Het is zover: De finaletafel van het World Series of Poker Main Event! Overruim drie uur beginnen acht Amerikanen en een Hongaar aan de belangrijkstefinaletafel van hun leven. Voor de winnaar ligt $8.531.853 klaar (Go Rob Salaburu). Definaletafel is te bekijken via livestream (niet van PokerCity, maar we zijn in onderhandeling over de uitzending van volgend jaar).
Het $10.000 WSOP Main Event begon op 7 juli 2012 met 6.598 spelers. Daarzijn er nog negen van over. Geen vrouwen aan de finaletafel, want ElisabethHille en Gaelle Baumann vlogen eruit als 11e en 10e. Eeuwigzonde. Ondanks deelnemers uit 83 landen, zijn er aan de FT slechts twee vertegenwoordigd,de USA en Hongarije.
De langste ‘dinnerbreak’ in een pokertoernooi ooit zit er bijna op, want 3,5maand na het bereiken van de finaletafel, wordt deze ook daadwerkelijk gespeeld(wij bij PokerCity stellen voor dat eens te doen met de €330 FO in Venlo).
De livestream is straks vermoedelijk hier te vinden. Zo niet, kijk dan even op wsop.com en klik op de livestream banner. Om 15:00uNederlandse tijd start de finaletafel volgens de teller op de website van deWorld Series of Poker. We weten op dit moment niet of de livestream gratis is (zoals bij PokerCity altijd), of dat er een paar dollars moeten worden afgetikt. Gaan we merken!
De deelnemers
We hebben natuurlijk allemaal de uitzendingen van het WSOP Main Eventgezien. Zo niet, hier vind je alle afleveringen. Hieronder (in het Engels dank aan WSOP) korte biografieën van de finalisten. Hebje ze liever in het Nederlands, klik dan even hier.
Veel plezier met de livestream! Komt die flop!
RussellThomas (USA)- 24,800,000
On and awayfrom the felt, Russell Thomas’ life is all about numbers. A poker enthusiastsince he first picked up the game while attending Temple University, Thomas isactually an amateur player who works a day job crunching numbers as an actuaryat Aetna Insurance. The 24 year-old Connecticut resident is currently on aleave of absence from his actuarial duties until after the final table, anddepending on how he does at the final table, poker may go from a part timeendeavor to a full time career. Even if he does return to work, his cardplaying hobby will likely continue to be profitable. Thomas final tabled a WSOPevent last year, made a deep run in the 2011 WSOP Main Event, and already hasaround $150,000 in live tournament earnings outside of this final tableappearance.
JacobBalsiger (USA)- 13,115,000
If JakeBalsiger wins the 2012 WSOP Main Event, he won’t have much time to celebrate. He’llhave to hurry back to Tempe, Arizona to get back in the classroom and preparefor finals at Arizona State University. The 21 year-old college senior wouldhave a lot to celebrate if he managed to take the title too, as he would becomethe youngest Main Event Champ in WSOP history. The Political Science majorcould surpass Joe Cada as the youngest winner, but he will need to chip up todo so, as he starts the final table eighth in chips. Just because he isinexperienced doesn’t mean Balsiger can’t post results though. He already hastwo WSOP cashes to his credit and a couple of years of online poker experiencethat helped supplement his income while he was in school.
JeremyAusmus (USA) – 9,805,000
JeremyAusmus may be the shortest stack at the table, but when it comes to experienceon the felt, he is definitely a proverbial big stack. With eight years of pokerexperience, the now 33 year-old poker pro already has 13 WSOP cashes to hiscredit, an impressive eight of which came over the course of this summer. Originallyfrom Colorado, Ausmus now resides in Las Vegas with his wife Adria and theirdaughter Calia. There is also another baby on the way, so Ausmus will beexpecting something more than just a payday in a few weeks, as his wife is dueat basically the same time as the Main Event final table.
