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World Poker Tour host Mike Sexton has beaten 26 of the best in poker at the rival World Series of Poker - Tournament of Champions.

The TOC is an annual invitation only event that includes the top World Series of Poker and WSOP Circuit players of the past year battling it out for $2 million in prize money, with $1 million going to the champion.

There are 27 places available, 12 go to the winners of the WSOP Circuit events over the past year, 9 go to the players who made it to the final table at the WSOP Main Event with the remaining 6 players being invited by Harrah's Entertainment and its sponsors.

Only 10 could make the final table and after one day of play the table was set with Andrew Black at the head of the tabel with a commanding 2 to 1 chip leader over nearest rival Daniel Negraneau.

Only the top 9 finishers recieve prize money so the 10th place finisher would be in the unlucky predicament of making a final table and still going home empty handed.

That turned out to be Gus Hansen, one of poker’s most feared and respected top professionals, he arrived with the second-lowest stack stick and went out quickly.

Daniel Bergsdorf, (7th place WSOP Main Event) was the next player to be eliminated. About an hour into play he moved all-in with pocket kings after the flop came J-9-8. Unbeknownst to Bergsdorf, opponent Daniel Negreanu had flopped a monster hand, holding queen-ten -- good for a straight. Bergsdorf failed to improve and finished in ninth place, which paid $25,000.

Kido Pham, (Bally’s WSOP Circuit champion) went out next. Pham was low on chips and tried to steal with a weak hand. Andrew Black made the call, caught a pair, and ended Pham’s dream of becoming a millionaire. Eighth place paid $25,000.

One of the tournament’s most decisive hands occurred mid-way into the finale. The hand completely altered the fortune of at least two players, and set the stage for the remainder of the tournament. Daniel Negreanu was dealt pocket kings and called an all-in re-raise by Andrew Black, holding ace-king. It’s rare in tournament poker to see a confrontation between the two largest chip stacks, but this is precisely what happened. The kings held up and Negreanu rocketed up into the chip lead for the first time. In an instant, Black’s humongous chip stack went from a castle to a farmhouse.

Chris “Jesus” Ferguson was the next elimination. Low on chips throughout play he finally busted-out when his pocket sixes were flattened by Darrell Dicken’s pocket eights. Neither player improved, so the higher pair won. Ferguson collected $50,000 for finishing seventh.

Darrell "Gigabet" Dicken, (Rincon WSOP Circuit champion) went out in sixth place. On his last hand, moved in on a semi-bluff with a diamond flush draw. Mike Sexton had top pair (kings) and called. Dicken failed to catch a much-needed diamond, and picked up $75,000 for two days of poker playing.

Andrew Black, who suffered a brutally disappointing experience at this final table, became the tournament’s next fatality. With his massive chip advantage at the start, Black certainly expected to finish higher than fifth. But he could not overcome the big loss to Negreanu. Black went out on a flush draw with king-nine suited, but missed. Mike Matusow anxiously scooped up and meticulously stacked Black’s final chips. Black’s prize amounted to $100,000.

Chris Reslock, (Atlantic City Showboat WSOP Circuit champion) made a great run at the final table, finishing fourth, despite arriving as the player lowest in chips. On his final hand, Reslock was dealt ten-nine and flopped a pair of tens. Daniel Negreanu also flopped a pair of tens, with a king-kicker. The higher side-card played, and Reslock was busted. He rode his short stack up to $150,000 for fourth place.

That left Mike Sexton, Daniel Negreanu, and Mike Matusow two of the biggest mouths in poker and an absolute gentleman of the game. The verbal fireworks that many in the standing-only crowd were anticipating went off almost immediately. Matusow consistently baited his favorite target, Negreanu which only encouraged a combative and comedic rebuttal, more often than not leaving the entire table in stitches. Even the calm and collected Mike Sexton broke up a few times.

After trading chips back and forth for over an hour, the next major confrontation took place when Mike Matusow, the best poker player in the world (so he claims on GSN's High Stakes Poker), admittedly made a mental mistake and “slipped.” Matusow’s fateful hand started off innocently enough, with Mike Sexton making a standard raise with pocket sevens. Matusow had A-4 and re-raised all-in. Sexton contemplated his decision for a time and finally decided to call. Judging by the look of despair on his face, Matusow knew he was in trouble. Predictably, the sevens turned out to be lucky for Sexton, and the defending champ was out. Matusow’s share of the prize money amounted to $250,000.

As the tournament entered a third unscheduled day, heads-up play finally began, Mike Sexton enjoyed a slight chip lead over Daniel Negreanu – 1,488,000 to 1,212,000. The duo would duel for more than five hours, initially trading the chip lead back and forth. But as the night grew longer and morning came to light, it was Sexton who was both more aggressive and appeared to catch a more favorable run of cards in the tournament’s later stages. As the clock inched toward 4 am, Sexton had improved to a 3 to 1 chip lead and the end seemed eminent.
But poker tournaments are often impossible to predict. One hour later, Negreanu reversed Sexton’s advantage and seized a 3 to 2 chip lead. Only the most hardcore poker aficionados still conscious at this stage.

After both players essentially played mistake-free poker for a total of 17 hours, in the end, one critical yet erratic hand proved decisive.

That hand took place when Sexton was dealt king-queen. Negreanu was dealt queen-jack (two diamonds). After the flop came K-8-4 with two diamonds, Negreanu (on a diamond flush draw) moved all-in and Sexton (holding top pair) called. Two non-diamond blanks fell on the turn and river, and Sexton regained the chip lead – this time about 4 to 1 over his adversary. Negreanu was unable to recover from that devastating blow.

Then, the clock struck six. With both players visibly weary from the dusk to dawn duel of staying power, the final hand of the TOC was dealt at 6:07 am PST. Negreanu, with queen-jack moved all-in with two overcards and a straight draw after the flop came 10-8-4. Sexton, with pocket aces, could not move his chips into the pot fast enough. An ace on the turn seemed to be a big card for Sexton, but it actually helped Negreanu considerably more. He picked up four additional out (four kings to make a straight). But an eight on the river paired the board, giving Sexton a full house – aces over eights – and his first WSOP-related victory in more than 17 years.

Mike Sexton’s victory was well-deserved for many reasons. Sexton won his only WSOP gold bracelet back in 1989, in the game of seven-card stud eight-or-better. But due to the demands of his celebrity as a poker commentator on television, Sexton has not been able to play in as many tournaments as he would like.

At the start of the tournament, Sexton – the eternal goodwill ambassador – pledged half of his TOC win to charity. That means a collection of Sexton’s favorite charities will split a whooping half-million dollars. “I have been blessed with so much good fortune,” Sexton said. “I really want to give something back from the game that has been so good to me and has taught me so many things.”

Official Results:

1st Place Mike Sexton Las Vegas, NV $1,000,000
2nd Place Daniel Negreanu Las Vegas, NV 325,000
3rd Place Mike Matusow Las Vegas, NV 250,000
4th Place Chris Reslock Atlantic City, NJ 150,000
5th Place Andrew Black Dublin, Ireland 100,000
6th Place Darrell Dicken Waterloo, IA 75,000
7th Place Chris “Jesus” Ferguson Pacific Palisades, CA 50,000
8th Place Kido Pham Dallas, TX 25,000
9th Place Daniel Bergsdorf Umea, Sweden 25,000

Shane @ Poker.com