Event #1 No Limit Holdem
The first event was a 1500 buy in that drew 410 players to London. The prize pool was 615 000 and Jesper Hougaard beat F. Serhan heads up to take home the first bracelet. This was Hougaard’s second bracelet, he also won the 1500 No Limit Holdem in Vegas this year. Two bracelets in one year, is a huge feat and Jesper has shown that he is a great No Limit Holdem player. Although there were not a lot of big names at the final table, a lot big named pros were in this event and a few of them managed to cash. Andy Bloch finished in 15th , Daniel Negreanu 24th and Brandon Cantu 27th. Hougaard took home over 140 000 for his win and the coveted bracelet. Negreanu would use his early success in this event to get confidence and ride it to the main event later in the week.

Event #2 HORSE
HORSE events are the hardest tournaments to win in the world. You need to be good at all the games and be able to switch between them and make money at all of all. HORSE as it always does brings out the biggest names in poker and they all want to say the won the HORSE tournament in London. There were 110 entries into the tournament, but you can be assured that all 110 felt they had a chance to win. Sherkhan Farnood out lasted the field to win his first World Series of Poker bracelet. The final table was full of poker super stars who just came up short Howard Lederer finished 3rd, Phil Ivey 6th and Jeffery Lisandro in 7th. Other pros who had deep runs in this tournament, but failed to make the final table were Phil Hellmuth and David Williams. I love HORSE tournaments, it truly shows who is playing the best. The best players are always there and give themselves a chance to win the tournament. You might not win the most money in these tournaments, but you will get a lot of respect.

Event #3 Pot limit Omaha
Omaha is a good game, and this is one of the biggest and best Omaha tournaments in the world. A 5000 buy in and 165 players made this a tough tournament to do well at. Theo Jorgensen won his first bracelet and took home more then 215 000. Theo outlasted big names players like Max Pescatori 5th, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson 7th and Allen Cunningham 16th. Jorgensen proved that he is a good Omaha player by out playing a fantastic field and he will look to gain momentum from this win and get more big titles in his career. Omaha is a huge game in Europe and is becoming very popular across the pond, probably the second biggest game in the world next to Holdem.

Event #4 No Limit Holdem Main Event
A 10 000 buy in and 363 players, this event would turn out to be a grueling and extremely difficult tournament to win. This was the big prize everyone wants this bracelet and from the very beginning of the tournament it looked like a big name would be there in the end. As it turns out there was a big name who took the bracelet and that was John Juanda. The final table was an exhausting 19 hours of play, that featured good players and big names alike. The big story was that Ivan Demidov, part of the November Nine, made his second main event final table in one year. That is a feat that will be hard to match, he and his countryman Stanislav Alekhin looked to have control of the tournament the whole way through and finished in 2nd and 3rd respectfully. Daniel Negreanu had another good showing finishing in 5th just ahead of Scott Fischman in 6th. Negreanu was the fan favorite, but could never really get it going at the final table. There were more recognizable names who challenged like, Brian Townsend 15th, Brandon Adams 17th, Mike Matusow 18th and Erik Seidel 19th. Its obvious that you were going to need to be at the top of your game to win this tournament, and that is what John Juanda did. Juanda is one of the best players in world, and he won his first bracelet since 2003 and fourth overall.

I am sure this event is considered a success, the players showed up and seemed to truly enjoy the tournaments. Four bracelets were given outs to Jesper Hougaard, Sherkhan Farnood , Theo Jorgensen and John Juanda. Daniel Negreanu and Andy Bloch had good events with two solid cashes each and I am sure when they look back at this event they will be happy. The tournaments just ended and I am already looking forward to next year, these tournaments are great. The structures allow for a lot of play and you get to see the big players truly show off there skills. Maybe next year they will even add more events, maybe a Seven Card Stud or RAZZ tournament. Its not Las Vegas, but the tournaments are still extremely good, and as time go’s on they will have a history of there own. The events were great and I hope you watch them when they come out on television.

Philippe Rouas moved all-in preflop and was called by Scott Fischman. Rouas held A-J and Fischman held 9c-9d. The flop fell 9-J-Q, giving Fischman a set and leaving Rouas needing one of the two remaining Jacks in the deck. The turn fell the 7h and the river the Ac and Philippe Rouas becomes our 14th place finisher. £45,250 will be the prize for his strong finish.

