2012 World Series of Poker Europe

Event #7: €10,450 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info

2012 World Series of Poker Europe

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
a10
Prize
€1,022,376
Event Info
Buy-in
€10,450
Prize Pool
€4,032,000
Entries
420
Level Info
Level
28
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
10,000

Event #7: €10,450 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event

Day 3 Completed

Cheong Leads Final 24; Hellmuth, Mercier & Boeree Still in the Hunt

Level 18 : 4,000/8,000, 1,000 ante
Joseph Cheong
Joseph Cheong

On Tuesday, the 2012 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event continued with Day 3 action from the Majestic Barrière in Cannes, France. The remaining 77 players from a 420-player field returned for six levels of play, during which time the money bubble burst, and by the end of the night, Joseph Cheong emerged as the chip leader with 24 remaining; however, he faces some stiff competition as Phil Hellmuth, Jason Mercier and Liv Boeree are still in contention.

The day wasn’t as kind to everyone; in fact, 29 players went home empty handed on Day 3. They included Jonathan Little, Jean-Robert Bellande, Alex Bilokur, Sam Trickett, Tobias Reinkemeier, Dan Smith, Martin Jacobson, Sam Cohen and Aaron Lim, just to name a few.

On the money bubble, October Niner Jesse Sylvia moved all in for his last 45,500 and was called by 2010 November Niner Joseph Cheong. The crowd gathered around filled with media members and players eager to see if they made the money. The hands were revealed to find that Sylvia was in need of some help.

Showdown
Sylvia: {A-Diamonds}{9-Diamonds}
Cheong: {10-Hearts}{10-Diamonds}

The flop fell {K-Hearts}{2-Diamonds}{9-Clubs} and Cheong retained his lead. It wouldn't be an exciting bubble hand without a sweat, however, and the {6-Diamonds} on the turn did just that. Sylvia needed to catch either a diamond or an ace on the river to stay alive in the tournament. Unfortunately for Sylvia, the {K-Clubs} came down on fifth street and he was forced to settle for the title of bubble boy. On his way out, Sylvia was wished good luck in the WSOP Main Event Final Table where he stands to win up to $8,527,982 later this month.

Once in the money, the eliminations mounted rapidly. Justin Bonomo (48th-€20,150), Daniel Weinman (47th-€20,150), Daniel Negreanu (43rd-€20,150) and Eugene Katchalov (40th-€21,250) were a few of the people who fell quick. It was at that point that Elio Fox, who outlasted a field of 593 players to win €1,400,000 in this very event last year, had his bid at a title defense just cut short.

In what would be his last hand, action folded around to Jason Mercier on the button and he raised to 10,000. Fox then moved all in for approximately 80,000 from the big blind and Mercier made the call.

Showdown
Mercier: {A-}{Q-}
Fox: {A-}{8-}

Both players held an ace, but Mercier had the better kicker. That's what ended up making the difference as the board ran out {5-}{5-}{2-}{K-}{7-} and Fox followed up last year's win with a 39th-place finish for €21,250.

Other who joined him on the rail before night’s end were Fung Cheing (37th-€21,250), Prosper Masquelier (36th-€21,250), Bruno Fitoussi (35th-€21,250), JC Alvarado (33rd-€21,250), Emil Patel (31st-€22,982), Philipp Gruissem (29th-€22,982), Ben Roberts (26th-€22,982) and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier (25th--€22,982).

While many fell, other managed to navigate the tough field and advance to Day 4. They include 2005 WSOP runner-up Steve Dannenmann; high-stakes legend David Benyamine; former EPT winners Liv Boeree and Toby Lewis; last year’s 8th-place finisher Max Silver; the always-entertaining Scott Seiver; two-time bracelet winner Andy Frankenberger; and 12-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth.

