On just the second hand of heads-up play we have a champion! This is Lee Markholt's 15th cash on the WPT but just his first final table. He's gone the distance tonight and defeated Bryan Devonshire on just the second hand of heads-up play to take the title and the almost half-million dollar first place cash!

The final hand began with Markholt limping his button and Devo checking in the big blind. The flop came 4 3 2 and Devonshire fired $60,000. Markholt made the call and the turn was the J, Devonshire fired a second barrel, this time $150,000, but instead of calling Markholt made it $600k total.

Devonshire took a moment before moving in for his remaining chips and Markholt snap-called. The second the call was made it was clear by the look on Bryan's face he knew he was in trouble. Markholt tabled J 4 which had Devo's 8 4 drawing dead. The river was the 3 and it was all over.

Bryan Devonshire takes another runner-up finish, as well as $271,625, and Lee Markholt takes his first WPT title, the $25,000 seat in the WPT championship and $468,315. PL.com would like to congratulate Lee on the win and we wish him the best of luck at the championship. 

Three-handed play barely had a chance to get going before Lee Markholt dealt Zach Hyman a crippling blow and Bryan Devonshire sent him to the rail just a few minutes after.

The Crippler

Bryan Devonshire folded his button and Lee Markholt called from the small blind. Hyman checked his option in the big blind and the flop came down K 3 2. Markholt led out with a $40,000 bet and Hyman made the call. The turn was the Q and Markholt bet again, pushing $140,000 into the middle.

Hyman called again and the river was the T. Markholt thought for a moment before pushing betting $200,000 and Hyman made a somewhat reluctant call. Markholt tables K 7 for top pair and Hyman simply mucks. With that big pot Markholt extends his lead and Hyman is left dangerously low.

The Death Blow

Left with just under $400,000 Zach Hyman moves all-in when it's folded to him in the small blind. Bryan Devonshire makes a quick call in the big blind and tables pocket nines which will have to hold against Hyman's K J. The board runs Q Q 7 4 T and Hyman is out in third for $149,862, making way for heads-up play.

Much like the last update we've had both a double-up and an elimination in the last few minutes.

Devo Loves the River!

Bryan Devonshire just got very lucky to double-up, catching the card he needed on the river to double through Jason Potter and stay alive. It started with Zach Hyman open-raising and Potter moving all-in from the button. Devo moved all-in as well from the small blind and after a lot of thought Hyman laid down pocket nines.

A Q for Devonshire were racing Potter's pocekt treys but got no help from the 8 8 6 flop. The threes remained the best hand with the T turn and Devo was down to just a few outs on fifth street. The A hit the river though and Devonshire is good for the double. He's now back on his feet but Potter is left with a dangerously low number of chips.

Potter Plastered (4th)

Jason Potter took a big hit in the hand described above and wasted little time putting his remaining chips into action. Zach Hyman opened the pot and Potter moved all-in over the top for a total of $190,000. It was folded back to Hyman and he made a quick call.

A 3 for Potter were in bad shape against Hyman's A 5 and he was hoping for either a trey or some sort of chop to stay alive. The flop came Q 8 4, a terrible flop for Potter as Hyman held the A. The turn provided a glimmer of hope, bringing the 8 and making a chop a real possiblity, but the river was the 7, making Hyman's flush and eliminating Potter in fourth for $103,030.

Break Time

With the elimination of Jason Potter we are now on a ten-minute break.

New Counts

Here are the approximate counts for the final three players.

Lee Markholt	$1,925,000
Zach Hyman	$1,035,000
Bryan Devonshire	$950,000

 

In the last few minutes we've seen some serious action with Bryan Devonshire doubling up and David Pham going bust. Read on to see how it all went down.

The Double

Bryan Devonshire was extremely shortstacked and open-shoved from the small blind for just under $150,000. Lee Markholt makes a quick call from the big blind and tables A 8 which is out in front of Devo's J 5. The flop comes down 5 4 3 and Devonshire takes the lead with a pair of fives. It finishes out 9 4 and Bryan dodges the chop to double up to around $340,000.

Dragon Slayed (5th)

David Pham made a valiant effort to get himself back in this event but unfortunately it was too little too late as he's now on his way out the door. Pham opened to $86,000 from under the gun and got a call from Lee Markholt in the small blind. The flop came down A Q 7 and Markholt checked.

