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PokerPages.com: Rolf Slotboom Poker Blog
Courtesy of PokerPages.comAce covers Europe for PokerPages.com
Rolf Slotboom on European Tournaments. Reports so far: Deauville, Vienna, Monte Carlo, Barcelona....My next stop on my PokerPages.com European reporting journey will be Paris.
I will be there to bring you up to the minute coverage on the European WPT tour stop at The Aviation club in Paris from July 19th - July 29th.
If you have any questions that you would like to put to me regarding the European Poker Scene you can email me at acespeaks@hotmail.com and please put in the subject line PokerPages question - I will then get back to you ASAP. I hope you have liked my coverage of the 2005 EPT events so far, and also the coverage of the World Heads Up. I will continue to do my best to give you guys both insightful as well as accurate information on all major European events, and hope that indeed you appreciate it as such. In the meantime, we will continue to find new ways to give you guys both better and faster information.
See you in Paris!
Rolf.
Ace Speaks for PokerPages.com from Barcelona - Day 8
We have our champion - Peter Gunnarson from Sweden!  Our 2005 World Heads Up Champion
with match director Meg Patrick
---
WHU Update No. 17
 The beautiful Olympic Port
 TV-show hosts preparing for their final broadcast
 Battle for the fame, the trophy... and the money!
FINAL
_____
 Now let's find out who is really the best!
With blinds of 3,000 and 6,000, the first pot was a big one right away: about 80,000, or well over 12% of the total chips in play. With four spades on the board, Peter had check-called 18,000 on the river against Simon who had been betting all the way. The Swede's six of spades was good against the Englishman's two pair. But then Simon won three decent-sized pots, including one where Peter paid off Simon's 15K runner-runner flush bet, and Simon also caught Peter bluffing once with again four of a suit on the board, when Peter had nothing more than a six-high (and Simon won with second pair). He had a slight lead then, but gave it away immediately when Peter had A3 and made aces up on the river, getting paid off 15K.
On a flop KT7, and a raised pot, Simon had raised Peter's 25K bet to 75K, and with the Swede unable to call him, Simon now has close to 60% of the chips. But then things started to turn sour for the man from Burnley. Peter had limped on the small blind / button (SBB) and then had reraised Simon's initial 26,000 raise - and the Englishman had to release. And he then even lost a massive pot, when he paid off 20K, 40K and 60K against Peter's ten-eight of clubs, for a flush made on the turn. After 35 minutes of play, the chip count was even 455K-185K in favor of the Swede, but just before the first break Simon has fought back to about 250,000.
 Winning hand for Peter Gunnarson
---
WHU Update No. 16
The two semi-finals are over, and the two relative underdogs are through. Despite their large experience, and the fact that they were odds-on favorites, both Dave Colclough and John Falconer have lost their matches. This means tomorrow's final will be between Peter Gunnarson from Sweden and Simon Nowab from England; now those of you who had predicted that, could have won a lot of money. Make sure you tune in tomorrow at 7 p.m local time, for the finals of the 2005 World Heads Up. Bye for now - see you all tomorrow!
---
WHU Update No. 15
Lots of chips in play,
lots of money to be won
€3,250 (last 16) Stephen Pearce, Simon Trumper, Raul Paez Corral, Jamie Sharrat, Jac Arama, Frej Rutenskold, Jin Cai Lin, Paul Jackson
€10,000 (quarter-finalists) Pascal Perrault, Andreas Hagen, David Leigh, Peter Abela
€20,000 (semi-finalists) John Falconer, Dave Colclough
€50,000 (runner-up) Simon Nowab
€100,000 (winner) Peter Gunnarson
I will try to provide you with fast an accurate updates of both semi-finals, and then the final will be tomorrow. Enjoy!
SEMI-FINALS
___________
Because of a change in the schedule, we will have the Burnley boys first. Their match has started at 4:15 p.m. local time.
 Swedish surprise Peter Gunnarson
The strong Dave Colclough suffered from losing a big pot right at the beginning of this match, when his opponent had flopped a straight. Even though he was quickly down to about 90,000 in chips, Dave went back in his usual routine of playing small pots, trying to chip away at his opponent. But then with a flop 763 with two clubs, he lost yet another pot when he had to release his hand when Peter came over the top of his 15,000 raise. After about 25 minutes of play, El Blondie was again down to 82,000, with the young Swede in control. And after losing the two consecutive (small) pots as well, his stack was even down at 65K. The big favorite just couldn't seem to win a pot. Barely 45 minutes into the match, his stack had shrunk to a miserable 35,000, with Peter holding an impressive stack of 285,000. It seemed we could be in for a massive upset.
But then Peter started to make the (at least in my view) same mistake as he did in previous his match against Pascal Perrault: He let his opponent get back into the match without forcing him to show a hand. On two occasions, the Swede had made a decent raise, and then decided to fold to a reraise - with Dave holding less than 15% of the total chips in play, meaning that even after losing the Swede would still be in clear command. I think that Peter should have gone for the gamble and taken the chance to knock out this dangerous player, because the longer Dave will stay in the match, the better he will be at grinding you down. Not much later, Dave actually got a great chance to double up when the money went in on the turn, both players had K7 for second pair, but the man from Wales was freerolling with a hearts flush draw. It didn't come, and after another splitpot when both players were all-in with the same hand (big slick), we are into the first break with a chip count 257K-63K.
 Peter calls flop all-in bet by Dave within a second
+++ John Falconer (UK) - Simon Nowab* (UK) TT (0h51)  Burnley puts its mark on European poker -
in a very relaxed manner
An interesting match? Yeah, that's for sure. These two players are long-time friends, and have over the years shared almost all of their wins and losses - not just in poker, but also in regular gambling games like roulette that they used to play. Interesting also because in Simon's view "John has taught me everything that I know now. When I started, I just loved to play, but actually I did not have much of a clue. It was my Burnley friend who has helped me, because without him I would have still have played as badly as I did back then." So, one could claim that when Simon would win today's match, that it is a classic case of Student beating the Teacher.
 The deciding hand
Ace Speaks for PokerPages.com from Barcelona - Day 6
Quarter final results
---
WHU Update No. 14
The quarter finals are over! Tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. local time we will have the semi-finals, followed by the final - with a €100,000 Euro first prize at stake. The matches:
Peter Gunnarson (Sweden) - Dave Colclough (UK)
John Falconer (UK) - Simon Nowab (UK)
These players will be here tomorrow afternoon in the beautiful Gran Casino Barcelona, for the final day of the World Heads Up 2005. Goodbye for now - see you all tomorrow!
---
WHU Update No. 13
 World Heads Up working towards its climax
 John Falconer
John had gotten off to a very good start, winning three pots in a row. The first one was even a fairly big one, 29,000 total. David had raised to 4,500 from the small blind / button (SBB), and on a flop KK3 they had both checked. On the turn, John bet 4K, and now David raised it up to 10K, representing a slowplayed big hand. But when John called and then again bet into David on the river, the man from Oxford had to give up. When John won the next two hands as well, he was even up to 98,000, but then David won a few small pots to almost level things again. And after one hour of play, David actually has a 96,000-64,000 chip lead. In a pot that was raised by him, he check-raised on a flop Q75 to make him opponent lay down his hand, and a few minutes later he won another decent pot when he flopped a queen-high flush and John paid him off on all streets - bets of 2K, 5K and 10K respectively.
 David Leigh with yours truly
From there, it didn't take long for the match to end. John won another pot, value-betting 5,000 on the river with a straight against his opponent's pair of aces. And two hands later, it was all over over. John had made it 6,000 to go on the SBB, and then David made the correct play moving all-in to 33,000 with his A8. John decided to call the additional 27K with a QT to knock his opponent out - and when two queens flopped, he had indeed succeeded in doing that. The strong Burnley John is through to the semi-finals.
______________________________
+++ Peter Abela (UK) - Simon Nowab* (UK) TT (2h22)
 British crew preparing for yet
another cracking match
After about half an hour, stacks were still about even. Simon won a good pot when on a flop A72 rainbow, he bet 4,750, and when he got raised to 10,000 deduced that this raise meant Peter probably didn't have anything: after all, with this unthreatening board he would probably just have called if we has truly strong. So, Simon reraised to 25K with a J4 for no pair, no draw - and made his opponent lay down his hand! But Peter was rather clever as well. When on the turn AA56 he bet 3,000 and Simon called him instantly, he read this quick call for weakness, not strength, and when a queen came on the river, he check-called him for 5K with just a six, indeed snapping off a bluff. But not much later Simon flopped a full house jacks and fours and was able to get paid off. The man who (just like John Falconer) is from Burnley, has now taken a slight lead.
When Simon started winning more and more pots, the for a large part English crowd already started speculating about the possible semi-final between Simon and John Falconer, who are both from Burnley and who are very good friends. But then Peter won a pot where he got his four aces paid off to get back into the match. And then, just before the first break, Simon actually increased his lead to 105K-55K after a winning pot with queens, and even making a small raise on the river despite an ace being out there.  Great sportsmanship in Simon vs. Peter match
And right after the break, Simon continued his run with a truly great call. In an unraised pot, with no bets on the flop, Simon check-called a 4,000 bet on a board KJ44 in his usual fast manner. When an eight came on the river, Simon checked, Peter bet 12K and then Simon made an absolutely stunning call with a mere queen-high! He was correct: Peter had been bluffing with a ten-high. Chip counts after 90 minutes: 42,000 for Peter, 118,000 for Simon.
From there, Simon simply tried to keep the pressure on, but the both times he had his opponent all-in before the flop, Peter managed to escape. The first time was a rather strange one. In what seemed like an obvious move-in situation to me (Simon holding A2, his opponent in the 2,000 big blind holding a stack of only 23,500) Simon just called on the SBB and then called his opponent's all-in raise within a heartbeat. King-ten of hearts for Peter, who survived by making the nut straight. And when the man from Burnley then had his opponent down at 20,500 again, it was again all-in before the flop, his pocket sevens losing on the river this time against Peter's jack-ten. But after continuing to just chip away at his opponent, he has put him back down to about 26,000 again at the second break.
In the third hour, the match turned into, as a creative member in the audience called it, a "ping-pong match: you ping, I pong." Peter and Simon took turns in just sticking their entire stacks in, and without exception the other player would fold. But on attempt number 13 or 14, we had a caller - and it was game, set and match. Simon had moved in with a king-five, Peter had called all-in for 29,500 with an ace-seven, and a five flopped to send through "The Edge" Simon Nowab. He will now play his friend Burnley John Falconer in the semi-finals; let's see if they will still be friends after this match.
---
WHU Update No. 12
Day 5 is over, a day with some exciting and some excellent play as well. The first two semi-finalists: Peter Gunnarson and Dave Colclough. Tomorrow, we will get to see British players only, who will fight for the two remaining seats in the final four. From sunny Barcelona I say: Thanks for joining us - see you guys tomorrow!
---
WHU Update No. 11
 Preparations for the Televised Table  The eye of the camera is everywhere
+++ Pascal Perrault (France) - Peter Gunnarson* (Sweden) TT (2h26)
Already in the fifth hand, it seemed like we had a decision. In a raised pot, Pascal check-raised to 20 K on a flop J93, with Peter calling. When the turn brought another Jack, the Bandit said "All-in". Peter took a long time before calling with his KJ against the somewhat obvious semibluff by the Frenchman, who had QT for an open-ended straight draw. Of course, after the turn card, his straight draw was not open-ended anymore as any king would now give the Swede a full house. No surprises on the river, and after doing an accurate chip count, it was determined that Pascal had 1,500 left - less than 1% of the total chips in play.
 Pascal and Peter in a truly
memorable match
In the second hour of play, Pascal's stack shrunk to 10,000 again, when in a raised pot Peter checked twice with top pair to make a small value bet on the river. But that is what I didn't like about Peter's play at this stage of the match: He didn't put enough pressure on his opponent, letting him win pots uncontested a bit too much for my taste. For instance, when Pascal was down to 10K, with the blinds at 2K, Peter folded against a raise twice, and did not make a single raise himself! There may have been a reason for this, of course: It is Pascal's specialty to win hands as a dog. Pascal doubled up to 24K, when he was all-in with K8 against J9, and Peter was one card away from victory with a 982T board. But a king came for the River Rat to keep him alive once more.
Then Peter made the in my view most horrible play of the entire match. When Pascal flatcalled on the small blind / button (SBB), Peter finally took an aggressive posture, raising to 7,000, but when Pascal reraised all-in to 23,000, he folded! A very bad move in my view, because you just know that Pascal is going to make this move, regardless of his cards - now he basically got a 7,000 present without ever needing to show a hand.
But it needs to be said that Peter was very unlucky as well! Again having his opponent all-in, and again holding the best hand, he again lost. KK for Peter, AQ offsuit for Pascal, and the Bandit hit everything this time, hitting both an ace and making a flush. The Frenchman won two more pots, one where he value-bet with three nines and got called, and then when on a board 8728 he bluff-raised his opponent off his hand, to then show his bluff: queen-ten for no pair, no draw. Believe it or not, the man who was down to just one big blind now has taken the lead!
