2013 WSOP Europe Day 8: Roger Hairabedian Defeats Erik Seidel Heads Up in Event #5
On Friday, the eighth day of the 2013 World Series of Poker Europe, hometown favorite Roger Hairabedian became the first French player to win multiple WSOP bracelets and the first player to win two WSOPE events, defeating Erik Seidel heads up in Event #5: €2,200 No-Limit Hold’em. He earned €148,820 for the victory along with the hardware.
Hairabedian now has over $700,000 in career WSOP earnings and over $4.4 million in career lifetime tournament earnings.
“It’s a very good thing for me and all of the French players,” Hairabedian said after the victory. “It’s the most prestigious thing in poker to win a bracelet.”
Event #5: €2,200 No-Limit Hold’em
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roger Hairabedian | France | €148,820 |
| 2 | Erik Seidel | USA | €92,003 |
| 3 | Kevin Song | USA | €67,118 |
| 4 | Matan Krakow | Israel | €49,784 |
| 5 | Erwann Pecheux | France | €37,502 |
| 6 | Mike Watson | Canada | €28,683 |
| 7 | Max Greenwood | Canada | €22,258 |
Day 3 of Event #5 began with seven players, and the two Canadians were the first players to hit the rail. According to WSOP.com, Greenwood exited on the 13th hand when his K♦9♥ couldn’t improve against Seidel’s A♠5♣. The flop produced all blanks, and the turn was the A♣, leaving Greenwood drawing dead.
Two hands later, his friend and fellow countryman Mike Watson was also eliminated by Seidel. “Sir Watts” three-bet all in for 16.5 big blinds from the small blind, and Seidel, the original raiser, called. It was a classic race with Watson’s A♠K♥ pitted up against Seidel’s 7♠7♦, and the wired pair of sevens held as the flop, turn, and river came 3♥5♦J♦8♦8♠.
France’s Erwann Pecheux was eliminated in fifth place two dozen hands later. He moved all in from the hijack, his countryman Hairabedian snap-called in the big blind, and the two each rolled over a big pair. Unfortunately for Pecheux, Hairabedian’s Q♥Q♦ dominated his J♥J♣, and the pocket queens held up.
Despite hitting a fortuitous flush against Kevin Song, Matan Krakow was the next player to fall. The Israeli three-bet all in with 7♦7♥ and Hairabedian, the player who opened, called with A♣10♣. The bracelet winner hit a 10 on the turn, and Krakow was off to the cage to collect his fourth-place prize of €49,784.
Seidel was nearly eliminated in third place by Hairabedian after falling in the chip counts, but was saved by the river. The American four-bet all in with 6♦6♠, and the Frenchman, who was the three-bettor, called with A♥Q♠. The first card to appear on the flop was the A♣, and it was followed by the 8♦ and J♥. The 10♥ on the turn changed nothing for Seidel, who started to get out of his seat, but the 6♣ spiked on the river to give him a set. Suddenly, Seidel was the chip leader with three players remaining.
Song was less fortunate with pocket sixes, four-betting all in after a three-bet from Seidel. Seidel snap called with pocket queens, and Song didn’t even receive a sweat as the five community cards were all bricks.
Seidel began heads-up play with a more than two-to-one chip advantage, but Hairabedian evened things up quickly and then flipped the script. During the 70-hand heads-up match, Hairabedian won all of the big pots, including the final one. Seidel called a four-bet shove from Hairabedian holding 8♣8♦, but the Frenchman’s K♠K♦ had him crushed. Seidel flopped a gutshot draw when the dealer fanned 6♠5♠9♥, but the turn and river bricked J♦, 2♦ respectively, and the match was over.
This is the third time Seidel has finished runner-up in a bracelet event. In 1991 he finished second to Byron Wolford in a $5,000 limit event, and in 1988 he finished second to Johnny Chan in the Main Event.
Congratulations to Hairabedian for winning his second bracelet in as many years.
