EPT Vienna E-WSOP Final Table Wrap-Up and Results

For a full hand history of the final table, click here. Be sure to join us here for the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo in just a few days)

Danger in Vienna

We live in an unsafe world. We live in a time of mayhem and danger. So, who in their right mind would make every effort to be on time for a meeting with a documented poker serial killer and a mysterious Swede with enough chips to scare the Frito Lay company?


The final table ready for play

This was the meeting place: an eight-seated table, surrounded by lights and flags of the world. By all accounts, there was only a minimal chance someone would be carried out unconscious. Eight players were willing to take the risk. After all, several hundred thousand Euros were at stake.


The players begin their quest for the title

It was the final table of the European Poker Tour's Vienna E-WSOP. What had started as a friendly competition had turned nasty in the night before, with players snapping at each other, slamming their cards on the table, and expressing a certain amount of crankiness.

They were eight men who defied the poker version of the expression "all men were created equal." After all, there was that mysterious Swede, Andreas Harnemo, who had defied his lack of professional playing time and stacked up more than 800,000 in chips.


Andreas Harnemo

And then there was the poker serial killer, Pascal Perrault, a popular Frenchman who had singlehandedly turned the losers lounge into a morgue in the days before. He sat second in chips and had his eyes set firmly on the prize.


Pascal Perrault

As play began, the chipstacks looked as follows:

Seat 1: Joachim Sanejstra, 129,500
Seat 2: Tim Ramsey, 152,500 (USA PokerStars.com online qualifier)
Seat 3: David Clayton, 287,000
Seat 4: Pascal Perrault, 641,500 (France)
Seat 5: Josh Schiffman, 197,000 (USA)
Seat 6: Simon Nowab, 301,000
Seat 7: Mika Puro,450,500 (Finland)(PokerStars online qualifier)
Seat 8: Andreas Harnemo, 821,000 (Sweden)

At first it seemed as if no one wanted to play in a big arena. While players sparred a bit pre-flop, we saw very few hands past the initial betting stage. In fact, it took 30 hands before...well, before the floor fell out from underneath the final table and players fell to their doom with it.

It began as so...

Simon Nowab, in an apparent blind-steal, raised all in with A7 offsuit. Mike Puro seemed happy to call with a pair of nines. The first card off the flop was a nine and it ultimately spelled Nowab's end. What had once been a tight final table was suddenly as loose as a goose in a noose. Nowab left the room in eighth place and 17,300 Euro.


Simon Nowab

Just two hands later, Josh Schiffman, half of the America's Duke University Mafia, raised more than two times the big blind, 40,000 chips, out of position. Andreas sat on the button and made it 120,000. Perhaps thinking Andreas was on a steal, Josh moved all in. Andreas called, turning over AQs. It dominated Josh's KJs both before and after the ace-high flop. Schiffman left in seventh place, taking home 23,000 Euro.


Josh Schiffman

On the very next hand, the players folded around to the small blind where David Clayton put in a huge raise, 92,000 into Perrault's 15,000 big blind. Perrault came over the top an pushed all in. Clayton called. Perrault's AJ easily survived Clayton's A5 offsuit. Clayton took sixth place and cashed for 28,800 Euro. Perrault's credentials as a poker serial killer were re-affirmed.


David Clayton

In just four hands, we'd lost three players and the bloodshed would not stop. Not ten hands later, the most interesting hand of the night unleashed itself on the table.

With the blinds still at 7500/15000/1500, Harnemo raised under the gun to 55,000. Without a great deal of concern on his face, Tim Ramsey pushed in the rest of his stack. For the first time in a great while, Harnemo seemed to fall into the tank. He pondered. Then he pondered some more.

And, then, out of nowhere he asked Ramsey, "Do you have a pair of sevens?"

If Ramsey responded, I didn't hear it. All I know is that when Andreas called, Ramsey flipped over a seven...and a seven. Harnemo held A9 offsuit. Ramsey seemed to be in good shape. The first four cards on the board were 3832. The river, however, came as an ace sending Ramsey back to the USA in fifth place wih 34,500 Euro.


