One of the most famous and respected poker player in the world has finally achieved what he has been chasing for years. In Event#48: $2,500 Limit Hold’em (Six Handed), Marco Johnson defeated long time poker pro Jeff Thompson in battle heads up to grab the bracelet and a payday of $206,796. This is Johnson’s first career bracelet and not only him but everyone in the audience was equally happy when he grabbed the title. He finished as runner-up in the same event last year.
Maria Ho, the only female player in the final six started her final day as the chip leader. She played her game aggressively but instead of strengthening her chip stack, her game left her with a smaller stack with every hand she entered. Finally her K,9 proved to be weaker in front of Juha Helppi’s J,7 and she got busted at sixth place. Players who followed Ho in no time were Mike Schiffman for fifth place and Danny Warchol for fourth place.
None of the remaining three was in a mood to give up neither any of them made a loose move. The game continued for more than an hour before the elimination of Helppi at third place. His pocket 4’s failed in front of Thompson’s pocket J’s. The board didn’t helped him either as it opened up as K,5,2,Q,7.
Johnson and Thompson were left to battle it out between them for the glory. Johnson’s chip stack was almost double of Thompson’s and he made full use of it. On the final hand his A,5 made him a winner against Thompson’s A,6 as board favored him with a five in the draw.
Earlier we have seen famous poker player David “Bakes” Baker and Mike Watson falling short of making it to the final table.
Final Table Result of Event#48
| Rank | Player | Prize Money |
| 1. | Marco Johnson | $206,796 |
| 2. | Jeff Thompson | $127,801 |
| 3. | Juha Helppi | $82,956 |
| 4. | Danny Warchol | $55,457 |
| 5. | Mike Schiffman | $38,095 |
| 6. | Maria Ho | $26,858 |