Thomas Bichon Poker Tournament Updates

Thomas Bichon Eliminated in 14th Place (£30,000)

Oct 03, '10

Thomas Bichon bet 105,000 from middle position and John Juanda made the call beside him. The flop was dealt Q 10 2 and Bichon bet 125,000. Juanda thought about the bet, staring at his opponent and then raised it to 260,000. Bichon then raised it up to 415,000 and Juanda asked how much Bichon was playing behind. The answer was 804,000 and Juanda just called. The turn was the 6 and after a few quiet moments, Bichon announced, “I’m all in.” After a few minutes Juanda made the call and the two flipped over their cards.

Bichon:Q J
Juanda: A Q

River: 2

Bichon hit the rail in 14th place receiving £30,000 for his efforts.

Player Tags: John Juanda,   Thomas Bichon

Early Pot for Bichon

Oct 03, '10

Jannick Wrang raised his small blind to 46,000 and Thomas Bichon called from the big blind. The flop was dealt 10 8 6 and Wrang checked. Bichon bet 65,000, and Wrang made the call. The 7 came on the turn and Wrang check-called to Bichon’s 96,000 bet. The river was the 4♣ and both players checked. Bichon flipped over 7 5 for a straight and increased his stack to 1.6 million. Wrang has less than 800,000 remaining

Player Tags: Thomas Bichon

Big Battle of Wills

Oct 02, '10

John O’Shea bet around 27,000 from the hijack and the cut-off made the call. Thomas Bichon raised it up to 138,000 and O’Shea thought for a moment and put out 155,000 more. The cut-off stepped out of the way and left the two heads up.

Bichon went quiet and eventually said, “I raise… 155,000 more.” O’Shea took a chunk of chips out as if to raise again but then announced he was all in and Bichon quickly called.

O’Shea flipped over A A and Bichon also revealed pocket rockets with A A.

The board was quite scary for O’Shea as it came down 10 6 3 Q and O’Shea needed to dodge a club on the river to chop the pot. It was the J and O’Shea sat back and giggled saying, “I was going to min-raise him again for the laugh.” Bichon sits quietly and seriously behind a pair of very dark shades.

Player Tags: John O'Shea,   Thomas Bichon

Thomas Bichon Eliminated in 14th Place (£30,000)

Oct 03, '10

Thomas Bichon bet 105,000 from middle position and John Juanda made the call beside him. The flop was dealt Q 10 2 and Bichon bet 125,000. Juanda thought about the bet, staring at his opponent and then raised it to 260,000. Bichon then raised it up to 415,000 and Juanda asked how much Bichon was playing behind. The answer was 804,000 and Juanda just called. The turn was the 6 and after a few quiet moments, Bichon announced, “I’m all in.” After a few minutes Juanda made the call and the two flipped over their cards.

Bichon:Q J
Juanda: A Q

River: 2

Bichon hit the rail in 14th place receiving £30,000 for his efforts.

Player Tags: John Juanda,   Thomas Bichon

Early Pot for Bichon

Oct 03, '10

Jannick Wrang raised his small blind to 46,000 and Thomas Bichon called from the big blind. The flop was dealt 10 8 6 and Wrang checked. Bichon bet 65,000, and Wrang made the call. The 7 came on the turn and Wrang check-called to Bichon’s 96,000 bet. The river was the 4♣ and both players checked. Bichon flipped over 7 5 for a straight and increased his stack to 1.6 million. Wrang has less than 800,000 remaining

Player Tags: Thomas Bichon

Big Battle of Wills

Oct 02, '10

John O’Shea bet around 27,000 from the hijack and the cut-off made the call. Thomas Bichon raised it up to 138,000 and O’Shea thought for a moment and put out 155,000 more. The cut-off stepped out of the way and left the two heads up.

Bichon went quiet and eventually said, “I raise… 155,000 more.” O’Shea took a chunk of chips out as if to raise again but then announced he was all in and Bichon quickly called.

O’Shea flipped over A A and Bichon also revealed pocket rockets with A A.

The board was quite scary for O’Shea as it came down 10 6 3 Q and O’Shea needed to dodge a club on the river to chop the pot. It was the J and O’Shea sat back and giggled saying, “I was going to min-raise him again for the laugh.” Bichon sits quietly and seriously behind a pair of very dark shades.