Steven Gee(USA)- 16,860,000
At 57years-old, Steve Gee is the elder statesman of this year’s Main Event finaltable, but Gee will attest that he is going to be just as tough as his youngercompetitors. The Sacramento, California poker player left his job as a Managerof Software Project for the California Public Employees Retirement System toplay poker full time, which was a decision that paid off in a WSOP goldbracelet back in 2010. Gee trumped a field of more than 3,000 people to claimvictory and more than $470,000. While the bracelet didn’t come until two yearsago, Gee has been a part of the poker world for several decades, cutting hischops playing Lowball at the California poker room The Oaks back in the 1970s.
Greg Merson(USA)- 28,725,000
When thefinal nine players reconvene in Vegas at the end of October, Greg Merson willbe playing for more than just a Main Event gold bracelet. He will be playingfor 2012 WSOP Player of the Year honors. Shortly before the 2012 WSOP MainEvent got underway, Merson picked up one of the most coveted gold bracelets ofthe year, not to mention a seven-figure payday, by winning the $10,000Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Championship event. That win plus three othercashes and this final table gave the 24 year-old the POY lead at summer’s end. Thebracelet win also gives the Maryland native the affirmation that his life wason track after struggling with addiction the past few years. Things are lookingup for Merson, and a second bracelet might end his 2012 on an even higher note.
JesseSylvia (USA)- 48,715,638
At onepoint on Day 7, 26 year-old Jesse Sylvia was down to around 4 million chips andnear the bottom of the chip counts. The poker pro who hails from Martha’sVineyard and currently splits his time between Massachusetts and Las Vegas wenton quite the tear as the field went from 27 to the final nine though and hewill begin final table action with a chip-leading 43,875,000. Sylvia will takehis seat at the final table with a mountain of chips and a friend, as he usedto room with fellow October Niner Russell Thomas, who actually helped Sylviareally sharpen his game. Sylvia hopes to parlay his big stack into a big paydayand continue his poker career. Sylvia wants to stay involved in the game, buthe does have another aspiration—to move to Los Angeles and get involved inmoviemaking.
RobertSalaburu (USA)- 15,155,000
A 27year-old professional poker player hailing from Texas, Rob Salaburu has been making hisliving off the game since shortly after graduating from high school. Thanks toa mix of online poker and cash game success on the Southern poker circuit,Salaburu is able to keep playing the game he loves. Though he is an experiencedplayer, this is actually Salaburu’s first career WSOP cash. In previous years,he attended the Series, but played a limited amount of events opting insteadfor the cash game tables. While his live tournament poker experience islimited, Salaburu has plenty of skilled friends to get advice from, includingBritish poker Stephen Chidwick, who was on hand to rail Salaburu during thelate stages of the Main Event this summer.
AndrasKoroknai (Hungary)- 29,375,638
Last year’sMain Event final table was an international affair. This year, Hungarian AndrasKoroknai is the only non-American at the table. Koroknai can certainly competewith his North American counterparts though. He begins the final table secondin chips with almost 30 million. He is also one of the most accomplishedplayers at the table with nearly $2 million in career earnings, including a WPTtitle earned at the 2010 LA Poker Classic at Commerce. The 30 year old clearlyknows his poker, but one thing he will be working on before the final table ishis English. The Hungarian plans to study the language more than the poker inpreparation for the October Nine festivities. Though he feels the languagebarrier, Koroknai doesn’t think much about his status as the lone European atthe table, though he does admit it would be nice to bring home the first MainEvent bracelet for the small country of Hungary.
MichaelEsposito (USA)- 16,260,000
If anyoneunderstands that the WSOP Main Event is a marathon and not a sprint, it is 44year-old Michael Esposito. The New York-based commodity broker has experiencewith contests of endurance, having competed in several triathlons. Espositocites discipline as a character trait that helps in both endeavors. ClearlyEsposito has a disciplined poker game. At a table populated with severalprofessional players, Esposito is a true amateur, one who only plays poker acouple of times a year. Even though he only plays a limited amount of pokerbecause his job and triathlon training don’t allow him to play in five andsix-day long poker tounaments, Esposito does have two WSOP cashes under hisbelt, including a 540th place finish in the 2006 Main Event.
