WSOPE Event #1, $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em, Day 2: Junglen Heads Final Table
Adam Junglen finished Day 2 of the £ 1,500 No Limit Hold'em Event #1 at the World Series of Poker Europe in London the same way he began it -– as the chip leader. Along the way, dozens of top players from around the world headed to the rail as the young American finished the day with a big chip lead. With 90 players beginning Day 2, it was a long road to the final table, with lots of big-name casualties along the way.
Among the early victims on Day 2 were two of the internet's most feared players – Shaun Deeb and Isaac Haxton. Haxton became one of Junglen's first claimed scalps when his pocket queens couldn't hold up against Junglen's A-Q on an ace-high board. Michael Binger was another who went to the rail early when his big pocket pair was cracked. His pocket aces failed to hold up against an opponent's pocket threes when not one, but two threes came on the board. John Juanda and Phil Laak also busted early on Day 2.
Erik Seidel made it all the way to the money bubble, but busted a few spots short of the cash when he lost a big coin flip. He moved the last of his chips in with A-K and found a caller with pocket queens. No help showed for Seidel on a board of 3-6-8-5-9, and he was done. Peter Linton got his short stack in the middle good with A♥9♠ against an opponent's A♦4♠. He still led on the turn, as the board read 3♠7♥K♥6♠, but the 4♥ on the river sent Linton to the rail in 46th place as the bubble boy.
Once the bubble burst, the pace of eliminations picked up, as the remaining short stacks looked to gamble. Ben Grundy was an early post-bubble bustout when his 4♣4♥ couldn't outdraw pocket queens. He was joined shortly by Brandon Cantu, who moved the last of his stack in with Q♠10♣. Adam Junglen called with A♦9♠, and Cantu hit the flop of K♦4♥10♠. Unfortunately for him, Junglen hit the turn when the A♥ landed, and the 4♣ on the river was no help to Cantu.
Daniel Negreanu made it all the way to 24th place before he lost a race to Christoph Bommes for his tournament life. Bommes limped from under the gun and Negreanu raised. Bommes moved all in, and Negreanu thought for a long moment before calling. He showed 9♠9♣ to Bommes' A♠K♦, and the 8♠K♠4♦ flop left Negreanu looking for help. The 2♠ turn wasn't the help he needed, and the Q♥ river sent him packing. Other notable eliminations on Day 2 included Jason Gray, Willie Tann and Andy Bloch.
Adam Junglen and Jesper Hougaard traded the chip lead for much of the evening, but Junglen solidified his grip on the big stack as the night wore on. As the final two tables grew short-handed, Junglen ramped up the aggression. One victim of that was Costas Artemi, who was busted by Junglen in 11th place (£8,610). Preflop, Artemi moved all in over the top of Junglen with A♠Q♦. Junglen called with K♣9♦, and both players caught a piece of the K♠A♣3♠ flop. Artemi still led with top pair, but the 9♠ on the turn gave Junglen two pair. The 6♦ on the river was no help, and the remaining ten players gathered around one table to fight it out for the nine final table seats.
After a couple of double-ups and a lot of folding, Christoph Bommes bubbled the final table. He raised preflop with J♥J♣, and called Yevgeniy Tinoshenko's all-in move. Timoshenko tabled A♦K♣ for a coin flip, and the flop came down 7♥A♣5♣, leaving Bommes looking for two outs. No help appeared on the turn or river, as the rest of the board ran out 3♥2♠, and Bommes was eliminated in 10th place (£8,610).
That final hand moved Timoshenko into third place behind the dominating Junglen as the final table seating assignments and chip stacks looked like this:
Seat 1: Fuad Serhan 61,000
Seat 2: Daniel Nutt 207,000
Seat 3: Yevgeniy Timoshenko 345,000
Seat 4: John Dwyer 511,000
Seat 5: Ian Woodley 153,000
Seat 6: Jesper Hougaard 89,000
Seat 7: Linda Lee 121,000
Seat 8: Neil Channing 199,000
Seat 9: Adam Junglen 795,000
Join PokerNews for live updates on Monday as the nine finalists decide who will claim the first bracelet of the 2008 WSOPE.
