PokerWorks

When planning the 2009 World Series of Poker Europe, the third year seemed like the time for organizers to add in a new competition. It was the invitation-only Caesars Cup that was set to pit a team of Europeans against a team of Americans, the latter of which included North, South, and Central Americans. In the summer of 2009, Annette Obrestad was chosen to lead up Team Europe and Daniel Negreanu to lead Team Americas, and as they picked their teammates through the months, the scene was set for the Caesars Cup to play out at the 2009 WSOPE in London on September 25.

The teams were ready to compete in a series of matches for the title and Caesars Cup as follows:

Team Americas:

Daniel Negreanu (Team Captain)
Doyle Brunson
Phil Hellmuth
Phil Ivey
Huck Seed
John Juanda
Jennifer Harman
Barry Greenstein (last-minute substitute for Chris Ferguson)

Team Europe:

Annette Obrestad (Team Captain)
Peter Eastgate
Dario Minieri
Bertrand Grospellier
Ilari Sahamies
Patrik Antonius
Gus Hansen
John Harvey (Betfair qualifier)

As the event kicked off, WSOP President and Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack stated, “The Caesars Cup is a tournament that brings together some of the most elite players from Europe and the Americas, who will all compete for national pride, international bragging rights, and a new trophy called the Caesars Cup.”

With that, the series of no-limit hold’em matches began in a best four-of-seven format. Each team chose two members to compete in each of the first four matches, which would be played in team-style, as Player 1 would act before the flop, Player 2 after the flop, Player 1 after the turn, and Player 2 after the river. The next set of matches would be heads-up with one member of each team.

Match 1:

Team Americas chose Phil Ivey and Huck Seed, and Team Europe picked Patrik Antonius and Ilari Sahamies. The hour-long match saw the Europeans playing extremely aggressively, and though it took nearly an hour, Antonius and Sahamies claimed victory. Europe 1, Americas 0.

Match 2:

Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth took seats for Team Americas, while Bertrand Grospellier and John Harvey were set to represent Team Europe. The latter duo took an almost immediate lead, and it didn’t take long for Team Americas to seek a double-up. When John Harvey pushed all-in with A-3, Hellmuth called for his team’s tournament life with pocket aces. But when the board came K-4-2-5, that was all they needed to see, and the turned straight gave Team Europe the victory. Europe 2, Americas 0.

Match 3:

Team Americas chose Doyle Brunson and Jennifer Harman to compete against Dario Minieri and Annette Obrestad for Team Europe. The two young Europeans took an immediate lead, but Brunson and Harman gained it back in a massive double-up where their pocket aces turned into quads. The very short-stacked Euros lost the match a few hands later, and Team Americas took their first victory of the day. Europe 2, Americas 1.

Match 4:

John Juanda and Barry Greenstein went to bat for Team Americas, while Gus Hansen and Peter Eastgate took seats for Team Europe, and the battle lasted less than 20 minutes with the Europeans taking an almost immediate lead. Hansen finally moved with A-8, and Greenstein called all-in with K-Q. The board blanked for Team Americas, and another loss was in their corner. Europe 3, Americas 1.

Match 5:

This was the first of the heads-up matches, and Americas’ Seed was set to face Europe’s Obrestad, and the latter didn’t need much time to seal up a win. Obrestad took a quick lead when her top pair beat the flush draw of Seed. A few hands later, Seed moved all-in with A-3, but Obrestad was there with the dominant A-7. The board gave Obrestad a full house, and Team Europe secured the match victory as well as the entire team victory. Europe 4, Americas 1.

After an exciting day with a rail full of fans and the ESPN cameras filming the action, Team Europe happily accepted the Caesars Cup trophy. The event will be put together for a two-hour episode on ESPN to be seen on February 7, 2010.