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.
