Event 1 - $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em World Championship | 2008 World Series of Poker

06-01-2008 14:04 UTC-8

Final Table Bios: Seat 2, Chris Bell (455,000)

[user25067]

A professional poker player from Raleigh, NC, Chris Bell came into the public eye in 2005 with his final table appearance at the WPT Mirage Poker Showdown, where he finished third. He's no stranger to a star-studded final table, having finished fifth in last year's $2,500 Omaha 8/Stud 8 event, which boasted a lineup that included Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Annie Duke, David Benyamine and 2007 WSOP POY Tom Schneider. This is Bell's sixth WSOP cash and his second final table.

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06-01-2008 14:02 UTC-8

Final Table Bios: Seat 1, Mike Sowers (675,000)

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[user25067]

Known as "SowersUNCC" online, 21-year-old Mike Sowers hails from Charlotte, NC. A prolific online player, Sowers won a combined total of $319,000 from four separate tournament wins last July-September with victories in the limit hold'em WCOOP $1,050 buy-in event on PokerStars, the $1,060 $250K guarantee on PokerStars, the $109 rebuy on PokerStars, and the $1K Monday on Full Tilt. His largest live cash came when he beat Tom "durrrr" Dwan heads up to win the $5,000 NLHE event at the Borgata Winter Open this past January for a $399,000 score. Most recently, he cashed in 17th place at the EPT San Remo. This is Sowers' first WSOP final table.

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06-01-2008 14:00 UTC-8

We'll Be Starting In a Bit

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[user37786]

The final table is scheduled to start at 3pm PST but what with getting the lighting right and zeroing the cameras and seating what's going to be a big crowd...it might be awhile before we get started. The bagged chips are sitting at the final table but the players have yet to make their grand appearance.

06-01-2008 05:21 UTC-8

Star Power Abounds in $10,000 World Championship Final

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[user33020]

Welcome to Day 3 of the 2008 WSOP's first event, $10,000 World Championship Pot-Limit Hold'em. Following a lengthy television-table bubble, which finally resolved when 10th-place finisher John Kabbaj was busted by Nenad Medic, the final nine shared congratulations and the prospect of a short night's sleep.

This afternoon's final table (which begins at 3pm, an hour later than originally scheduled), offers a showcase for several of the game's biggest stars. Andy Bloch, with 2,115,000 in chips, holds a lead of more than 900,000 over his nearest competitor, Nenad Medic, with Mike Sexton in a strong third place. The complete seat assignments and chip counts for the final are as follows:

Seat 1: Mike Sowers 675,000
Seat 2: Chris Bell 455,000
Seat 3: Amit Makhija 525,000
Seat 4: Patrik Antonius 230,000
Seat 5: Andy Bloch 2,115,000
Seat 6: Mike Sexton 1,130,000
Seat 7: Phil Laak 425,000
Seat 8: Nenad Medic 1,200,000
Seat 9: Kathy Liebert 285,000

Expect a big local turnout for this one, with ESPN's camera crews also on hand. We'll have the very latest reports from the final table throughout the day here on PokerNews.

Tags: WSOP