https://www.worldpokertour.com/event...8-2/#eventTab2

Don't think I've seen this before for a major title. There's no official chop so we don't know how much he paid. I would assume a lot.

Thoughts?

Cliffs: 2nd place guy has greater than 2-1 chip lead when heads up begins, immediately throws the tournament.

"Ryan Yu raises to 1,700,000 from the button, and Mike Leah (pictured) pushes all in for 13,735,000 from the big blind.

Yu folds, and Leah captures this pot.

"When you're beat, you're beat!" says Yu.

Mike Leah - 15,475,000
Ryan Yu - 40,000"

Can't wait for this to be on TV

This event will not be televised

Wonder if he got more than what first place payed. Probably, I mean why else risk doing something so egregious.

Flat out throwing the game has to break some rules, they should've either chopped and played it for something like 1$ or he should've thrown it without the public knowing. In any kind of sport or game at an international level this would incur sanctions and withholding of funds, and probably life time bans too. But in poker I guess it's ok to be shady.

Revolution

I wouldn't say it's shady. I just don't see the point becoming a "champion" when you didn't earn it. Plus having to pay for it. Doesn't make sense to me.

Agree that they could have and should have made it a lot less obvious.

Who cares? Means people (probably, can't imagine him dumping this for no benefit) are willing to take ****ty equity deals for a stupid title and a nice picture. Poker is not dead.

this? only in poker can this occur. I mean, what incentive is there for Michael Jordan to throw a championship in basketball, hell maybe I am wrong, maybe he could have been bought out by The Mailman.

But the guy wanted to ante up for a little fame and the other guy wanted to collect the dollars, I know who won IMO. As for what they did? I DONT CARE and why should anyone else? free markets gonna free market

That the few people who replied so far don't see anything wrong with this is why poker is so warped. Since this is a niche community that will be the predominant view in any case, which is what I would have thought before expressing my opinion.

It has nothing to do with money and incentives. It simply diminishes what they are playing for, and makes it a farce. Sure it happens to some extent with chopping, but at least the illusion is there or they are playing just as they normally would, to win, but with less pressure. It's never flat out throwing a game, or at least if it happened (probably did) it's not blatant.

Say you have a rich kid playing tennis who's pretty talented and makes an ITF final, but instead of winning it buys it? Not much incentive, as he just wants the title. Would there be nothing wrong with that? No sanctions and everyone would be ok?

Same thing can be said of poker. Let's say you have a billionaire who really wants EPT/WPT titles so every time he gets to the final 2-3 tables he would just randomly start dishing out huge amounts to flat out buy titles. Nothing wrong with this?

In any case the whole point is that it would diminish the title they are playing for, and makes it worthless. In poker it's not as bad as in other sports/games but the point still stands.

You'd have a point if people didn't have to put up money to play.

So you think they should have been shadier and sneakier about it rather than effectively broadcasting what they did?

Does not matter. It sets a bad precedent, as they are not just playing for money. There are many smaller league sports where participants have to pay registration fees and then the winning person/team gets a prize at the end. Throwing games would incur in the same result if found out (well depending how corrupt said organization would be).

And how do you feel about people that have drinks and gamble it up with their favorite homegame hands? They're basically throwing the game, what a disgrace. Or is that different to you because they have no shot at even reaching the final table?

Wow, Guess Mike leah really cares about the title.

Please explain how someone playing his regular style and supposedly going all in is similar to throwing a WPT title heads up by folding, i.e. totally altering how one plays with the intention of losing.

Never said it is his regular style. Let's say Phil Ivey goes to a donkament to *** **** up and have fun. He knows he is not going to win. How do you feel about it?

edit; actually don't answer that, there seems to too big of a gap what we actually care about. Because I couldn't care less and you seem to be attached to the idea of the winner of a single donkament somehow being important. The problem is poker tournaments are a grey area when it comes to "fair". I feel if you're going to go down that way you're going to end up talking **** about every single thing people do until they play perfectly. When I put up my own buy in I don't care about how others feel about me winning or not winning.

I don't think it's shady either way.... I'm pretty much with the who cares, it's there money they can do what they want crowd.

I guess this thread was made more to make fun of Mike Leah because I don't understand why anyone would pay money for a fake title.

If they both were happy with whatever deal they made then who cares, it's not shady. But if I'm Mike Leah I would not want it public so I don't look as pathetic. That's all.

When Yu know you're beat, Yu fold, IMO.

There is nothing at stake in that scenario. Ivey is not directly colluding with another player to buy a title, or doing anything shady. People play bad on purpose because of tilting/venting all the time, what they don't do is fold their stack away hu for a WPT title.

Anyone who plays poker seriously knows they are worthless though, those titles

It’s not a sporting event. People pay money to play a game in a casino.

Do you want to punish a blackjack player if he decides to take another card at 20?

Pretty sure they would have disguised it if throwing the game breaks any rules.

Have you followed any EPT highroller side events? It’s not unsuasal for them to just chop and stop play as soon as the last rec is out. Trophy goes to whoever cares for it.

Somebody alert Jim McManus

Lol, that's a completely ridiculous comparison. Not even close to similar circumstances.

https://www.pokernews.com/news/2016/...ller-26642.htm

2 thoughts on this:

1) How do we know these two players weren't colluding at the final table in order to get Heads Up? If they colluded once HU, it makes me awfully suspicious about behavior leading up to HU.

2) It just wouldn't feel right to me winning a title in this manner.