WSOP 2008: The Story So Far - Part II

Although there were no Europeans sporting bracelets after the first 18 events of the World Series of Poker, things made a dramatic turnaround between events No. 19 and No. 36.

It could be said that international bracelet winners are more of a recent phenomenon. Englishman James Vogl was the only European to win first prize in any of the World Series events of 2004. In 2005, there were four overseas winners: Maciek Gracz (Poland), Jan Sorensen (Denmark), Lawrence Gosney (England), and Willie Tann (England). That number increased to five in 2006 with Swedes Mats Rahmn and Anders Henriksson, Italian Max Pescatori, and Englishmen John Gale and Praz Bansi, and in 2007, five became six when two Irishmen (Ciarán O'Leary and Alan Smurfit), two Germans (Katja Thater and Michael Kleiner), an Englishman (Ram Vaswani), and a Russian (Alexander Kravchenko) did Europe proud.

This Series, the record was broken in grandiose fashion. The first win came 22 events in and triggered many to follow.

Event No. 19 - $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha

Event No. 19 attracted 759 entrants, 31 percent more than last year, creating a prize pool of $1,036,035.

Italian Max Pescatori knew he had to dodge some bullets, but he could not have seen the end coming the way it did. Greg Cox raised from the small blind to 14,000, and both Pescatori and Craig Natte called to see the flop, which came Q 9 5. All three players moved all in, with Cox having the others covered. Short-stacked Pescatori held top set with Q Q 10 8. Cox matched the 44,000 of Natte with A A 9 6. Natte was reduced to bottom set with his 5 5 2 2. The 4 came on the turn, which became relevant when the 3 hit the river. It was suddenly Natte, holding the 5 2, who scooped the massive pot worth 168,000 in chips. Pescatori was eliminated, and Cox was left with a big dent in his chip stack.

England took the best of the European cashes with Anthony Phillips ($12,950) and Chris Bjorin ($12,950). Among the notables who made the lower end of the money were Dane Jesper Hougaard, Irishman Marty Smyth, and Brit David Ulliott. No Europeans made it to the final table.

Vanessa Selbst played astonishingly, leaving a mass of destruction in her wake, knocking out all but three opponents at the final table. She then went heads up against James Pickering and took down the top prize of $227,933.

Event No. 20 - $2,000 Limit Hold'em

Norwegian Henning Granstad went out in 12th place in the $2,000 limit hold'em tournament. On a board of 7 3 2, Granstad led out with a bet of 3,000. David Baker popped it to 6,000, and Granstad came back over the top, putting the rest of his stack in the middle. Baker called and flipped over the K 4, while Granstad showed the Q J. The 6 turn and the 9♣ river offered no help to Granstad, and he was sent out with $12,230 from a total prize pool of $873,600. Daniel Makowsky from Switzerland did slightly better in 10th place with $12,230.

The two players left standing out of an initial 480 were Daniel Negreanu and Ugar Marangoz. Eventually, it was Negreanu who took down the first prize of $204,863 and his fourth World Series bracelet. Runner-up Marangoz had to settle for second place and $126,671. He is the highest Turkish-born finisher in the history of the World Series of Poker.

Event No. 21 - $5,000 No - Limit Hold'em

There was a lot of European action in event No. 21, $5,000 no-limit hold'em; 731 players registered, creating a prize pool of $3,435,700, and among them were many recognisable faces, such as Alan Smurfit from Ireland, Dario Minieri from Italy, and Dutchman Michiel Brummelhuis.

Although Brummelhuis was doing well among the chip leaders throughout the tournament, fellow countryman Jon Van Fleet ran into some bad luck. Van Fleet opened for 2,500 from the hijack position and was called by the button. The small blind then moved all in for a total of 16,200, which folded the big blind. Van Fleet moved all in behind him, muscling out the player on the button. The small blind showed the A K, while Van Fleet tabled a meagre-looking 6 3. As the board ran out A 8 7 2 5, Van Fleet realised that his opponent had moved in for about 10,000 more than he had initially thought. The mistake cost him dearly, and he was left with slightly more than 10,000 after the encounter.

