The 2008 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event champion is John Juanda
Clocking in at a seemingly infinite 19 hours and 10 minutes, this
was the longest final table in the 39-year history of the World Series of
Poker. Measured in time from start to finish, the duration of this "final
nine" exceeded the mind-numbing 16-hours played in the $1,500 buy-in Razz
championship, won by O'Neil Longson (29 June 2005). This means that the
previous record was shattered by three hours and ten minutes. The nine
finalists in this event took their seats and started play at 1:23 pm. The
final hand was not dealt until 10:32 am the following day. (Note: The
two-hour dinner break was not factored into the length of play)
· This final table lasted 484 hands. This mark obliterated the
previous record set during the legendary duel between the late Chip Reese
and Andy Bloch, which occurred in the 2006 $50,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E.
championship (14 July 2006). That final table lasted a whopping 354 hands
according to the official logs recorded at the time. Hence, this finale
broke the record by 130 hands!
· The length of play exceeded the longest hold'em final table in
history by about 4.5 hours. The previous record was set at the 2005 Main
Event finale, won by Joe Hachem (15 July 2005), which lasted 14.5 hours.
· Juanda collected £868,800 for first place, which is equal to about
$1,598,587 in US currency.
· John Juanda is a 37-year-old professional poker player from Las
Vegas, NV. He now owns four WSOP gold bracelets. His last WSOP victory
came back in 2003.
· This was Juanda's 45th career cash at the WSOP. It was also his 23
rd final table appearance.
· Juanda was born in Indonesia. He was a teenager when he arrived in
the United States. He earned his undergraduate degree from Oklahoma State
University. He received his MBA from the University of Seattle.
· Juanda has won many other major poker tournaments, most notably the
2005 Aussie Millions $100,000 buy-in poker challenge, and the 2001 World
Poker Open Main Event (and numerous others events). He has now accrued over
$8 million in career lifetime earnings.
· Juanda arrived at the final table as the chip leader. He lost the
lead a few times, but remained thoroughly confident throughout the grueling
marathon match. At Juanda's lowest point, he was down by a 7 to 1 margin
during heads-up play. However, the veteran poker pro never gave up and won
the victory.
· Juanda drank English breakfast tea throughout the marathon
match. When
asked how many cups of tea he consumed, Juanda half-jokingly replied, "about
80."
· When Juanda was finally interviewed by ESPN's Norman Chad, the
popular television analyst asked the new poker champion "So, how easy was
this victory?"
· Juanda becomes the first American player in history to win a WSOP
gold bracelet at WSOP Europe.
· Juanda was asked about having to wait five years between WSOP wins.
He replied, "For the last few years, it has been very frustrating not to win
a gold bracelet."
· In his post-interview comments, Juanda praised Russian and
Scandinavian players in particular for their ascendency as competitors. "It
is not as easy as it used to be," he remarked.
· Two out of the top three finishers were Russian players. The topic
which shall indisputably arise in post-WSOP Europe discussions is the
emergence of Russian poker players upon the global poker scene. Indeed,
with the performances of Stanislav Alekhin (2nd) and Ivan Demidov (3rd)),
the 2008 WSOPE Main Event was a coming out party, of sorts. While Russian
players Alexander Kravchenko, Yevegeny Kafelnikov, and Ralph Perry have
knocked on the proverbial door in recent years with their WSOP gold bracelet
victories, the success not just one, but two Russian-based players in such a
formidable field is a clear indication that the Russian Federation is
producing world-class poker talent, equal to (and perhaps superior than)
many other nations.
· Juanda's victory means that the seven WSOPE tournaments played so
far (2007-2008) have been won by players from the United States, Italy,
Germany, Norway, Afghanistan, and Denmark (2).
· The runner up was Stanislav Alekhin, from Moscow, Russia. At age
23, he was the youngest player of the final nine. Prior to making poker his
full-time vocation, Alekhin was a full-time student. Had he won this
championship, it would have been his first major tournament victory.
Remarkably,
this was Alekhin's first appearance at a live major tournament final table.
· This was the first time in WSOP history that two Russian nationals
were at a final table.
· The tournament attracted 362 players. This is the same number of
players who entered the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event.
