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.

Jesper Hougaard could be considered a veteran of making WSOP final tables in today’s field. Today is his second WSOP final table appearance and fifth WSOP cash. He is in Seat #6 and has 89,000 chips. Seat #7 is occupied by our last woman standing, Linda Lee. She currently has 121,000 chips. This is her second overall WSOP cash. 40 year old Neil Channing has the most experience in World Series of Poker events. Today marked his 15th WSOP cash. This is his first ever WSOP final table. He is in Seat #8 and has 199,000 chips. Our chip leader is in Seat #9. 20 year old Adam Junglen starts today with 795,000 chips.

The first few hands of the final table saw the short stacks push and take down the blinds and antes. On the eight hand of the final table, Adam Junglen raised to 25,000. Jesper Hougaard moved all in and received a call from Junglen. Hougaard held 9h-9s and Junglen held As-Kd. The board missed both players and Hougaard was sitting with 200,000 in chips.

Hand 12 saw Fuad Serhan and Daniel Nutt call a raise preflop from Yevgeniy Timoshenko for 25,000. The flop came Qd-10s-8h and Serhan moved all in for 47,000. Only Timoshenko called. Serhan held 10h-10d and Timoshenko held 9h-9c. Timoshenko needed a jack or running nines. The turn card eliminated all hope when the case ten fell, giving Serhan quads and a double up to 175,000.

Daniel Nutt was eliminated the very next hand. Timoshenko raised to 130,000 and a couple of players took a while to fold their hand. They were likely thinking that he was steaming from just losing the prior hand. Action was folded around to Daniel Nutt, who moved all in. Timoshenko called and showed 9d-9c. Nutt showed Kc-Qc. The flop of Ad-8s-10s gave Nutt some hope, but alas, a jack did not fall by the river and Daniel Nutt was eliminated in 9th place. He received £13,222.

Hand 24 saw Jesper Hougaard double up to around 300,000 when his Ad-4d outdrew Adam Junglen’s As-9d on the river. The next hand, Ian Woodley was all in against Hougaard. Woodley held Ah-Qc and Hougaard held 6s-6c. The flop missed both opponents, but the turn 6h gave Hougaard the win with a set of sixes and sent Woodley out in 8th place. He received £17,835 for his efforts.

Linda Lee picked hand 49 to move all in with her short stack. She moved in with 40,000 and was called by Fuad Serhan. Lee was ahead with her Ks-5c against Serhan’s Qd-9d. Her lead did not last long as the flop fell As-Qc-3d. The turn and river both failed to produce a king and Lee finishes as the last woman standing and the 7th place finisher. She would take home £22,448 for her fantastic performance.

Adam Junglen doubled up two opponents in the span of eight hands to reduce his stack to 70,000. First, he lost a big pot to Yevgeniy Timoshenko when Timoshenko turned a flush to outdraw Junglen’s pocket jacks. Eight hands later, Junglen called an all-in bet from Neil Channing but was behind when Channing showed Ac-Kh to his As-Qd. Both players missed the board and Junglen was on life support.

Two hands after doubling Channing up, Adam Junglen moved all-in for 74,000 and John Dwyer made the call. Junglen held Ac-5c and Dwyer held 5d-5h. Junglen hit his three outer on the flop when the board fell Ad-Kc-3d. Dwyer then turned around and hit a 45 to 1 longshot when the 5s fell on the turn making him a set of fives. This left Junglen drawing dead and heading to the rail in 6th place. He took home £28,598 and dreams of what could have been.

It took 40 hands to eliminate the next player. John Dwyer moved all-in preflop and was called by Yevgeniy Timoshenko. Dwyer held 5c-5d and Timoshenko held Kc-Kh. Neither player hit the flop and Dwyer was eliminated in 5th place. £36,285 was Dwyer’s prize for his three days of effort.

Six hands later, Jesper Hougaard moved all-in from the small blind and Neil Channing called. Hougaard had him covered. Channing held 8h-8c and Hougaard held Ah-6s. The flop of Jc-Jd-10d missed both players, but gave Hougaard additional outs. The turn fell the 10s, counterfeiting Channing’s eights and leaving Channing with only two outs to win and four outs to chop. The river card of the 5c sent Channing to the rail in 4th place, earning him £44,588.

By the time we reached three way action, Jesper Hougaard had a nearly 3 to 1 chip lead over Yevgeniy Timoshenko and nearly a 5 to 1 lead over Fuad Serhan. Play continued through the dinner break and for quite a while afterwards. Finally on hand 157, Jesper Hougaard moved all-in and was called by Yevgeniy Timoshenko. Timoshenko held 4s-4h and Hougaard held Ad-Jd. The flop put Hougaard in the lead when the board fell 5h-Ac-9c. Timoshenko was unable to catch a four on either the turn or river, and Timonshenko becomes our 3rd place finisher. He took home £55,350 for his efforts.

Jesper Hougaard held over a 4 to 1 chip leads heading into heads-up play with Fuad Serhan. Heads-up play lasted only five hands. On hand 162 of this final table, Fuad Serhan raised to 120,000 from the button. Hougaard moved all-in and Serhan called. Serhan held Ac-Kc and Hougaard held Ad-Jd. In one fell swoop, Serhan went from being a dominating favorite to eliminated. The board fell 10d-6d-5d, giving Hougaard the nut flush and instant win. The turn and river were irrelevant and Fuad Serhan is our runner up, taking home £89,175. Jesper Hougaard is the champion of Event #1 of this year’s World Series of Poker Europe. In addition to the gold bracelet, Hougaard wins £144,218.