Frenchman David Benyamine was eliminated early on in the event, followed later by Italian Pier Ruscalla. But all was not lost for Italy as Claudio Pagano made some waves. After Pagano squeaked into day two with a short stack, Zachary King pushed in his last 15,400 preflop from middle position with the K Q. Pagano deliberated for a few moments and asked for a count before calling with the A 10. The flop came 9 6 4, and the K on the turn gave Pagano the nut flush to eliminate King. Shortly after this, Adrian Velasquez was also crippled by Pagano.

The Italian's rule came to an end later in a three-way pot, when he moved all in on a flop of Q J 3. Jacobo Fernandez called, and another opponent folded. "You hit big?" Pagano asked, to which his opponent nodded. Fernandez turned over the A A as Pagano flipped up the 10 9. The 4 turn and 3 river failed to complete Pagano's straight draw, and he was eliminated with $11,681.

Fernandez continued his way up the ranks when, later in the game, he opened with a raise, and Noah Boeken responded by shoving all in. Fernandez quickly called, tabling the K K. Boeken trailed, showing the J J. The flop brought sets for both players, K J 10, leaving Boeken with the case jack for quads or running straight cards for a chop. The 10 on the turn erased any hopes of runner-runner, while the river brought the K, needlessly giving Fernandez the icing on the cake, quad kings. Boeken left the event with $16,147 for his efforts.

Anders Henriksson from Sweden was the top European finisher. He finished in seventh place and took home $120,249.

Event No. 22 - $3,000 H.O.R.S.E.

Europe witnessed its first bracelet win in event No. 22 when Jens Voertmann from Dortmund, Germany, lifted the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. title. The tournament attracted 414 entrants, amassing a total prize pool of $1,142,640.

Dutchman Marcel Luske was eliminated in third place ($110,264) during the stud round. He was short-stacked and was forced to commit his remaining chips against Voertmann. Voertmann's final hand read (J 9) A 7 8 A (K) for a pair of aces, and Luske's hand through sixth street read (9 5) 9 Q 4 J. Luske needed to hit another pair to stay alive, but his luck ran out and he was sent to the rail in third place.

Voertmann went on to defeat Doug Ganger, who was forced to get it all in with (8 8) 9 9 A K (3). Voertmann made the all-in call on fourth street, and his hand ran out (5 5) 7 A J J (X), giving him a better two pair. Voertmann collected $298,253 for his victory.

Brit Paul Zimbler also did well in the event, cashing for $25,138.

Event No. 23 - $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em

The $2,000 no-limit hold'em event, which attracted 1,344 players, saw Irishman Conor Tate, Swede Chris Bjorin, Frenchman Stephane Tayar, Dutchman Dominik Kulicki, and Italian Alessandro Dalbello make the final two tables. Tate was the first of them to go, in 20th place with $13,208.

Tayar stood his ground for a good while, despite his opponents' best efforts. He went all in with pocket tens against Rick LeNoble's 5 5. There was no funny business, and Tayar took down the pot. Ten minutes later, he eliminated Dylan Bircheff when his pocket jacks held up against Bircheff's K J.

The first action of 10-handed play was initiated by Chris Bjorin, the oldest player at the table. Bjorin raised to 52,000 from middle position, and Tayer moved all in from the button for 71,000 more. Bjorin showed down the 7 7, well behind Tayar's K K. A king on the flop sealed the deal, and Tayar leapt from his seat amid a hail of applause, but Bjorin was still very much alive and kicking.

Alessandro Dalbello was eliminated in 10th place, and finally the players saw the back of Tayer, who was sent out in ninth ($45,252). He got all of his chips in preflop and David Steicke made the call. Their cards were: Steicke - Q Q, and Tayar - A 10. The board came 5 2 2 9 K, and Tayer hit the rail.

Kulicki was next to go, in seventh place ($81,944). He was all in preflop with the Q Q against Blair Hinkle's A J, and the board came A A 10 5 K.

Bjorin doubled up through Hinkle, but his resurgence was short-lived when Hinkle came back to even the score. The London-based Swede went all in against Hinkle, resulting in his elimination in sixth place. He took home $106,404 in prize money from his second final table of the Series. Hinkle, not wishing to be outdone by his brother Grant, who won event No. 2, $1,500 no-limit hold'em, took home the top prize of $507,563 from a total prize pool of $2,446,080.

Event No. 24 - $2,500 Mixed Pot-Limit Hold'em/Omaha

The final table of event No. 24 saw three Europeans fighting it out for a piece of the $1,051,100 prize pool. They were Lennart Holtkamp from the Netherlands, Max Pescatori from Italy, and John Paul Kelly from England.

