Day Three in Barcelona at WPT Spanish ChampionshipFinal Six Are Set to Play at Castle Peralada on Tuesdayby Ryan Lucchesi | Published: Oct 14, 2007 | |
 
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Steve "Snooze Button" Sung
Thirty-eight players took their seats at the beginning of day three at the World Poker Tour Spanish Championship. The problem was that 39 players still remained, and the vacant chair belonged to none other than the chip leader, Steve Sung. Sung eventually made his way onto the tournament floor about 40 minutes after play began. He said, "I thought we were at the Castle, already," a sheepish grin playing across his face. Eric Hershler, the 2006 WPT Los Angeles Poker Classic champion, was the first to make his exit on day three quite early, and he was followed to the rail a short time later by Ted Lawson. Lawson was eliminated by the quad tens of Erik Seidel. The money was reached just before one and a half levels of play concluded, but 28 players still remained after the first break, and hand-for-hand play pushed forward. It took another half hour after the break to lose the bubble boy, Andrey Zaichenko. He was tag-teamed by Barny Boatman (who doubled up through Zaichenko) and Gus Hansen (who busted him) on consecutive hands.
Now that everyone was 10,050 euros richer, business continued as usual, and the following eight players were eliminated before the dinner break:
27th - Richard Da Silva
26th - Guillame De La Gorce
25th - Lino Cunha
24th - Paul Babise
23rd - Henrik Gwinner
22nd - Mark Telscher
21st - Barny Boatman
20th - Kees Alblas
The Gus Hansen Show
It was during this time that Gus Hansen emerged as the big dog in the tournament. He started his climb to the top with an incredible call. 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 prior to making the call. The river was the 9 and Hansen checked. Mestre announced that he was all in, having Hansen's remaining 114,800 covered. Hansen began to play back the hand, talking himself and the table through the details. "It doesn't make any sense. 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. 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 minutes, he cleared the tension by asking how much money he would make if he folded and moved up one spot. Boatman, who was seated to his right, commented that if Hansen kept on talking, he'd move up three spots. After a few more minutes, Gus called. Mestre gave him a stunned look, asking if he really called. Hansen said yes and Mestre immediately mucked his hand. Hansen showed A 7 and won a massive pot, putting him at 353,000. Mestre was knocked down to 100,000.
A few hands later, Mestre busted out of the tournament in 19th place. Action was down to two tables with the remaining 18 players, and that's where it stayed for quite some time. Hansen continued to climb the leader board and doubled up in another monster pot. Hansen raised to 16,500 and Pascal Perrault reraised to 56,500. Hansen made the call and the flop came J 10 7
. Hansen checked to Perrault, who moved all in for about 300,000. Hansen called instantly for his last 280,000, showing J 10. Perrault looked devastated as he flipped over pocket aces. The turn and river were the 5 and K, and Hansen took the chip lead with 710,000.
With Hansen now firmly in control of the leader board, two familiar faces hit the rail next:
18th - Melissa Hayden
17th - Steve "MrSmokey1" Billirakis
The flood gates opened at this point, and five players were eliminated in the course a half hour:
16th - Mikhail Makarov
15th - Pascal Perrault
14th - Pasi Heinanen
13th - Robin Larsson
12th - Guerfi Mesbah
The flow of the tournament merged back into the slow lane for a while, before the Great Dane got up to his old tricks: Hansen opened a pot for 26,000 and Juha Helppi called from the big blind. The flop came K 7 3, Hansen bet 26,000, and Helppi raised to 60,000. Hansen reraised to 226,000, which was enough to put Helppi all in, and Helppi called with K J for a pair of kings. Hansen showed pocket aces for the lead, and the last two cards came Q and A. Hansen rivered a set of aces to win the pot and increased his chip lead to about 962,000. Helppi was eliminated in 11th place, earning 20,150 euros (approximately $28,577). Action was now down to two five-handed tables, and everyone in the room hung on every card to see who would make the final table.
