Lucas Jumalon’s title in the US$ 10,000 Main Event of the WSOP (World Series of Poker) was indisputable. The American led the final table from start to finish, becoming the second youngest to win the world’s main poker tournament. And a crucial hand for this achievement happened in the heads-up, when Lauri Saaskilahti made a questionable call.
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After starting the heads-up with a good lead, Jumalon saw Saaskilahti almost tie in chips thanks to a fold. Amid this positive streak, the Finn found himself in a delicate situation on a river. By opting to call, he committed almost his entire stack, leaving the American just steps away from the title.
The details of the action
The heads-up was at blinds 2,000,000/4,000,000 bb ante 4,000,000 when Jumalon received Q5o on the button/small blind and opted to limp. With J3 of diamonds, Lauri Saaskilahti just checked, and the flop showed AK4, with AK of spades.
Jumalon, who had the Q of spades, bet 1 big blind, receiving the call. On the turn, the J of spades appeared, giving Saaskilahti the third pair and leaving Jumalon on a flush draw. The American then imposed aggression, betting 40,000,000, an overbet of twice the pot.
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The Finn paid again, and the river showed the 6 of spades. Right after another check, Jumalon, now with the flush completed, bet 180,000,000, provoking a long thoughtful pause from Saaskilahti. The bet amount was only 34,000,000 less than the stack the Finn had at that moment.
The controversial decision
While thinking about what to do, Saaskilahti spoke to Jumalon. However, the opponent did not respond once, not even making eye contact. “Do you have something?” and “I only have a jack” were some of the Finn’s phrases, who could not get any tells.
Right after a tank of a few minutes, Saaskilahti finally announced the call with the third pair. Jumalon showed the flush and went to celebrate with the rail, holding a huge lead. Two hands later, the tournament ended, with the American celebrating the long-awaited title.
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