Level: 2
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 0
Level: 2
Blinds: 100/200
Ante: 0
Steve Gee, who already has a WSOP bracelet, will be playing for nearly $9 million in the Main Event in late October as a member of the October Nine. It just so happens that Gee is in today's field and looking to sharpen his skills before the big dance.
Want to learn a little more about Gee? Check out this interview PokerNews did shortly after Gee made the Main Event final table:
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
30,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
30,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
30,000 | |
|
|
30,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
30,000 | |
|
|
30,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
30,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
30,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
30,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
30,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
30,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
30,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
30,000 | |
|
|
||
We caught up as the flop was being dealt to find over 2,500 already in the flop. The board read 

and Arnaud Mattern checked. His opponent checked behind and the
rolled off on fourth street.
Mattern fired 1,300 and received a call. Both players quickly rapped the table when the
paired the board on the river. Mattern showed 
and his opponent mucked his hand.
With this win, Mattern is now sitting on a healthy stack of 43,500.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
43,500
13,500
|
13,500 |
|
|
||
We just caught the end of a double up for Vladislav Varlashin who got his money in perfect. The board read 


when Claude Metais showed 
for the nut flush draw and two overcards. He was drawing dead against Varlashin who had 
for a full house.
Varlashin is the early leader with twice the starting stack.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
60,000 | |
|
|
Busted |
With 6,500 in the pot and a board reading 



, David Peters bet 2,750 only to have Max Silver, last year's eighth-place finisher, raise to 10,200. Peters thought about it for a long time before releasing his hand. Silver then flashed the
and collected the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
31,000
1,000
|
1,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
31,000
2,000
|
2,000 |
|
|
||
On the 

flop, Sergey Baburin checked over to Guillaume Darcourt. Darcourt fired a bet of 3,500, and Mattern raised to 7,200. Baburin folded, then Darcourt moved all in for around 10,000. Mattern quickly called with the 
. Darcourt held the 
.
The turn was the
and river the
. Mattern made a pair of fives, although he did hold the best of it when the money went in anyway. He eliminated Darcourt and moved to over 40,000 in chips.
Mattern has been one of the best performers year after year in the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event. In 2009, he took 23rd for £25,918, and then he bested that performance the following year with a 12th-place finish for £54,114. Those were the last two years the event was held in London.
When the event moved a bit south to Mattern's home country of France, the home court advantage must have ignited a bit of fire under Mattern as he went on to record his best-ever result in the WSOP Europe Main Event. That year he took 10th for €90,000, but it wasn't without a sick beat delivered by the eventual champion Elio Fox.
On Mattern's final hand, he got it all in three ways with Fox and Alexander Dovzhenko. Mattern had the 
, Fox the 
and Dovzhenko the 
. Fox had both covered.
A ten peeled on the flop as the board ran out 



to give Fox the win. As you can see, Mattern also turned a flush draw that didn't pan out.
If Mattern is able to work his way into the top 25 once again in this event and continue his success in bettering his finish each year, it should surely be considered as one of the best overall performances in one event by any player in poker history. He's done well to start off right here today, and we'll keep an eye on his progress throughout play.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
42,000
1,500
|
1,500 |
|
|
||
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
Tobias Reinkemeier is one of the most successful German poker professionals, and he just sat down at a very interesting table. Reinkemeier, who plays online under the handle PokerNoob999, won the €25,000 High Roller during the 2010 Monte Carlo EPT for just under one million euros. This year he added a second place finish in the €100,000 High Roller to his resumé finishing second to Justin Bonomo for just over one million. His total career earnings are over four million dollars.
At his table we also see EPT Monte Carlo winner Mohsin Charania, 2011 WSOPE Main Event finalist Max Silver and David Peters. Plenty of big names over on Table 18, and big clashes are bound to happen!
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
30,000 |
We caught the action on the turn with a board reading 


and about 11,000 already in the pot. Timothy Reilly had already checked from the small blind and Tobias Reinkemeier did the same from middle position. That opened the door for Thomas to fire out 5,500, a bet that only Reinkemeier called.
When the
appeared on the river, Reinkemeier checked and Thomas grabbed his remaining 16,175 and flung it into the pot. Reinkemeier took about tens seconds before slinging his cards to the muck.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
39,000
12,000
|
12,000 |
|
|
21,000
9,000
|
9,000 |
Roger Hairabedian has had an amazing WSOPE this year, but his Main Event only lasted one level. He was among the first players to bust out.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
||