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Live: $25,000 WPT World Championship
Live: $100,000 WPT Super High Roller
| Earnings | $180,580 |
| Cashes | 2 |
| Final Tables | 1 |
| Titles | 0 |
| Tournaments Played | 3 |
Ranking
3rd
Payout
$166,271
Points
700
Day 1
15,750
Day 2
105,000
Day 3
156,500
Day 4
263,000
Day 5
588,000
Day 6
3rd
Level 29: 40,000-80,000, 10,000 ante
There are a lot of memories that could sum up Daniel Santoro's first World Poker Tour victory. You could call it a whirlwind, a rollercoaster, a yoyo, or a comeback and all would fit just fine. There were highs, lows, and surprises as the New Yorker battled his way through the finl table and on to the Foxwoods World Poker Finals title.
When the final table began, Santoro was third in chips and one of three players with a big stack. One of the short stacks, Eli Berg, exited on the third hand of play when he flopped top pair on a K
7
7
board and check-raised all-in when the turn brought the 10, only to run into Christian Harder's pocket aces. The river couldn't save Berg and his K
Q and he was out in 6th minutes after taking his seat.
Ten hands later, Andy Frankenberger faced a similar fate when he moved all-in over the top of a Harder reraise with A10 and ran into Harder's kings. Frankenberger exited his third career WPT final table in 5th place and Harder took the chip lead.
It seemed like all the momentum was in Harder's corner until a pivotal pot on Hand 23 changed the entire dynamic of the final table. The other two big stacks, Santoro and Steven Brackesy, got into a preflop raising war that resulted in a six-bet shove with A4 from Brackesy. Santoro called all-in with QQ, having Brackesy covered. Santoro's hand held when it mattered most and Brackesy exited in 4th place. The hand was a game-changer, as it vaulted Santoro up to the chip lead and way out in front of Harder and amateur player Bob Carbone.
With three players left, the otherwise quiet Carbone started to play a few more hands and seemed ready and willing to push all-in. He doubled thru Harder to stay alive, but the next time he got it all-in, he wasn't so fortunate. Carbone ran pocket tens into Santoro's pocket aces to send the final table into heads-up action with Santoro holding a nearly 4-1 chip lead over Harder.
While the play from six to two players went by in a flash, heads-up play was a much different story. In fact, the heads-up match between Harder and Santoro is arguably one of the more back and forth matches the WPT has ever seen.
Even though Santoro had a big lead that just got bigger as he grinded Harder's stack away, Harder kept doubling up to stay in contention. He doubled thru Santoro on three separate occassions to go from having a short stack to taking the chip lead away.
In the late stages of play, the chip lead flip flopped back and forth as the duo neared the 200-hand mark. After Harder's third double up, it was Santoro's turn to worry, but his fretting didn't last long, as he doubled back thru his friend and opponent just four hands later.
This back and forth battle continued a while longer and ended in a fitting manner for a duel that appeared to be too close to call. The final hand came down to a coin flip, with Santoro holding AK to Harder's 1010. Harder stayed out front after a jack-high flop and remained ahead with the 2 on the turn. The river was a dramatic one though, as it brought the K, giving Santoro the pot, the match, and his first WPT title.
If you had to sum up Santoro's run in a single word, it would likely be unpredictable. With emotions swinging from one pole to the other and back again over the course of a 200-hand final table, Santoro managed to keep a level head and his eye on the prize. As a result of that resolve, he is now the latest WPT champion and the winner of the top prize of $449,910.
Here are the final table results from the Season X World Poker Finals:
1st: Daniel Santoro - $449,910
2nd: Christian Harder - $248,962
3rd: Bob Carbone - $166,271
4th: Steven Brackesy - $129,816
5th: Andy Frankenberger - $99,585
6th: Eli Berg - $83,580
Level 25: 15,000-30,000, 5,000 ante
Daniel Santoro min-raises from the button to 60,000, Bob Carbone moves all in from the big blind, and Santoro snap-calls with AA. Carbone turns over 1010, and he'll need to improve to stay alive.
The board comes 754K9, and Santoro wins the pot with his pocket aces to eliminate Bob Carbone in third place.
Seat 2. Daniel Santoro - 4,490,000
Seat 3. Christian Harder - 1,230,000
Seat 4. Bob Carbone - Out in 3rd Place ($166,271)
There will be an extended break before heads-up play so the Royal Flush Girls can do the money presentation.
