It took over 12 hours to finish the deed, but Freddie Ellis won the first World Championship Event of the 2009 WSOP by besting Eric Drache in Event #6. Ellis was perfect from day one and he had quite a few obstacles to get by in the process. If you play cards in Atlantic City and New York, you know the name. Now the world knows how Freddie Ellis is.
The final hand of the tournament, Drache found himself very short stacked and in deep trouble. The 100,000/200,000 blinds had all but gobbled up his stack and it was time for an all in. Drache raised on the river for his final couple of chips and that was all she wrote. Ellis finished the hand by hitting a flush and Ellis was sent to the rail. Ellis walks away with $373,751, a bracelet and the respect of every player that sat down at his tables. Other notable finishes were Max Pescatori (4th), Greg Mueller (7th), Jeffrey Lisandro (9th) and Daniel Negreanu (10th).
Event #8, the $2,500 Deuce to Seven Draw Lowball No Limit Event, was about as entertaining as it gets. In all likelihood, Ivey had more on side bets than he would win by taking down the bracelet, but he can’t collect unless he gets the jewelry. It was rumored that he stood to win more than $1,000,000 if he took down a tournament.
John Monnette was equal to the task and the two players went head to head for over three hours. At one point, Ivey was all but out and then made a huge run and it looked like the tournament was over as Ivey had over 900,000 of the 1,100,000 in chips. Then with two quick double ups, Monnette had Ivey on the ropes. It was Ground Hog Day all over again as within a few minutes, the situation was reversed and Ivey was back on top. After a few hands, the chip stacks evened back out and the player started trading blinds again for a bit.
The final hand finally happened about 3 and a half hours into heads up play. Monnette was on the button and made a raise when Ivey pushed everything into the middle of the table. Monnette never hesitated and everyone stood up in anticipation. Each player would be taking only one card on the draw. Ivey has holding 7-6-4-2 and Monnette held 9-7-5-2. Monnette was unlucky and drew a 7 to give him a pair and was now officially dead in the hand. Ivey turned over his 5 and the tournament was over.
Ivey now has 6 WSOP bracelets and not one of them is for a NL event. While Ivey is taking down $96,367 for his win, the real payday will come when he walks around the room and collects the money from all the side bets that are out there for a player to win a WSOP event. The will all more than likely ante up again, but Ivey has to feel good about this one.
In other tournaments…
Event #7 is at the final table, but we are still quite a ways from a winner. As of this posting, there are still 7 players remaining in the $1,500 No Limit Event. Craig McConville is currently the chip leader with 3,100,000.
Event #9, the 6 Handed $1,500 NL Hold’em Event is now down to 42 players. This one still has a long way to go with barely a recognizable name left in the field. There has been plenty of action and the number by the end of play today should have us pretty close to a final table.
Event #10, the $2,500 Pot Limit Mixed Game has players dropping like flies. As of this posting, there were only 36 player remaining in what appears to be one of the better fields for this deep in the tourney. A name we have not heard much from in recent times, David Sklansky is still hanging in but times are getting dire with only 32,000 left in his stack.
Event #11 started today and we have seen about half of the field walk away from the tables. The $2,000 NL Hold’em event is moving a bit slower than the bulk of the other tournaments, but the pace is still okay to hit the final table as scheduled. The story of the day in this tournament is Jason Mercier who is making an early bid for his second bracelet of the season.
The second World Championship event kicked off late tonight with the $10,000 World Championship Mixed Event. Negreanu, who has already gone deep in the 7 Stud World Championship Event is playing great poker and catching cards. This is not good news for the rest of the field as there are few better when he is on his game. He is already at the top of the leader board and seems like he is a man possessed. We all know how aggressive he is and he is just as likely to continue his run as he is to be broke by the time the blinds get back to him. However, after last year’s showing, you would have to think he will play a little more conservative when he gets a big chip lead this time around. Forget that, its Kid Poker, full steam ahead!
Event 4 ended rather early on Tuesday Night as the players and casino staff decided to put the final table off for an extra day. Apparently they figured that the online coverage would not be very popular at 4am so the decision was made to delay the final table until today. Considering that the WSOP has a similar turnout and it takes almost two weeks to play, the tournament staff has done a great job in keeping this tournament on track.
