Event 32 $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. drew 178 of the best H.O.R.S.E. players in the world but none were better than Baker. He won $451,779 for his efforts in the contest.
“This one feels really, really good,” he said. “The first one was nice but this feels like more of an accomplishment.
Baker won his first bracelet in No-Limit 2-7 Draw in 2010 but he only had to outlast 101 players to win. This time the spotlight was particularly bright on the final table.
“There was definitely more pressure,” he said. “The stage was packed. The two most famous players in the game were right there. You don’t want to make a bad play. You don’t want to make a mistake.”
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Ivey, Hellmuth Highlight Incredible Final Table
With numerous big names still in the final 15 of the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. most poker fans thought the final table would be good, but no one really expected the blockbuster that eventually transpired.
As it turned out poker pros Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, John Monnette, David “Bakes” Baker, Abe Mosseri, Matt Waxman, Dan Kelly and the lesser-known Paul Sokoloff all booked a seat at the final table.
Kelly, Waxman and Mosseri all busted relatively early at the final table while players were still jockeying for position.
Ivey, who has been on one of the hottest streaks in the history of WSOP, finally busted in fifth place during a round of Razz.
He picked up $99k for his efforts but exited yet another final table without a bracelet. Ivey has been lights out over the last couple weeks and officially has four final tables in 10 days including seventh-, second-, third- and fifth-place finishes.
The other Phil at the final table – that would be Phil Hellmuth – was the next player to bust from the final table during a round of Omaha-8.
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Hellmuth had a rollercoaster of a final table, bouncing from the top three chip counts to bottom and back up again. Finally Monnette got the best of the Poker Brat and sent him packing in fourth for $134,056.
Hellmuth has been on a torrid pace of his own with five cashes and one bracelet win at the 2012 WSOP.
Monnette Takes WSOP POY Lead
With Ivey and Hellmuth out of the way that cleared the way for a three-way battle between Sokoloff, Baker and Monnette.
Sokoloff didn’t last much longer, which allowed Baker and Monnette to play heads-up for the bracelet.
It took just over 90 minutes to for Baker to finally land the knockout blow against Monnette. Monnette received $279,206 for coming in second.
Despite finishing second, Monnette leapfrogged past Ivey and Hellmuth to take first place in the 2012 WSOP Player of the Year standings.
Although he just won nearly half a million, Baker doesn’t have any plans to take a day off and will likely play in a WSOP event later today.
“This is the WSOP,” he said. “You can do well here and not have to work for the rest of the year.”
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