Lichtenberger & Marquez Headline Final Table of Five
The 2012 World Series of Poker Europe continued on Friday with Day 2 action from Event #6: €1,650 Six-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha. After seven levels of play, the final table was set with five players including well-known pros Ana Marquez and Andrew Lichtenberger.
What started with 206 players was down to just 26 at the start of the day, all but five of which would earn a payday. Narendra Banwari, Brandon Crawford and Dries Goyens were all among the early eliminations, as was October Niner and WSOP Player of the Year contender Greg Merson. However, no one went further and left empty handed than David Benyamine, who finished as the bubble boy.
It happened when Benyamine, who was the second shortest stack behind Daniel Negreanu, raised under the gun to 3,500. After an approximately two-hour bubble, action folded all the way around to Antoine Pacaud, and he called from the the big blind. The 
flop saw Pacaud check, Benyamine move all in for 6,500 and Pacaud call immediately.
| Showdown |
David Benyamine:     |
Antoine Pacaud:     |
The 
turn and 
river completed the board, and Benyamine was eliminated after starting the day second in chips.
From there the eliminations came fast. Jamie Pickering was the first to go in 21st place, and both John Eames and Negreanu followed him out the door a short time later. Over the next few hours, Dan Smith, John Monnette, Dan Shak, Raul Paez and Mike “Timex” McDonald all hit the rail.
A short time later, with a board reading 
, Aku Joentausta fired out 22,500 only to have Andy Frankenberger move all in for 33,500 more. Joentausta didn't seem too excited, but he opted to make the call nonetheless.
| Showdown |
Joentausta:     |
Frankenberger:  |
The two-time bracelet winner held a wheel and had Joentausta in dire straits. Speaking of straights, the 
spiked on the river to give Joentausta a six-high straight and the improbable win, sending Frankenberger to the rail as the final-table bubble boy. Amazingly, the players played one final hand in order to get to the end of Level 15, and Nikolay Volper ended up busting to bring it down to the final five players.
Here’s a look at the final five:
Event #6: €1,650 Six-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha Final Table
| Seat | Player | Counts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | empty | N/A |
| 2 | Petteri Kalenius | 62,000 |
| 3 | Ana Marquez | 176,000 |
| 4 | Andrew Lichtenberger | 256,000 |
| 5 | Aku Joentausta | 202,000 |
| 6 | Francisco Da Costa Santos | 233,000 |
Players will return to the Majestic Barrière on Saturday at 14:00 CET to play down to a winner, so join us then as we bring you all the action and eliminations from the last preliminary event of the 2012 WSOP Europe.