Allen Cunningham(credit: Allen Cunningham's Official Web Site)
Allen Cunningham headed into the final table of the World Series of Poker Circuit Championship at Caesar’s Palace (Las Vegas) on Thursday, May 1, 2008 towards the end of the pack. The talented pro with five WSOP bracelets to his name faced some stiff competition from former circuit winner Doug Lee and another WSOP bracelet holder Ralph Perry as well as an internet phenom turned brick & mortar specialist, Justin Bonomo.
As the final table got underway, Ben Fineman, who already took home a title in this series – he was the winner of a preliminary NLHE contest played on April 21, 2008, had the chip lead. Japanese player Motoyuki Mabuchi clipped the wind out of Doug Lee’s sails with an A,J. Crippled, Lee then turned around and went all-in with the same starting hand. He lost to Fineman’s triple nines and collected his ninth place payday.
Cunningham then took a nice pot off Ralph Perry. His pocket queens held up against the Pot Limit Omaha champ’s hooks in the hole. With the KO, Cunningham moved from near-worst to almost first in chips. Fineman took out online pro Blair Hinkle in sixth position. Cunningham, who plays online at Full Tilt Poker, battled back and eliminated Justin Bonomo. Bonomo earned nearly $100,000 for his fifth place finish.
Fineman replied by claiming the carcasses of the next two players. This gave him a dominating chip position as heads-up play began. He had 2.6 million to Cunningham 700k. However, Cunningham turned things around, took over the chip lead within a few hands and won the final (and deciding) hand.
Here are the final results:
1) Allen Cunningham - $499,069
2) Ben Fineman - $257,585
3) Kelly Samson - $128,792
4) Justin Bonomo - $96,594
5) Motoyuki Mabuchi - $112,693
6) Blair Hinkle - $80,495
7) Thomas Hover - $64,396
8) Ralph Perry - $48,297
9) Doug Lee - $32,198
Play with Allen Cunningham and the rest of Full Tilt’s pros at the FTOPS VIII, beginning on May 7, 2008. Click here for more information!