2014 WSOP Main Event Final Table Quiz

Answer: Mark Newhouse

Mark Newhouse did what most people thought could not be done considering the field sizes of the main event now, he made back to back final tables. In 2013 the field was 6,352 players and in 2014 it was 6,683 players. In 2013, Newhouse was a short stack and as expected got knocked out in ninth place relatively early. When he registered for the 2014 main event (ME) he swore he would not finish 9th again but fate was not on his side. Even though he entered the final table third in chips, he was yet again knocked out in ninth place.

The odds that Newhouse would make back to back final tables were 524,079 to 1. According to EPSN Poker, the odds of Newhouse getting struck by lightning in any two year period were better than what he did (480,000 to 1 according to the National Weather Service per ESPN). Newhouse is the first person to make back to back final tables in the modern era of poker (since the ME fields increased to over 1,000 players in 2004). The odds of Newhouse finishing ninth in consecutive years are an astronomical 42.5 million to 1, according to "Card Player Online".

Newhouse won $730,725 in 2014 and $733,224 in 2013.

Answer: Dan Harrington

At the cusp of the modern era of poker, Dan Harrington accomplished this feat. He was at the final table that Chris Moneymaker won ushering in the poker boom and then again made the final table the following year when the Moneymaker Effect was in its beginning stages. Incredibly Harrington had won the ME in 1995 and followed that up with these two final tables. In 1995 there were 273 players and Dan won $1,000,000. By 2003 the field had grown to 839 players and Dan finished third, winning $650,000. In 2004 the field exploded to 2,576 players with Dan finishing fourth and won $1,500,000. Dan's accomplishment of back to back final tables was cited numerous times in the coverage of this year's ME as Newhouse made his run.

Harrington is also a popular poker author with his "Harrington on Hold'em" series and his "Harrington on Cash Games" series.

Answer: Bruno Politano

Several Brazilian players in the past have come close to making the final table but Politano was the first. He brought 150 supporters from Brazil with him and they were a boisterous bunch. Unfortunately for the group Bruno was knocked out in eighth place when he pushed all-in with QsTc and was called by Felix Stephensen who held 7s7c.

The board ran out 2d4cJh4hJc and Politano did not improve. Politano won $947,172.

Answer: Dan Sindelar

Prior to this year's main event, Dan Sindelar had been an online cash game player and then played mainly cash games in Vegas. Although unknown to the public he is known within the poker community. Sindelar dropped out of college his junior year to pursue poker full-time and has lived in Vegas since 2008.

He entered the final table fifth in chips. He was knocked out when Jorryt van Hoof's Ah3h cracked his pocket jacks. Sindelar pushed all-in and Jorryt called because he was pot committed. The board ran out 7h2hAd3dQs sending Sindelar to the rail in seventh for $1,236,084.

Answer: Andoni Larrabe

Andoni Larrabe was the youngest player at this year's final table at 22. Larrabe splits his time between London, where he can play online, and Vegas where he plays cash games. Larrabe entered the final table fourth in chips. Larrabe was another victim of Jorryt van Hoof. Larrabe pushed all-in with JcTc and was called by van Hoof holding Kh5h.

The board ran out 8d3hKs8h6d ending Larrabe's main event in sixth place for $1,622,471.

Answer: Billy Pappas

William Pappaconstantinou or Billy Pappas as he is better known has been winning major foosball championships since 2005. On the Wikipedia page entitled "List of world table football champions" his name is listed seven times.

This was Pappas' first time playing the main event. He entered the final table in sixth chip position but was able to chip up and ended up finishing fifth for $2,143,794. He was crippled in a coin-flip with Martin Jacobson when he called Jacobson's all-in. Jacobson held pocket fives (5s5c) and Pappas held AdJh. A five hit on the flop ending the suspense pretty quickly. The board was Qs6c5d7c2d. The hand did not knock Pappas out but it crippled him and van Hoof finished him off on the next hand when Pappas' pocket sevens could not out run van Hoof's pocket jacks.

Answer: William Tonking

Mark Newhouse and William Tonking got tangled up in hand 56 of the final table and fireworks ensued. Newhouse called a van Hoof raise holding ThTc and Tonking three bet from the small blind holding QdQc. Van Hoof folded while Newhouse called and the flop came 2d4cJh. Tonking continuation bet with Newhouse calling. The 4h came on the turn and Tonking led out again with Newhouse calling. The river saw the Jc. This time Tonking checked and Newhouse pushed all-in. Tonking thought for a few moments before calling and knocking Newhouse out in ninth place for the second year in a row.

Tonking would himself fall when he ran his pocket twos into Jacobson's pocket tens. Neither improved and Tonking was gone in fourth place for $2,849,763.

Answer: Jorryt van Hoof

Jorryt van Hoof came into the final table with 38,375,000 chips or 19% of the chips in play. He dominated the table until it got down to three handed when things began to fall apart. In his final hand he raised with Ad5d and Jacobson three bet holding AsTc. Jorryt thought for a little bit before pushing all-in and was snapped called by Jacobson. The flop was 5s2hTh pairing each players' non-Ace. The turn was the Qc and the river was the Qs. Jorryt went out third and won $3,807,753.

Answer: Felix Stephensen

Felix Stephensen parlayed a bet on the World Cup that paid off into his entry into the main event. He and a friend bet $1,000 each that the Netherlands would beat Australia by a score of 3 to 2. The bet paid off and he won $60,000. He took part of that and bought his ticket. Stephensen is mainly an online Omaha cash game player but that was not evident from his run at this year's main event.

Stephensen started heads up play with a severe chip disadvantage to Jacobson and was never able to gain any momentum against the solid play of Jacobson. In the final hand Stephensen pushed all-in with Ah9h and was called by Jacobson holding ThTd. Jacobson hit a ten on the flop and Stephensen failed to improve. The board ran out 3s9cTcKd4c, eliminating Felix in second for $5,147,911.

Answer: Martin Jacobson

Martin Jacobson's performance at the final table was one of the best in the history of the main event. Although he had finished Day 1, Day 2, Day 4, and Day 6 as the chip leader, Day 7 proved to be a struggle for him and he entered the final table in eighth place with just 14,900,000 chips. As a tournament specialist, Jacobson was by far the most experienced player at the final table except for maybe Newhouse. He played the short stack extremely well and was even down to just seven big blinds on hand 145 of the final table. But from there he would climb back into contention and finally win. He had a role in the final four eliminations of the final table. He crippled Pappas who was then knocked out by van Hoof. He then eliminated Tonking, van Hoof, and Stephensen in that order. In each of these hands he got his money in with the best of it and never had to outdraw the other player.

Jacobson claimed he spent over 500 hours preparing for the final table by running simulations with his friends then discussing the situations that arose afterwards. Although he had planned to be far more active, the other players made that impossible and he was forced to adjust and bide his time. By doing so he allowed himself the opportunity to make a comeback which he did. He was all-in 19 times at the final table only losing one of those times to Pappas who had less chips than him. This was one of several setbacks he suffered but he never lost his composure and persevered until he won.