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The year of the pro continued yesterday as two of the biggest names in the game took down preliminary events.

It was in Event 18 NL 2-7 Draw Lowball w/Rebuys, that Mike Matusow captured his third WSOP bracelet and the $537,862 first prize. He took home the bracelet defeating a very tough final table which consisted of Jeff Lisandro, Barry Greenstein, Erik Lindgren, Tom Schneider, Tony G and David Benyamine.

Not to be outdone, his friend/rival Daniel Negreanu won his fourth career WSOP bracelet winning the $2,000 Limit Hold’em event taking home the $204,874 first prize.

Event #22 $3,000 HORSE is down to the final 16 players and familiar face Marcel Luske sits atop the chip count trying to take home his first bracelet. Standing in his way are several other pros including Jennifer Harman, Hoyt Corkins, Blair Rodman, Steve Zolotow, Eric Froehlich and Todd Brunson. Updates to come…

The 39th Annual World Series of Poker is well underway and several “name” pros have already won their first bracelets.

Event 1: $10K World Championship of Pot-Limit Hold’em. 2006 WPT Foxwoods winner Nenad Medic took down the $794,112 first prize along with his first bracelet besting a very pro-heavy field including Andy Bloch, Kathy Leibert, Mike Sexton, Patrik Antonius, and Phil Laak.

Event 2: $1,500 NLH. Grant Hinkle scored his first bracelet in very unusual fashion. With Hinkle holding the chip lead by about 2 millon in chips the following hand took place: Hinkle raises to 350k. His opponent James Akenhead re-raises to 1.2 million. Hinkle goes all-in and Akenhead instantly calls flipping over A-K. Hinkle turns over 10-4 of diamonds….The flop is 10-4-10 giving Hinkle a miracle full house which eventually turned into quad tens and his first bracelet. Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson finished this event in 3rd.

Event 3:  $1,500 PLH. David Singer has had a lot of WSOP tournament success. He became the first person to make the final table of both of the 50K HORSE Events and made the final table of the 2003 WSOP Main Event. But he had never won that elusive bracelet..until last night. David Singer captured his first bracelet and the $212,131 first prize besting a field of 713 players.

Event 4:  $5,000 Mixed Hold’em. This final table was also very pro-heav featuring David Williams, Howard Lederer, Roland de Wolfe, young online star Justin Bonomo and Erik Lindgren. In the end Justin Bonomo and Erik Lindgren both battled for their first bracelet. Erik Lindgren got the best of Bonomo on this night and added a bracelet to his already impressive poker resume.

Brandon Cantu now has a WPT title to go along with his WSOP bracelet on his poker resume. Cantu breezed through an impressive final table consisting of poker pros John Phan (6th), Jennifer Harman (3rd), and Steve Sung (2nd) to capture the title and the $1,000,000 first prize.

2006 WSOP bracelet winner Brandon Cantu will enter tonight’s WPT Bay 101 Final Table with a big chip lead after dominating Day 3 of the play. The day started off well for Cantu getting very lucky in a big hand against Joe Hachem.

After a flop of 9c-6d-5d, Hachem bet 20k from the small blind and Cantu called. The turn was a 2s. Hachem bet 40k and Cantu raised to 150k. Hachem thought about it for awhile before pushing for a total of 231,500 and Cantu called with Ac-6c. Hachem shows Ks-9h and is a huge favorite to double up before the river brings the ace of diamonds to eliminate the former WSOP Main Event and WPT winner Hachem.

During play of the TV bubble (final 7) Cantu went on an amazing streak winning 17 pots in a row. He eliminated JC Tran in 7th place to head into the final table as chip leader. The players trying to knock him down are Michael Baker, Noah Jefferson, Jennifer Harman, Steve Sung, and John Phan.

In the four year history of the NBC National Heads-Up Championship Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson has made the final two a remarkable three times. The final two play a best of 3 contest and in Jesus’ first two final table appearances he lost in the 3rd and deciding match. First to Phil Hellmuth and then to Ted Forrest. The third time was the charm for Jesus though as he defeated Andy Bloch last night to win the prestigious title and the $500,000 first prize. The tournament will be airing on NBC in about a month.

