Tonking out in fourth, wins $2.8 million at WSOP Main Event

11 November 2014

By Aaron Todd

Outside of Mark Newhouse, no one took their exit from the World Series of Poker Main Event final table on Monday night and Tuesday morning harder than William Tonking.

Tonking's day was a true roller coaster. He started the day fifth in chips, then catapulted himself into second when he put the pieces together on Mark Newhouse's river bluff to score the first elimination of the final table. Later on in the day, he managed to gain the chip lead and looked like the favorite to win the tournament.

But that momentum didn't last. Tonking kept finding himself in tough positions, and his chip position kept slipping. He survived for 224 hands before finally bowing out in fourth and winning $2.8 million.

Tonking didn't find many words in his post-tournament interview. His demeanor at the post-tournament press conference was reminiscent of New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick after a loss to the New York Jets.

And who could blame him? Unlike Belichick, as a poker player who specializes in cash games, Tonking is never expected to talk to the media, regardless of how things go at the poker table. It's not easy to answer questions after a disappointing day; it must be even harder when you get so close to making a lifelong dream a reality.

But the one time he did open up a bit, his thoughts stood in direct conflict with his demeanor.

One reporter asked Tonking what he could take from this experience, even though it wasn't everything that he'd hoped it would be.

"It's more than I hoped it to be," said Tonking. "I finished fourth in the Main Event."

While that may be easy to state on an intellectual level, it's not so easy to accept on an emotional level. If Tonking had been asked if he'd take fourth-place money at the start of the day, he might have said yes. But for a couple hours, it appeared that he'd have a very good shot at advancing to play on Tuesday night for the Main Event title and the $10 million first-place prize.

No matter who you are and how honest you are with yourself, that's a tough pill to swallow.