Player Tags: John O'Shea,   Thomas Bichon

Level 18 Update -- Early Action

Sep 27, '10

Blinds: 4,000-8,000 with a 1,000 ante

Players Remaining: 19 of 346

Chip Counts:

1. James Bord — 920,000
2. Viktor Blom — 900,000
3. Ronald Lee — 850,000
4. Andrew Pantling — 760,000
5. Daniel Steinberg — 660,000
6. David Peters — 645,000
7. Nicolas Levi — 640,000
8. Dan Fleyshman — 625,000
9. Bojan Gledovic — 610,000
10. Clint Coffee — 590,000
11. Phil Ivey — 481,000
12. Hoyt Corkins — 435,000
13. Brian Powell — 379,000
14. Barny Boatman — 300,000
15. Roland de Wolfe — 232,000
16. Marc Inizan — 205,000
17. Anthony Newman — 196,000
18. Arnaud Mattern — 180,000

Average Chip Count: 546,316

Notable Cashes:

Big Hands:

Greg Mueller Eliminated in 22nd Place (£26,400)

Greg Mueller moved all in with A Q and was called by Brian Powell who held A K. The board fell 9 6 5 8 6 and Mueller shook his opponents’ hands and made his exit. He leaves with £26,400 for 22nd place.

Jani Sointula Eliminated in 21st Place (£26,400)

Phil Ivey and Jani Sointula ran into each other for the second and final time today. Ivey made it 20,000 from the button and Sointula moved all in for 197,000. Ivey did not look happy as he contemplated the call. He decided to go with it, moved his chips over the line and flipped over pocket fours. Sointula showed Q J and waited for his fate to be determined. The flop came down J 9 2 and Sointula moved ahead. The turn was the K keeping Sointula safe. Ivey would need one of the two remaining fours to win the pot, and that’s exactly what came down. Ivey now closes in on the 800,000 in chips mark.

Thomas Bichon Eliminated in 20th Place (£26,400)

Thomas Bichon made his last stand in the main event against Viktor Blom, but it was not meant to be for the French pro when his A-Q could not beat Blom’s K-Q. Blom found a king on the flop and waved goodbye to another opponent. He’s currently nearing the million in chips mark.

De wolfe Hangs On

After moving all in and chopping a pot with Bojan Gledovic, Roland de Wolfe survived once more, this time doubling through Marc Inizan. With just under 80,000 in chips, de Wolfe shoved with A 8 and Inizan called with 10-10. De Wolfe binked an ace on the turn and doubled his stack.

Fleyshman Doubles

Andrew Pantling bet 18,000 from under the gun and Dan Fleyshman moved all in from the cut-off for the best part of 300,000. Pantling went into the tank and when he came out the other side, he opted to call. He flipped over 10 10 and saw he was up against A Q. The board came down J 6 4 A 5 and Fleyshman doubled up to over 600,000.

Mattern Miraculously Survives

Arnaud Mattern’s pocket queens ran head-first into James Bord’s pocket aces. Viktor Blom triggered a raising war and then stepped out when Arnaud Mattern four-bet. Bord then shoved and Mattern made the call. The hands stood as they were after all was said and done, and pocket rockets were enough to send Bord sky-high into the chip lead, crippling Mattern down to just 12,000.

Before the first break of the day however, Mattern managed to double up three times. First with pocket sixes versus Brian Powel’s K-Q, then with A-3 versus Anthony Newman’s A-Q by hitting a 3 on the turn, and finally with pocket eights versus Viktor Blom’s K-9. Mattern made a set on the flop and is now on a little more than 180,000.

Player Tags: Greg Mueller,   Phil Ivey,   Jani Sointula,   Roland de Wolfe,   Brian Powell,   Dan Fleyshman,   Arnaud Mattern,   James Bord,   Thomas Bichon,   Viktor Blom

Level 15 Update: The Money Bubble Bursts

Sep 26, '10

Blinds: 2,000-4,000 with a 500 ante

Players Remaining: 36 of 346

Chip Counts:

1. Andrew Pantling — 880,000
2. Dan Fleyshman — 600,000
3. Bojan Gledovic — 560,000
4. Daniel Steinberg — 500,000
5. Phil Ivey — 455,000
6. Viktor Blom — 450,000
7. Arnaud Mattern — 365,000
8. Thomas Bichon — 346,000
9. John Eames — 320,000
10. David Peters — 320,000

Average Chip Count: 288,333

Notable Eliminations:

Huck Seed
Almira Scripchenko
Markus Golser
Quinn Do

Big Hands:

Rudy Blondeau Eliminated on the Bubble

Rudy Blondeau raised to 9,500 and Brian Powell reraised, which prompted Blondeau to shove and consequently Powell made the call. Their cards:

Blondeau: A Q
Powell: A A

Board: K J 7 5 4

Blondeau was eliminated on the hand in 37th place, just missing a payday in this prestigious event.

