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.
Well its over, four bracelets have been handed out and now its time to look back and see who had good events. Most of the big named professional players showed up and a lot of them had good showings in the four events. Personally I made some predictions before it started and not surprisingly went zero for four, but I kind of expected that. The World Series of Poker Europe has become a big event, one of the biggest in the world. The main event in Europe is definitely one of the major tournaments in the poker world. All the players love the structures, the tournaments allow for a lot of play and allow the best players a real chance to show off there skills.
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.
Day 4 of the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event started with 24 players looking to make their way to the final table. This is shaping up to be one of the strongest fields since the poker boom with nearly half of the field top name professional. Daniel Negranu, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Andy Bloch, Erik Seidel, Mel Judah, Brandon Adams, Brian Townsend, Scott Fischman, Daniel Negranu, and John Juanda were all remaining in the field at the start of today’s play. Also left is one of the November Nine, Ivan Demidov. Demidov is trying to make his way to the final table of this Main Event before playing the Main Event final table of the World Series of Poker – Las Vegas in November.
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.
On Tuesday, the march to the money began during Day 3 of the World Series of Poker Main Event. 67 players returned to work their way into the money in this event and try to set themselves up for a final table run.
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.
Day 1b of the World Series of Poker Main Event kicked off on Sunday. Day 1a saw 159 players put up the £10,000 buy-in. Day 1b saw 203 players come together to try and stake their claim for the championship.
The big names were out in force. Among those playing were Marco Traniello, Daniel Negreanu, Roland de Wolfe, Brian Townsend, Nenad Medic, Jennifer Tilly, David “DevilFish” Ulliott, John Juanda, Phil Laak, Tom “Durrrr” Dwan, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Doyle Brunson, Mel Judah, Gavin Smith, David Williams, Annette Obrestad, Gus Hansen, Juan Carlos Mortensen, Allen Cunningham, and Jean-Robert Bellande.
The first big name to get knocked out was Allen Cunningham. He apparently showed up about an hour late to the event. Sometime during the second level he was eliminated. John Tabatabai apparently got a good portion of his chips. He claimed that Cunningham had made an incredibly ridiculous bluff.
During the first couple of levels, Jack Effel tried to get a Turbo £1,000 satellite going for the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event. 362 players total had registered for the event, which happened to be the exact number as last year’s event. I guess he was trying to push the number over that so they can claim growth in the event. Apparently noone took Jack up on his offer as the field remained at 362 players after the registration period was completed.
Jeff Madsen was one of the next big names to bite the dust. He was the victim of a player that probably 100,000 players have lost to in the past, Doyle Brunson. The flop was 7d-6h-7s when a player in seat one bet 1,100. Madsen moved all in for 3,900 and Brunson made the call. Seat one folded. Brunson had 7c-9c for a set of sevens. Madsen held 9d-8d for a straight draw. The turn fell the Ks and the river the 9h, filling up Brunson’s boat and sending Madsen to the rail. Doyle Brunson just goes to show that no matter how old you are, you can still play poker at a high level.
Sorel Mizzi was eliminated during level 3. Mizzi made a reraise to 2,625 and Florian Langmann made the call. On a flop of 6s-7h-3c, Langmann bet 7,500. Mizzi tanked for a bit before moving all in. Langmann made the call showing Ah-Ad. Mizzi showed As-Kc. The turn fell the 3d and the river the 7d and Mizzi was eliminated.
Sean Deeb made a bit of a splash during the Pot Limit Omaha event here at the WSOP Europe. His deep run will not be repeated in the Main Event. He was all in on a flop of Ac-6s-10. He held Ad-Jd, and his opponent held As-Qs. The turn fell the 9d and the river the 2h, and Deeb was eliminated.
Juan Carlos Mortensen was next to fall to Brian Powell. Powell raised to 850 preflop, and Mortensen raised all-in to 5,500. Powell made the call and showed As-9s. Mortensen showed 4s-4h. The flop hit Powell like a ton of bricks when it fell 9c-5h-9d. Mortensen would need a four, or he would be done. The turn fell the Ks and river the 6d and Mortensen was out.
Daniel Negreanu took the chip lead about the mid way of Day 1b. Preflop, Negreanu raised to 800 and was called by Lars Hougaard from the big blind. The flop fell 9h-8d-6. Hougaard checked to Negreanu, who bet out 800. Hougaard check-raised to 3,200, and Negranu appeared to go into the tank. Negreanu said, “Hmmm. I have to think about the best way to approach this.” He then moved all in for 50,000. Hougaard started talking to himself and Negreanu asked, “You have a pair AND a straight draw? OK, so you hit your miracle flop and have to fold?” Hougaard then proceeded to fold his hand. Negreanu showed 6c-6s for the set of sixes. After the hand, Negreanu moved up to 95,000 in chips and was the chip leader.
The winner of the PLO bracelet, Theo Jorgensen, moved all in preflop for 2,775. Barry Greenstein made the call. Greenstein held Ah-Ad and Jorgensen held 7c-7h. The board missed both players, and Jorgensen will have to settle for just one bracelet at the WSOP Europe this year. Gus Hansen soon followed. On a flop of 3-4-7, Hansen was all-in against Jennifer Tilly. Tilly held A-A and Hansen 3-4 for two pair. The board paired on the turn when a 7 fell, giving Tilly a better two pair. These pairs held up and Hansen was gone.
The World Series of Poker Europe will have a new Main Event Champion. Annette Obrestad was all-in with pocket Kings against the A-Q of Marco Traniello. Unfortunately for Obrestad, Traniello spiked an Ace and Obrestad will not repeat as Main Event Champion.
Gavin Smith got a taste of his own medicine in tonight’s event. He was all in with pocket Kings. His opponent held 9c-10c. The board flopped an open ended straight draw when the board fell J-8-6. The turn missed both players, but the river Q gave Smith’s opponent a straight and sent Smith to the rail.
Day 1b of the World Series of Poker saw 203 players come together to take their shot at the last bracelet of the World Series of Poker Europe. 97 players survived the session and will join the 86 players from Day 1a on Monday to continue play. Many top names were able to survive Day 1b. Among those are Doyle Brunson, Chris Ferguson, Scotty Nguyen, Surinder Sunar, Barry Grenstein, Jennifer Tilly, Nenad Medic, and John Juanda. Daniel Negranu lost the chip lead for a while, but was able to regain it by the end of the day. Below are the current chip leaders for day 1b.
Daniel Negreanu 154050 Jamie Rosen 139225 David Benefield 126775 Sargon Ruya 114100 Jean Thorel 98675 Marco Traniello 96750 Mikael Norinder 91650 Yuval Bronshtein 85675 Roland de Wolfe 84000 Talal Shakerchi 83025
Play for Day 2 of the World Series of Poker Main Event continued on Monday at 1 p.m. London time.