Level 23: 10,000-20,000, 3,000 ante
Bob Carbone moves all in from the button for about 1,070,000, and Harder gets a good look at Carbone's stack (53 big blinds) and thinks for about 30 seconds before he folds. Bob Carbone takes the pot.
Christian Harder offers $100 to see Carbone's hole cards, but Carbone mucks. A few players in the crowd offer additional ("I'll add another $100!"), but Carbone says nothing.
Seat 2. Daniel Santoro - 2,975,000
Seat 3. Christian Harder - 1,632,000
Seat 4. Bob Carbone - 1,114,000
Level 23: 10,000-20,000, 3,000 ante
Christian Harder raises from the button to 45,000, and Bob Carbone moves all in for about 601,000. Harder asks for an exact count, and more than a minute passes before he calls with A9. Carbone turns over 88, and it's a race situation.
The board comes 106464, and the pocket eights hold up for Bob Carbone to win the pot and double up in chips.
Seat 2. Daniel Santoro - 2,900,000
Seat 3. Christian Harder - 1,610,000
Seat 4. Bob Carbone - 1,211,000
Level 21: 6,000-12,000, 2,000 ante
By BJ Nemeth
Day 5 of the WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals would be very short, starting with just eight players and playing down to six. As it turned out, it took less than a single level to do it.
Here are a couple of highlights from Day 5:
Tournament Director Jimmy Christina was in the Halloween spirit as he welcomed the final eight players back for Day 5 on October 31st.
Christian Harder began the day as chipleader with 1,437,000 in chips. Harder looked like a lock to make his second televised WPT Final Table.
The table didn't see a flop until the eighth hand of the day, when Daniel Santoro (left) three-bet it preflop and Steven Brackesy (right) called. After a flop of A63, Santoro took the pot with a bet. There wasn't much action early, but that would quickly change.
In the 24th hand of the day, Daniel Santoro raised, and Bob Carbone (pictured above) moved all in from the cutoff. Santoro called with JJ, but Carbone dominated him with QQ. The best hand held up, and Carbone doubled up.
Jonathan Little (standing, far left) moved all in from the button with a short stack (14 big blinds), and Steven Brackesy (right) thought for a while before calling from the big blind with A5. Little was dominated, turning over 95. Little never caught up, and the former WPT Player of the Year and former WPT Foxwoods champion was eliminated in eighth place.
Chris Klodnicki was all in preflop with A10, racing against the 88 of Daniel Santoro. It was a big sweat, but the board came 975102 -- Klodnicki took the lead on the turn, but a flush on the board forced a chop. At least both players could smile about it.
In the 48th hand of the day, with about five minutes left in the level, Steven Brackesy (behind the dealer) and Chris Klodnicki (standing, center left) saw a flop of 543. Klodnicki bet from the small blind, Brackesy moved all in, and Klodnicki called with A5 for top pair with a gutshot straight draw. Brackesy turned over A6 for a flush draw with an open-ended straight draw that nullified Klodnicki's straight draw.
The turn was the K, the river was the A, and Brackesy won the pot with a diamond flush on the turn to eliminate Chris Klodnicki in seventh place, making him the unfortunate TV Bubble Boy.
As soon as the final six players are set, they are given WPT bio sheets to fill out. From left to right: Christian Harder, Bob Carbone, Andy Frankenberger, and Eli Berg.
Day 5 lasted less than a level, but it was a good level for Steven Brackesy (left), who moved into the lead with more than 1.8 million in chips. Here, he goes over some things with WPT Producer Patrick O'Grady (right).
Here are the official chip counts and seating positions for Tuesday's televised WPT Final Table:
Seat 1. Steven Brackesy - 1,807,000 (112 BBs)
Seat 2. Daniel Santoro - 1,163,000 (72 BBs)
Seat 3. Christian Harder - 1,293,000 (80 BBs)
Seat 4. Bob Carbone - 588,000 (36 BBs)
Seat 5. Andy Frankenberger - 374,000 (23 BBs)
Seat 6. Eli Berg - 496,000 (31 BBs)
There are five minutes left in the current level before the blinds increase to 8,000-16,000 with a 2,000 ante. (Those are the blinds used to calculate the big blinds listed above.)
The televised WPT Final Table begins Tuesday at 4:00 pm ET, and we will be providing complete hand-for-hand live coverage here along with streaming video -- with hole cards -- on a 30-minute delay. Tony Dunst and Jonathan Little (who finished eighth) will be providing commentary along the way, so don't miss it!
