World Series of Poker Crowns Joe Cada as Main Event Champ
The World Series of Poker Main Event Texas Hold'em Championship was won by a professional for the first time in eight years, but it wasn't the lauded Phil Ivey who emerged victorious from the November Nine. Instead, poker's most prestigious title went to Joe Cada, a 21-year-old pro from Michigan.Cada became the youngest champion in the history of the WSOP by outlasting Darvin Moon over nearly four hours of head-to-head play. He claimed $8.5 million as his prize, a nice payday for being the last man standing in the poker event, which drew 6,495 players this year.
Cada conducted a remarkable comeback, as he was the short stack with seven players still in the field Saturday evening.
"I continued to stay focused and tried not to make any mistakes," Cada told the Detroit News of the tight spot. "I just remained calm and it worked out well."
Aggressive play by Moon once the game went heads-up allowed him to fight back to even from a 2-1 disadvantage, but Moon's luck turned when Cada called a straight draw with a pair of nines and Moon couldn't get his river card.
Cada commented that the whole experience had been surreal, and added he expected the next year would be a whirlwind .