Seidel's Wild Ride
When the hammer fell, the crowd swarmed to table No. 16, where they bunched together and craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the cards. They were a little too quick on the trigger, because Christer Johansson hit a three-outer with all his chips at risk against Seidel. Johansson spiked a 10 on the board to rescue his dominated A-10 against the A-K of Seidel. The hand put Seidel down to 38,000, and the writing was on the wall, the final table was coming very soon. However, the details of the final hand were a little different than everyone expected.
Hansen opened the action for 28,000 from middle position, and Jean-Baptist Tomi raised to 95,000 from the small blind. Seidel called all in from the big blind and Johansson moved all in over the top of Tomi. Hansen folded, and the action was back to Tomi, who made the all-in call. With both his opponents covered, Johansson flipped over A K. Tomi showed down A J while Seidel flipped up 3 2. The board rolled out 8 5 4 9 2 and Tomi was eliminated on the hand in 10th place (20,150 euros), while Seidel tripled up with a pair of twos.
Here is how things looked when the final nine players took their seats:
Seat No. 1 - Vladimir Poleschchuk - 96,000
Seat No. 2 - Christer Johansson - 870,000
Seat No. 3 - Erik Seidel - 117,000
Seat No. 4 - Steve Sung - 400,000
Seat No. 5 - Gus Hansen - 722,000
Seat No. 6 - Ludovic Lacay - 416,000
Seat No. 7 - Steve Van Zadelhoff - 299,000
Seat No. 8 - Markus Lehmann - 278,000
Seat No. 9 - Nick Panopoulos - 199,000
Continuing his trend, Hansen was active in the early going of the final table, but it wasn't until hand No. 15 that things really heated up. Sung raised from middle position to 32,000, Hansen called from late position, and Nick Panopoulos called from the big blind. The flop came 10 7 5, Panopoulos bet 50,000, Sung folded, and Hansen moved all in. Panopoulos called with J 10 for a pair of tens, but Hansen showed Q 10 for a pair of tens with a higher kicker. The turn and river brought the 10 and 2. Hansen won the pot with trip tens, queen kicker, and Panopoulos was eliminated in ninth place, earning 33,500 euros (approximately $47,510).
Three hands later, Hansen limped from early position for 12,000, Vladimir Poleschchuk limped from the button, and Johansson completed from the small blind. Seidel then moved all in from the big blind for 115,000, Hansen made the call, and everyone else mucked. Seidel showed down A 4 and Hansen turned up 10 9. The board hit the table Q 9 4 9 9 and Hansen won the pot with quad nines. Seidel was eliminated in eighth place, earning 50,300 euros (approximately $71,335). Hansen was now close to becoming the first million-dollar man of the tournament, and seven players remained. One last player had to hit the rail before things ended for the night.
Steve vs. Steve
On the final hand of the night, Steve Van Zadelhoff had the button and Steve Sung limped from early position for 12,000. Van Zadelhoff raised from the button to 44,000 and Sung called. The flop came J 9 2, Sung checked, and Van Zadelhoff bet 60,000. Sung moved all in and Van Zadelhoff called immediately with pocket queens. However, Sung showed down pocket aces for a higher pair. Nam Le, Kirk Morrison, and J.C. Alvarado, who had been sweating Sung throughout the day, rushed to the rail and murmured scattered chants of "Castle!" before the final cards fell. The turn and river came 9 and 4 and Sung won the pot with aces up. Van Zadelhoff was eliminated in seventh place, earning 67,100 euros (approximately $95,161).
Tomorrow will be an off-day while the players, media, and WPT crew travel to Castle Peralada, which is near the border of Spain and France. This will be the stylish setting of the final table, which will begin at 4 p.m. CET on Tuesday.