Level 21: 6,000-12,000, 2,000 ante
Hand #57 - Daniel Santoro raises to 27,000 from middle position and Bob Carbone (pictured above) moves all-in for 281,000 from the cutoff. Santoro calls with JJ. Carbone has him bested with QQ.
The queens hold as the board runs out A8724 and Carbone takes the pot to double up.
Bob Carbone - 670,000 (56 BBs)
Daniel Santoro - 1,250,000 (104 BBs)
Level 21: 6,000-12,000, 2,000 ante
By BJ Nemeth
Day 4 of the WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals began with 66 players, and they had five levels to see if they could reach the final three tables and burst the money bubble.
The money was reached just as Day 3 came to an end with 27 players, and the surviving players are all guaranteed at least $19,916.
Here are some of the highlights from Day 4:
Happy Halloween! During the first break of the day, Jeanine Deeb (a.k.a. the Run-Good Fairy) magically bestows good luck upon the chip stack of Christian Harder. Doubters be warned -- Harder finished the day with the chip lead and was named the ClubWPT.com Player of the Day.
With 23 players remaining, Hoyt Corkins (left) and Cornel Cimpan (right) both have multiple WPT titles, and both are former WPT Foxwoods champions. Surprisingly, there was another player in the field with the same achievements -- Jonathan Little. All three are looking for their third WPT title, and trying to become the first to win the same WPT event twice. Unfortunately, Cimpan was eliminated in 23rd place -- at the hands of Corkins.
Former WPT winner Lee Markholt (standing up, right) was eliminated in 17th place when he shoved his AK into the KK of Chris Klodnicki (seat 1).
Matt Stout (right) doubled up with KK against the 99 of Bernard Lee (left), all in preflop. This hand crippled Lee down to less than four big blinds.
When Bernard Lee (right) was knocked down to less than 20,000 in chips, his stack looked even smaller in comparison to chipleader Andy Frankenberger (left), sitting next to him with more than 800,000.
Bernard Lee (left) wasn't able to recover, and was soon eliminated in 16th place. Matt Stout (center) joined him during his exit interview to discuss the big hand that crippled him.
With 15 players remaining, Jonathan Little (left) and Hoyt Corkins clashed in a battle of the blinds. All in preflop, Little's KJ overtook the A5 of Corkins when a king hit the flop.
While the WPT event continued on one side of the room, the Royal Flush Girls hosted a sit-n-go for several Foxwoods promotional winners. Sherwin Agard (left) reached heads-up play against Royal Flush Girl Sunisa Kim (right), and had her on the ropes when she moved all in after a flop of Q-J-10. Agard called with 9-8, expecting the victory -- but Sunisa turned over K-9 to win the pot and double up. Sunisa would go on to win.
As the reigning WPT Foxwoods champion, Jeff Forrest (right) survived to Day 3 before his elimination. But he won't be going home empty-handed, as he played in the $3,000 buy-in event and chopped it heads up with Alex Queen (left).
With 13 players remaining, Matt Glantz (left) and Andy Frankenberger (foreground right) faced off preflop. Glantz raised, Frankenberger reraised, and Glantz four-bet it. Frankenberger, who had been cruising near the top of the leaderboard all tournament, decided to fold, and Glantz took the pot. Frankenberger hit a rough period in the middle of the day that severely damaged his once-chipleading stack.
With the board showing 109228, Chris Klodnicki (left) bet into Daniel Santoro (right). Santoro tanked for more than three minutes before he folded, and Klodnicki took the pot.
Bob Carbone was a student at the WPT Boot Camp about five years ago, and found himself deep in a World Poker Tour event facing off against one of the instructors he learned from -- Hoyt Corkins. In this hand, Carbone moved all in with the board showing Q745 on the turn, and while Corkins tanked, Carbone reminded him of the story. Corkins would fold, and Carbone took the pot.
Last season, when Andy Frankenberger (foreground right) won the WPT Legends of Poker, there was a big hand between him and Jonathan Little (center) with 12 players remaining. Frankenberger won that pot to eliminate Little. (Read about that hand by clicking here.)
On Day 4, with 12 players remaining, they got it all in again, with Little's AK racing against Frankenberger's 88. This time, fate favored Little, as he flopped a straight on a board of QJ106J to double up in chips.
The final 10 players combined to a single table, and in Hand #8, Eli Berg (left, in white) got it all in preflop with A9 against the 99 of Hoyt Corkins (center). Corkins had the advantage, but the board came A10548, and Berg paired his ace to win the pot and cripple Corkins down to less than a single big blind. Former WPT Foxwoods champion Hoyt Corkins was eliminated a few hands later.
