On June 2nd, 2009, for the newly crowned 2009 WSOP Champions Invitational winner Tom McEvoy, this tournament was much more about the 1970 Corvette Stingray he won from the event. McEvoy said that defeating all of his fellow Main Event champions is what is the best thing about the event. To help commemorate the 40th anniversary of the WSOP, the Champions Invitational gathered together twenty Main Event champions to compete for the Corvette and the Binion's Cup.
McEvoy, who won the World Series of Poker Main Event in 1983 when there were just 108 participants and a $540,000 1st place prize money, said that winning the Champions Invitational was also about gaining the respect and admiration of the entire poker circuit. He added that he was very happy about his performance and prove to everyone that he still has what it takes to compete in the top level.
At the first day on Sunday that saw a huge audience gathered to catch a glimpse of their favorite poker players, the final table started on Monday with Carlos Mortensen holding the chip lead. 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Peter Eastgate was the first one to go in 9th place before two time Main Event champion bid farewell in 8th position. Short stacks Berry Johnson and Huck Seed finished in 7th and 6th place respectively when Jim Bechtel suddenly doubled through Carlos Mortensen, cutting him down to size.
A few card hands later Bechtel place a set against the top pair of Mortensen and it was all over for the 2001 champion. McEvoy sent Bechtel home in 4th place and after 2002 champion Robert Varkonyi doubled through Dan Harrington, all three remaining players look evenly stacked.
The battle between the three remaining players lasted for 4 hours before McEvoy sent Harrington home. He waltzed into the heads-up showdown possessing a 3:1 chip lead and sent Varkonyi home. Varkonyi said that he had a great time participating in the event and he considers it a great success even coming 2nd place.
06/29/2009 21:33 PM