Top Five Championship Hands in WSOP History

Everyone remembers the epic scenes after the WSOP Main Event Champion is crowned, but not everyone remembers the hand.  Of course, some championship final hands are more memorable than others.  Here are the Top 5 final hands in WSOP Main Event history.

Doyle won his two Main Event titles with this hand.

2003 Chris Moneymaker Vs.  Sammy Farha

This was the hand that started the poker boom. An unknown accountant from Tennessee became an overnight sensation and won 2.5 million dollars.  The final hand of the 2003 Main Event saw Moneymaker holding 5d-4s against Sammy Farha’s Jh-Td. The flop came J-5-4 and Moneymaker put Farha all in. Farha eventually called, and the poker world was never the same.

 2000 Chris Ferguson Vs. T.J. Cloutier

T.J. Cloutier was the established and well known pro at the time. Chris Ferguson had yet to become world famous as a tournament champion. By the time the two men made it to heads-up Ferguson had accumulated a huge chip advantage. Cloutier, however, managed to chip up and was back to almost even when this hand occurred.  Ferguson made a raise which Cloutier countered by moving all in. Ferguson had As-9c and eventually called. Cloutier turned over the Ad-Qc and had Ferguson dominated. However a 9 hit on the river and Ferguson began his long career of tournament wins.

1988 Johnny Chan Vs. Erik Seidel

Johnny Chan had won the 1987 WSOP Main Event and was looking to repeat. He was up against Erik Seidel, a cash game pro from NYC. Chan had Jc-9c and the flop came Q-8-T. Chan had flopped the straight. Chan led out and Seidel raised. Chan just called. The turn was a 2 and both players checked. The river was a 6 and Seidel went all in. Chan instantly called and won his second tournament. The hand has since been immortalized in the film Rounders.

1976 Doyle Brunson Vs. Jesse Alto and 1977 Doyle Brunson Vs. Gary Berland

Doyle Brunson won back-to-back WSOP Main Events with a hand that became synonymous with him, 10-2. In 1976 Jesse Alto had A-J and lost to Brunson’s T-2 and in 1976 it was Gary “Bones” Berland’s 8-5 that lost to the T-2.

1989 Phil Hellmuth Vs. Johnny Chan
 
In 1989 Phil Hellmuth was an unknown poker player out of Wisconsin who was looking to take down the title. He was up against Johnny Chan, one of the most feared players in the game. Chan had won the event two years running and most expected him to win it again. The final hand of the 1989 Main Event saw Hellmuth raise from the button with pocket 9’s. Chan re-raised with Ac-7s and Hellmuth went all in. Chan thought for a few moments then called. Chan could not catch an Ace and Hellmuth won the tournament. At the time Hellmuth was the youngest to ever win the WSOP. It began his long streak of tournament wins.

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