Day 2 of Event #2: €1,090 No-Limit Hold'em of the The 2011 World Series of Poker Europe in Cannes, France took off on Monday with Roberto Romanello in hopes of scoring poker's Triple Crown. Before the final table the Brit was in a good position of scoring his first WSOP bracelet and adding it to his trophy collection which already includes two major poker titles – European Poker Tour and World Poker Tour honors. However, it was Andrew Hinrichsen who went home with the title leaving Romanello with one more trophy to go. In Event #3 one of this year's overall top players, Sam Trickett was in a good position of scoring another title as he led the final table.
Event #2: €1,090 No-Limit Hold'em – Another One for the Aussies
104 players began Day 2 of the WSOPE Event #2: €1,090 No-Limit Hold'em, however only the top 9 have survived the day to advance to the final table. The short stacks started falling out rather quickly as the game speed shifted into the next gear and those in the lead were not compassionate to their opponents. It was Peter Jetten who started the day with only 6,000 in chips and had to leave the table early in the day. Farzad Bonyadi, Dan Shak, Richard Toth, and the latest French WPT champion Matt Waxman were also out sooner than they expected.
As the day passed on, a number of well known pros went on hitting the rail, one after another, leaving what was seen as an upcoming pro-packed final phase of the tournament with only a few notable players left in the field. NAPT Mohegan Sun back to back winner Vanessa Selbst left the table after her pocket queens hit ace-queen and she was quickly joined on her way home by Kevin MacPhee. November Niner Eoghan O'Dea was one of the unluckiest players of the day when his rockets fell to Ricardo Pereira's ace-king supported by a pair of kings on the board.
The day ended with Gianluca Speranza from Italy in the lead with 757,000 in chips, followed by Andrew Hinrichsen in second place with 434,000 and Roberto Romanello in third with 253,000. As play continued on Day 3, the two leaders held on to their positions. But Romanello didn't live up to his expectations and had to leave the game in fifth place.
When it all came down to just two players, it was Speranza against Hinrichsen – the two chip leaders coming into the final table have maintained their advantage through the day and it was time to settle things heads-up. However, the former chip leader Speranza could not resist Hinrichsen – it was Aussie's day which he took advantage of to secure himself a WSOP bracelet and a €150,000 cash prize.
These are the final standings of 2011 WSOPE Event #2: €1,090 No-Limit Holdem
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Hinrichsen | €148,030 |
| 2 | Gianluca Speranza | €91,262 |
| 3 | Tarcisio Bruno | €67,281 |
| 4 | Bernard Guigon | €50,146 |
| 5 | Roberto Romanello | €37,874 |
| 6 | Eric Baudry | €28,977 |
| 7 | John Eames | €22,449 |
| 8 | Nabil Nadjai | €17,608 |
| 9 | Gregory Lejolivet | €13,982 |
Event #3: €5,300 Pot-Limit Omaha – Billirakis Victorious
Day 2 of the Event #3: €5,300 Pot-Limit Omaha resumed on Tuesday with 49 players returning after Day 1 driven by the aim to survive until the very last minutes and hopefully end up in the final nine. At the end of the day the final table was all set and led by one of this year's most successful live tournament players – Sam Trickett with 713,500 chips. Trickett, who has already won over $3 million in 2011, was in a good position of acquiring yet another title as well as making a significant donation to his account.
However, Trickett's competition wasn't easy. Eoghan O’Dea – the November Niner who had just busted from Event #2 found more luck playing Pot-Limit Omaha and made it into the final table. However, O’Dea was one of the short stacks so his hopes mustn't have been very high. Other tough and titled opponents were WSOP bracelet winner Steve Billirakis, who was in second place with 459,500 chips, and WSOP circuit event winner Sam Chartier with the shortest stack of just over 100,000.
And so, when the final table took off on Wednesday, the first players from the back started falling out including O’Dea and Chartier who finished in ninth and eighth places respectively. Trickett's journey to the title ended when he lost the decisive hand to the soon-to-be runner-up Michele Di Lauro and he finished in fourth place for a cash prize of almost €80,000.
As the heads-up play began between Di Lauro and Billirakis, the latter had a 4:1 chip lead which he very soon increased by winning every significant pot which eventually led him to another, this time it held a European WSOP bracelet.
Here are the final standings and payouts of Event #3: €5,300 Pot-Limit Omaha.
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Billirakis | €238,140 |
| 2 | Michele Di Lauro | €147,171 |
| 3 | Ramzi Jelassi | €105,937 |
| 4 | Sam Trickett | €77,642 |
| 5 | Jerome Bradpiece | €57,912 |
| 6 | Konstantin Uspenskiy | €43,950 |
| 7 | Erich Kollmann | €33,922 |
| 8 | Sam Chartier | €26,610 |
Stay up to date with PokerNews Live Reporting Blog.
Please do follow us on Twitter! And like us on Facebook.
*Image Courtesy of PokerNews.com
Play Carbon Poker’s Online League Event
The $15K Carbon Poker League on PokerWorks is an ongoing tournament series which sees players accumulating points towards qualifying for the $10,200 added Big Final, taking place on January 8 at 1800 GMT. Carbon Poker Review