Tim Ramsey

When the beating stopped, the chip counts looked like this:

Joachim Sanejstra: 127,500
Pascal Perrault: 799,000
Mika Puro: 527000
Andreas Harnemo: 1,500,000

Remarkably, the man who began the day with the shortest stack, Joachim Sanejstra, had managed to blind steal and hang on until fourth place. And when he finally went out, he got his chips in with the best hand. Mika Puro put in a raise to 45,000 (3x the big blind). Behind him, Harnemo made it 105,000 to go. After some thought, Sanejstra put in all his chips. Puro folded and Hernemo showed K7offsuit to Sanejstra's pair of fours. It was still a coinflip, which Harnemo won, pairing his king on the flop and hitting another on the turn. The shortest stack at the start of the day took fourth place and 40,500 for his efforts.


Joachim Sanejstra

A dinner break came unexpectedly and apparently, Mika Puro's dinner didn't agree with his poker timing. Just three hands into the after-dinner session, Puro raised to 55,000. Perrault immediately made it 150,000 to go. Puro came back over the top all-in and Perrault happily called, showing a pair of queens. Puro only had a pair of fours and he never improved. Puro left in third place with 51,800 Euro.


Mika Puro

Bettors would've likely put good money that Perrault and Harnemo would end heads up. However, I would defy anyone to predict the outcome. Perrualt's game is sometimes difficult to predict. At times he's fantastically tight. Other times he makes curiously hyper-aggressive moves. At the same time, he has many years of experience over Harnemo in big tournament play. The poker serial killer then set his target squarely on the mysterious Swede. Perrualt had 1.2 million in chips to Harenmo's 1.9 million.


Heads up

We got a taste of Perrault's aggressive style a few hands into heads-up play. Perrault called from the small blind and Harnemo raised a little more than 3x the big blind to 70,000. Perrault called and they saw a flop of Q2K. Both players checked to the turn, a nine. Harnemo bet out 50,000 and Perrault raised to 300,000. After some thought, Harnemo mucked a pair of sixes face up. With a grin, Perrault showed his bluff, a little hand some poker bloggers like to call The Jackhammer, J4.

While the players had battled to even stacks, Perrault had just set up a move that would end in Harnemo's undoing.



In the small blind, Perrault raised 3x the big blind to 60,000. Harnemo called and the flop came down 473. Harenmo checked to Perrault who bet out 150,000. Harnemo, perhaps remembering Perrault's move a little earlier, made it another 250,000 to go. With nary a thought, Perrault announced all in.

Harenmo didn't seem sure what to do. He seemed to like his hand but his face fell into a concentrated version of American actor Clint Eastwood's tough face. When Harenmo regained consciousness, he called and showed J7offsuit for top pair on the board (sevens with a jack kicker). With that, Perrault turned over a pair of nines, the hand that would eventually win and take nearly all of Harnemo's stack.

While Harenmo battled strongly for a few more hands, he eventually got the rest of his chips in with KJs, but ran right into Perrault's AJs. With that, it was over. Harenmo pocketed 101,400 for his second place finish.


The winning hand and its bountiful harvest

Perrault had the biggest fan club in the rooom and cheers rose to the rafters.


Pascal gets congratulations from his friends

It was a 184,500 payday for Perrault, a man so dedicated to this game, he reportedly named his baby daughter...Vegas.


A thumbs up from the winner


Pascal gets paid

And lest you think this is the last time Perrault and Harenmo will meet, both players received entries into the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo this coming week.

Please join me back here on this blog for full coverage of this fine circuit's biggest event.

EPT Vienna Final Results

184,500

1--Pascal Perrault, France.

101,400

2--Andreas Harnemo, Sweden

51,800

3--Mika Puro, Finland (PokerStars online qualifier)

40,500

4--Joachim Sanejstra, Austria

34,500

5--Tim Ramsey, USA (PokerStars Online Qualifier)

28,800

6--David Clayton

23,000

7--Josh Schiffman, USA

17,300

8--Simon Nowab




11,500
9--Jeffrey Rogers (PokerStars online qualifier)

6950

11-Paul Hersleth
12--Alan Betson (PokerStars online qualifier)

5750

13--Milurat Peric
14--Luca Pagano, Italy
15--Sigi Stockinger, Ireland

4600

16--Paul Testud
17--Cohen Robert
18--Mike Shalibi

3600
19--Tibor Tolnai
20--Horst Riedlinger
21--Bernhard Reither
22--Denis Kharitonov, Russia
23--Luis Jaikel, Costa Rica
24--BadGirl Pham, Great Britain
25--Harry Casagrande
26--Falker Leview, Russia
27--Joseph Grech

E-WSOP Day 2 Wrap-Up and Chip Counts

Remember this face. Because every other player who has seen it today can't seem to forget it.


