In the 2008 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event, nine players remain, led by Full Tilt Poker pro John Juanda. The final group will play down to a winner on Thursday. The champion will pocket £868,800 and hold the title of the second WSOP Europe Main Event Champion ever. It’s shaping up to be quite a battle.
Juanda leads a star-studded group to the televised final table on Thursday. Here’s a look at the final nine players and the number of chips they’ll be armed with when play resumes at 1:00pm local time from the Casino at the Empire:
John Juanda: 1,349,000
Stanislav Alekhin: 1,278,000
Ivan Demidov: 1,006,000
Daniel Negreanu: 1,002,000
Robin Keston: 849,000
Scott Fischman: 732,000
Toni Hiltunen: 386,000
Bengt Sonnert: 385,000
Chris Elliott: 281,000
You can see that Juanda and Alekhin have a sizeable lead on the rest of the pack. However, in poker, all you need is a chip and a chair to be in contention, as the old adage goes. Each player at the final table is guaranteed to take home at least £81,450. There were 363 total entries. Accordingly, the tournament will pay out as follows:
First Place: £868,800
Second Place: £533,950
Third Place: £334,850
Fourth Place: £271,500
Fifth Place: £217,200
Sixth Place: £171,950
Seventh Place: £135,750
Eighth Place: £108,600
Ninth Place: £81,450
Juanda has three bracelets, which is the second most at this final table to Daniel Negreanu’s four. The Full Tilt Poker pro won a $1,500 buy-in Limit Triple Draw tournament during the 2002 World Series of Poker for his first bracelet. His other two came during the 2003 WSOP. Juanda has over $1.8 million in career WSOP earnings.
Negreanu has amassed $2.5 million in career WSOP earnings. He won a $2,000 buy-in Limit Hold’em tournament this year for his fourth WSOP bracelet after winning his first 10 years ago. He won the $10,000 Main Event of a World Series of Poker Circuit Event in Tunica in January, 2006 for over $750,000. Others at that final table included Brandon Adams and Chad Brown.
Fischman is a two-time WSOP bracelet winner. He’s a member of “The Crew” and used to deal cards at the Sahara and Mirage in Las Vegas. He won both of his bracelets back in 2004, when he erupted onto the poker scene. On the World Poker Tour, he finished eighth in the WPT Championship during Season V, narrowly missing the televised final table, but raking in nearly a quarter of a million dollars for his efforts.
Demidov is a member of the so-called “November Nine,” who are the final nine people in the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas. In just over one month, he and eight other lucky players will head back to the Rio to play out the final table. He finished 11th in a $1,000 rebuy tournament during the 2008 WSOP for $39,854, his only recorded cash so far in World Series play.
There were 36 players who cashed in London. Among them were a few notables:
10th Place: Peter Neff, £54,300
15th Place: Brian Townsend, £45,250
18th Place: Mike Matusow, £36,200
21st Place: Mel Judah, £28,960
23rd Place: Andy Bloch, £28,960
33rd Place: Josh Arieh, £25,340
Play resumes at 1:00pm local time on Thursday and a champion will be crowned several hours later. We’ll have full updates for you right here on Poker News Daily.
