Thang Luu Wins Event #3 and Earns His Second WSOP Bracelet

WSOP by pokerguru on June 2, 2009

If you are an Omaha Hi-Low player, Thang Luu is a name that you never want to hear has just been seated at your table. His reputation as one of the world’s best Omaha players was solidified further on Sunday night when he won his second WSOP Omaha Hi-Low bracelet. It is a rare occasion that a player can defend a WSOP championship, but he has done exactly that.

Earlier in the tournament, he jokingly made a comment that the bracelet for the winner was exactly like the one he had on his wrist, except that there was a 9 where there was an 8 on his. Unfortunately for the other players, they will never get to see it since he has both of them on his wrist now.

The final hand of the tournament had Luu in heads up action against Ed Smith. Smith tried to get in cheap and Luu was having none of it. He made a raise that had Smith all but committed for his stack. After a flop of Q54, Luu made a bet that would have all of Smith’s chips in the middle and now the turn and river would decide his fate. When the cards were turned, Luu was ahead with top pair and there was little hope of Smith catching up. A 5h and a 10d sealed his fate and Luu had seemingly done the impossible and repeated at the Omaha Hi-Low champion.

In other tournaments…
Event #4 finished up its second day as Day 1b concluded with about 700 players left remaining from the field of 6012. The third day of action will continue through late Monday night and should continue to move quickly as they are already into the money. The top 621 players will cash.

The Champions Invitational initially seemed like it was going to be like a bunch of buddies sitting around to play cards on a Friday night, but that tone quickly changed as everyone competitive nature took over. As of this posting, they are down to the final three with McEvoy holding a 2:1 chip advantage over the rest of the table.

Event 5, the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha tournament started to day with 809 people making it to the felt. The top 71 players will be paid and as of this posting, they were already down to 198. Chip counts were not currently available, but we should have more information in our overnight report.

The World Championship of 7 Cards Stud, Event #6 $10,000 buy in, also started today. The field was rather small with only 142 players going after the coveted title. As the tournament is just getting started, there are no significant updates to report, but more information will be posted on the overnight summary.