· Although the numerical turnout was identical, the top prize of
₤1,598,587 was slightly lower than last year's first-place payout. This was
due to an adjustment to the payout structure which gave lower finishers a
greater percentage of the total prize pool. This is referred to a a
flattened-out pay structure. For example, the 36th-place finisher this year
earned ₤25,340 compared to last year, which paid only ₤27,150. The other
prize money in between also increased over last year's amounts.
· Three of the nine players at the final table were former WSOP gold
bracelet winners, who collectively held nine previous titles. By contrast,
last year's WSOPE finale had no previous winners.
· Ivan Demidov took third place. In doing so, he established a poker
record that might never be broken. *With his WSOP Europe final table
appearance, Demidov becomes the first player in history to make the final
table of both the WSOP Main Event and the WSOP Europe Main Event – within a
single year.* Demidov ranks second going into the "November Nine" finale,
to be played 9-10 November.
· Swedish poker pro Bengt Sonnert was eliminated in fourth place.
· Four-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu finished in
fifth place. Negreanu was one of the tournament's early chip leaders. He
arrived at the final table fifth in chips, and went out in the lateral bust
order based on his starting stack.
· Two-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Scott Fischman finished in sixth
place.
· The highest-finishing local player was Robin Keston, from London. He
ended up as the seventh-place finisher.
· Toni Hiltunen attempted to become the first Finnish-born poker
player in WSOP history. However, he ended up going out in eighth place.
· Chris Elliott (Alloa, UK) finished in ninth place, an impressive
feat considering that he ranked 176th in the chip count when there were 179
players remaining.
· Three-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Mike Matusow finished in
18thplace.
· Eight-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Erik Seidel finished in 19thplace.
· Former WSOP gold bracelet winner Mel Judah finished in 21st place.
· Two-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Josh Arieh finished in 33rdplace.
· James Keys (Bury St. Edmunds, UK) is the only player to have cashed
in both WSOPE Main Events. Last year he took ninth place. This year, he
finished 36th.
· Defending champion Annette Obrestad played in this event, but was
eliminated near the end of the first day.
· Nikolay Evdakov, from Moscow, Russia played in this event, but did
not cash. In 2008, Evdakov shattered the record for "most cashes in a
single year" at the WSOP, when he finished in-the-money ten times (the
previous record was eight cashes). *With all in-the-money finishers now
determined for 2008, Evdakov's record officially ends with ten cashes.*
· The buy-in amount for WSOPE Event 4 was ₤10,000, equivalent to
about $18,400 (USD) at the current exchange rate.
· The Main Event was played over six days. The entire duration of
the tournament lasted nearly 28 levels, which was 56 hours and 25 minutes of
actual playing time.
· Two-thirds of the "November Nine" played in the WSOPE Main
Event. These
six players included: Ivan Demidov, Peter Eastgate, Kelly Kim, Craig
Marquis, Scott Montgomery, and David "Chino" Rheem.
· On Day 1-A, two of the November Nine finalists sat side-by-side, in
what was a random seat draw. Craig Marquis played against Scott Montgomery
in a preliminary battle about six seeks before they face each other again in
the world championship.
· Players reached the prize money (36th place) in the middle of Level
14. Stephen Ladowsky (Toronto, Canada) was the unfortunate "bubble"
finisher. He finished in 37th-place, just one spot out of the money.
Ladowsky's
misfortune cost him ₤25,340, equal to about $45,191 at the current exchange
rate.
· Americans held the top four spots in the standings at the end of
Day One. They continued their good fortune on Day Two, as they held all of
the top five chip positions. Americans remained in the top four spots after
Day Three. When the final table began, American player John Juanda was the
chip leader, with Russian player Stanislav Alekhin in second place.
· The start of Day Two chip leader was Andy Bloch (Las Vegas, NV
USA). Murmurs began to circulate that this might be Bloch's
much-anticipated breakthrough victory, after making eight final tables (but
no wins). However, he ended up busting out in 23rd place.
· This tournament is classified as "WSOPE Event 4," as well as "WSOP
Event 59" as it is the 59th WSOP gold bracelet event of the 2008 calendar
year. The only yet-undecided event still remaining is the Main Event
finale, which concludes in Las Vegas 9-10 November, 2008.
· World Series of Poker Europe Presented by Betfair included the
final four gold bracelet events of the 2008 season. WSOP events 1-55 were
played in Las Vegas, Nevada (USA) from 28 May through 14 July (plus the
November finale). Events 56-59 were played in London, England from 19
September through 2 October.
