World Series of Poker Europe 2010

Event #5: £10,350 WSOPE Championship No-Limit Hold'em
Day: 1a
Event Info

World Series of Poker Europe 2010

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
1010
Prize
£830,401
Event Info
Buy-in
£10,000
Entries
346
Level Info
Level
27
Blinds
30,000 / 60,000
Ante
10,000

Upstairs Chip Counts

Player Chips Progress
Jani Sointula fi
Jani Sointula
72,000
30,000
30,000
Faraz Jaka us
Faraz Jaka
70,000
25,000
25,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Jaka Coaching
Brandon Cantu us
Brandon Cantu
60,000
-5,000
-5,000
WSOP 2X Winner
WPT 1X Winner
52,000
-8,000
-8,000
Nicolas Levi fr
Nicolas Levi
47,000
30,000
30,000
Huck Seed us
Huck Seed
44,000
5,000
5,000
WSOP Main Event Champion
WSOP 4X Winner
Poker Hall of Famer
Full Tilt
Hoyt Corkins us
Hoyt Corkins
41,000
1,000
1,000
WSOP 2X Winner
WPT 2X Winner
Barny Boatman gb
Barny Boatman
38,000
6,000
6,000
WSOP 2X Winner
EPT 1X Winner
Full Tilt
Chris Bjorin se
Chris Bjorin
37,000
10,000
10,000
WSOP 2X Winner
Vitaly Lunkin ru
Vitaly Lunkin
36,000
4,500
4,500
WSOP 2X Winner
Full Tilt
Almira Skripchenko
Almira Skripchenko
35,000
2,000
2,000
Ben Roberts
Ben Roberts
34,500
1,500
1,500
Full Tilt
Kevin MacPhee us
Kevin MacPhee
32,000
9,000
9,000
WSOP 2X Winner
EPT 1X Winner
Jeff Lisandro au
Jeff Lisandro
32,000
2,000
2,000
WSOP 6X Winner
Joe Serock us
Joe Serock
30,700
-7,300
-7,300
WSOP 1X Winner
Shannon Shorr us
Shannon Shorr
30,500
2,500
2,500
$25K Fantasy
WSOP 2X Winner
Leo Margets es
Leo Margets
29,500
-5,500
-5,500
WSOP 1X Winner
Winamax
Howard Lederer us
Howard Lederer
28,700
WSOP 2X Winner
WPT 2X Winner
Full Tilt
Thomas Bichon fr
Thomas Bichon
28,000
-2,000
-2,000
WPT 1X Winner
Nick Schulman us
Nick Schulman
27,700
$25K Fantasy
WSOP 5X Winner
WPT 2X Winner
Full Tilt
Scott Montgomery ca
Scott Montgomery
27,500
6,500
6,500
WSOP 1X Winner
Full Tilt
Justin Smith us
Justin Smith
26,000
-5,000
-5,000
Full Tilt
Filippo Candio it
Filippo Candio
25,500
-4,500
-4,500
Full Tilt
Jonathan Aguiar pt
Jonathan Aguiar
22,000
-11,000
-11,000
WSOP 1X Winner
James Keys
James Keys
22,000

Read full

Canali Invents a Wheel

We caught up just a bit late, so here's what we know. It was a heads-up pot when we walked up to a flop of {A-Spades} {5-Hearts} {3-Diamonds}. It was heads up between Pierre Canali and Pascal LeFrancois, and the betting action on the flop (we missed exactly what it was) put 2,600 chips in the pot going to the turn.

It was the {7-Diamonds}, and LeFrancois put out a bet of 1,700. Canali made a smooth and deliberate call, and the {Q-Diamonds} filled out the board on fifth street. Not slowing down, LeFrancois slid out 4,000 chips in one final bet. Canali plucked 4,000 chips from his big stack and tossed them into the pot.

LeFrancois showed up {A-Clubs} {5-Spades} for two pair, but he had been outflopped. Canali's {2-Hearts} {4-Clubs} was good for the wheel and the pot, and he's back over 50,000 once again.

Tags: Pascal LeFrancoisPierre Canali

Cowboys for Cantu

Brandon Cantu from earlier in the Series
Brandon Cantu from earlier in the Series

I was fortunate enough to watch Brandon Cantu play in the recent World Open, and with access to the hole cards I was able to witness all his crazy plays first-hand.

There are very few players in the game who, at virtually any point, could have any two cards, but Cantu's one of them, and it makes him a highly entertaining player to watch as you never knew what he's going to do next.

In his last hand here today, however, he had the goods, and made a fruitful value bet on the river to extend his stack to circa 65,000 in chips.

It was an unknown player who kick-started the action, his limp under the gun for 300 sparking British WSOP hero James Dempsey to raise to 1,100.

Just one seat along, Cantu asked for a count ("I started the hand with 12,000," came the reply), before nonchalantly throwing in a raise to 3,200. Without any hesitation, under-the-gun made the call to put the pressure back on Dempsey.