Pascal's bigger aggressiveness allowed him to even move into a 98,000-62,000 chip lead, when he suffered a terrible loss. In an unraised pot, with a flop JT8, both players flopped a straight: 97 for the Frenchman, Q9 for the Swede. All the money went in and no surprises this time, and suddenly Pascal was down to 36K again. And Peter was then able to finish off the match quickly. When on a flop J83 Pascal bet 27K all-in, Peter finally decided to make a stand, making a good call with a mere pair of fours. Pascal had K3 for bottom pair / king kicker, and for once could not improve. A memorable match - Peter Gunnarson is through.
__________________________________________
+++ Dave Colclough* (UK) - Andreas Hagen (Norway) (1h26)
 Dave Colclough
After the break, with blinds 1,000 and 2,000, Andreas did what he probably should have done earlier: become more aggressive. He even bluffed one time (with Dave calling and winning with a mere ace-high), but in my view he did the right thing by putting more pressure on Dave - Dave who just loves to play for small pots. And had the Scandinavian won the final hand, he would actually have taken the lead. He had raised to 5K, with Dave calling, and on a flop 642 with two clubs Dave checked. Andreas had queen-ten of clubs, bet 10K and when Dave check-raised all-in, Andreas decided to call the 29,500 more. (He said: "You got me; I am committed.") In the biggest pot of the night, Dave had 65 for top pair + straight draw, meaning Andreas actually had a premium draw, because not just any club, but also any queen or ten may have been good. When two blanks fell, it was all over for Andreas though, and El Blondie who is playing at an expert level this week, is through to the semi-finals.
___________________________________________
Ace Speaks From Barcelona - Day 4
Day 4 is over: Results + the final 8 players
---
WHU Update No. 11
The fourth day is over! After some exciting poker, we have an event that is dominated by the British, the final four matches being:
Pascal Perrault (France) - Peter Gunnarson (Sweden)
Dave Colclough (UK) - Andreas Hagan (Norway)
***
David Leigh (UK) - John Falconer (UK)
Peter Abela (UK) - Simon Nowab (UK)
---
WHU Update No. 10
As the third round matches are still going, some fourth round matches have started as well. I will give you all updates as soon as possible - if the Internet connection co-operates, that is. (Both the regular network and the wireless system have been down more often than not in previous days.) You can find the results of all round 4 matches below the third round results. Note that in round 4 all limits / blinds are doubled as opposed to round 3, and that instead of with 20,000, all players will start with 40,000 here.
---
WHU Update No. 9
THIRD ROUND MATCHES
_____________________
 Crowded house in Barcelona
1
Ivo Donev - Pascal Perrault* (0h09)  Hard work for everyone
... Ivo was very unlucky to lost this match. Holding a slight chip lead, he got all the money in with J8 for a straight on a board ATQ9 with two diamonds. Pascal had a hand that looked nice, Td 8d, but in fact he was drawing very thin - even more so because Ivo also had one of his diamonds. But a diamond rivered, making the chess champion extremely shortstacked, and on the very next hand the match was over.
Dave Ulliott - Stephen Pearce* TT (0h14)
... Before the match started, Dave gave his opponent a warm welcome with the words: "I'll call your airline - so that they can already book your ticket." But as it happened, the Devil went out himself! Holding A7 against Stephen's 88 and a flop 877, there was simply no way he could avoid going broke. Dave bet small, Stephen raised to 7,000 and then Dave went all-in. Of course his opponent, a professional golf player from Stoke-on-Trent if my information is correct, had an easy call with top full. After just eight hands and fourteen minutes of play, one of the top favorites is out.
Simon Trumper* - Martin Cedercrantz (1h11)
... The man who beat Ross Boatman on the televised table yesterday, is now out himself. But against the strong Simon, he simply stood no chance. The Englishman won an important pot when he snapped off a 1,500 river bluff, correctly deducing that from the way the betting had gone, his opponent probably didn't have much, and from there he went on to a smooth win. On the final hand, with J9 against J2 on a flop J53, he had his opponent all-in for about 7,500. When a nine came on the turn, Martin was drawing dead.
Peter Gunnarson* - Mickey Wernick (2h15)
... All-in as a big favorite, holding 77 to 66, Mickey was a clear favorite to double up to 23,600 and to take the lead. But the first card off the deck was a six, and that was the end of it.
2
Dave Colclough* - Juan Sastre (1h41)
... Dave has been playing excellent in this match so far, despite the fact that he has not been exactly fortunate. Juan survived the first time, when he actually was in the lead (all-in for 4,000 on a flop KQT with pocket aces against Dave's queen-eight suited), and he also survived a second time when he was a clear dog. Juan raised Dave's 400 big blind to 1,500, and then Dave reraised him all-in for 10,600 total. Colclough's AQ was a clear favorite against Juan's A9, but the man from Spain did pay off the large reraise, and got rewarded by flopping a nine. But Dave refused to give up because these two important losses, and just fifteen minutes later he was again in there with a 3-to-1 chip lead. And on the final hand, it was Juan who lent him a helping hand by slowplaying his aces on all streets, and put in the money when his bullets had been outdrawn. On a flop JJ4, Dave called a small bet to try to take the pot away from his opponent later, holding a mere eight-seven. When the flop gave him a gutshot with a ten, he bet into his opponent, and of course had his opponent just breathed at the pot, he would have thrown away his cards. But he just flatcalled with his aces up. Now, when a nine of spades came on the river that completed all draws (there were now straights and flushes possible), Dave decided to check his small straight, and when Juan then bet all-in, Dave simply called him. Of course, had Juan just checked the hand back, he would still have been in, and this would probably have been his best course of action. Either way, Dave has played a truly excellent match today, and is through to the final 16.
Raul Paez Corral - Barny Boatman +
... Barny was in deep trouble against the exact same player who also busted him out last year. Down to a small stack, he bet 5,000 all-in into a 762 flop holding 54 for an open-ended straight, but he got called by a 98 for a higher open-ended straight! So, Barny had the worst hand and the worst draw, but a three on the turn gave him the nuts to stay alive.
 Richard Gryko
... We were in for a long match between Richard and Jamie. Richard was on the verge of exit after about four hours. Holding an overpair (KK) to the 964 flop, he raised his opponent's 3,400 bet all-in to 6,800. Jamie was in there with a nine-five, and when a five came on the turn he had two pair. But a four on the river counterfeited his two pair, giving Gryko kings up against Jamie's nines up. Being close to even again, it seemed Richard could get back into this match, but in the end it was Jamie to go through.
Manuel Silva - Andreas Hagan* (1h14)
3
Derek Baxter - David Leigh* (2h21)
... Derek's good run over here has come to en end today. He was all-in for 5,500 with T9 against AT, and no less than two aces flopped to send his opponent through.
Hans Eskilsson - Jac Arama* (2h05) Jac Arama
... Jac had been struggling in this match for quite a while, when suddenly he won one or two pots to take a clear lead. His opponent was down to 6,200 and had to make a stand with an ace-six all-in preflop, but Jac's queens held up.
Isabelle Mercier - Frej Rutenskold* (1h31)
... When after an 30 minutes of play Isabelle raked in a small pot with a straight to get back to 14,000 again (still below par), she asked me the rhetoric question: "Rolf, why do I always run out of chips so early in the event?" I answered: "Well, I don't know - but I guess it makes any victory taste much sweeter that way." As she did yesterday, she tried to fight back, but Frej just didn't give anything away. Slowly but surely the Canadian's chip status was deteriorating, and unfortunately for all the people -including me, I guess- who just love to see her in action, she was unable to fight her way back into this match. "No Mercy" Isabelle is out.
Chen Guosem - John Falconer* (0h38)
... Against Chen, who had flopped top two pair, John had a gutshot with 5d 4d on the flop T62. On the turn he had made a gutshot + flushdraw, and when in the end he had completed his backdoor flush, the rest of the money went in. Burnley John is looking strong, and is in the money.
4
Jin Cai Lin* - Cui Guogun TT (5h39)
... An interesting match between two players who know each other very well. Because the match between the Devilfish and Stephen Pearce was over in a heartbeat, the two Asians had been transferred to the televised table. And their match took about 25 times as long as the Devilfish match! Despite the fact that both players are known to be highly aggressive, there were just relatively few big pots. In the end, it was Cui who made an unfortunate move by coming over the top of Jin's raise when in fact Jin had the goods. Jin had AQ, called his opponent's 17,000 all-in reraise and dominated his friend: Cui had A2. No surprises, and Jin can now enjoy a ten minute break, getting ready for another task: his fourth round match against the strong Peter Abela.
Peter Abela* - Jatinder Singh (1h09)
... And yet another good win for Peter Abela. On a flop KKQ, which seems like a typical trap flop to me, Peter did exactly that: he trapped. He made a small check-raise to 6,000 on the flop with KT, and his opponent fell for it. Holding QT for two pair / decent kicker, he went all-in for 15,500 total. When he got called, he knew he would probably be in bad shape - and that was indeed the case.
Luzhe Zhang - Paul Jackson* (2h29)
... "Action Jack" Paul Jackson is through as well. In a hand that went exactly the same as the deciding hand in the fourth round match between Pascal Perrault and Stephen Pearce (that was played at the adjacent table and that actually finished before this match), it was pocket fours with the four of clubs against ace-king suited. Luzhe had big slick, and all-in for 7,500, he was happy to see a king flop. But he was not so happy when the final card was the nine of clubs, creating four clubs on the board to give his opponent a flush- the exact same nine of clubs that, as we shall see later, also propelled Pascal Perrault into the final eight. Either way, the sympathetic Luzhe is out, and we have yet another British player in the last 16.
 Simon Nowab
... And to complete the British dominance in this event, we can also add Simon's name to the list of in-the-money players. Simon had been down to about 4,000 when he doubled through with JJ vs. AT. Once he had taken a slight lead, a crucial hand developed. Simon had called a 2,000 raise with pocket eights, and when he flopped a set, he did the logical thing: checking to let his opponent hang himself. Rory bet no less than 11,000, but when Simon check-raised all-in, Rory was unable to call for the 3,000 or 4,000 that he still had left. Rory did fight back though. By winning a couple of pots uncontested, he was back at 8,000 again. But then he lost all of that in the final hand. Simon flatcalled a 1,600 preflop raise with queens, came out betting that same 1,600 when he flopped an overpair to the T54 flop, and when Rory moved all-in with a mere J8, Simon had an easy call.
FOURTH ROUND MATCHES
______________________
Pascal Perrault* - Stephen Pearce (0h30)
... The exact same hand from the Paul Jackson - Luzhe Zhang match happened here as well - and again the pocket fours survived over the ace-king suited. With 40,000 in starting chips, and Pascal having built that to about 42,000, he raised to 2,800. When Stephen reraised to 7,800, the Bandit decided to stick it all-in with his small pocket pair (44 with again the four of clubs) to put Stephen to the test. Of course, heads up there is no way you can get away from an ace-king suited, so Stephen put all of his chips in the middle as well. Again, three clubs on the flop, and then the same nine of clubs on the river to send the Frenchman through. As in his match against Ivo Donev, when he had caught a lucky break because he needed to make his flush with just one card to come, he was fairly lucky again here, because he may have been overplaying his fours a little in this hand. But he has won both his matches in no time, and he will be fresh tomorrow - when his opponents may be exhausted from long and tough matches played today. Either way: The Bandit has reached the final eight.
Simon Trumper - Peter Gunnarson* TT (1h54)
... After one hour of play at the televised table, Simon is trailing 14,000 to 66,000. He lost a 30,000 pot when he made an aggressive reraise before the flop with KQ, and his opponent called him down all the way to the river with a mere pair of threes. When Simon then lost another pot where Peter actually tried to trap him by checking once he had made his flush on the river (but Simon didn't fall for it, and also there was no need to bluff: the river had also given him a hand that could have won in a showdown, third pair), the Englishman was down to about 10K. And then on the final hand, Peter raised to 3,000, Simon moved all-in to 8,600 and Peter called. The hands: ace-queen of spades for the Swede, king-jack of clubs for Trumper. Even though Peter didn't need to improve, he hit everything. He caught both an ace and made a flush as well, and remains in the event as the only Swede.
***
Dave Colclough* - Raul Paez Corral (1h26)
... Another strong performance by Dave, against the man who had knocked out Barny Boatman two years in a row, but who now was down to 10,700 within 90 minutes. Both players got their stacks in before the flop, and Dave's AJ held up against Raul's king-queen suited.
Jamie Sharrat - Andreas Hagan* (1h28)
... On a flop Ac 4c 8s Andreas bet 2,600, and the shortstacked Jamie raised him 7,000 more all-in. After some thinking, Andreas called him with a pair of aces / no kicker, and he was correct: Andreas had T8 for merely a middle pair. An ace on the turn left Jamie with no outs.
***
David Leigh* - Jac Arama (2h19)
... Jac must have been very eager to make it this week: he had folded KK face up on the turn 567T against moderate action, which can be considered somewhat unusual in a heads up match. He wass up against a good player though. David made a smart play when he first bet 3,000 on the turn with QJ for top pair of jacks, and then checked on the river when another jack fell, to induce a bluff from his opponent. When Jack indeed bet 5,000, David just flatcalled to snap off his opponent's bluff. Jac was now down to 28,000, and not much later David snapped off yet another bluff. On a board with three clubs, two queens and a seven, a blank fell on the river, and David called yet another 5,000 bluff. (Jac had 98 for a busted nine-high flush draw, David had a seven for two pair, queens and sevens.) And after Jac won a first all-in confrontation, he lost the second one. All-in for 6,500 with Q8 against AQ, the best hand held up.
