Defeating one of the toughest tables ever assembled for the tournament, recent World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe bracelet winner Gus Hansen emerged victorious at the Full Tilt Poker sponsored Poker Million IX.
The event, which took place on live television in England on Sky Sports Network, featured some of the best players in the world vying for a $1 million first place prize. Along with Hansen were such notable players as 2010 WSOP Europe champion James Bord, Patrik Antonius, and Howard Lederer. With such a huge prize on the line, the eight players battling for the Poker Million IX championship wasted little time getting to action.
On the 37th hand of play, Antonius departed in spectacular fashion. After a raise from Tony Bloom with A-3, Antonius looked him up from the small blind with A-9 and Bord came along for the ride out of the big blind with 10-8. The flop was magical for Bord, 9-7-6 rainbow, giving the Englishman the nuts. With his top pair, Antonius led out only to face a re-raise from Bord. Bloom released his hand and, after a bout in the tank, Antonius moved his stack to the center. Bord delightfully called, tabling his winning hand and seizing a sizeable lead in the early going.
Soon after Antonius’ elimination, Bord attempted to take down Hansen, but fell short after his A-J fell against Hansen’s A-Q and the “Great Dane” doubled up. Hansen used these chips to eliminate Lederer from the tournament when, in a battle of the blinds, Lederer moved all-in from the big blind with A-8 of diamonds. Hansen, in the small blind, deliberated for a bit before making the call with his A-J and, after dodging eights and diamonds on the board, was in a seemingly dominant position to take down the Poker Million IX title.
Two internet qualifiers, Seth Webber and Gary Peniket, performed well on the big stage, but were unable to drive deep. Webber was dispatched from the tournament at the hands of Hansen, while Peniket departed the table via a bad beat from Bord. After Bord raised from under-the-gun with K-10 of clubs, Peniket decided to make a stand with K-Q. Peniket’s dominant position changed on the flop, which came down 5-10-9 with two clubs, giving Bord the lead. Drawing thin, Peniket could not find one of his seven outs and was eliminated in fifth place.
Bloom got back into the action when he defeated Hendon Mob member Barny Boatman, out-flopping Boatman’s pocket tens with an A-3. After remaining quiet, Bloom began to impose his will on the felt, defeating Bord in a key hand where the WSOP Europe champion held an up-and-down straight draw against Bloom’s flopped two pair and couldn’t find a closer.
After eliminating Bord, Bloom was behind Hansen by about 140,000 chips and the duo only took two hands to decide who would be the champ. After catching pocket queens on his first hand and raising Bloom out, Hansen looked down to see A-8 on the very next hand. After Bloom moved his stack to the center, Hansen decided to look him up and was thrilled to see he was in a dominant position against Bloom’s A-6. An unnecessary eight on the flop sealed the deal for the Danish poker champion, propelling him to victory and the $1 million first place prize.
The victory caps a tremendous year for Hansen. Although he only won $581,073 in tournament poker during 2010, Hansen was able to shed the “Best Player Never to Win a Bracelet” tag by winning the epic marathon that was the £10,000 No Limit Hold’em Heads-Up event at this year’s WSOP Europe. The bracelet became the latest addition to Hansen’s trophy chest alongside his three World Poker Tour titles and 2007 win at the Aussie Millions. All totaled, the “Great Dane” has won over $8 million in his career, not counting his Poker Million victory.
Tournament organizers Matchroom Sport have promised to pull out all the stops next year when Poker Million gets its tenth outing. “Poker Million is one of the few remaining poker majors that has truly stood the test of time,” said Eddie Hearn, Managing Director of Matchroom Sport. “It has remained Europe’s most prestigious title and 2011 will see the event reach its tenth year. We plan something very special for Poker Million X and want to give the poker playing public a real shot at the million.”