At the dinner break, John Juanda is still the chip leader. He has extended his chip lead to nearly 1.5 Million. Daniel Negranu is second in chips with 835,000 and Chris Elliott is third with 758,000.

Preflop, Talal Shakerchi moved all in and was called by Stanislav Alekhin. Shakerchi held Qd-Jd and his opponent held 9s-9c. The flop of 10d-7s-5d gave Shakerchi a flush draw. The turn fell the 9h, which gave Stanislav a set of nines. The 7d on the river completed Shakerchi’s flush but unfortunately also completed Stanislav’s full house. Talal Shakerchi becomes our 13th place finisher.

Later, Soren Kongsgaard moved all in preflop and was called by Stansilav Alekhin. Kongsgaard held As-7s and Alekhin held Ah-Kh. The flop of Kd-10d-9d left Kongsgaard far behind and needing either running straight cards or running sevens. The turn card of the 5h made the hand academic and Soren Kongsgaard became our 12th place finisher. He will take home £54,300.

Two short stacks tangled in a clash that resulted in our next elimination. Johnny Lodden was all-in against Peter Neff. Lodden held As-Kc and Neff held 9d-9c. The board gave Lodden a gutshot straight draw when the flop fell Jc-10s-6d. The turn 3h and river 8c missed both players and Johnny Loden finished in 11th.

Play then became 10 handed as we had to play to 9 players in order to make our final nine. It took an hour before we finally had our elimination. In a hand leading up to the elimination, Peter Neff was crippled by Scott Fischman. Fischman called an all in from Neff on a 5s-9c-7d flop holding pocket fives for a set. Neff showed 8s-10c for an open ended straight draw. An As on the turn helped neither player, but a river 5d gave Fischman quads and left Neff with only 62,000 in chips.

A couple of hands later, Neff moved all in preflop and was called by Ivan Demidov. Neff held pocket Kings and Demidov held Ah-10. The flop was one of the worst that Neff could have hoped for when the 10s-5h-3h fell. This gave Demidov a pair and a flush draw. The turn ended the drama when a 2h fell, giving Demidov a flush and eliminating Peter Neff in 10th place.

Our final table for the World Series of Poker Europe is now set. Below are the seat assignment and the chip counts for the final:

Seat 1: Robin Keston 849,000
Seat 2: Daniel Negreanu 1,002,000
Seat 3: Chris Elliott 281,000
Seat 4: Bengt Sonnert 385,000
Seat 5: John Juanda 1,349,000
Seat 6: Ivan Demidov 1,006,000
Seat 7: Toni Hiltunen 386,000
Seat 8: Scott Fischman 732,000
Seat 9: Stanislav Alekhin 1,278,000

Three top named pros have made the final nine with John Juanda going in as the overall chip leader. Negreanu is third in chips and Scott Fischman is right in the middle of the pack. Ivan Demidov has already made history regardless of where he finishes. He is the first player to make both the final table of the Main Event in Las Vegas and the final table of the Main Event in Europe.

Our final nine players will return tomorrow at 1 P.M. London time to try and stake their claim to this World Series of Poker Europe Main Event Championship. It should be an exciting finish.

It only took about 10 minutes to lose our first player. Preflop, Toni Hiltunen raised from middle position and Tim West moved all in from the button. Peter Neff was in the big blind and made the call. Hiltunen decided to get out of the way. Neff was holding 10s-10h and West held 3c-3d. The board missed both players and Tim West became the 24th place finisher, making £28,960.

Andy Bloch went all-in two hands in a row against John Juanda. Both times Juanda folded. On the next hand, Juanda raised preflop and was called by both Andy Bloch and Mel Judah. The flop fell 3d-Jd-5s and Juanda bet out. Judah folded and Andy Bloch moved all in for the third hand in a row. This time Juanda made the call. Bloch showed Ad-10d for the nut flush draw and Juanda showed 6d-7d for a weaker flush draw and a gutshot straight draw. The turn fell the 5h, and Bloch still lead. A river 6s gave Juanda a pair of sixes and ended Bloch’s run at this title. Andy Bloch becomes our 23rd place finisher.

