Markus Lehmann Wins World Poker Tour Spanish Championship

An international setting for the World Poker Tour is nothing new, but the Spanish Championship would mark the first time the WPT had made the trip to Barcelona, and expectations were high. An estimated €3 million prize pool had been projected, an amount that would ultimately prove to be too ambitious. A total of 226 players paid the €7,500 buy-in, creating a total prize pool of €1,695,000, far short of Casino Barcelona's goal. Nonetheless, the turnout would be declared a success by event organizers, who feared that the big-name North American professionals would be wary of a trans-Atlantic flight for an inaugural event.

The starting field was cut in half, with most of the top players opting for a start on day one (B), perhaps to avoid the funk that comes with a mid-tournament day off or perhaps to cut down on travel costs. In total, 151 players would advance to day two, all with their eyes on the first-place prize of €537,000.

Day Two - Steve Sung Sets a Trap
Remarkable reads seemed to be a running theme throughout the tournament, as professional after professional showed why the same players make the final table time and time again.

Alex Jacob made a tough call for his tournament life against British professional Ben Grundy. Jacob raised with the 8 8 and was called in three spots. The flop came 10 7 6 and Grundy bet 2,500. In the Card Player Pro Blog, which features the Card Player tournament reporting staff talking to pros in real time about hands at CardPlayer.com, Jacob explained his thought process: "I put him on either a draw or a strong hand, wanting action, like a set or 9-8." Jacob was the lone caller, and the turn was the 10. Grundy bet 2,500, and once again Jacob made the call. The river was the J and Grundy moved all in. Jacob wrote, "If I were to call and lose, I'd have a little more than 2,000 left. After a long time thinking, and I mean long, Ben did not seem strong to me, and I called." Grundy said, "Good call," and mucked his cards without showing his hand. After Erik Seidel saw the pocket eights, he credited Jacob with one of the best calls he'd seen in a while.

Gus Hansen dominated the field for most of the day. He bullied and tormented his table, building a massive stack that appeared at one point untouchable. But a trap by Steve "MuGGyLiCiOuS" Sung cost him most of his stack and the chip lead. Sung limped in from early position for 2,400 and Hansen raised to 12,200 behind him. The blinds folded and Sung made the call. The flop came 9 5 3 and both players checked. The turn brought the 10 and Sung bet 16,500. Hansen deliberated for a minute, counted out a call, and then announced that he was all in. Sung counted down his remaining 98,000 and then announced that he was all in, showing pocket kings. Hansen reluctantly turned over his A 10 and both players awaited the river. The river was the 6 and Sung doubled up to 266,500, ending the day with 259,200, which was good for the chip lead. Hansen would hang on to finish the day with 71,200.

Day Three - Gus Hansen Rebounds to Finish as the Chip Leader
Once the bubble burst, Hansen made a great read of his own to put himself back into contention. On a board of 9 5 4 7, Raul Mestre bet 30,000 into a 45,000 pot from the button, and Hansen took a few minutes to make the call. The river was the 9 and Hansen checked. Mestre announced that he was all in, having Hansen's remaining 114,800 covered. Luckily for those watching, Hansen began to play back the hand out loud, talking himself and his audience through the details. He said, "They always have it, but it just doesn't make sense. I never call in this spot. I just never do it. This would be a sick way to bust, so sick. But I think I'll have to kill myself if I don't call here." Hansen was clearly agonizing over the decision, but couldn't release his read on Mestre. After a few more minutes, Hansen called and Mestre immediately mucked his hand. Hansen had the A 7 and he raked in the massive pot, putting him above 350,000 and propelling him to the final table.

Dutch favorite Steven Van Zadelhoff was the unfortunate TV-table bubble boy, going out to Sung. Sung limped in from early position for 12,000 and Van Zadelhoff raised from the button to 44,000. Sung made the call and the two saw a flop of J 9 2. Sung checked and Van Zadelhoff bet 60,000. Sung moved all in and Van Zadelhoff called all in immediately with pocket queens. However, Sung turned over pocket aces, and they held up when the turn and river came 9 4. Nam Le, Kirk Morrison, and J.C. Alvarado showed their support from the rail with loud chants of "Castle!" as their friend secured his first seat at a televised final table.

The final six and their chip counts looked like this:



Final Table - A Day of Fun and Games Makes Way for International Battle
After a day off that featured liar's poker, golf, flamenco dancers, and a night of gambling, the final six made their way to the heart of Casino Peralada, an open room in the castle, complete with tapestries and even a suit of armor for the final-table spotlight.

The final table was truly an international affair, with players from Austria, Denmark, Korea, France, Sweden, and Russia.

Vladimir Poleschuk - Sixth Place
On the 14th hand of play, Poleschuk was eliminated. He moved all in from the button for his last 120,000. Sung thought for a while before making the call with the A 2. Poleschuk showed the K 9 and needed help to survive, but the board came 5 3 2 10 A, eliminating the Russian in sixth place. For his efforts, Poleschuk earned €83,900 ($118,945).

Gus Hansen - Fifth Place
Hansen spent a few hands spreading his stack amongst the others, mostly to Lehmann. At this point it was anyone's game, with the remaining five players all within eight big blinds of each other. Over the next eight hands, the players traded chips back and forth, with four of them taking the chip lead. It would be Lacay who would finish at the top, at least for a while, with a series of raises and reraises that put a big gap between him and the players scraping to catch up.

Lacay picked up a big pot when he eliminated Hansen. Hansen raised from the small blind to 74,000 and Lacay called from the big blind. The flop came Q 6 4 and Hansen moved all in. Lacay immediately called, and before seeing his cards, Hansen said, "Well, I'm drawing dead." Lacay showed pocket aces and Hansen was way behind with the A 10. The turn and river came K 9, giving Lacay the pot and a massive chip lead. Hansen fell short of his fourth WPT title and finished in fifth place, earning €117,400 ($142,621).

Steve Sung - Fourth Place
For the second time at the final table, Sung fell victim to a cooler. He limped in from the button and Lacay completed from the small blind. Lehmann raised from the big blind to 90,000 and Sung moved all in. Lacay got out of the way and the two players revealed their cards. Sung had the K K, but Lehmann was ahead with the A A. The flop came J 9 8, providing no help to Sung, but the turn was the K, giving him the lead. Lehmann could still catch up on the river, and he did when the 10 gave him the nut flush. Sung finished in fourth place, taking home €117,400 ($166,438).

Christer Johansson - Third Place
Johansson would be the next to go. In a battle of the blinds, Lehmann completed from the small blind and Johansson checked. The flop came 10 8 7 and Johansson bet 50,000. Lehmann called, and the turn was the K. This time, Johansson bet 90,000, prompting Lehmann to raise to 300,000. Johansson moved all in and Lehmann immediately called with the K 5. Johansson showed the Q 10 and was behind. The river was the 6 and the former WPT winner was eliminated in third place, earning €151,000 ($214,073).

Heads Up - The Austrian vs. The Frenchman
Heads-up play lasted only 22 hands. The final hand came when Lehmann raised from the button to 125,000. Lacay reraised to 350,000 and Lehmann made the call. The flop came 8 5 3 and Lacay moved in. Lehmann immediately called with the K 8 and Lacay was behind with the A 5. The turn and river came 3 4, giving Lehmann the title, the trophy, and €554,987 ($786,805). Lehmann also was awarded a seat in the $25,000 WPT Championship event at Bellagio. For his runner-up finish, Lacay took back €295,200 ($418,505) home to France.