Live Tournament Updates
WPT Venice Grand Prix Day 3 Seat Draw
Level 14: 1,200-2,400, 400 ante
02:29 AM, 02/08/12
Marcel Bjerkmann Leads Day 2 of WPT Venice Grand Prix
Level 14: 1,200-2,400, 400 ante
(Photo: Marcel Bjerkmann)
Day 2 of the World Poker Tour (WPT) Venice Grand Prix kicked off at the Casino Di Venezia with a triumvirate of Italians heading a pack of 85 chasing players. It ended with just 27 players left and when you looked at the top five players there wasn’t an Italian in sight!
The day got off to a quick pace with a story of a high profile exit and the rise of a young superstar in the waiting. Melanie Weisner finding her A
K
up against the dominated A
6 of Simon Ravnsbaek. Ravnsbaek flopped a six and moved up to 114,000 and Weisner took an early exit. It was a tough day for Ravnsbaek after that. He eventually found himself on the same table at Marcel Bjerkmann who was in no mood for losing pots. Ravnsbaek having to play with a shoving stack for the last two levels, eventually making it through to Day 3 with 78,100 chips.
(Photo: Melanie Weisner)
While Weisner was left looking for a gondola, young Mathew Frankland decided to draw some inspiration from fellow northerner Dynamo. While Dynamo was showing everyone how he could turn lottery tickets into £20 notes, Frankland was dazzling poker players by turning 14,000 into 165,000 and a second place berth in the chip counts. It is only a matter of time before Frankland is going to go all of the way in one of these events, but Jason Wheeler eventually slammed the door on his WPT Venice dream, and a very angry and disappointed Frankland was never to be seen again.
(Photo: Mathew Frankland)
The finest table to pop out of the draw was reserved for table uno, with the likes of Benjamin Pollak, ClubWPT qualifier Steve Marsh, Kara Scott, Tony G, Nesrine Kourdourli and Alexander Hirn all flicking pieces of plastic back and fore. In the end though it was only Kara Scott who made it through to Day 3, the Canadian will be returning with 60,100 chips and a lot of attention from the camera lenses in the room.
(Photo: Kara Scott)
As we encroached upon the space reserved for Level 11 Alessandro Longobardi, Jason Wheeler, Andrew Dato, Gianluca Trebbi, Marcel Bjerkmann and James Akenhead all started to make a play for the top spot being held by Filippo Candio. The first player to steal the top spot from Candio was Longobardi after taking a huge chunk out of the Alexander Hirn stack. Then Gianluca Trebbi came from nowhere to be our first player to exceed 300,000 chips after a spate of eliminations including Benjamin Pollak, Tony G and Nesrine Kourdourli.
(Photo: Gianluca Trebbi)
James Akenhead found himself in plenty of scuffles with Gianluca Speranza, and the two of them were flying just under 200,000 for most of the day. Then as we entered level 12, Akenhead really put some light between the pair when he flopped a set of sixes against Rocco Palumbo's pair of kings. That hand propelled Akenhead to over 300,000 and he finally ended the day in 3rd spot with 336,000 chips. Speranza ended with 134,000.
As Gianluca Trebbi was single handedly eliminating everyone over at Table 1, including the great man himself Mike Sexton, Andrew Gulyy was moved into one of the vacant spots and had a fine time. The Russian tangling several times with Kara Scott and Alessandro Longobardi and he eventually ended the day with 326,000 chips.
Filippo Candio found it tough going in his battles with Andrea Dato and when he was eventually moved Candio must have been relieved. Then no sooner had he taken his 200,000 out of the rack he was handing it all to Jason Wheeler and was out of the tournament. Candio running pocket queens into the pocket aces of Wheeler and despite flopping a set, lost the hand, and his place in the tournament, when the board ran out to give the man from San Diego a flush.
(Photo: Fillipo Candio)
Then out of the smoke created by the Candio exit came the WCOOP gold bracelet-wearing enigma that is Marcel Bjerkmann. The guy has a VPIP of 110% and just manages to hoover up chips. He absolutely smashed his table to bits and despite losing a 200,000 pot towards the end of the day finished as our chip leader with 436,300 chips.
The players bagged and tagged their chips before heading to the other side of Venice for the WPT VIP Party. Hopefully, their intake of the free Chardonnay would have been moderate, as they all need to return at 13.00 (CET) to play down to either 18 or 9 players (dependant on the flow of the action). Please make sure you join us at WPT.com for all of the action.
