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| 2008 World Series of Poker Europe Event #2 Final Report 2,500 H.O.R.S.E. |
| Sherkhan Farnood from Afghanistan wins H.O.R.S.E. Event at the 2008 World Series of Poker Europe |
The winner is Sherkhan Farnood. He is a 46-year-old duel resident of
Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates. Farnood is chairman of
Kabulbank, one of the largest banks in Afghanistan.
Farnood, who spends considerable time in both Dubai (United Arab Emirates)
and his native homeland, is reported to be one of the richest persons in
Afghanistan.
In 2005, Farnood became the first poker player ever to cash from the nation
of Afghanistan. At the time, Farnood –half-jokingly announced that he was
Afghanistan's most famous poker player – an ironic statement considering
he's probably the only Afghani who plays regularly on the poker tournament
circuit.
Farnood is the first player to ever win a WSOP gold bracelet from
Afghanistan. He is also believed to be the first full-time resident of the Middle
East to win poker's most coveted prize.
Could there now be such a thing as 31 million gold bracelet winners?
Perhaps. "This is for the people of Afghanistan," Farnood proudly announced
in a post-tournament interview. "Because (I won), all the people of my
country have a gold bracelet with me."
This was Farnood's first WSOP gold bracelet victory. He now has six career
WSOP in-the-money finishes. This was his fourth final table appearance.
Farnood also made it to the final table of last year's WSOPE Pot-Limit Omaha
championship (6th place).
NOTE: Farnood is sometimes listed (incorrectly) in various poker media as
"Farnood Sherkhan." These names should be reversed and properly listed as
"Sherkhan Farnood."
Farnood collected first place prize money totaling ₤76,999, equivalent to
about $192,894 in US dollars.
Farnood's victory means that the five WSOPE tournaments played so far have
been won by players from England (2), Norway, Denmark, and Afghanistan.
When heads-up play began, rival Ivo Donev enjoyed a 3 to 2 chip advantage
over Sherkhan Farnood. However Farnood recovered from an all-in situation
late and stormed back to dominate the final 30 minutes of play. Farnood
scooped virtually every pot in the later stages of the tournament.
The runner up was Ivo Donev from Lochau, Austria. In 2000, he won a gold
bracelet in the $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold'em event. This marked his ninth time
to cash in a WSOP competition. This was his fourth final table appearance.
Donev is the only poker player from Austria ever to win a WSOP gold
bracelet. Donev was born in Bulgaria. However, he immigrated to Austria in
1990. Prior to becoming interested in poker, Donev was (and remains) an
international chess master. In 1989, he won the prestigious CSSR
International Chess Tournament. He wrote a chess book published in
German language, which is translated as "The Most Important Ideas in the
End Game." Donev has his own German language website, with lengthy
discussions on games. It can be found at: www.ivodonev.com
This was the most experienced final table lineup of the year, considering all
57 WSOP events played thus far. All eight of the top finalists had previously
made WSOP final table appearances. Four players were former gold bracelet
winners.
Two-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Howard Lederer finished in third place.
This marked his 38th career WSOP in-the-money finish. Lederer's first time to
cash came in 1987. His last WSOP victory came in 2001.
Fourth-place finisher Jeff Duvall has a long and impressive record of
tournament finishes dating back to 2000. He has previously won events at
the European Poker Tour, Midlands Masters, Euro Poker Finals. This was his
highest WSOP-related finish ever.
Cash game pro Mark Gregorich finished in fifth place. Gregorich is widely
respected as an Omaha High-Low specialist which meant the mixed-game H.
O.R.S.E. format certainly favored his strengths. However, Gregorich remained
short on chips throughout the tournament. At one point in the middle of Day
Two, well short of the prize money, Gregorich was second-lowest in chips.
However, he managed to survive and went all the way to fifth in the final
standings.
There was considerable interest in whether or not Phil Ivey would record his
sixth career WSOP victory. Ivey had the chip lead at various stages of play
on Days One and Two. But he struggled much of Day Three and ended up
going out in sixth place.
Jeffrey Lisandro suffered a series of brutal beats at the final table. He was
primed to make a run at winning his second WSOP title. But about four hours
into play the Italian/Australian pro lost three critical pots that took him down
to the felt. Lisandro ended up as the seventh-place finisher.
Yuval Bronshtein finished in tenth place. Last year in this same event,
Bronshtein took sixth place.
Eleven-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth finished in 12th place.
This was Hellmuth's 69th career cash at the WSOP. He is the all-time leader
in that category. He continues to distance himself from the pack.
It was a case of déjà vu all over again for Marc Goodwin, from Birmingham,
UK. Goodwin took 15th place in 2007 and 15th place again this year.
Thomas "Buzzer" Bihl won this event in 2007, which was the first WSOP-
related tournament ever held outside the U.S. Bihl played again this year but
did not make it into the money.
