‘FPO Championship’
Level 23 (10,000/20,000/3,000)
Total Entries: 557
Players Remaining: 14
Avg. Chips: 1,197,000
Joe McKeehen (North Wales, PA)
Joe McKeehen was starting to get some traction at Table 1 but in tournament poker, chips can multiply and divide very quickly. The recent World Series of Poker Main Event champion just had the latter happen to his stack, as he ran a bluff on a three-flush, paired board that was picked off by Theo Nerantzinis.
The hand was picked up on a board of {8s}{7s}{4s}{3h}, with Nerantzinis leading out from the blinds for 80,000. McKeehen then quickly raised to 205,000 and after some thought, Nerantzinis called to see the {3c} pair the board on the river. Both players were around the 420,000 mark and after the out of position Nerantzinis checked, McKeehen announced himself “all-in”.
With McKeehen having him slightly covered, Nerantzinis thought for a few moments and then called, an action that got a quick tap of the table from his opponent. McKeehen was conceding defeat, defeat that was confirmed as soon as Theo The Greek turned over {Kh}{8h}. Just top pair was good though, as McKeehen turned over {Qs}{10c} and the rest of the table was in shock, as many thought that he was calling with a much, much stronger hand.
When the stacks were cut down, McKeehen got a 11,000 chip rebate and one the very next hand, Nerantzinis finished what he started and sent the recent World Champ to the rail in 15th place. He’ll make just over $13,500 for his deep FPO Championship run and Theo The Greek is now playing just under 1,500,000.