Pham bet out $131,000 and after a short dwell Markholt moved all-in. Pham made the call and turned over A 2 which was in terrible shape against Lee's A T. Things went from bad to worse with the T on the turn and Pham was drawing to the two remaining queens for the chop. Pham is out in fifth and will take down $93,664.

Blinds Up

We're on to another level and the blinds have been upped to $15,000/$30,000 with a $4,000 ante.

Dragon Stays Alive

David Pham has been shortstacked all day and just got all-in against Zach Hyman. Hyman opened from the button and Pham moved all-in for $174,000 from the small blind. Hyman made the call and they both turned over K-Q offsuit. The board ran with no flush possibilities and the two chop the pot.

Dragon Chips Up

David Pham has just taken down a big pot with some very strange play. Lee Markholt opened the pot to $80,000 from under the gun and Zach Hyman called from the cut-off. David Pham called from the button, leaving himself just $115,000 behind, and Bryan Devonshire called from the big blind.

The flop came down 8 7 5 and it's folded to Pham on the button. He only takes a second to announce all-in and one by one his opponents fold, despite the ridiculous odds they're getting on the call. Each one looks pained to release their cards but after they're all out of the way Pham adds about $300,000 to his stack. He's now up close to $300,000.

As he rakes the pot Pham quips, "That's why I'm the Dragon!"

Potter with the Squeeze Play

Jason Potter just picked up a nice pot and he didn't even need a hand to do it. Lee Markholt opened from under the gun plus one and Zach Hyman made the call. Jason Potter then moved all-in from the big blind for $473,000, putting the action back on Lee. "Finally you squeeze," Markholt said to Potter as he pondered the call. "How could I not?" returned Potter.

After a lot of thought Markholt let it go and Hyman did the same. We couldn't see the hand Potter turned over but it must have been bad judging by the expressions on Markholt and Hyman's faces. "Damn internet kids," said Bryan Devonshire, an ironic remark coming from him.

New Counts

Here are the most up to date chip counts.

Seat 1	Zachary Hyman	$892,000
Seat 3	David Pham	$470,000
Seat 4	Jason Potter	$744,000
Seat 5	Bryan Devonshire	$445,000
Seat 6	Lee Markholt	$1,350,000

 

The action is fast at this final table with almost every hand seeing a pre-flop raise and, in many cases, a re-raise. There hasn't been any one player succeeding more than the others in this stratedy as each is doing his fair share. Zach Hyman did take down a big pot a moment ago with an all-in re-re-raise before the flop and he's now up over $600,000.

Dragon Down Low

David Pham is the shortstack at the table and was down to just $109,000 a moment ago. He open-shoved all-in just now and picked up the blinds and antes, increasing his stack by almost 50 percent.

Big Pot for Zach Hyman

Zach Hyman is running good at this final table and just took a massive pot from Jason Potter when both of them made hands on the river. It started with Hyman opening to $70,000 from under the gun and Potter calling from the button. The flop came J 9 7 and both players checked.

The turn was the 2 and Hyman led out with a $120,000 bet. Potter made the call and the river brought the 8. Hyman checked and Potter paused for a moment before betting $170,000. Hyman tanked, saying, "Did you call with a flush draw?" He opted to make the call after a few moments and tabled A T for the straight. Potter seemed surprised that Hyman thought for so long as he showed pocket eights for the rivered set.

Break Time

This level is over the players have been sent on a ten-minute break before getting back to it with increased blinds of $15,00/$30,000 and an ante of $4,000.

Count Chipula

Here are the counts after that last big Hyman win.

Seat 1	Zach Hyman	$1,143,000
Seat 3	David Pham	$151,000
Seat 4	Jason Potter	$720,000
Seat 5	Bryan Devonshire	$625,000
Seat 6	Lee Markholt	$1,268,000

 

Zachary Hyman was just at risk of elimination, all-in before the flop racing against Lee Markholt with his tournament life on the line. Markholt opened the pot to $55,000 and Hyman moved all-in for an additional $195,000. It was folded back to Markholt and after a bit of thought he made the call. 4 4 for Hyman needs to hold against Lee's A J.

The flop came down T 8 7 and Markholt picks up the gut-shot and back door flush draws. The turn is the 3, adding a ton of flush outs to the mix, but the river is the Q, giving Hyman the check mark and the double-up.

New Counts

Here are the new and improved chip counts after that double-up.

