2008 World Series of Poker Europe

Event 1 - £1,500 No Limit Hold'em
Day: 1a
1a1b23
Event Info
2008 World Series of Poker Europe
Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
a♦j♦
Prize
£144,218
Event Info
Buy-in
£1,500
Prize Pool
£615,000
Entries
410
Level Info
Level
23
Blinds
20,000 / 40,000
Ante
5,000
Players Left 1 / 410
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2008 World Series of Poker Europe Kicks Off with £1,500 No Limit Hold'em Event

Leicester Square by night
Leicester Square by night
The World Series of Poker Europe is back in London for Season 2 and looks to best last year's impressive inaugural showing. This time around, the Casino at the Empire in Leicester Square will play solo host to the Series' four-event slate, which kicks off with a four-day, £1,500 no limit hold'em tournament, set to begin at 1:00 p.m. local time on Friday, September 18th.

The only new event on the WSOPE schedule, the opening affair is expected to sell out at 500 entrants, filling the Empire's poker tables to capacity on both Day 1a and b. We can confirm that Barry Greenstein, Robert Williamson III and Michael 'Timex' McDonald are all already in town, though the list of big names expected to turn out is endless. We've also been told that a few of the faces you'll see on ESPN in November might make an appearance.

For the second straight year, PokerNews is the exclusive digital media partner of the WSOPE, and our crack team of reporters will be there from the time the first card is dealt until this year's Main Event winner collects his . . . or her . . . championship bracelet.

Tune in starting at 1:00 p.m. local time (8:00 a.m. EST) for all the live updates, chip counts, photos and videos you've come to know and love from PokerNews.com. We'll see you then!

Greetings from Blighty

Be there, or be Leicester Square
Be there, or be Leicester Square
Good afternoon, chaps and chapettes, and welcome to England, a country famed for its tea, posh accents and Benny Hill skits. Not since my first date has there been this much excitement as the World Series makes its welcome return to the nation's capital for its highly anticipated second outing.

Today's event is, of course, the opening £1,500 no limit hold'em freezeout, and already the players are gushing through the doors in their droves. I'm no Mystic Meg, but I would imagine that this one will be a sell-out with alternates biting at the bit to get their piece of the action.

There is a real eclecticism of players surfacing, ranging from superstar Daniel Negreanu, to local boys Peter Wigglesworth and Graham Pound, to a young Scandinavian who was sharing his tale of woe outside in struggling to wire across €50,000. Tough times!

Everything looks superbly organized here with a spacious playing area, multiple plasma screens, and dealers already seated at tables, braced and raring to go. As such, I would predict a relatively prompt start. As my dear mother would say, hold onto your hollyhox. (I still have no idea what she was waffling on about.)

Level: 1

Blinds: 25/50

Ante: 0

Early Sunshine for Tann

UK pro Willie Tann is in a very good mood, having enjoyed an early chip boost courtesy of fellow Brit Guy Bowles. Tann check-called all the way down a {5-Spades} {4-Hearts} {Q-Hearts} {10-Hearts} {10-Diamonds} board, with admittedly some misgivings on the turn, with Bowles announcing on the river, "You win," and turning over {K-Hearts} {4-Spades}. "Why do I win?" said Tann, but win he did, turning over {Q-Spades} {3-Clubs} to take down the pot. Tann is now up to over 8,000 while Bowles takes a knock down to 4,800.

Tags: Guy BowlesWillie Tann

Surveying the Field

The odd empty stack remains, but most players were in their seats promptly as Annette Obrestad took the mic to utter the four words which set the decks riffling and the chips clicking into pots, "Shuffle up and deal!" Spotted on the top tier (the Empire Casino is eyecatchingly separated into two levels by a glowing staircase, an interior design centerpiece seen all too rarely these days) taking their seats in timely fashion were Josh Gould, Brian Johnson, James Vogl, David La Ronde, Thor Hansen and Dan Smith, among a whole host of others. Those for whom £10,000 is too expensive a Bracelet Pie are having a shot at this £1,500 slice, while for some it is a warm-up for the Main Event in a week's time.

Tags: annette obrestadbrian johnsondan smithjosh gouldthor hansen

Familiar Faces

Players are still trickling in, but I've already witnessed a number of familiar faces hit my segment of the casino. On the closest table, Max Pescatori is sharing a table with Brits William Martin, Andrew Teng and an easy-on-the-eye Liv Boeree. Meanwhile, and just one table up, online whiz Ben Grundy will be locking horns with WSOP ambusher Nikolay Evdakov. Also making their presence felt are the likes of Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson and Chris Bjorin, as well as experienced homegrown talent such as Graham Wheldon, Graham Pound and Pete Singleton.

Expect fireworks...

First Brutality

"So brutal," is the analysis from Ed Roger, after he finally pays off a river bet of 1,100 from Adam Mario with the board standing {7-Clubs} {Q-Hearts} {6-Spades} {Q-Clubs} {9-Diamonds} . Mario bet out and sat impassively, until flipping the {Q-Diamonds} {6-Clubs} when called and scooping the pot from the {7-Hearts} {7-Diamonds} of his young opponent.

"He's spiked the miracle on the turn and then I just called on the river," he recaps for the table, before picking up the 75 in blinds the next hand and adding them to his now 4,000 stack.

Table of Doom

The late arrivals of bracelet winner Layne Flack and Irish Open champion Neil Channing have surely created an unchallenged Table of Doom, which also includes Max Pescatori, Liv Boeree, William Martin and online connoisseur Andrew Teng. If any of my colleagues can topple this table of Trojan warriors then I will happily tip my proverbial hat to them. It only needs me to swipe a stack of chips, and perch myself on the end and the table would be the toughest in history.
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