After shaking heads settled and applause died down, the chip counts stood as follows:
Hellmuth -- $ 510,000
Matusow -- $ 320,000
Corkins -- $ 290,000
Now, Matusow was back on his game. He began threatening Hellmuth. “I’m going to bust you … Don’t bluff off all your chips … Philly can’t play.” For the most part, the stoic Corkins stayed out of the war of words during the entire day. Perhaps it was opponents’ respect for the stone faced Alabama cowboy or the simple acknowledgment that no amount of chatter would induce a tilt factor, that persuaded supermouths Hellmuth and Matusow to leave Corkins out of the toxic exchange of insults that continued over ten full hours.
Corkins won a series of small pots, which increased his chip stack to the point where he regained the chip lead. After the merry trio had played for an hour, Corkins had $460,000 to $330,000 for Matusow, and $310,000 for Hellmuth.
Then, disaster struck for Corkins. He moved all-in with a re-raise holding A-4 of hearts. Matusow, with pocket fives, made a heart-wrenching call. When the hole cards were revealed, even Hellmuth had to proclaim, “Great call, Mike.” Corkins made things interesting when he caught a four on the flop, but two successive blanks gave Matusow the biggest pot of the night to that point, and a 3-2 chip lead over his rival Hellmuth.
Just when it looked like Corkins was about to exit, he outfoxed his two opponents and climbed back into contention. It was an amazing display. It took him another hour to regain those lost chips and retake the chip lead. Just as the clock struck midnight, another electrifying moment occurred when Matusow foiled poker’s grim reaper. Holding A-Q, Matusow moved all-in with a re-raise. Corkins, holding A-K called instantly. With a sword at Matusow’s neck, it appeared ‘The Mouth’ would finally be silenced. Yet another miracle happened at this final table in a night filled with jokers. A Queen fell for Matusow on the turn and the crowd went ballistic. All poor Corkins could do was smile and shake his head. That pot lifted Matusow into a decisive chip lead with $700,000. Hellmuth and Corkins were left to battle for the scraps that were left.
Hellmuth sensed the crowd heavily favored Matusow. In a bold public relations move, Hellmuth pledged to buy 30 bottles of Dom Perignon champagne if he won the tournament. At $150 a bottle, that amounted to a $4,500 prize for the audience. So much for poker player allegiances. Suddenly, the crowd started whooping it up for Hellmuth, chanting “Phil! Phil! Phil!” leaving Matusow mystified. Score one for Hellmuth.
After getting punched twice, Corkins was down to his last $150,000. With blinds up to $6,000-$12,000 Corkins had plenty of time left to make his stand. But with Hellmuth and Matusow steadily pounding away, Corkins knew he desperately needed to catch a big hand and double up. He did exactly that. Then, Corkins shifted into overdrive and essentially raised 12 out of the next 15 hands. “I call him ‘Mr. All-In,” Hellmuth described earlier. “Just when I wanted to be the aggressor, Hoyt would move in his chips and I had to (fold).”
The final confrontation almost everyone in the audience had been expecting, anticipating, perhaps even hoping for never materialized. Arguably, no two opponents had more to prove to themselves and the poker world by achieving victory. Mike Matusow, hoped to make the TOC triumph the final chapter in what has been the comeback story of the year. Phil Hellmuth, the runner up in this event last year, not only hoped, but expected to return and earn a victory. If that wasn’t enough, the parents were in attendance. Matusow’s mother and Hellmuth’s father sat proudly in the audience. Add the individual theatrics, that Matusow and Hellmuth are probably the two most controversial personalities in poker, and the final stage was nearly set for a bloody duel that would have left one player with perhaps his most personally satisfying victory, and the other emotionally crushed, crying, and cursing off in a dark corner.
Hoyt Corkins wouldn’t let it happen. Demonstrating an uncanny fortitude for tournament hold’em and raw courage that is easy to glorify but impossible to learn, Corkins regained those lost chips and lots more. When Hellmuth looked down and saw A-Q, he assumed this was the gauntlet hand that would put an end to Corkins’ relentless all-in moves. Hellmuth called Corkins raise instantly and was horrified to see the Dixie cowboy flip over two red Aces. Corkins doubled up on the hand and Hellmuth was left with just over $100,000.
