With almost half of the 57 events at this year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) either completed or in action, Team UB.com has been battling some early WSOP bad luck. With many in the stable in action this weekend, fortunes may be turning for its members.
The top two players from Team UB, Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke, stepped up to do battle in the $10,000 Omaha Hi/Lo World Championship, Event #25 at this year’s WSOP. 212 players made their way to the tables for Day One on Sunday, with not a weak table anywhere in sight. A champion will be crowned on Monday, with the victor walking off with a WSOP bracelet and a $488,241 payday.
Starting with a 30,000-chip stack, there were, surprisingly, a lot of eliminations for such a deep tournament. Of the 212 original starters, 154 will return for action later this afternoon. Both Hellmuth and Duke will be among those who have a shot to claim a bracelet.
According to the most recent updates from the WSOP, Hellmuth currently sits with 65,000 chips – more than doubling his starting stack – good for 14th place when play resumes. Over his Twitter account, however, “The Poker Brat” has a much more sunny report for his followers. “I have tons of chips in Omaha 8/b tournament and high hopes,” Hellmuth reported. Winning the Omaha championship would be a tremendous feather in Hellmuth’s cap, as all of his record 11 WSOP bracelets have come in No Limit Hold’em events.
Duke will have a tougher time when she returns to the felt on Sunday. She currently sits on 38,000 chips, good for 44th place in the remaining field. Over her Twitter account, the “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up updated her fans: “Managed to make Day 2 of the Omaha hi lo. 34K in chips.” The defending National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner’s only WSOP bracelet came in an event similar to this, the 2004 $2,000 Omaha Hi/Lo tournament, so Duke has the abilities to make a strong run.
Team UB’s Liv Boeree carried the banner on Saturday, making the money in the $1,000 Ladies’ Championship event. Boeree battled throughout the day and, at one point, had worked her way into the top 10. Boeree, the victor at the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) San Remo event earlier this year, worked her way to a 53rd place finish, garnering a $3,500 payday and her second cash of the 2010 WSOP.
Looking at the leaderboard for Team UB, Boeree and Hellmuth are tied with two cashes apiece as Sunday’s action begins. Hellmuth most notably finished 15th in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event just over 10 days ago and has a 50th place finish in a $5,000 No Limit event just last week. Hellmuth has totaled slightly less than $40,000 for his two finishes, while Boeree has just over $6,000 for her two cashes.
Challenging Hellmuth on the money side of the equation is 2009 CardPlayer Player of the Year Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin. His 15th place finish in the first $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament earned him a payday of $31,362. Other Team UB pros who have earned a cash at this year’s WSOP include Bryan “badbeatninja” Devonshire, Gary “debo34” DeBernardi, and Joe Sebok.
With more than a month to go yet on the WSOP schedule – and 25+ tournaments left, including the WSOP Main Event – Team UB still has time to take some of the prizes up for grabs.