Frej Rutenskold - John Falconer* (2h25)
... After about 90 minutes of play, Burnley John was in front 58,000-22,000 against one of the surprises this week, the strong Frej Rutenkold. And in the end, he booked a routine win to join the final eight players.
***
Jin Cai Lin - Peter Abela* (1h08)
... Right back from his long third-round match on the televised table, Jin had no problems keeping his rhythm. Within no time, he check-raised his opponent's 2,500 flop bet all-in on a flop Ac Jd 7c to take a clear lead. Just twenty minutes in the match, he was already 55K-25K in front. But then a crucial hand developed where Jin slowplayed aces and it went wrong. Peter had a king-queen, flopped a pair of kings and could reach the turn fairly cheaply. When a queen came to give him top two pair, he bet, and at that point Jin came out of the closet, moving in with his aces. But then it was too late, as his opponent had already outdrawn him. After this key hand, Jin's resistance was broken, and we have another Englishman in the final eight.
Paul Jackson - Simon Nowab* (3h43)
... As in the previous match, Nowab showed great character. Being down to just 7,000 this time, he again turned things around. Ace Speaks From Barcelona - Day 3
Final results round 2 matches---
WHU Update No. 9
Now that the second round is over, we can make up the balance. Well, we have lost some more few big names like former winners Bruno Fitoussi and Angel Blanco, the strong Julian Thew, the colorful Padraig Parkinson, the dangerous Alex Kravchenko, the English trumps John Kabbaj, Roy Brindley and Ross Boatman, and last but not least the young Noah Boeken. Coupled with the casualties from round 1, that's quite a few recognizable faces that are not with us anymore. All in all, the qualifiers for round 3 are:
1
Ivo Donev
Pascal Perrault
Dave Ulliott
Stephen Pearce
Simon Trumper
Martin Cedercrantz
Peter Gunnarson
Mickey Wernick
2
Dave Colclough
Juan Sastre
Raul Paez Corral
Barny Boatman
Richard Gryko
Jamie Sharrat
Manuel Silva
Andreas Hagan
3
Derek Baxter
David Leigh
Hans Eskilsson
Jac Arama
Isabelle Mercier
Frej Rutenskold
Chen Guosem
John Falconer
4
Jin Cai Lin
Cui Guogun
Peter Abela
Jatinder Singh
Luzhe Zhang
Paul Jackson
Simon Nowab
Rory Liffey
---
WHU Update No. 8
The first round has led to the departure of quite a few notable names. To name but a few: Luca Pagano, Ram Vaswani, Xuyen Pham, Carlo Citrone, Rob Hollink, Steve Vladar, Joe Beevers and Lothar Landauer. Coupled with the fact that one or two true poker superstars like Marcel Luske have decided not to appear here, but instead focus on big American events, means that in contrast to previous years we may have slightly fewer big names left at this stage of the event. Actually, this World Heads Up event may well be on a crossroad now. Despite the fact that this event is a huge success, a sell-out, and despite the fact that the players love it and the TV-registration looks better than ever, the event may not be as big as it it used to be, for the simple reason that the other events have grown massive. So, the question is: Will the World Heads Up stay like this, a nice an beautiful event, or will it try to catch up with the bigger events, by either increasing the buy-in, or else allowing more entrants. An interesting dilemma, and one that is not exclusive to this World Heads Up. Basically all events that are not part of the EPT or WPT face a similar situation, and all will have to find the best way to deal with it.
 It's a sunny day in the Gran Casino Barcelona
Chips: 10,000 each
Blinds start at 100-200, go up every hour to 150-300, 200-400 and the final increase to 300-600
1
Angel Blanco Puras - Ivo Donev* (1h03)
... The reigning champion is out! It was the tricky Ivo who did the damage. And one can say a lot about Ivo, but his pre-match preparation is second to none. When I talked to him this morning, he said he had actually looked in all the Internet archives on Angel's play and his tendencies, and had in fact analyzed all the match statistics from last year's event. And it did pay off for him! In the final hand, the Spaniard went for a massive all-in bluff, holding two clubs with three hearts on the board. Ivo could not believe his luck, holding ace-four of hearts for the nut flush, and the strong Angel is out.
Pascal Perrault - Roy Brindley * (0h23)
... With Pascal having a slight lead over Roy, a big pot developed. Pascal had ace-king of hearts, Roy queen-jack of clubs. Pot-size before the flop: 4,400. Roy caught a good flop, QTT, but Pascal would not release his ace-king of course with this much money in the middle, so they both put in 4,100 more. An ace on the turn ended the hopes of the Boy, while keeping those of the Bandit alive.
**
 Dave Ulliott
... Hometown Carlos caught the Devil bluffing in a big pot. With king-queen of hearts, Dave had flopped a royal flush draw, but in the end he had nothing more than a mere king high, and his 1,500 bet was called by a better hand. And then on the immediate next hand, it was Dave who raised to 600 from the small blind / button (SBB), Carlos immediately reraising to 2,200. Also within a second Dave said: "I am all-in", and to tell you the truth Dave had convinced me that he may still have been steaming from the last hand. But Carlos knew better and folded ace-ten of diamonds face-up, and Dave showed that indeed he had the goods: QQ. Dave now only had a slight chip lead, even though looking at the stacks it seemed his lead was huge: The man from Hull had simply accumulated all the low-denomination chips in the game to look even more impressive. In the end, one of Europe's biggest poker stars came out on top as was more or less expected. On the final hand, AK against 55, all-in before the flop, he found the help he needed: a king on the turn.
Stephen Pearce* - Daniel Larsson (0h19)
... A somewhat surprising result. Daniel had a short stack from the start, and with just 1,900 left he went all-in with a king-queen. When he got called, he announced "good call", but in fact he was only a slight dog against his opponent's A4. And when the flop came Q86, he was actually a massive favorite! But then the almighty ace on the turn, and it was Stephen Pearce to go through.
**
Albert Ashamn - Simon Trumper* (0h12)
... A very easy win for Simon against the man who had busted out Luca Pagano. First, holding Q6 on a QQJ flop, he simply check-called the flop bet. He then check-raised Albert's 400 turn bet to 800, and again flatcalled when Albert reraised to 2,400. When a blank came on the river, Simon check-called another 3,000 and won - his opponent had been semibluffing all through the hand. And a few minutes later, Simon had called a raise with JT and then flopped the absolute nuts, 987! This time, Simon simply bet into his opponent, his opponent moved all-in with A9 for top pair / top kicker, and the rest is history. Aces is through to round 3.
Martin Cedercrantz* - Ross Boatman (3h11)
... On the televised table, Ross had gotten into early trouble. With his stack down to 2,000, he merely limped while holding two aces, and his opponent checked too with a fairly big hand: ace-ten. Flop AT8. Ross bet 300 with his top set, Martin called with his top two pair. When an eight on the turn gave Ross top full, he check-raised Martin all-in, and doubled through to 4,000 - but he still had a very long way to go. Still, after about 2 hours of playing, it was Ross who had taken the lead, with just over 12,000 in chips. But Martin showed fighting spirit to take over again, and then a crucial hand developed. From the SBB, Ross made it 1,200 to go with big slick, with Martin calling. On the flop, Ross had hit the whopper, because it was QJT - giving him the absolute nuts, with a good chance that his opponent could find a decent second-best hand to pay him off with. Indeed Martin check-called his flop bet, and when the turn was an eight of hearts, creating not just a one-card straight but also three hearts for a possible flush, Martin came out betting into the Englisman's ace-high straight. Of course, there was no way Ross could give his opponent credit for the flush here - but he did have it. Martin's nine-five of hearts was enough to bust out the strong Mobster.
**
Peter Gunnarson* - Paul Hersleth (0h15)
... Just like Simon Trumper, Peter can enjoy a nice and relaxing afternoon, because after just 15 minutes this match was over! Peter had his opponent down to about 5,500 when he flopped an overpair (QQ) against Paul's top pair of sevens, and the best hand held up.
John Kabbaj - Mickey Wernick* (0h27)
... Mickey kept up to his reputation of being able to beat extremely strong players. Most people would be horrified to find the strong John Kabbaj as their opponent, but Mickey needed just half an hour to get the job done. Holding AT on a final board T4298, Mickey had flatcalled his opponent on all streets, including the 4,000 all-in river bet, and he beat his opponent by the slightest possible margin, Kabbaj holding king-ten.
**
2
Dave Colclough* - Noah Boeken (0h42)
... Noah Boeken, one of the rising stars on the European poker scene, and winner of the EPT event in Copenhagen, is out! He had a terrible draw of course against one of the best players in Europe, Dave Colclough, and as it turned out he would hardly win a pot against the Englishman! Dave caught a lot of good hands and Noah was complaining how once the flop was there he would never get any part of that. And he was unlucky when it mattered most. Down to 1,300, Dave raised him all-in from the SBB, and Noah made a stand with A7 - so Dave was basically drawing to not much more than an eight. Bang! First card off the deck was an eight, and yet another young gun is out.
Josep M Talens - Juan Sastre* (2h22)
... With just 1,850 left, Josep was forced to go all-in with the worst hand (A3 against Juan's A8), and found no help.
**
Raul Paez Corral* - Alexander Kravchenko (1h50)
... The strong Russian is out. With 4,800 in the middle preflop, holding the best hand (KJ vs. Raul's QJ), he was unlucky to see a flop with a queen: AQ3. Of course, the remaining 1,000 went in with his gutshot, but he received no help.
Jon Huckle - Barny Boatman* (2h18)
... When Barny had raised to 800 from the SBB, Jon made a massive reraise to 5,600. When Barny then went all-in, Jon folded - while he only had 3,300 left! It may have been possible that Jon had misread the amount of his reraise, or maybe he may even have thrown in the wrong colored chips, meaning he actually just wanted to call - but with 11,200 in the middle already, calling an additional 3,300 would seem like a no-brainer with any hand, even after this possible mistake in the earlier betting. With the large chip lead he accumulated in this pot, Barny clinched the match just two hands later. Barny had raised to 900 from the SBB again, and Jon had moved all-in to about 2,900 with a reasonable hand, A8. But Barny had him dominated with AK, and when an ace flopped, his bigger kicker played.
**
Woody Deck - Richard Gryko* (0h43)
... Yet another good win for Richard, who is playing very strong this week. He took an early lead, and holding almost 90% of the chips in play, he got his opponent all-in with TT vs. K7. No surprises, and Richard is through.
Jim Britton - Jamie Sharrat* (1h23)
**
Manuel Silva* - Dan Simcelescu (0h27)
Mathias Wilkens - Andreas Hagan* (1h31)
3
Derek Baxter* - David Slowik (1h19)
... After beating "Chief" Rob Hollink in round 1, Derek kept his good form by winning this match as well. As an experienced cash game player, one would think the different pace of tournament heads up matches would give him some problems - but so far, this does not seem to be the case at all.
David Leigh* - Rino Mathis (041)
... In this match, Rino ran into early trouble, and was unable to recover. Down to 2,200 in an unraised pot, he made a move with J9 on a flop QT2, for an open-ended straight draw. But his opponent had T2 for bottom two pair, and that held up.
**
Hans Eskilsson* - Gary Collins + TT (3h16)
Michael Keiner - Jac Arama* (3h15)
... Holding a clear chip lead, Jac moved all-in with an ace-six suited, and Michael called him with an ace-nine. The better hand held up, and Jac's lead was now only 13,000-7,000. But he was able to put the pressure on, and with success - in the end busting out the strong German.
**
Peter Eichhardt - Isabelle Mercier* (2h01)
 A beautiful river keeps Isabelle alive!
Frej Rutenskold* - Bengt Sonnert (0h55)
... In this match, Bengt never got hold of much chips. He survived once, when his middle pair / queen kicker held up against Frej's bottom pair / queen kicker, but the second time it was over. Holding 53 on a board 885, he was drawing thin against his opponent's cowboys, and found no help.
**
Chen Guosem* - Padraig Parkinson (3h00)
... The Asians are performing very well in this tournament. In a match between two somewhat unpredictable players, it was Chen who came out on top.
John Falconer* - Antony Lellouche (1h43)
... Burnley John has just beaten the very dangerous Frenchman Antony Lellouche. After his excellent performance in Ireland recently, he is playing very strong here as well.
**
4
Bruno Fitoussi - Jin Cai Lin* (1h41)
... A match I very much looked forward to, between the colorful-but-intimidating Bruno from the Aviation Club in Paris, and the highly aggressive Jin from Poker World in Vienna. Jin took the lead when in a pot that was raised to 500 by him before the flop, he came out betting an unusually small amount of 300 on the flop KKQ. Bruno called, and on the turn they both checked. A blank on the river and now Jin overbet the pot slightly for 2,200. It seemed obvious that either Jin had been trapping with the absolute nuts, or he was going for the big bluff, figuring that after the turn checks the pot may now be up for grabs. After stalling the action for more than three minutes, Bruno decided to call and as he had probably feared, Jin did have the goods: KQ for top full. With Jin holding a slight chip lead, Bruno did what he could to fight back, but in the end it was the Chinese Austrian to go through.