The best two players left in the field also happen to hold the number one and two spots on the leader board and have a significant edge over the remaining players. The winner is going to walk away with $771,106. Your standings and chip counts for the final table are:
Dan Heimiller (4,155,000)
Steve Sung (3,395,000)
Vilandos Panayote (1,940,000)
James Matz III (1,885,000)
Jeff Oakes (1,680,000)
Lary Sidebotham (1,500,000)
Phong Huynh (1,310,000)
Nathan Mullen (1,120,000)
Danny Fuhs (965,000)
The $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Event has also reached its final table. Event 5 also had a strong turnout with 809 players starting the event. An Tran and Jason Mercier are the two biggest names left playing, but the lead is held by Kevin Iacofano. He only had one WSOP cash under his belt and it was a 53rd place finish in a NL event. It will be interesting to see how he handles the final table pressure. Your final tables chip counts and standing are:
Kevin Iacofano (770,000)
Jonathon Tare (639,000)
An Tran (445,000)
Jason Mercier (384,400)
Dario Alioto (315,000)
Matt Giannetti (311,000)
Seven Burkholder (263,000)
Chris Biondino (182,000)
Event 6, The $10,000 7 Card Stud World Championship is the third final table of the day. There are only 11 players remaining and when this tournament gets back up, expect some chips to be flying with the remaining pros putting extreme pressure on the rookies. There are still some huge names left and this tournament is the best shot of a big name pro taking down a bracelet so far. Even though Negreanu is short stacked, do not count him out if he gets a couple of decent hands early. However, the smart money should be on Lisandro as he is sitting pretty and playing great cards. Rankings are chip counts are as follows:
Eric Drache (785,000)
Hasan Habib (593,000)
Freddie Ellis (580,000)
Jeff Lisandro (524,000)
Ville Wahlbeck (472,000)
Max Pescatori (401,000)
Ivan Schertzer (368,000)
Gret Mueller (208,000)
Daniel Negreanu (191,000)
Ray Dehkarghani (141,000)
Tim Phan (45,000)
In other tournaments…
Event 7, $1,500 NL Hold’em, started out with another large field. 2791 players showed up and almost 80% of them have been shown the door so far. The pro carnage in this tournament was worse than usual. One thing you can always count on though is an early exit from Chris Moneymaker. Once again, he busts out early and does not make the money. In addition to Moneymaker, Ferguson, Juanda, Deeb and Rousso are all looking on from the rail. 297 players will make the money and top prize is $666,727.
Event 8, the $2,500 Deuce to Seven Draw Lowball (No Limit) has had one of the smallest fields of the series so far. Only 148 players signed up and it would be highly surprising to see anyone but a pro take this one down. Mostly because the game is a little off the wall and many people don’t have a clue how to play it. If you ever want a real shot at a bracelet, learn how to play stud, razz and triple draw and you will find yourself in small fields that you just may be able to sneak your way through. Still standing in this event are the likes of Phil Ivey, Erik Lindgren, Freddy Deeb and Phil Hellmuth. The biggest surprise has to be Negreanu going out early as he had to be one of the favorites to take this one down.
Two more tournaments will kick off today so there will be plenty of action to catch up by the end of the night. Keep coming back for the latest at the 2009 World Series of Poker!
The release of the schedule for the 2009 World Series of Poker has brought about excitement and debate. The poker community seems to have been electrified, not only by the release of the most anticipated events of the year, by the changes that have taken place to the schedule for this years event.
The controversial final table delay of a year ago is back again, along with the addition and elimination of many other events. The decision to continue with the four month long delay has not come as a surprise to many, as the final table in 2008 saw an increase of 50% amongst Television viewers. The buzz and excitement apparent in the final table theater was something the poker world had never seen before.
Player’s looking to “buy” their way to a title through the re-buy events will be out of luck at this years WSOP. The re-buys have been completed eliminated from the competition. The WSOP committee’s goal in eliminating these events is to make the competition fair for everyone, regardless of their bankroll. Although these events have been eliminated, the addition of two new events that offer “no cost re-buys” will give the affect of a re-buy event. In these events, every player is awarded three add-ons, which come with the tournament entry fee. Players can choose when to add-on chips at any point, including the beginning of the tournament.
