Classic Hands from the WPT
Gavin Griffin v David Tran - 2008 Borgata Winter Open
An unavoidable by-product of the growth in popularity of any sport is an increase in the number of competitions available and, subsequently, an increase the amount of prizes that can be won. This natural phenomenon is evident in all of the world’s major sporting institutions, and promoters are always looking for a new buzzword or phrase to honour scooping the full set of their respective sport’s major honours.
Premier League football has the treble; tennis has the Grand Slam; and poker (it’s a sport in Russia, OK? If you have any qualms take it up with Putin) has the holy grail of EPT, WSOP and WPT titles, recently dubbed the Triple Crown.
Of course, with the fields that turn out for poker’s major tournaments these days, bagging a Triple Crown is no mean feat, but in 2008 one man became the first and only player in poker history to achieve just that - America’s Gavin Griffin. Having previously set the record for being the youngest player ever to win a World Series of Poker bracelet after his victory in the $3,000 Pot Limit Hold’em event at the age of 22 (a record that has since been eclipsed on numerous occasions), Griffin continued to score big on the live tournament circuit and eventually captured the European Poker Tour’s 2007 Grand Final in Monte Carlo to put himself within striking distance of the historic achievement.
All that stood between Griffin and a place in poker history was an elusive World Poker Tour title, and when he reached heads-up play against David “Big Dragon” Tran in the WPT’s 2008 Borgata Winter Open holding a colossal 6:1 chip lead, the affable pro knew he’d never be presented with a better chance to complete the full set of poker’s major honours. However, with the weight of expectation bearing down on his young shoulders, Griffin certainly had to endure a bumpy ride in navigating past his experienced opponent.
The first hitch occurred when Griffin made an ill-timed bluff holding 6s 4h on a 7c-Jc-8s board and moved all-in over the top of Tran’s flop bet. Unfortunately for Griffin, Tran had aces and doubled through him to gain a foothold in the match. After that early setback, Griffin was soon presented with a golden chance to seal the title, but an incorrectly sized bet when holding the nut straight on a 10d-2d-6h-7s-8h allowed Tran to flat-call with his bare 9 and still retain a few chips.
But while it certainly wasn’t the plain sailing that he’d have liked, it just had to be Griffin’s day in the end – and after calling a shove from a short-stacked Tran’s with Qs Jc (versus Tran’s Ks 8s), a timely moment of good fortune finally sealed matters. With the flop arriving 9d-Ac-8d Tran paired his eight, but an inside straight draw and two over-cards left Griffin with plenty of outs going to the turn. The Qd fell on fourth street turning the hand on its head and a further 10d on the river completed Griffin’s straight to secure the final title in an historic poker trilogy.
Just like that, the final empty berth in the now 27-year-old’s trophy cabinet had been filled and a record that still stands to this day ensured Griffin successfully attained his poker immortality. |