Here’s a look at the top ten End-of-Day-3 chip counts:

2012 WSOP Europe End-of-Day-3 Top Ten Counts

PlacePlayerCount
1Joseph Cheong1,381,000
2Paul Tedeschi1,071,000
3Sergii Baranov1,055,000
4Christopher Brammer956,000
5Jason Mercier824,000
6Phil Hellmuth741,000
7Max Silver656,000
8Curt Kohlberg607,000
9Timothy Adams577,000
10Joe McGowan518,000

The plan for Day 4 on Wednesday is for the remaining 24 players to play down to the final table of eight. Play is scheduled to kick off at 12:00 PM local time, so be sure to check back then as PokerNews will be on hand to bring you all the action and eliminations from the 2012 WSOP Europe Main Event.

Tags: Joseph Cheong

Official End-of-Day Chip Counts

Player Chips Progress
Joseph Cheong us
Joseph Cheong
WSOP 1X Winner
1,381,000 441,000
Paul Tedeschi fr
Paul Tedeschi
1,071,000 -129,000
Sergii Baranov ua
Sergii Baranov
1,055,000 5,000
Christopher Brammer gb
Christopher Brammer
WSOP 1X Winner
956,000 21,000
Jason Mercier us
Jason Mercier
WSOP 6X Winner
EPT 1X Winner
824,000 -11,000
Phil Hellmuth us
Phil Hellmuth
WSOP Main Event Champion
WSOP 17X Winner
Poker Hall of Famer
741,000 351,000
Max Silver gb
Max Silver
WSOP 1X Winner
656,000 88,000
Curt Kohlberg us
Curt Kohlberg
607,000 -177,000
Timothy Adams ca
Timothy Adams
WSOP 1X Winner
577,000 17,000
Joe McGowan us
Joe McGowan
518,000 110,000
Kyle Julius us
Kyle Julius
WSOP 1X Winner
493,000 -127,000
Toby Lewis gb
Toby Lewis
WSOP 1X Winner
EPT 1X Winner
456,000 -4,000
[Removed:138] fr
[Removed:138]
431,000 11,000
Liv Boeree gb
Liv Boeree
WSOP 1X Winner
EPT 1X Winner
411,000 -54,000
Steve Dannenmann us
Steve Dannenmann
390,000 -110,000
Vadzim Markushevski by
Vadzim Markushevski
311,000 141,000
Stephane Girault fr
Stephane Girault
309,000 14,000
Nicolas Cardyn fr
Nicolas Cardyn
285,000 72,000
Scott Seiver us
Scott Seiver
WSOP 4X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
251,000 -39,000
Stephane Albertini fr
Stephane Albertini
230,000 40,000
David Benyamine fr
David Benyamine
WSOP 1X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
217,000 -103,000
Andy Frankenberger us
Andy Frankenberger
WSOP 2X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
186,000 -39,000
Joe Kuether us
Joe Kuether
168,000 -15,000
Vladislav Varlashin ru
Vladislav Varlashin
90,000 -30,000

Long Final Hand

Level 18 : 4,000/8,000, 1,000 ante
Last hand of the evening between Curt Kohlberg and Joseph Cheong
Last hand of the evening between Curt Kohlberg and Joseph Cheong

On a flop of {2-Diamonds}{A-Hearts}{Q-Clubs}, Joseph Cheong fired out a bet of 25,000 and was called by his lone opponent of Curt Kohlberg. The {K-Spades} dropped down on the turn and Cheong continued with his aggression, betting 48,000. Kohlberg called once again. The river was the {3-Spades} and Cheong moved 133,000 into the middle.

Five minutes passed while Kohlberg pondered his decision. Eventually, the level had finished and play wrapped up for the night. The clock was called on Kohlberg and he ran it all of the way down, unable to make a decision. Tournament Director Jack Effell declared his hand dead and Cheong was awarded the pot.

Baranov Takes Chip Lead

With about 140,000 already in the pot, Christopher Brammer checked his action on a board of {8-Spades}{10-Spades}{J-Diamonds}{10-Clubs}{3-Spades}. Sergii Baranov riffled chips and finally pushed out a bet of 110,000. Brammer then went into the tank.

After about two minutes had passed, David Benyamine, who was also seated at the table, called the clock. The tournament director came over and gave Brammer one more minute to act on his hand. With only ten seconds left, Brammer finally decided to fold.

