After two years of action, which had transitioned the WSOP from an American World Series of Poker into a truly worldwide operation, the biggest brand in poker returned to Europe in 2009 for its third trip to London. England’s capital city was the scene for not three or four but six events, as the four WSOP bracelets on offer were supplemented by two special tournaments with the WSOP expanding yet again.
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Europe Take on America in the Caesars Cup
The two special events were quite different, and while neither offered a WSOP bracelet, both thrilled poker fans. The opening event was a free ‘Million Dollar Game,’ and while three players alone cashed, and the winner, Greek player Anestis Metsas, banked just £1,300, the spirit of the series was a friendly and fun one from the start.
The Caesars Cup got all the fans watching and talking as eight players from Europe faced off against eight from the United States. Representing the home continent were the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event winner, Norwegian Annette Obrestad, Danish players Peter Eastgate, the former Main Event champion, and Full Tilt Poker crusher Gus Hansen, Italian sensation Dario Minieri, French EPT champion Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier, the Finnish duo of Ilari Sahamies and Patrik Antonius, and online qualifier John Harvey from Scotland.
Dual nationality players Daniel Negreanu and John Juanda and Americans Huck Seed, Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth Jr., Phil Ivey, Jennifer Harman, and Barry Greenstein hoped to return the cup to the United States of America. Quite against popular opinion at the time, Europe triumphed in the tournament, leaving bona fide legends like The Poker Brat, Kid Poker, and Texas Dolly to lick their wounds.
“They played well, we ran very sub-par in all-in confrontations,” said Daniel Negreanu after the event. “On our team, we made a couple of mistakes. That coupled with some bad luck was why we lost. I’d like to see a few tweaks that add a little more play.”
Two Opening Events
There were four open events at the 2009 WSOP Europe, starting with a £1,000 No Limit Hold’em event followed by a £2,500 Pot Limit Hold’em/Omaha event, then the £5,000 PLO event before the fourth and final paid event of the series, the £10,000 Main Event. The £1,000 NLHE event had a bumper 608 entries, with just 63 players being paid.
Legends of the game such as Talal Shakerchi (58th for £2,006), 2008 WSOPE Main Event winner John Juanda (43rd for £2,803), and 2000 WSOP Main Event Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson (15th for £6,980) all made the money, but the final table was dominated by John-Paul ‘J.P.’ Kelly, who battled to victory for his second bracelet of the year. Winning only two bracelets in his career, Kelly was a prodigious British poker talent who took down the 20th event of the Las Vegas WSOP for $194,434, then followed it up with victory back in London in this event, scooping the top prize of £136,803 after beating Frenchman Fabien Dunlop heads-up for the gold.
In the next event, 158 entries paid £2,500 to play a split event of Pot Limit poker in Hold’em and Omaha. Just 18 players were paid, with Russian Vitaly Lunkin (17th for $5,660), Howard ‘The Professor’ Lederer (9th for £9,117), and Swedish WSOP bracelet winner Chris Bjorin (6th for £20,106) all cashing deep in the event.
Men ‘The Master’ Nguyen busted in fourth place for £35,412 before the heads-up battle played out between a Swedish player and a Canadian on the brink of his first bracelet. In many ways, Erik Cajelais was a product of his time at this stage of poker history. The game was in an age of aggression, and Cajelais’ fearless poker led him to win his only WSOP title for a top prize of £104,677.
The Main Event Begins
Before the Main Event, there was the small matter of a $6,450-entry PLO event, which featured 154 entries and paid 18 players. Legends of poker’s past made it into the money places, with Tom Dwan (14th for £12,713), Robert Williamson III (9th for £17,772), and Triple Crown winner Roberto Romanello (7th for £29,830) all running deep.
Three Finnish players were in the top five, and eventually, that counted. Big names such as award-winning actor and The Hendon Mob pioneer Ross Boatman came fourth for £69,030 before Howard Lederer lost heads-up, claiming £126,134. The winner was Jani Vilmunen, who banked an incredible £204,048 for his efforts.
