Mike Sexton Wins the 3rd Annual Tournament of Champions

WSOP Tournament of Champions winner Mike Sexton, spokesman and host for PartyPoker.net. (PRNewsFoto/Partygaming PLC)

The special by-invitation-only tournament offered up a total prize pool of $2 million – including a one-million dollar first-prize. For all 27 players -- the special event cost nothing to enter. All prize money was posted by Harrah’s Entertainment and its corporate partners -- including Sobe Adrenaline Rush (energy drink) and PartyPoker.net (online poker school).

The invited list of players this year included each of the WSOP Circuit Event winners from August 2005 through June 2006 (12 seats). Players who made it to the final table of the 2005 WSOP Main Event were also included (nine seats). The remaining places were filled by individuals selected by Harrah’s Entertainment and its sponsors (six seats). Those players ranged from poker legend and two-time WSOP champion Doyle Brunson, to Sarah Strom, who beat out 100,000 competitors to win sandwich-king Quizno’s special promotional qualifying tournament. However, neither player would survive past the first day.

With so much prize money and bragging rights for one of poker’s most prominent titles up for grabs, ESPN, the leader in sports television, was present to film the entire two-day event for a later broadcast.

Andrew Black arrived as the chip leader, with a commanding 2 to 1 chip lead over his closest rival, Daniel Negreanu. One unfortunate player would be forced to make an unpaid appearance at the final table. Since only the top-nine finishers received prize money, the unlucky tenth-place finisher had the cruel misfortune to make it to a final table, yet walk away penniless.

That unlucky tenth-place finisher turned out to be Gus Hansen, one of poker’s most feared and respected top professionals. “The Great Dane” arrived with the second-lowest stack stick and went out quickly. Despite his success at tournaments elsewhere, Hansen has yet to win a WSOP-related event and seems way overdue for a breakthrough victory. Hansen exited to a round of applause from the crowd and sighs of relief from the remaining nine players, who were guaranteed prize money once the nine finalists were set.

Daniel Bergsdorf was the next player to be eliminated. About an hour into play, the Swede who finished seventh in the WSOP Main Event last year, moved all-in with pocket kings after the flop came J-9-8. Unbeknownst to Bergsdorf, opponent Daniel Negreanu had flopped a monster hand, holding queen-ten -- good for a straight. Bergsdorf failed to improve and finished in ninth place, which paid $25,000.

“At the end, it was necessary to make a move,” Ferguson later explained. “I made a move and got called by a better hand – it’s that simple...I’m not really happy with seventh place, but you can’t win them all.”

Andrew Black, who suffered a brutally disappointing experience at this final table, became the tournament’s next fatality. With his massive chip advantage at the start, Black certainly expected to finish higher than fifth. But he could not overcome the big loss to Negreanu. Black went out on a flush draw with king-nine suited, but missed. Mike Matusow anxiously scooped up and meticulously stacked Black’s final chips, making the mystical Irishman the latest final table outcast. Black’s prize amounted to $100,000.

East Coast poker champion Chris Reslock won the WSOP Circuit Main Event at the Showboat-The Mardi Gras Casino in Atlantic City, held last year. He held tough at the final table, finishing fourth, despite arriving as the player lowest in chips. On his final hand, Reslock was dealt ten-nine and flopped a pair of tens. Daniel Negreanu also flopped a pair of tens, with a king-kicker. The higher side-card played, and Reslock was busted. The former Atlantic City taxi driver rode away with a ‘fare’ amount of cash -- $150,000 for fourth place.

Trickled down to a trio, it was fitting that the three TOC finalists were among the most well-known poker personalities in the world. Although quite different in background and temperament – Mike Sexton, Daniel Negreanu, and Mike Matusow have all captured the public’s imagination and attention in very dissimilar ways. The verbal fireworks that many in the standing-only crowd were anticipating went off almost immediately. Matusow consistently baited his favorite target, Negreanu, which only encouraged a combative and comedic rebuttal more often than not leaving the entire table in stitches. Even the calm and collected Mike Sexton broke up a few times, making it seem like the audience was watching a modern-day performance by poker’s version of “the Rat Pack” rather than an intense multi-million dollar tournament.

