In 2008, the world record for the youngest-ever world champion was broken after 19 long years. In 1989, 24-year-old Phil Hellmuth changed the course of poker’s future when he toppled Johnny Chan for $755,000 at Binion’s Horseshoe. Almost two decades later, his record was broken as a 22-year-old took the title for $9.15m at The Rio.
Early Records Set by New Names in the Game
There was a new record-breaker in Las Vegas as Russian player Nikolay Evdakov recorded 10 cashes in the same WSOP – without reaching a single final table – a clear leader in this field after the previous best of eight cashes was jointly held by legends Chris Ferguson, Phil Hellmuth, Humberto Brenes, Michael Binger, and Chad Brown. There were 58 events on the schedule in 2008 – another record increase.
Talking of final tables, Phil Hellmuth reached another two, bringing his total of final table appearances to 41, going past the previous record holder T. J. Cloutier. Scotty Nguyen won the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E World Championship to add to his 1998 Main Event title – the first and only player to claim bracelets in both those events.
As the WSOP had expanded, the number of nations that celebrated having a bracelet winner increased. Alexandre Gomes won Brazil’s first bracelet, Rob Hollink delivered for Dutch fans to rejoice for the first time, while Davidi Kitai landed Belgium’s debut gold. There was a two-time winner in John Phan, who won bracelets in the $3,000-entry No-Limit Hold’em event and the $2,500 buy-in Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw Lowball event. Another player, Jesper Hougaard, scored two for Denmark, although only one came in Las Vegas ($1,500 No-Limit Hold’em) as one arrived in England (£1,500 No-Limit Hold’em). Hougaard became the first player to win a bracelet at both the WSOP in Las Vegas and WSOP Europe.
Other Firsts at the 2008 World Series
As in so many sports, expansions in the game give previously marginalized members of the industry more opportunities to succeed. Poker was no different in 2008, as trailblazers caught fire. Women have recently made up just 5% of the poker field, but in 2008, as today, they have proved that female players are among the best in the world.
Back in the 2008 WSOP, American player Vanessa Selbst won her first bracelet in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event and that began a surge of form for the lawyer-turned-poker player. Now officially retired from the game, having become both a parent and a hedge fund manager, Selbst was arguably one of the best players in the world at this point, and her victory helped inspire millions of female players to take up the game.
There was a quirky double win as both Grant and Blair Hinkle became the first pair of siblings to win WSOP bracelets in the same year. Grant took down the $1,500-entry No Limit Hold’em event for $831,279 just over a week before Blair won the $2,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event for $507,613.
A Long Time Coming
In 2008, a record that had been standing for 19 years was broken, but before even coming to that particular point of trivia, another two landmarks were reached. The Main Event kicked off with 6,844 participants, a total only improved in 2006 when Jamie Gold struck gold. This year, however, there was a big difference. For the first time, as soon as the final nine players were reached, play would be suspended for over three months, to return on November 9 for the … ‘November Nine’, where the final table would play down. The change was introduced at the request of the TV coverage provider ESPN to allow for a ‘same day’ broadcast.
The final nine were dramatic enough, but perhaps the best single hand in Main Event history also took place in 2008. In an amazing hand that was filmed largely because Ray Romano had just arrived to play at the table, Justin Phillips knocked out Motoyuki Mabuchi in sensational circumstances. Mabuchi made quad aces on the river but, in an incredible turn of events, lost to Phillips’ Royal Flush, which was completed with the same card. It’s unlikely we’ll ever see a repeat of the hand, with the odds of it happening one in 2.7 billion, according to WSOP commentator Lon McEachern.
Plenty of big names took part in the Main Event, with players such as Doyle Brunson, Jason Alexander, Bruce Buffer, and Larry Flynt all busting early. A devilish 666 players made the money places, and some of the very best ran deep. Phil Hellmuth made it to 45th place, cashing for $154,400, while women performed superbly, with Kara Scott (104th for $41,816) and Tiffany Michelle (17th for $334,534) both running deep.
Young at Heart
The latter stages of the 2008 Main Event were very late – nearly four months late, in fact. Coming back in November, all nine finalists had been previously paid the amount for ninth place. Then, if they finished any higher at the final table, they were given the balance. All that meant that everyone arrived at the final table $900,670 better off.
Only two players at the final table hailed from outside North America, and they ended up facing off for the title. In total, it took 15 hours and 28 minutes of play to find a champion, setting a new record for the longest-ever final table. Instead of the action taking place in the Amazon Room at The Rio, the action was staged in the Penn and Teller Theatre. On November 9, play went from nine to two and the next night saw the final heads-up match play out.
Across 274 hands, the action came to a conclusion, with Craig Marquis and Kelly Kim both busting first. Next to go was David ‘Chino’ Rheem, who won $1.77 million in seventh place before two Canadians, Darus Suharto (6th for $2.41m) and Scott Montgomery (5th for $3.09m) left the event. Ylon Schwartz made it to fourth for $3.79m before Dennis Phillips’ elimination in third for $4.51m set the heads-up match.
Denmark’s Peter Eastgate led with around 60% of the chips as Russian player Ivan Demidov tried to upset the odds. In truth, it was mostly one-way battle, with the 22-year-old Eastgate hoping to overtake the 1989 champion Phil Hellmuth as the youngest-ever winner. Bullying Demidov, Eastgate built a 7:1 chip lead before both players limped to a flop of K-2-3. Eastgate bet with ace-five and Demidov called, having hit bottom pair with a 2-4. The turn was a disaster for the Russian as he made two-pair with the four, the same card that gave Eastgate a wheel.
With a blank river of a seven, Demidov moved all-in and Eastgate had the easiest call, turning over his winning straight and collecting a top prize of over $9.15 million, as Demidov had to make do with $5.8m.
The record for the youngest-ever WSOP world champion had taken 19 years to break. Within 12 months, it would be broken once again…
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Peter Eastgate | Denmark | $9,152,416 |
| 2nd | Ivan Demidov | Russia | $5,809,595 |
| 3rd | Dennis Phillips | United States | $4,517,773 |
| 4th | Ylon Schwartz | United States | $3,774,974 |
| 5th | Scott Montgomery | Canada | $3,096,768 |
| 6th | Darus Suharto | Canada | $2,418,562 |
| 7th | Chino Rheem | United States | $1,772,650 |
| 8th | Kelly Kim | United States | $1,288,217 |
| 9th | Craig Marquis | United States | $900,670 |
2007 WSOP Main Event 2009 WSOP Main Event
About the Author: Paul Seaton has written about poker for over 10 years, interviewing some of the best players ever to play the game such as Daniel Negreanu, Johnny Chan and Phil Hellmuth. Over the years, Paul has reported live from tournaments such as the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas and the European Poker Tour. He has also written for other poker brands where he was Head of Media, as well as BLUFF magazine, where he was Editor.