Dan Fleyshman Doubles Up

Darren Fleyshman raised to 8,000 preflop and Darren Woods reraised to 27,000 right behind him. Fleyshman made the call and the flop fell A 9 3. Fleyshman bet 30,000 and Woods made the call.

The turn fell 10 and Fleyshman bet 50,000. Woods made the call and the river fell 5. Fleyshman fired 50,000 again but this time Woods raised all in. Fleyshman made the call and revealed K Q for the flush. Woods fell to 220,000 and Fleyshman doubled up to second chip-position with 600,000.

James Mitchell Doubles Up

Thomas Bichon raised to 10,000 preflop and Rob Akery made the call. James Mitchell reraised all in for 92,000 and Bichon mucked. Akery made the call and they flipped over their cards:

Akery: 8 8
Mitchell: K K

Board: K 7 2 J 7

Mitchell doubled up on the hand to 200,000 and Akery fell to 150,000.

Markus Golser Eliminated as Andrew Pantling Increases Chip Lead

Markus Golser checked a 8 7 4 2 board and Andrew Pantling bet 60,000. Golser spent some time in the tank and decided to shove for his final 89,000. Pantling made the call and they flipped over their cards:

Golser: 9 9
Pantling: A A

River: 5

Golser was eliminated on the hand and Pantling increased his chip lead to 880,000.

Left in the Deck:

Pros Just Miss the Cash Flow

A number of professionals busted just before the money bubble, including Huck Seed, Almira Scripchenko, Quinn Do, and Markus Golser. They had played well to make it to this point, but the wrong cards, in the wrong place, at the wrong time put an end to their tournament. The former world champion Seed was attempting to become the first player to win both the WSOP and WSOP Europe main event titles.

Player Tags: Huck Seed,   Markus Golser,   Dan Fleyshman,   Darren Woods,   Thomas Bichon,   James Mitchell

Level 18 Update -- Early Action

Sep 27, '10

Blinds: 4,000-8,000 with a 1,000 ante

Players Remaining: 19 of 346

Chip Counts:

1. James Bord — 920,000
2. Viktor Blom — 900,000
3. Ronald Lee — 850,000
4. Andrew Pantling — 760,000
5. Daniel Steinberg — 660,000
6. David Peters — 645,000
7. Nicolas Levi — 640,000
8. Dan Fleyshman — 625,000
9. Bojan Gledovic — 610,000
10. Clint Coffee — 590,000
11. Phil Ivey — 481,000
12. Hoyt Corkins — 435,000
13. Brian Powell — 379,000
14. Barny Boatman — 300,000
15. Roland de Wolfe — 232,000
16. Marc Inizan — 205,000
17. Anthony Newman — 196,000
18. Arnaud Mattern — 180,000

Average Chip Count: 546,316

Notable Cashes:

Big Hands:

Greg Mueller Eliminated in 22nd Place (£26,400)

Greg Mueller moved all in with A Q and was called by Brian Powell who held A K. The board fell 9 6 5 8 6 and Mueller shook his opponents’ hands and made his exit. He leaves with £26,400 for 22nd place.

Jani Sointula Eliminated in 21st Place (£26,400)

Phil Ivey and Jani Sointula ran into each other for the second and final time today. Ivey made it 20,000 from the button and Sointula moved all in for 197,000. Ivey did not look happy as he contemplated the call. He decided to go with it, moved his chips over the line and flipped over pocket fours. Sointula showed Q J and waited for his fate to be determined. The flop came down J 9 2 and Sointula moved ahead. The turn was the K keeping Sointula safe. Ivey would need one of the two remaining fours to win the pot, and that’s exactly what came down. Ivey now closes in on the 800,000 in chips mark.

