Tournament Details

It hasn't been many years since the men at this table were engaged in fantasy role-playing games and thinking about prom. Now, they're some of the toughest poker players in the world and it's time to see who will be the last one standing on the WPT Young Guns of Poker special.

Seat 1: David Williams
Seat 2: Thomas 'Thunder' Keller
Seat 3: Joe Cassidy
Seat 4: Scott Fischman
Seat 5: Pete Lawson
Seat 6: John D'Agostino

Each of the young guns started with a full arsenal, 250,000 in chips with blinds and antes at 3,000/6,000/1,000. Thunder Keller, holding KTo, fired the first shot with a 12,000 raise. Pete Lawson, in the big blind, called with A9. The flop came down QT2 and both players checked. The turn put a four of clubs on board and Lawson fired out a 15,000 bet. Keller smooth-called and the players saw the river, an eight. The final card had put both a straight and a flush possibility on the board, but all five cards missed Lawson. Still, he fired again, this time with a 32,000 bet. Keller sat back and read Lawson's eyes, eventually calling with his pair of tens and taking down the pot. On the very first round, Lawson had lost 1/4 of his bullets.

With that first hand out of the way, the action tightened up to the point where the players only saw one river over the next orbit. It was more than some of the action junkies could take. Fortunately, they could count on young David Williams.

Williams promised he would raise blind from his button. And, so, he did. Never one to turn down action, Cassidy called blind and flopped a wheel draw with A5 on a 334 board. Cassidy bet out and imagine Williams' surprise when he looked down at his cards to find Q3 flopped trips. Williams raised and Cassidy moved all in. Williams called, but his luck would last just a few seconds. The turn brought a deuce to give Cassidy the wheel and cripple the 2004 WSOP runner-up.

Williams could have very easily been out on the next hand. After D'Agostino came in for a raise with KJs, Williams found a pair of queens and moved all-in. But then Scott Fischman came along and called with 89 of diamonds. When the flop came down 843 rainbow, Fischman bet out and forced Dags out of the pot. Had he stayed, his king would've come on the turn. But the point was moot and Williams doubled up.

The players traded the chip lead a couple times over the next few hands. The time had come for David Williams to make a stand, with a pair of fives in front of him, he moved all-in. Fischman, holding AQ in the big blind moved all-in, going heads up with Williams. The flop was beautiful for Williams, Q85. Even when another queen fell on the turn, Williams remained ahead, only having to dodge an eight or the case queen. But, like an unfortunate bystander at a gunfight, Williams got hit by one of the four stray bullets that could've killed him. The case queen fell on the river and knocked Williams out in sixth place. Fischman could only admit, "That is a suckout right there."

D'Agostino, now the shortest of the stacks at the table, found his high noon had come. With a final now-or-never glace at the table, he pushed in his remaining chips with QJ. High noon could not have come at a worse time, as D'Agostino's buddy, Joe Cassidy woke up with pocket kings. Although Dags flopped a jack, he could improve no further and left in fifth place.

The action must have been inspirational. Fischman with 75 and Lawson with 35 saw a cheap flop from the blinds. The flop came down AKK. Both players checked, then Lawson bet out on the turn, a 4. Fischman called with nothing, but obviously planned to take the hand away from Lawson on the river. As it tuned out, he didn't have to make a play on the river, for it came a seven. Lawson bet out again and Fischman immediately called to take the pot and the chip lead.

The thunder Keller had shown in previous tournaments never materialized to more than a small cold front in the battle of the young guns. When Fischman came in for a raise on the button with a pair of queens, Keller called 36,000 more in the big blind with QT of clubs. The flop came down 973 rainbow and Keller pushed in the rest of his chips. Fischman called without a second thought. The turn and the river brought no lightning and 'Thunder' Keller left in fourth place.

It would be a battle of the blinds that spelled Lawson's demise. From the small blind, he limped in with 24. Cassidy checked his option in the big blind with 92. When the flop came out 28T, Lawson check-called a bet from Cassidy. Both players checked the three on the turn, but the nine on the river gave Cassidy two pair. Oblivious, Lawson moved all in and got a quick call. The move sent Lawson home in third place.

Going into heads up play, Cassidy had the chip lead on Fishman, and came out of the gates as the aggressor. Cassidy came in for a raise with 9T suited in diamonds. Fischman called with K3. The flop missed them both, but Fischman folded to a bet from Cassidy.

On the next hand, Fischman fought back after flopping second pair to Cassidy's bottom pair. Then, Cassidy made a move at the wrong time and pushed all-in pre-flop with 89. Fischman called with A3. The cards didn't improve either player's hand and Cassidy was crippled.

Cassidy made once last lucky stand, calling all-in with K9 versus Fischman's Q5 and doubling up. But his luck would soon run out.

Cassidy called with AQ against Fischman's all-in bet. Fischman held QJ. The flop was full of rags, but a jack on the turn and a blank on the river handed the tournament to Fischman. With that, Fischman could call himself the toughest of the Young Guns.

Until next time.