Top 5 Moments of the World Series of Poker Preliminary Events

Posted by James on September 11, 2008

The 2008 World Series of Poker will be known as the “Year of the Pro.” Many pros won bracelet at this years with one winning his first two bracelets. Below are the top five moments from the 2008 WSOP preliminary events.

#5: Mike Matusow Wins Third Bracelet

The final table of the NL 2-7 Lowball with Rebuys event was one of the strongest in World Series of Poker history. Jeffrey Lisandro, Tony G, Barry Greenstein, Erick Lindgren, Tom Schneider, and Mike Matusow played a final table that went well into the night. Play was up and down all night for Matusow but in the end Matusow was able to outlast Jeffrey Lisandro and take his third World Series of Poker bracelet. For his win, Matusow took home $537,862.

#4: David Benyamine Wins First Bracelet

The final table of the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Low World Championship included several top pros. Tony Ma, Mike Matusow, David Benyamine, David Chiu, Toto Leonidas, Ram Vaswani, and Berry Johnston all were vying for the top honors. Mike Matusow was trying for his second bracelet of the series and made things interesting. In the end David Benyamine weaved his way through the field, taking pots along the way and keeping his stack healthy. Once Mike Matusow was eliminated, Benyamine’s experience took over and by the time play was three handed, Benyamine had around 70% of the chips. Heads-Up play was almost a formality as Benyamine continued to hammer and outdraw his opponent to finally secure his first bracelet. Benyamine took home $535,687 for his win.

#3: Erick Lindgren Finally Breaks Through

Up until 2008, Erick Lindgren was considered the greatest poker player to not have a World Series of Poker bracelet. Lindgren finally shed that title in 2008 when he bested an all star field to take the $5,000 Mixed Holdem event. Lindgren took his first bracelet and the top prize of $374,505. In addition, Lindgren also finished 4th in the NL 2-7 Lowball event and finished 3rd in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event. He had five total cashes for the World Series of Poker and won the Player of the Year Award.

#2: John “Razor” Phan wins two bracelets.

In a heads-up match that saw three hands played “all-in blind”, John Phan emerged with his first bracelet in the $3,000 NL Holdem event. The win netted him $434,789. A few days later, Phan won the 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball event for a prize of $151,911 and his second gold bracelet.

#1: Scotty Nguyen wins the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E Event.

The final table of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event again was a stacked field. Erick Lindgren, Scotty Nguyen, Michael DeMichelle, Matt Glantz, Lyle Berman, Huck Seed, Barry Greenstein, and Patrick Bueno came together after four days of play to try and make their place in history. After a long final table and a long heads up match with Michael DeMichelle, Scotty Nguyen emerged as the winner of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event. This was Nguyen’s fifth bracelet and ranks second to only his 1998 Main Event victory. For his win, Nguyen won the bracelet and $1,989,120.
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