Those feeling the affects of the economic crisis will also be happy to see a $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event. This is the first time since 2006 that the WSOP will feature an event with a buy-in below $1,500. Tournament representatives have stated, that although it is very difficult to estimate the number of entries for events, they believe this event could draw over 5,000 players; Which would mean the first place finisher could take down as much as $700,000 in prize money.
By far the event that has grabbed the most headlines and awaking professionals and amateurs alike on poker forums around the world is the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’Em event. Although officials have insisted that this event will not take the place of the main event as the “world championship,” many professionals, including Shannon Shor, Greg Raymer, and Daniel Negreanu have admitted that the bracelet winner for this event may represent the “best” player from the events. Many players are predicting a much smaller and talent rich tournament, compared to that of the main event.
In addition to the changes in events, tournament officials have also displayed a commitment to enhance the WSOP from the players standpoint, as well as from a viewers standpoint. Officials are already working to produce more affordable rooms at the Rio, as well as tying the payouts and structure of events to the number of entries. Tournament officials have also assured the public that they will work diligently to develop the final table presentation in a more detailed and effective manner. One tournament official assured that there would be more coverage of the heads-up action in particular, to the delight of players and spectators around the globe.
Whether you prefer satellites or posting your buy-in, secure your seats early, as this summers action promises to be as exciting as ever. Who knows, maybe you are the next World Champion! Until next time, get your money in the middle with the best of it!
As poker players it is in our nature to gamble, and the World Series of Poker is no different. Every year pros, amateurs and fans alike make there picks on who they think will win the bracelets. Just like sports there will be favorites every year, players who are coming into the events on hot streaks and good runs. Before you go out and make these bets you should educate yourself and figure out a good strategy, find out who the most consistent pros are out there and put your faith in there ability to win tournaments. Its important to remember that not all television professional players play full World Series of Poker schedules, while others play all the tournaments they can possibly fit in. So here we go I am going to list off the 5 best bets heading into any World Series, these will be the guys that I think are most likely to win bracelets on consistent basis’. They might not be the best players or the most decorated, but there names will be familiar to you, they probably show up in a lot of big tournaments and have big finishes.
Chris “Jesus” Ferguson – Mr. Ferguson, more affectionately known as “Jesus” was the first person to come to mind when I was making this list. Owner of 5 World Series of Poker bracelets and more then 50 cashes, he is up there on the list of all time earners, taking home more then $4 million in the Series alone. Now Chris hasn’t won a bracelet in some time, but he is still one of the best all around players in the world and he had six cashes and 3 final tables last year. Jesus is the definition of due and I think he will get that long awaited bracelet when the 2009 Series roles around. He hasn’t won a bracelet since 2003, but in that time frame he has won three circuit events and has multiple big finishes including a heads up loss in the Seven Card Stud World Championship in 2008. Feel free to place a bet on Ferguson this year, he is due and I think 2009 might just be the year of Jesus.
Daniel Negreanu – Coming off a big World Series of Poker Europe in 2008, the Canadian born Negreanu will be looking to cash in again in 2009. Daniel has four career bracelets including a limit holdem title in 2008, previous to that he hadn’t won a bracelet since 2004. I don’t know what it is, but “Kid Poker” seems to show up for the big events, he has tremendous skill and great ability to make his way through big fields. Negreanu is the kind of guy you like to root for, not only is he one of the top players in the world, but he is fun at the tables. If my opinion counted, if I had one bet to make heading into the 2009 Series in would be for Daniel to win a bracelet. He will be looking to follow up a great 2008 with an even better 2009.
Allen Cunningham - You might not hear as much about Allen as you do some of the other great players in the world, but he is up there with 5 career bracelets. Allen didn’t win a bracelet in 2008, and I don’t think he will get shut out 2 years in a row. Cunningham is one of the most intelligent and methodical holdem players in the world and I don’t think you can keep him down long. Still just 30 something Allen has a real chance to put his name in the mix as one of the best all around players to ever play the game. The smart money heading into 2009 might be on Allen Cunningham, he is one of the best players in the world who will be hungry for his 6th bracelet.
