Overseas players often overlooked





The US poker tournament schedule has exploded in past years, as has the corresponding television coverage. With so much US-centric focused poker available, I seldom dabble in the poker world across my borders. I know Rolf Slotboom does a great job covering the poker world beyond, but I don't check it out nearly enough. I think it is a little short cited and circular thinking on my part. I don't check out the European scene because I am not familiar with the players. I'm not familiar with the players because I don't check out the scene.

But apparently I am not the only one that is guilty of this omission. Many of the US players have no idea about the caliber of the non-US players they are up against this year. Traveling to the US represents a hefty dip into the bankroll, even with a weak dollar, and many Europeans play limited US tournament schedules. But when it comes to the WSOP, they come out in force. And for many US players, this is starting to be an eye opener.

When Kiril Gerasimov made the final table in the Stud event last night, many of his opponents didn't know who he was. Did they miss his second place finish in the WPT Championship event at the Bellagio in 2003? How about his WSOP final table finish a month later…or his 2nd, 5th and 12th place WSOP finishes the following year? For the record, Kiril came in 2nd in the Stud event last night, playing a brilliant final table.

Speaking of underestimating a player, Kiril's buddy and former professional tennis player, Yevgeny Kafelnikov just missed making the Stud final table when his flush ran into 2 pairs that found their boat on seventh street. Yevgeny may be relatively new to poker, but he's got game.

If French player Pascal Perrault isn't a poker household name for you, what are you missing? He’s already scored a 10th place finish in this year's WSOP Omaha h/lo event, just on the heels of a 1st and 5th place finish in the World's Heads Up Championship in Barcelona. With literally dozens of money finishes in non-US tournaments, including the bracelet in the EPT's final event in Vienna this spring, he is always a threat.

Marcel Luske is a player that has name recognition in the US. If you watched ESPN's WSOP coverage last year, Marcel got a lot of air time for his mentoring of second place finisher David Williams and his charming and disarming demeanor at the table. But even though players recognize the man, they still are prone to underestimate the player. He's already scored a money finish in this year's WSOP, and has many WSOP final table finishes under his belt from prior years. And if I listed his European successes we'd be here forever. If Marcel starts singing to you at your table, do not be lulled into complacency.

As the US has its young guns, so does the rest of the world. Two young players worth keeping your eye on this year are Noah Boeken and Luca Pagano. Noah has a slew of money finishes in Europe, including the bracelet in the European Poker Tour's Scandinavian Open. And Luca is also starting to emerge as young EPT threat.

Needless to say, this is just a smattering of some of the non-US players worth noting. And hopefully I'll get the opportunity to cover more of the exciting and talented overseas players that have made their way to the WSOP this year.