Here is how things will look at the final table:
Seat No. 1 - Vladimir Poleschchuk - 176,000
Seat No. 2 - Christer Johansson - 855,000
Seat No. 3 - Steve Sung - 670,000
Seat No. 4 - Gus Hansen - 962,000
Seat No. 5 - Ludovic Lacay - 400,000
Seat No. 6 - Markus Lehmann - 329,000
Thirty-eight players took their seats at the beginning of day three at the World Poker Tour Spanish Championship. The problem was that 39 players still remained, and the vacant chair belonged to none other than the chip leader, Steve Sung. Sung eventually made his way onto the tournament floor about 40 minutes after play began. He said, "I thought we were at the Castle, already," a sheepish grin playing across his face. Eric Hershler, the 2006 WPT Los Angeles Poker Classic champion, was the first to make his exit on day three quite early, and he was followed to the rail a short time later by Ted Lawson. Lawson was eliminated by the quad tens of Erik Seidel. The money was reached just before one and a half levels of play concluded, but 28 players still remained after the first break, and hand-for-hand play pushed forward. It took another half hour after the break to lose the bubble boy, Andrey Zaichenko. He was tag-teamed by Barny Boatman (who doubled up through Zaichenko) and Gus Hansen (who busted him) on consecutive hands.Now that everyone was 10,050 euros richer, business continued as usual, and the following eight players were eliminated before the dinner break:
27th - Richard Da Silva
26th - Guillame De La Gorce
25th - Lino Cunha
24th - Paul Babise
23rd - Henrik Gwinner
22nd - Mark Telscher
21st - Barny Boatman
20th - Kees Alblas
The Gus Hansen Show
It was during this time that Gus Hansen emerged as the big dog in the tournament. He started his climb to the top with an incredible call. 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 prior to making the call. The river was the 9 and Hansen checked. Mestre announced that he was all in, having Hansen's remaining 114,800 covered. Hansen began to play back the hand, talking himself and the table through the details. "It doesn't make any sense. 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. 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 minutes, he cleared the tension by asking how much money he would make if he folded and moved up one spot. Boatman, who was seated to his right, commented that if Hansen kept on talking, he'd move up three spots. After a few more minutes, Gus called. Mestre gave him a stunned look, asking if he really called. Hansen said yes and Mestre immediately mucked his hand. Hansen showed A 7 and won a massive pot, putting him at 353,000. Mestre was knocked down to 100,000.A few hands later, Mestre busted out of the tournament in 19th place. Action was down to two tables with the remaining 18 players, and that's where it stayed for quite some time. Hansen continued to climb the leader board and doubled up in another monster pot. Hansen raised to 16,500 and Pascal Perrault reraised to 56,500. Hansen made the call and the flop came J
10 7. Hansen checked to Perrault, who moved all in for about 300,000. Hansen called instantly for his last 280,000, showing J 10. Perrault looked devastated as he flipped over pocket aces. The turn and river were the 5 and K, and Hansen took the chip lead with 710,000.With Hansen now firmly in control of the leader board, two familiar faces hit the rail next:
18th - Melissa Hayden
17th - Steve "MrSmokey1" Billirakis
The flood gates opened at this point, and five players were eliminated in the course a half hour:
16th - Mikhail Makarov
15th - Pascal Perrault
14th - Pasi Heinanen
13th - Robin Larsson
12th - Guerfi Mesbah
The flow of the tournament merged back into the slow lane for a while, before the Great Dane got up to his old tricks: Hansen opened a pot for 26,000 and Juha Helppi called from the big blind. The flop came K
7 3, Hansen bet 26,000, and Helppi raised to 60,000. Hansen reraised to 226,000, which was enough to put Helppi all in, and Helppi called with K J for a pair of kings. Hansen showed pocket aces for the lead, and the last two cards came Q and A. Hansen rivered a set of aces to win the pot and increased his chip lead to about 962,000. Helppi was eliminated in 11th place, earning 20,150 euros (approximately $28,577). Action was now down to two five-handed tables, and everyone in the room hung on every card to see who would make the final table.Seidel's Wild Ride
