All of a sudden, second bracelet is becoming a common headline theme in this year’s WSOP. Not only that, but Full Tilt Pros in particular are constantly showing up on leader boards and winning tournaments. The latest addition is of course Greg Mueller as he took down the Limit Hold’em Shootout event. He now has two bracelets this year and gets to add another $194,854 to his bankroll.
While Mueller was at the top of the leader board throughout this tournament, the heads up battle was anything but easy. Marc Naalden gave him everything he could handle and actually looked as though he was going to win this at one point. The cards ended up changing and Mueller was able to take down the event. Naalden won $120,614 for second place.
In other tournaments…
The $50 K H.O.R.S.E. Event continues on and they are now down to 19 players and should be playing down to a champion on Monday. Vitaly Lunkin continues to impress with his play and while he was not able to dramatically increase his overall chip lead, he is still in first place with 1,527,000. Freddy Deeb is having a wonderful tournament and you can expect to continue to see him among the leaders. The one notable downfall has been Gus Hansen. At one time, he was way ahead of the field, but he has since come back to reality and now only has 801,000 in chips.
Event 51 players have already played to the max time for the last two days and will be back early on Monday to try and finish this event. We knew they were in trouble with a low elimination number in day one and with 30 players left, they will have to come back at 1pm to play down to a winner. Thibaut Durand has taken over the lead and has 1,650,000 in his stack.
The Triple Chance Tournament has been a lot of fun to watch and has some interesting names at the top of the leader board. Of course, Jeff Lisandro is making his customary appearance, but Antonio Esfandiari is finally being heard from and sits in the top 5. John Juanda is also still kicking in this one, but his stack is screaming for help with only 42,600 in chips.
Event 53 is well under way and has only 143 players left in the field of 467. Allie Prescot is the current chip leader with 52,500, but there is still some high powered talent close behind. Most notably, Annie Duke is sitting in 6th place with 36,600 and Daniel Negreanu rounds out the top 10 with 33,100 in chips.
The $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Tournament, Event 15, ended with Lemke outlasting Fabian Quoss in one of the more entertaining tournaments of this young WSOP. This group of players proved to be one of the toughest and Lemke earned every penny of his $692, 658. For his Quoss takes home a healthy paycheck of $427,912. Here is the recap of the final hand.
Lemke was on the button with Ad8c and limped in. Quoss, AsQd, made it 360,000 and Lemke immediately made a move on the pot by pushing all in. Quoss made the instacall and the cards were turned over. Lemke was a huge dog, but things got very interesting with a flop of 9hJs10h. If either of the player hit their kicker card, the other one would hit a straight. The turn card was exactly what Quoss did not want to see as a Qc hit, pairing him up but also giving Lemke the straight. A harmless Jd fell on the river and Lemke scooped up the pot and the championship.
Event 16, the $1,500 Seven Card Stud Tournament, was packed with big names throughout, but one rose to the top in Jeff Lissandro. He had been putting on a clinic the entire tournament and managed to ride the wave through to the end. He bested a field of 359 players to earn his second bracelet (both coming in 7 Stud events) and $124,959. Here is a recap of the final hand.
Lisandro had the force bet with a 5d showing and Pardey completed the wager with a Kh showing. Lisandro immediately came over the top and got the call from Pardey. Lisandro got a Ks on 4th street to Pardey’s 8s. Lisandro bet after a check from Pardey. Pardey check raised to go all in and LIsandro called. Lisandro was holding a AK which made Pardey turn ghost white. The hand was meant to go Lisandro’s way as he ended up with a flush when all 7 cards were dealt out. Pardey walked with $77,230 for second place.
In other tournaments…
Event 17, Ladies NL Hold’em World Championship, has reached its final table and there will be no movie stars or big names getting the jewelry this year. Lisa Parsons would seem to be the player with the most experience with two previous cashes. When all is said and done, we are going to have yet another first time bracelet winner. Lori Bender leads the way with 643,000 in chips.
The World Championship Omaha HL/8 or Better, Event 18, fell a little short of a final table, but will play through to a winner on Tuesday Night. John Monnette has a significant chip lead with 1,141,000 in his stack, almost double that of the rest of the field. However, he has his work cut out for him as he still has a hungry Daniel Negreanu in the field along with Annie Duke, Daniel Alaei and Toto Leonidas to name a few. This definitely ranks as one of the stronger fields that we have seen get this far in a tournament.
Events 19 and 20 had just gotten underway on Monday and a now familiar name is at the top of one of the leader boards. Brock Parker has taken the momentum from upsetting Daniel Negreanu in the Limit Hold’em event Sunday night. He is currently at 138,900 and in 6th place. There are still plenty of monsters left in the field and with almost 200 players remaining, anything can happen here.
