Anarchy on the Algarve

Having never been to Portugal, let alone the southern holiday destination of the Algarve, I jumped at the chance to live report on the Unibet Open. Of course I was already aware that I would only be getting a casino-lighting tan, and that the palm tree and azure sea-ogling would have to take place during the breaks and/or with night-vision goggles on, but even so, it was an impressive setting for a very popular event. 

Possibly the beautiful location inspired the 400 plus entrants to make their way to this €1,650 buy-in event, but I have a feeling that the incredibly eclectic mix of Scandinavian, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, and French players (to name but a few of the nationalities represented) would have made their way to the North Pole if that’s where the online satellites took them. The sheer level of excitement at this event was a match for any €5,000 plus major European tournament, and some of the unknowns playing here look well on their way to becoming the names of next year, if they can stay sober long enough to perfect their game!

It’s been many a year since I turned up to watch an event and could count the players I knew by sight on the fingers of one hand. The British contingent was strong but tiny (Thomas Middleton, Thomas Macdonald, John Eames, and Dave Jones were the only ones I knew) and none of them got deep enough to warrant a lot of UK-centric updates when there were three times as many Finns crushing all opposition at the time. I probably should have recognized Formula One driver Robert Kubica, National Hockey League player Esa Tikkanen, European champion boxer Amin Asikainen, and Olympic high jumper Patrik Sjoberg though.
 
I wouldn’t have had a shot, however, at spotting Miss Belgium — Alizee Poulicek — but there were more than enough guys with cameras who helpfully pointed her out by railing her table until she promptly busted early on the first day.

Forgetting you can check behind on the river instead of mucking your hand might have contributed to her early demise, which left tablemate Pieter de Korver letting her buster know, “You’re the most hated man in the room right now.”
 
De Korver might have been on the receiving end of a little bitterness himself later on, however, cracking Karl Stark’s aces with A-K at a crucial moment. “That’s how you win the EPT Monte Carlo…,” added an amused neighbor.
 
Poulicek was just one of a much larger than usual number of female entrants to a tournament of this size — a good sign that the continually disappointing turnout of women at these events is gradually on the rise. Ylva Thorsrud was one of the earliest chip leaders and fellow Norwegians Team Divines (Ida Wulff, Susanne Cappelen, Tina Dahlstrom, and Vivi Saethren) took their place in the packed Casino Vilamoura amongst many others. It was Dahlstrom, playing her first big event, who was the last female player standing, making the money as a short-lived short-stack, but proving to her mother that playing poker wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

Players who couldn’t remain anonymous if they tried included established pros Jan Sjavik and Henning Granstad, as well as Polish pop singer Michal Wisniewski whose black visor and shocking red hair contributed only slightly less to his high visibility than his table talk. He’s been popping up at EPTs recently, taking on the likes of Christoffer Egemo, Joao Barbosa, Ricardo Sousa, and Constant Rijkenberg, all of whom also turned up at the Unibet Open, but went home without another final under their respective belts. 

It was confusing at first to see some players with a ring of spectators, or receiving continuous requests for chip updates — were they online stars in their home countries, or had they been on Dancing with the Stars? No, seriously, Kim Herold, Finnish TV personality was there too. 

As the large field slowly shrank, we got to know everyone at last, and some interesting details about players’ escapades off the table came to light. We never found out why Henri Koivisto played day two in a large silver tiara, or why Ilja Vandenbroeck’s friends placed a dancing donkey on his side-table (although we can guess — the donkey later made an appearance at the night club). 

Miikka Anttonen’s battery-operated flashing sunglasses made it to the final table, and rumors abounded that he hadn’t stopped drinking during the overnight pause in play which was originally intended for sleeping. He also admitted that if he won he’d promised his friends, “To take a €100,000 shot against Phil Ivey, and then, if I double up, I think I’m just going to buy my own island or something.” 

He might be looking at more of a holiday home on the Isle of Wight right now, having busted first on the final table, but his attitude to the game was reflected in the shades of countless young players. If anyone is worried about the future of poker, and the optimism and bankroll of its rising stars, the Unibet Open should put their fears to rest. 

The atmosphere of the final table was both tense and happy, with each finalist getting his own set of cheers and chants in his native language, making the Casino Vilamoura sound like an airport hosting an ambassador’s party. Possibly even more excited than the Portuguese with three finalists and the eventual winner (they were the only supporters to produce flags seemingly out of thin air) were the Dutch, whose compatriot Marc Sullot came back from a short-stack more than once to end up finishing second to the popular Andre Dias. 

It seems that in the last few months young Dutch players have been scooping up every prize around, and the turnout from Holland reflected the country’s booming interest in poker (and expectation that one of them would surely get there or thereabouts). 

The final table took so long the casino’s managers were looking nervously at their watches, but after a quiet start, the action picked up and by the time they were four-handed there were enough all-ins and double-throughs to satisfy any action junkie railer. 

The Unibet Open was played with as much enthusiasm and energy as any major European main event, and I imagine they’ll sell out again on arriving in London in July, as many of the contenders won’t have been old enough to do their bankrolls in Vegas.


 
Jen Mason is a part of BlackBeltPoker.com. She is responsible for its live tournament coverage in the UK and abroad.