When the hammer fell, the crowd swarmed to table No. 16, where they bunched together and craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the cards. They were a little too quick on the trigger, because Christer Johansson hit a three-outer with all his chips at risk against Seidel. Johansson spiked a 10 on the board to rescue his dominated A-10 against the A-K of Seidel. The hand put Seidel down to 38,000, and the writing was on the wall, the final table was coming very soon. However, the details of the final hand were a little different than everyone expected.Hansen opened the action for 28,000 from middle position, and Jean-Baptist Tomi raised to 95,000 from the small blind. Seidel called all in from the big blind and Johansson moved all in over the top of Tomi. Hansen folded, and the action was back to Tomi, who made the all-in call. With both his opponents covered, Johansson flipped over A
K. Tomi showed down A J while Seidel flipped up 3 2. The board rolled out 8 5 4 9 2 and Tomi was eliminated on the hand in 10th place (20,150 euros), while Seidel tripled up with a pair of twos.Here is how things looked when the final nine players took their seats:
Seat No. 1 - Vladimir Poleschchuk - 96,000
Seat No. 2 - Christer Johansson - 870,000
Seat No. 3 - Erik Seidel - 117,000
Seat No. 4 - Steve Sung - 400,000
Seat No. 5 - Gus Hansen - 722,000
Seat No. 6 - Ludovic Lacay - 416,000
Seat No. 7 - Steve Van Zadelhoff - 299,000
Seat No. 8 - Markus Lehmann - 278,000
Seat No. 9 - Nick Panopoulos - 199,000
Continuing his trend, Hansen was active in the early going of the final table, but it wasn't until hand No. 15 that things really heated up. Sung raised from middle position to 32,000, Hansen called from late position, and Nick Panopoulos called from the big blind. The flop came 10
7 5, Panopoulos bet 50,000, Sung folded, and Hansen moved all in. Panopoulos called with J 10 for a pair of tens, but Hansen showed Q 10 for a pair of tens with a higher kicker. The turn and river brought the 10 and 2. Hansen won the pot with trip tens, queen kicker, and Panopoulos was eliminated in ninth place, earning 33,500 euros (approximately $47,510).Three hands later, Hansen limped from early position for 12,000, Vladimir Poleschchuk limped from the button, and Johansson completed from the small blind. Seidel then moved all in from the big blind for 115,000, Hansen made the call, and everyone else mucked. Seidel showed down A
4 and Hansen turned up 10 9. The board hit the table Q 9 4 9 9 and Hansen won the pot with quad nines. Seidel was eliminated in eighth place, earning 50,300 euros (approximately $71,335). Hansen was now close to becoming the first million-dollar man of the tournament, and seven players remained. One last player had to hit the rail before things ended for the night.Steve vs. Steve
On the final hand of the night, Steve Van Zadelhoff had the button and Steve Sung limped from early position for 12,000. Van Zadelhoff raised from the button to 44,000 and Sung called. The flop came J
9 2, Sung checked, and Van Zadelhoff bet 60,000. Sung moved all in and Van Zadelhoff called immediately with pocket queens. However, Sung showed down pocket aces for a higher pair. Nam Le, Kirk Morrison, and J.C. Alvarado, who had been sweating Sung throughout the day, rushed to the rail and murmured scattered chants of "Castle!" before the final cards fell. The turn and river came 9 and 4 and Sung won the pot with aces up. Van Zadelhoff was eliminated in seventh place, earning 67,100 euros (approximately $95,161).Tomorrow will be an off-day while the players, media, and WPT crew travel to Castle Peralada, which is near the border of Spain and France. This will be the stylish setting of the final table, which will begin at 4 p.m. CET on Tuesday.
Here is how things will look at the final table:
Seat No. 1 - Vladimir Poleschchuk - 176,000
Seat No. 2 - Christer Johansson - 855,000
Seat No. 3 - Steve Sung - 670,000
Seat No. 4 - Gus Hansen - 962,000
Seat No. 5 - Ludovic Lacay - 400,000
Seat No. 6 - Markus Lehmann - 329,000
And here is what they'll be playing for:
First - 554,980 euros (approximately $787,073)
Second - 295,200 euros (approximately $418,653)
Third - 151,000 euros (approximately $214,148)
Fourth - 117,400 euros (approximately $166,497)
Fifth - 100,600 euros (approximately $142,671)
Sixth - 83,900 euros (approximately $118,987)
Tune in to CardPlayer.com Tuesday for all the final table action from Castle Peralada!