WSOP Event #16

World Series of Poker Event #16, Omaha High-Low Split, 8-10 June 2008

Entrants: 551
Buy in: $1,500
Prize pool: $1,022,820

Final results:

1. Andrew Brown $226,483

2. Ted Forrest $143,420

3. Jim Pechac $88,065

4. Soheil Shamseddin $71,961

5. Kia Hooshmand $58,877

6. Ralph Perry $46,297

7. Scott Clements $36,232

8. Allan Enciso $28,684

9. James Fricke $21,135

The $2,000 buy-in Omaha High-Low Split championship attracted a competitive field of 551 players. The total prize pool amounted to $1,022,820. The top 54 finishers collected prize money.

This was the second of three Omaha High-Low Split tournaments on the 2008 WSOP schedule. The $10,000 buy-in Omaha High-Low Split World Championship will be played June 19th through 21st.

The winner was Andrew Brown, a 26-year-old professional poker player from New York, NY, who collected $225,632 for first place. He also earned his first WSOP gold bracelet. . Brown was a student at New York University prior to taking up poker for a living. Brown has no aspirations of being on television or being famous. He very much considers poker as a craft.

“I think I am a better heads-up player than full-table player,” Brown said afterward. That point was proven by his upset of five-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Ted Forrest, who came in second. Brown battled Forrest back and forth for two hours before prevailing late in the night.

Brown stated that he thinks the best three poker players in the world are: Barry Greenstein, Phil Ivey, and Ted Forrest.

“I was looking forward to playing Ted Forrest heads-up,” Brown said afterward. “He’s amazing. We had a see-saw battle. It was a great heads-up match.”

Brown collected $225,632 for first place. He also earned his first WSOP gold bracelet.
The most amazing story of this tournament involved the third-place finisher – Jim Pechac. According to PokerNews.com, the Phoenix poker pro was down to just a single 1,000 chip when the last hand of Day Two was dealt.

Figuring he had absolutely no shot in the tournament, he tossed it into the pot and managed to double up on the hand. Pechac returned to an 18-handed tournament on Day Three.

Incredibly, Pechac went on a memorable roll and ended up busting out 11 hours later, in third place. Sometimes, “chip and a chair” stories seem over melodramatic. But on this occasion it came true. Pechac’s patience paid off in the amount of $88,065.

There were several notable in-the money finishers. No less than 15 of the top 54 money winners were former gold bracelet winners, with the majority holding more than one former WSOP title.

John Juanda has more WSOP cashes than any other player since 1999. In fact, all of his 42 career in-the-money finishes have been within the past ten years. He cashed out 29th in this event.

Other former gold bracelet winners who cashed in this event included Max Pescatori, David Chiu, Tommy Hufnagle, Dr. Max Stern, Brent Carter, Ralph Perry, Josh Arieh, Hilbert Shirey, James Richburg, and Pat Poels.

All WSOP images are supplied by “IMPDI for the 2008 WSOP”