Kelly was the first eliminated during a round of hold'em, earning $22,599. Kyle Kloeckner raised to 25,000 and Kelly moved all in for 64,000 on the short stack. Kloeckner called and showed the A 10. Kelly needed help with his K J, but the board ran out A 6 5 8 Q and sent Kelly to the rail.

Holtkamp was put out by Pescatori in seventh place, earning $38,365. With Holtkamp's elimination, Pescatori became the sole representative of the Euro contingent. The Italian, who was chasing his second bracelet, made it to the final two, and went heads up against Kloeckner.

On the final hand of the night, Pescatori raised to 72,000 and Kloeckner made the call. The flop came K J 3, and Pescatori bet 110,000. Kloeckner called. The turn was the 2, and Pescatori bet the pot (364,000). Kloeckner tanked for a few minutes before moving all in. Pescatori called and had him covered. When they revealed their hands, Kloeckner showed jacks and threes for two pair, but he was drawing dead to one card when Pescatori showed kings and jacks with a flush draw. Kloeckner needed the last black 3 in the deck, but the river was the 2, giving Pescatori the victory over the 457-player field.

Event No. 25 - $10,000 Heads - Up No-Limit Hold'em World Championship

This event made only its second-ever appearance on the WSOP schedule this year. A total of 256 players entered, creating a prize pool of $2,406,400, with $539,040 going to first place.

Eliminated from the event in the earlier rounds were Brit Mark Teltscher, Spain's Carlos Mortensen, Germany's Johannes Strassman, Finn Thomas Wahlroos, Ludovic Lacay from France, and Italian Dario Minieri.

Russia's Alex Kravchenko was up against Erik Pettersson from Sweden after defeating Barry Greenstein. He took an early hit in the game but toughed it out with a chip disadvantage before ultimately being defeated by Pettersson.

Antonio Esfandiari and Italy's Marco Traniello fought a fierce heads-up battle. Esfandiari established a chip lead early against Traniello and managed to maintain this advantage throughout most of the match. Traniello made some aggressive reraises, but Esfandiari kept it together and won out in the end. "It was tough. Those Italians never die easy," Esfandiari commented as he prepared for his next match.

European hopes ultimately rested with Irishman Andy Black and Russian Alexander Kostritsyn. Black doubled up through Michael McNeill, but the end was nigh when they went all in preflop on a subsequent hand, with Black's J 10 trailing McNeil's A 6. Both made pairs on the A 10 4 flop, but the 3 on the turn and Q on the river failed to improve Black, and he was sent out with only the cash prize of $21,657 as consolation.

Kostritsyn busted out soon afterward, also earning $21,657.

The finals saw Alec Torelli face off against Kenny Tran. After increasing his lead with numerous small pots and blind steals, Tran sent Torelli to the rail, and earned $539,056.

Event No. 26 - $1,500 Razz

A total of 453 players entered the $1,500 razz event, creating a prize pool of $618,345. There was very little European interest, with only three overseas players in the money: Jeffrey Lisandro ($4,019) from Italy, Oriane Teysseire ($4,019) from France, and Simon Hennessy ($2,473) from England. In the end, it was Barry Greenstein who took the biggest slice of the pie when he beat Chris Klodnicki heads up for $157,619.

Event No. 27 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em

Russia stole the spotlight in event No. 27 with Aliaksandr Dzianisau, Malyshev Nikolay, and Vitaly Lunkin blazing through a field of 2,706. Nikolay was sent out in 23rd place ($17,360), followed by Dzianisau, who went out in 18th place ($17,360).
It was Lunkin who outshone the rest and eventually took down the top prize of $628,417 from a prize pool of $3,693,690. Lunkin sent Brett Kimes out when he raised to 600,000 preflop and Kimes made the call. The flop hit the table J 4 2, and both players checked. The turn brought the 8 and Lunkin opened the action for a million. Kimes raised all in and Lunkin called. Kimes was committed for his tournament life with the 10 8, while Lunkin had him dominated with the A J. The river card was the K, and Kimes took the $387,837 second-place prize.

Event No. 28 - $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha With Rebuys

The final table of event No. 28 was one of the most interesting the World Series had seen in some time. Some of the biggest names in poker went head-to-head for the bracelet, the cash prize, and the glory.

