2008 WPT Festa Al Lago Classic Final Table Recap
by Chad Holloway of Predictem.com
On October 26, 2008, the final six players, who managed to survive a massive field of 368-players, battled for the World Poker Tour’s Festa Al Lago Classic title. The final six players and their chip counts were:
Seat 1 – Will Mietz – 1,400,000
Seat 2 – Osmin “Oddie” Dardon – 2,070,000
Seat 3 – Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier – 6,420,000
Seat 4 – Nam Le – 2,275,000
Seat 5 – Adam “Roothlus” Levy – 1,370,000
Seat 6 – Nenad Medic – 3,025,000
Play began with 50,000-100,000 blinds and a 10,000 ante. The first casualty occurred when Grospellier raised to 260,000 and Mietz called from the big blind. The flop came 9s 7s 4d and both players checked. The turn was the 9d, when Mietz checked; Grospellier bet 360,000 and Mietz check raised all in for 1,075,000. Grospellier called with just ace high (Ac 10s), but surprisingly it was good against the king high of Mietz (Kd 10h). The river was the 9h, eliminating Mietz in sixth place, earning him $186,510.
A little later on, Grospellier was under the gun and raised to 265,000 and Levy moved all in for 2.4 million. When the action folded to Grospellier, he snap called with Qs Qd. Levy held Ac 9h and received no help when the board came Ks 3c 2d Qh 7s and he was eliminated in fifth place, earning $266,445 for his efforts. After Levy’s elimination, Dardon went all in a few times and increased his stack by about 35%, making the players chip counts:
Seat 2- Osmin “Oddie” Dardon – 2,705,000
Seat 3- Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier – 10,700,000
Seat 4- Nam Le – 1,710,000
Seat 6- Nenad Medic – 1,445,000
Grospellier, who was in the big blind, continued rolling over the table when he called Medic’s 1.3 million all-in from the button. Medic held pocket sixes but became an underdog when Grospellier’s Ks Jd improved on the flop. The final board read Jc 9c 3d 2d 5h and Medic was eliminated in fourth place, earning $373,010. After the elimination, the remaining players were in the following position:
Seat 2: Osmin “Oddie” Dardon – 1,880,000
Seat 3: Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier – 13,375,000
Seat 4: Nam Le – 1,305,000
Grospellier, who had a massive chip lead, shoved from the button and Le insta-called from the small blind showing Ah Jc. Grospellier was trying to steal with the 8s 3h and doubled Le up to around 2.7 million when the board came Qs Qd 9s 4h 6d. Dardon then doubled through Grospellier when he moved all-in from the small blind with the Qs Jh. Although Grospellier’s Ad 4c was ahead, it wasn’t enough to win the 3.45 million pot when the board came Kd Js 6c 10h 3c, giving Dardon the nut straight. Dardon later claimed the chip lead when he raised to 400,000 and Grospellier called from the small blind. The board read As Qd 5d 7h 7s when Grospellier bet 160,000 and was raised to 860,000 by Dardon. Grospellier called and lost when Dardon showed A-10 to win the pot. Dardon’s lead didn’t last long as the three remaining players battled and fluctuated in chips. Eventually, Grospellier raised to 330,000 on the button, causing Le to fold from the small blind. Dardon re-raised to 1,130,000, and
Grospellier moved all-in. After a few seconds, Dardon said, “That’s a move,” and called with As Jc. Grospellier revealed the 10c 2c and Dardon began to celebrate. However, the board came 9c 4s 2s 9d 3h and Dardon was eliminated in third place, pocketing $506,245. Heads-up play began with the following chips counts:
Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier – 15,635,000
Nam Le – 925,000
Le managed to double up on each of the next two hands, but on the third hand he was all-in and in trouble with the Ad Qh against Grospellier’s 10s 10h. The board came 10d 7s 6s 9h Ks and Le was eliminated in second place, earning $943,215, while Grospellier won his second major tournament of 2008 and the $1,411,015 first-place prize.
