Event #1: £2,650 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em
Day 2 Completed
World Series of Poker Europe 2010
Event #1: £2,650 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
World Series of Poker Europe 2010
Buy-in
£2,500
Prize Pool
£610,000
Entries
244
Level
21
Blinds
8,000 / 16,000
Ante
2,000
Official Final Table Counts
![[user66118]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
627,500 | 32,500 |
|
368,500 | 183,500 |
|
317,000 | 49,000 |
|
251,500 | -18,500 |
|
|
200,000 | -2,000 |
|
72,000 | 3,000 |
Pantling Leads; Laak, Bjorin Headline the Final Table
Ten hours after Day 2 began, our field of 31 bracelet hopefuls has been reduced down to just six.
With 24 places paying, seven of our starters had to leave with nothing before we could get on with the business of the payouts. Jeffrey Lisandro was one of the unlucky early exits, and both Andrew Lichtenberger and Michel Abecassis joined him in the Bad Beat Booth without a dime to show for their efforts so far this week. It took about half the day, nearly five hours to shake those first seven knockouts. Javed Abrahams was the one who took the unenviable title of Bubble Boy for this opening WSOPE event, and it came in an awfully tough way to handle. Ilan Rouah flopped a flush with 
on a 
board, but Abrahams was leading the betting with his 
. A fourth diamond on the river got the rest of the chips into the middle with Abrahams banking on his ace-high flush. The 
river was the straight-flush card for Rouah, though, and Abrahams' big diamond flush was nothing but a big red herring.
From there on out, it was a pretty steady progression to the end of the night. Britain's favorite daughter, Liv Boeree had a fine run into the money, but she too was the victim of a straight flush that sent her off in 19th place. Chris Moorman showed up about three hours late to the tournament, but he managed to recover and rebuild for a while before finally being cut down in 12th place. Fellow Brit Praz Bansi was right behind him in 11th.
Before long, we were down to our last table, seven players with just one knockout separating themselves from a date with the final table and a chance to complete every poker player's dream quest for a bracelet. The skill level was high amongst the finalists, and it took a cooler to end our night just after 10:00 local time. John Tabatabai needed to make a move, and he found 
with which to do so. Unfortunately, he ran his Big Slick right smack into the pocket aces of Chris Bjorin. There were two more clubs on the flop but no further help for the Brit, and he was out as the final table bubble boy, cueing the chip bags and the bio sheets to be brought out from storage.
So then, we have our six for tomorrow. And heeeeere they are:
Seat 1: Willie Tann (72,000)
Seat 2: Chris Bjorin (368,500)
Seat 3: Phil Laak (317,000)
Seat 4: Andrew Pantling (627,000)
Seat 5: Ilan Rouah (200,000)
Seat 6: David Peters (251,500)
We'll have a whole lot more about these guys tomorrow, but we'll give you a few quick highlights. Willie Tann is up first, and he's earned himself a bracelet's worth of respect here today. Tann has been riding the short stack for two straight days, but he would not be gotten rid of. Chris Bjorin (by virtue of this performance) is now the WSOPE's all-time leading casher with five. Oh yeah, and he's also got more than $4.5 million in career tournament earnings. Phil Laak. Do we need to say anything? Andrew Pantling is the chip leader, and he's no joke. The Canadian has serious cashes on four continents, including one previous championship here in London. Ilan Rouah will be the wildcard tomorrow, an amateur from France who's shown no interest in being pushed around here this week. And then there's David Peters, the youngest player at the table who's thus far been a hard nut for his table to crack.
Those six will be back inside the Casino at the Empire tomorrow at 2:00 p.m., and we'll finally get to open the trophy case and pass out the first gold bracelet of the 2010 WSOPE. We'll be here to catch all of the action tomorrow, and we hope to see you right back here as well to crown a champion in Event #1!
John Tabatabai Eliminated in 7th Place (£17,318)
With all eyes on Willie Tann, it was actually John Tabatabai who felt the splash of the bubble, the young British pro unable to make his second WSOPE final to date.