Russia's Kirill Gerasimov shoved from the small blind and was instantly called by Phil "OMG ClayAiken" Galfond in the big blind. Gerasimov showed the A 10 8 7, and Galfond produced the A J 8 5. The board ran out J 9 6 6 6, and Gerasimov was sent out in fifth place ($192,870). It was then time for the last European at the table to be put under pressure.

After taking a few big hits, Parisian David Benyamine was chipped down by Adam Hourani. Finally, the Frenchman raised to 175,000 from the button and Hourani made the call. The flop came down Q J 9, and Hourani checked. Benyamine moved all in and Hourani instantly called, showing A-Q-Q-10. Benyamine sheepishly turned over A-A-10-9 and needed some help. The turn and river came 3, 8, and Benyamine was eliminated in third place, with $316,307 for his efforts.
This left Adam Hourani and Phil Galfond as the last two surviving warriors from an initial battlefield of 152. After more than 100 hands of gruelling heads-up play, Galfond emerged $817,781 richer. Hourani earned $493,748 from a total prize pool of $3,085,930 for his runner-up finish.

Event No. 29 - $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em

The $3,000 no-limit hold'em tournament attracted a highly competitive field of 716 entrants, creating a prize pool totalling $1,976,160. Europeans didn't make it very far in the event, with cashes less than $12,000 for Denmark, Holland, and Sweden, and less than $7,000 for England, Italy, Holland, France, and Ireland.

The two Johns left battling it out for the top prize of $434,789 were Johnny Neckar and John Phan. It was Phan who emerged victorious and received his first bracelet.

Event No. 30 - $10,000 Limit Hold'em World Championship

The 30th event of the Series was the highest buy-in limit tournament in history. European bracelet winners were joined by Dutchman Rob Hollink after he beat 217 players to take down the first prize of $496,931. He played a strong and consistent game, rarely dipping below the top three chip leaders during the final day. This was Hollink's - and Holland's - first bracelet.

The top 27 finishers collected prize money from a pool of $2,049,200. Europeans who cashed for $20,492 were Spencer Lawrence from England, Patrick Bueno from France, and Alex Kravchenko from Russia.

Event No. 31 - $2,500 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em Championship

Frenchman Bruno Fitoussi was in good humour during the tournament, and for good reason. He joked with Alex Michaels during a hand. "You have a pair?" Fitoussi asked Michaels, who moved all in for around 75,000. "You have trip bananas?" he asked, pointing to the banana in front of Michaels. After a minute of talking it over with himself, Fitoussi eventually called and showed the J J. Michaels flipped over the A K. The flop came 4 4 2, and Michaels said, "I lose." But the turn made it interesting, bringing the 8 and creating more outs. "Spade," Michaels demanded while pointing his banana at the board. But the river brought the 5, and Fitoussi took a huge pot, eliminated Michaels, and became the chip leader. His stack increased again shortly after this when he eliminated yet another player. During the hand, an opponent told him, "You're a raising machine."

Fitoussi's reign was short-lived, however, when Irishman John O'Shea put a massive dent in his stack. It was Justin Filtz who eventually eliminated him in 11th place, and Fitoussi took $27,232 from a total of $2,327,600.

The two Europeans who withstood the 1,012-player field and made it to the final table were Italian Dario Minieri and O'Shea. At opposing ends of the chip spectrum, it wasn't long before O'Shea left Minieri to fight in the European corner alone.

O'Shea finished in fifth place ($98,923), receiving rapturous applause from his fellow Irishmen in the crowd.

With four players left, Minieri carried his super-aggressive play from earlier in the tournament all the way through to the final hand, which was against Seth Fischer. Fischer moved all in preflop and Minieri made the call to cover him. Minieri had the Q Q, and Fischer the K 10. The board came A A 5 2 3, and Minieri took home $528,418 and his first bracelet.

Event No. 32 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em

As the field grew smaller and the blinds got bigger in the $1,500 no-limit hold'em event, the vast majority of players left were unknown to the public. There was no Euro interest at the final table, which saw Mexican Luis Velador triumph over a field of 2,304 to take $574,734 from the $3,144,960 prize pool. The highest-place Euro finisher was Jamel Maistriaux from Belgium, who finished 24th for $15,059.

