Chalk up another victory for the young guns of Poker. On Monday night, 23 year-old David Vamplew took down the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) London Main Event for £900,000. Heads-up, he defeated Full Tilt Poker pro John Juanda, who cashed for the second straight year in the British tournament.
Juanda entered heads-up play against Vamplew up nearly 4:1 in chips. However, the two tangled in a see-saw battle until Juanda check-raised to 1.8 million, or about one-third of his stack, on a 3-7-4 two-diamond flop. Vamplew shoved all-in and Juanda mucked, sending the 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe Main Event winner’s stack plummeting to 3.8 million, or an 8:1 deficit.
Juanda ultimately got it in pre-flop with K-2 suited and was up against Vamplew’s A-3. Vamplew flopped two pair and that was all she wrote for Juanda, who banked £545,000. Juanda had Vamplew on the brink of elimination in one hand after turning Broadway, but Vamplew spiked a flush on the river to double up. The youngster also doubled with 10-9 against Juanda’s A-5 after turning a ten.
Prior to Monday, Vamplew’s largest live cash was a meager $6,000. The Scottish player told PokerStars officials following his big win, “It’s going to take a while to sink in. I had to get lucky to win. I won a few all-ins, but I’m pretty proud of the way I played. I’m pleased with myself for sure.” The tournament attracted a record-setting field of 848 players; 165 won their way in through the world’s largest online poker site.
Per Ummer was the first casualty of the EPT London Main Event final table. Ummer open-shoved pre-flop with just 5-3 from the small blind and Artur Wasek woke up with A-Q. Wasek flopped a queen and no help came for Ummer on the turn or river. Tom Marchese, who won the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Venetian Main Event in February, took seventh in London after his A-8 of diamonds was cracked by Vamplew’s 10-5 of the same suit.
Fernando Brito 3bet all-in before the flop with A-6 offsuit and Kyle “kwob20” Bowker, the original raiser in the hand, made the call with J-10 of diamonds. Brito hit a pair on a 4-Q-6 flop, but a ten on the turn gave Bowker a higher pair. The river was a king and Brito was ousted in sixth place for £145,000.
Kayvan Payman ran A-4 into Vamplew’s pocket queens to go home in fifth place. Bowker said that he laid down pocket eights in the hand and the board ran out 6-3-4-5-3. Wasek’s witching hour then came after he pushed over the top of a raise from Juanda with pocket fives. Juanda called and tabled A-J offsuit to set up a race. The board was safe for Wasek until a jack hit on the river, giving Juanda the win in the hand after delivering the six-outer. Wasek picked up £240,000 for his deep run.
Juanda cracked Bowker’s pocket jacks with pocket tens after hitting a flush to send the online poker whiz away in third place for £300,000. Here’s how the final table cashed out at the 2010 EPT London Main Event:
1. David Vamplew (United Kingdom): £900,000
2. John Juanda (United States): £545,000
3. Kyle Bowker (United States): £300,000
4. Artur Wasek (Poland): £240,000
5. Kayvan Payman (Canada): £190,000
6. Fernando Brito (Portugal): £145,000
7. Tom Marchese (United States): £100,000
8. Per Ummer (Cyprus): £66,800
Next up for the EPT is a trip to Vienna for a €5,300 Main Event running from October 26th to 31st. Visit PokerStars for more information and to qualify.