The assassin was Chris Bjorin, as silent as always, and kick-starting the action with a raise of 11,500 from under the gun. Andrew Pantling made the call, only for Tabatabai to make it 30,000 straight one seat along.
Back round to Bjorin who announced all-in. Pantling folded, but Tabatbai made the call.
Tabatabai:
Bjorin: 
Eye-brows were raised on the 
flop, but it was a merely a tease, as the turn and river came 
and 
to send Tabatabai home.
Tabatabai had played a steady game, but when he needed Lady Luck, she was absent without leave.
Laak Almost Quits Poker
Chris Bjorin opened the pot with a raise from the cutoff seat, and Phil Laak called in position. John Tabatabai called from the small blind as well, and it was three-handed to the flop.
The dealer spread 
, and the first two players checked to Laak. A bet of 18,000 came from The Unabomber, and that was enough to earn himself two folds and the pot. Laak flashed 
.
"Look at that. Top pair, top kicker. Or whatever. If I didn't bet it, I'd have to quit poker. I don't wanna do that, so I bet. Gotta defend against quitting the game."
By virtue of his bet, Phil Laak will indeed continue to play poker as his primary source of employment.
Hoping to Phil His Boots
Despite his fame and fortune, we sometimes forget that Phil Laak has yet to get his mitts on a bracelet, and judging from his response throughout this tournament, its evident that he's perhaps more determined than anyone to wear bracelet gold.
His closest call came in 2005, when he famously finished second to Johnny Chan who was marking his tenth bracelet win. It was a day of mixed feelings for the Unabomber as partner Jennifer Tilly triumphed in the Ladies' event on the very same day.
Laak is sometimes regarded as a personality before a player, but his antics merely disguise a sharp poker mind. I doubt he feels any need to prove himself, but to those who know him for his press-ups and table-chatter, victory here would certainly make its mark.
Behold... The Last (Not Final) Table:
Seat 1: Willie Tann - 69,000
Seat 2: Chris Bjorin - 185,000
Seat 3: Phil Laak - 268,000
Seat 4: Andrew Pantling - 595,000
Seat 5: John Tabatabai - 160,000
Seat 6: Ilan Rouah - 202,000
Seat 7: David Peters - 270,000
Latest Chip Counts
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
595,000 | 10,000 |
|
|
270,000 | -40,000 |
|
|
268,000 | -17,000 |
|
|
202,000 | 2,000 |
|
|
185,000 | -23,000 |
|
160,000 | 35,000 |
|
|
69,000 | 9,000 |
Vincent Dalet Eliminated in 8th Place (£17,318)
More drama than a Lost finale here at the Empire as Vincent Dalet tastes both joy and dismay in the space of a few minutes.
It was a tale of two hands in the end, both involving Phil Laak. On the first, Dalet came over the top of Laak's button raise from the small blind with before surviving a 
board versus 
to double through to 60,000.
A few hands later, Dalet was in the small blind once again, and with Andrew Pantling opening for 9,000 and Laak making the call, opted to move all in, this time for 42,700 more.
Pantling quickly made the fold, but the action halted on Laak who began assessing the pot. In the end, he decided it was worth the gamble, and made the call with 
. Dalet tabled .
But poker's a cruel game, and despite being in dominating shape, the Poker Gods slapped Dalet across the face with a wet kipper by delivering a 
board onto the felt.
And on that note, players have been whittled down to just one table, with the next elimination taking home that unwanted title: final table bubble.
French Civil War
Vincent Dalet raised from the button, and the ensuing action with small blind Ilan Rouah left both men with all of their chips piled in the middle, stacks too similar for us to eyeball confidently. Without further ado, let's see the cards:
Dalet: 
Rouah: 
The flop was a good one if your name is Ilan Rouah. The dealer spread 
, and one of the Frenchmen let out a beastly roar and a big fist pump as he'd flopped the lead in a big way. The other Frenchman sat quietly by as the dealer turned the 
and rivered the , both useless to his pocket jacks.
Rouah has stormed back into contention here after a full level of slip-sliding down the score sheet (like an eel or something). He's right at 200,000 now, while Dalet is left with just a puny 24,000 with which to try and mount a comeback.