Perttu Bergius lost most of his chips to Bengt Sonnert when Sonnert spiked an Ace on the river to outdraw Bergius. The very next hand, Bergius moved all in with Kd-Jh and was called by the 10d-3d of Jason Smith. The flop fell 6h-4c-4s, missing both players. The turn fell the 10s, putting Bergius behind the eight ball needing a King or a Jack. The river actually fell an 8, and Bergius was eliminated in 22nd place.

Mel Judah was running pretty short and moved all in preflop with 66,500. John Juanda made the call holding Ah-5d. Judah was holding pocket Queens. Juanda spiked an ace on the flop, and Judah was left needing one of two outs. The turn card fell the 2h and the river the 9c and Judah busts out in 21st place. After the hand, a player from the rail was heard commenting, “You know the expression ‘Run like God?’ It should be ‘Run like Juanda.’”

John Juanda raised preflop and Kim-Andre Torsvik made the call. On a flop of Kd-4s-Ks, Torsvik checked to Juanda, who bet out 20,000. Torsvik then check-raised for around half of his total chip stack. Juanda then moved all-in and Torsvik called. Juanda held pocket Queens and Torsvik held As-10s for the nut flush draw. The turn fell the Jc, but Torsvik needed a spade to fall that did not pair the board or an Ace. The river fell a harmless 4c, and Torsvik is out 20th place finisher.

Erik Seidel has eight World Series of Poker bracelets. Unfortunately, he will not win #9 this year. Seidel was down to just 18,500 and moved all in preflop. Scott Fischman made a min-raise but then Soren Kongsgaard reraised enough to force Fischman to fold. Seidel flipped over 7s-3c and Kongsgaard flipped over Ah-Ad. Seidel would need next to a miracle to survive. Half of that miracle hit the board when the flop fell 9d-4d-3h. The turn fell the 5s. Seidel would need a seven or a 3 to win the hand. The river fell the 2c to give Kongsgaard a wheel, and Erik Seidel is our 19th place finisher.

At this point in the day, John Juanda had a massive chip lead. He held 1.1 Million in chips. His next closest opponent is Bengt Sonnert with 610,000.

Sadly, one of my favorite players was the next to be eliminated. On a flop of 4s-7s-9h, Mike Matusow moved all-in and was called by Johnny Lodden. Matusow held Js-10h for the gutshow straight draw and Lodden held 5s-6s. The turn fell the 5c to give Lodden a pair but Matusow still had seven outs. The river fell the 2s, completing Lodden’s flush and eliminating Matusow. Mike Matusow is our 18th place finisher and will receive £36,200 for his strong finish.

Brandon Adams moved all in preflop against Daniel Negreanu. He held As-Qd against the Kc-Qc of Negreanu. A king hit the flop, putting Adams far behind. Sadly, wheel cards fell on the turn and river and Adams became our 17th place finisher.

Daniel Negreanu was at it again soon afterwards. On a flop of 3s-7h-6h, Justin Smith bet out and Negreanu raised enough to put Smith all-in. Smith made the call showing 7c-7d for a set of sevens. Negranu showed 4h-5h for a flopped straight. Smith would need the board to pair to win the hand, or catch running straight cards to chop. The turn came one of the needed straight card when the 5d hit. At this point Smith had 9 outs to win and 3 outs to chop. The river fell the Kh and Justin Smith is our 16th place finisher.

It was only a few minutes later when Brian Townsend moved all in against Scott Fischman. Townsend held Ac-8s and Fischman held 10h-10d. The flop fell Qc-5h-8h, giving Townsend a pair of eights. The turn of the Jh gave Fischman a flush draw. The river fell the Jc and Townsend became our 15th place finisher. He will receive £45,250 for his finish.

The action for Day 4 continues. Players will continue play to the final table. The remaining action will be in the next post.

Scott Fischman decided that he would give Brian Townsend a very generous gift. Townsend raised to 28,000 preflop. Ivan Demidov reraised to 56,000, followed by a three bet by Fishman to 150,000. Townsend then decided that this was a good time to move all in for 194,000 in total. Fischman decided that he would gamble. Why do I say gamble? Well, Fischman had 10c-2d. Townsend held pocket Kings. Fischman needs to stop hanging around Doyle Brunson. The flop missed both players. A King hit the turn, giving Townsend a lock on the hand. The river fell the 10d just to tease Fischman. After the hand Townsend was up to 355,000 in chips. What have we learned here boys and girls? If your name isn’t Doyle Brunson, don’t play 10-2.

