Williams Best Out of 478 At WSOP

Published: Tuesday, July 11, 2006 Online-Casinos.com

WILLIAMS BEST OUT OF 478 AT WSOP

Team Bodog gets its first gold bracelet


Team Bodog pro David Williams, the 26-year-old Texan who rocketed into stardom two years ago with his memorable runner-up finish at the 2004 World Series of Poker, has captured his first bracelet in poker's showcase event.

Williams bested a field of 478 players to take the top prize in Event No. 10 of the 2006 World Series of Poker, the $1,500 Seven-Card Stud tournament. He earned $163 118 for the wín.

"This is the greatest day of my life," Williams said. "I came so close to winning a bracelet in 2004 in the Main Event, and I've been thinking about this moment ever since. It's even better than I expected."

On his way to victory, Williams faced a final table filled with some of poker's most decorated and seasoned tournament pros, including poker legend Johnny Chan, who was gunning for his 11th WSOP bracelet, and "Miami" John Cernuto, a three-time WSOP winner. Also among the final eight were Jack Duncan, a 2002 world champion in Pot Limit Omaha, and John Hoang, an experienced tournament ace.

Williams, though, quickly took command at the final table with aggressive play against the veterans, gaining the chip lead early and never looking back. He eventually found himself heads-up against Hoang for the title with a sizable chip advantage, and after a little more than two-and-a-half hours of heads-up play, Hoang was severely shortstacked and forced to go all-in on 5th street with an ace high. Williams, with just a pair of fours, called and the small pair proved to be all he needed for the wín and career first bracelet.

Williams has now won a total of $3 670 823 in three WSOP appearances, earning him the distinction of being the youngest player on the World Series of Poker's "Top Ten" All-Time Money List. Williams ranks seventh on the list just behind poker greats Phil Hellmuth and T.J. Cloutier.

In just the past two years, Team Bodog has earned more than $5 million in tournament winnings.

Joining Williams and Arieh on Team Bodog for this year's World Series of Poker is the latest member of Bodog's pro team, Evelyn Ng. More than 500 other players who qualified through online satellite qualifiers at Bodog.com are competing for Team Bodog. Two online qualifiers from Team Bodog have already made a final table this year - Thomas Hunt of Las Vegas finished fourth in the $2 000 No-Limit Hold'em ($160 659) and David Solomon of Austin , Texas , finished sixth in $2 500 Short Handed No-Limit ($68 277).