2009 World Series of Poker Update

Published on June 3rd, 2009 12:07 am EST

Sorry for the lack of updates over the past couple of days - we are working on some pretty big projects and got pretty overwhelmed. With all of the great WSOP coverage available online, I didn't figure that you would miss us too much.

Also, if you don't already know, we also update Pokerkingblog.com about the same amount as we update this site. If we don't post something new on Poker King for a day or two, chances are that we have posted something of interest on PokerKingBlog.com.

Anyways, enough of that - here are some updates from the 2009 World Series of Poker:

1. Lunkin Wins. Vitaly Lunkin won the $40k NLHE event, taking down $1.89 million dollars (and the WSOP bracelet) in the process. Not too many people knew who Lunkin was heading into this final table - most people didn't realize that Lunkin had already won a WSOP bracelet in 2008 (in a $1,500 NLHE event).

Lunkin had to navigate his way through a final table that was loaded with talent to take down his second WSOP bracelet. A number of different players held the chip lead throughout the course of the final table.

Lunkin squared off against Isaac "luvtheWNBA" Haxton in heads-up play, finally managing to win after a back-and-forth battle.

For Haxton, this is his second runner-up finish in a major "live" poker tournament - he also finished in second place at the 2007 PCA.

2. Tom McEvoy Wins Champions Invitational. McEvoy bested Robert Varkonyi in heads-up play to take down the 2009 Champions Invitational, a tournament that is only open to former WSOP main event champions.

McEvoy eliminated a number of well-known names, including Dan Harrington and Jim Bechtel, en route to the title.

McEvoy was awarded a brand-new Corvette as well as the Binion Cup for his victory.

3. $2,500 No Limit Deuce to Seven Draw Underway. About 150 players are participating in the $2,500 No Limit Deuce to Seven Draw event, which just got under way earlier today.

Names such as Phil Ivey, Mike Matusow and Barry Greenstein are all participating in this tournament.

Matusow is one of the early chip leaders.

4. $10k Seven Card Stud World Championship. There are currently around 35 players left in the tournament, about halfway through Day 2.

Max Pescatori, Greg "FBT" Mueller and Chad Brown are all near the top of the leaderboard.

Some of the other notable players who are still alive include: Hasan Habib, Steve "MrSmokey1" Billirakis, Daniel Negreanu, Jeff Lisandro, Mel Judah, Keith Sexton and Hoyt Corkins.

The winner of this event will take home around $374k, as well as the WSOP bracelet.

5. $1k No Limit Hold'em. The "Stimulus Special" is nearing the final table. There are currently 13 of the original 6,012 players remaining in the tournament.

All of the 13 remaining players have their sights set on the $771k first place prize.

All of the final table participants will receive a six-figure payday.

Steve Sung and Dan Heimiller are the two most recognizable names that are left in the tournament. Panayote Vilandos is your current chip leader with a stack of around 2.6 million.

6. $1,500 No Limit Hold'em. One of the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em events got underway earlier today. It's still early, but names such as Jonathan "FieryJustice" Little, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier and Dan Shak are all off to strong starts.

The winner of this event will receive $666,853.

7. $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha. The $1,500 PLO event is down to its last three tables. 809 players entered this event, and 27 remain.

Some of the players who are still alive in this tournament include:

Kirill Gerasimov (68k)
Jason Mercier (262k)
An Tran (191k)
Eric Froehlich (83k)
Dario Alioto (200k)

Jonathan Tare is the current chip leader with a stack of roughly 320k.

The winner of this tournament will receive $237k.


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Filed Under: The World Series of Poker