William Haughey was eliminated in 26th place. He took home £25,340 for his finish. Details of his bustout must have been deemed classified, as we certainly don’t have them. Panicos Panagi moved all in from the big blind for 54,500 and was called by Johnny Lodden. Panagi held Qd-Qc and Lodden held Ah-10d. The board hit Lodden hard when it fell 2d-Ad-10s. Panagi needed one of two queens to win the hand. The turn and river blanked out and Panagi was our 25th place finisher.

With Panicos Panagi’s elimination, play for Day 3 concluded. Justin Smith finished as the chip leader with 650,000 in chips. Daniel Negranu finished second with 610,000. John Juanda finished third with 580,000. Check out the names left in our remaining 24 players. Daniel Negranu, John Juanda, Brian Townsend, Brandon Adams, Andy Bloch, Scott Fischman, Erik Seidel, Mike Matusow, and Mel Judah are all still alive. The remaining field in this event is probably one of the strongest field for a Main Event since before the beginning of the poker boom. It should be interesting to see which of these players will make the final table.

Daniel Negranu, and Mike Matusow both have recently won bracelets and should be in the proper mindset to take this title down. Daniel and Mike have both done well at this WSOP Europe. Daniel has cashed three times out of the four events and should prove to be a strong contender.

Andy Bloch should be an interesting player to watch. Ever since he finished 2nd to Chip Reese in the 2006 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event, Bloch has been touted as one of the best players to not have a bracelet. He again finished runner up in a bracelet event earlier in the year to Nenad Medic when he won the first event of the 2008 WSOP in Las Vegas. Bloch is a fantastic player and a nice guy overall. It would be nice to see him do well.

Don’t count out Mel Judah or Erik Seidel. Mel Judah has tons of experience and has been at Main Event final tables in the past. Erik Seidel has been runner up at the Main Event in the past and only 4 players have more bracelets in history than Seidel. It would be great if this event could be #9.

Day 4 of the WSOP Europe Main Event will start Wednesday at 1 p.m. London time and will play to the final table.

The big names still in the event included Andy Black, Phil Laak, Vicky Coren, Ted Lawson, Ross Boatman, Alexander Kostritsyn, David “DevilFish” Ulliott, Josh Arieh, Mel Judah, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Erik Seidel, Scott Fischman, Andy Bloch, Brian Townsend, John Juanda, and Daniel Negreanu.

Andy Black was the first big name eliminated from the field. He was all in against Thomas Bentham. Black held Kd-Kc and Bentham held Ac-Ks. The flop fell 8s-Js-3d and Black was well in the lead. Unfortunately, Bentham spiked the Ad on the turn. Only one of the two remaining Kings in the deck would save Black. The river card fell the 4d and Black’s WSOP Europe has concluded.

Phil Laak was the next big name outsted. He was all-in with Ad-Qc against Daniel Negranu’s 10c-9c. The flop missed both players when it fell 7-7-J, but the turn fell a 10, putting Laak behind. The river fell another 10 and Laak gets to join his girlfriend Jennifer Tilly on the rail. Isaac Haxton soon fell victim to Negranu as well. He had 8s-8h against the Ah-9d of Negreanu. Daniel flopped a nine, as well as a backdoor flush draw. The turn and river were both hears and Negreanu’s flush eliminated Haxton.

Ted Lawson and Vicky Coren were near bubble casualties. With Vicky Coren’s elimination, we no longer have any women present in this year’s Main Event. It looks like the title will go to a guy this year. Sorry ladies.

Preflop, John Juanda raised to 7,200 from the cutoff and Ross Boatman moved all in from the button. Juanda made the call showing Qc-Qd. Boatman held Ah-Js. The flop missed both players, but the turn gave a gutshot straight draw for a chop. The river missed both players and Boatman is out short of the money.

The DevilFish was the next big name that hit the rail. He was all-in preflop with Ac-Jh against Toni Hiltunen’s Kc-Kh. The board missed both players and the DevilFish was filleted.