Event No. 33 - $5,000 Seven-Card Stud World Championship

The European bracelet count grew with 24-year-old German Sebastian Ruthenberg's victory over a 261-player field. The former European Poker Tour finalist had Dutchman Marcel Luske, Annie Duke, and Chris Ferguson to contend with at his final table.

Ruthenberg busted Italian Alessio Isaia in sixth place, and Annie Duke was next to go. Meanwhile, Luske was fighting doggedly to retain his place at the table when he moved all in for the seventh time on sixth street against Bob Lauria:

Lauria: (A 2) 3 8 7 Q

Luske: (A 5) 10 J 5 9

The players were then dealt their final card facedown and took a moment before turning over their holdings. Lauria showed the 7 for a pair of sevens, and Luske turned the 8 to hit the rail in fourth place ($95,069).

In the end, Ruthenberg got heads up with Ferguson, and after an almighty battle, Ruthenberg won the tournament, his first bracelet, and $328,762.

Europeans who enjoyed a piece of the $1,226,700 prize pool were David Benyamine from France in 10th place ($30,667), and Aliaksandr Dzianisau from Russia in 16th place ($12,267).

Event No. 34 - $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha With Rebuys

The $1,500 pot-limit Omaha with rebuys event attracted 320 players, each vying for a chunk of the $2,407,125 prize pool. It looked like there was no stopping Italian Dario Alioto as he knocked out his opponents and moved into the chip lead. The Italian sent Frank Vizza to the rail $54,160 richer for ninth place. He was soon at it again, putting Tim West out in eighth place to join Vizza on the sideline.

With four players left, Alioto got all of his chips (1 million) into the middle preflop. Layne Flack, who was the chip leader, called Alioto down, and this time the Italian was not so lucky. It was his turn to join his victims on the other side of the rail, as he left in fourth place with $180,534.

German Daniel Makowsky and Flack were the final two to go heads up. Makowsky committed the last of his chips preflop very early in the race for the $577,710 top prize. Flack was victorious, earning his sixth gold bracelet, and Makowsky was awarded $355,051 for his runner-up finish.

Other Europeans who made the money were Finn Thomas Wahlroos ($30,089), German Johannes Strassmann ($19,257), and those who cashed for $16,849 were Englishman Barny Boatman, Russian Nikolay Evdakov, and Frenchman Martel De La Chesnaye.

Event No. 35 - $1,500 Seven-Card Stud

The winner of the $1,500 seven-card stud event was Michael Rocco. He beat 381 contestants to take the heartiest bite of the $520,065 prize pool. After grinding Al Barbieri down to his last few chips, all it took was a pair of kings to send him to the rail in second place. After realising his pair had held up, Rocco burst into celebration. As tears streamed down his face, he spoke about his victory for his 5-year-old son. In a time when some bracelet winners take the prestige for granted, it was nice to see a man unafraid to show the world how much the win truly meant to him. He earned $135,753 and a gold bracelet for his valiant effort.

The only European who cashed in the event was Daniel Studer from Switzerland. He took home $2,860 for 25th place.

Event No. 36 - $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em

Another European victory could be found at the final table of event No. 36. With nine players remaining out of a total 2,447, there could be only one winner. Brit John Shipley was eliminated early in the final stretch when Cody Slaubaugh sent him to the rail in ninth place ($56,783), but Jesper Hougaard from Denmark avenged the Euro contingent after axing his way to finally go heads up against Slaubaugh.

Hougaard dominated play at every stretch of the final table, but his toughest challenge came heads up. Slaubaugh stole the chip lead before the dinner break, but when the players returned to the table, Hougaard went into overdrive, pouring on some all-in aggression to take back the lead. The final war began when Slaubaugh raised to 150,000 preflop. Hougaard reraised to 500,000 and Slaubaugh reraised to 1.3 million. Hougaard reraised all in for 3.7 million and Slaubaugh made the call. Their cards were: Hougaard - Q Q, and Slaubaugh - A 10. The board came Q 8 2 5 A and Hougaard took $610,304 from the $3,340,155 kitty. Slaubaugh received $389,128 for his runner-up finish.

At this point, it looked as if there was no stopping Europe in the 2008 World Series. With champions from Germany (2), Italy (2), Russia, Denmark, and the Netherlands, and many others making final tables, the contingent became a force to be reckoned with. Their bracelet count didn't stop here, however, as will be seen in the final update next month.