Joe Cada Wins World Series of Poker Main Event
The World Series of Poker Main Event has finally been brought to a close and the final heads up battle between Darvin Moon and, 21 year old, Joe Cada turned out to provide far more excitement than many had anticipated.
Heads up play began around 10:30pm PST after a congratulatory ceremony for the other seven final table finishers and as soon as play began there were indications this could prove to be an exciting heads up encounter. With the first board reading 3s Ks 2d Ad after plenty of raising on the flop, Cada checked and Moon fired 10 million into the pot – Cada called instantly and the Kc fell on the river. Both players checked and Moon showed pocket queens which were good enough to take the pot against Cada’s nines.
This early takedown seemed to spur Moon on and he pressed the opportunity to steamroll through every pot. Every time Cada tried to play back, it seemed Moon had enough to come right back over the top. It seemed Cada was struggling to pick his spots and the old adage that the most aggressive player would usually come out on top during heads up play was proving to be accurate.
The turning point finally came when Cada had had enough of being bullied off every pot by Moon and decided to make a stand. Cada raised to 3 million from the button and Moon called. The flop came 10c 5d 9h and both players checked. The turn came 10d and Moon checked again. Cada led out for 3 million and Moon announced almost immediately that he was all in. Moon now had Cada covered so this was a decision to be made for all his chips. After a couple of minutes deliberation, Cada made the call and showed Jh 9d for 2 pair. Moon showed 7s 8s for the open ended straight draw and would need either a jack or a six to claim the title. The atmosphere was tense as their was a long pause for the river to be dealt which came as the 3h – Cada’s 2 paid held and he was back up to 108 million in chips for the chip lead.
Cada managed to galvanise his position as the chip leader not long after when he hit 2 pair on a 10d Ks 7h 8h 9d board with his 9c 10c putting the stacks at 120.1 million – Cada and 74.7 million – Moon.
Just 8 hands after the double up Cada managed to deal the final blow he had been looking for. Cada raised to 3 million from the button and Moon re-raised 5 million more. Cada re-checked his cards and announced that he was all in. Moon checked his cards again and made the call. Cada flipped over 9c 9d and Moon had Qd Jd.
The crowd went wild with Cada and Moon’s respective supporters all calling for cards to come. The anticipation was great as everyone knew this could be the final hand of the main event. Each player had roughly a 50% chance of winning the hand, essentialy making this a $3.3m coin flip for Cada.
The flop came 8c 2c 7s putting Cada only 2 cards away from the most prestigious prize in the world of poker. The pressure was too much for Cada who was over in the stands with his railing support. The Kh peeled off on the turn, a face card providing a fleeting scare before team Cada recognised it as being safe.
The river fell as the 7c, not the queen or jack needed by Darvin Moon to keep him in the tournament and the room erupted in another wave of celebration as Joe Cada was crowned the youngest ever WSOP Main Event champion.
