The second day of play started with only 25 players, but it was far from easy for the nine finalists to reach that last table. French pro Roger Hairabedian emerged as the chip leader followed by the dangerous Fin Ville Mattila. Michael Mizrachi however is the story of this final table as he will be trying to win his second bracelet of 2012, and also second bracelet at the WSOPE in back-to-back years. Joe Hachem, the 2005 Main Event champion, also reached the final table. He will be trying to win his second bracelet.
Erich Kollmann started the day as chip leader, but just about everything went wrong for the Austrian. After bluffing off some chips he got himself involved in a huge pot against Mattila. In a limped pot Kollmann fired out 4,000 on a flop, and Mattila was his only caller. On the turn, the , Kollmann check raised the 9,000-chip bet to 25,000 and Mattila called. the river was the and Kollmann moved all in for 45,000. Mattila called with a set of kings and that beat Kollmann's set of eights.
French bracelet winner Aubin Cazals took down the $5,000 Mixed Max at the World Series of Poker this summer, but he would not add a second bracelet in his home country. Vanessa Selbst knocked Cazals out who narrowly missed out on the money. Shortly after this hand it was $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha winner Jan-Peter Jachtmann who made his exit. He fell to Jani Sointula.
Ran Azor was one of the main characters on Day 1, but Day 2 was far from kind to him. The jovial Israeli busted to Selbst who seemed have everything under control. After this though she could not get a lot going, and busted right in the money, 12th for €9,696.
Jussi Ryynanen and Michael Mizrachi had many clashes, and both players held the chip lead for quite some time. We expect to see big things from these two players at the final table. Sam Chartier was the eventual bubble boy when his kings could not beat Jason Mercier's aces. Mercier was patient throughout the day and one big double up gave him high hopes for another WSOP bracelet. His final level was far from good and he will be one of the shorter stacks going into the final table.
Bruno Fitoussi made the 2012 $50,000 Players Championship final table, where he was the first to be knocked out. Today he bubbled the final table finishing in 10th place. Fitoussi ran into Mizrachi's aces and he failed to improve.
With that the final table was set, and we welcome you back tomorrow at 12:00 PM GMT for the conclusion of this star-studded final! Tune into PokerNews.com as we bring all the live updates throughout the day.
Bruno Fitoussi raised to 8,500 from the button and Michael Mizrachi re-potted from the big blind. Fitoussi committed all his chips after giving it some thought, and Mizrachi called.
Showdown:
Bruno Fitoussi:
Michael Mizrachi:
The board ran out and Fitoussi was eliminated. A full chip count update will follow shortly. Play is done for today.
We caught the action when Douglas Corning was facing a tough decision. He had invested 12,000 chips from the cutoff, and Ville Mattila had put in 42,000. Corning had around 50,000 chips left and after some tanking he moved all in. Mattila called right away.
Showdown:
Douglas Corning:
Ville Mattila:
The board ran out , and Corning was done in eleventh place. Just ten players remain, seat draw en chip counts will follow shortly.
Jussi Ryynanen raised to 8,000 and both blinds defended. Michael Mizrachi was in the small blind and he checked the flop. Jason Mercier, who was in the big blind, checked as well.
Ryynanen put out a 17,000-chip continuation bet and Mizrachi decided to call. Mercier had 64,300 chips left and he moved all in. Ryynanen announced a pot-size raise putting massive pressure on Mizrachi.
After about half a minute Mizrachi got up from his chair and leaned against the back wall. He could not believe what had just happened, and after about two minutes he open-folded his .
Showdown:
Jason Mercier:
Jussi Ryynanen:
The turn brought out the , and the river the giving Mercier the double up with just two pair. Mizrachi would've won the hand, but he did not feel like risking his big stack.
With 67,200 in the pot, Michael Mizrachi, Vanessa Selbst, and Jussi Ryynanen saw a flop of .
Mizrachi opened the action by announcing a pot-sized bet and Selbst shipped the rest of her stack which was about 40,000. Ryynanen thought for a brief moment before letting go of his cards.
Selbst:
Mizrachi:
Selbst was in need of some help and did not find it when the fell on fourth street and the on fifth. Selbst will collect €9.929 for her efforts.
Canadian pro Sam Chartier was short for quite some time, but eventually he could not hold on. Last year he finished in eight place in this event but didn't get the back-to-back cash.
Roger Hairabedian raised under the gun to 4,000 after which the action was folded to Chartier who moved all in from the button for 9,000 chips. Jason Mercier called from the big blind and Hairabedian called as well.
