Poker in 2008, claiming 2 bracelets. Before WSOP Main Event play could even get down to the final nine, Phan was back in action over at the Bellagio Cup World Poker Tour event, working his way towards a televised final table appearance and a 5th place finish.

So for Phan a fresh start wasn’t as much what he was looking for as keeping the ball rolling on an impressive run. He was able to do that (plus some) by winning the Legends of Poker WPT event for a prize of $1,116,428. With the WPT title and a few bracelets all in the last couple of months, Phan has continued to solidify his place among the top tier of players in the game.

With only 373 players turning out for the Legends main event, Phan had a smaller field to work through than many of the other WPT champions, but smaller doesn’t necessarily mean easier. Towards the end, Phan ran into some stiff competition and had to rely on a combination of skill, timing and just plain luck to overcome his opponents.

Amit Makhija took the chip lead early on day four and held it all the way to the final table. Makhija seemed to be playing almost flawlessly, accumulating chips steadily without ever putting his stack in serious jeopardy. His solid play continued right up to the end, when he found himself with the chip lead going into the heads-up battle with Phan. At one point Makhija was one card away from eliminating Phan, but John hit on the river to double up and continue what turned out to be a memorably heads up battle.

Along with Makhija, there were some other serious contenders deep in the Legends of Poker. While Makhija took the runner-up spot, Zachary Clark finished in third. Zach, known as “CrazyZachary” online, is new to the live tournament poker scene, but not new to the game. His relation to legendary poker player Chip Reese added storylines to an already interesting final table, and his poker pedigree more than held water as he worked his way to the top of the field over five days of tournament play.

Kyle Wilson was the first out at the final table, but his experience and proven skill in high-stakes cash games made him one of the favorites going into the last day. Wilson was eliminated early on, a victim of the nasty side of poker. Clark had raised over the top of an aggressive John Phan’s opening bet and Wilson moved in from behind. After Phan folded, Clark was getting the odds to call and reluctantly did so with his Ace-Jack. Wilson showed pocket kings and was in great shape to double up to over two million chips, which would have placed him among the chip leaders. Instead, an ace hit the board and Kyle was left shaking his head with a 6th place finish.

For Phan, the World Poker Tour season is off to a roaring start. Two tournaments, two final tables, one victory. For everyone else… well, Borgata starts in just a few weeks.