2007 WSOP Event 38 - No Limit Holdem $1,500

  Erica Schoenberg was a runaway freight train heading down the tracks on her way to a World Series of Poker bracelet. There were only four players left, she had a cushion of chips that numbered over a million and nothing was going to stop her. A funny thing happened on the way to the train station, a brick wall was mysteriously erected somewhere on the tracks. When a speeding train meets a solid, immoveable object, only bad things can happen.  Robert Cheung probably never thought of himself as a wall. Considering his stature he may qualify as an ottoman, but not a wall. Regardless, there is no way he couldn't have taken pleasure in stealing the thunder of a young lady who has been the near exclusive focus of anyone with a camera, microphone, and an alternate agenda that may involve an exclusive interview from the privacy of their room. He managed to derail the little blonde engine on hand #89 of the final table.  Getting rid of Erica was only the preliminary event, she didn't make it long enough to be playing heads-up for the championship. He still had Richard Murnick standing between him and his bracelet.  If Erica was a freight train, Murnick was more like one of those hairless cats running into the Great Wall of Cheung. He only lasted one hand longer than Ms. Schoenberg.  In all the media dust that a fresh face and blonde hair can pick up, let's not forget who the real story of this tournament is now that it is over. It is Robert Cheung, who has not only won his first WSOP championship, but had to do so in the media shadow of a player who became a camera friendly favorite not only in the room, but across the cyber world.  Amid the distractions he managed to hover near the top of the chip counts until it all came down to six players. At that point he was only working with the fifth largest stack. At one point he was nearly two million chips behind the leader and spent a good deal of time playing catch-up. Many of us admire his focus and tenacity. Congratulations Robert.PlacePlayerPrize1Robert (RCW) Cheung$673,6282Richard Murnick$417,1173Erica Schoenberg$261,6464John Kranyak$170,6395Andrew Lee$119,4476Chris Bjorin$87,2157Suey Wong$68,2558Ernie Crespo$51,1929Nick Goodall$40,195