Cui Guogun* - Ali Osman (5h48)
... And he is going to be up against another Chinese player, the sympathetic Cui Guogun. Cui took an early lead, and had his opponent down to 1,500 after two hours. But when Ali then doubled up, it looked more and more like this was going to be a marathon match. Slowly but surely Ali came back into the match, and after five hours he even gained a slight lead. That's when a crucial hand developed. Ali raised to 600, with Cui immediately reraising him to 1,800. Within seconds, Ali had his entire stack in, for 9,300 total. Now, I thought Ali had a really big hand here to make this move, especially because he had not been making these types of all-in bets very often. But Cui musty have though differently, because after long deliberation he decided to call an additional 7,500 with a hand as weak as king-ten offsuit! And actually, he was in fairly good shape because Ali only had pocket nines. No help for Cui until the river, when a gorgeous king fell - to give him a pot of 18,600 total. From there, he went on to win the match, and he will now face the dangerous Jin in round 3.
**
Peter Abela* - Julian Thew (3h11)
... Julian was a clear favorite in this match, even more so after his excellent performance yesterday, but he just could not get rid of his opponent. In the end, Peter would win the match, and yet another favorite is out.
Jatinder Singh* - Roberto Binelli (3h09)
**
Mark MacMahon - Luzhe Zhang* (2h57)
... And yet another Chinese player to go through. Luzhe Zhang is a very experienced player, based in Vienna, but he can be found in Barcelona quite often, and sometimes travels to Amsterdam as well. He got lucky against Mark once or twice, but in the end deserved to go through.
Bill Edler - Paul Jackson* (1h23)
**
Mattias Backstrom - Simon Nowab* (0h57)
... Simon took a quick lead. He then seemed to run into a bit of trouble when with a final board of two jacks, two sevens and a four, he paid off 500 and lost to his opponent's ace high. But in the end he remained calm and relaxed. And even though he needed to get a bit lucky to win the match (QJ vs. AQ all-in preflop, jack on the flop), he had well over 17,000 in chips at that point and thus could afford to take a few chances.
Mark Foster - Rory Liffey* (2h41)
... Playing his matches at the bottom right end of the tournament area, Rory looks very comfortable. On the final hand, Rory had Ah 6h on a flop Kd Qd 9h. Mark had hardly any money left at that time, and even though on the flop Rory was still behind to his opponent's pair of nines, an ace rivered to send him through.
Ace Speaks for PokerPages.com from Barcelona - Day 2
End of day 2---
WHU Update No. 7
Now that all round 1 matches have been completed, I will give an overview of all round 2 qualifiers. The winners of each match will play against the winners immediately above or below them.
1
Angel Blanco Puras - Ivo Donev
Pascal Perrault - Roy Brindley
**
Dave Ulliott
Stephen Pearce - Daniel Larsson
**
Albert Ashamn - Simon Trumper
Martin Cedercrantz - Ross Boatman
**
Peter Gunnardon - Paul Hersleth
John Kabbaj - Mickey Wernick
**
2
Dave Colclough - Noah Boeken
Josep M Talens - Juan Sastre
**
Raul Paez Corral - Alexander Kravchenko
Jon Huckle - Barny Boatman
**
Woody Deck - Richard Gryko
Jim Britton - Jamie Sharrat
**
Manuel Silva - Dan Simcelescu
Mathias Wilkens - Andreas Hagan
3
Derek Baxter - David Slowik
David Leigh - Rino Mathis
**
Hans Eskilsson - Gary Collins
Michael Keiner - Jac Arama
**
Peter Eichhardt - Isabelle Mercier
Frej Rutenskold - Bengt Sonnert
**
Chen Guosem - Padraig Parkinson
John Falconer - Antony Lellouche
**
4
Bruno Fitoussi - Jin Cai Lin
Cui Guogun - Ali Osman
**
Peter Abela - Julian Thew
Jatinder Singh - Roberto Binelli
**
Mark MacMahon - Luzhe Zhang
Bill Edler - Paul Jackson
**
Mattias Backstrom - Simon Nowab
Mark Foster - Rory Liffey
---
WHU Update No. 6
 Gerard Serra kicks off the second day of the World Heads Up
---
WHU Update No. 5
Bracket 3:
 Overview of the room. In front EPT Grand Final winner Rob Hollink
... Rob had gotten into early trouble, down to about 3-to-1 in chips after just 30 minutes. After he had succeeded in stealing a few small pots against Derek, he then lost a huge one. Having raised with T9, he flopped QTT. He bet on the flop and turn and when the river created a backdoor flush, Derek suddenly came out betting 2,300 in a 4,000 pot. Rob called and indeed Derek had the flush. He had KJ of spades for an open-ended straight draw on the flop (note that a nine would have given Rob a boat though), and caught runner-runner to severely cripple the Dutchman. And another king-jack suited would actually seal his fate. Up against this exact same hand, with a king on the board, Rob's K8 of spades had a bad kicker, and one of the top favorites this week is out.
David Slowik* - Daniel Steine (1h05)
... The short-stacked Daniel had doubled through once to 1,800: all-in before the flop with kings against an ace-deuce, he made top full. But in the end, it was still David's chip power that made the difference.
---
David Leigh* - Benedetto Passantino (1h24)
... After just 25 minutes of play, David already had ganied himself a 7,700-2,300 chip lead. From there, it took him about one more hour to finish off Benedetto.
---
Rino Mathis* - Jeff Kimbler (0h54)
... The experienced Rino was up 7,200-2,800 within 30 minutes. His first attempt to knock out Jeff failed (J9 vs. JJ on an 876 flop, when a nine and a five on turn and river gave both players the same straight - the board played), but his second did not. Holding top pair, he got his opponent all-in on the turn with second pair, and the best hand held up.
---
Paul King - Hans Eskilsson* (4h59)
... After just little time, it is Paul who has built a massive chip lead, his opponent down to 1,400. But Hans Eskilsson used to be a Swedish national team football player, and is therefore accustomed to fighting back from behind, and to never give up - no matter how bad things seem to be. Almost two hours into the match, he had fought back to about 3,500. And well within the fourth hour, the Swede had actually taken the lead, holding two thirds of the chips. In the longest match of the day, he would indeed stand up as the winner.
Gary Collins* - Ben Grundy (1h12)
... With about 3,700 in chips left, Ben got himself all-in on the flop As 9c 6c, holding 87 for an open-ended straight draw. But Gary had Ac Jc for the best hand and the best draw, and didn't need to improve to win.
---
Chris Sokrati - Michael Keiner* (2h21)
... A very tight match. After about an hour or so, it was Michael who started to become slightly more aggressive. Or, as he said himself: "It was not easy, because my opponent played very strong. He gave nothing away. And in the end I was just plain lucky. With a 2-to-1 chip lead, we got all the money in in a bit of a gamble - and then the river gave me a royal flush!" Either way, the strong German is through to the second round, where he will face Jac Arama - another highly interesting match.
---
Sean MacMahon - Jac Arama* (0h47)
... The colorful Jac was off to a flying start. After just 30 minutes of play, he was already holding over 70% of the chips in play. And well within the hour, he had his shortstacked opponent all-in before the flop with nines against the seven-five of hearts. The best hand held up, and JacAttack is through.
---
Christian Engblom - Peter Eichhardt* (0h35)
 Isabelle's winning hand
... Not a lot of excitement on the televised table. It seemed both players wanted to avoid big confrontations early in the match. After an hour of play, both stacks were still about equal, but at the break Steve has gained a 2-to-1 chip lead over the dangerous Isabelle. But Isabelle was able to fight back! Holding aces, she bet all-in on the flop, got called - and won. She was now back in the saddle, with 7,600 in chips, and from there went on to win the match - even though Steve did not give up easily. In the final hand, Isabelle's pocket tens held up, and the elegant Canadian is through.
---
Brian Benedon - Frej Rutenskold* (0h25)
... Brian had gotten into early trouble, and with less than 2,000 left he flopped a jack-high flush draw. His opponent's top pair held up.
---
Howard Plant - Bengt Sonnert* (1h20)
---
Santiago Terrazas - Chen Guosem* (0h11)
... After just a couple of hands of play, both players got their stacks into the middle before the flop. Chen was a big dog holding nines against tens, but a nine came on the flop to bust out the hometown player.
---
Padraig Parkinson* - Joe Beevers (1h35)
... In a highly interesting match, where the colorful Padraig seemed more concrened with the developments on the adjacent table (that of Burnley John Falconer against Kevin O'Connell), it was the INishman who would beat the strong Joe Beevers. The Elegance had aces in a raised pot, and then when the flop came TT2 with two spades, all the remaining money went in: about 2,000. Padraig had what Joe probably figured him for, a flush draw, and indeed a third spade came on the river.
---
John Falconer* - Kevin O'Connell (1h29)
... After having made a good call on the river with a mere third pair (Q4 on a board with an ace, a king and a queen, and three clubs on top of that), John had Kevin down to 2,400, and from there went on to win the match.
Antony Lellouche* - Romain Feriolo (1h25)
... The creative Antony was close to busting out the unpredictable Romain, holding a flush draw + overcard against Romain's pair of tens with two cards to come. But two blanks fell, keeping the man from Marbella alive with a slight chip lead of about 5,800 in chips. In the end, it was probably Antony's bigger experience that paid off.
---
Bracket 4:
Bruno Fitoussi* - Santiago Planas TT (0h46)
... Right after completion of the Isabelle match, it was another Aviation Club prominent to perform in front of the cameras: ACF boss Bruno Fitoussi, former winner of this World Heads Up. But in fact, his opponent didn't have a clue who he was, and who he up against! Also, Santiago played an extremely aggressive game, so it was not easy for Bruno to take control over the match. Fitoussi won an important pot when he raised with AK, got called by KJ, and was then able to trap his opponent for a bit of money. Having gotten the lead, he could then start bullying some more. In the end, he raised to 350, and when Santiago reraised all-in to 1,400, the Frenchman decided to call him with A6, figuring his opponent could make this play with a wide range of hands. He was correct: Santiago had a mere ten-five suited, and the best hand held up.
Jin Cai Lin* - Erik Forsberg (1h04)
... The dangerous and highly aggressive Jin had gotten off to a flying start. After 25 minutes of play, he was already holding over 8,000 in chips. And well within the hour he had clinched the match, when his top pair / jack kicker held up against his opponent's middle pair / jack kicker. All in all, a good day for the Asians, because in addition to Jin, there were also good wins for Cui Guogun and Lu Zhe Zhang.
---
Cui Guogun* - John Cunningham (0h04)
... The fastest match of the day. In no time, Cui had his opponent down. Holding K9 against 98, with a board K98xx, both had flopped two pair, and top two pair held up.
Gary Chatterton - Ali Osman* (4h52)
---
Peter Abela* - Rosa Massimiliano (1h51)
... In a raised pot, it was big blind Rosa who checked to small blind / button Peter. Flop: JT8, and Peter now bet 900. When Rosa then check-raised all-in to 2,500, he had to think for a very long time, but in the end decided to call with his AT. His read was correct: Rosa had QT for second pair / weker kicker + gutshot. No surprises, and Peter is through to the next round.
 Double-up hand for Julian
... One of the rising stars in European poker, Julian Thew, was down to just 1,200, and on the verge of elimination. But he then made a great resurrection! Having built his stack up to 3,075, he managed to get all the money in preflop with pocket aces against ace-queen suited. This was a hand taped for television, so both players had to wait for three or four minutes for the hand to conclude. And then the board got scarier and scarier for Julian. On the flop, he found himself up against a gutshot (JT2), on the turn against an open-ender (9), but in the end the best hand held up. Julian was in the lead now with just over 6,000, and from there was able to keep the initiative. When he had Per down to 1,300, he could afford to gamble a little. All-in with queen-eight of hearts against a pair of treys, he made a straight to beat the young Swede. An excellent come-back from an excellent player, who may be one of the top favorites here this week.
---
Jatinder Singh* - Paul Gamhart (3h48)
Roberto Binelli* - David Mahmood (0h56)
... After the elimination of Luca yesterday, we still have a colorful Italian in the race. Roberto Binelli had a fairly easy match against David, and after about an hour of play he was through.
---
Jim Goodwin - Mark MacMahon* (1h37)
Lu Zhe Zhang* - Chris Evans (0h51)
... The sympathetic Zhang, who lives in Vienna, needed to survive one coin flip to get back into the match. All-in for 1,850 with 77 against KQ, his sevens held up. And then, when he had gotten the lead, he was able to clinch the match. With a flop 972 and two spades, his opponent had 5s 3s for a live flush draw, but Zhang's kings held up.
---
Bill Edler* - Michael Thuretz (0h29)
Paul Jackson* - Maurice O'Connor (1h35)
... Paul Jackson has just won a massive pot. Against a board QJT rainbow, he called a very large bet by Maurice with JT for top pair. And he had caught his opponent with his pants down: Maurice had a six-high for nothing more than a runner-runner flush draw. Paul now had 8,800, making the rest of the match not much more than just a formality.
---
Lothar Landauer - Mattias Backstrom +
... Lothar was steadily chipping away at Matthias. After winning a 1,300 pot uncontested (on the turn Qs Ac 5h 4h his opponent was unable to call his 600 bet), he was holding 70% of the total chips in play, and things seemed to go very smoothly for him. But then suddenly the tide changed. Matthias came back from behind, and holding a 2-to-1 chip lead over the experienced German, the following pot developed. With 2,000 in the middle already, Mattias bet 500 on the turn against the board Kd Jh 3d Qd - a bet that seemed to imply weakness probably more than anything. Lothar raised him all-in to 2,000 with KQ, and when his opponent had to think for a very long time, the German probably assumed his top two pair was good. But when in the end he got called, his opponent turned over an unexpected holding: ace-ten of clubs not for the diamond flush that Lothar may have feared, but rather for a straight - and that held up.