After trading chips back and forth for over an hour, the next major confrontation took place when Mike Matusow admittedly made a mental mistake and “slipped.” Matusow’s fateful hand started off innocently enough, with Mike Sexton making a standard raise with pocket sevens. Matusow had A-4 and re-raised all-in. Sexton contemplated his decision for a time and finally decided to call. Judging by the look of despair on his face, Matusow knew he was in trouble. Predictably, the sevens turned out to be lucky for Sexton, and the defending champ was out. Matusow’s share of the prize money amounted to $250,000.

As ESPN cameras rolled in a post-tournament interview, the normally bombastic Matusow reserved his harshest criticism for himself. “I wanted to defend my title so bad,” he said. “It sucks, especially because I am the one who screwed up.”

If Matusow was feeling exhausted as the tournament entered a third unscheduled day, he had no inclination of the unexpected test of mental and physical dexterity that was to befall the two finalists. When heads-up play began, Mike Sexton enjoyed a slight chip lead over Daniel Negreanu – 1,488,000 to 1,212,000. The duo would duel for more than five hours, initially trading the chip lead back and forth. But as the night grew longer and morning came to light, it was Sexton who was both more aggressive and appeared to catch a more favorable run of cards in the tournament’s later stages. As the clock inched toward 4 am, Sexton had improved to a 3 to 1 chip lead and the end seemed eminent.

But poker tournaments are often impossible to predict. One hour later, Negreanu reversed Sexton’s advantage and seized a 3 to 2 chip lead. With all but the most hardcore poker aficionados still conscious, a late break from the action revealed the exceptional desire to win burning within the two former poker champions. Negreanu approached the press table and candidly stated, “Whoever wins this tournament will really have something to be proud of. There has been some great poker played here over the last several hours.”

No one could, or would, dare argue. In fact, it became obvious that both players essentially played mistake-free poker for a total of 17 hours. In the end, one critical yet erratic hand, two cards randomly passed between the arched fingers of two phenomenal players would ultimately make a champion out of one player and the other a heartbroken victim of chance.

That hand took place when Sexton was dealt king-queen. Negreanu was dealt queen-jack (two diamonds). After the flop came K-8-4 with two diamonds, Negreanu (on a diamond flush draw) moved all-in and Sexton (holding top pair) called. Two non-diamond blanks fell on the turn and river, and Sexton regained the chip lead – this time about 4 to 1 over his adversary. Negreanu was unable to recover from that devastating blow.

Then, the clock struck six. With both players visibly weary from the dusk to dawn duel of staying power, the final hand of the TOC was dealt at 6:07 am PST. Negreanu, with queen-jack moved all-in with two overcards and a straight draw after the flop came 10-8-4. Sexton, with pocket aces, could not move his chips into the pot fast enough. An ace on the turn seemed to be a big card for Sexton, but it actually helped Negreanu considerably more. He picked up four additional out (four kings to make a straight). But an eight on the river paired the board, giving Sexton a full house – aces over eights – and his first WSOP-related victory in more than 17 years.

Mike Sexton’s victory was well-deserved for many reasons. Sexton won his only WSOP gold bracelet back in 1989, in the game of seven-card stud eight-or-better. But due to the demands of his celebrity as a poker commentator on television, Sexton has not been able to play in as many tournaments as he would like.

“I am so happy to win,” a choked up Sexton said in a post-victory interview. “To win the million-dollar prize and this title means everything to me. But to be perfectly honest, there is nothing quite like that feeling when you win your first (gold bracelet) at the World Series of Poker. To come back again all these years later and win this tournament, especially against such tremendous competition, in addition to defeating a great champion like Daniel Negreanu after five hours, really makes me proud.”

The win for special for at least one more reason. Back in 1998, long before the current poker craze, Sexton had a grand vision for an exclusive yearly poker tournament which would only feature the greatest poker champions. That tournament, both in name and concept, eventually became the “Tournament of Champions.”