We reached the bubble period of 37 with the elimination of Chris Moorman in 38th place. Normally, the bubble period can be a long process, sometimes taking as much as an hour. I was once in a tournament where the bubble lasted 2 hours. That was not the case today. Just as the Tournament Director was about to pause play to start hand for hand, Stephen Ladowsky was all in preflop. He was called by Peter Turmezey. Ladowsky held Qc-Qh and Turmenzey held As-Kh. The flop fell Kc-6s-4d, giving Turmenzey a pair of Kings. Ladowsky needed one of the two queens to fall in order to stay alive. Both the turn and the river blanked out, and Stephen Ladowsky is our bubble boy, finishing in 37th place.

After the bubble burst, it didn’t take long to lose our first player. The very first hand after Ladowsky’s bustout, James Keys called a preflop raise all in with 10s-2d. Erik Seidel was the raiser in the hand and showed Qc-Qd. The board missed both players and James Keys was our 36th place finisher. He received £25,340 for his efforts.

A few hands later, Jani Sointula raised to 9,000 and John Juanda made the call. On the flop of Qc-6c-4c, Sointula bet out for 18,000. Juanda called. The turn was the 7d and Sointula made a 30,000 bet. Juanda then moved all in. Sointula asked Juanda if he had pocket sevens and then made the call. Indeed, Juanda had pocket sevens for a set of sevens. Unfortunately, Sointula had flopped a set of sixes. His 45 to 1 longshot did not hit on the river and Sointula was eliminated in 35th place.

Christofer Williamsson reraised Erik Seidel all in for 38,000 total. Seidel tanked for a moment and then called with 2c-2s. Williamson had As-9s. Amazingly enough, the board missed both players and Seidel eliminated his opponent with a lowly pair of deuces. Christofer Williamson is our 34th place finisher.

Josh Arieh’s run at this Main Event title is over. He was all-in against Perttu Bergius holding 9h-9d. Bergius held Ac-Qc. Bergius hit the perfect flop when the 10c-Kc-5c fell to give him the nut flush and royal flush redraw. The turn paired the board, giving Arieh some hope, but the river queen ended Josh Arieh’s run. Arieh finished in 33rd place.

Alexis Guimbal was eliminated next by Daniel Negreanu. He moved all-in and was called by Negreanu, who was holding Ad-Js. Guimbal held Qh-Jh. The flop gave Guimbal a straight draw, but the board blanked out and Daniel won with Ace high. Guimball finished in 32nd place.

Peter Turmenzey was eliminated in 31st place when his Ad-5d was outdrawn by Toni Hiltunen’s K-Q on the flop. Shortly afterwards, Tome Moreira was all in on a flop of 5h-4d-3s. Bengt Sonnert made the call. Moreira held 7h-7s and Sonnert held Jh-Jc. The turn and river missed both players and Moreira was eliminated in 30th place.

Brian Johnson was eliminated in 29th place when he moved all in and was called by two players. By the river Soren Kongsgaard had bet the other opponent out of the pot. With a board showing 6c-7s-2h-9d-5s, Kongsgaard showed 8s-8c for the straight and Johnson showed Kd-10d for air. Robert Machado was the next elimination. Preflop, Machado moved all in and was called by Stanislav Alekhin. Machado held pocket Jacks, but Alekhin had pocket aces. The board missed both players, and Machado was our 28th place finisher.

Harri Pehkonen made a bet on a flop of Jh-8s-5h. Daniel Negreanu raised by 60,000. Pehkonen moved all in. Penkonen held Kc-Kh and Negranu held Jd-8d for two pair. The turn and river missed both players and Pehkonen was our 27th place finisher.

The rest of Day 3 action will continue in the next post.

Big names that participated in today’s event included Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Scott Fischman, Andy Black, Erik Seidel, Josh Arieh, Erica Schoenberg, Steve Zolotow, Ross Boatman, Joe Beevers, Phil Hellmuth, Ted Lawson, Kathy Liebert, Vanessa Rousso, Alexander Kravchenko, Chad Brown, Eli Elezra, Freddy Deeb, Patrik Antonius, Max Pascatori, Phil Ivey, David Benyamine, and Howard Lederer.

