WSOP Europe €2,200 Pot-Limit Omaha Final Table is Set; Allen Kessler Seeks First Bracelet
Day 2 of Event #6: €2,200 Pot-Limit Omaha at the 2017 World Series of Poker Europe ended with an official final table of eight, and the most recognizable player left at the King's Casino in Rozvadov is Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler.
The ever-present grinder, who has racked up over $1 million in WSOP cashes, along with three rings and $500,000 in cashes on the WSOP Circuit, reached his seventh WSOP final table. Remarkably, his seven final tables have come in seven different disciplines, speaking to the well-rounded nature of Kessler's game.
Despite the success he has experienced though, Kessler has yet to capture his first bracelet. He's certainly got plenty of work ahead of him if this is to be the one, as he bagged 336,000 to land in seventh out of the eight remaining runners. That gives him just over 20 big blinds heading to Day 3 as things moved to Level 20 (8,000/16,000) right before the last two eliminations left the official final table set.
At the top of the counts are a couple of players virtually tied with over 100 big blinds. Krasimir Yankov has the heftiest stack with 1,680,000, giving him a slight lead over start-of-day leader Liran Twito, who has 1,654,000.
The rest of the field: Pim van Holsteyn (1,300,000), Georgios Koliofotis (1,011,000), former pro soccer player Sergej Barbarez (721,000), Lukas Zaskodny (653,000) and Willm Engelke (275,000).
The money bubble burst early in the day with just two players set to miss cashing out of the 31 who began with chips. Jonathan Abdellatif and Vitezslav Pesta were the unlucky pair. After their respective demises, Chris Ferguson, Mike Leah, John Racener and Erik Cajelais were among the players cashing.
Ferguson and Racener gained valuable points in what looks like a three-horse race for WSOP Player of the Year honors, along with Ryan Hughes. Ferguson currently leads the board.
Final table play kicks off at 2 p.m. on Monday and will be live streamed here from King's Casino, with the eventual winner banking €93,677.
Event #6 Seat Assignments
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pim van Holsteyn | Netherlands | 1,300,000 | 81 |
| 2 | Sergej Barbarez | Germany | 721,000 | 45 |
| 3 | Georgios Koliofotis | Germany | 1,011,000 | 63 |
| 4 | Willm Engelke | Germany | 275,000 | 17 |
| 5 | Liran Twito | Israel | 1,654,000 | 104 |
| 6 | Allen Kessler | United States | 336,000 | 21 |
| 7 | Lukas Zaskodny | Czech Republic | 653,000 | 40 |
| 8 | Krasimir Yankov | Bulgaria | 1,680,000 | 105 |
and big blind Liran Twito called. Alioto bet 44,000 on the 
river and Twito shoved. Alioto had about 70,000 and back and he said something to Twito before calling with a sigh. 
for quads. Alioto mucked 
face-up, the tournament is down to an official final table, meaning play has finished for the day.
against the 
of Twito. 
and Twito won the hand with a pair of tens to eliminate Pedersen in 11th place.
and Benedetto went all in for 215,000. Yankov called and Lyubovetskiy quickly folded.
for two pair against the 
of Benedetto. 
and the river was the 
and Yankov won the hand with a full house.
river got him there, much to the chagrin of Viard, who flicked in his last chip and briskly walked away from the table.
flop. Lukas Zaskodny put him all in for his last 25,000 or so after some thought.
