Poker Articles

The World Poker Finals crowned a champion on Tuesday night. In the end, PocketFiver Jonathan FieryJustice Little emerged victorious from the field of 412 players after winning the longest final table in World Poker Tour history. Following a see-saw battle heads-up and a record-setting 275 hands of final table play, Little took down his second World Poker Tour title along with the $1.1 million first place prize. Ironically, Little was also part of the second longest final table in WPT history during his runner up finish to Scott BigRiskky Clements in the North American Poker Championship during Season VI. PocketFivesLive.com has made its home at Foxwoods, the site of the World Poker Finals, providing WPT coverage of online poker players.

After being down nearly 10:1 in chips heads-up late in the tournament, Little doubled up on the 265th hand of final table play with J-10 against second place finisher Jonathan Jaffe’s A-3 when Little spiked a 10 on the flop. That hand boosted him to just a 2:1 underdog. Three hands later, Little doubled up again. This time, with blinds of 100,000-200,000 with a 20,000 chip ante, Jaffe raised and Little pushed all on over the top for nearly 4 million. Jaffe called, flipping over pocket eights; Little held K-5, including the five of spades. After the turn, Little held a spade flush draw, which hit on the river. The hand sent him into the chip lead for good at Foxwoods.

On the very last hand of the tournament, with blinds of 150,000-300,000 with a 30,000 chip ante, Little raised and Jaffe pushed all-in, the third time in 11 hands that one of the two players had shoved. This time, Little called with A-Q and Jaffe turned over A-10. The board ran out 8-8-6-K-Q, sealing the victory for the PocketFiver. Jaffe earned $670,636 for his second place showing.

PocketFivesLive.com Tournament Reporter Court Harrington, who was present at the marathon final table at Foxwoods, commented, “With four WPT final tables and two victories in the last two years, Little is establishing himself as one of the best players and closers on the circuit. Two wins and a second place out of four finishes is a tremendous accomplishment and Little continues to show that he has what it takes to get it done at the highest levels of tournament poker.”

Little won the Season VI Mirage Poker Showdown for $1.1 million. During the same season, he bubbled the final table and finished seventh at the Gulf Coast Poker Championship for $93,000. He finished second at the North American Poker Championship for $680,000 and took 53rd at the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $28,000. He was named WPT Player of the Year during Season VI for his efforts and now has a win under his belt during Season VII.

On his final table run, Little told WPT Live Updates Hostess Amanda Leatherman after play had concluded for the night, “Heads-up, we kept getting all in and whoever was ahead couldn’t win.” He continued, “That was the hardest heads-up match I’ve had for sure. It lasted forever.” At the end of the day, here is how the final chip stacks shook out:
1st Place – Jonathan Little: $1,120,310
2nd Place – Jonathan Jaffe: $670,636
3rd Place – Charles Marchese: $337,256
4th Place – David “The Dragon” Pham: $240,344
5th Place – Jack Schanbacher: $182,196
6th Place – Mike Matusow: $124,048

Next up for PocketFivesLive.com is the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, which kicks off a little more than a month from now. The tournament begins on December 13th from the Bellagio and will crown a champion six days later. PocketFivesLive.com will be on-hand following online poker players throughout the event, so if you’re planning to play, make sure to register with us before you leave. Coverage is completely free and it’s a great way to let your friends and family back home know how you’re doing.

Visit PocketFivesLive.com, your source for WPT coverage, to relive the excitement from the World Poker Finals.