Matt Graham 2009 WSOP2009 WSOP Event 40, $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship had a stacked final table with 5 former WSOP bracelet winners including Barry Greenstein, John Arieh, Richard Austin, Vitaly Lunkin and Matt Graham. In the end it appeared as if Lunkin was on his way to joining Brock Parker, Phil Ivey and Jeff Lisandro as multiple 2009 WSOP bracelet winners, however in the end it was Matt Graham who came from as far as 1 to 9 chip deficit to deny Lunkin his third career bracelet.

Matt Graham is a 25-year old poker pro originally from New Orleans who moved to Las Vegas last year before the start of the WSOP. Coming into this even his success included wins at the World Poker Open, the $5,000 buy-in event at the Bellagio, and a WSOP bracelet in last year’s $1,500 buy-in Limit Shootout event. With his victory against this tough field of Omaha players, Graham added a second career bracelet to his trophy case as he picked up the $679,402 top place prize.

Overcoming the odds during heads-up play is something Graham’s perfected as he was down 8 to 1 when he won his first bracelet in Event 53 of the 2008 WSOP.

Graham collected $679,402 for first place and was mentally focused during heads-up even without the chips.

“I was never too far behind before heads-up play started,” said Graham to the WSOP. “I was not really in a rush. I am perfectly okay with someone else throwing in a few raises and busting a few people. I’m just going to sit there and wait. Wait until we get short-handed and then pick up the pace a little. I wasn’t worried about (being short) on chips.

“I was thinking I was just going to continue playing my best,” he said about the chip deficit. “No matter how good you play, it was a long shot in that situation. So, you just have to do all that you can to come back and hope the cards cooperate.”

Lunkin earned $419,832 for his runner-up finish giving him $2,970,507 in career WSOP earnings. Fans surrounded the table to watch one of their favorites, Greenstein, but he fell short in ninth place. Others wanted to see if Austin, who won Event 35 just four days ago, could pull off a second bracelet of his own. Austin finished in eighth and the two-time bracelet winner Arieh finished seventh.

Other notable finishers included Chau Giang (11th), Howard Lederer (12th) and David Williams (16th).

2009 WSOP Event 40 Results
1. Matthew Graham ($679,402)
2. Vitaly Lunkin ($419,832)
3. Van Marcus ($278,409)
4. Robin Keston ($196,993)
5. Ferit Gabriellson ($148,438)
6. Stefan Mattsson ($118,462)
7. Josh Arieh ($99,855)
8. Richard Austin ($88,680)
9. Barry Greenstein ($82,746)
10. Nathan Doudney ($61,837)
11. Chau Giang ($61,837)
12. Howard Lederer ($61,837)
13. David Podgurski ($46,225)
14. Padraig Parkinson ($46,225)
15. Noah Schwartz ($46,225)
16. David Williams ($34,551)
17. Nate Lindsay ($34,551)
18. Nenad Medic ($34,551)
19. Matthew Vengrin ($25,816)
20. Marcus Golser ($25,816)
21. James Taylor ($25,816)
22. Anthony Cousineau ($25,816)
23. Rodrigo dos Santos ($25,816)
24. Todd Barlow ($25,816)
25. Henri Kettunen ($25,816)
26. Jonas Entin ($25,816)
27. Erick Lindgren ($25,816)