In Event #2 of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe, Jeffrey Lisandro captured his fifth gold bracelet, tied for the 12th highest total overall. Lisandro came out on top of the field in a ₤5,000 Pot Limit Omaha tournament that attracted 120 players. The bracelet marked Lisandro’s first non-Stud title and he took down £159,000.
The 2009 WSOP Player of the Year knocked off Joe Serock heads-up after the latter was all-in with Ks-5h-6h-7s against Lisandro’s As-6s-Qs-2c. The flop fell 9s-Jh-8d, preserving Lisandro’s lead in the hand with ace-high, and a running 2d-Js gave the four-time bracelet winner victory number five on the WSOP circuit.
The tournament marked the fourth time that the ₤5,000 Pot Limit Omaha event has been run as part of WSOP Europe. With the win, Lisandro joins Dario Alioto (2007), Theo Jorgensen (2008), and Jani Vilmunen (2009) as champs of the prestigious bracelet event in London. Over 20 former bracelet winners entered the contest, four of whom made the final table: Lisandro, Chris Bjorin, Willie Tann, and Jeff Madsen. According to WSOP officials, Lisandro refused to provide an interview following his win.
Tann was the tournament’s third place finisher. He was all-in before the flop with Ah-Kh-Kd-6h and up against Lisandro’s Ac-10c-7d-5h. Lisandro flopped a seven and a five for two pair. Then, he spiked another seven on the river for a boat and Tann collected £71,000 for his third place showing.
Madsen landed in fourth place after getting it in with a pair on a flop of Q-2-8. Serock called with kings in the hole and dodged a club flush draw on the river to knock out the wily youngster. The second event of WSOP Europe marked Madsen’s eighth in the money finish in a WSOP tournament. He was the Player of the Year in 2006 after scoring two pieces of hardware and recently concocted a fake trip to Israel as part of an elaborate April Fool’s Day ruse.
Rounding out the top five was WSOP November Niner John Racener, who picked up £39,000 for his fifth place run. Lisandro knocked him out as well, holding a pair of kings in the hole that held up for the win. Racener will hold the fourth largest chip stack when play resumes at the Rio in November with 19.1 million. Jonathan Duhamel will set out as the chip leader with more than three times that total.
Here’s how the top nine cashed out in Event #2 of the 2010 WSOP Europe schedule:
1. Jeffrey Lisandro – ₤159,514
2. Joe Serock – ₤98,262
3. Willie Tann – ₤71,184
4. Jeff Madsen – 52,542
5. John Racener – ₤39,486
6. Karl Mahrenholz – ₤30,192
7. Felipe “Mojave” Ramos – ₤23,478
8. Jeff Kimber – ₤18,564
9. Chris Bjorin – ₤14,916
Other players in the money included Erik Friberg (12th place), Sam “KingKobeMVP” Stein (14th place), and Steve Jelinek (15th place). Eighteen poker players walked away with cash overall. Last year, this tournament drew 154 players, meaning that attendance fell by 22%.
Three starting days in a £1,075 No Limit Hold’em tournament have played out since Friday. Among those in action today on Day 1C are Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler and Poker Hall of Fame Class of 2010 nominee Erik Seidel. A multitude of brand name pros have been knocked off in recent action, including WSOP Europe bracelet winner Phil Laak, Full Tilt Poker pro Justin “Boosted J” Smith, Allen Cunningham, and Surinder Sunar.