Phil Hellmuth – You can’t make this list without including the “Poker Brat”, well he does have 11 career bracelets. Phil is the best no limit holdem player in the world, at least he’ll tell you that. I happen to agree that if its no limit Phil’s the favorite. With 11 career bracelets all in holdem you can’t fight the fact that he has earned his spot on top of the list. Phil had 6 cashes in last years Series in Vegas and although he didn’t win his 12th he did make 3 final tables. The one thing about Phil you know is that he takes the World Series of Poker seriously and will do whatever he can to be known as the best holdem player to ever live. You can’t blame a guy for striving for greatness and if you get a price on Phil in 2009 jump at the chance to gamble with him.
Mike Matusow – I don’t; know why, but this one is kind of a gut feeling. “The Mouth” has had a lot of great showing in big tournaments over the years, especially in the main event. He did manage to win his 3rd bracelet last year in a low ball event and made a deep run at the main event once again finishing 30th. If I had to place my money on a big named pro to win the main event, I think I would choose Mike, he has proven he shows up for the big ones.
Well, obviously this is just my opinion, and there are a lot of names to choose from. Special mentions to Erik Seidel, Layne Flack and the 2008 Europe main event champ John Juanda. Always remember gamble only with money you can afford to loose, and that no bet is a sure bet.
For the next couple of hours there was a lot of back and fourth going on between the two players. Neither player gave much ground to the other. The chips were about the same as the last chip count update when a large hand occurred between the two. Juanda raised from the button to 100,000 and Alekhin made the call. On a flop of Qd-9h-6h, Alekhin checked to Juanda who bet out 105,000. Alekhin raised to 285,000 and Juanda made the call. The turn fell the 6h and Alekhin bet out 375,000 chips. Juanda made the call. On the river of the 7d, Alekhin bet out 725,000 in chips and Juanda released his hand. Alekhin revealed 5h-8h for the straight and took a pot worth nearly 750,000 chips.
At hand 355 this event is officially the longest event in WSOP history as far as the number of hands played. The 2006 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event only lasted 354 hands. At this point, the final table had run 17 and ½ hours. And there was still a lot of poker to be played folks.
Alekhin rasied from the button to 100,000 and Juanda made a reraise to 325,000. Both players saw a flop of 2c-Ks-4h. Juanda bet out 365,000 and was called. The turn fell the 10d and Juanda bet out 480,000 chips. Alekhin started stacking chips. Before he could put them in the middle, Juanda folded his hand. Alekhin showed pocket queens. At this point Alekhin has retaken the chip lead at 4.66 Million to Juanda’s 2.61 Million.
At this point Stanislav Alekhin started turning on the pressure to Juanda. He started chipping away at Juanda’s stack over the course of the next hour or so to the point where Juanda was left just 940,000 chips. John Juanda at hand 399 decided to raise to 150,000 and Alekhin put him all-in. Juanda called showing As-Kc and Alekhin showed Kd-Jd. The flop fell Jc-4c-4s and Juanda is far behind. He would need help to win. The turn card fell the Qh and Juanda could now win with an Ace, King, Queen, or 10 on the river. The river fell the 10c and Juanda doubled up to 1.78 Million in chips.
A few hands later, Alekhin raised to 150,000 preflop and Juanda called. The flop fell Ad-4h-6d. Action is checked around and the 2 fell on the turn and Juanda bet out 275,000. Alekhin called. A 10s fell on the river and Juanda bet out 475,000. Alekhin immediately moved all-in and Juanda stood up. He then said, “Alright, I call” and Alekhin showed Qd-2h for a pair of ducks. Juanda showed Ah-6c for two pair and doubled up to take the chip lead. After the double up Juanda moved up to 3,850,000 in chips and Alekhin had 3,370,00 in chips.
For the next few hands Alekhin was able to pick up a few chips and after hand 420, the chip counts looked like such:
John Juanda 3,620,000 Stanislav Alekhin 3,600,000
Where is John Phan to go all-in blind?
Play litereally went back and forth for the next couple of house. Alekhin was able to retake the chiplead and was around 4.2 Million in chips when a huge confrontation occurred between the two.
Preflop, Juanda raised to 165,000 and Alekhin made the call. On a flop of Kc-Qh-7c, Alekhin fired out a bet of 325,000. Juanda then moved all in and was called by Alekhin. Juanda held Kh-6h for top pair and Alekhin held 4c-3c for the flush draw. The turn fell the 9s, leaving Alekhin needing one of 9 clubs. The river fell a harmless 4h and John Juanda doubled up through Alekhin. Juanda held 6.6 Million in chips, and Alekhin was crippled with about 600,000.