The 2008 NBC Heads-Up Championship event featuring 64 of the best poker stars and celebrities started on Friday and has reached the Elite 8. Tomorrow’s matchups and my predictions for the rest of the tournament look like this:

Jonathan Little vs Chris Ferguson

Little has been tearing up the WPT lately winning the Mirage Poker Showdown last May and coming in7th and 2nd in two other WPT main events at the end of ‘07. He got here by defeating Erik Seidel Gabe Kaplan, and Greg Raymer. Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson is of course the 2000 WSOP Main Event champion and owner of 5 WSOP bracelets and a record 3 WSOP Circuit rings. He has also been the runner-up in this event twice. He reached the elite 8 by defeating John Juanda, Gavin Smith, and Mike Matusow. Look for Jesus to continue his success in the event and move on to the final four.

Gus Hansen v Phil Ivey

Two of the game’s best face off. Gus Hansen reaches the elite 8 by defeating actor Don Cheadle (who beat Phil Ivey in Round 1 in last year’s event), Scotty Nguyen, amd Phil Laak. Phil Ivey fresh off of his WPT victory the day before this event started has continued his success this week and has reached the elite 8 by knocking off Pokerstars qualifier Alisha Kunze, Johnny Chan, and JC Tran. This is probably the premier matchup of this round but when Ivey is on his game he is near unbeatable. I see Phil Ivey moving past Gus and advancing to the Final Four.

Andy Bloch v Orel Hershisher

Orel Hershisher has been the story of the tournament. The former Los Angeles Dodgers great has probably had the most difficult path getting to the elite 8 knocking off the 2006 NBC Heads-Up Champion Ted Forrest, Allen Cunningham, Freddy Deeb. Andy Bloch has won close to $3 million dollars in tournaments and was a member of the famous MIT Blackjack team. He reached the elite 8 by beating last year’s surprise Shannon Elizabeth, Vanessa Rousso, and Scott Fischman. This one is tough for me to call but for some reason I see Orel’s winning ways continuing and keeping his great story alive.

Huck Seed v David Benyamine

David Benyamine, best known for his high stakes cash game play (both live and online) reaches the elite 8 by knocking off Jennifer Harman, Barry Greenstein, and the great Doyle Brunson. He faces off against the 1996 WSOP Main Event champion and owner of 4 WSOP bracelets, Huck Seed. Huck defeated Seinfeld’s own Jason Alexander, online pro Brian Townsend, and Michael Mizrachi to reach the elite 8. I think that Benyamine’s aggressiveness will take this one and bring him to the final four.

Here are the rest of my predictions:

Chris Ferguson v Phil Ivey Winner: Ivey

Orel Hershiser v David Benyamine Winner: Benyamine

Championship

Ivey v Benyamine Winner: Phil Ivey

The 8th time proved to be the charm for Phil Ivey as he captured his first WPT title at his 8th WPT final table.

The day didn’t start well for Ivey. Entering the final table as the chip leader with a little over 4 million in chips, Ivey lost almost half of his chips on the very first hand of the evening. Action was folded to Ivey, who was the small blind, and he raised 240,000 and Woody Moore pushed all in for 1.5 million. Ivey thought for approximately five minutes before calling with A-9. Unfortunately for Ivey, Moore had A-Q and doubled up.

But last night proved to be Ivey’s night as he captured his first World Poker Tour title and the $1,596,100 first prize. The rest of the Final Table results are listed below:

1st Phil Ivey $1,59,100

2nd Quinn Do $909,400

3rd Charles Moore $625,630

4th Nam Le $411,770

5th Scott Montgomery $296,860

6th Phil Hellmuth $229,820

Two of the biggest names in the game Phil Hellmuth and Phil Ivey go into tonight’s final table of the WPT LA Poker Classic with a great chance at winning their first World Poker Tour championship. This will Phil Ivey’s 8th WPT final table and Hellmuth’s 3rd official  WPT final table as both look to secure their first win. Ivey will enter tonight the chip leader with over 4 million in chips with Hellmuth behind him in 3rd with about 2.3 million in chips. Poker pro and 2006 WPT Bay 101 winner Nam Le will try and stand in their way at making history. He will enter the final table as the short stack with just over a million in chips. The action begins at 5pm PT. Stay tuned for updates..

In unfortunate news, poker legend David “Chip” Reese died last night in his sleep at his home in Las Vegas. Details of his death are still unknown but it is believed that Reese called his doctor around 10pm on Monday complaining of pneumonia syptoms but never went to the hospital and passed away in his sleep.

Reese, the three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, was probably best known for winning the inaugural $50,000 buy-in  WSOP H.O.R.S.E tournament in 2006. Those inside the poker community will remember him as one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, cash game player who ever lived…

Reese was 56.

The past two winners of the WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals Nick Shulman and Nenad Medic have remarkably reached the final table again. They will battle tonight for the $1.7 million dollar first prize…Results soon to come