February 28 2011, Chad Holloway

On Sunday night, the ninth season of the World Poker Tour continued with the Legends of Poker from the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. This was one of the most prestigious tournaments of the year and was aptly named after having the likes of Doyle Brunson and Dan Harrington, both Poker Hall of Famers, take down the title in the past. Three of the six final players had made a WPT final table in the past, but all six were looking for their first taste of WPT glory. Here is how things looked at the top of the broadcast.

Final Table
Seat 1: Jared Jaffe (1,006,000)
Seat 2: Kyle Wilson (2,854,000)
Seat 3: Tom Lee (2,915,000)
Seat 4: Franco Brunetti (800,000)
Seat 5: Andy Frankenberger (3,015,000)
Seat 6: Tom Braband (968,000)

Prelude: The broadcast got under way with footage showing Kathy Liebert being awarded the first-ever “WPT 100 Chip” for playing in this, her 100th WPT event. Along with Liebert, the field included former WPT Player-of-the-Year recipients Erick Lindgren, Jonathan Little, and Faraz Jaka, with the latter being eliminated within the first two hour. However, that is neither here nor there because we were down to final table action.

First Hand: With the blinds at 10,000/20,000 and a 3,000 ante, Tom Lee rasied to 50,000 with and was called by both Andy Frankenberger and Tom Braband. The flop came , which all players checked. The dealer then burned and turned the , giving Lee trips. Braband, the short stack, was first to act and fired out 91,000 with his . Lee came over the top for 340,000, Frankenberger folded, and Braband laid down his two pair. First blood went to Lee.

Kings Lead to a Double: Andy Frankenberger raised to 60,000 on the button with and was smooth-called by the of Braband in the small blind. It was heads up to the flop, which came down , hitting Frankenberger’s jack but keeping Braband in the lead. It went check, bet 150,000, all in for 399,000 more, and a call. The on the turn ended an suspense and the was put out on the river for good measure. Braband doubled to 1,266,000 on the hand.

Jaffe’s Turn: Action folded to Braband on the button and he raised to 75,000 with . Jared Jaffe was in the small blind and moved all in for 655,000 with . After the big blind folded, Braband made the call. Jaffe was in a dominating position and stayed as the board ran out . Jaffe doubled to 1,358,000 while Braband’s was once again on the short stack.

Pocket Rockets: Kyle Wilson picked up and raised to 70,000, which was called by Jaffe. The flop was no help to anyone as both players checked. When the hit the turn, Jaffe check-raised Wilson’s 150,000 bet to 350,000. Wilson did a little acting before moving all in, which would cost Jaffe all of his chips to call. Instead, he decided to preserve what he had and conceded the hand to Wilson.

Sick River: Holding , Tom Braband raised to 75,000 from early position and received a single call from Franco Brunetti, who held , in the big blind. The flop fell and Brunetti check-called a bet of 80,000 from Braband. It turned out to be a wise choice for him as the spiked on the turn. Brunetti wasted little time in leading out for 155,000, Braband moved all in, and Brunetti quickly called. Braband had picked the wrong spot to bluff it seemed, that is until the peeled off on the river. Braband had hit his straight to double to 1,295,000.

The Raw Deal: Tony Dunst joined the broadcast with his segment, The Raw Deal, and talked about Tom Braband’s previous hand. Dunst respects Braband as a player, but highly criticized his play in the previous hand, especially on the turn. Dunst was simply saying what most viewers were likely already thinking.

Brunetti Eliminated in Sixth Place: In the next hand, Franco Brunetti was all-in preflop for his last 220,000 and called by Kyle Wilson.

Brunetti:
Wilson:

Brunetti was ahead but not after the flop came down . Wilson had hit a pair of sixes and stayed in the lead when the hit the turn followed by the on the river. Brunetti, who got in the tournament by a satellite, was eliminated in sixth place and received $63,000 for his efforts.

Jaffe Next to Go: Tom Braband put in a raise to 100,000 with on the button and received calls from Jaffe in the small blind and Wilson in the big. The flop inspired all three players to check and the was put out on the turn. Jaffe, who held , checked to Wilson, who held trip sevens with his and bet 200,000. Braband made the call and Jaffe decided to move all in for 620,000. Wilson made the easy call as Braband got out of the way. Jaffe needed a jack on the river but it was not meant to be as the hit. Jaffe became the fifth-place finisher and took home $83,000.

Four Remain: Down to four players, Part I of the Legends of Poker came to an end. The tournament will conclude in next week’s broadcast, so check your local listings. For those who can’t watch, PokerNews will be sure to recap all the big hands, fast action, and eliminations on the way to the newest WPT Legends of Poker champion.

Past Legend of Poker Champions

If you love poker, be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for all the latest updates on the World Poker Tour.