---
Simon Nowab* - Khayam Ezzat (0h49)
... Simon was in total control right from the get-go. Within 30 minutes, he had his opponent down about 3-to-1, and when on a flop 875 his top pair held up against his opponent's bottom pair, he had booked an extremely smooth win.
---
Mark Foster* - Kate Szeremeta (5h33)
... A match that lasted until midnight - literally. Both players came close to winning on several occasions. In the end, Kate went all-in with nines before the flop, but Mark's pocket kings held up.
---
Rory Liffey* - Andrew Kinsman (1h14)
... The experienced Rory was in command with (after 30 minutes) about 7,300 in chips against Andrew Kinsman, writer of an excellent book on Internet poker. Andrew could not come back, and Rory was through.
----
WHU Update No. 4
Day 1 is over! 16 tables, 32 players total. We had quite a few upsets, and a whole lot of excitement - as noted before, in a sold-out venue.
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WHU Update No. 3
Below, I have listed the updates on the 16 matches that have started at 3:30 p.m. local time, and the 16 matches that have followed immediately after that. A few important things: The winner of a match is identified with * , the indication that a match has started is + , and the matches that get played on the televised table, will have a TT mark. Each player has 5,000 in chips. Blinds start at 50-100, then move up to 75-150 after one hour, then to 100-200 and the maximum blinds are 150-300.
Bracket 1:
Angel Blanco Puras* - Jonathan Sullivan TT (1h26)
... After one hour of play, the reigning champion is in good shape, holding a 3-to-1 chip lead. And without getting into real trouble, he managed to finish things off.
Ivo Donev* - Carlos Lopez (SSQ) (0h25)
... Ivo took an early lead, and with 7,600-2,400 he got his opponent all-in, holding 66 against 33. The best hand held up, and the chess master is through.
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Pascal Perrault* - Rumit Somaiya (0h36)
... Pascal took an almost 2-to-1 chip lead after just 18 minutes of play. And with Rumit down to 1,500, he raised all-in against Pascal's 300 small blind / button (SBB) raise with a QJ. But the Bandit's A5 of hearts held up; in fact, the Frenchman won by making a straight.
 Crucial hand for Roy the Boy
Roy Brindley* - Luke Smith (0h23)
...After just 15 minutes of play, Roy won a massive pot with top pair, QJ, on a flop Q93 against Luke Smith's AK. Total pot: 9,100 - Luke now had only 900 left, and he could not recover.
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Carlos Massana* - Xuyen Pham (0h47)
... Bad Girl is out against one of the hometown favorites. Pham check-raised all-in to about 2,000 with 87 for top pair + open-ended straight (flop 765 with two spades), but Carlos had As 4s for a monster draw, and a three on the turn gave him a straight - and the winner.
Dave Ulliott* - Alex Leviev + TT (2h00)
... Dave won a massive pot with Q6, with both a queen and a six on the board, to give him a 3-to-1 chip lead against the dangerous Leviev. Now that reigning champion Angel Blanco had won his match, the Devil got to play in front of the cameras. And that always brings out the best in him: Within no time, he was able to clinch the match.
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Patrice Boudet - Stephen Pearce* (0h22)
Carlo Citrone - Daniel Larsson* (0h51)
... After 15 minutes of play, Daniel already had an 8,000-2,000 lead over the man who has just made his comeback on the circuit. And well within the hour, the talented Swede was able to finish things off. With just 1,200 left, Citrone was all-in with JT versus K8, but a king flopped to end this match.
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 Luca Pagano: Early exit
... One of the most colorful players on the circuit is out, in the first round already! Luca suffered an upset loss against the (to me) unknown Albert, who is through to round 2. Down to about 1,400, Luca called his oponent's all-in raise while dominating him (KJ vs. K9), but a nine flopped to send home the Italian charmer.
 Simon is not worried
...Simon was in early trouble against the man who had played so well at last year's Master Classics. Even though Aces managed to win a pot by betting 400 on the river 97T43, he was still trailing 2,800-7,200. But after winning another pot on a board KKJT where Simon raised Mailhot's 400 bet, he is now trailing by just 2-to-1. And in fact, as I am writing this, Simon has levelled things. On a board A77T, Charles bet 275, Simon raised to 550, Charles reraised to 1,000 and when Simon then went all-in for 2,400, it was too much for the Canadian. His fold was correct though: Simon had a seven. Once he had gotten the lead, Simon had more power, and in the end it was enough for him to clinch the match.
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Martin Cedercrantz* - Jan-Pieter Postmus (1h28)
... The Dutchman had his opponent down to 2,500 at one time, but after one hour of play it was Martin who had gained a slight chip lead, and from there went on to win the match.
Ross Boatman* - Ram Vaswani (2h20)
... A very tight match. The two Mobsters don't want to give anything away, and no player has accumulated more than 60% of the chips during the first 90 minutes. Then it was Ross who gained the lead. He finally moved in preflop with nines and Ram had about 2,900 in chips left. He called with AQ, but a nine flopped to send home the Crazy Horse.
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Peter Gunnardon* - Frank Blumlein (2h06)
... A good win for Peter. He was down to 3,200 after he could not call an all-in bet from Frank against a board AKQ7, but from there was able to recover and win the martch.
Paul Hersleth* - Tom Brady (1h54)
... Paul has doubled through to 3,400, his A8 suited holding up against Tom's king-four suited, all-in before the flop. Coming down from a short stack, he did a great job in turning things around. Once he had accumulated a large stack, his opponent's top pair held up against Paul's small flush draw to stay alive one time, but in the end it was Paul whose stack had simply grown too large. Having raised to 400 on the SBB, Tom reraised all-in to 1,625 with an ace-four, and after long deliberation Paul called with QT. A ten flopped, and the Scandinavian is through.
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John Kabbaj* - Marco Monica (1h35)
... After one hour of play, John has built his stack up to about 7,600. And in the end, he got his shortstacked opponent all-in with AJ versus K9, and won by making top pair / good kicker.
Mickey Wernick* - Michael Hewitt (2h24)
... Mickey, who has such a good history in the World Heads up (for instance, two years ago he beat a bunch of top players including Marcel Luske, only to lose in an unfortunate manner against the eventual winner John Cernuto), gave nothing away in this match. He had a 6-to-4 lead basically all the time, and picked the right moment to go through.
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Bracket 2:
Mark Banin - Dave Colclough* (0h14)
... Two massive hands in the early stages. After some action, Mark had moved in with AK, and Dave called him with TT. (He later said: "I thought you had sevens or eights." In this case, he would of course have been a much bigger favorite than he was now.) The tens held up, giving Dave a massive 9,800-200 chip lead, and the next hand it was over for Mark.
 Paul Zimbler and Noah Boeken having a great time at the Televised Table
... After just a few minutes of play, these two young guns were moved to the televised table, now that the Devilfish had won his match easily. Noah had gotten himself into early trouble, but when his queens held up against Paul's ace-king of clubs, he managed to stay alive in decent shape, both players having equal stacks.
From there, Noah took a slight lead, and in the end could not believe his luck when, holding aces, his opponent moved in on him. Noah had raised, and then Paul put all his chips into the pot with A5. Noah said something along the lines of "Well, I guess I call", and his bullets held up. The winner of the EPT Copenhagen is through.
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Josep M. Talens* - Bruce Atkinson (1h45)
... No more Elvis songs probably, because the colorful Bruce Atkinson is out. Hometown player Josep who -if my memory is correct- was pretty strong last year as well, came out on top.
Juan Sastre* - Makus Lehman (0h46)
... Juan had his opponent in deep trouble right from the start. He had a 9-to-1 chip lead and then could afford to take the worst of it, holding A6 offsuit against his opponent's jacks, but when sixes came on both the turn and the river, he was through.
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Raul Paez Corral* - Ben Battle (0h19)
... In a huge pot, Raul flopped top two pair, jacks and sixes, but his opponent had a king-high flush draw. The flush didn't come, and the hometown player is through.
Alexander Kravchenko* (1h50) - Vladimir Troyanovsky
... In an all-Russian affair, Alexander seemed in total control. After one hour of play, he had about 7,000 in chips. But then, he somehow got all his moneyin preflop with a mere 65 of diamonds, and gave Vladimir (who was holding nines) the chance to double through to 7,700. Despite this important loss, Alex had the strength to come back once more.
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Willie Tann - Jon Huckle* (1h38)
... Willie Tann had doubled through to 7,000, his tens holding up against his opponent's nines. But shortly after, Jon doubled through Willie again, holding a set of fives against Willie's unimproved ace-ten. Wille was now down to 2,500, and could not recover.
Phil Shaw - Barny Boatman* (0h39)
... And the second Boatman is through as well! When Phil flopped top two pair (JT on a JT6 flop) he went for the trap-check. But in the end he got trapped himself! An eight on the turn gave Barny (holding a nine-seven) a straight. Phil then bet 375, Barny raised to 975, and Phil moved all-in for about 2,400, with Barny calling. No help on the river for Phil, and the Mobster is through.
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Woody Deck* - Sargon Ruya (1h29)
 Mark Bartlog prepared for the match. In the background Ross Boatman
Mark Bartlog - Richard Gryko* (1h06)
Mark who was wearing the exact same cape that Bruce Willis wore in "Unbreakable", albeit with a slightly different color, ran into trouble against the excellent Gryko rather quickly. On the final hand, his opponent had outdrawn his queens with a 43 suited, flopping three of a kind. Mark had 1,600 left at that stage and of course there was no way back for him. When the board double-paired on the turn, he gained some extra outs, but a blank fell on the river. Richard is through to round 2.
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Jim Britton (SSQ)* - Pouya Pouya Majd (3h06)
... Jim had been trailing for quite a while, when he got lucky in a monster pot. He went all-in preflop with treys and was up against a much bigger pair (queens) - but flopped a three. This pot, that gave Jim 5,600 in chips, broke Pouya Pouya, who had been in charge all along.
Colin Gerrard - Jamie Sharrat* (2h52)
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Nicu Simcelescu - Manuel Silva* (1h33)
... Nicu gained an 8,500-1,500 chip lead, when he had two pair on the turn against top pair (KT vs. A8 on a board AK6T), and a blank fell on the river. But Manuel shoed great strength by fighting back, and in the end he was rewarded for this by winning the match.
Dan Simcelescu* - Dave Gardner (2h11)
... First, Dave stayed alive when his pocket tens outdrew his opponents top two pair (76 on a 763 flop, turn 3). He won a 6,500 pot there, but lost this lead when a few pots later, he semi-bluffed on the turn with a flush draw - and his opponent turned out to have the nut straight! Dave's stack is now down to 3,000 again.
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Mathias Wilkens* - Henry Bull (3h43)
Andreas Hagan* - Peter Troejborg (2h55)
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Bracket 3:
Rob Hollink - Derek Baxter
David Slowik - Daniel Steine
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David Leigh - Benedetto Passantino
Rino Mathis (SSQ) - Jeff Kimbler
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Paul King - Hans Eskilsson
Gary Collins - Ben Grundy
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Chris Sokrati - Michael Keiner
Sean MacMahon - Jac Arama
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Christian Engblom - Peter Eichhardt
Isabelle Mercier - Steve Vladar
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Brian Benedon - Frej Rutenskold
Howard Plant - Bengt Sonnert
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Santiago Terrazas - Chen Guosem
Padraig Parkinson - Joe Beevers
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John Falconer - Kevin O'Connell
Antony Lellouche - Romain Feriolo
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Bracket 4:
Bruno Fitoussi - Santiago Planas
Jin Cai Lin - Erik Forsberg
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Cui Guogun - John Cunningham
Gary Chatterton - Ali Osman
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Peter Abela - Rosa Massimiliano
Julian Thew - Per-Werner Svenson
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Jatinder Singh - Paul Gamhart
Roberto Binelli - David Mahmood
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Jim Goodwin - Mark MacMahon
Lu Zhe Zhang - Chris Evans
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Bill Edler - Michael Thuretz
Paul Jackson - Maurice O'Connor
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Lothar Landauer - Mattias Backstrom
Simon Nowab - Khayam Ezzat
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Mark Foster - Kate Szeremeta
Rory Liffey - Andrew Kinsman Ace Speaks From Barcelona
First Round Draw---
WHU Update No. 2
Below is the draw for the first round of the World Heads Up. The winner of the first match in bracket 1 will play the winner of the second match, the winner of the third match will play the winner of the fourth, and so on. Tuesday the first-round matches in brackets 1&2 will be played; the matches in brackets 3&4 will follow Wednesday. Supersatellite qualifiers are listed as SSQ.
