21-year-old, logger in World Series of Poker final

AP - By OSKAR GARCIA

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A 21-year-old professional poker player from Michigan hit a lucky king to cap a nearly impossible comeback at the World Series of Poker Sunday morning, setting up a showdown with a self-employed logger for $8.55 million.

Joe Cada of Shelby Township, Mich., dodged elimination several times during the longest no-limit Texas Hold 'em main event final table in history. Cada -- who at 123 hands into the session held just 1 percent of the chips in play -- could become the youngest series champion ever in the finale Monday night.

"Luck always helps," Cada said. "I'll take all the luck I can get."

Cada eliminated French poker professional Antoine Saout when a river king gave Cada a better pair than Saout's eights.

The hand ended an improbable comeback Saout staged himself, climbing from eighth in chips to start the session to finish third. He won $3.48 million.

Cada faces Darvin Moon, 46, of Oakland Md., who finished the session with about the same number of chips he started with. He had the chip lead at the beginning of the nine-way final table Saturday afternoon, but begins Monday night with a nearly 2-1 chip disadvantage.

The finale pits the youthful professional who makes a living playing poker online against a self-employed logger who, until this year's World Series of Poker, had never been on an airplane or gambled for high stakes.

"They say he's some kind of specialist online," Moon said of Cada. "But I'm not online to watch."

Moon, who has so far downplayed his skills in outlasting nearly the entire field of 6,494 players, said he has played against a single opponent only once -- in the satellite tournament that qualified him for the main event.

Saout won $3.48 million for third place in what was already the longest main event final table in history, stretching past 14 1/2 hours and 274 hands.

Saout nearly eliminated Cada one hand after busting Eric Buchman in fourth place, but his dominating hand meant little after Cada hit three-of-a-kind and became the fifth chip leader of the session.

The loss was Saout's first big drawback from a surge that began Saturday afternoon, after he started the final table eighth in chips.

He eliminated Jeff Shulman in fifth place when Shulman gambled his tournament life with pocket sevens against Saout's ace-nine. Known in poker as a race, the hands had nearly an equal chance of winning against each other.

One of poker's most famous faces was bounced from the event about three hours earlier, one of two quick eliminations.