Welcome to Day 4 action from the 2012 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event from the luxurious Majestic Barrière in Cannes, France. What stated with 420-players this past weekend has been cut down to the final 24, all of whom will return today to battle it out for a coveted spot at the final table of eight. The man best positioned to capture a spot is no stranger to final tables. Chip leader Joseph Cheong was a member of the 2010 November Nine and emerged as the chip leader late Tuesday night.
Joining him in today’s action are some familiar names in big stacks Paul Tedeschi and Sergii Baranov; 2005 WSOP runner-up Steve Dannenmann; high-stakes legend David Benyamine; former EPT winners Liv Boeree and Toby Lewis; last year’s 8th-place finisher Max Silver; the always-entertaining Scott Seiver; two-time bracelet winner Andy Frankenberger; and 12-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, just to name a few
Here’s a look at the top ten counts headed into Day 4:
2012 WSOP Europe Day 4 Top Ten Counts
Place
Player
Count
1
Joseph Cheong
1,381,000
2
Paul Tedeschi
1,071,000
3
Sergii Baranov
1,055,000
4
Christopher Brammer
956,000
5
Jason Mercier
824,000
6
Phil Hellmuth
741,000
7
Max Silver
656,000
8
Curt Kohlberg
607,000
9
Timothy Adams
577,000
10
Joe McGowan
518,000
The march to the final table will kick off at 12:00 PM local time, which is about an hour from now. Be sure to check back then we bring you all the action and eliminations from the 2012 WSOP Europe Main Event.
Action folded around to Joe Kuether in the cutoff and he raised to 20,000. Max Silver, who is looking to make back-to-back WSOP Europe Main Event final tables here today, then three-bet to 50,000 from the button. Both blinds got out of the way, Kuether moved all in for 271,000, and Silver made the call.
Showdown
Silver:
Kuether:
Silver had made a good call, but that doesn't always get rewarded as evidenced by the flop, which paired Kuether's seven and gave him the lead. The turn gave Silver some added outs, but it'd be the on the river that would win him the pot. Kuether didn't seem all that surprised and quietly made his way to the payout desk as the day's first elimination.
Scott Seiver opened with a raise to 20,000 from early position and Vladislav Varlashin moved all in for his last roughly 56,000 from the next seat over. The rest of the table folded back around to Seiver and he casually announced a call.
Seiver:
Varlashin:
The board ran out and Varlashin was sent home in 23rd place. With this elimination, Seiver has boosted his stack to about 335,000.
Andy Frankenberger got his stack of approximately 150,000 all in preflop and was at risk against Sergii Baranov.
Showdown
Frankenberger:
Baranov:
It was a flip, but not after the flop fell and gave Baranov a set. Frankberger stood from his seat, and then after the turned, Baranov said, "Goodbye." It was a bit on an unintentional needle, but Frankenberger, a two-time bracelet winner, kept his composure and made a gracious exit after the was put out on the river.
After action folded to him in the cutoff, Vadzim Markushevski raised to 22,000. The button folded, and then Stephane Girault opted to three-bet to 71,000 from the small blind. After the big got out of the way, Markushevski moved all in and Girault snap-called.
Showdown
Markushevski:
Girault:
It was another brutal setup over at Table 10, and there would be no chicanery as the board ran out a clean . Girault, who had his opponent outchipped by just 42,000, was pushed the pot while Markushevski took his leave in 21st place.
[Removed:138] opened for 22,000 from the hijack and was met with a three-bet to 50,000 from Christopher Brammer on the button. The blinds both got out of the way, and Guinand came back with a four-bet to 100,000. Brammer thought for a few moments and slid out enough chips to cover his opponent, and Guinand called off for right around 305,000 total.
Showdown
Guinand:
Brammer:
There have been a lot of pair-over-pair confrontations in Level 19, and this one would cost Guinand his tournament life as the board ran out . Guinand shook hands with his opponents before exiting in 20th place, while Brammer was pushed the big pot and vaulted into the chip lead.
"Yes," we heard Scott Seiver yell from Table 8, "I folded queens." We made our way over to discover that Joe McGowan was all in for approximately 315,000 with against the of Phil Hellmuth. From what we could piece together, McGown had opened, Seiver flatted, Hellmuth three-bet, McGown moved in, Seiver folded, and Hellmuth snap-called.
Both McGowan and Hellmuth were on their feet to watch the board, which came out . "Good game guys," McGowan said as he lost with the same hand Hellmuth used to win the 1989 WSOP Main Event and made his way to the payout desk in 19th place to collect €26,611.
Joseph Cheong opened to an unknown amount and Liv Boeree three-bet all in for 272,000 total. Cheong called and the hands were revealed to find Boeree in the lead.
Boeree:
Cheong:
Boeree stayed safe on the flop of and through the on the turn. Cheong needed to pair his ten on the river to send her home and he did exactly that. The dealer ripped off the on fifth street and a stunned Boeree hung her head. Cheong tapped the table, stood up, and gave Boeree a hug before she exited the tournament area.
Curt Kohlberg opened to 30,000 from under the gun and it folded to Phil Hellmuth who pushed out a sizable three-bet to 180,000. It folded back around to Kohlberg who announced that he was all in for 900,000 total.
"What did he say? All in?" said Hellmuth. "I call!" Hellmuth shot out of his chair and tabled
Kohlberg showed and was in dire need of some help.
Fortunately for Kohlberg, the flop brought him hope, as it fell , giving him an open-ended straight draw. Hellmuth took one look at the flop and stormed away from the table.
The rolled off on the turn, giving Hellmuth a set but Kohlberg was still drawing live going to the river.
Fifth street was paint, but unfortunately for Kohlberg it was the , pairing him up and securing his elimination in 17th place.
While stacking his new chips, Hellmuth broke into a chorus of English New Wave band Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World". Hellmuth may not be ruling the world, but he is certainly ruling this room as this win boosts him to 2,000,000 and is good for the top spot on the chip counts.
Joseph Cheong did not let Phil Hellmuth hold onto the limelight for long. Cheong has once again overtaken the chip lead after the following hand:
On a flop of , Cheong checked to Max Silver who bet 28,000. Cheong called and the turn brought the . Cheong checked for a second time and Silver fired 64,000. Once again Cheong decided to stick around.
The rolled off on fifth street and Cheong checked one last time. Silver moved 122,000 into the middle.
Cheong thought for a moment before plopping down a large stack of red t25,000 chips into the middle. This bet was enough to put Silver all in and he was visibly upset over the size of the bet.
"This is incredibly close," said Silver, who then pulled a coin out of his wallet to help him make his decision. Ultimately, Silver opted not to use the coin, and announced a call.
Cheong showed for a straight and Silver flung his cards into the muck. They were turned over to reveal for top two pair.
With his elimination of Silver, Cheong is now our chip leader with about 2,350,000 in chips.