Bracket 1:
Angel Blanco Puras - Jonathan Sullivan
Ivo Donev - Carlos Lopez (SSQ)
Pascal Perrault - Rumit Somaiya
Roy Brindley - Luke Smith
Carlos Massana - Xuyen Pham
Dave Ulliott - Alex Leviev
Patrice Boudet - Stephen Pearce
Carlo Citrone - Daniel Larsson
Luca Pagano - Albert Ashanki
Charles Mailhot - Simon Trumper
Martin Cedercrantz - Jan-Pieter Postmus
Ross Boatman - Ram Vaswani
Peter Gunnardon - Frank Blumlein
Paul Hersleth - Tom Brady
John Kabbaj - Marco Monica
Mickey Wernick - Michael Hewitt
Bracket 2:
Mark Banin - Dave Colclough
Paul Zimbler - Noah Boeken
Jose Forcada - Bruce Atkinson
Manuel Durin - Makus Lehman
Raul Paez Corral - Ben Battle
Alexander Kravchenko - Vladimir Troyanovsky
Willie Tann - Jon Huckle
Phil Shaw - Barny Boatman
Woody Deck - Sargon Ruya
Mark Bartlog - Richard Gryko
Jim Britton (SSQ) - Pouya Pouya Majd
Colin Gerrard - Jamie Sharrat
Nicu Simcelescu - Manuel Garcia
Dan Simcelescu - Dave Gardner
Mathias Wilkens - Henry Bull
Andreas Hagan - Peter Troejborg
Bracket 3:
Rob Hollink - Derek Baxter
David Slowik - Daniel Steine
David Leigh - Benedetto Passantino
Rino Mathis (SSQ) - Jeff Kimbler
Paul King - Hans Eskilsson
Gary Collins - Ben Grundy
Chris Sokrati - Michael Keiner
Sean MacMahon - Jac Arama
Christian Engblom - Peter Eichhardt
Isabelle Mercier - Steve Vladar
Brian Benedon - Frej Rutenskold
Howard Plant - Bengt Sonnert
Santiago Terrazas - Chen Guosem
Padraig Parkinson - Joe Beevers
John Falconer - Kevin O'Connell
Antony Lellouche - Romain Feriolo
Bracket 4:
Bruno Fitoussi - Santiago Planas
Jin Cai Lin - Erik Forsberg
Cui Guogun - John Cunningham
Gary Chatterton - Ali Osman
Peter Abela - Rosa Massimiliano
Julian Thew - Per-Werner Svenson
Jatinder Singh - Paul Gamhart
Roberto Binelli - David Mahmood
Jim Goodwin - Mark MacMahon
Lu Zhe Zhang - Chris Evans
Bill Edler - Michael Thuretz
Paul Jackson - Maurice O'Connor
Lothar Landauer - Mattias Backstrom
Simon Nowab - Khayam Ezzat
Mark Foster - Kate Szeremeta
Rory Liffey - Andrew Kinsman
All in all, some exciting matches to look forward to. For instance on Wednesday there's Padraig Parkinson versus Joe Beevers, Isabelle Mercier - Steve Vladar and Rob Hollink versus Derek Baxter. And tomorrow we can watch the match between young guns Noah Boeken and Paul Zimbler, or between Mobsters Ross Boatman an Ram Vaswani. Games will start 3:30 p.m. local time. Until then, I say: Bye for now - see you all tomorrow.
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WHU Update No. 1
Those of you who have followed this blog, have been fortunate enough to witness some exciting poker action. In recent months, we have followed major events in the European Poker Tour, with exciting action and first-class winners like Pascal Perrault and Brandon Schaefer. And just last month, it was fellow Dutchman Rob Hollink who won the first ever EPT final in Monte Carlo, for a first prize of no less than €635,000!
Now, all players have gathered at the lovely Gran Casino de Barcelona, located immediately near the beach, the promenade and the beautiful Olympic Village. They are here for the fifth annual World Heads Up Championship.
Last year, this event was staged in Barcelona for the first time, and it was local player Angel Blanco Puras whose fearless and unorthodox style could not be handled by the more experienced pros. Before this event, the World Heads Up was staged at Concord in Vienna, but now it seems we have really found our home here in Spain. I have been involved as a reporter in this event since 2003, the year that Miami John Cernuto played both a solid as well as a lucky game to come out on top.
From tomorrow on, I will be here for you guys to follow the action closely. As before, I will describe some interesting hands, I will give a fast and (hopefully) accurate analysis of all heads up matches, and I will keep my eyes open for any developments, stories etc. that may be of interest to you all. In addition to that, I will try to provide you with some live action photos, the same as I have done in Deauville, Vienna and Monte Carlo. The game we are playing: No-limit hold'em, buy-in €2,000, with a maximum of 128 entrants, and a €100,000 first prize. I have just talked to Jon Shoreman and Richard Geller, and they have confirmed that the tournament is basically sold-out already. As in last year's event, the World Heads Up will be taped, and actually I am in the exact room right now where the televised stage will be built. In one hour, a final supersatellite will be played, and then tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. the tournament will get under way, starting with the first-round matches. From a beautiful and sunny Barcelona, I say: Bye for now - see you all tomorrow. Ace Speaks - PokerPages eyes and ears in Europe
Next stop - World Heads Up - Barcelona May 16thWorld Heads Up Schedule
With the conclusion of EPT season 1 in Monte Carlo this month we await the confirmation of the full schedule for season 2, which i will of course be covering for PokerPages. Already I have it in my diary to go to Paris, Barcelona, Baden, Dublin, England and Holland so i am going to be one very well travelled person by the end of this year, but i am having so much fun and enjoying every minute of it.
However right now i am going to take some rest and catch up on all my written assignments and look forward to speaking to you all again from the action in Barcelona.
If you are a member of PokerSchoolOnline.com then i look forward to seeing you at my training/teaching tables and if you are not a member then i highly recommend joining. Only $14.95 per month to join a wonderful community of players that make learning about the game fun and successful.
If you are a Poker Player and you do not have any photos of yourself in the PokerPages Player gallery then you can sent those into Results@PokerPages.com and they will make a gallery for you, also go to the PokerPlayers section and complete a player profile.
Please take time to read the events i have reported so far this year, you will see the link at the bottom of this blog page. I do appreciate any feedback you might have for me, and see you at the tables.
Rolf@PokerPages.com
Ace Speaks - PokerPages eyes and ears in Europe
We have a winner - Monte Carlo EPT - Rob Hollink
Winner Rob Hollink with runner-up Brandon Schaefer and world champion Greg Raymer
We have a champion!- Rob Hollink
EPT Update No. 68
1. Rob Hollink €650,000
Rob has done it! Just a few hands after the pot with the three tens, he was able to finish things off. Rob had made the standard 50K raise from the SBB, with Brandon calling. Flop: K95, Brandon checked, Rob bet 70K, and Brandon called. After an eight on the turn, the exact same pattern: Brandon check, Rob 70K, Brandon call. When a jack came on the river, Rob bet all-in, and after long deliberation, Brandon called. But Rob had the goodies this time, and showed J8 for runner / runner two pair. Brandon had played it smart with K7 for top pair. By just calling, he had tried to let Rob bluff off his money, but by doing this he had let Rob make his hand! All in all, it was an excellent display of poker, and Rob Hollink is the EPT Grand Final Champ. The man from Groningen, The Netherlands had been playing superb poker all along, and is the first ever champion of the European Poker Tour. Congratulations to the man who is always so good at keepin his cool whether he wins or loses - now let's see if he can also stay the same now that he has won the biggest event in European poker, with all the fortunate and fame that goes with it. Oh yes and before I forget: He will probably not mind the €650,000 first prize either. From Monte Carlo, I say: Thank you all for following the action - see you guys later.
2. Brandon Schaefer €350,000
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EPT Update No. 67
Rob is alive again! On a flop TT3 with two clubs, in again a raised pot, he checked to Brandon who bet 80K. Rob check-raised Brandon just 80K more, to simply put him to the test right now, and to lure his opponent into possibly making a mistake. And this he did! Brandon with a 43 for tens and threes decided his hand was best and moved in - but Rob immediately called him all-in with T8, meaning the young man was almost drawing dead! A 1,360,000 pot for the Dutchman who not just doubled up, but who suddenly had well over 60% of the chips in play!
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EPT Update No. 66
Brandon Schaefer, the young man from Seattle, is really tough! While in Deauville one could claim he was up against only (other) young online qualifiers, today he is showing he is truly able to beat the best. Against the excellent Rob, he has taken the lead, because he has the courage to play back at him. First, he won a good-sized pot when he called a 75K bet on the flop K75, where Rob check/folded after the turn 4. A few moments later, Rob made the standard 50K preflop raise (almost all hands are raised preflop, both players don't like to give anything away), and Brandon reraised to 150K, with Rob folding immediately. When he also checkraised Rob's 70K bet in yet another raised pot, flop QJ4, and again Rob could not call, the young man had taken a clear lead.
And this lead would even get bigger on the following hand. Brandon made the standard 50,000 raise on the small blind / button (SBB), with Rob calling. Flop QT3: check /check. Turn: 3. Now, Rob came out betting 100,000, and Brandon called - a very scary call, considering the betting. So, when the river came a 9 that also completed any possible draws, Rob decided not to bluff - and Brandon won with a mere ace high!
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EPT Update No. 65
Blinds: 10,000-20,000, Ante: 2,000
We are witnessing a truly exciting final, guys. First, it was Alexander Stevic who from almost nothing had suddenly built up a very healthy stack, to then lose them all in a pot where Rob flopped quads. And at the same time, chip leader Romain Feriolo lost his chips really in no time, because Brandon Schaefer had an excellent read on him. And Rob Hollink, who had been such a huge stack yesterday, had run into trouble very quickly at today's final table, and four-handed he was even clearly the smallest stack, but he also fought back. And with great play and a little fortune he has now reached the final two with about half of the chips in play - an excellent accomplishment.
Now. heads up against the excellent Brandon, with the chips about even, the experience of Rob may well be the deciding factor - but Brandon seems to think differently! He has just won a 440,000 pot, when he called Rob's check-raise on the flop with top pair, while the Dutchman had only middle pair. Actually, this is the second time that I am reporting with Rob in the final two. The first time was at one of the major events of the Master Classics 2002 I think, when Rob beat the Devilfish in an epic battle. Today, up against the friendly-but-aggressive Brandon, we may well be in for yet another cracking battle. I am having a great time, now I hope you guys are too.
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EPT Update No. 64
In characteristic fashion, Rob has just won a 200,000 pot by making a value bet on the river with just second pair (QJ on a board with a king and a queen on the board), taking advantage of his image that he is bluffing so often. But just two minutes later, Brandon came back by winning a pot of about the same size, also in a showdown, with a similar type of hand. Chips still about even!
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EPT Update No. 63
With the chips now at Alex 405,000, Brandon 1,190,000, and Rob 510,000, we didn't have to wait for action long. Rob won the immediate next pot as well (against Brandon), and then a crucial one not just to get even again with Brandon, but just as importantly to sent home Stevic. With two massive hands in a three-handed situation, Rob had pocket kings, and Alex had AQ. Of course, the money went in before the flop, and while the for a large part Swedish crowd called for an ace, Rob flopped no less than... quads! Two kings on the table; the crowd was schocked, but the strong Stevic was really out. A huge pot for the Chief, who is almost even with Brandon: 1,090,000 vs. 1,120,000.
3. Alexander Stevic €178,000
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EPT Update No. 62
We have lost Romain! He ran into serious trouble when he lost the biggest pot of the event so far. With blinds of 7,500 and 15,000 and a 1,500 running ante, Brandon raised to 40,000 and Romain called from the small bland. In a pattern we had seen before, Romain would again come out betting into the preflop raiser, for 60,000 this time, the board J82 with two clubs. A dangerous queen on the turn and a harmless three on the river. Both times, Brandon simply flatcalled his opponent's 100K and 129K bets with a mere A8, and he turned out to be right: his opponent was bluffing, and folded his cards face-down. Immediately after, his stack down to 110K or so, Romain called all-in against a raise by Rob. He was in front (A3 vs. Rob's K2), but a king on the flop sealed his fate. Down to three!
4. Romain Feriolo €139,000
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EPT Update No. 61
Alexander Stevic is back in business! When Romain raised to 25,000 from under the gun, Alex reraised him almost apologetically (this being the third time already that he had come over the top of the player to his immediate right). But the Swede also had a big hand - bullets! When Romain then made a few somewhat clumsy movements and as a result had to make a minimum reraise instead of the all-in reraise that it seemed he was trying to make, Alex was more than happy to throw the money in with the current nuts, of course. And when the flop came A85 all hearts, Stevic still had the current nuts, but Feriolo had QT with the ten of hearts for a live flush draw. It did not come, and the young Swede is now back in business, having won an almost 400K pot. At the dinner break, the chip counts are:
Romain 477,000
Alex 406,000
Brandon 880,000
Rob 344,000
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EPT Update No. 60
We could see it coming, and indeed it has happened: Kevin Seeger is out. He called Brandon's 25,000 raise from the big blind with two eights, and on a flop T64 with two clubs he decided to check-raise his opponent's 40,000 bet all-in to about 160,000 I guess. When the man from Seattle called him instantly, Kevin knew he was up against a big hand, asnd indeed he was: Brandon had aces. A seven on the turn gave Kevin eight additional outs because of his double belly-buster straight draw, but a harmless three came on the river to give Schaefer another big pot. Just as on his Deauville win, he is looking very concentrated, and he may well be the prime candidate for yet another EPT title.
