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.
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.