Clearly tortured by the decision that lay ahead, Dempsey sank his head into his hands and utilised his season pass in the think tank. Eventually he emerged to fold his hand, leading two a two-way flop of {8-Diamonds}{A-Hearts}{4-Spades}.

Despite the preflop action, the flop and {4-Diamonds} turn were checked down, but Cantu decided to fire out a bet on the {3-Spades} river, dropping a red 5,000 chip onto the felt. Despite showing reluctance, his opponent called, before mucking to Cantu's {K-Clubs}{K-Hearts}.

As a result of that victory, Cantu is now up to the dizzy heights of 65,000.

Tags: Brandon CantuJames Dempsey

Adam Not First Man...

Jason Mercier
Jason Mercier

...To fail to dislodge Jason Mercier without the best hand. Mercier is already a live tournament veteran having finalled and indeed won an eye-opening number of events for the time he's been playing these (he burst onto the scene in 2008 with an EPT win in San Remo). He also wins today's prize for Most Contorted Facial Expression While Coming to a Decision, for this hand vs. Adam Fletcher:

Caught from the turn with the board reading {Q-Clubs} {7-Diamonds} {10-Spades} {5-Clubs}, Mercier bet 2,600, called by the in-position Fletcher. The river brought a lot, including action - it was the {A-Clubs}. Mercier bet out again, 4,100, only to find Fletcher raising to 11,000. Now came the deliberation period, during which Mercier's eyebrows underwent some gymnastic moves; whatever he decided during this period, it was right as when he made the call with his {A-Diamonds} {K-Hearts} it turned out to be good. He's up to 52k while Fletcher is below 25k.

Tags: Jason MercierAdam Fletcher

Mac Charges Large Phee

A player UTG raised preflop to 800 before Tyler Bonkowski (readers with a very good memory will remember he went very deep in the Irish Open this year before suffering two or three horrific beats to eliminate him) reraised to 2,200. EPT Berlin champion Kevin MacPhee then made it 4,975 which saw the action passed back to Bonkowski who quickly made the call.

The flop came a Gobi-desert dry {Q-Spades} {2-Clubs} {8-Diamonds} and Bonkowski checked before folding to a 3,800 bet from his opponent.

Tags: Kevin MacPhee

Selbst Portrait

Vanessa Selbst
Vanessa Selbst

Vanessa Selbst tracker:

Starting stack: 30,000
30 minutes in: 16,000
4 minutes later: 30,000
First break: 400
2 hands later: 1,500
2 hands later: 4,100
15 minutes later: 8,000
Second break: 5,000
15 minutes later: 7,000
Currently: 12,000

Somehow she still has fingernails left, but this has to be a nerve-wracking way to progress through Day 1 of the Main Event.

Tags: Vanessa Selbst

Hellmuth Brings His Poker Face

Phil Hellmuth's Entrance
Phil Hellmuth's Entrance

As has become equally customary here in Leicester Square as across the Pond in Vegas, Phil Hellmuth has arrived to the sound of music and with a girl on each arm.

This year, Hellmuth treated onlookers (and, perhaps, frustrated heads-up semi-finalists) with a Lady Gaga themed arrival. As the usual flock of media raced over to the entrance with their cameras snapping frantically, Hellmuth waltzed into the arena with several Lady Gaga clad ladies, one of which was singing the lyrics to 'Poker Face' in the most piercing of tones. Meanwhile, a brass band marched behind, playing the tune to the hit single as Hellmuth paraded around the casino as if he were Elvis risen from the dead.

Like an accident on the motorway, it was impossible not to lend him a quick glance as he made his way up the staircase with his string of colourful felines in tow. Most of the rail were laughing to themselves, whilst others, such as Howard Lederer who sits on the neighbouring table, simply looked on with their mouth ajar and a bewildered expression plastered across their face.

"This maybe my best entrance ever," gloated Hellmuth upon taking his seat.

After another 'yoohoo, everybody, please look at me' entrance, something tells me that there might be a few lining up to poke his face.

Tags: Phil Hellmuth

Fitoussi Takes One from Mizrachi

On the flop of {8-Diamonds}{6-Hearts}{3-Hearts}, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi checked to Bruno Fitoussi and he bet 500. Mizrachi called to see the {A-Diamonds} fall on the turn. Mizrachi checked again and Fitoussi fired another 700. Mizrachi called again.

The river completed the board with the {7-Clubs} and both players checked. Fitoussi tabled the {K-Clubs}{8-Clubs} and Mizrachi mucked his hand.

Mizrachi dropped to 5,300 while Fitoussi increased to 40,200.

Tags: Michael MizrachiBruno Fitoussi

Misstep From Flushy

MAybe it was the sonorous sounds of a blonde-wigged girl singing "Poker Face" as Phil Hellmuth made his entrance that put James "Flushy" Dempsey off his game or that maybe he just had a wrong read.

Either way Dempsey is down to 10,800 after he check raised a 3,600 bet to 8,600 on the turn of a {8-Clubs} {K-Spades} {A-Hearts} {5-Spades} only to have his opponent push all-in, Dempsey immediately folded as a result.

Tags: James Dempsey