|
Frozen In Time: Martin De Knijff v Hasan Habib
2004 WPT World Championship
No matter how good a poker player you are, there are some days where your opponent just seems to have a hex over you, no matter what you do. That isn’t so bad in itself, but when one of those days happens to coincide with the final table of the WPT World Championship, you know you’ve got a real problem on your hands.
That must have been exactly how Hasan Habib felt when he got heads-up with Sweden’s Martin De Knijff in 2004’s showpiece finale, because try as he might he just could not win a pot against his talented opponent – and believe us, he threw everything but the kitchen sink at De Knijff while attempting to claw back the title.
Having attempted a limp-raise on the button with 7-3off the hand before and then been forced to fold as De Knijff moved all-in, Habib was not only steaming but sweating profusely as he was dealt Ac 5c. Needless to say, De Knijff raising his button for the umpteenth time during the heads-up proved to be the final straw and he moved all-in.
Unfortunately, the poker gods had a cruel sense of humour that day and no sooner had he announced his bet when De Knijff had called and showed him 10s 10d to place one hand on the title. A 4h 5h 2c flop provided some help, but a blank Qd turn and 7s river to complete a memorable win for De Knijff, but a heads-up to forget for Habib.
Watch It: tinyurl.com/deknifed
|