David Benyamine was the first big name to be eliminated from this Main Event. Apparently he had tangled early on with Andy Bloch and Bloch took around 6,000 of Benyamine’s 20,000 stack before they got tangled in another huge hand. There was a lot of action preflop between the two before the flop fell 4c-4d-6d. Benyamine bet out 2,800 and Bloch raised enough to put Benyamine all-in. Benyamine went into the tank, probably sensing what was about to come. He finally called showing Kc-Ks. As he was probably guessing, Bloch flipped over Ah-Ad. Benyamine was unable to catch a king and his day was done early.

Howard Lederer was the next to exit. Chris Moorman called a raise to 1,000 from Lederer preflop and the flop fell 9-6-3. Moorman checked and Lederer bet 1,500. Moorman check-raised to 4,800 and Lederer called. When the turn fell a 7, Moorman bet enough to put Lederer all-in and Lederer called. Moorman showed pocket sixes for a set of sixes and Lederer showed pocket aces. The river was a blank, and Lederer headed for the door.

One interesting note was that the seat formerly occupied by David Benyamine was shortly replaced by Erica Schoenberg. Schoenberg is the fiancé of David Benyamine. Also apparently the crews over in Europe aren’t quite sure who Phil Hellmuth is. An intern with ESPN asked Phil Hellmuth to fill out a player profile sheet, which is kind of funny considering that there shouldn’t be a poker fan out there that doesn’t know who he is.

It took a while for the next big name to fall by the wayside, but finally Layne Flack was all in with Ah-Kc against Ac-10s. The flop fell 10c-9c-10h, leaving Flack drawing thin. He was drawing dead after the 8c fell on the turn. Mike Matusow was among the early chip leaders after knocking out Finnish rocker Voittlo Rintala. Around the mid point of the day, Matusow had 75,000 chips.

I’m not sure why Odin is pissed right now, but he must be, because Thor Hansen had a really bad beat put on him at the river. Hansen and Liebert were all in against Liya Gerasimova after a pre-flop raising war. Hansen held Jc-Jd, Liebert held Qc-Qh, Gerasimova held Kh-Kd. Hansen was far behind and fell behind further on the flop of Ad-10h-3d. It must have seemed that Odin smiled upon Hansen when the Jh hit the river, giving Hansen a set. Odin was clearly just teasing Hansen, because the fell the Ks, giving Liebert a straight, and sending Hansen home. Why Odin, why?

Barny Boatman was eliminated later in the day when he moved all in with pocket 10’s. Isaac Haxton had limped in pre-flop with pocket aces and made the call. The board missed both players and Boatman is done. Linda Lee will not be making another final table at this WSOP Europe. She was all in with pocket sixes against the pocket tens of Praz Bansi. Neither player hit the board and Lee was eliminated. Eli Elezra was one of the short stacks the entire day and had survived a few all-in’s. Finally he went all-in with 7h-8h and was called by Andy Bloch who was holding A-K. An ace hit the board, and Elezra hit the bricks.

Phil Hellmuth had been grinding for the better part of the day himself. Earlier in the day he was all the way down to 4,000 after losing to a set holding pocket aces. He had moved up a little over 10,000 and had hovered around there most of the evening. During the last level, Hellmuth was in the big blind and was raised by the small blind. Hellmuth then moved over the top all-in. The call to the small blind was 8,000. After tanking for a while, the small blind made the call. Hellmuth flipped over Ad-Kc and the small blind showed As-Qd. Hellmuth had his opponent dominated. The flop came with two kings on it to give Hellmuth a set. With the hand, he doubled up to 24,800 and remained alive for Day 2. Hellmuth was head saying, “That’s what I’ve been waiting for and I have them dominated. That’s the first time I’ve been all in today.”

Josh Arieh was among the chip leaders when he ran into a big hand against Scott Montgomery. Montgomery went all in preflop for around 40,000 chips and Arieh inexplicably made the call with Ac-Jd. Montgomery flipped over As-Kc. An ace hit both players when the flop fell 7s-5h-Ad. The turn and river fell running 8’s and Arieh was reduced to 43,000 in chips.

86 players remain out of the 159 players that started this Day 1a. Many pros were eliminated on this first day including big names such as Phil Ivey, Max Pescatori, and Patrik Antonius. Justin “BoostedJ” Smith is the Day 1a chip leader with 158,925 in chips. Andy Bloch finished third in chips and will enter Day 2 with 97,100. Many top names remain in contention for this title and Day 2 should prove interesting. Day 1b will commence at 1pm Sunday London Time.