After four full days of poker in Black Hawk, Colorado, the next 2012-13 World Series of Poker Main Event champion has been crowned. The winner, who beat out 420 other players, was Jonathan Taylor, and he walked away with $138,938. In addition, Taylor won a beautiful gold ring, his third of the season. Even though he automatically gets a seat to the National Championship in May, Taylor won’t be using it because he was the Casino Champion in Southern Indiana earlier this season. This opens up an extra seat for one more lucky qualifier.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Name | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Taylor | $138,938 |
| 2 | Kevin Eyster | $85,852 |
| 3 | Allan Hedin | $62,733 |
| 4 | Jerry Johnson | $46,579 |
| 5 | Rosie Paules | $35,124 |
| 6 | Benjamin Kim | $26,883 |
| 7 | Lawrence Blazer | $20,877 |
| 8 | Ashly Butler | $16,444 |
| 9 | Isaac Kirchner | $13,135 |
On Day 3, 11 runners returned, and it only took about 20 minutes to reach the final table. Bryan Campanello bowed out in 11th place when his 
could not catch up to the 
of Kevin Eyster. That got the field down to 10, and play only lasted for about five more minutes from there before Ting Ho fell. Ho turn an eight-high flush, but it was no good, as Taylor held the king-high flush draw. Ho had an open-ended straight flush redraw, but she didn’t catch it, and just like that the final table was set.
Here’s how the stacks looked when we got started:
| Seat | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Taylor | 1,900,000 |
| 2 | Jerry Johnson | 482,000 |
| 3 | Allan Hedin | 1,100,000 |
| 4 | Ashly Butler | 1,190,000 |
| 5 | Isaac Kirchner | 490,000 |
| 6 | Lawrence Blazer | 320,000 |
| 7 | Kevin Eyster | 1,620,000 |
| 8 | Benjamin Kim | 340,000 |
| 9 | Rosie Paules | 800,000 |
It took about 40 minutes to lose the first player, and that was Isaac Kirchner. Kirchner got it in preflop holding the 
and was up against the 
of Allan Hedin. Hedin flopped an ace and Kirchner never caught up.
Ashly Butler was next to go out, and it was in quite a quick and shocking fashion. After losing a big pot the hand before to the set of sevens of Eyster, Butler busted in a huge pot to Rosie Paules. The board read 
. Butler check-called the shove of Paules, but mucked his hand when she tabled the 
for a flopped full house.
Play was seven handed for over an hour before Lawrence Blazer was eliminated. It was another preflop coin flip, and Blazer held the 
up against the 
of Benjamin Kim. The board ran down 
, and Blazer walked away with $20,877 in his pocket.
There was another lengthy delay between bustouts, lasting about two hours. Then, two players busted in 10 minutes. The first player to bow out was Kim, and he was the victim of a cooler. On a board that read 
, Kim held 
for top set, but it was no good, with Eyster holding the nuts with the .
Eyster played executioner again when he eliminated Paules in fifth place. The two got all the money in on an all-spade flop: 
. Paules had the nut flush draw, holding the , and she would need to hit that draw, as Eyster had the . The board was completed with the and 
, and Paules walked out with $35,124.
Jerry Johnson busted in fourth thirty minutes later, and once again, it was Eyster who did the dirty work. Johnson had the 
on a flop that read 
. He was ahead of the 
that Eyster had, and while the turn was the , the river completed Eyster’s flush with the 
to send Johnson out the door.
Hedin was the third-place finisher, busting shortly after the players returned from dinner. Hedin got the last of his 555,000 in the middle holding the , but unfortunately for him, Taylor woke up with the in the big blind. Hedin flopped a flush draw, but it never came, and he was eliminated. That left a heads-up battle between Taylor and Eyster.
The two were virtually even when heads-up play started, but Eyster was the one that jumped out to a big lead. Taylor was out-chipped 2-1 when he won a crucial coin flip. Taylor’s held up against the of Eyster with the board running out 
. From there, Taylor ground Eyster down until the final hand. With the board completed 
, Taylor bet enough to put Eyster all in. Eyster made the call, and Taylor tabled the 
for a flush. Eyster mucked, and that gave Taylor the title.
It shouldn’t go unnoticed how impressive Taylor has been on the WSOP Circuit this year. Taylor won a ring in both Biloxi and Bossier City late last year, then won the Casino Champions race in Southern Indiana, due in large part to his runner-up finish in that Main Event. This time, Taylor did one better with the victory.
Next up on the WSOP Circuit will be the Foxwoods Main Event, taking place April 6-8. PokerNews will once again be on hand for live coverage, so be sure to check back then.
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