Andreas Harnemo, Sweden

Now, let's take a walk in down a back alley where a modern-day Jack the Ripper is skulking in wait.

Welcome to the Vienna Morgue



Parisian Pascal Perrault calls himself the PP Bandit. Perhaps on some days it is a fitting moniker. However, to the none-too-casual observer, it would seem something doesn't fit today. See, bandits steal. Sometimes they pillage. They don't often kill.

Perrault is a murderer. Check that. He's a serial killer. I've seen the victims in the morgue as proof.

Victim: Elky

Elky held JJ. The Bandit held KT. The Bandit wins. That's where the serial killing began.

Victim: Justin Bonomo

Perrault raised pre-flop to 7000 (a little more than 3x the BB). Justin Bonomo made it 17,000 to go. Perrault pushed all-in and Bonomo called. The Bandit showed KQo offsuit. Bonomo, who had built his stack back to a respectable level was happy to show pocket kings.

Enter: carnage.

A queen on the flop and queen on the turn sent Bonomo home. I can't describe the look on his face. Later, I suggested he go get four drinks at once. His eyes, still glazed from the beat, swept the room and settled on nothing.

I decided it was an inappropriate time to break out the ever-trite, "That's poker" and let Bonomo wander on.

Victim: Noah Boeken

It seemed as if no one could stop The Bandit. Just a few hands after nearly doubling up with a set of twos, Noah Boeken raised the pot by 3x the big blind to 9000. The Bandit pushed all in and Boeken almost immeditely called. The Bandit showed a pair of nines. Boeken slammed his pair of tens on the table.

Seconds later the dealer laid out the flop. Right in the middle of it sat a nine. Boeken was out and The Bandit stole another players chips.

All the other players at the table muttered in unison, "Unbelievable. Unbelievable."

I can't count the victims. And I have a hard time counting the Bandit's chips.

I've seen so much blood. So much blood...

I need to clean my eyes. Let's talk about more pleasant things for a second. Just a second.

SERVICE!


Let me say this about the Concord Card Casino. The service here is fantastic. Yell, "Service!" and you get service. The waitstaff is omnipresent. And get this: the cleaning crew cleans the men's room at what seems like hourly intervals.

It's the little things that please me. In the rough and tumble world of bigtime poker, you have to appreciate the amenities.

Of course, as a tournament reporter, I can focus on such things when I'm not writing or snapping pictures.

It's the poker players who have to concentrate. Day Two of the E-WSOP, after all, was enough to make a grown man cry.

That's where the nice-nice talk ends.

Shattered

The glass broke and splintered all over the floor and only a waitress seemed to notice. It was the beginning of Day 2 and Jennifer Walsh (Hickory, NC) had come into the day with a large stack. In the span of just a few hands, she'd given it all away. It happened so quickly, one might not've noticed. She doubled up Tony "Tikay" Kendall and Ross Boatman, calling Tony's all-in bet with AQ against Tony's TT. Then she got all in with pocket fives against Boatman's nines. Again, she lost. And as she wallked away, she brushed a table and knocked a beer glass to the floor.

While in the long run, Walsh was a long shot, her hasty exit and shattered glass seem to be an ugly harbinger of the day to come. It was an afternoon and evening of shattered hopes, shattered glass, and shattered memories for the 83 people who began the day.

The chips would move quickly, so fast they were hard to track. Players rocketed from nothing to something then back to nothing before the ink was dry on my notepad. As the afternoon progessed, the Bandit emerged from the crowd and started his killing spree.

By the dinner break, we were down to 35 players. A king's buffet of beef, pasta, and salmon greeted players in a heated outdoor tent. Inside, the chips sat alone at the table. Three players, Pascal "PP The Bandit" Perrault, Andreas Harnemo, Mika Puro held more than 200,000 going into the 1500/3000/300 level.

