Eleventh-hour victory: Cynn part of WSOP lore
John Cynn turned Las Vegas into Cynn City early Sunday morning, when he won the World Series of Poker Main Event at the Rio Convention Center.
Cynn, who took home the $8.8 million first-place prize and coveted Main Event bracelet, outlasted Tony Miles in what is believed to be the longest heads-up showdown in WSOP Main Event history.
The backand-forth battle started at 6:45 p.m. Saturday and didn’t end until 4:50 a.m. Sunday, a little more than 10 hours and 199 hands after it started.
A poker pro from Evanston, Illinois, Cynn outlasted 7,874 players — the second-largest field in Main
CYNN
group. Charges were filed against the group on Sunday, too.
Putin was later on the field to award medals to the players in a ceremony soon drenched in rain and joy. As thunder pealed and lightning cracked, FIFA president Gianni Infantino handed France captain Hugo Lloris the gold World Cup trophy.
Gold confetti stuck to the soaked Les Bleus as they paraded the trophy around Luzhniki Stadium, a final act of an enthralling tournament in which Croatia reached its first final while powers Brazil, Germany and Argentina went home early.
About 12 minutes after a protester gave Mbappe a double high-five on
the field, Mbappe sent a right-footed shot from 25 yards past goalkeeper Danijel Subasic. The goal put France up 4-1, closing the door on Croatia who had been the better team until Mbappe took control.
The only other teen to score in a World Cup final was Pele, who was 17 when Brazil beat Sweden 5-2 in 1958.
Mbappe, who plays for Paris Saint-germain in the French league, was born months after France won its only other World Cup title in 1998.
“I have a whole story to write,” Mbappe said. “This is just the beginning.”
Paul Pogba and Griezmann, France’s two other key creative players, also scored. Pogba played a disciplined role in Russia, but his natural joy was evident celebrating his 18-yard shot, and leading the champagne
shower for Deschamps.
But it was Mbappe who put the match out of reach with a furious passage of play in the second half. In the 59th, a run from Mbappe started a play that ended up with Pogba on the edge of the penalty area. With his second attempt, the midfielder curled his shot beyond Subasic.
Griezmann scored from the penalty spot in the 38th minute fully four minutes after his corner kick was knocked out of play by Ivan Perisic’s arm. The referee ruled it a handball only after a video review, just as the first thundersclaps boomed around the stadium.
“In a World Cup final, you do not give such a penalty,” Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said.
France took the lead in the 18th minute when Croatia’s tallest outfield
player, 6-foot-3-inch forward Mario Mandzukic, rose to meet Griezmann’s free kick with the top of his head. He deflected it past his own goalkeeper.
Perisic and Mandzukic both scored for Croatia, first to equalize in the 28th minute and later as a consolation goal in the 69th, embarrassing Lloris with a flicked shot as the France goalkeeper tried to dribble the ball out of his goalmouth.
But the three-goal lead was too much for the red-and-white-checkered squad that made a habit of coming back at the World Cup — and played three straight 120-minute games before the final.
“We were dominant, we had control,” Dalic said through a translator. “What we’ve had in terms of luck over the tournament, we lacked that today.”