Cornel Andrew Cimpan Claims Title #2 at World Poker Finals

Level 29: 100,000-200,000, 20,000 ante

Foxwoods Final Table Recap

Even with over $900,000 and WPT bragging rights on the line, all the players at the final table could think about were almonds. The delicious snack has been a hot topic of conversation around Foxwoods all week not because of its nutritional value, but because players were vying to be the next Blue Diamond Almonds Bold Player of the Day.  Debates raged between players about who was more deserving and the almond-themed razzing continued on through to the televised final table.

Midway through play, Season VII LAPC Champion Cornel Andrew Cimpan turned to Soheil Shamseddin and asked him, "How did you con Amanda Leatherman into giving you the almonds again?" Cimpan was referring to the previous day, where Cimpan ended the day chip leader, but it was Shamseddin, who knocked out every player on Day 5, who received the Bold Player Award.  Cimpan may have missed out on the snack food Monday, but by the end of the night, he would have his just desserts.

Cimpan and Shamseddin were not the only talkers at this Foxwoods final table either. All six of the players spent their evening cracking jokes and talking smack as if they were goofing off in a home game and not competing to be the latest WPT winner. Granted, these players are used to high pressure poker situations. The remarkably accomplished group of six featured past WPT winners Cimpan and Lee Markholt, past WPT final tablists Shamseddin and Curt Kohlberg and two pros from the online set in the form of Eric Froehlich and Matt "AllInAt420" Stout. The combined list of accomplishments of these men is impressive to say the least and their poker skills were on display as they duked it out for the $910,058 first place prize.

The evening began with a bang as a short-stacked Markholt was eliminated on the second hand of play when his AK failed to hold up against Stout's A6, which rivered a flush to eliminate the Season VI Reno Champion in 6^th place. Not too long after Markholt's exit, Kohlberg found himself headed for the rail after a climactic coin flip against Shamseddin.  It appeared as though Kohlberg was on the verge of doubling up.  He moved all-in preflop with AQ and Shamseddin looked him up with 22.  The AQ5 heavily favored Kohlberg, but Shamseddin rivered a deuce to eliminate Kohlberg in 5^th place.

With the two short stacks gone, the final four opened up their game even more, tangling in big pots and making big bluffs. Thanks to a big pot against Shamseddin that failed to make it to showdown, Stout held a commanding chip lead over the other three players.  Shamseddin would recover from the hit and make up some ground in the chip counts at the expense of Froehlich.  Once again, Shamseddin made a big call with a small pocket pair after Froehlich reraised all-in. Shamseddin's pocket fours were racing against Froehlich's A-K and a board full of baby cards added up to Froehlich's elimination in 4^th place.

Once play got down to the final three, Cimpan got in a rhythm and began to pick up small pot after small pot to slowly build his stack.  As Cimpan trended upward, Shamseddin simply tread water until a nearly 3 million chip pot against Cimpan pushed him past the 4 million chip mark. Stout would claim half of those chips just two hands later, but it would not be long before Shamseddin got his revenge on the young online pro. 

The two players would later get it all-in on a KK43 board with Stout holding 56 for a flush against Shamseddin's K9 for trip kings.  Stout only had one card to fade in order to eliminate his aggressive but affable opponent, but it was not to be as the 9 on the river made a full house for Shamseddin and left Stout with just a handful of chips. Stout would rally, doubling up and building his chips up to nearly 2 million, but his revival would be cut short when he ran his KJ into Cimpan's pocket queens to finish in 3^rd place.

And so it came down to Shamseddin and Cimpan and even they conceded that the heads-up battle was a bit like looking in the mirror. Both players hail from Houston and have reputations for being table talkers with a loose, aggressive style that many would describe as "maniacal." Shamseddin held a nearly 4-1 chip advantage over Cimpan at the outset of heads-up play, but Cimpan was not ready to throw in the towel just yet.  Cimpan doubled through Shamseddin in a classic race situation of queens vs. A-K and overtook the chip lead just four hands later. The chip lead would change hands two more times before the two men got it all-in one last time with Shamseddin's KJ in trouble against Cimpan's AJ.  Cimpan's ace high would prevail to eliminate Shamseddin in second place and earn Cimpan his second WPT victory of 2009.

