The Final Table was the longest in the event’s history – logging over 17.5 hours of play until only two remained.

Joe Cada was the eventual winner – beating out Darvin Moon in heads up action last night.

Here’s the breakdown of the Final Table Winners:

Joe Cada – $8.55Million

Darvin Moon – $5.18Million

Antoine Saout – $3.48Million

Eric Buchman – $2.5Million

Jeff Shulman – $1.95Million

Steven Begleiter – $1.59Million

Phil Ivey – $1.4Million

Kevin Schaffel – $1.3Million

James Akenhead – $1.2Million

Joe Cada is the youngest WSOP Main Event winner, surpassing Peter Eastgate. Cada is only 21 years old.

The heads up portion of the Main Event lasted 88 hands as Cada bested Darvin Moon. Cada’s winning hand was pocket 9s over Moon’s suited Q-J. The board didn’t help Moon out and Cada walked away with the biggest pay day of his poker career.

Moon started out the heads up play quite aggressively, as he was down by more than 2-1. It was effective early, but Joe Cada hung on for the eventual win.

Moon took home $5.18Million for his troubles and will probably be glad to move out of poker’s biggest spotlight. The unsigned amateur never relished the promotional side of poker, but I’m sure he’s alright with the financial aspect.

And for all of the talk about how Phil Ivey could find his way to the title despite sitting 7th in chips or how Darvin Moon would choke his big lead away because he wasn’t a veteran players, the final showdown is set: Darvin Moon versus Joe Cada.

Much was made about Darvin Moon coming into the Main Event final table because he held 30% of the chips in play and was simply known as the logger from Maryland.  He had no flashy tournament resume or heroic online feats to back up his journey to the final table.  Instead, Moon’s prior poker experience was relegated to playing in small tourneys around his area.

One of the small tournaments Moon played in (a $130 satellite in Wheeling, West Virginia) would change his life since it earned him a spot in the WSOP Main Event.  After grabbing his spot in the Main Event, Moon was able to gather 58,930,000 chips before the final table – 24,130,000 more than the next closest competitor.

Moon’s opponent, Joseph Cada, had a much different road to the WSOP.  He definitely fits into the college-dropout-turned-poker-pro class of players that have been popping up in recent years.  However, unlike a lot of these players, Cada didn’t earn his success on the Internet but rather through live play at Casino Windsor and later in bigger tournaments.  Cada already has 11 WSOP cashes to his credit which is astounding for a 21 year-old, and he is guaranteed to add a big one when his duel with Darvin Moon concludes.

If you had to give one player the experience advantage then it would definitely be Cada, but Joseph is also at about a 2-to-1 chip disadvantage going against Moon.  The odds are definitely on Moon to come out on top, but don’t count out Cada since he survived elimination several times to make it this far.

Those are the final two players remaining in the Main Event of the 2009 World Series of Poker. After prelim rounds, winners, losers, months of promotion and the longest final table in WSOP history, these two have outlasted over 6K worth of players.

Heads up action goes off tonight at 10pm PST — so you East Coasters better get in a nap now, or prepare for a long night of poker.

Cada entered the final 9 in 5th place and now holds over a 2-1 chip advantage of Moon.

Think you know who’ll win? Hit the comments and let us know!

17.5 hours into the November Nine, Joe Cada and Darvin Moon are the only ones left. In an action packed session of playing, these guys got their in drastically different ways.

Cada needed to make many key double ups to keep his tournament life. Moon started with 60million, dropped to 30, and then roared back.

Final Count going into the WSOP Final – Heads up:

136, 925 , 000 – Joe Cada

58 , 875 – Darvin Moon.

You’ll get more updates from me after I’ve slept.

The final table has seen 275 hands. Including the heads up portion, last year’s final table only saw 274 hands. This has turned into an absolute marathon.

Young Joe Cada now has the lead after hitting trip 2s with an all-in call against Saout’s pocket Queens.

Remaining:

Joe Cada

Darvin Moon

Antoine Saout

The players will finally get a break when it down to two.

This time, Steve Begleiter was sent packing as Moon’s A-Q beat Steve’s QQ with a river’d Ace. The Penn and Teller theatre went crazy, except for Moon. Who can blame the guy as he’s theoretically outmatched on poker’s biggest stage – yet continues to win.

Here is the updated chipcount:

Darvin Moon – 63,925,000
Eric Buchman – 53,250,000
Antoine Saout – 51,725,000
Jeff Shulman – 15,525,000
Joseph Cada – 10,350,000

The bookmakers can sleep easily as Phil Ivey is out of the World Series of Poker final table. Ivey was knocked out in 7th place by full time logger Darvin Moon called on the big blind with A-Q to Ivey’s A-K. Much to the chagrin of the cheering crowd, Moon hit a Queen on the flop and sent Ivey packing.

Here is the current chip count with the final six players:

Eric Buchman – 55,500,000
Antoine Saout – 53,075,000
Darvin Moon – 39,325,000
Jeff Shulman – 17,275,000
Steven Begleiter – 16,150,000
Joseph Cada – 13,450,000

Moon has fallen off the lead, but continues to play reasonably well. Eric Buchman

Coming into heads up action, Negreanu was on fire. He had sent 6 of the 7 knock-outs to the rails himself — this all happened after he came in with a massive short stack (but it’s all in how you use it. Right, ladies?). He also held a dominant chip lead over the elder Shulman.

Shulman, however, wasn’t over-matched or intimidated. The showdown had some monster hands (Full house Aces/Jacks over Trip Jacks, pocket pairs squaring off in the final hand) and it was wildly entertaining. It was a matchup of skilled players, playing without pressure.

This was Shulman’s second bracelet – his first coming in 2001. We’ll see if it could be the ‘Year of the Shulmans’ as Jeff hits the felt in 3rd place for the WSOP Main Event Final Table in November.

The field of players of the Euro-Main-Event was only 334, but it’s considered by many to be a much tougher pool of talent. The final table had big names, drama and two well-known guys heads up. It’s a dream matchup for the WSOPE Organizers and another good showing for poker in general.

Breakdown of World Series of Poker Europe Main Event Final Table Payouts:

1. Barry Shulman – £801,603
2. Daniel Negreanu – £495,589
3. Praz Bansi – £360,887
4. Jason Mercier – £267,267
5. Markus Ristola – £200,367
6. Chris Bjorin – £150,267
7. Antoine Saout – £114,228
8. Matt Hawrilenko – £87,074
9. James Akenhead – £66,533

That’s a lot of poundage.

UPDATE:

The Final Table of the World Series of Poker Europe is set. There are some recognizable faces and dominant players.

The £10,000 buy-in event has been gaining steam and prestige over the last few years, and notable pros making the final table does wonders for the event’s credibility.

The Players:

Jason Mercier 3,198,000 Chips
James Akenhead 1,398,000 Chips
Praz Bansi 1,160,000 Chips
Barry Shulman 1,090,000 Chips
Markus Ristola 784,000 Chips
Antoine Saout 701,000 Chips
Matt Hawrilenko 674,000 Chips
Chris Bjorin 518,000 Chips
Daniel Negreanu 438,000 Chips

Saout is on an absolute tear this year. He is essentially in 2 final tables at once – the biggest final tables in poker.

The father/son poker prowess is strong in the Shulman family. With Barry (father) in the WSOPE final and Jeff (son) in the WSOP November Nine.

You really can’t count out a guy like Negreanu, when he’s in an event like this.

Updates to come soon.

Here is the payout structure:

£ 801,603
£ 495,589
£ 360,887
£ 267,267
£ 200,367
£ 150,267
£ 114,228
£ 87,074
£66,533