Event #12, $1500 Limit Holdem, of the 2008 World Series of Poker lasted three days and in the end it was Jimmy Shultz who would win the tournament, earning his first WSOP bracelet. . When day three began eighteen players remained to play down to the final table and the title. Erick Lindgren, who was the most famous name remaining, exited in tenth place, one spot short of the final table.
The first elimination of the final table occurred soon after play began. Chung Law moved in for all of his chips with pocket tens, and Jimmy Shultz made the call with his own pocket jacks.. The board was utterly unhelpful for law, as it read Q-8-8-9-7. Chung Law earned $23,423 for his ninth place finish.
Christoph Niesert would fall in eighth place when he pushed all-in and received two callers in the forms of Jimmy Shultz and Zac Fellows. The board cards came out [Jd][9d][5c][Kc][Qc] and Fellows revealed [Ks][8s] for the winning hand while the others mucked their cards.. Niesert’s eighth place finish was good for$32,432.
Ali Eslami exited in seventh place after he committed himself to the pot after making a big bet on the flop of [7d][4d][4c] and had to call all-in when Shultz raised him. Eslami turned over [9h][5c] and Shultz turned over a dominating hand of [Ac][5h]. The turn card ended all hope as it was the [Ad], leaving no outs for Eslami. Ali Eslami’s efforts would be rewarded with $41,441.
Markus Gosler fell after he pushed all-in with [Ad][Jd] on a flop of [Qd][10h][9s] and received a call from Shultz. Shultz turned over [9c][7c] for low pair and held the advantage over Gosler’s ace-high. Gosler would not get any of the help he desperately needed and he would Gosler walk away in sixth place, richer by $53,453.
Teddy Monroe had put on an impressive performance as he made his stack, short since the beginning of the day’s play, last all the way to a fifth place finish.
Brendan Taylor would lose the rest of his chips in a battle with the spirited Vinnie Vinh.
Vinnie Vinh would fall soon after to Jimmy Shultz when he pushed all-in with Q-2 on a board of [Ks][7c][5d]. Jimmy Shultz called with 7-6, giving him middle pair. Vinh’s hand improved when the [2d] fell on the turn but it would not be enough as the river card was an unhelpful [3d]. Vinnie Vinh was eliminated in third place having earned $99,099.
Jimmy Shultz and Zac Fellows would engage in a long heads-up battle, with more than two hours passing before a winner was decided. Shultz wore Fellows down and when the final hand eventually occurred Fellows only had a small amount of chips left to throw into the middle, which he did with [3c][3d]. Schultz called with [10h][3h] and the two saw the board fall [Qd][7h][6h][6d][Jh]. Shultz had made a flush on the river to eliminate Zac Fellows and win the tournament. Jimmy Shultz earned his first WSOP bracelet and the first place prize money of $257,105. Zac Fellows would take home $165,165 for his runner-up performance.