Congratulations to Jesper Hougaard, Event #1 Champion.

Michael Binger was one of the first pros eliminated from today’s action. Binger pushed all in with pocket aces. His opponent held pocket threes. Binger must have read Phil Ivey’s book on busting out of this event. The flop came with both remaining threes, giving his opponent quads. The river did not fall an ace, and Binger was eliminated.

Marc Goodwin moved all in on a flop of 5s-3c-10d. Both Tony Duffield and Fuad Serhan pushed all-in behind him. Duffield showed Ah-10h for top pair, Goodwin showed As-Ac, and Serhan showed 5h-5d for a set of fives. Serhan had both opponents covered. The turn and river came running fours, giving Serhan the pot and eliminating two players.

Level 11 saw the end of Phil Laak’s tournament. Phil Laak moved all in holding Kc-Js. He picked a bad time to make a move as Sid Harris made the call with As-Ah. The board missed both players and Laak rocketed out of the tournament.

Shortly before the end of level 11, John Juanda moved all in on a flop of 6s-4d-9h and was called by Tim Pennington. Juanda held 9s-7s against Pennington’s Jh-Jd. The turn card of the 7c put Juanda head. Unfortunately for Juanda, the river fell the 6c, giving Pennington a better two pair.

Erik Seidel started the day as the third shortest stack in the tournament with only 7,000 chips. Seidel was able to double up a couple of times early on but his run finally came to an end in Level 12. Seidel moved in with A-K and ran into pocket queens. The board missed both opponents and Seidel will be available to play in tomorrow’s H.O.R.S.E. event.

This first event of the WSOP Europe will pay 45 spots and we reached the bubble period during level 12. Pete Linton became the unfortunate bubble boy. Linton was all in with Ah-9s against Ad-4s. Linton stayed ahead on both the flop and turn, but a river 4h sent Linton to the rail with the same prize as the other 365 player, $0.

Shortly after the bubble burst, pro Surinder Sunar moved all in with A-7 against Arkadi Kilman’s pocket fours. The board missed out and Sunar took home £ 3,075.

Level 13 saw the end of Brandon Cantu’s day. With only 8,100 chips remaining, Cantu moved all in with Qs-10c. Adam Junglen made the call with Ad-9s. Cantu exclaimed “Give me a ten, dealer” as the flop was dealt and his wish was granted with a Kd-4h-10s flop. The turn fell a disastrous Ah, leaving Cantu needing a queen, ten, or jack. The river card fell a harmless 4c, and Cantu was eliminated.

Level 13 appeared to be an unlucky level for Daniel Negreanu. First, Negreanu was forced to fold a hand on the river that cost him about 1/3 of his stack. Finally, during the color up period, Negreanu raised preflop and Christoph Bommes moved over the top all-in. After tanking for a while, Negreanu made the call showing 9s-9c. Bommes held As-Kd. Bommes immediately spiked a king on the flop, giving him a commanding lead. Negreanu needed one of the two remaining nines to win the hand. A nine did not fall and Negreanu busted out in 24th place.

During level 14, Jason Gray made a raise to 11,000 from late position. Warren Woodall made the call. The flop fell Ah-10d-9c. Woodall checked to Gray, who bet out 14,000. Woodall then raised to 45,000. After tanking a bit, Gray moved all-in and Woodall made the call. Gray held As-Ks for top pair, and Gray held 10c-9s for two pair. The river missed both players with the 3d. The river card of the Qh failed to help Gray and Gray headed for the rail.

Level 16 saw the end to Andy Bloch’s tournament. Jesper Hougaard made a raise from the button and Andy Bloch moved all in from the big blind. Hougaard insta-called with Qc-Qd. Bloch held Kh-Jh. The flop fell 7s-Ah-10s to give Bloch a gutshot straight draw. Neither a queen nor king would fall on the turn or river. Andy Bloch finished in 15th place and earned £ 7,072.

Play was down to ten handed when Christoph Bommes called an all in bet from Yevgeniy Timoshenko preflop. Bommes held Jh-Jc and Timoshenko held Ad-Kc. The flop fell 7h-Ac-5c to put Timoshenko in the lead. Bommes was unable to catch a jack on the turn or the river and he became the final table bubble boy.

Nine players will return tomorrow at 1 p.m. to play for the bracelet in this £1,500 No Limit Holdem event. This is the breakdown of the final table:

Seat 1: Fuad Serhan 61,000
Seat 2: Daniel Nutt 207,000
Seat 3: Yevgeniy Timoshenko 345,000
Seat 4: John Dwyer 511,000
Seat 5: Ian Woodley 153,000
Seat 6: Jesper Hougaard 89,000
Seat 7: Linda Lee 121,000
Seat 8: Neil Channing 199,000
Seat 9: Adam Junglen 795,000

Linda Lee is the last woman standing in this first event of the WSOP Europ but she will have a long road to travel to win this bracelet. Adam Junglen enters as the chip leader for this final table with John Dwyer right on his heals. Jesper Hougaard was chip leader for a good portion of the day, but wound up the second short stack entering the final table.

Tomorrow also marks day one of the £2,500 H.O.R.S.E event. Play will begin at 2 p.m. tomorrow and promises to sport a very strong field. As has been the case, I will be back tomorrow to bring you a recap of the action of both the final table of Event 1 and the first day of the £2,500 H.O.R.S.E event.