Thomas Bichon Eliminated in 20th Place (£26,400)

Thomas Bichon made his last stand in the main event against Viktor Blom, but it was not meant to be for the French pro when his A-Q could not beat Blom’s K-Q. Blom found a king on the flop and waved goodbye to another opponent. He’s currently nearing the million in chips mark.

De wolfe Hangs On

After moving all in and chopping a pot with Bojan Gledovic, Roland de Wolfe survived once more, this time doubling through Marc Inizan. With just under 80,000 in chips, de Wolfe shoved with A 8 and Inizan called with 10-10. De Wolfe binked an ace on the turn and doubled his stack.

Fleyshman Doubles

Andrew Pantling bet 18,000 from under the gun and Dan Fleyshman moved all in from the cut-off for the best part of 300,000. Pantling went into the tank and when he came out the other side, he opted to call. He flipped over 10 10 and saw he was up against A Q. The board came down J 6 4 A 5 and Fleyshman doubled up to over 600,000.

Mattern Miraculously Survives

Arnaud Mattern’s pocket queens ran head-first into James Bord’s pocket aces. Viktor Blom triggered a raising war and then stepped out when Arnaud Mattern four-bet. Bord then shoved and Mattern made the call. The hands stood as they were after all was said and done, and pocket rockets were enough to send Bord sky-high into the chip lead, crippling Mattern down to just 12,000.

Before the first break of the day however, Mattern managed to double up three times. First with pocket sixes versus Brian Powel’s K-Q, then with A-3 versus Anthony Newman’s A-Q by hitting a 3 on the turn, and finally with pocket eights versus Viktor Blom’s K-9. Mattern made a set on the flop and is now on a little more than 180,000.

Player Tags: Greg Mueller,   Phil Ivey,   Jani Sointula,   Roland de Wolfe,   Brian Powell,   Dan Fleyshman,   Arnaud Mattern,   James Bord,   Thomas Bichon,   Viktor Blom

Level 15 Update: The Money Bubble Bursts

Sep 26, '10

Blinds: 2,000-4,000 with a 500 ante

Players Remaining: 36 of 346

Chip Counts:

1. Andrew Pantling — 880,000
2. Dan Fleyshman — 600,000
3. Bojan Gledovic — 560,000
4. Daniel Steinberg — 500,000
5. Phil Ivey — 455,000
6. Viktor Blom — 450,000
7. Arnaud Mattern — 365,000
8. Thomas Bichon — 346,000
9. John Eames — 320,000
10. David Peters — 320,000

Average Chip Count: 288,333

Notable Eliminations:

Huck Seed
Almira Scripchenko
Markus Golser
Quinn Do

Big Hands:

Rudy Blondeau Eliminated on the Bubble

Rudy Blondeau raised to 9,500 and Brian Powell reraised, which prompted Blondeau to shove and consequently Powell made the call. Their cards:

Blondeau: A Q
Powell: A A

Board: K J 7 5 4

Blondeau was eliminated on the hand in 37th place, just missing a payday in this prestigious event.

Dan Fleyshman Doubles Up

Darren Fleyshman raised to 8,000 preflop and Darren Woods reraised to 27,000 right behind him. Fleyshman made the call and the flop fell A 9 3. Fleyshman bet 30,000 and Woods made the call.

The turn fell 10 and Fleyshman bet 50,000. Woods made the call and the river fell 5. Fleyshman fired 50,000 again but this time Woods raised all in. Fleyshman made the call and revealed K Q for the flush. Woods fell to 220,000 and Fleyshman doubled up to second chip-position with 600,000.

James Mitchell Doubles Up

Thomas Bichon raised to 10,000 preflop and Rob Akery made the call. James Mitchell reraised all in for 92,000 and Bichon mucked. Akery made the call and they flipped over their cards:

Akery: 8 8
Mitchell: K K

Board: K 7 2 J 7

Mitchell doubled up on the hand to 200,000 and Akery fell to 150,000.

Markus Golser Eliminated as Andrew Pantling Increases Chip Lead

Markus Golser checked a 8 7 4 2 board and Andrew Pantling bet 60,000. Golser spent some time in the tank and decided to shove for his final 89,000. Pantling made the call and they flipped over their cards:

Golser: 9 9
Pantling: A A

River: 5

Golser was eliminated on the hand and Pantling increased his chip lead to 880,000.