Baranov flashed the {4-Diamonds} to the table.

"Oh!" said Baranov. "Its not an ace!" He let out a laugh. "I thought it was an ace! It looks like one!" Despite the needle, Brammer remained silent while Baranov scooped up the chips.

Player Chips Progress
Sergii Baranov ua
Sergii Baranov
1,280,000 210,000
Christopher Brammer gb
Christopher Brammer
WSOP 1X Winner
935,000 -115,000

Tags: Sergii BaranovChristopher Brammer

Cheong Loses 784K Pot After Flopping Full House

Curt Kohlberg sees his massive double up through Joseph Cheong
Curt Kohlberg sees his massive double up through Joseph Cheong

From early position, Timothy Adams opened with a raise to 16,000. Curt Kohlberg called in middle position, Joseph Cheong called in the cutoff seat, and Stephane Albertini called from the big blind.

With 76,000 in the middle, the flop was {9-Clubs}{9-Spades}{2-Spades}, and Albertini checked. Adams and Kohlberg also checked, then Cheong bet 30,000. After Albertini made the call, Adams check-raised to 92,000. Kohlberg took his time while counting down his stack. He then looked at the dealer and announced that he was all in.

"Count," was the immediate response from Cheong.

The dealer broke down Kohlberg's stacks to reveal he had moved all in for 293,000.

"I'm all in," was the next statement from Cheong's mouth.

Albertini folded quickly, but Adams looked a bit uneasy as he worked out a kink in his neck. He then folded.

Kohlberg showed the {10-Hearts}{9-Hearts} for trip nines with a ten kicker, while Cheong rolled over the goods with the {2-Diamonds}{2-Hearts} for a flopped full house. The pot was worth 784,000 in chips.

The turn was the {4-Diamonds} to keep Cheong in front, but when the {4-Hearts} landed on the river, Kohlberg had backed into a better full house to win the huge pot. Cheong sent over the chips, but wasn't pleased about having to do so.

"That one hurt," said Cheong as he watched Kohlberg stack up the chips. he then took a few moments to walk around and gather himself before returning to action at his table.

Player Chips Progress
Joseph Cheong us
Joseph Cheong
WSOP 1X Winner
940,000 -460,000
Curt Kohlberg us
Curt Kohlberg
784,000 474,000
Timothy Adams ca
Timothy Adams
WSOP 1X Winner
560,000 -205,000
Stephane Albertini fr
Stephane Albertini
190,000 -85,000

Tags: Curt KohlbergJoseph CheongStephane AlbertiniTimothy Adams

Fireworks at Table 8

Phil Hellmuth opened to 25,000 from early position and Andy Frankenberger three-bet to 60,000.

"God!" said Hellmuth, lamenting the fact that he has been three-bet several times since the re-draw.

"See Phil," said Scott Seiver. "You fell for the trap, and now I'm all in." Seiver's four-bet all in was for 195,000 total.

It folded back around to Hellmuth and he flung his cards away. Frankenberger eventually gave up as well and Seiver took the pot.

Player Chips Progress
Scott Seiver us
Scott Seiver
WSOP 4X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
290,000 95,000
Andy Frankenberger us
Andy Frankenberger
WSOP 2X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
225,000 -45,000

Tags: Andy FrankenbergerPhil HellmuthScott Seiver

Three-Table Redraw

Level 18 : 4,000/8,000, 1,000 ante
SeatPlayer
1Timothy Adams
2Curt Kohlberg
3Vadzim Markushevski
4Joseph Cheong
5Paul Tedeschi
6Stephane Girault
7Stephane Albertini
8Liv Boeree
  
1Phil Hellmuth
2Andy Frankenberger
3Scott Seiver
4Vladislav Varlashin
5Joe McGowan
6Kyle Julius
7Joe Kuether
8Max Silver
  
1[Removed:138]
2David Benyamine
3Christopher Brammer
4Sergii Baranov
5Toby Lewis
6Jason Mercier
7Steve Dannenmann
8Nicolas Cardyn