One hand after the elimination of Hoyt Corkins, Andy Rossi (left) got it all in preflop with AK against the AA of Chris Klodnicki (right). The board came AJ48Q, and Klodnicki won the pot with a set of aces. Andy Rossi was eliminated in ninth place.
The final eight players, clockwise from the dealer (in red): Steven Brackesy (seat 1), Chris Klodnicki (2), Daniel Santoro (3), Christian Harder (4), Bob Carbone (5), Andy Frankenberger (6), Jonathan Little (7), and Eli Berg (8).
The big story with eight players remaining is the fact that two WPT Players of the Year are still alive. No televised WPT final table has ever featured two POYs, and if they can both outlast two more bustouts, this will be the first.
Here are the official chip counts and seating positions for the final eight players:
Seat 1. Steven Brackesy - 984,000 (82 BBs)
Seat 2. Chris Klodnicki - 534,000 (44 BBs)
Seat 3. Daniel Santoro - 1,249,000 (104 BBs)
Seat 4. Christian Harder - 1,437,000 (119 BBs)
Seat 5. Bob Carbone - 263,000 (21 BBs)
Seat 6. Andy Frankenberger - 486,000 (40 BBs)
Seat 7. Jonathan Little - 504,000 (42 BBs)
Seat 8. Eli Berg - 227,000 (18 BBs)
Day 5 begins Monday at 12:00 noon ET, but it should be a relatively short day as they only need to play down from eight players to six. Stay tuned to WPT.com for complete hand-for-hand coverage of the action as they play for seats at the Tuesday's televised WPT Final Table.
Level 20: 5,000-10,000, 1,000 ante
Hand #9 - Hoyt Corkins is all-in blind for his last 5,000 in the small blind when Bob Carbone raises to 20,000 from middle position. Eli Berg calls from the button and Andy Rossi calls from the big blind.
The three players playing for the side pot check the AQ8 flop. The turn brings the 2 and Rossi checks again. Carbone bets 30,000 and both Berg and Rossi fold.
Carbone takes the side pot and shows 99 for a pair of nines. Corkins holds A10 for a leading pair of aces. Corkins improves toaces up with the 10 on the river and takes the main pot to more than quintuple up.
Hoyt Corkins - 32,000 (3 BBs)
Bob Carbone - 320,000 (32 BBs)
Level 20: 5,000-10,000, 1,000 ante
Andy Frankenberger raises from the cutoff to 20,000, Steven Brackesy calls from the button, and Bob Carbone moves all in from the small blind to 115,000. Frankenberger calls, and Brackesy folds.
Carbone shows 99, but he'll need to improve against Frankenberger's AA.
The board comes 109587, and Carbone flops a set of nines to win the opt and double up in chips.
Bob Carbone - 270,000 (27 BBs)
Andy Frankenberger - 420,000 (42 BBs)
Level 20: 5,000-10,000, 1,000 ante
Bob Carbone has been the subject of conversation at the table ever since the level began. Carbone has a habit of lifting his cards about a half inch off the table, setting them on the felt, and then peeking at his cards. He also often holds his hand about the same height off the table as he is waiting for other players to act, regardless of if he is calling or folding.
Matt Glantz has repeatedly warned Carbone that even though Carbone is in Seat 8 and Glantz is in Seat 1, Glantz keeps seeing what he has. The other players at the table have taken note and all point out to Carbone every time his cards leave the felt.
Carbone, who has been chatty at the table all day, decides to make light of the situation by telling the table he won't even look at his cards until it is his turn to act. He is in the big blind and, after Glantz and Jonathan Little fold, Carbone proclaims to Hoyt Corkins, who is next to act, that he hasn't looked.
Corkins thinks a bit before folding and Carbone repeats the sentiment a couple more times as action continues. Andy Frankenberger raises to 20,000, then sternly tells Carbone, "Can you please stop with the antics and play some cards?"
It is now Carbone's turn to act and he finally looks at his cards, right as Frankenberger gets a little aggravated with him. He says he is all-in and Frankenberger quickly calls all-in for his remaining 253,000 with KK.
Carbone immediately adominshes himself for "making a dumb move" as he turns over Q4.
Frankenberger's hand holds as the board runs out 9742J and he doubles up, leaving Carbone with 100,000.
Andy Frankenberger - 530,000 (53 BBs)
Bob Carbone - 100,000 (10 BBs)