It was then time for the Main Event. With an amazing 334 entries, over £3.3 million was in the prize pool, meaning the top prize would be £801,603. Just 36 players would make the money places, including legendary players like the late Dave ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott, who in-cashed for £21,142 in 35th place. Steve Zolotow won the same in 32nd place before the exits of Andre Akkari in 27th for £25,918, Doyle Brunson in 17th for £32,198, and even former England and Manchester United footballer Teddy Sheringham, who left in 14th place for a score of £40,481.
Mercier Loses Momentum
With some of the biggest names in poker making the final nine, James Akenhead busted in ninth place for the second time in his career at a Main Event final table, this time winning £66,533 after also coming ninth in the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas earlier that summer for $1.26 million.
Exits for Matthew Hawrilenko (8th for £87,074), Antoine Saout (7th for £114,228), Chris Bjorin (6th for £150,267), and Markus Ristola (5th for £200,367) followed before Jason Mercier pushed all-in with pocket sevens. Quickly called by Daniel Negreanu, Kid Poker turned over pocket nines, and after a clear runout, the Canadian had all of Mercier’s chips, leaving the EPT champion to walk away disconsolate.
“I started off pretty rocky, got some momentum going but four-handed I lose every pot. I think I played well and didn’t make any mistakes.”
Kid Poker Comes Up Short
Barry Shulman was soon all-in and at-risk with jack-ten and he was called by Negreanu with ace-queen. Shulman was saved after a ten on the flop and the turn.
“Barry Shulman is sleeping with angels, Daniel Negreanu bemoaning the fates,” stated Lon McEachern on comms. Praz Bansi was in the lead, but that didn’t last long, as he bluffed with only a wheel and flush draw on the turn and ran into Kid Poker’s trip aces. Bansi missed all his draws but still bluffed the river, which was called to put Negreanu into the lead. Praz Bansi soon lost with king-eight to Shulman’s king-jack and eventually lost his last with queen-deuce to Negreanu’s ace-queen to bust in third for £360,887.
Heads-up, Negreanu held the lead with 6.18 million chips to Shulman’s 3.85 million, but that wasn’t how it stayed. Negreanu still held the lead when he shoved with pocket aces on the flop of K-8-6 with two hearts. Shulman called with ace-five of hearts and hit gin on the turn with the two of hearts, preventing Kid Poker from claiming the title. Now armed with 75% of the chips in play, Shulman continued to grow his lead only for Negreanu to battle back in the early hours as the clock ticked past 5am local time.
Once again, Negreanu had the chance to win it and was one card away in dramatic fashion. On a flop of J-8-5, Negreanu committed the bigger stack with queen-jack only for Shulman to call with pocket aces. A jack on the turn propelled Negreanu into the lead. He only had to miss an ace on the river but that was exactly what came and gave the American a life-saving double-up instead. Soon, pocket fours were no good for Negreanu as Shulman’s tens prevailed, a ten in the window providing no sweat at all for Kid Poker, who ended as runner-up for £495,589.
Speaking to Card Player after his victory, Shulman said:
“Going into the final table, I was average in chips. The players were so tough, with top European pros and from the States. No one was giving their money away and everyone was tough.”
Barry Shulman’s hour in the sun captivated crowds who stayed up all night on both sides of the Atlantic to take in the majesty of a Main Event heads-up to remember. One of the best-ever final tables had thrilled millions around the world.
In 2010, the WSOP Europe home crowd in London would have more to cheer about… a lot more.
| Player | Country | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Barry Shulman | United States | £801,603 |
| 2nd | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | £495,589 |
| 3rd | Praz Bansi | United Kingdom | £360,887 |
| 4th | Jason Mercier | United States | £267,267 |
| 5th | Markus Ristola | Finland | £200,367 |
| 6th | Chris Bjorin | Sweden | £150,267 |
| 7th | Antoine Saout | France | £114,228 |
| 8th | Matt Hawrilenko | United States | £87,074 |
| 9th | James Akenhead | United Kingdom | £66,533 |
2008 WSOP Europe 2010 WSOP Europe
About the Author: Paul Seaton has written about poker for over 10 years, interviewing some of the best players ever to play the game such as Daniel Negreanu, Johnny Chan and Phil Hellmuth. Over the years, Paul has reported live from tournaments such as the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas and the European Poker Tour. He has also written for other poker brands where he was Head of Media, as well as BLUFF magazine, where he was Editor.