John Juanda survives 22 hour final table, the longest in WSOP history, to win the WSOPE Main Event!
Hand #484
Stanislav Alekhin has the button. He moves all in on the short stack and
Juanda calls.
Alekhin
Juanda
The flop is
and
Juanda flops trips to his and the audience's elation. The turn is the
and Alekhin is drawing dead. To put the icing on the cake, the
falls on the river for quads and John
Juanda is our champion, winning the 2008 WSOP-E Main Event and his fourth World Series of Poker bracelet!
Stanislav Alekhin made a tremendous effort tonight and takes home £533,950 for his runner-up finish.
All Hugs for Juanda
Moments after his epic victory, John
Juanda walked over and gave a hug to Masa Kagawa, one of the players who railbirded him all night and all morning long. Roland de Wolfe is here as well. He played in the PokerStars.com EPT London last night across town at the Vic. De Wolfe went to bed, woke up, and arrived in time at the Empire Casino to see
Juanda take it down.
Juanda began the day as the chipleader. He slipped below 1 million in chips several times, but managed to gut out the win.
"This is the longest final table that I have ever played," said
Juanda in a post-victory interview.
When asked about his opponent, Stanislav Alekhin, Juanda remarked, "He had me down a couple of times. I was pretty sure and confident that I was going to win. I didn't give up. I have to give the last two players a lot of credit."
When
Juanda started out playing professional poker, he picked up several bracelets and held the most out of his core group of friends that included Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, and Allen Cunningham.
"It's so long ago when I won my last bracelet, I can't remember. It's embarrassing. Some people have to keep up with the Joneses. I have to keep up with the Iveys and Cunninghams and Negreanus," he joked. "I wondered if I will ever win again. Today there are so many young excellent tournament players from all over the world. Like the two young Russians and the Scandis. Much more than it used to be. Daniel Negreanu said that we have to step up our game."
Congratulations to John Juanda, the 2008 WSOP-E Main Event Champion!
Even after a grueling 22 hour final table, John
Juanda could not wipe the smile off his face as he held his fourth WSOP bracelet aloft and posed for the throng of waiting photographers. Cool and implacable, Juanda never lost his focus, went on tilt, or lost his temper on his way to victory tonight.
Kudos are also due for our runner-up, Stanislav Alekhin, who gave
Juanda a true run for his money. Juanda admitted in his post-game interview that he found his opponent nearly impossible to read and has great respect for his game. Alekhin is surely a talent to watch on the circuit in the months and years to come.
For those of you who stuck with us throughout our 22 hours of final table coverage... well, you're all insane! Dedicated, but insane. It's been an exciting two weeks of poker here at the Empire for the 2nd annual World Series of Poker-Europe, truly a global event, with two Danes, an Afghan and and Indonesian-born American taking home the gold.
Thanks for tuning in and from London's Empire Casino we bid you good night... er... rather, good morning, and good luck!
Final Results
Winner: John Juanda £868,800
Runner-up: Stanislav Alekhin £533950
3rd Place: Ivan Demidov (November 9 Player): £334,850
4th Place: Bengt Sonnert £271,500
5th Place: Daniel Negreanu £217,200
6th Place: Scott Fischman £171,950
7th Place: Robin Keston £135,750
8th Place: Toni Hiltunen £108,600
9th Place: Chris Elliot £81,450
That's a wrap from the World Series of Poker Europe 2008! Congratulations to all of the winners! Up next is the much anticipated final table of the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event on November 9th. Ivan Demidov just finished 3rd in the WSOPE Main Event, can he improve on that finish and become our next world champion of poker?
© Copyright 2008
7 comments
Thanks for posting this !
....Tc....
WTG J J .