Friday September the 19th the second annual World Series of Poker Europe will get underway. The first event will be a No Limit Holdem, it’s a no re-buy event with each player starting with 6000 in chips. This year there are some changes, namely that the event will be played under one roof. The Casino at the Empire will host all four events at the years World Series of Poker Europe. As in Vegas where all the events are played at the Rio, the hope is to start a tradition in London. For all the North American fans out there ESPN will be airing eight hours of coverage from the tournaments in London. An Event has been added this years, making four bracelets up for grabs. The biggest question coming into this years events is will someone from the other side of the pond be able to walk away with one of the coveted bracelets. Last year Europeans won all three events, and the all the Americans will try be to become the first to win a bracelet in Europe.
Last years winners will be trying to defend there titles and make history by becoming the first player to win two World Series of Poker Europe bracelets. Thomas Bihl won last years HORSE event when he beat Jennifer Harman heads up. Last year the HORSE final table was littered with poker superstars like Jennifer Harman, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson and Kirk Morrison, no doubt the event directors will be looking for a similar showing. You can expect the HORSE tournament to be full of poker greats again this year because it will be the hardest bracelet to win in my opinion. Last years Pot Limit Omaha event was won by Dario Alioto, he also managed to make a final table in Pot Limit Omaha at the World Series in Las Vegas this year. Omaha last year brought out some big names who made big cashes Tony G finished third and Roland De Wolfe had a respectable eleventh place finish.
Last years Main Event in Europe looked as if a familiar face may win his first World Series bracelet ever in Europe. Gus Hansen was cruising, but he busted out tenth, the favorite was gone and it was anybody’s tournament. Up and coming superstar Annette Obrestad, showed her potential by taking home her first bracelet. Annette showed the world her aggressive bluffing style and may just have won the biggest tournament by a women in poker history. No doubt Obrestad will show up at this years World Series looking to build on the success she found last year. There were a lot of big names players in the top thirty last year and the event organizers will be looking for much of the same. Last year Patrik Antonius finished 29th, Erik Lindgren finished 26th, Annie Duke is 21st and Kenny Tran almost made the final table finishing in 16th.
Predictions
Event #1 – No Limit Hold’ em – The North American pros will be geared up and put a lot effort in to trying to win this event. Look for some good showing by top names players like Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu and Erik Lindgren. I think the North Americans will have to wait as Annette Obrestad wins her second World Series of Poker bracelet. Annette will be looking to prove that she is here to stay and be the first player to win two World Series of Poker will do just that.
Event #2 – HORSE – In my opinion the HORSE event is the most intriguing event at every World Series of Poker. The big names always show up and you can be assured that they will be at the final table. Scotty Nguyen won the HORSE world championship in Las Vegas at the World Series and I think you will see a lot of the same names fighting for the win in Europe. Look for another good result from Erik Lindgren, he is a great all around player and is confident after his player of the year at the World Series in Vegas. The first American to win a World Series of Poker Europe will be Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, and it will come in this event.
Event #3 – Pot Limit Omaha – Omaha has become a big game in the poker world, probably fits right behind Texas Hold’ em on the popularity scale. Europeans tend to be well rounded Omaha players and I think they will come away with another bracelet in this tournament. Last years winner Dario Alioto will have a good showing again, but I think he will come up short as Roland De Wolfe takes home the bracelet. Roland is an excellent Omaha player and I think he finally has a big win in this event.
Event #4 – Main Event No Limit Hold’ em – The main event will be everybody’s main goal, all the top pro’s want to win this title. Last year a lot of big names had big showings at this tournament, but I think you will learn a few new ones this year. Jennifer Harman will have a good showing in this tournament and Patrik Antonius will make the final table. With the bitter taste of last years bubble finish Gus Hansen will redeem himself and win the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event. Gus will be motivated and he will grind out the victory for his first bracelet.
Well we all know predictions are just that, predictions. I think Annette Obrestad, Chris Ferguson, Roland De Wolfe and Gus Hansen win the four bracelets. Of course there is the chance amateur players show up and win some tournaments, but there is no way for me to pick them. I truly enjoyed last years World Series of Poker Europe and I look for the same entertainment value this year. It all gets started on Friday September the 19th and without a doubt someone’s dreams will come true.
All of a sudden, second bracelet is becoming a common headline theme in this year’s WSOP. Not only that, but Full Tilt Pros in particular are constantly showing up on leader boards and winning tournaments. The latest addition is of course Greg Mueller as he took down the Limit Hold’em Shootout event. He now has two bracelets this year and gets to add another $194,854 to his bankroll.