The flop came down and Mercier bet pot, 29,000, right away. Hairabedian tanked for quite some time, but eventually he let it go.
Showdown:
Jason Mercier:
Sam Chartier:
The turn sealed it when the hit, and the river was the . We are now in the money, and on a 75-minute dinner break.
He must have won some pots before this hand, but Jussi Ryynanen just jumped into the chip lead by a clear margin. The action started when Michael Mizrachi limped for 1,600 and Jason Mercier called. Roger Hairabedian called as well after which Ryynanen made it 10,400 from the button. Only Mizrachi called.
The flop came down and Mizrachi check-called 14,100. On the turn the hit and once again Mizrachi checked. Ryynanen counted out a 38,600-chip bet, but Mizrachi didn't seen impressed. He called creating a huge pot with the river still to come.
On the river the hit and Mizrachi quickly checked again. Ryynanen gathered three big stacks of yellow chips before sliding out a total bet of 70,500. Mizrachi wanted to know how much the Finnish player had behind, and by the looks if it he had an additional 70,000.
After tanking for well over a minute Mizrachi folded. and Ryynanen took down this big pot. Mizrachi still has a lot of chips to work with, but he's now way behind Ryynanen.
Her proclamation echoed throughout the tournament room and caused heads to turn at the other table.
We found Selbst heads up in a pot with Ran Azor. The board read and after a series of bets and raises, Selbst moved Azor all in for his tournament life. Azor shuffled chips and threw his head back and forth as he pondered making a huge call for his tournament a mere five spots from the money. Eventually, Azor relented and announced a call. He showed for bottom set.
Unfortunately for Azor, Selbst flipped up for a bigger set, and Azor was drawing slim to stay alive.
The completed the board and Selbst was able to send Azor out of the tournament area. With that win she is sitting on a stack of 184,000 and is the current chip leader in the room.
Right after losing Aubin Cazals we also had to say goodbye to $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha winner Jan-Peter Jachtmann. Jani Sointula raised under the gun to 2,700 after which Jachtmann moved all in for just 6,000 chips. The action was folded back around to Sointula who called right away.
Showdown:
Jani Sointula:
Jan-Peter Jachtmann:
The board ran out and Jachtmann was knocked out. We are down to 18 players and there will be a full redraw at this point.
Josh_Cahlik
Michael Mizrachi Returns With a Big Stack
The field for this €5,300 Pot-Limit Omaha event turned out to be just shy of one hundred, as a total of 97 players hit the felt yesterday to compete for the third bracelet of the World Series of Poker Europe. After eight levels of play on Day 1, Erich Kollmann sits on the top spot coming into Day 2.
Day 1 occurred at a lightning pace as the 97 entrants quickly became 25 after only eight levels. Players such as David "ODB" Baker, Jennifer Tilly, Dan Shak, Andy Frankenberger, John Juanda, Max Pescatori, and Phil Hellmuth all turned up on Day 1 only to find the rail before the day concluded.
Notable names returning to the tables today must only conquer 24 others to earn themselves a gold WSOPE bracelet. Among those returning today on that quest are Michael Mizrachi (106,500), Sam Chartier (59,100), Vanessa Selbst (42,400), Ran Azor (40,500), Joe Hachem (25,800), and Jason Mercier (23,800).
We're moments away from resuming play. The top 12 players will make money with the champion taking home a whopping €142,590. The field will play down to the final 9 today, so make sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for all of the latest updates.
flop, and Mattila was his only caller. On the turn, the 
, Kollmann check raised the 9,000-chip bet to 25,000 and Mattila called. the river was the 
and Kollmann moved all in for 45,000. Mattila called with a set of kings and that beat Kollmann's set of eights.
and Fitoussi was eliminated. A full chip count update will follow shortly. Play is done for today.
, and Corning was done in eleventh place. Just ten players remain, seat draw en chip counts will follow shortly.
.
, and the river the 
giving Mercier the double up with just two pair. Mizrachi would've won the hand, but he did not feel like risking his big stack.
.
on fifth. Selbst will collect €9.929 for her efforts.
and Mizrachi check-called 14,100. On the turn the 
hit and once again Mizrachi checked. Ryynanen counted out a 38,600-chip bet, but Mizrachi didn't seen impressed. He called creating a huge pot with the river still to come.
for bottom set.
and Jachtmann was knocked out. We are down to 18 players and there will be a full redraw at this point.
