 |
Having proudly watched on as his son Jeff blazed his way into the November Nine in Vegas, Barry Shulman made it a family affair last month by taking down a World Series final table of his own.
In many respects, the final table of the 2009 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event presented by Betfair was a journalist’s worst nightmare – though admittedly, it was for all the right reasons.
Much like a Premier League manager with an embarrassment of riches sitting on the bench, the assorted scribes of the poker press were literally spoilt for choice when it came to selecting the key thread in the rich tapestry of stories that formed the backdrop to this year’s final nine.
Quite simply, the grand finale to the third WSOPE to be held at London’s Casino at the Empire had it all. From the presence of not one, but two of this year’s November Nine at the final table to the repeat heroics of one of poker’s all-time greats, Daniel Negreanu – who was making his second Main Event final in as many years – this year’s tournament had more angles to it than an A-Level geometry class.
However, though the imposing figures of James Akenhead and Antoine Saout at the final table may have captured the imaginations of anyone hoping to see poker’s first ‘Main Event double’ of WSOP and WSOPE triumphs, it was actually a player with an altogether different connection to this year’s November Nine that ultimately emerged victorious from the pre-dawn chaos in London’s West End.
Having seen his outspoken son Jeff already make the WSOP final table over in Vegas, it was over to the senior member of the Shulman poker dynasty, Barry, to lay down the marker for the family in major tournaments – and it was a challenge that the Card Player magazine chief executive rose to with considerable aplomb by powering his way to victory against Negreanu in the epic three-hour heads-up battle.
With four-time bracelet winner Negreanu entering the final stretch holding a 3-to-2 chip lead over the 63-year-old former Stud 8-or-better World Champion, many expected the affable Canadian to make light work of Shulman heads-up. However, after taking the chip lead, losing it and regaining it for a second and decisive time, Shulman was eventually able to silence the rail and shock the poker world by securing an underdog victory of truly epic proportions.
Having overturned his deficit in slightly fortuitous fashion after cracking Negreanu’s pocket aces with the nut flush draw, Shulman saw his newfound chips quickly fritter away as the tenacious Canadian fought back from the brink of elimination to level the scores. However, Negreanu’s resurgence was stopped emphatically as one of the most dramatic hands in recent memory proved the catalyst that propelled Shulman to victory, £801,603 and his second WSOP gold bracelet.
With the two combatants sharing a 5d-8d-Jc flop, Shulman led out for 300,000 only to run into a Negreanu re-raise to the tune of 600,000 more. The bet wasn’t enough to shake Shulman though, and he promptly announced all-in to leave his illustrious opponent facing a tricky decision. After turning to the rail for some inspiration, Negreanu eventually made the call and tabled Qc-Jd for top pair, but to his dismay, his hand trailed the As-Ah of Shulman going to the turn.
However, a miraculous Jh on fourth street turned the hand on its head prompting an eruption of cheers from the hardcore Negreanu support present at the Empire, but those very cheers turned to shocked gasps of astonishment as – with just one card between him and WSOPE glory – the Canadian’s hopes were crushed as the river card rolled out a decisive and lead-restoring Ad.
The blow left Negreanu staring down the barrel of a 4-to-1 deficit, and it was no surprise when his remaining few chips found their way into the middle a few hands later. While it’s hard to describe the final hand of a WSOPE Main Event final table as an anti-climax, after the high drama of their previous clash, a pre-flop all-in with Negreanu’s 4s-4d trailing to Shulman’s 10s-10c didn’t even offer spectators a sweat as a 10d on the flop sealed matters with little more than a whimper.
Shulman certainly won’t have minded, however, as the win secured him the coveted title and further enhanced his family’s reputation for being a genuine force in the poker world. Though understandably bitterly disappointed, Negreanu, meanwhile, could take some consolation from the fact that the £495,589 he earned for his runner-up finish pushed him ahead of Phil Ivey in the all-time live tournament winnings list with over $12 million in career cashes.
Of course, Shulman’s victory was made all the more impressive by the quality of the opposition that he had to overcome en route to his second gold bracelet. In addition to himself and Negreanu, there were four other bracelet winners among the final nine, including up-and-coming Americans Matt Hawrilenko and Jason Mercier, journeyman pro Chris Bjorin and London legend Praz Bansi.
