WSOP Europe -- James Bord Wins Main Event

The final battle in the £10,350 no-limit hold’em main event at the 2010 World Series of Poker Europe came down to a battle of disparate individuals in London. The shocking departure of the perennial final table chip leader Ronald Lee in third place set up a final match between the Italian professional Fabrizio Baldassari and the English professional James Bord.

Baldassari played the part of the classic tall, dark, and handsome Italian professional with a beautiful wife and a Monte Carlo address. He was also gracious and talkative at the poker table. Bord was the small, jolly Englishman with a large group of friends in his corner cheering every pot that was moved his way. The energy created by the two players was an interesting mix at the table, which filled the rest of the room to create an exciting atmosphere.

The two battled for two memorable hours as Bord’s hordes provided an audio guide to his fortunes while Baldassari’s wife showered him with kisses when the chips went his way. Bord overcame his chip disadvantage with a timely double up and the second time the two players got all of their chips into the middle Baldassari was eliminated and pandemonium broke out in the stands as Bord celebrated with his friends.

The Englishman took home £830,401 and his first gold bracelet for the victory and the Italian took home £513,049 for a strong runner-up finish.

Here is a look at the seating chart and chip counts when the final table began:

Seat 1: Roland de Wolfe – 1,377,000
Seat 2: Marc Inizan – 349,000
Seat 3: Nicolas Levi – 428,000
Seat 4: Fabrizio Baldassari – 697,000
Seat 5: Brian Powell – 842,000
Seat 6: Daniel Steinberg – 1,520,000
Seat 7: James Bord – 1,331,000
Seat 8: Ronald Lee – 1,899,000
Seat 9: Dan Fleyshman – 1,946,000

The final-table eliminations were kicked off with a double knockout punch where Lee established himself as the chip leader by taking down Marc Inizan (ninth place) and Brian Powell (eighth place). Dan Fleyshman was able to hold on for a while after that before Lee scored his third eliminated and took out Fleyshman in seventh place, cementing his hold over the final table.

The battle for sixth place was a lengthy one but it was settled the same way as the previous three eliminations. Lee took out Daniel Steinberg in sixth place to move past the 4 million mark when his next closest competitor held half that. A few hands later Lee was at it again, busting Nicolas Levi in fifth place. At this point Lee looked unstoppable, dictating the flow of play with preflop raises in what felt like every other pot.

Another player finally got on the scoreboard with an elimination to his credit when Baldassari took out the most well-known professional remaining, Roland de Wolfe, in fourth place. Even after that, Lee still held a dominant lead when the final three players went to dinner break. He held twice the chips of either of his opponents.

The story completely changed after dinner though and Lee’s fall from grace began when Bord doubled up through him for 1,190,000. Within an hour Baldassari took his turn and doubled up through Lee. Baldassari moved into the chip lead a few minutes later and the shocking turn of events was completed when Bord eliminated Lee in third place. The final heads-up match then took about two hours to crown Bord as the jubilant champion and Baldassari as the gracious runner up.

Final-Table Results:

Here is a look at the elimination hands from the final table as featured on CardPlayer.com’s live updates:

Marc Inizan Eliminated in Ninth Place (£54,114) and Brian Powell Eliminated in Eighth Place (£69,754) on the Same Hand

Marc Inizan moved all in preflop for 313,000 preflop and Brian Powell moved all in over the top of him before Ronald Lee made the call and had both opponents covered. Their cards:

Lee: A K
Inizan: 8 8
Powell: 8 8

Board: J 10 6 K 4

Lee won the hand to take a dominating chip lead with more than 3 million. Inizan was eliminated in ninth place (£54,114) and Powell took home eight-place money (£69,754).

Dan Fleyshman Eliminated in Seventh Place (£118,643)

Ronald Lee raised it to 85,000 preflop and Dan Fleyshman reraised all in for 250,000. Lee made the call and they flipped over their cards:

Lee: K 5
Fleyshman: J 10

Board: K 7 3 8 A

Fleyshman was eliminated in seventh place and he took home £118,643 in prize money while Lee continued to build his chip lead.

Daniel Steinberg Eliminated in Sixth Place (£156,530)

Ronald Lee raised to 110,000 and Daniel Steinberg reraised to 285,000 total from the big blind. Chip leader Lee then moved all in and Steinberg went into the tank. He had about 900,000 behind and after contemplating his decision intensely, he decided to call. The two revealed their cards:

Steinberg: A J
Lee: 4 4

Board: Q 9 6 3 8

Pocket fours were enough to scoop the whole lot and Steinberg hit the rail £156,530 richer.

Nicolas Levi Eliminated in Fifth Place (£208,119)

Nicolas Levi bet 135,000 from the cut-off and Lee raised enough from the big blind to put the Frenchman all in. Just moments before this hand Levi had made the all-in move but this time he was calling all in. After some thought, Levi called and showed 9 9. Lee flipped over K Q.

The board ran out 8 5 4 K 10 and with that Lee had destroyed another finalist.

Roland de Wolfe Eliminated in Fourth Place (£278,945)

Roland De Wolfe moved all in from the small blind with his short stack and Fabrizio Baldassari called.

De Wolfe: K Q
Baldassari: A 8

The board went in Baldasarri’s favour: A 8 3 2 9 and the popular Brit hits the rail just before the dinner break.

Ronald Lee Eliminated in Third Place (£326,829)

James Bord raised to 175,000 from the button and Ronald Lee reraised all in from the small blind. Bord made the call and they turned up their cards:

Bord: A K
Lee: 5 5

Board: K J 8 2 K

Bord won the hand and immediately began to celebrate the pot. Lee was eliminated in third place and he took home £326,829. For much of the early day Lee held the chip lead and now his long, fall from grace is complete.

James Bord Wins and Fabrizio Baldassari Eliminated in Second Place

Fabrizio Baldassari raised to 225,000 on the button and James Bord reraised to 855,000. Baldassari reraised 2 million and Bord reraised all in. Baldassari made the all-in call and they flipped over their hands:

Baldassari: 5 5
Bord: 10 10

Board: 9 9 8 J A

Bord was crowned the champion of the event after the hand and Baldassari was the runner up. Baldassari will take home £513,049 in second place and Bord grabs his first gold bracelet and £830,401.

Related Articles

Andrian Wins WSOP Europe Main Event For $1.4M

Schneider Wins WSOP Europe €550 Closer Event

Zewei Ding Wins WSOP Europe Turbo Freezeout

Most Viewed Articles