Gavin Smith and Kathy Liebert Make Final Table at WPT NAPC

Gavin Smith and Kathy Liebert Make Final Table at WPT NAPC

Thursday, 16 October 2008

A total of 27 players returned for Day Four of the WPT North American Poker Championships, with some well known professionals still in the hunt for the title. The pace began quickly, with the elimination of the short-stacked “Miami” John Cernuto in 27th.

As the players continued to fall, so did some of the recognised players. Pat Pezzin and Xuan Nguyen had both cashed here, but were unable to get to the final two tables, eliminated in 22nd and 20th respectively.

Many were following the progress of Vivek Rajkumar as he bid to become the first player to win back to back WPT titles. The player known as “psyduck” online was unable to repeat his success at the Borgata though, after his pocket aces were cracked by the flush of Marc Karam to eliminate Rajkumar in 16th.

Another player who many wanted to see win the title was Erik Seidel. The eight-time WSOP bracelet winner has been playing some good stuff recently, and he came close to another final table here, narrowly missing out when eliminated in 10th for $49,450.

Once players were down to the final table of nine, play slowed down as some perhaps had hopes of making it to the televised final of six. As they tightened up, Kathy Liebert became the hunter, eliminating both Dominic Staniscia and Sam Greenwood in 9th and 8th respectively. It then fell to Matt Matros to become the TV bubble boy when he ran into Gavin Smith. Both flopped a pair of kings, but Matros' kicker meant he was eliminated in seventh place.

And so the final table is set, and what a scorcher it should be! Gavin Smith will be aiming for his second WPT title, while Kathy Liebert hopes to become the first woman to win an open WPT event. The other players should not be overlooked though, especially Marc Karam, who has now managed to cash the last three years of this event in a row.

Here's the seat draw and chip counts for the televised final table at the WPT NAPC.

1. Kathy Liebert - 1,620,000
2. Gavin Smith - 2,815,000
3. Marc Karam - 1,850,000
4. Glen Witmer - 3,710,000
5. James Trenholm - 1,365,000
6.Ryan Fisler – 2,285,000



Tags: Poker News, Gavin, Smith, and, Kathy, Liebert, Make, Final, Table, at, WPT, NAPC