PokerWorks

720 players took part in the $1,500 WSOP PLO8 tournament and after two days of intense poker filled with bad beats, missed draws, and river suck outs, 9 players remained. Erik Seidel came into the final table looking to get his 9th bracelet and he would be the lone star taking a shot at the $216,249 first place prize. The final nine, their seating assignments, and chip counts were as follows:

Seat 1: Joseph Haddad (Portland, Oregon) 135,000
Seat 2: Tom Chambers (Chicago, Illinois) 263,000
Seat 3: Larry Wright (McQueeney, Texas) 117,000
Seat 4: Chad Burum (Grants Pass, Oregon) 117,000
Seat 5: Michael Fetter (Vallejo, California) 288,000
Seat 6: Casey Kastle (Chicago, Illinois) 188,000
Seat 7: Jon Maren (North Andover, Massachusetts) 377,000
Seat 8: Martin Klaser (Rheinbach, Germany) 337,000
Seat 9: Erik Seidel (Las Vegas, Nevada) 340,000

It would only take about half an hour for the first player to be eliminated. Tom Chambers raised first to act the size of the pot and was called by Casey Kastle in the big blind. The flop came A-K-Q with two diamonds and both players checked. The turn was the 3 of clubs and Kastle bet the pot. Chambers re-raised for all of his chips and after mulling over what to do for several minutes, Kastle decided to make the call. Chambers had A-A-K-9 for flopped top set but he had let his opponent get some potential by checking the flop as Kastle had 7-7-4-2 with diamonds for a flush draw and the nut low draw. The river would give Kastle the entire pot as it was the 6 of diamonds and Tom Chambers was eliminated in 9th place. Chambers won $19,656 for his play.

Larry Wright lost most of his chips in a confrontation with Joseph Haddad when the two players had essentially the same hand. Wright had A-2-4-5 and Haddad had A-2-3-4. The board would come Q-5-2-K-6, however, to give Haddad the scoop. Wright was knocked out by Casey Kastle moments later and finished in 8th place winning $27,027.

Haddad would be the next player to fall when he moved all in over the top of Martin Klaser and was called. Haddad had a monster with A-A-2-4 and Klaser's A-10-5-3 would need some help... help that he would get when the flop came 5-4-2 to give him a wheel. The wheel would hold up and Martin Haddad finished in 7th place winning $34,389.

Chad Burum came into the final table as the shortest stack but had managed to move up three spots already when he moved all in on a J-6-5 two spade flop with A-3-8-Q with the Q-8 being spades. He was called by Martin Klaser who had A-2-5-6 for middle two pair and the nut low draw. The turn was a 7 and the river was a 4 and Klaser would win both halves of the pot. Chad Burum was eliminated in 6th place winning $44,226.

Jon Maren was the chip leader at the start of the day but his inexperience started to show through. Maren called a raise from Michael Fetter and led out for 130K on a 10-5-5 flop. Fetter moved all in and Maren made the crying call with A-4-8-8. Maren would need running cards or an ace as Fetter had K-K-2-4. The turn was a three and the river was a queen and Fetter doubled up. Maren would be knocked out by Casey Kastle moments later and would be our 5th place finisher winning $56,019.

Fetter would double up again, this time through Erik Seidel. Seidel would then call a pot sized pre-flop re-raise from Kastle. The bet was enough to set Seidel all in. Seidel showed A-3-4-10 and Kastle had A-K-K-5. The flop came Q-7-4 giving Seidel a pair and a low draw. The turn was a bad card for him though as it was a king which meant all Seidel could hope for now was a split pot by winning the low. The river was another queen and Kastle's full house was enough to eliminate the eight time bracelet winner. Erik Seidel finished in 4th place winning $68,304.

Michael Fetter was the next player to be eliminated when he moved the few chips he had left in pre-flop and was called by Martin Klaser. Fetter had A-Q-10-9 with the ace suited in hearts and Klaser had A-Q-7-2. The flop was a nightmarish one for Fetter as it contained two 7's to give Klaser trips. The turn and river were no help for Fetter and he was our 3rd place finisher winning $83,538.

Heads up play started with Martin Klaser holding a 1.5 million to 600K chip advantage over Casey Kastle. Klaser controlled the heads up match from the very outset as Kastle would only win three of the first 18 hands that were dealt. Perhaps frustrated by his inability to win a hand, Kastle moved all in on a J-9-9 flop with J-10-3-2 and was quickly called by Klaser who held A-3-Q-Q. The turn card was a queen giving Klaser an unbeatable full house and the tournament was over! Casey Kastle finished in 2nd place winning $137,985.

Martin Klaser continued an excellent showing from European poker players at the 2008 WSOP as the young German used relentless aggression and a well timed run of cards to take home the bracelet and $216,249. Congratulations on your victory Martin!