This Week in Poker -- Poker Tournament News Sept. 20-26

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This Week in Tournament Poker

World Series of Poker Europe

Event No. 1 — £1,500 no-limit hold’em

Jesper Hougaard won his second World Series of Poker gold bracelet of the year at WSOP Europe. He won the first preliminary event in London, a £1,500 no-limit hold’em tournament that gave him £144,218 in prize money. Hougaard won his first WSOP gold bracelet during the summer, when he won event No. 36 ($1,500 no-limit hold’em) and took home $610,304 in prize money. The first final table in London took place on Monday, Sept. 22, and it featured a collection of international players for a total field of 410. Here is a look at the final-table results:

1: Jesper Hougaard — £144,218 
2: Fuad Serhan — £89,175
3: Yevgeniy Timoshenko — £55,350
4: Neil Channing — £44,588
5: John Dwyer — £36,285
6: Adam Junglen — £28,598
7: Linda Lee — £17,835
8: Ian Woodley — £17,835
9: Daniel Nutt — £13,222

Event No. 2 — £2,500 H.O.R.S.E.:

The second event drew a smaller field (110 players) than the first preliminary tournament at WSOP Europe, but it was an impressive field that was littered with the biggest names in the game. The final table took place on Wednesday, Sept. 24, and when the dust settled, Sherkhan Farnood walked away with his first gold bracelet and £76,999 in prize money. Farnood came close to winning a bracelet at the WSOP in 2006, when he finished runner-up to Eric Froehlich in a $1,500 pot-limit Omaha event with rebuys. Here is a look at the final-table results from London:

1: Sherkhan Farnood — £76,999
2: Ivo Donev — £48,125
3: Howard Lederer — £30,250
4: Jeff Duvall — £22,000
5: Mark Gregorich — £17,188
6: Phil Ivey — £13,750
7: Jeff Lisandro — £11,000
8: Spencer Lawrence — £8,938

Event No. 3 — £5,000 pot-limit Omaha:

The very popular game of pot-limit Omaha attracted 165 players for the last preliminary event before the main event at WSOP Europe. At press time, the final table was down to the final heads-up match, with Sorel Mizzi holding the chip lead over Theo Jorgensen.

Here is a look at the final-table at press time:

Chip Counts:

Sorel Mizzi: 2,100,000
Theo Jorgensen: 1,200,000

Prize Money and Results

1: £218,626
2: £132,000
3: Erik Dalby — £84,562
4: Erik Friberg — £66,000
5: Max Pescatori — £51,562
6: David Penly — £41,250
7: Chris Ferguson — £33,000
8: Jason Mercier — £26,812

U.S. Poker Championship

Chris Reslock began a solid week in Atlantic City on Friday, Sep. 19, when he won event No. 6 ($500 H.O.S.E.) at the U.S. Poker Championship. He took home $6,800 and 96 POY points for beating a field of 84 players in the event. He followed that up by finishing runner-up on Monday, Sep. 22, in event No. 9 ($300 seven-card stud). Reslock took home $6,417 and 90 POY points for his second strong finish in four days.

Heartland Poker Tour — Onamia, Minnesota

On Sunday, Sept. 21, Mary Jo Belcore-Zogman walked away with the win at the $1,500 no-limit hold'em main event at the Heartland Poker Tour stop in Onamia, Minnesota. She took home $85,724 in prize money and 480 POY points by topping the field of 201 players.

Card Player Player of the Year (POY) Update

POY Standings:

John Phan — 6,677
Erik Seidel — 4,580
David Benyamine — 4,148
Michael Binger — 3,720
Sebastian Ruthenberg — 3,648
David “The Dragon” Pham — 3,582
Erick Lindgren — 3,459
Vinny Pahuja — 3,450
Edward Sabat — 3,413
Shannon Shorr — 3,388

POY Movement

One player that made some big strides this week was Jesper Hougaard, when he won the first event at the WSOP Europe, a £1,500 no-limit hold’em tournament that gave him 1,440 points and £144,218 in prize money. Hougaard won his first WSOP gold bracelet during the summer, when he won event No. 36 ($1,500 no-limit hold’em) and took home $610,304 in prize money, as well as another 1,440 points. By doubling up his point total, Hougaard now sits in 23rd place on the leader board and he has tournament winnings for the year totaling $877,817.