· *All WSOPE results are included in official WSOP records --
including all-time wins, cashes, final table appearances, etc. *
· This marks the second consecutive year of the WSOPE Presented by
Betfair. In 2007, three WSOP gold bracelet events were played in
London. Hence,
seven WSOP gold bracelet events have been played outside the United States.
· The tournament attracted six former world champions, including
Doyle Brunson (1976/1977), Phil Hellmuth (1989), Scotty Nguyen (1998), Chris
"Jesus" Ferguson (2000), Carlos Mortensen (2001), and Joe Hachem (2005).
· This tournament attracted 41 former WSOP gold bracelet winners
including:
Josh Arieh
David Benyamine
Chris Bjorin
Farzad Bonyadi
Doyle Brunson
Brandon Cantu
Allen Cunningham
Freddy Deeb
Eli Elezra
Antonio Esfandiari
Joe Hachem
Sherkahn Farnood
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson
Scott Fischman
Layne Flack
Barry Greenstein
Thor Hansen
Phil Hellmuth
Dan Heimiller
Theo Jorgensen
Phil Ivey
John Juanda
Alexander Kravchenko
Ted Lawson
Kathy Liebert
Jeff Madsen
Mike Matusow
Carlos Mortensen
Nenad Medic
Daniel Negreanu
Scotty Nguyen
Annette Obrestad
Max Pescatori
John Phan
Erik Seidel
Jennifer Tilly
David "Devilfish" Ulliott
Jen Voertmann
David Williams
Robert Williamson III
Steve Zolotow
· All four WSOPE events this year were played at Casino at the
Empire, located in Leicester Square, in Central London. Leicester Square is
best known as the theatre district of the city. Casino at the Empire is
part of London Clubs, International, which is owned by Harrah's
Entertainment.
· Casino at the Empire holds 25 poker tables. Gaming tables were
removed during the 16-day duration of WSOPE in order to make necessary room
for the large turnout of players and spectators.
· WSOP Europe is sponsored by Betfair, which is known as the world's
largest betting exchange. According to Betfair: "The exchange allows
customers to choose their own odds and bet against each other." Betfair is
a registered, legal bookmaker in the U.K. and is also licensed in Australia,
Austria, and Malta. For more information, visit: www.betfairpoker.com.
· During the play of this final table, Betfair offered a live betting
exchange on the outcome.
· *This year's World Series of Poker is the largest in history.* A
grand total of 59,767 players entered the 59 gold bracelet events held
during the 2008 calendar year. This number exceeds last year's total
entries, which was 54,288.
· *The figures are now final. This was the richest World Series of
Poker in history. A grand total of $190,238,576 in prize money awarded in
2008 makes this the richest event in all of sports.*
**
* *
Report by Nolan Dalla
*Note: Final table play begins on Thursday, 2 October at 1 pm on the main
stage inside the Empire Casino in London.*
* *
*The Final Table:*
* *
*Seat 1: Robin Keston*
*Hometown: London, England*
*Chip Count: 849,000*
Robin Keston is a 44-year-old retiree from London, England. This marks his
second occasion to make it to a WSOP final table. Last year, he made the
Pot-Limit Omaha finale in Las Vegas, finishing ninth. In fact, this his
ninth time to cash at the World Series. He first in-the-money finish came
all the way back in 1999. Keston admits that his favorite poker game is
Pot-Limit Omaha. To prove it, his youngest of three children is named
"Holly May Omaha." It remains to be seen if he wins today, whether or not
Keston will name his next child – "hold'em."
*Seat 2: Daniel Negreanu*
*Hometown: Las Vegas, NV (USA)*
*Chip Count: 1,002,000*
Negreanu currently holds four WSOP gold bracelets, more than any other
player at today's final table. He is 34-years-old and was born in
Canada. Negreanu
moved to Las Vegas about ten years ago and has become one of the world's
most popular poker players – through his strategy books, videos, seminars,
and numerous television appearances. "Kid Poker" won his fourth WSOP title
earlier this year in Las Vegas, where he triumphed in the $2,000 Limit
Hold'em event. Negreanu admits he is addicted to three things – poker,
golf, and......winning.
