Carlos Mortensen Proves Himself To Be Greatest WPT Player in History

By BJ Nemeth

Carlos Mortensen has one of the most impressive resumes in poker — he has more than $9 million in tournament earnings, and is the only player in history to win both the WSOP Main Event and the WPT World Championship.

Yet when poker’s Hall of Fame nomination process was opened up to fans and the media last year, Mortensen’s name was conspicuously absent from the entire process — 41 players received multiple nominations, including many who are younger and/or less accomplished than Mortensen.

It’ll be a lot tougher for Hall of Fame voters to overlook Mortensen’s name next year.

On Wednesday night, Carlos Mortensen overcame a tough final table at the Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, to win the Hollywood Poker Open and the third WPT title of his career. Mortensen ties Gus Hansen as the only players with three WPT titles, and passes Daniel Negreanu to lead the WPT’s all-time money list with more than $5.75 million in earnings. Combined, these two facts make it pretty clear that Carlos Mortensen is the most successful player in World Poker Tour history.

THE FINAL TABLE ACTION

Mortensen entered the WPT final table as the chipleader, but he had to get through a tough lineup that consisted of three-time WPT final tablist Chris Bell and four young online pros:

1. Carlos Mortensen – 1,127,000 (56 bb)
2. Frank Calo – 1,075,000 (53 bb)
3. Mike Mustafa – 990,000 (49 bb)
4. Ravi Raghavan – 488,000 (24 bb)
5. Chris Bell – 372,000 (18 bb)
6. Jerry Payne – 268,000 (13 bb)

None of the three players with the short stacks (Payne, Bell, and Raghavan) were able to fight their way out of the cellar. In Hand #18, Jerry Payne moved all in with [Qd10c], but lost to Mustafa’s [AcKs]. In Hand #35, Ravi Raghavan moved all in with [5c5s] and lost to Calo’s [KcKd]. In Hand #37, Chris Bell moved all in with [As9d], but lost to Mortensen’s [4c4s].

Each of the short stacks was eliminated by a different player with a big stack, and after Bell was eliminated, the chip counts were effectively even:

1. Carlos Mortensen – 1,458,000 (60 bb)
2. Frank Calo – 1,457,000 (60 bb)
3. Mike Mustafa – 1,405,000 (58 bb)

Mortensen would drop as low as 853,000, becoming the short stack himself, before battling back. In Hand #67, Mortensen and Frank Calo got it all in after a flop of [5c4c2d] — Mortensen had [3c3s] for a pair and a straight draw, while Calo had [5d4d] for top two pair. The turn was a blank, but the [3h] on the river gave Mortensen a set of threes to win the pot and eliminate Calo. Mortensen was back in the chip lead, if only by a small margin.

Carlos Mortensen – 2,261,000 (75 bb)
Mike Mustafa – 2,059,000 (68 bb)

In the first hand of heads-up play (Hand #68), Mortensen won a big pot on his way to a 3-to-1 chip lead. But Mike Mustafa battled back, claiming the chip lead in Hand #96. Mustafa wasn’t able to distance himself from Mortensen, and their chip stacks were nearly even when they played Hand #131.

Both players limped to see a flop of [10d9d6s], and Mortensen check-raised a bet from Mustafa. Mustafa thought for a bit before moving all in, and Mortensen insta-called with [8h7c] for a flopped ten-high straight. Mustafa showed [10c9h] for two pair. The straight held up, and Mortensen won the pot to cripple Mustafa down to just three big blinds.

Mustafa managed to double up twice, but his luck ran out in Hand #138 when his [6d6h] lost a preflop race to Mortensen’s [Kc10d] on a board of [Jc10c3cJs5c] — Mortensen won the pot (and the tournament) with a king-high club flush.

Here’s a look at the payouts for the six final tablists:

1st Place: Carlos Mortensen – $393,820
2nd Place: Mike Mustafa – $223,623
3rd Place: Frank Calo – $167,717
4th Place: Chris Bell – $124,966
5th Place: Ravi Raghavan – $105,234
6th Place: Jerry Payne – $88,791

CARLOS MORTENSEN’S PLACE IN POKER HISTORY

With this victory, Carlos Mortensen becomes the winningest player in World Poker Tour history, measured both by number of victories (three, tied with Gus Hansen) and money earned ($5,754,308). In addition to his three WPT titles, Mortensen has two bracelets and more than $9.6 million in live tournament earnings, enough to put him in 12th place on the all-time money list.

No other player has won the championship events on two different major tours — Mortensen won the 2001 WSOP Main Event (worth $1,500,000) and the 2007 WPT World Championship (worth $3,970,415). Mortensen is also one of only three players to win $1 million or more three times (the other two are Phil Ivey and Dan Harrington).

Mortensen wasn’t on the ballot for last year’s Hall of Fame, but there’s a good chance that he’ll be listed this year. He is also currently among the Top 50 players receiving votes for the WSOP Tournament of Champions in the fan-voted all-star format. (This latest victory should definitely increase the number of votes cast for Mortensen.)

While Mortensen’s place in poker history is secure, it should be noted that he is only 37 years old, and his career is far from over. Now that he finds himself tied for second place in the WPT Player of the Year race, Mortensen has set that as his next goal. If he maintains his current hot streak, then it would be tough to bet against him.