Josh Hale takes the crown at the WPT Legends of Poker event
- by Josef Rantamaki
After beating a field of 622 players, Josh Hale has been crowned champion at the 2012 World Poker Tour Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles.
He joins a list of famous names to have won this prestigious tournament including Doyle Brunson, Dan Harrington, Andy Frankenberger, John Phan and Prahlad Friedman.
Having only three live cashes to his name, this is his first major tournament title, earning him a prize of $500,000. He had a large chip lead at the final table but to get there, he had to beat some big names such as Jeff Madsen, Greg Mueller and Eli Eslami, before finally going heads up against Max Steinberg.
Play at the final table began at 4 pm and Steinberg began a long run of luck that lasted well into the night as he took out player after player. Before too long, Madsen was knocked out by Steinberg, into sixth place. Hale’s chip lead had grown to 50 per cent of the chips before Greg Mueller left the table in fifth place, once again eliminated by Steinberg. During the next six hands, Steinberg took his third knockout, Ali Eslami, who left the table in fourth place. Raouf Malek was next to be beaten by Steinberg and retired in third place, leaving Steinberg with a 3-1 chip advantage over Hale. However, Steinberg’s run of luck ended and he struggled against Hale. The game ended on the 145th hand, with a smiling Hale taking the crown.
Below are the final table results of the 2012 WPT Legends of Poker:
1. Josh Hale – $500,000
2. Max Steinberg – $293,490
3. Raouf Malek – $192,400
4. Ali Eslami – $133,700
5. Greg Mueller – $97,100
6. Jeff Madsen – $75,400