At hand 484, Alekhin moved all in from the button and is called by Juanda. Alekhin held Ac-9s and Juanda held Ks-6c. Juanda flops a near miracle when the 6d-6s-2d hits the board. Alekhin needs running aces or nines to win. The turn fell the Qc, which left Alekhin drawing dead. To add insult to injury, the river card was the 6h, giving Juanda quads and the title. Stanislav Alekhin finished this Main Event as the runner-up and will take home £533,950 for his fantastic showing.
After 22 hours and a marathon heads-up session that saw him come back from the brink multiple times, John Juanda is the Champion of the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event. This is the fourth bracelet for John Juanda. Each of his bracelets have come in different games. He now holds bracelets in No Limit Holdem, Pot Limit Omaha, Seven Cards Stud, and 2-7 Lowball. During his interview he stated, “It’s so long ago when I won my last bracelet, I can’t remember. It’s embarrassing. Some people have to keep up with the Joneses. I have to keep up with the Iveys and Cunninghams and Negreanus.” “I wondered if I will ever win again. Today there are so many young excellent tournament players from all over the world. Like the two young Russians and the Scandis. Much more than it used to be. Daniel Negreanu said that we have to step up our game.”
362 players came out to take their shot at poker immortality and the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event Title. Man top pros weaved their way through the field, but it was John Juanda that came out on top in the longest final table in World Series of Poker history. In addition to his gold bracelet, Juanda will take home £868,800.
Congratulations to John Juanda, Champion of the 2008 World Series of Poker Europe.
Stanislav Alekhin 4,143,000 John Juanda 2,335,000 Ivan Demidov 790,000
Little did we know at this point that there was still a lot of poker to be played.
A pair of pots allowed John Juanda to retake the chip lead. First, Stansislav Alekhin raised to 75,000 and Juanda reraised to 160,000. Alekhin made the call. The flop fell 2h-9d-2c and Alekhin checked to Juanda. Juanda checked as well. The turn fell the 4s and Alekhin checked to Juanda. Juanda bet out 260,000 and Alekhin made the fold. Two hands late, the two tangle again. Juanda raised to 70,000 and Alekhin followed along. The flop fell 8s-6d-7h and Alekin checked to Juanda who bet out 110,000. Alekhin made the call. The turn fell the 4h and Alekhin bet out 230,000. Juanda made the call. On the river of the 7d, Alekhin made a bet of 500,000. Juanda went into the tank for a bit while counting out a call. Finally he said, “I raise all in.” Alekhin folded and Juanda moved up to 3.5 Million in chips.
A while later, Ivan Demidov raised to 70,000. Juanda reraised to 215,000 and Demidov decided to move all-in. Juanda went into the tank for a while before finally calling. Juanda showed Ad-Js and Demidov Kh-10h. The flop gave Demidov the lead when it fell 10s-4d-3d. The turn gave Juanda a gutshot straight draw when the Qs fell. The river fell a harmless 3c and Demidov doubled up to nearly 2.2 Million in chips. Juanda fell back to nearly 2.4 Million.
At this point it was literally anyone’s game:
Stanislav Alekhin 2,634,000 John Juanda 2,381,000 Ivan Demidov 2,191,000
Play went back and forth for quite a while. After another couple of hours of play, the stacks were not significantly different, with Demidov only giving up about 200,000 in chips that were distributed between Juanda and Alekhin.
Finally we had a big showdown between John Juanda and Ivan Demidov. Juanda raised to 105,000 from the small blind and Demidov made the call from the big blind. The flop fell 8s-5d-3d and Juanda checked to Demidov. Demidov bet out 170,000 and Juanda made the call. On the turn, Juanda again checked to Demidov who bet out 450,000. Juanda then moved all-in and Demidov made the call for his tournament life. Demidov held Qd-10d for a flush draw and a gutshot straight draw. Juanda held Ad-Ac. Demidov had 12 outs to win the hand. Juanda missed each one as the Js fell on the river. Ivan Demidov finished in 3rd place and will receive £334,850. Ivan Demidov is the first player in WSOP history to make the Main Event final table of both the Las Vegas and Europe Main Event and the first to do it in the same year. Now we will get to see if he can improve on this finish when he goes for the Las Vegas Main Event title in November.
