Cody is no Mickey Mouse poker player

Some people invest a lot in the notion of poker’s Triple Crown.  Some people write the feat, which entails winning a WSOP, WPT, and EPT title, as a media concoction.

Love or hate the idea of the Triple Crown though, you have to admit that what 22 year-old Jake Cody has accomplished over the past 18 months is truly impressive.  The British poker pro rose to prominence after winning EPT Deauville, solidified his prowess with a victory at WPT London, and now he has completed the trifecta by winning the WSOP $25,000 buy-in Heads-Up Championship.  Even Cody has a hard time believing his phenomenal run is real.

““It didn’t seem real until I got heads-up,” Cody said following his monumental win Friday evening.  ”Then I thought, ‘Oh my God, I am one match away from winning poker’s Triple Crown.’ I didn’t let it get to me, I just tried to do my best.”

Cody’s path to victory in one of the most prestigious events of this WSOP was not an easy one, with matches against the likes of Brandon Adams, Dani Stern,  Jonathan Jaffe, and Anthony Guetti, whom Cody pegged as his toughest opponent.  His final day of play might have been the toughest of all though, as he defeated WSOPE Heads-Up winner Gus Hansen and then Yevgeniy Timoshenko to pick up the bracelet, not to mention $851,192.

Here is how the semi-finals and finals of the Heads-Up Championship went down:

Yevgeniy Timoshenko def. Eric Froehlich

When this match began, the momentum swung in Froelich’s direction, so Timoshenko elected to cash in his second bullet early to even the stacks and the move paid off. He rallied back to even and eventually it was Froehlich who was running low on chips. He cashed in one of his bullets, but Timsohenko just kept grinding away at the two-time WSOP bracelet winner.

Eventually, Froehlich was in all-in or fold mode and he called a push from Timoshenko with 88. He was flipping with Timoshenko’s A9 and looked good after the J42 flop. However, the turn brought the A, giving Timoshenko the big advantage. The river T gave Timoshenko the pot and forced Froehlich to cash in his final bullet.

Though the extra chips kept Froehlich’s hopes alive, he was still short and it took little time for Froehlich to be all-in again. This time, he shoved all-in with Q5 and Timoshenko took a minute before calling with A4. As the board ran out KJ643, Timoshenko improved to a pair of fours to take the pot and the match, punching his ticket to the finals.

Jake Cody def. Gus Hansen

In a fashion similar to Timoshenko, Jake Cody just wore away at Gus Hansen over the course of a lengthy mach. Even though Hansen hung in there a while, it seemed as though Cody was in control from the start, while Hansen struggled to make hands. His problems pairing up were so bad that Cody picked up around 90% of the pots that went to showdown.

Hansen doubled up early on in a situation when both players flopped top pair and Hansen had Cody outkicked, but that is about where his good fortune ended. He lost an all-in confrontation with KQ to Cody’s AT a few hands later and cashed in his second bullet. Even when he got it all-in holding AK to Cody’s AQ all he could manage to do was chop the pot.

Hansen cashed in his final bullet after losing a flip with eights to Cody’s KT and the match drew to a close when Hansen called all-in with A4 only to find Cody holding A5. Cody paired up his five n the turn and Hansen’s impressive twelve-match winning streak in WSOP events came to an end as he headed home and Cody headed to the finals.

Yevgeniy Timoshenko vs. Jake Cody

The ESPN feature stage felt more like a high-octane soccer match during the final bout. A crowd of 50 or so rowdy Brits arrived en masse to cheer Cody on and, after an hour or so of non-stop cheering, Timoshenko’s group decided to rally back with some cheering of their own.

While the fans were relentlessly yelling and cheering, the two young pros were quiet and focused for the most part, only cracking the occasional smile at their respective friends’ antics. Timoshenko pulled ahead early and Cody found himself open-shoving all-in with the remainder of his first bullet. The third consecutive push from Cody resulted in Timoshenko looking him up with A4. Cody turned over [6s6c], which held as the board ran out K9398. Cody took the chip lead, while Timoshenko reloaded.

Timoshenko earned back his lost chips and the match stayed close to even for a while, but the momentum took a sharp turn in Cody’s direction when, facing increasingly big blinds, he moved all-in preflop with A3 and Timoshenko felt priced in to call with JT. The KK4 flop was no help to Timoshenko and Cody remained out front with the 7 on the turn. The river A only improved Cody’s hand and he raked in a massive double up, while Timoshenko cashed in on his last add-on to supplement his remaining 800,000 chips.

Cody kept applying pressure by putting Timoshenko all-in repeatedly.  In the end, Timoshenko took a stand with A5 to Cody’s K9.  Timoshenko may have been ahead preflop, but once the cards fell KQ4, he was drawing pretty slim.  His hopes dwindled with the 6 on the turn and, when the river brought the 4, Cody let out a relieved smile, knowing he was the last man standing.

While Cody celebrated, Timoshenko could only try to make the most of a bittersweet situation.

“I am happy with how I played. I really have no regrets, other than losing my all-ins,” Timoshenko said after the match ended.   “I loved this tournament. It was the tournament I was looking forward to most other than the Main Event.  I guess I have to count my blessings. Second place is good. I am probably going to have a winning summer now. Can’t complain.”

“I think this tops it all,” Cody said when asked which of his three major victories is closest to his heart. “Even though the EPT was my first big win and that was huge, this one, with all the guys [cheering my one], was the biggest.”

Here are the results from the final four of the $25,000 Heads-Up Championship:

1st: Jake Cody – $851,192
2nd: Yevgeniy Timoshenko – $525,980
3rd: Gus Hansen – $283,966
3rd: Eric Froehlich – $283,966

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