It was the latter member of this quartet who received the most support from the rail up until he unfortunately exited in third place after twice being all-in and ahead against Shulman. With the poker gods denying him both pots, Bansi was ultimately forced to make a move, but his timing couldn’t have been worse as his Qh-2h ran smack-bang into Negreanu waiting in the small blind with As-Qd. Despite the calls for a deuce from the locals, no help for Bansi meant he departed £360,887 better off.
Before him, Mercier had exited in fourth place after running pocket sevens into pocket nines all-in pre-flop, with Negreanu again playing the role of executioner. Mercier had arrived at the final table as chip leader, but his death-or-glory style of play ensured that his stack yo-yoed wildly throughout the evening and he was ultimately left disappointed but significantly richer after collecting £267,267.
Incredibly, the Negreanu knock-out show had started some time before with the eliminations of luckless Finn Markus Ristola – whose Kd-10d sucked-out out on the turn only to be re-sucked when Negreanu’s Ac-5c spiked an ace on the river – in fifth place and Chris Bjorin in sixth, who got the last of his money in dominated with As-Jh versus Kid Poker’s Ad-Qc. French pro and November Niner Antoine Saout also fell to the killer Canadian after his pocket fives were cracked by a rivered nut-flush.
Shulman aside, the only player not to fall foul of Negreanu at the final table was American Matt Hawrilenko, whose shove-happy approach ultimately saw him looked up by Shulman holding Ad-Qc, with his meagre Jd-7h failing to improve to send him packing in eighth place. The day’s first casualty, meanwhile, was fan favourite James Akenhead, who failed to really get anything going on the final table and ultimately lost out to Negreanu’s pocket kings with As-Qh.
And so, with another action-packed Main Event wrapping up in the capital, it is Barry Shulman who scores one for the media industry with a hard-worked but deserved victory against some of the game’s leading lights. With one victory for the family already in the bag, Shulman senior signed off an impressive win with these words of encouragement for his son come November: “I did my part, now you do your part. It’s your turn to win.”
No pressure, Jeff.
Best of the Rest: WSOPE bracelet round-up
Kelly Keeps Cool to Bag Bracelet
Fresh from his bracelet winning exploits over in the States, in-form Brit JP Kelly got England’s World Series of Poker Europe off to a flyer by taking down the opening £1,000 No Limit Hold’em event.
Outlasting a field of 608 runners to ultimately defeat compatriot Fabien Dunlop in a topsy-turvy heads-up encounter, Kelly bagged himself his second bit of bling this year and a cool £136,803 in first place prize money.
Despite starting heads-up play with a 3-to-1 chip deficit, Kelly kept his cool to eventually take the decisive lead despite a series of setbacks and ultimately ran out deserved winner. Not one to get caught up in his own hype, however, Kelly’s first stop on winning the event was the bar – where it’s presumed he remained for some time.
Cajelais Crowned Mixed-Game Master
With a small but perfectly formed field turning out for the £2,500 Pot Limit Hold’em/Omaha event, it was Canadian Erik Cajelais who turned in a dominant final table performance to cruise to the Event #2 title.
After knocking out crowd favourite Robin Keston in third place, Cajelais entered heads-up play against Mats Gavatin with almost one million in chips to the Swede’s 180,000 – and it was a lead that soon proved decisive as a pre-flop Omaha all-in saw Cajelais river a full house to bag his first gold bracelet.
Having held the chip-lead for much of the closing stages of play, it was no more than the Canadian deserved, and the £104,667 he received for finishing first was adequate reward for his mixed-game master-class.
Vilmunen Pips the Professor to PLO Title
Boasting one of the toughest fields ever seen in a non-Hold’em bracelet event, the £5,000 Pot Limit Omaha tournament was eventually won by Finland’s Jani Vilmunen after a cold-deck hand saw him defeat Howard Lederer heads-up.
With the pair sharing an all-action 6d-7d-8h flop, the crowd eagerly gathered round as all the money went in. Lederer turned over Ah-Qh-5c-4s for the flopped straight, but it was second-best to Vilmunen’s Qs-9h-7h-10d for a bigger straight and the Professor was drawing dead by the turn.
Vilmunen took home £204,048 for his stellar efforts and will no doubt be delighted to come out on top of a final table that also included Omaha aficionados Ross Boatman, Roberto Romanello, Jeff Kimber and Robert Williamson III. |