*Seat 3: Chris Elliott*
*Hometown: Alloa, England*
*Chip Count: 281,000*
33-year-old Chris Elliott might as well be called 'the Comeback Kid." When
this tournament still had 179 players remaining, Elliott was ranked 176th in
chips. Look at him now. This marks Elliott's live poker debut, after
making many final tables in online play. Elliott says he is a professional
gambler. Prior to living live on the edge, Elliott worked a driver. Today,
we shall see if Elliott races towards the checkered flag, with his first
major tournament victory, or wipes out.
*Seat 4: Bengt Sonnert*
*Hometown: Linkoping, Sweden*
*Chip Count: 385,000*
Bengt Sonnert is a 27-year-old professional poker player. This is his first
time to make it to a WSOP final table, although he has a number of
impressive finishes in other tournaments – including fourth place at the
2005 Monte Carlo Millions, and eighth place at the Five-Diamond World Poker
Classic a few years ago at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas. Sonnert faces
a major challenge today as the player currently ranked eighth in the chip
count.
*Seat 5: John Juanda*
*Hometown: Las Vegas, NV (USA)*
*Chip Count: 1,349,000*
John Juanda is a 37-year-old professional poker player, from Las Vegas, NV.
He currently owns three WSOP gold bracelets -- his last victory coming back
in 2003. Clearly, Juanda is way overdue for another coveted piece of poker
jewelry. Juanda was born in Indonesia. He was a teenager when he arrived
in the United States and received his MBA from the University of
Seattle. However,
the business Juanda knows best -- is poker. He won the Aussie Millions
$100,000 buy-in poker challenge, the World Poker Open Main Event, and has
accrued over $7 million in career lifetime earnings. And now, he is well on
his way to adding to his emerging status as a living poker legend. Juanda
is the chip leader coming into today's final table.
*Seat 6: Ivan Demidov*
*Hometown: Moscow, Russia*
*Chip Count: 1,006,000*
Ivan Demidov has set a poker record that will never be broken. With this
achievement, Demidov becomes the first player in history ever to make it to
a final table of the WSOP Main Event and the WSOP Europe Main Event. Even
more impressive, he did it in the same year. Demidov is a 27-year-old
former student turned professional poker player. Regardless of what happens
today, Demidov has already won over a million dollars at this year's
WSOP. Five
weeks from now, Demidov will take a seat in the biggest game of his life,
the 2008 world championship played in Las Vegas. We wish him success --
both here, and there.
*Seat 7: Toni Hiltunen*
*Hometown: Lahti, Finland*
*Chip Count: 386,000*
Toni Hiltunen is a 31-year-old poker pro from Finland. Should he win today,
Hiltunen would become the first Finnish WSOP gold bracelet winner ever in
history. Hiltunen is the proud father of a three-year-old daughter. He is
very concerned about international affairs and the state of the world, as he
has previously worked as a United Nations-sanctioned peacekeeper. Hiltunen
has also served as a volunteer firefighter. Hiltunen is certainly one of
the hottest players at today's final table. But he needs to turn up the
heat a bit on his opponents, as the player currently ranked seventh in the
chip count.
*Seat 8: Scott Fischman*
*Hometown: Las Vegas, NV (USA)*
*Chip Count: 732,000*
Two-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Scott Fischman is from Las Vegas, NV. He
grew up in New Jersey and used to work as a poker dealer before becoming a
poker professional. Fischman exploded on the scene at the 2004 WSOP when he
won both of his gold bracelets – one in HORSE and the other in No-Limit
Hold'em. Fischman has also written a highly-acclaimed poker on poker
strategy called, "Online Ace: A World Series of Poker Champion's Guide to
Mastering Internet Poker." Fischman has certainly played masterfully during
this tournament, as he arrives sixth in the chip count.
*Seat 9: Stanislav Alekhin*
*Hometown: Moscow, Russia*
*Chip Count: 1,278,000*
Stanislav Alekhin is one of two Russian players at today's final table –
which marks the first time in WSOP history this has happened. At the age of
23, he is the youngest player in today's finale. One might keep in mind
that last year here at WSOP-Europe, the youngest player at the final table
achieved victory. Prior to making poker his vocation, Alekhin was a
student. Currently, he is right behind John Juanda for the chip lead. Should
Alekhin win, this would be his first major tournament victory.
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