Mr. Bubble Bush

As I've noted before, I love bubble-time. When the next player who leaves is the last to leave without money, the drama is intense.

In case you missed the bubble post, here's a snippet:

Getting to the money was as comedic as it was sad.

With 28 players remaining, Londoner Gary Bush was on a desperately shortstack and was holding on by the skin of any teeth he could find. Once, he doubled up with AQ against Joachim Sanejstra and it gave him new life.

In the interim, others came close to bubbling.

In one case, a player from the U.K. pushed in and a Frenchman labored and labored over whether to call. At one point, he picked up a mock phone and desperately asked "Mama? Mama?" The man needed advice. Finally he folded KT suited and saw his opponent turn over AK.

Clutching his heart like America's Fred Sanford in a heart attack fit, the man again picked up his mock phone and said, "Merci, Mama! Merci!"


Merci, Mama!

Shortly thereafter on another table, the button made an ill-advised blind steal and the big blind pushed all-in. The amount of money in the pot required the button to call. Still, the big blind begged.

With a pint of Beefeater Gin in him, the big blind stood and belted out the chorus to SuperTramp's "Give a Little Bit."

"Give a little bit!," he sang. "Give a little bit of your chips to me!"

The button called and with a smile turned over nine-three. The big blind had AT and took down the hand.

Finally, it came back to Gary Bush. Again in desperation, he pushed in with pocket fives and again Sanejstra called. This time with A7. Bush's hand didn't hold up and he left with no cash.

Bubble Bush

The Monied

Post-bubble, the all-ins became much more common. The action moved fast, with yesterday's chipleader, Denis Kharitonov giving away almost all of his chips to American Tim Ramsey in two hands.

"I've been waiting two days to do that to him," Ramsey said with a smile.


Tim Ramsey

And from there is became a show of middle stacks battling against Andreas Harnemo and Pascal Perrault. Both players had his own table to control until they condensed to the final ten. Luca Pagano and Paul Hersleth suffered a couple of fairly ugly beats to get knocked out of TV contention. Pagano's opponent made a five-outer, Hersleth had AK vs KQ and lost.

When ten players converged on one table, the players became increasingly irritable. The friendly banter that had been commonplace earlier in the day was replaced by harsh tones, angry faces, and the occasional ugly exchange between the players. Hardly a flop was seen and the ones that were were fairly uneventful. That was until Lothar Landauer and Mika Puro got all-in pre-flop. Landauer held QQ. Puro had AQ. Puro turned his ace and Landauer was gone.

Just a couple of hands later, Jeffrey Rogers raised all-in with 33. Simon Nowad called with AK and made his ace on the turn. Rogers was out on the next hand.

Finally, after more than 24 hours of play over two days, we reached the TV table. Hopefully after some rest the players won't be as snarky.

Final table

Seat 1: Joachim Sanejstra, 129,500
Seat 2: Tim Ramsey, 152,500 (USA PokerStars.com online qualifier)
Seat 3: David Clayton, 287,000
Seat 4: Pascal Perrault, 641,500 (France)
Seat 5: Josh Schiffman, 197,000 (USA)
Seat 6: Simon Nowad, 301,000
Seat 7: Mika Puro,450,500 (Norway)
Seat 8: Andreas Harnemo, 821,000 (Sweden)

Now you know why I told you to remember this face.


Andreas Harnemo, Sweden

Here were the fortunate and skillful players who finished in the money.

11,500
9--Jeffrey Rogers (PokerStars online qualifier)

6950

11-Paul Hersleth
12--Alan Betson (PokerStars online qualifier)

5750

13--Milurat Peric
14--Luca Pagano, Italy
15--Sigi Stockinger, Ireland

4600

16--Paul Testud
17--Cohen Robert
18--Mike Shalibi

3600
19--Tibor Tolnai
20--Horst Riedlinger
21--Bernhard Reither
22--Denis Kharitonov, Russia
23--Luis Jaikel, Costa Rica
24--BadGirl Pham, Great Britain
25--Harry Casagrande
26--Falker Leview, Russia
27--Joseph Grech

The final table begins Saturday at 5pm.

We'll be here and plan to live-blog every hand of the final TV table.