The players have gathered in Cannes, France, for the €10,000 Championship Event of the 2011 World Series of Poker Europe, but there is a bit of unfinished business in two of the preliminary events to take care of as the Championship Event begins.
In the €10,000 Split Format No Limit Hold’em tournament – which has come to be called the “Mixed-Max” event – the sixteen cashers gathered yesterday for the first two rounds of heads up play. Earlier in the tournament, the 125 player field had been whittled down through nine handed play (Day One) and six handed play (Day Two). The championship would be determined through heads up play, hence the “Split Format” title.
The sixteen men who came to the felt on Friday were all qualified to capture the inaugural championship of this event. Some of the names heading the field were Erik Seidel, Brian Hastings, Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, Joel Nordkvist, Shawn Buchanan, Jason Mercier, Dan Fleyshman, Bryn Kenney and Noah Schwartz. In the first round of play on Friday, Seidel, Nordkvist, Mercier and Kenney were eliminated.
In the Round of Eight, the matchups went down as such:
Roger Hairabedian defeated Brian Powell
Michael Mizrachi defeated Brian Hastings
Shawn Buchanan defeated Anatolli Ozhenilok
Noah Schwartz defeated Dan Fleyshman
In the matchups for the Semi-Finals, Hairabedian has the audacious task of taking on “The Grinder” for one of the seats at the Championship table. Hairabedian, while a skilled player, will be hard pressed to match the unbridled aggression that Mizrachi brings to the table. The allure of a second bracelet for the 2010 WSOP Poker Players’ Championship should also drive Mizrachi to victory.
The second matchup promises to be an exciting clash between two of the best younger players in the game. Buchanan has a slew of cashes in both the Las Vegas and European versions of the 2011 WSOP, but has yet to grab the brass ring. Schwartz is seeking his first major championship despite earning nearly $1.5 million in his live tournament poker career. This should be a long, drawn out battle, with Buchanan eking out the victory.
The matchup between Mizrachi and Buchanan will feature two highly successful pros that are well versed in all aspects of poker. While Mizrachi may be viewed as having the edge, look for Buchanan to pick up the bracelet in a small upset.
The second tournament to determine a champion today, the €1500 Six Handed Pot Limit Omaha event, has wasted little time in getting to heads up play. In just under three hours, Jack Ellwood, Jared Solomon, Alexander Dovzhenko and Nicolas Fierro have been eliminated in sixth through third places, respectively. As of press time, Philippe Boucher has a dominant 6:1 lead over Michel Dattani, with the bracelet and a €124,584 first place prize on the line.
The main draw today – even with the action already going – is the €10,000 Championship Event, whose Day 1A is already in play. At the moment, 282 players are still on the tables, with several top pros looking to get off to a good start. Former World Champion Johnny Chan, Olivier Busquet, Maria Ho, Erik Seidel, Jason Mercier and 2011 WSOP November Niner Phil Collins are all over their starting stacks, while Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Vanessa Rousso, Alexander Kravchenko, Liv Boeree, Vanessa Selbst and Sam Stein have some work to do after dropping below their 30K starting stack.
Day 1B is scheduled for Sunday and the field will come together for the first time on Monday. The final table will be assembled on Thursday to determine the champion, but it isn’t time for the players to think about that as of yet! Poker News Daily will monitor the events as they unfold in France and the latest champion is crowned at the 2011 World Series of Poker Europe.