Shamseddin may have won the battle of the almonds, but it was Cimpan who won the Foxwoods World Poker Finals war, netting himself $910,058 and moving up to 19^th on the all-time money winners list with $2,609,913 in career WPT earnings. With this win he also becomes the 12^th player with more than one WPT win to his credit.

Here are the results from the final table of the Foxwoods World Poker Finals:

1st: Cornel Andrew Cimpan - $910,058
2nd: Soheil Shamseddin - $463,332
3rd: Matt Stout - $265,710
4th: Eric Froehlich - $232,496
5th: Curt Kohlberg - $199,283
6th: Lee Markholt - $166,069

Cornel Andrew Cimpan Wins His 2nd WPT Title at the 2009 Foxwoods World Poker Finals

Level 29: 100,000-200,000, 20,000 ante

Hand #187: Cornel Andrew Cimpan Wins WPT Foxwoods! ($910,058)

Level 29: 100,000-200,000, 20,000 ante

Soheil raises to 500,000, Cimpan moves all in, and Soheil quickly calls with KJ. Cimpan shows AJ, and he's a dominant favorite to win it all right here. 

The flop comes 873, and Cimpan solidifies his lead with ace high. The turn card is the Q, and Soheil needs a king on the river to stay alive. 

The river card is the 7, and Cornel Andrew Cimpan wins the pot -- and the tournament -- with ace high. 

The always smiling Soheil Shamseddin finishes as the runner-up, earning $463,332. 

Cornel Andrew Cimpan wins the WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals, earning $910,058, a WPT bracelet, a Foxwoods trophy, and that includes his $25,500 entry into the WPT World Championship. Congratulations!

Hand #186: Cornel Cimpan

Level 29: 100,000-200,000, 20,000 ante

Cimpan limps for 200,000, and Soheil checks. The flop comes AJ10, Soheil checks, Cimpan bets 300,000, and Soheil folds. Cimpan takes the pot. 

Cornel Andrew Cimpan  -  6,120,000
Soheil Shamseddin  -  4,490,000

Hand #185: Soheil Shamseddin

Level 29: 100,000-200,000, 20,000 ante

Soheil limps for 200,000, and Cimpan checks. The flop comes 942, Cimpan checks, Soheil bets 400,000, and Cimpan folds. Soheil takes the pot. 

Cornel Andrew Cimpan  -  5,900,000
Soheil Shamseddin  -  4,690,000

Hand #184: Soheil Shamseddin

Level 29: 100,000-200,000, 20,000 ante

Cimpan limps to 200,000, and Soheil checks. The flop comes 764, Soheil bets 400,000, and Cimpan folds. Soheil takes the pot. 

Cornel Andrew Cimpan  -  6,120,000
Soheil Shamseddin  -  4,470,000

Hand #183: Soheil Shamseddin

Level 29: 100,000-200,000, 20,000 ante

Soheil raises to 600,000, and Cimpan folds. 

Cornel Andrew Cimpan  -  6,910,000
Soheil Shamseddin  -  3,680,000

Hand #182: Soheil Shamseddin

Level 29: 100,000-200,000, 20,000 ante

Cimpan limps for 200,000, and Soheil checks. The flop comes 1095, Soheil bets 300,000, and Cimpan folds. Soheil takes the pot. 

Hand #181: Cornel Cimpan Doubles Through Soheil Shamseddin

Level 29: 100,000-200,000, 20,000 ante

Soheil raises to 600,000, Cimpan thinks for about 30 seconds before he raises to an unknown amount, Soheil moves all in, and Cimpan instacalls with AA. Soheil shows AJ, and he'll need to improve to win the tournament right here. 

The flop comes 875, and the crowd gasps as Soheil flops a club flush draw. Soheil jokingly says, "Somebody call a body bag for my buddy here. Body bag to Table #1"

The turn card is the K, and Soheil needs a club on the river or Cimpan doubles up.

The river card is the A, and Cornel Cimpan wins the pot with a set of aces to double up and reverse the chip counts. 

Cornel Andrew Cimpan  -  6,910,000
Soheil Shamseddin  -  3,680,000

Hand #180: Cornel Cimpan

Level 29: 100,000-200,000, 20,000 ante

Cimpan limps for 200,000, and Soheil checks. They check to the turn on a board of K85K, Soheil checks, Cimpan bets 275,000, and Soheil folds. Cimpan takes the pot. 

Cornel Andrew Cimpan  -  3,455,000
Soheil Shamseddin  -  7,135,000