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Of all of the innovations at this year’s WSOP, the creation of event #8 - $10,000 Mixed Limit World Championship might be the one most appreciated by the players. A combination of eight games including hold’em, Omaha, razz, seven-card stud, seven-stud 8-or-better, pot-limit Omaha, no-limit hold’em and triple draw deuce-to-7, the event was essentially an ode to non-tournament poker.
While the $50,000 HORSE event was originally hailed as the players’ championship, there were many who felt that it came up short in achieving the goal of recognizing the all-around nature of cash game play. That’s because the three added games weren’t represented despite their regular presence at cash game tables.
After fielding these complaints, the World Series of Poker Players’ Advisory Council brought them to the attention of the WSOP, and after some conversations and work on a structure, the event was born. The 192 players they got were more than expected; the event was a hit.
While the players in the Big Game were considered the favorites, in the end it was a 22-year old former Las Vegas native that won the event. Tony Rivera, wearing a shirt that said “friends don’t let friends play no-limit” essentially followed that advice, until the final hand of the tournament against fellow 22-year old James Mackey.
On the first hand of heads-up play, Mackey raised from the small blind to 87,000 and Rivera re-raised 200,000 more. Mackey moved all-in and Rivera called, revealing As-Kh to Mackey’s Ac-9h. The board came Qs-Qc-2s 4c 5d. Rivera was the winner of what most assumed was an event that would be won by someone twice his age.
Gary Wise
gary@wisehandpoker.com