5. Kevin Seeger €118,000
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EPT Update No. 59
The biggest pot of the day so far, 451,000 total, and it went to Brandon Schaefer, the soft-spoken young man from Seattle. He had raised from the button to 25,000, with the unpredictable Romain calling. Flop AK6 with two clubs. Romain checked, Brandon bet 30,000, and Romain called. Then when a ten came on the turn, Romain suddenly came out betting 40,000, Romain who in the past couple of days has shown that he often bets in an illogical manner by checking where others would bet or betting where others would check. Anyway, Brandon called him with A4, and when another ten came on the river called his opponent's 125,000 river bet as well, and he was right: Romain was bluffing with 8c 7c for a busted flush draw.
And two minutes later, we lost another player! Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, who is only 19 years old even though he looks older, decided to go for the steal, moving all-in from the big blind with a mere K6. But Romain on the button called this large raise within a heartbeat, and his eights won the pot by making top full. We are now down to five players, with a highly interesting match-up. With the aggresion that some of these players (Rob, Brandon, Alex) are known for, and the colorful chatter of Stevic and especially Hollink, we are almost guaranteed to have an exciting final today. All in all, down to five - four more to go.
6. Abdulaziz Abdulaziz €99,500
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EPT Update No. 58
Blinds: 5,000-10,000, ante 1,000
Alexander Stevic, who made this remarkable fold yesterday with nine players left (remember?) cannot possibly complain about his good fortune so far. After having busted out Mikhail in a lucky manner, up against a bigger pair, he now doubled up in a big pot - and once again, he had been going in with the worst hand. When Romain raised to 23,000 from under the gun, Alex decided to reraise all-in for 58,000 more with a mere king-queen. Romain called him with AT, and was slightly favored to win the pot, but not anymore when two kings appeared on the flop. Total pot for Stevic: 175,000.
In the meantime, Kevin seems to be running into more and more trouble. In a four-way pot, he bet 25,000 from the cutoff on a flop K42, with Brandon on the button calling. With a five on the turn, Kevin bet an additional 50K, but he had to fold against Brandon's raise. Kevin is now down to 200,000.
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EPT Update No. 57
A fairly large pot for Romain. From the big blind, he first called a 20,000 raise from Kevin, and then bet 15,000 into him on the flop. Kevin raised 35,000 more, but then Romain reraised 70,000 more - enough for the pot. Kevin has also lost yet another (albeit) small pot to Rob, and is now down to just over 300K - still about 15% of the total chips in play.
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EPT Update No. 56
After Kevin has just won a -for this type of event unusual- multiway pot (five players on the flop, after a minimum bet by Rob three on the turn, and after a 20,000 turn bet by Alexander two on the river - the person who had just called all the way being the eventual winner), we have our first limit increase. It is a moderate one: the antes remain at 500, blinds now 4,000 and 8,000. Chip counts at the first break:
Romain 594,000
Alex 111,000
Abdulaziz 145,500
Kevin 409,500
Brandon 429,500
Rob 335,000
---
EPT Update No. 55
Good news now for the Chief! Having raised preflop to 18,000, small blind Ben Grumpy called him. Flop: 6KQ, check / check. The turn was a jack. Ben again checked, and Rob, in position, now bet 25,000 - a highly suspicious bet. After some deliberation, Ben decided that the Dutxchman was bluffing, and check-raised him all-in to 55,000 with AJ for third pair + gutshot, but Rob called him quickly with KK for a slowplayed top set. No surprises on the river. Ben Grumpy is out, and we are down to 6.
7. Ben Grundy €79,000
---
EPT Update No. 54
A big blow for Rob. Forst, he won a pot uncontested, while holding aces. Then, perhaps even more importantly, he lost a big pot as the small blind against the only big stack that has position on him, Romain Feriolo. In a blinds only pot, Rob check-called 12,000 on the flop, 20,000 on the turn and 50,000 on the river. Final board: 3TQT7, and Romain won with JT for three of a kind / decent kicker. A 181,000 pot for the man who was born in Marseilles and who now lives in Marbella, giving him even more ammunition than he already had.
Romain 600,000
Alex 108,000
Abdulaziz 151,000
Ben 85,500
Kevin 374,000
Brandon 538,000
Rob 240,000
---
EPT Update No. 53
We have lost our first player! Mikhail Ustinov had limped under the gun, and when in the cutoff Alexander moved all-in for 53,000, Mikhail (who had slightly less than that) called him quickly. The hands: QQ for Mikhail, JJ for Alexander, a very favorable situation for the Russian, who was about a 4-to-1 favorite. But according to good EPT tradition - and to the delight of the for a large part Swedish crowd - a jack flopped to give the underdog the pot. Ustinov is out, and the dangerous and highly aggressive Stevic is now back in contention, with a stack of about 110,000.
8. Mikhail Ustinov €59,500
---
EPT Update No. 52
We have an intersting final table today, with four relatively large stacks sitting close to each other, and three relatively short stacks. All the four large stacks have a tendency of either raising a lot, or making some daring plays on occasion. While one could claim that it might be best for them to lay low until the short stacks bust out, especially Rob is someone who likes to go for first place, even more so with the top-heavy payout and the recognition and fame for people who win big events, rather than come close.
A second interesting thing is that with the exception of Rob (and to a lesser degree also the previous EPT winnners Alexander and Brandon) the players here don't have much experience at live play, certainly not for these kinds of money. In previous days, this had led to some strange and / or very daring plays from Romain, and a problem for Rob is that this unpredictable player is sitting immediately behind him.
All in all, the first couple of hands have given Rob two uncontested pots, and Brandon has had to fold against Alexander's all-in reraise, having raised to 18,000. So, Rob is slowly gaining ground - but he should be very careful, because he can be certain that the other players are waiting to chop him off or to trap him. Ten minutes of play, blinds reduced to 3,000-6,000 with a 500 ante.
---
EPT Update No. 51
With just one hour until the start of the final, here is the table line-up for today:
Seat 1: Romain Feriolo 475,000
Seat 2: Alexander Stevic 57,500
Seat 3: Abdulaziz Abdulaziz 181,000
Seat 4: Ben Grundy 90,500
Seat 5: Kevin Seeger 364,500
Seat 6: Mikhail Ustinov 68,500
Seat 7: Brandon Schaefer 488,500
Seat 8: Rob Hollink 384,000
All in all, a rather terrible draw especially for Brandon Schaefer and Kevin Seeger, and to a lesser agree also for Rob Hollink. Why? Well, Rob has got the unpredicatable Romain Feriolo in his back who has him covered, and Brandon even has two big stacks on his immediate left, including Rob who is known for his positional plays. And Kevin Seeger has three small stacks to his right, and the three guys who can break him to his left - now, this can almost never be good.
Anyway, I will try to keep you guys informed about the developments. We will talk again in about an hour or so.
---
EPT Update No. 50
It has taken some time, but we are finally down to the final eight players. For a moment, it looked like Alexander Stevic might be the unfortunate bubble boy. He reraised Brandon's 20,000 raise to 60,000, with just 58,000 behind. So, when Brandon came over the top, it seemed like a no-brainer call - but the young Swede folded! And he got rewarded for this courageous fold, because five minutes later someone else would bust out. Jani Sointula reraised all-in from the big blind to 75,000 total, knowing that Kevin Seeger's 20,000 late-position raise may well be a steal, but it was not. Jari's AJ was in trouble against Kevin's pocket queens, and in the end the best hand held up. We've got our final eight players for tomorrow!
Brandon Schaefer 488,500 (chip leader)
Romain Feriolo 475,000
Rob Hollink 384,000
Kevin Seeger 364,500
Abdulaziz Abdulaziz 181,000
Ben Grundy 90,500
Mikhail Ustinov 68,500
Alexander Stevic 57,500
Ace Speaks From Monte Carlo - Day No. 3
We have our final table!---
EPT Update No. 50
It has taken some time, but we are finally down to the final eight players. For a moment, it looked like Alexander Stevic might be the unfortunate bubble boy. He reraised Brandon's 20,000 raise to 60,000, with just 58,000 behind. So, when Brandon came over the top, it seemed like a no-brainer call - but the young Swede folded! And he got rewarded for this courageous fold, because five minutes later someone else would bust out. Jani Sointula reraised all-in from the big blind to 75,000 total, knowing that Kevin Seeger's 20,000 late-position raise may well be a steal, but it was not. Jari's AJ was in trouble against Kevin's pocket queens, and in the end the best hand held up. We've got our final eight players for tomorrow!
Brandon Schaefer 488,500 (chip leader)
Romain Feriolo 475,000
Rob Hollink 384,000
Kevin Seeger 364,500
Abdulaziz Abdulaziz 181,000
Ben Grundy 90,500
Mikhail Ustinov 68,500
Alexander Stevic 57,500
That's about it for today, guys. We've got an exciting final table ahead of us tomorrow - with lots of money at stake! There will be a redraw for seats of course, and things will start from 5 p.m. local time. From Monte Carlo, I say: Good night - see you all tomorrow.
9. Jani Sointula €39,300
---
EPT Update No. 49
Romain Feriolo has just won a very strange pot against Kevin Seeger. Romain had raised to 22,000, and then Kevin had reraised him 28,000 more. Now, Romain had to think for a very long time before calling. Now, when the flop came J72 with two clubs, Romain who was first to act once again started to think for an unusually long time. When the clock was called on him, he then suddenly fired 75,000 into the pot, and Kevin folded his kings face-up, thinking Romain was putting up a show with aces. Romain then showed his hand though - a miserable king-queen, for no pair, no draw for an almost certain loser!
Just a few moments later, we almost had our last hand of the night, but Jani's QQ held up against the ace-queen of Abdulaziz. Jani is now still alive with slightly more than 100K.
---
EPT Update No. 48
Down to 9! We have lost Michael Luber, who raised all-in to 50,000 from the small blind with a random hand, and found Alexander Stevic in the big blind with a premium one (AK). In the meantime, Isabelle Mercier has doubled through to 120,000 with 99 in the big blind against the A5 button raise from the same Michael. After he had lost to Isabelle, he could not afford to wait, and then was busted out shortly. And with all players now on one table, Isabelle then suffered a beat when it mattered most for her. All-in on the flop A32 rainbow with ace-jack against Romain's ace-ten of clubs, Romain caught runner-runner clubs for the backdoor nut flush, and the elegant Canadian is out.
11. Michael Luber €23,900
10. Isabelle Mercier €23,900
---
EPT Update No. 47
We are down to 11. Right after Martin Knape busted out, Antony Lellouche was unlucky to lose an important pot against Isabelle Mercier. She decided to make a move with 8d 6d and got called by Antony's K9. Isabelle flopped both a pair of sixes and a flush draw, a great flop against Lellouche's king-high, but a king on the turn meant Isabelle needed help. She got that by catching a six on the river, giving her some breathing room with 70,000. Antony was now shortstacked though and after he escaped once by making a split pot (flush on the board with five spades, no one having a straight), he couldn't escape a second time. Raising all-in to 19,000 on the button with K6, Romain called him with an AT and that held up.
13. Martin Knape €19,800
12. Antony Lellouche €23,900
---
EPT Update No. 46
14. Martin Wendt €19,800
---
EPT Update No. 45
15. Julian Gardner €19,800
---
EPT Update No. 44
---
EPT Update No. 43
Just before the next limit increase, Rob has won yet another important pot. Brandon Schaefer had stayed alive by winning one or two pots and was slowly starting to gain ground. But then he lost a pot when he raised to 12K, Rob reraised to 30K on the button, and Brandon called, but then had to check/fold on the flop. Not just has Rob still got 370,000 or so, he's also got two of his most dangerous opponents (Brandon and Isabelle) down to a 100,000- stack. Next level: 3,000-6,000 blinds, ante 500.
---
EPT Update No. 42
And indeed, the probably biggest star in this EPT Grand Final is out! Gus Hansen had JJ, but Martin Wendt had a big hand as well (AK), and that was enough to send home the excellent and colorful Dane. Down to 15 now - seven more to go.
16. Gus Hansen €15,800
---
EPT Update No. 41
On the 'normal' table, we have just lost Dennis Scott Bush, while at the televised table Gus Hansen is starting to run into trouble. He raised to 12,600, and when Abdulaziz reraised all-in for 35,900 more, Gus had to think for a while. He got the crowd laughing when he announced "Gee, I only got a nine high", but then decided to call with it! The hands: 98 of clubs for Gus, KQ of clubs for Abdulaziz, and that held up. And a few moments later, Gus called an under-the-gun raise from the same player, with Kevin Seeger also in, and then had to check/fold on the flop QJ4. Poker superstar Gus Hansen is now down to about 55,000, if I counted correctly.
17. Dennis Scott Bush €15,800
---
EPT Update No. 40
Rob Hollink has just lost a decent-sized pot to Romain Feriolo, where in the end Rob had to fold against him. And that is the censored version. The uncensored version is that Romain made a very daring, if not close-to-suicidal semi-bluff raise on the turn, where he raised Rob all-in with nothing more than an open-ended straight draw and the bare nine of diamonds with three diamonds on the table, for just a nine-high flush draw! (It worked though, as Rob folded his A4 of spades for a currently better no-pair hand.) At the dinner break, the line-up for the two remaining tables and the chip counts look as follows:
Televised Table:
1. Martin Wendt 151,000
2. Kevin Seeger 192,000
3. Julian Gardner 121,000
4. Jani Sointula 47,000
5. Ben Grundy 89,000
6. Gus Hansen 126,000
7. Martin Knape 141,000
8. Abdulaziz Abdulaziz 45,000
' Normal' Table:
1. Dennis Scott Bush 60,000
2. Romain Feriolo 206,000
3. Michael Luber 95,000
4. Rob Hollink 350,000
5. Alexander Stevic 97,000
6. Isabelle Mercier 59,000
7. Antony Lellouche 61,000
8. Mikhail Ustinov 149,000
9. Brandon Schaefer 110,000
After dinner, blinds will resume at 2,000-4,000 with a 400 ante. We will play down until the final eight.
