Levi Berger makes it four WSOP bracelets for the Canadians, Eric Crain makes back-to-back final tables, Allen Cunningham after more gold, Yuval Bronshtein leading the mixed game specialists and former WSOP POY Frank Kassela is one of the chip leaders in Event #14.
If you ever needed a barometer to test the algorithms behind the Global Poker Index (GPI) then just keep an eye on the goings on at the 44th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP). According to the GPI the two most dominant poker countries in the world are the United States of America and their northerly companions in Canada. 11-bracelets have been issued, seven to the Americans and four to the Canadians thanks to the recent success of Levi Berger in Event #11: $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) Six-Max.
Berger made mincemeat of the 924-player field to take down the first prize of $473,019. It wasn’t an easy ride with three former WSOP champions making the final table in Scott Clements, Jacob Bazeley and Clifford Goldkind, and in fact it was Clements standing in Berger’s way when the pair reached heads-up. The play lasted under an hour when Berger raised to 100k on the button and Clements defended the big blind. The flop fell [8d] [7s] [2s] and Clements check-raised to 245k, Berger re-raised to 580k, Clements moved all-in and Berger called. It was the cowboys for Berger and [Th] [9s] for Clements for the open-ended straight draw. The draw missed, the cowboys held strong and we had our fourth Canadian WSOP bracelet winner of the 2013 series.
Event #12: $1,500 Pot Limit Hold’em (PLH) has reached the final table and it’s another scorching run for Eric Crain. The American took eighth in Event #8: $2,500 Eight Game Mix on Tuesday and he leads the final nine with 620k. Multiple WSOP bracelet winner Allen Cunningham is perched menacingly in second, there is another Canadian in the mix in the shape of Jaspal Brar in third, Timothy Reilly takes fourth and the WSOP bracelet holder Anthony Harb starts in sixth.
A compact and bijou field of 210-players entered Event #13: $5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8-or-Better and 20 of them remain as the action sails into Day Three. Mixed game specialist Yuval Bronshtein leads a tough field that includes David ‘Bakes’ Baker, Gavin Smith, Mike Matusow, Joe Tehan, Mike Leah, Eli Elezra and Brian Hastings. The mixed-game aficionado from the UK, Matthew Ashton, is sitting pretty in fifth. Ashton took third place in Event #5: $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo just a few days ago.
Another huge $1.5k event has blazed through Day One with shattered dreams strewn in its wake. 1,819 players started Event #14 and only 204 have survived. The relatively unknown Grant Curnow has his moment of glory with the chip lead, the 2010 WSOP Player of the Year (POY), Frank Kassela, sits in second and a whole host of talent including the likes Andy Frankenberger, Eric Baldwin, Erick Lindgren and Brent Hanks also finished at the right end of the leader board.
