Day 33 of the 2011 World Series of Poker has been one surprise after another. Here’s the recap:
Event 50: $5K Triple Chance No-Limit Hold’em
Eric Froehlich was a shoe-in for Event 50, but his short stack at the start of the day caused him to be knocked out early, something that none of the spectators anticipated. Antonin Teisseire of France, who called Froehlich when he went in with two million pre-flop, not only knocked the favourite out of the game but also took home his first WSOP cash– a hefty $825,604 for the first place win.
Event 51: $1.5K Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better
When David Singontiko sat down at the final table for Event 51, he, fellow American John Reiss, and Brazil’s Marco Oliveira were the only players who had not cashed at the WSOP before. While none of the other final players had won a bracelet before, it was still a surprise when the recent college graduate who had to ask his father for a week off of work to compete in the tournament for the very first time, won first place and $268,235. Singontiko racked up the majority of the eliminations at the table (including second place finisher Michael Yee), with some help from Jeffrey Gibralter, who came in third.
Event 52: $2.5K Mixed Hold’em (Limit/No Limit)
Matt Matros became the only repeat performer of Day 33 by snagging a second WSOP Bracelet in Event 52. His first WSOP win came a year earlier at last year’s $1.5K Limit Hold’em event, and since he’s been making final tables at the World Series of Poker since 2005, it came as no surprise that Matros was a serious contender for these two wins. Matros, a poker coach and author of a book on poker, has almost two million dollars in live tournament winnings, and today’s event added another $303,501 to that total. Matros beat out a final table full of players with several WSOP cashes under their belts (although he was the only one to have won a bracelet before), including Noah Boeken and Jonathan Lane.
Event 53: $1K Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship
The Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship ended on Day 33 in a bout of upheaval, as one of the 14 players remaining in this event is a man. Jonathan Epstein is one of about a dozen men who have decided to take advantage of the fact that a change to Nevada’s laws, which will make it legal for casinos to ban men from entering women’s tournaments, has yet to go into effect, even though it’s made it onto the books. In a sport largely dominated by men, women struggle to make a name for themselves, so in the event that Epstein, who currently sits in 7th place with about half the chips of Valerie McColligan, currently in first place with a hefty lead, were to win this tournament, he could rest assured that there would be many people who would not be amused by his audacity.
Event 54: $1K No-Limit Hold’em
This final $1K No-Limit Hold’em event managed to pull in almost 2,000 entrants, despite coinciding with the play for the infinitely popular $50K Poker Player’s Championship. Hoyt Corkins, Andy Black, Dan Heimiller, Men Nguyen, Brian Cantu, and Antonio Esfandiari were among the biggest names to enter the event, but at the end of Day 1a, only two-time bracelet winner Cantu was among the 275 entrants still standing.
Event 55: $50K Poker Player’s Championship
Professional players flock to the $50K Poker Player’s Championship, creating a small field (128 players) of some of the most impressive poker players in the world. After 10 hours, only five players were eliminated, including Phil Laak and Eli Elezra. This five-day event is anyone’s game at this point, but the competition has been (and will continue to be) absolutely fierce.