The prize schedule:
1. €635,000
2. €350,000
3. €178,000
4. €139,000
5. €118,000
6. €99,500
7. €79,500
8. €59,500
9. €39,300
10-12. €23,900
13-15. €19,800
16-18. €15,800
19-27. €11,900
Exit:
18. Eugene Katchakov €15,800
---
EPT Update No. 39
Antony Lellouche has doubled up yet again, by winning with AK against QQ this time. The person with the queens, Eugene Katchalov, busted out shortly after that. And on the featured table, Alexander Stevic has been incredibly lucky to stay alive. When Martin Wendt moved all-in out of the big blind to shut out the limpers, the short-stacked Stevic called 30,000 more with an ace-jack offsuit. He was in bas shape against Wendt's ace-queen suited, but the board came 646, 5... jack. The winner of the first ever EPT event in Barcelona is still alive, with about 80,000 in chips now. We are down to two tables now, and will have a redraw for seats.
---
EPT Update No. 38
Exits:
21. John Fanning €11,900
20. Kevin O'Connell €11,900
19. Jonathan Senn €11,900
Three more players out, and we're down to 18. Rob Hollink just keeps picking up pots at table 3, seated between Isabelle Mercier and Gus Hansen, and he holds a 395,000 stack now, close to 20% of the total chips in play. At table 1, Antony Lellouche has doubled up twice: with AK vs. KQ, and with 66 vs. AJ. On the televised table, Ben Grundy who looks so young that it's almost incredible to see him playing at this level, is holding his own very well with an about-average stack. The equally likeable Brandon Schaefer seems to be in control here, and JUlian Gardner is looking very strong as well. Blinds will stay at 1,500-3,000 and a 300 ante for thirty more minutes.
---
EPT Update No. 37
We have just lost the short-stacked Barny Boatman, and also Martin Deknijff. Martin ran into the cowboys of Jani Sointula (for top full on a final board TT9K5 with four diamonds), the same Jani who had been the dentist yesterday of another famous star, Gus Hansen. Gus is still in though, and he is in fact in decent shape.
Exits:
23. Barny Boatman (UK) €11,900
22. Martin Deknijff (Sweden) €11,900
---
EPT Update No. 36
Names & Chip Counts of the remaining players:
Table 1 (will be broken first):
1. Michael Luber 52,000
2. Martin Knape 60,000
3. Eugene Katchalov 46,000
4. -
5. Jani Sointula 98,000
6. Antony Lellouche 31,000
7. Martin Deknijff 65,000
8. Romain Feriolo 100,000
Table 2 (televised):
1. Ben Grundy 50,000
2. Martin Wendt 115,000
3. Julian Gardner 155,000
4. Kevin Seeger 164,000
5. Alexander Stevic 49,000
6. Barny Boatman 9,000
7. Brandon Schaefer 131,000
8. Kevin O'Connell 57,000
Table 3:
1. Dennis Scott Bush 97,000
2. Mikhail Ustinov 90,000
3. Jonathan Senn 47,000
4. Abdulaziz Abdulaziz 31,000
5. Isabelle Mercier 56,000
6. Rob Hollink 326,000
7. John Fanning 24,000
8. Gus Hansen 130,000
---
EPT Update No. 35
Exits:
25. Harry Fitzpatrick, €11,900
24. Declan Barker, €11,900
The last hand on our featured table, Harry Fitzpatrick had tens that lost against Brandon's queens. Now that the redraw for seats have been done at 24 players (we've been playing the entire event eight-handed), I have gotten the chance for some random chip counts. They include:
Rob Hollink 326,000
Julian Gardner 180,000
Gus Hansen 130,000
Romain Feriolo 100,000
Martin Wendt 115,000
Mikhail Ustinov 90,000
Isabelle Mercier 56,000
Kevin Seeger 164,000
Brandon Schaefer 131,000
---
EPT Update No. 34
Some more action. Alexander Stevic has doubled up with AQ vs. KQ against Barny Boatman. (Barny had reraised the button's raise by moving in with KQ, but ran into a better hand.) Stevic now is in decent shape again, but Barny doesn't seem to have many chips left. Down to 25:
Exits:
27. Ryan Walters, Canada, €11,900
26. Bejamin Sprengers, US, €11,900
---
EPT Update No. 33
We are in the money! As I have written before, Willie Tann is not afraid to get involved with pots against Rob Hollink, but playing the Chief out of position is a double-edged proposition. Despite having a fairly decent stack, Willie now exited on the bubble, and yet another big pot for the Dutchman. The hand went as follows. With king-ten in the small blind, Wille made a standard raise, and Rob called from the big blind with T5 of spades. Flop: T86. Willie bet 12,000, with Rob calling. When a five on the turn gave Rob two pair, and Willie felt he could not get away from his top pair / decent kicker (on the river, he check-called Rob's 50,000 bet), he would end up as player no. 28 in this event - not an enviable position. And while one might claim that Rob had simply gotten lucky by making two pair on the turn, it needs to be said that the money was very deep, and the facts that Rob was a) in position, and b) the chip leader all indicated that Willie should probably have practiced caution a bit more than he did. All in all, it was exciting poker action, and we're down to 27 - in the money, that is.
---
EPT Update No. 32
A few moments before Marcel's exit, we must have lost the dangerous Robert Mizrachi as well. I told you before that at Rob Hollink's table, Kevin O'Connell had gotten the chip lead over Rob, now I am fairly certain that he had amassed these chips against the Master Classics Main Event winner Robert Mizrachi. And at the featured table, Brandon Schaefer has just made a massive step forward against the same Isabelle who just knocked out Marcel. Isabelle had aces this time, but Brandon with KQ had flopped a pair of kings plus flush draw. Isabelle made a pot-sized bet, Brandon moved in with Isabelle calling, and then improved by hitting a queen on the turn, and a queen on the river. A second story I heard (I was not there first hand) was that the flop was 642, meaning that Brandon had no pair yet, possibly just the flush draw, and that he improved by catching runner / runner queen. Either way, the EPT Deauville winner has a ton of chips now, and Isabelle has been severely crippled. 28 players left, one more and we're in the money. Once the redraw has been done, I will then also try to come up with an estimated chip count.
---
EPT Update No. 31
Marcel is out! He held AQ against Isabelle's QQ. (Before the flop, Isabelle had raised from the small blind and Marcel had moved in.) A turn on the ace gave him an almost certain win with top pair and a flush draw, but a schock went through the crowd when the case queen appeared on the river. A pity for the Flying Fox, who has been fairly unlucky lately, but who certainly looked very strong this week.
---
EPT Update No. 30
Just a few photos ago, you guys could see the friendly chat between Kevin O'Connell and Rob Hollink when play had just started - but that didn't stop them from getting into a major clash! Rob raises to 4K, Kevin reraises to 10, Rob reraises once more, and now it is Kevin who moves in! Rob calls with AKo, king of diamonds, Kevin showing two red queens. When the board cards are all diamonds, Rob's king-high flush takes the pot. He's got over 200,000 now, and has Kevin down to 35,000. (Kevin had won a big pot before, and had Rob covered.) The other Dutchman, Marcel Luske, is chipping away at the final table and is now back at 32,000 again. We've got 30 players left, just three more and we're in the money, and then there will also be another redraw for seats. The blinds now 1,000-2,000, with a 200 running ante.
---
EPT Update No. 29
It has been decided to make table 2 the televised table, and with the beautiful Isabelle Mercier, the charismatic Marcel Luske and the talkative John Fanning this should not come as a sursprise. The players themselves seem to be pleased with it, as the atmosphere seems to be genuinely nice and friendly - somewhat in contrast with yesterday, when there was a lot of trash talk, needling and (in my view) excessive celebrating at the featured table. On table 4, Markus Golser has just run into trouble. With QQ in a raised and reraised pot, he was up against the Big Slick of Romain Feriolo, who had just been transferred from the televised table to this table 4. It was a transfer that proved to be expensive for Markus, who is down to about 22,000, with Romain being close to 135,000 now. We have lost Henry Terranova and also Eirik Mistereggen (the guy who busted out Luca Pagano yesterday), and we are down to 34. Blinds 800-1,600, ante 200.
---
EPT Update No. 28
Welcome back from Monaco, guys. The sun is shining, the atmosphere is relaxed and we are ready to play some poker again. With 38 players left, we've got five tables. After the redraw, this comes down to:
Table 1
1. Howard Chow 11,800
2. Declan Barker 38,200
4. Antony Lellouche 57,100
5. Martin Knape 70,800
6. Martin Deknijff 56,100
7. Ryan Walters 26,400
8. Kevin Seeger 147,100
A good draw for chip leader Kevin Seeger, who's got two small stacks on his left.
Table 2
1. Isabelle Mercier 70,000
2. Marcel Luske 19,300
3. Romain Feriolo 103,100
4. John Fanning 58,000
5. Brandon Schaefer 36,000
6. Benjamin Sprengers 45,100
7. Harry Fitzpatrick 38,900
8. Dennis Scott Bush 95,800
Table 3
1. Barny Boatman 34,300
2. Michael Luber 48,700
3. Joseph Grech 14,000
4. Willie Tann 78,100
5. Rob Hollink 139,500
6. Kevin O'Connell 68,200
7. Eugene Katchalov 54,400
8. Robert Mizrachi 117,500
Again, we have Willie Tann and Rob Hollink at the same table; this time it is Rob who has position on Willie. But the large stack of dangerous Robert Mizrachi is sitting behind them both.
Table 4
1. Jani Sointula 79,900
2. Gus Hansen 23,000
3. Markus Golser 45,400
4. Mikhail Ustinov 70,900
5. Abdulaziz Abdulaziz 40,100
6. Jonathan Senn 32,700
7. Steve Stolzmann 27,800
8. Henry Terranova 11,700
Table 5
1. Ben Grundy 37,600
2. Eirik Mistereggen 40,600
3. Nathanael Kelly 6,600
4. Julian Gardner 98,800
5. Morten Jensen 26,100
6. Martin Wendt 73,100
8. Alexander Stevic 66,500
The chip leader of this table Julian Gardner won't be very pleased. He's got relatively small stacks to his right, and the two players who can seriously harm him to his left, Martin Wendt and Alexander Stevic.
---
EPT Update No. 27
A few spectacular pots just before close. Marcel Luske lost a big pot, doubling up Isabelle. Isabelle first flatcalled a raise with pocket kings from the big blind, and then moved all-in when Marcel came over the top. Marcel's jacks got no improvement, and suddenly he is down to 20,000, while Isabelle has 70,000. And on another table, Gus Hansen had his personal dentist in Jani Sointula. On the first hand, he limp / reraised Hansen's button raise to make him throw away his cards, and on the second hand when Gus didn't throw away, Jani actually had the better hand: KK vs. AQ. The players, chip counts, and the seats for tomorrow, i.e. the redraw has been done already:
Ben Grundy 37,600 (tomorrow: table 5 / seat 1)
Ryan Walters 26,400 (1/7)
Isabelle Mercier 70,000 (2/1)
Eugene Katchalov 54,400 (3/7)
Steve Stolzmann 27,800 (4/7)
Abdulaziz Abdulaziz 40,100 (4/5)
Marcel Luske 19,300 (2/2)
Howard Chow 11,800 (1/1)
Dennis Scott Bush 95,800 (2/8)
Antony Lellouche 57,100 (1/4)
Julian Gardner 98,800 (5/4)
Martin Deknijff 56,100 (1/6)
Martin Wendt 73,100 (5/6)
Harry Fitzpatrick 38,900 (2/7)
Brandon Schaefer 36,000 (2/5)
Kevin Seeger 147,100 (1/8, chip leader)
Jani Sointula 79,900 (4/1)
Gus Hansen 23,000 (4/2)
Barny Boatman 34,300 (3/1)
Nathanael Kelly 6,600 (5/3)
Declan Barker 38,200 (1/2)
Ben Sprengers 45,100 (2/6)
Eirik Mistereggen 40,600 (5/2)
Henry Terranova 11,700 (4/8)
Jonathan Senn 32,700 (4/6)
Michael Luber 48,700 (3/2)
Rob Hollink 139,500 (3/5)
Kevin O'Donnell 63,200 (3/6)
Joseph Grech 14,000 (3/3)
Willie Tann 78,100 (3/4)
Neil Fanning 58,000 (2/4)
Romain Feriolo 103,100 (2/3)
Markus Golser 45,400 (4/3)
Alexander Stevic 66,500 (5/8)
Robert Mizrachi 117,500 (3/8)
Mikhail Ustinov 70,900 (4/4)
Martin Knape 70,500 (1/5)
Morten Jensen 26,100 (5/5)
38 players left in total.
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