Hellmuth began jumping around the table, declaring that he would “never give up.” Like a kamikaze warrior trapped on a desert island fighting a lost cause, Hellmuth made one last desperate dash to win the poker war. But he was ultimately defeated, thus extinguishing the tempestuous nine-time gold bracelet winner’s final flicker of hope. Hellmuth went out with 10-8 suited against Corkins’ K-5. Neither player caught a pair, and the King-high played.
3rd Place – “I come here to win. Third-place is unacceptable,” Hellmuth declared in a post-tournament interview. “No one remembers who finishes second or third, except for my swearing tirades afterward.”
“I played so great. But, so what? It doesn’t mean anything. The American public doesn’t understand how unlucky I got. I had Hoyt stealing my blinds over and over and just when I have a chance to bust him (with A-Q), he wakes up with Aces. I mean, how unlucky is that?”
When asked about how this year’s third place finish compares with second place last year, Hellmuth replied, “This year is far more frustrating. I had to listen to all this B.S. (talking), and still I overcame it. But I could not overcome the bad luck…..I never had my chips all-in at any point, except late. I played perfect poker. Great poker is not moving all-in every time. The public doesn’t understand that.”
Hellmuth was asked about the two confrontations with Matusow and DanneNmann. “No one should have to put up with that at a final table,” Hellmuth declared. This is not Worldwide Wrestling.”
About Dannenmann, Hellmuth said: “I forgive him for that outburst. He is not experienced in tournaments and hasn’t played much at this level. I still shook his hand because there’s nothing personal about it (the conflict).”
Phil Hellmuth, the former world champion and nine-time gold bracelet winner collected $250,000 for third place.
The heads-up duel between Mike Matusow and Hoyt Corkins started off with Matusow holding a decisive three to one chip advantage. But Corkins would prove to be an incessant thorn in Matusow’s backside. With Hellmuth out of the room, the banter ceased and the poker became more serious. Amazingly, Corkins seemed to read Matusow perfectly every time, and knew exactly when to make a bold move with a raise. After 30 minutes of heads-up play, the two gladiators were locked into a virtual dead-heat.
The final hand came out of nowhere. After a series of hands where one player tried to steal with a big raise and the other player moving all-in (resulting in a fold), Corkins decided to make his final stand on a semi-bluff. Corkins was dealt Q-10. Matusow was dealt K-9. The flop came K-J-4. Matusow made a large bet and Corkins moved all-in. Matusow called. Corkins was on an outside straight draw. Matusow had top pair. Two blanks fell on the turn and river and Matusow won the $1,110,000 pot with a pair of Kings.
2nd Place – There’s no question that Hoyt Corkins got lucky a few times early at the final table. It’s just as certain that Corkins has a unique talent for playing a short-stack and intimidating opponents, even great players. Corkins was down to the felt at least two times and staged a roaring comeback each time. Perhaps had he filled the straight on the final hand, Corkins would have proudly lofted the TOC trophy. As it turns out, Hoyt Corkins had to settle for $325,000 and runner-up status.
1st Place -- Mike Matusow’s win might very well be the greatest comeback story in poker history. It’s certainly the greatest story since the late Stu Ungar’s stunning victory at the 1997 World Series of Poker, after a 16-year hiatus. Matusow was broke and isolated from the poker world last January. Surrounded by only a few close friends and family, Matusow never gave up on himself. When afforded an opportunity to enter the 2005 World Series of Poker, Matusow registered and nearly eliminated himself on the first day (Note: He was given 40-minutes worth of timeouts for inappropriate conduct). Remarkably, Matusow survived amongst a record-field of 5,618 other players and went on to make it all the way to the final table. He busted out ninth, but managed to earn $1 million. The money was gone shortly thereafter.
Back to where he started, Matusow entered the TOC on a freeroll, having qualified via his WSOP appearance. He raced into the chip lead on Day One, but ended up trailing Phil Hellmuth (and later Hoyt Corkins) most of the way. In the end, Matusow overcame several downswings and waited for opportune moments, making possibly the biggest tournament win of Matusow’s life.
“I knew I was up against great players at this final table,” The two-time WSOP gold bracelet winner said afterward. “This table had the greatest poker I have ever been exposed to. I’ve never seen or been involved in poker played at this level.”
Matusow was sentimental about the significance of the victory. “This is the greatest moment of my life,” Matusow said. “All the disappointments I’ve had. All the bad beats. All the bad decisions. This win means everything to me.”
Note: All content in this report may be re-printed by media.
Official Report by Nolan Dalla – World Series of Poker Media Director
Caesars Poker Room Manager – Michael Matts
Tournament Director – Robert Daily
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