Event #6: €3,250 Mixed Max Pot-Limit Omaha
After nearly 10 hours of play on Friday, the final four of Event #6 is set. Entering the semi-finals as the top seed is chip leader Ludovic Lacay, who bagged 667,500. Lacay has more than half the chips in play, and a six-to-one advantage over his opponent, WSOP bracelet winner Vitaly Lunkin. Lunkin, who won the 40th Anniversary $40,000 Event at the 2009 WSOP, finished the day with 112,500 chips.
The other semi-final will be played between Noah Schwartz (179,000) and Jyri Merivirta (183,500). This is Schwartz’s second trip to the heads-up stage of a mixed max event at the 2013 WSOPE.
Each of the four players is guaranteed €34,500, while the runner-up will earn €64,800 and the winner will take home €104,580 along with the gold bracelet.
Event #6 Semi-Finals
| Player | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| Ludovic Lacay | France | 667,500 |
| Vitaly Lunkin | Russia | 112,500 |
| Jyri Merivirta | Finland | 183,500 |
| Noah Schwartz | USA | 179,000 |
Day 2 kicked off with 29 players, and leading the pack was Finnish pro Aku Joentausta. Only the top 15 players would be guaranteed a min-cash of €6,700, and several pros fell before the money bubble burst. According to WSOP.com, Daniel Laidlaw’s top two pair was no good against Tommy Vedes’ flopped set of threes, but Vedes was also eliminated by Raj Vohra. Dan Kelly, Barry Greenstein, Shawn Buchanan, and Philipp Gruissem also exited before the bubble.
Gruissem got his money in great with A♣A♥9♦7♣ on a flop of 4♣10♣3♠, and Manuel Bevand was well behind with J♥10♦9♥8♦. The turn was the 9♠, giving Bevand two pair, and the 5♠ bricked off on the river.
The bubble burst when Frenchman Bruno Fitoussi ran K♦Q♥10♦10♠ into the K♠K♣J♥J♦ of Stephen Chidwick. The Brit’s hand held up as the board came K♥9♥6♣2♥2♦, and Fitoussi wished the players luck before exiting.
Per usual, there were a flurry of eliminations once the players reached the money. Konstantin Puchkov, Dan Shak, Mihails Morozovs, and Padraig Parkinson all received a minimum cash. The first player to exit after the pay jump was Bevand. He was all in with a pair of aces and a gut-shot draw against Jeremy Joseph, who had backdoor flush and straight draws along with a gut-shot draw of his own. The turn and river both paired one of Joseph’s cards, giving him trips, and Bevand was eliminated.
The first and only seven-handed table of the day was formed with the eliminations of Player of the Year leader Matthew Ashton, who padded his lead, and the aforementioned Chidwick.
Bracelet winner Phil Laak exited in seventh place, earning €16,000. He was all in and at risk with Q♠10♦9♠9♦ on a flop of A♠5♠6♦, and Joseph had him at risk with A♥Q♣9♣5♥. Joseph filled up when the 5♣ fell on the turn, and a meaningless 4♠ completed the board.
Joentausta was the next player to go, getting the majority of his chips in the middle with a turned set of aces against Schwartz, who turned a wheel and had a redraw to a flush. The river didn’t pair the board, and the Finn was by Lunkin soon after.
Five-handed play lasted over an hour, and Lacay took advantage of the heads-up bubble. After winning a big pot off of Joseph without a showdown, Lacay continued to add chips, and suddenly had more than half of the chips in play. Joseph never rebounded from the big pot, and was eliminated in fifth place. He called all-in with A♦K♦9♠2♠ on a board of 10♠3♦8♠, and Lacay rolled over K♣10♣8♥7♠ for two pair. It was all over when the 8♣ turned, giving Lacay a full house, and Joseph made a meaningless flush when the A♠ fell on the river.
The four survivors will return on Saturday at noon local time to play until there is a champion. The final match will be streamed on WSOP.com.
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