Yevgeniy Timoshenko finished in third place at the £1,500 no-limit hold’m event in London, and that gave him another 960 POY points to add to his impressive run recently. Timoshenko booked his first major win in Macau on Aug. 31, when he won the Asian Poker Tour main event and walked away with $500,000 and 1,248 points. Timoshenko now has 2,368 points total, and he has jumped into the top 50 on the leader board, currently sitting in 42nd place. Sherkhan Farnood was the other big winner this week in London when he took home his first gold bracelet at the second preliminary event (£2,500 H.O.R.S.E.) at WSOP Europe. Farnood was awarded 396 POY points, but he still has a very long way to go before he can challenge the current POY leaders.

Looking Ahead

World Series of Poker Europe

Event No. 4 — £10,000 no-limit hold’em European main event:

Saturday, Sept. 27, 1 p.m.: Day 1A
Sunday, Sept. 28, 1 p.m.: Day 1B
Monday, Sept. 29, 1 p.m.: Day 2
Tuesday, Sept. 30, 1 p.m.: Day 3
Wednesday, Oct. 1, 1 p.m.: Day 4
Thursday, Oct. 2, 1 p.m.: Final table

Card Player Live Coverage Event  — European Poker Tour London

Wednesdy, Oct. 1, 1:30 p.m.: Day 1A
Thursday, Oct. 2, 1:30 p.m.: Day 1B
Friday, Oct. 3, 1:30 p.m.: Day 2
Saturday, Oct 4, 01:30 p.m.: Day 3
Sunday, Oct. 5, 1:30 p.m.: Final table

Card Player Live Coverage Event  — Ultimate Bet Aruba Poker Classic

Monday, Sept. 29, noon: Day 1A
Tuesday, Sept. 30, noon: Day 1B
Wednesday, Oct. 1, noon: Day 2
Thursday, Oct. 2, noon: Day 3
Friday, Oct. 3, noon: Day 4
Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008, noon: Final table

U.S. Poker Championship

Saturday, Sept. 27, 11:15 a.m.: Event 14 — $1,000 no-limit hold'em
Sunday, Sept. 28, 11:15 a.m.: Event 15 — $300 seniors no-limit hold'em
Sunday, Sept. 28, 1:15 p.m.: Event 16— $300 ladies no-limit hold'em
Monday, Sept. 29, 11:15 a.m.: Event 17 — $300 no-limit hold'em
Tuesday, Sept. 30, 11:15 a.m.: Event 18 — $300 no-limit hold'em six-handed
Wednesday, Oct. 1, 11:15 a.m.: Event 19 — $300 Omaha eight or better
Thursday, Oct. 2, 11:15 a.m.: Event 20 — $500 pot-limit hold'em

Big Poker Oktober

Saturday, Sept. 27, 2 p.m.: Event 4 — $100 Omaha eight-or-better
Saturday, Sept. 27, 7 p.m.: Event 3 — $100 no-limit hold'em with re-buys
Sunday, Sept. 28, 3 p.m.: Event 5 — $50 no-limit hold'em
Monday, Sept. 29, 7 p.m.: Event 6 — $100 no-limit hold'em
Tuesday, Sept. 30, 7 p.m.: Event 7 — $200 no-limit hold'em
Wednesday, Oct. 1, 7 p.m.: Event 8 — $50 no-limit hold'em with re-buys
Thursday, Oct. 2, 7 p.m.: Event 9 — $100 no-limit hold'em
Friday, Oct. 3, 7 p.m.: Event 10 — $100 no-limit hold'em

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