Seat 1	Zach Hyman	$500,000
Seat 3	David Pham	$165,000
Seat 4	Jason Potter	$1,120,000
Seat 5	Bryan Devonshire	$641,000
Seat 6	Lee Markholt	$1,400,000

 

A Dramatic Chop

We just saw another all-in confrontation which, despite providing some drama along the way, resulted in a chop. David Pham opened from the button and Bryan Devonshire moved all-in from the big blind. After a bit of thought Pham made the call and turned over A Q.

"I think I'm a dog. He's got two flush draws," Bryan said as he tabled A Q. "Can we just chop it now and not see any funny business," Devo added. The flop provided some funny business after all, coming K 9 6. Devonshire picked up the freeroll flush draw but after the board finished out 7 T the two players reeled in their half of the pot.

Big One for Markholt

Lee Markholt just took a big pot from David Pham and took over the chip lead in the process. It started with Pham opening the pot to $56,000 from under the gun and Markholt calling from the big blind. The flop came J 9 4 and both players checked. The turn was the 2 and Markholt bet out $130,000.

After a bit of thought Pham made the call and the river brought the 6. Markholt checked and Pham followed suit. "I was trying to get you to bet," remarked Lee as he tabled K J. Pham mucks and Markholt rakes a big pot.

 

We're only a few minutes into this final table and we already have an elimination! Lee Markholt opened the pot in question from under the gun and it was folded to DeWitt who made the call. The rest of the table got out of the way and the flop came K 7 5. Markholt continuation bet $70,000 and DeWitt moved all-in.

It was an additional $99,000 back to Markholt and after a little bit of time in the tank Markholt made the call. Q Q for Lee was in the lead against DeWitt's J T but he'd have to dodge the flush to earn the check mark and the elimination. As the dealer burned for the turn Markholt called out the 2 and, sure enough, the 2 hit the felt. "What are you, a soul reader? You can predict cards now?" joked Bryan Devonshire.

At this time DeWitt stood up from the table and began some sort of shadow boxing routine, apparently doing his best Rocky-in-training impression. Shadow boxing notwithstanding the river came the 4 and DeWitt misses his flush. Markholt rakes the pot and Jeff DeWitt is our first elimination, picking up $84,297 for his trouble.

First Pot to Markholt

Lee Markholt got the action started on the first hand of the day with a raise to $40,000 from under the gun plus one. It was folded around and Lee takes down the first pot of the day. This is Markholt's 15th cash on the World Poker Tour but his first final table. You might remember Markholt from his victory on the short-lived Professional Poker Tour where he took down the Bellagio event.

Make with the Chatter

Unlike many final tables we see that are almost completely devoid of table-talk, we've already been treated to some chatter in the opening moments of today's action. Bryan Devonshire is being his usual verbose self and the other players are following suit.

The cards are in the air as we get the ball rolling at this final table. Lee Markholt and Jason Potter are in the lead but all six have a shot at the title here tonight. The chip counts can be found in the first update of the day. We finished towards the end of Level 22 so we'll have about ten minutes left with blinds of $8,000/$16,000 with a $2,000 ante before we bump it up.

The players are now making their entrances into the final table area, complete with introductions from the tournament announcer, as we prepare to get things going here in Reno. Cards should be in the air momentarily so keep it locked on PL.com as we play down to this year's WPC champion!

The countdown has begun to this year's WPT World Poker Challenge final table. Last year we were treated to a helluva show with J.C. Tran taking down his first World Poker Tour title and the young-gun J.C. Alvarado scoring his biggest cash to date for runner-up. David Pham was also at that final table and he's made it to the final six this year once again.

The remaining seats are filled with some serious talent as well in WPT cash-inator Lee Markholt, online whiz Jason Potter, Bryan Devonshire and Zachary Hyman. Devonshire narrowly missed his first WSOP bracelet this past summer, finishing second in an Omaha Hi-Lo event, and Hyman won last year's $10,000 Wynn Classic.

The sixth face at the table, Jeff DeWitt, is an unknown to PL.com but all that's going to change as he's guaranteed at least a modicum of recognition for his final table finish here in Reno. All six had to best a tough playdown to the finale with Phil Ivey, Chau Giang, Pat Poels and Michael Mizrachi making the final ten but failing to go the distance.

Here are the official chip counts going into today's festivities.

Seat 1	Zach Hyman	$401,000
Seat 2	Jeff DeWitt	$249,000
Seat 3	David Pham	$406,000
Seat 4	Jason Potter	$1,156,000
Seat 5	Bryan Devonshire	$674,000
Seat 6	Lee Markholt	$1,137,000