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2011 WSOP Player of the Year

Phil Hellmuth Goes for 12th WSOP Bracelet in $50k Players Championship

by Wicked Chops Entity on 7.6.2011 in Poker Tournaments | 2 comments

Fittingly, the 2011 WSOP Player of the Year race may be determined by Ben Lamb and Phil Hellmuth at the $50k Players Championship final table.

Tuesday at the 2011 WSOP almost had a pre-UIGEA buzz. The Amazon Room (and Pavillion) were packed. There was a lot of energy and anticipation as the Main Event was nearing (and yet another $1,500 field popped a big entrant number). And a massive rail started forming by the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, as Phil Hellmuth is making another run at bracelet #12.

Going into the money bubble, Hellmuth was on life-support as one of the smaller stacks. But he rebounded after the bubble burst (Robert Mizrachi being the bubble boy), and the Poker Brat ended the day fifth in chips with 2,245,000.

With nine remaining, high-stakes pro Minh Ly is the big stack with 5,215,000. He’s followed by Brian Rast with 2,660,000.  The rest of the field includes: Matt Glantz (2,535,000), George Lind (2,315,000), the aforementioned Hellmuth (2,245,000), Owais Ahmed (1,425,000), Ben Lambeer (1,180,000), Jason Lester/Al Krux (oooold joke of ours, 920,000), and Scott Seiver (725,000).

So the remaining nine are fittingly and for the most part a “who’s who” of who’s running hot right now. Brian Rast, Owais Ahmed, and Ben Lamb have won bracelets this year. Hellmuth (with two) and George Lind have runner-up finishes this year. And Scott Seiver has three cashes and a WPT Championship in May to his credit.

We’re not going to do the math math math, but there are 2011 WSOP Player of the Year implications for this event as well, with Lamb in first and Hellmuth in fourth. We’d imagine it’d take an early exit from Lamb and a win from Hellmuth to alter the rankings, but again, fuck numbers.

Follow the action at 3pm PT on WSOP.com here.

For more 2011 WSOP coverage, go here.

Finally, how much would a Hellmuth victory (and his general performance at this year’s WSOP) change your historical perspective of him as a player? Weigh in in the Comments section.

Tagged as: 2011 WSOP, 2011 WSOP Player of the Year, Ben Lamb, Phil Hellmuth, Poker News

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2011 WSOP: Ben Lamb Wins Bracelet, Big Stack in $10k Six-Max

by Wicked Chops Entity on 6.28.2011 in Poker Tournaments | no comments

Meet the recently rebranded Ben Lambeer.

The problem with the last name “Lamb” is it’s tough to sound like a badass stone-cold killer with it. It’s probably why Bill Laimbeer put “beer” at the end of his name. Bill Lamb (or Laim, whatever) doesn’t strike fear and ire in the hearts of men. Bill Laimbeer though instantly turned into the toughest white guy in the NBA. So given how much Ben Lamb is epicly crushing and pwning this year’s WSOP (it’s so so sick, one time!), we will refer to him as Ben LambeerTM from this stage forward.

On with the updates.

:: Event #42 ($10,000 PLO) – Four players returned, and, just a week after runner-upping the $3k PLO event, Ben Lambeer emerged as the winner, banking $814,436. The win moved Lambeer (see what a difference that makes?) to first in the 2011 WSOP Player of the Year rankings, a good 65 points ahead of Phil Hellmuth. Lambeer defeated Sami “LarsLuzak” Kelopuro ($503,173) heads-up for the title. Get full results here.

:: Event #43 ($1,500 NLH) - This event is like Rasputin. It just won’t go away. Down to heads-up, Nachman Berlin has a 3-to-1-ish chip advantage over Andre Akkari.

:: Event #44 ($2,500 Razz!) - The super-fun Razz! event is also down to heads-up play, with Stephen Su (1,655,000) ahead of Rep Porter (1,080,000). See who pulls out the Razz! title later today.

:: Event #45 ($1,000 NLH) - All eyes were on Phil Hellmuth, as he made yet another deep run in another event, ultimately bowing out in 28th place ($10,560). A total of 21 return today, with Canuck Jonathan Driscoll as big stack with 1,247,000. He’s followed by Kenneth Griffin (1,133,000). Antonio Esfandiari is fourth overall (663,000). Get full chip counts here.

:: Event #46 ($10,000 NLH Six-Handed) – Well, this event was a success. A total of 474 entered the $10k Six-Max, creating a first place prize of $1,158,481 (the WSOP’s first $1M+ prize of the year). Recent WPT winner Alan Sternberg ended as chip leader, stacked at 260,600. He’s followed by Kevin Saul with 242,600. And in third overall is Ben Lambeer with 223,000. Keeping up with the big name big stacks, in fourth through seventh are Joe Cada (208,800), Mike Sowers (203,900), Jake Cody (198,900), and McLean Karr (196,800). For all of you Bjorn Verbakel fans out there, he’s got 143,000. Get full chip counts here.

:: Event #47 ($2,500 Omaha/7Cs 8oB) – The final event of the day brought in 450 players, creating a first place prize of $255,959. With 201 surviving to Day 2, Abe Mosseri is chip leader, stacked at 64,200. He’s followed by Kevin Iacofano with 47,200. Get full chip counts here.

Tagged as: 2011 WSOP, 2011 WSOP Player of the Year, Ben Lamb, Poker News

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2011 WSOP Player of the Year Update

by Wicked Chops Entity on 6.19.2011 in Poker Tournaments | no comments

The 2011 WSOP started off badly for Juanda after almost getting beat up by James Bord, but he's since gotten over it and has dominated.

We’re either “at,” “around,” “or about” the halfway point, so let’s take a look at 2011 WSOP Player of the Year standings.

Coming into the weekend, John Juanda leads everyone with 336 points. Juanda has one win ($10k 2-7 Lowball) and another final table (sixth in the $2,500 8-Game Mix). He’s closely followed by Amir Lehavot with 330 points. Lehavot has a win in the $10k PLH event and a 21st in the $1,500 WSOP Shoot-Out.

Not far behind them are Sean Getzwiller (325), Steven Landfish (317.70), Viacheslav Zhukov (315.00), Jake Cody (313.13), Daniel Idema (309.50), and Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier (299.25).

In all, there are 15 people within 100 points of the lead, so this is still up in the air. It feels like the clubhouse leader, Juanda, would have the edge given his ability to go deep in more than just hold’em events, but like Asia’s “Only Time Will Tell,” only time will tell.

Get full 2011 WSOP Player of the Year standings here.

Tagged as: 2011 WSOP, 2011 WSOP Player of the Year, John Juanda, Poker News

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