To say that the final table of the World Series of Poker Europe Main Event was grueling would be an understatement. In fact, 22 hours and 484 hands after it started, the final hand of the WSOPE Main Event was dealt. At the end of the day, John Juanda, a Full Tilt Poker Pro, was crowned the second WSOPE Main Event Champion ever, following last year’s win by Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, and pocketed £868,800.
He commented to WSOP officials after the lengthy final table concluded, “It was so long ago when I won my last bracelet, I can’t remember. It’s embarrassing. Some people have to keep up with the Joneses. I have to keep up with the Iveys and Cunninghams and Negreanus. I wondered if I would ever win again.” Juanda’s last WSOP bracelet came in 2003, when he took down a $2,500 rebuy Pot Limit Omaha event for $203,840. This is his fourth piece of hardware in total. Each of the four WSOP Europe events, like their American counterparts, awards a bracelet to its winner.
Peter Neff, who plays in the online poker world as “#1Pen,” was knocked out in tenth place on Wednesday, setting up yesterday’s nine-handed televised final table. ESPN cameras invaded the Casino at the Empire in London and were present for the entire duration of the 22 hour marathon that ensued. Here were the final results:
1st Place: John Juanda, £868,800
2nd Place: Stanislav Alekhin, £533,950
3rd Place: Ivan Demidov, £334,850
4th Place: Bengt Sonnert, £271,500
5th Place: Daniel Negreanu, £217,200
6th Place: Scott Fischman, £171,950
7th Place: Robin Keston, £135,750
8th Place: Toni Hiltunen£108,600
9th Place: Chris Elliott, £81,450
An important storyline in the Casino at the Empire was the recent success of Ivan Demidov. In addition to making the final table of the WSOP Europe Main Event, he’s also a member of the “November Nine,” who are the final nine players remaining in the World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas. It’s a first for the WSOP and an extraordinary feat overall. Demidov will be second in chips when the WSOP Main Event resumes on November 9th. That tournament will play down to a winner on November 10th and air on November 11th (Tuesday) on ESPN. Prior to his deep runs in both tournaments, he had just one WSOP cash to his name, an 11th place finish in a $1,000 rebuy No Limit Hold’em event for $40,000.
The heads-up battle between Juanda and Alekhin lasted for over 240 hands and took seven hours to complete. By the time the tournament concluded, most Londoners were nearing their lunch breaks at work on Friday. Demidov was eliminated on the 242nd hand of final table play when his Q-10 of diamonds was trumped by Juanda’s pocket aces. PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu was sent packing by Alekhin when “Kid Poker’s” A-9 ran into pocket jacks. His hand could not improve over the made pocket pair and he was sent to the rails in fifth. That action occurred on the 138th hand of final table play.
Juanda’s win marks the culmination of the 2008 WSOP Europe. Here were the winners of the four events:
Event 1: £1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em
Winner: Jesper Hougaard (£144,218)
Event 2: £2,500 buy-in HORSE
Winner: Sherkhan Farnood (£76,999)
Event 3: £5,000 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha
Winner: Theo Jorgensen (£218,626)
Main Event: £10,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em
Winner; John Juanda (£868,800)
Hougaard and Juanda became the first and second players, respectively, to win WSOP bracelets on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. The WSOP Europe tournament series began in 2007.
