10th Place: 1 ($10,321), 9th Place: Jonathan Lewis ($12,409)

10th place finisher Brian Borgeson (left) shakes hands with John Quirk

The first hand of this final table was an explosion of action!  At 60,000/120,000 blinds, Brian Borgeson moved all in first to act for 320,000.  Directly to his left, John Quirk rereaised to 1,000,000, and action folded to Jonathan Lewis in middle position.  He moved all in over the top for 2,195,000.  The remaining players got out of the way, and John had a big decision.  After some thought, he pushed forth the remaining chips to make the call.

Brian [As][Jc]
John [Qh][Qc]
Jonathan [Ah][Ks]

John was a 58% favorite to knock out two players, so off to the flop we went.  The dealer knocked the table and put out [6h][7d][Qd], giving John an almost unbeatable set.  The two other players would need running cards to survive.  The [Ts] kept the drama alive as everyone had a shot at winning this pot.  The [9d] hit the river, however, and John's set of queens would be the best hand.

Since Jonathan had the bigger stack to start the hand, he will earn $12,409 for his 10th place finish, while Brian will earn $10,321 for his 9th place finish.

Jonathan Lewis stays seated to await his fate

Brian Borgeson (center) is all in and awaits John Quirk's decision