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Once in a Blue Moon

The 2009 World Series of Poker marked the 40th anniversary of the grand poker tournament. This year featured 56 preliminary tournaments leading up to the main event. Among these was the $50,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. Championship, which continued to grow in popularity. David Bach emerged victorious in the main H.O.R.S.E. event, collecting over $1.25 million for his efforts.

High stakes and new additions

No Limit Texas Hold’em saw the addition of a $40,000 buy-in tournament. This event attracted 201 players and was won by Russian Vitaly Lunkin, who took home over $1.8 million. The number of entrants was more than double that of the big H.O.R.S.E. tournament, and some considered it to be the real professional world championship due to the large buy-in and the lack of satellite qualifiers.

Former champions and main event highlights

Among the former champions competing in this year’s main event, Peter Eastgate, the previous year’s winner, outlasted them all. Despite a large field of 6,494 entrants, several former champions performed well. Doyle Brunson, Huck Seed, Tom McEvoy, Chris Moneymaker, Jerry Yang, and Jamie Gold all exited on the first day. Amarillo Slim, Berry Johnston, Johnny Chan, Scotty Nguyen, and Robert Varkonyi made it to the second day. Jim Bechtel, Carlos Mortensen, and Greg Raymer reached Day 3, while Phil Hellmuth and Chris Ferguson lasted until Day 4. Bobby Baldwin made it to Day 5, finishing in 352nd place, with Dan Harrington going out later in 252nd.

Joe Hachem and Peter Eastgate were the last former champions standing at the start of Day 6. Hachem finished 103rd, while Eastgate exited in 78th place.

The November Nine

After the conclusion of play on Day 6, the November Nine was set. Each player received the ninth-place payout of $1,263,602 and had several months to prepare for the final table.

• Darvin Moon led the field with 59 million chips.
• Professional player Eric Buchman held over 34 million chips.
• Amateur Steven Begleiter had almost 30 million.
• Jeff Shulman, editor of Card Player Magazine, held over 19 million.
• Young Joe Cada had over 13 million.
• Amateur Kevin Schaffel followed with 12.3 million.
• World-famous pro Phil Ivey had 9.7 million.
• Amateur Antoine Saout held 9.5 million.
• English pro James Akenhead brought up the rear with 6.8 million chips.

The final table action

Akenhead and Schaffel were the first to be eliminated. Schaffel hit a full house on the river, busting Akenhead. Buchman later knocked out Schaffel with quad kings against Schaffel’s pocket aces.

Phil Ivey, who was short-stacked, doubled his starting stack but then went all-in with Ace of Any ColorKing of Any Color against Darvin Moon’s Ace of Any ColorQueen of Any Color. A queen on the board ended Ivey’s run, finishing in seventh place.

Moon’s Ace of Any ColorQueen of Any Color also knocked out Begleiter’s pocket queens, leaving just five players. Jeff Shulman exited next, losing with pocket eights to Antoine Saout’s Ace of Any Color9 of Any Color. The tournament hosts at Harrah’s were likely pleased, given Shulman’s disparaging comments about the organization.

Eric Buchman’s roller coaster ride ended after he went from being crippled to doubling up, then busting out in three hands. This left Saout, Moon, and Cada.

The final showdown

Joe Cada and Darvin Moon faced off for the championship. Cada initially held a huge chip lead, but Moon evened the stacks and then took a 3:1 chip lead. Cada fought back, and the final hand saw Moon’s Queen of Any ColorJack of Any Color lose to Cada’s pocket nines. Cada became the youngest player to win the championship at 21 years old, earning nearly $8.7 million.

Darvin Moon’s story

Darvin Moon, an amateur player and logger, had struggled financially and had a criminal record for forgery and theft to support his family. His second-place finish earned him over $5 million, a life-changing amount that allowed him to move out of his trailer and achieve financial stability. Joe Cada’s victory set a new record as the youngest champion and marked a remarkable end to the 2009 WSOP, showcasing the mix of skill, luck, and determination that defines the world of professional poker.