09:56 PM, 02/07/12
Goryachev Viacheslav Gets Lucky
Level 14: 1,200-2,400, 400 ante
Jason Wheeler opens the action with a standard raise before Goryachev Viacheslav moves all-in for 24,800. Everyone folds except Wheeler, who makes the call, and we have a showdown. Wheeler turns over K Q
and Viacheslav is dominated with K J.
The flop as more hearts on it than a card shop on Valentines Day - Q 6 2 - and it gives Viacheslav a flush draw. The turn is another queen Q and then the river brings in the flush for Viacheslav T and he doubles up.
Viacheslav ~ 55,000
Wheeler ~ 320,000
09:38 PM, 02/07/12
Last Seven Hands
Level 14: 1,200-2,400, 400 ante
Kara Scott has just had the honour of rolling the die and she has rolled that magic number seven! So seven more hands and the remaining players and media are heading to the Ca'Zanardi for the WPT VIP Party.
We will bring you a short update regarding the chip leaders with a bigger write following up in a few hours time.
09:33 PM, 02/07/12
Bjerkmann Dumps 100,000
Level 14: 1,200-2,400, 400 ante
Marcel Bjerkmann raises to 8,200 in the hijack and Gabriele Lepore three-bets to 21,300 one seat to his left. The action folds around to Bjerkmann and he makes the call.
Flop: 9 8 3
Both players check.
Turn: 2
Bjerkmann bets 26,200 and Lepore moves all-in for 102,000. Bjerkmann snap-calls and we have a showdown.
Lepore: A K
Bjerkmann: 7 6
Both players had huge draws but Lepore had the lead with his ace high. The river was the 6 and Lepore places a celebratory fist into the table.
Lepore ~ 205,000
Bjerkmann ~ 450,000
09:16 PM, 02/07/12
Candio Eliminated by Wheeler
Level 14: 1,200-2,400, 400 ante
(Photo: Filippo Candio)
Filippo Candio has been up and down like a rollercoaster, and after moving to his new table has just bled chips. Eventually he met his demise at the hands of Jason Wheeler.
Candio raises to 4,800 in early position and Jason Wheeler three-bets to 12,300. Action back to Candio and he moves all-in and Wheeler makes the call.
Wheeler: A A
Candio: Q Q
Wheeler looked distraught when the flop delivered Candio a set - K Q 3. The turn 2 then brought an unlikely flush draw for Wheeler, and justice was served on the river when the 6 did indeed give Wheeler the flush and Candio was out.
09:10 PM, 02/07/12
Mike Sexton is Out
Level 14: 1,200-2,400, 400 ante
Umberto Calabrese raises to 5,000 in the hijack and Mike Sexton calls in the small blind. Next to act is Gianluca Trebbi and he three-bets to 17,500 from the big blind. Calabrese folds his hand, but Sexton wants to dance, and moves the remainder of his stack across the line. He has around 40,000 and Trebbi makes the call and we have a flip.
Trebbi: A K
Sexton: 4 4
The flop is A K 7, "that's a bad start," says Sexton. The turn is the J and the river K and Sexton is out. Trebbi meanwhile is on 450,000 and joins Marcel Bjerkmann at the top of the chip counts.
08:47 PM, 02/07/12
The Royal Flush Girls Hit Venice
Level 14: 1,200-2,400, 400 ante
08:36 PM, 02/07/12
Rocco Palumbo Eliminated by James Akenhead
Level 14: 1,200-2,400, 400 ante
After James Akenhead recently won the Sunday Million, we had an inkling that his run good would continue. He is now sat behind 370,000 chips after flopping a set of sixes against the pocket kings of Rocco Palumbo.
08:26 PM, 02/07/12
Marcel Bjerkmann Dominates
Level 13: 1,000-2,000, 300 ante
(Photo: Marcel Bjerkmann)
"He is absolutely owning that table," says one of the live reporters watching Marcel Bjerkmann in action.
The online phenom has been having a massage for the past four hours whilst simultaneously destroying opponent after opponent. His latest victim is Danillo Donnini who moved all-in on a board of 9 8 7 holding Ax Tx and Bjerkmann called with 8x 9x. The board ran out well and he celebrated by high fiving his masseuse.
Bjerkmann ~ 450,000
07:51 PM, 02/07/12
