While Hellmuth’s cards ran a little hot and enabled him to build a decent stack, his cards were not the story of the day. The Poker Brat was in fine form as he threw temper tantrum after temper tantrum. When is this guy going to grow up? Does anyone still find this entertaining or has it become as old and annoying to you as it has to most of the poker fans that we know?
While he had several outbursts, 2 of them stood out from the rest. In one hand, he went to the flop with the lead of KQ to KJ. His opponent took the lead on the flop with a J hitting and the K on the river spelled disaster for Hellmuth. He continued to call down and then expected to win when he hit the river. He went off on the dealer about how he allowed a dominated hand to catch up to him as though it is unacceptable for anyone to hit a hand against him.
His last tirade of the day came during the last few minutes. The tournaments have had countdowns in the last 10 minutes by drawing cards to decide how many hands would be played. This prevents players from stalling so that they can avoid the blinds at the end of the day. For some reason, the tournament director allowed them to play down to zero and Hellmuth once again went off. While his point was correct, the scenes that he makes are quite annoying.
While the antics of Hellmuth tend to steal the headlines, the real story is the humongous stack that Bertrand Grospellier has managed to build. With a stack of 1,380,500, he holds over 400,000 to the second place player. While he was building his stack, well over 1,500 players found the rail. Some of the most notable victims of the day were: Jennifer Harman, Grey Raymer, Marco Traniello, John Cernuto, John Juanda, Robert Mizrachi, Jason Alexander, Matthew Vogel, Jeff Lisandro and David Ulliott.
Even though he was knocked out, Jeff Lisandro has wrapped up the Player of the Year Award as he had outlasted everyone that was within striking distance. There is no denying that he was far and away the best of the season with 3 bracelets to his credit and several other deep runs.
Day 4 will kick off at noon and there should still be plenty of fireworks to see. With 800 players still alive, we are over 100 people away from the bubble. Expect some aggressive play until there are about 10 players to go when the play will slow down dramatically. The short stacks will delay every hand in the hopes that someone else will get knocked out before them and the big stacks will get hyper-aggressive in the hopes of stealing blind after blind.
Leo Wolpert knows the daily grind of a poker player all too well. He traded in the life of a professional poker player and decided to return to school to pursue his law degree. However, this summer he was doing an internship in Las Vegas and decided to enter some tournaments. The decision paid off and he will now have a very nice start to paying off all of that tuition with his first $625,682.
The final hand of the heads tournament had Wolpert on the button and limping in to a check from Duthie. The flop came out 10s3s5c and while Duthie was looking to see a free turn, Wolpert fired at the pot with a 120,000 bet. Duthie immediately came right back over the top to push all in and was called by Wolpert who was looking to finally put this tournament away. The cards were turned and while Duthie had hit top pair, he was behind the bottom two pair of Wolpert. The turn and river produced a JhQh and Duthie was out with a second place prize of $386,636.
JC Tran also collected a bracelet on Tuesday Night by winning the Pot Limit Omaha tournament. JC Tran started making his move about half way through the final session and never looked back. This is his second WSOP bracelet overall and will now put him over the $2 million mark in career earnings in the WSOP.
In other tournaments…
The $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. Tournament is still going strong and will likely be playing until the early hours of the morning. There are currently still 4 players left and all are still in relatively good ship as far as chips are concerned. Mitch Schock is the current leader with 1,015,000.
Event 32 is still running a little slow and has not made it down to the final table and it is unlikely that they will by the end of the playing session tonight. With 42 players still alive at this late hour, they are going to have to come back a little early tomorrow to finish this one off. Rui Cao is the current leader at 467,000.
The World Championship Limit Hold’em is also struggling to get down to their number, but there has been some large movements on the overall leader board. Jennifer Harman started the day off as the chip leader with about 165,000 and is currently sitting at 155,000 after about 10 hours of play. As predicted, there are still some very big name professionals still going strong in this one. Kenny Hsuing is the current leader with $410,000.
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.
The World Series of Poker Europe kicks off in less than two weeks from the Empire Casino in Leicester Square in London, England. Last year was the first ever WSOP Europe and this year promises to be a fantastic event. The World Series of Poker Europe is a set of three bracelet events. The events are H.O.R.S.E, Pot Limit Omaha, and No-Limit Holdem.
Last years H.O.R.S.E. event drew 105 players and the final table was an all-star field. Joe Beevers, Alex Kravchenko, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Kirk Morrison, Jennifer Harman, and Thomas Bihl were all vying for the first ever WSOP-E bracelet. Jennifer Harman and Thomas Bihl faced each other heads up, and after a long heads up match, Thomas Bihl won the bracelet and £70,875 top prize.
165 players entered the Pot Limit Omaha Championship. The final table included pros Tony Guoga, Dario Alioto, and Andy Bloch. Dario Alioto emerged victorious and claimed the £234,390 top prize. This was a European record for a top prize in an Omaha event.
362 players entered the £10,000 buy-in No-Limit championship. It was apparent early on that there was a new rising star of poker in the field. Annette Obrestad skillfully navigated her way through the pro heavy field and made the final table of the event. She was only the third woman in the history of the World Series of Poker to make a main event final table. There was an additional reason her accomplishment was followed so intently by the world. She was 18 years old.
Obrestad masterfully navigated her way through the final table and in the end accomplished three feats. First, she was the first WSOP-E Main Event winner. Next, she was the first female to win a Main Event in World Series of Poker history. Finally, she is the youngest bracelet winner ever. One point I personally find amusing is the fact that although Obrestad is a Main Event Champion, she still will not be able to play at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas until she is 21.
In the end, the three events at the WSOP-E in 2007 were swept by Europeans. The 2008 WSOP-E promises to be just as historic and exciting. Unlike last year, this year’s event is held at only one location. Organizers hope that the central location will give the event greater exposure. The biggest names in the world will turn out for the event including Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harman, and Ted Forrest.
Personally, I predict a very strong showing by Americans in the H.O.R.S.E. event. Many H.O.R.S.E. events become showcases of overall poker talent. Pot-Limit Omaha will likely be dominated by Europeans once again. I have played in PLO tournaments that have been heavy with European players and I will attest that they are very tough Omaha players. One of my proudest moments in poker was a final table I made in PLO. The reason I was so proud was that the field was ½ European. The Main Event will likely be dominated by online players. While many pros don’t like to admit it, the internet players are beginning to dominate NL Holdem. Those that hone their skills online have a huge advantage over live players, and this field will be at least ½ full of online regulars. I don’t see Obrestad repeating as Main Event champion.
The WSOP-E begins on September 19th. During the WSOP-E, I will bring you news and updates regarding the biggest poker event in Europe.