Going into heads up play, here are how the players stood in chips:
John Juanda 4,420,000 Stanislav Alekhin 2,850,000
At this point, many spectators started wondering how long that heads up play would last. Nobody had any clue of what was in store.
John Juanda had steadily chipped away at Alekhin’s stack for a while and was in a commanding lead of nearly 5.9 Million to 1.38 Million of Alekhin. Then the two entangled in a hand that saw Juanda raise to 80,000 and Alekhin reraise to 260,000 preflop. Juanda then moved all-in and Alekhin made the call. Juanda held Ad-2d and Alekhin held As-Qd. Alekhin took a massive lead in the hand when the 8s-9s-10s fell to give him a nut flush draw and a gutshot straight draw. The turn fell the Ah, which left Juanda needing a non spade deuce to win the bracelet. The river fell a harmless 5c and Alekhin doubled up to 2.85 Million in chips.
Back and forth, up and down the two players went over the next hour or so, with neither player budging much. In fact, Alekhin still held on to around 2.6 Million in chips before getting entangled in yet another big hand with Juanda. John Juanda just doubled the big blind on the button, making it 100,000 total. Alekhin reraised to 300,000 and both players saw the flop. The flop fell 10c-7h-5c and Alekhin bet out 350,000. Juanda moved all in and Alekhin made the call. Juanda held Qd-10d while Alekhin held Js-Jc. A turn card of the Jh sealed the deal for Alekhin and he doubled up to 4.6 Million in chips. Juanda was left with 2.66 Million in chips. Oh how quickly the tide can change.
Alekhin then went on a mad little rush, taking down the next five pots. Juanda had fell below 2 Million in chips. Then he made a preflop raise from the button to 100,000. Alekhin reraised to 300,000 and both players saw the flop. The flop fell 10c-4h-10h and Alekhin bet out 400,000. Juanda made the call. The turn fell the 2d and Alekhin moved all in. Juanda called and showed Ah-10s for trip 10’s. Alekhin showed pocket jacks. Alekhin would need one of two Jacks, or Juanda would double up. A jack did not fall on the river and Juanda doubled up to 3.35 Million in chips.
Then it was Juanda’s turn to be the aggressor and go on a little bit of a rush. Juanda proceeded to win 5 of the next six hands to move his way up to 4,240,000 in chips. Stanislav Alekhin was sitting on 3,030,000 in chips.
This was beginning to turn into one massive heads up battle. As you may remember, Andy Bloch and Chip Reese were in an epic heads up battle at the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event that became the longest heads up battle in WSOP history. This heads-up match looks like it might just challenge that record.
The rest of the action of the final table will be included in my next post. Stay tuned.
The final nine players in the Main Event of the World Series of Poker Europe gathered on Sunday to take their shot at the last bracelet of the year and the £868,800 top prize. John Juanda entered the day as the chip leader. Here is how the table started the day:
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
Jack Effel kicked off the final table with the customary “Shuffle up and deal,” and the final table was off and running.
Bengt Sonnert was the first player to double up at this final table. Robin Keston raised to 40,000 from the cutoff position. Daniel Negreanu made the call and Sonnert reraised to 130,000 from the big blind. Keston then came over the top and raised to 300,000. Negranu got out of the way. Sonnert moved all-in and Keston called. Sonner held Qc-Qd and Keston held Ah-Ks. Sonnert flopped a set of queens on a flop of 5c-Qs-3d. Keston would need running Kings to eliminate Sonnert. The turn fell the Kh, which gave Keston some hope, but the river 9s sealed the win for Sonnert and he doubled up to 790,000 chips.
On the very next hand Stanislav Alekhin raised to 32,000 and Chris Elliott made the call. The flop fell 10h-9h-2c and Alekhin bet out 45,000. Elliott made the call. The turn fell the 7c and Alekhin bet enough to put Elliott all-in. Elliott made the call showing 9c-10c for two pair and a flush draw. Alekhin showed Ac-5c for a better flush draw. The river fell the Kc, which completed Alekhins nut flush and Chirs Elliott was the first player eliminated from the Main Event final table. Chris Elliott is our 9th place finisher, taking home £81,450.