Left in the Deck:

Pros Just Miss the Cash Flow

A number of professionals busted just before the money bubble, including Huck Seed, Almira Scripchenko, Quinn Do, and Markus Golser. They had played well to make it to this point, but the wrong cards, in the wrong place, at the wrong time put an end to their tournament. The former world champion Seed was attempting to become the first player to win both the WSOP and WSOP Europe main event titles.

Player Tags: Huck Seed,   Markus Golser,   Dan Fleyshman,   Darren Woods,   Thomas Bichon,   James Mitchell

Tournamet Update -- End of Day 4

Sep 30, '09

Blinds: 10,000-20,000 with a 3,000 ante

Players Remaining: 9 out of 334

Chip Counts:

Jason Mercier — 3,198,000
James Akenhead — 1,398,000
Praz Bansi — 1,160,000
Barry Shulman — 1,090,000
Markus Ristola — 784,000
Antoine Saout — 701,000
Matt Hawrilenko — 674,000
Chris Bjorin — 518,000
Daniel Negreanu — 438,000

Average Chip Count: 1,113,333

Notable Eliminations:

12: Thomas Bichon — £51,536
11: Keith Hawkins — £51,536
10: Eric Liu — £51,536

Big Hands:

Thomas Bichon Eliminated in 12th Place (£51,536)

On the first hand of level 22 James Akenhead raised to 55,000 preflop and Thomas Bichon reraised all in for 143,000. Akenhead made the call and they flipped over their cards:

Akenhead: KK
Bichon: 1010

Board: 52294

Bichon was eliminated in 12th place and Akenhead continued to build his chip stack up in second chip position behind Jason Mercier.

Keith Hawkins Eliminated in 11th Place (£51,536)

Keith Hawkins raised to 52,000 under the gun and Praz Bansi reraised to 200,000 on the button. Hawkins reraised all in and Bansi made the call. Their cards:

Hawkins: AK
Bansi: 99

Board: Q54JJ

Hawkins was eliminated in 11th place and Bansi grew his stack to 1.2 million, good for third chip position.

Eric Liu Eliminated in 10th Place (£51,536)

Jason Mercier raised in early position preflop and Eric Liu reraised all in. Mercier made the call and they flipped up their cards:

Liu: QQ
Mercier: KJ

Board: AK1073

Liu was eliminated in 10th place and Mercier added to his large chip lead. Day 4 ended with the conclusion of the hand. Stay tuned for chip counts and a recap of the day’s events.

Player Tags: Keith Hawkins,   James Akenhead,   Praz Bansi,   Eric Liu,   Jason Mercier,   Thomas Bichon

Tournament Update -- Level 19

Sep 30, '09

Blinds: 5,000-10,000 with a 1,000 ante

Players Remaining: 21 out of 334

Chip Counts:

Saar Wilf — 940,000
Jason Mercier — 860,000
Thomas Bichon — 810,000
Barry Shulman — 691,000
Daniel Negreanu — 670,000
Teddy Sheringham — 670,000
Keith Hawkins — 640,000
Eric Liu — 500,000
Matt Hawrilenko — 490,000
Ram Vaswani — 515,000

Average Chip Count: 477,143

Notable Eliminations:

25: Yevgeniy Timoshenko — £25,918
24: Peter Gould — £25,918
23: Arnaud Mattern — £25,918
22: Liz Lieu — £25,918

Big Hands:

Yevgeniy Timoshenko Eliminated in 25th Place (£25,918)

Saar Wilf raised to 22,000 from the button and Thomas Bichon reraised to 75,000 from the small blind. Yevgeniy Timoshenko moved all in for another 99,000 from the big blind and Wilf mucked. Bichon made the call and they flipped over their cards:

Bichon: 66
Timoshenko: AK

Board: 9749Q

The Card Player Player of the Year was eliminated on the hand in 25th place and Bichon won the day to grow his stack to 740,000.

Liz Lieu Eliminated in 22nd Place (£25,918)

Liz Lieu was forced to move all in on a short stack on a flop of 7-7-4 and Matt Hawrilenko called her down. Their cards:

Lieu: A-J
Hawrilenko: 9-7

Neither the turn or river was any help to Lieu and she busted out of the event in 22nd place. Hawrilenko grew his chip stack close to 500,000 after the hand.

Player Tags: Liz Lieu,   Matt Hawrilenko,   Yevgeniy Timoshenko,   Thomas Bichon