Ivan Demidov took the chip lead from John Juanda early on in this event. Demidov reraised a bet from Juanda to 99,000 preflop and Juanda made the call. On the flop of Jh-Jc-6c, Juanda checked to Demidov who bet out 125,000. Juanda check-rased to 314,000 and Demidov called. The turn fell the 8c and Juanda bet out 277,000. Demidov then moved all-in. Juanda folded his hand. After the pot, Demidov was sitting with 1.8 Million in chips.
It was quite a while before our next player would be eliminated. Stanislav Alekhin raised to 42,000 and Tori Hiltunen reraised to 100,000 total. Alekhin then moved all in and Hiltunen made the call. Alekhin held Qs-Qd and Hiltunen held Jd-Jh. The flop missed both players, but the turn came a Queen, and Toni Hiltunen was drawing dead. Toni Hiltunen became our 8th place finisher. £108,600 will be his prize for an outstanding finish.
Two hands later, Ivan Demidov raised to 38,000 and Robin Keston moved all in. Demidov made the call with 9h-9d. Keston showed Ac-8h. The flop fell Kc-10c-4h, giving Keston a backdoor flush draw. The turn made things interesting when the 9c fell. Demidov hit his set, but now Keston could win with any club other than the 4c. The river fell a harmless 6d and Keston was gone. Robin Keston was our 7th place finisher, taking home £135,750.
A few hands later, Ivan Demidov raised to 39,000 and both Scott Fischman and Stanislav Alekhin made the call. The flop fell Jh-Ad-10d. Demidov checked to Fischman, who bet out 45,000. Alekhin then raised to 135,000. Demidov folded and Fischman moved all in. Stanislav called and showed Kh-Qh for broadway. Fischman showed Ac-Qc for top pair and a gutshot straight draw. Fischman had 3 outs for a chop. Unfortunately for Fischman, both the turn and river fell blanks, and Fischman became our 6th place finisher. He will take home £171,950 for his finish.
This is how the chips counts stood after Fischman’s elimination:
Stanislav Alekhin 2,551,000 Ivan Demidov 2,295,000 John Juanda 1,206,000 Daniel Negreanu 896,000 Bengt Sonnert 353,000
Quite a while later, Bengt Sonnert moved all in preflop against Ivan Demidov. Sonnert held Ad-7d and Demidov held Qh-Qd. The flop missed both players, but the turn spiked an Ace for Sonnert. The river missed Demidov and Sonnert doubled up to around a Million in chips. At this point, Daniel Negranu had actually slipped to the short stack position with 811,000 in chips.
Both Negreanu and John Juanda slowly bleed off chips for a while. Juanda ended up losing a sizable pot to Stanislav Alekhin and he ended up dropping down to 600,000 in chips. Negreanu moved down to 398,000. He needed to make a move soon. At this point, players went on their two hour dinner break.
About an hour after players returned from break, John Juanda made a raise to 75,000 and Bengt Sonnert moved all-in. Juanda made the call holding Qh-Qs. Sonnert held Ah-7h. The flop could not have come much lower when the 5s-2d-2c hit the flop. Juanda was in a commanding lead. He had to sweat a little bit on the turn when the 4s hit the board. Now Sonnert had a wheel draw. The river 8c sealed the win for Juanda and he doubled up to 1,359,000 in chips.
Daniel Negranu grinded for quite a while with his short stack. Finally, he was forced to move all in preflop by Stanislav Alekhin. Negreanu held Ac-9h and Alekhin held Jc-Jh. The board missed both players and Daniel Negranu is eliminated in 5th place. He will take home £217,200 for his strong finish. This was Daniel’s third cash at this WSOP Europe. A remarkable finish for a remarkable player.
Bengt Sonnert was the short stack after Negreanu’s elimination and moved all-in preflop for 311,000 against Stanislav Alekhin. Sonnert held Ad-5h, while Alekhin Cardhopper held Ah-8s. The flop made things nearly academic when it fell Ks-10d-8h. The turn of the 3d sealed the deal for Alekhin and Bengt Sonnert finished this Main Event in 4th place. £271,500 will be his prize for his strong finish.