Nikolay Evdakov, from Moscow, Russia played in this event, but did not cash.
In 2008, Evdakov shattered the record for "most cashes in a single year" at
the WSOP, when he finished in-the-money ten times (the previous record
was eight cashes). He has two more opportunities to add to his record, with
two WSOPE events still to be played.
This was the second H.O.R.S.E. tournament to be played at WSOP Europe.
Last year's tournament attracted 102 entries. This year, 110 players signed
up. H.O.R.S.E. is a rotation of the five most popular forms of poker played in
cardrooms today – including Hold'em, Omaha High-Low, Razz, Seven-Card
Stud, and Stud High-Low.
The buy-in amount for WSOPE Event 1 was ₤2,500, equivalent to about
$4,640 (USD) at the current exchange rate.
The final table was played on Wednesday, September 22nd. Play began at 3:
30 pm and ended at about 5 am – lasting 13.5 hours.
This tournament is classified as "WSOPE Event 2," as well as "WSOP Event
57" as it is the 57th WSOP gold bracelet event of the 2008 calendar year.
World Series of Poker Europe Presented by Betfair includes the final four gold
bracelet events of the 2008 season. WSOP events 1-55 were played in Las
Vegas, Nevada (USA) from 28 May through 14 July. Events 56-59 are played
in London, England from 19 September through 2 October.
All WSOPE results are included in official WSOP records -- including all-time
wins, cashes, final table appearances, etc.
This marks the second consecutive year of WSOPE Presented by Betfair. In
2007, three WSOP gold bracelet events were played in London.
The turnout for WSOPE Event 2 was 110 players, up from the 105 who
played in this event last year.
This tournament attracted one of the most formidable fields in WSOP history.
About a quarter of the players who entered – 26 out of 110 -- were former
WSOP gold bracelet winners. This list of former champions included:
David Benyamine
Chris Bjorin
Thomas Bihl
Doyle Brunson
Brandon Cantu
Allen Cunningham
Ivo Donev
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson
Layne Flack
Barry Greenstein
Thor Hansen
Phil Hellmuth
Phil Ivey
John Juanda
Howard Lederer
Jeffrey Lisandro
Jeff Madsen
Mike Matusow
Daniel Negreanu
Max Pescatori
John Phan
Erik Seidel
David "Devilfish" Ulliott
Jen Voertmann
David Williams
Robert Williamson III
All four WSOPE events this year are played at Casino at the Empire, located
in Leicester Square, in Central London. Leicester Square is best known as
the theatre district of the city. Casino at the Empire is part of London Clubs,
International, which is owned by Harrah's Entertainment.
Casino at the Empire holds 25 poker tables. Gaming tables were removed
during the 16-day duration of WSOPE in order to make necessary room for
the large turnout of players and spectators.
This year's World Series of Poker is the largest in history. A grand total of
59,240 players have entered the 57 gold bracelet events held so far – with
two WSOPE events still to be played. This number exceeds last year's total
entries, which was 54,288.
This was the richest World Series of Poker in history. A grand total of
$182,060,002 in prize money awarded (so far) in 2008 makes this the richest
event in all of sports. Note: This figure does not include two upcoming
WSOPE events. These figures represent an increase of 14 percent over 2007.
The 2008 World Series of Poker championship gold bracelets are designed
and manufactured by Corum USA. For more information and specifications,
contact Knych Keller: kkeller@corumusa.com
_________________________________
World Series of Poker Commissioner – Jeffrey Pollack
Director of Sponsorship and Licensing -- Ty Stewart
Director of Broadcasting and New Media – Craig Abrahams
Director of Communications – Seth Palansky
Regional Vice President of Specialty Gaming -- Howard Greenbaum
Tournament Director – Jack Effel
Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates. Farnood is chairman of
Kabulbank, one of the largest banks in Afghanistan.
Farnood, who spends considerable time in both Dubai (United Arab Emirates)
and his native homeland, is reported to be one of the richest persons in
Afghanistan.
In 2005, Farnood became the first poker player ever to cash from the nation
of Afghanistan. At the time, Farnood –half-jokingly announced that he was
Afghanistan's most famous poker player – an ironic statement considering
he's probably the only Afghani who plays regularly on the poker tournament
circuit.
Farnood is the first player to ever win a WSOP gold bracelet from
Afghanistan. He is also believed to be the first full-time resident of the Middle
East to win poker's most coveted prize.
Could there now be such a thing as 31 million gold bracelet winners?
Perhaps. "This is for the people of Afghanistan," Farnood proudly announced
in a post-tournament interview. "Because (I won), all the people of my
country have a gold bracelet with me."
This was Farnood's first WSOP gold bracelet victory. He now has six career
WSOP in-the-money finishes. This was his fourth final table appearance.
Farnood also made it to the final table of last year's WSOPE Pot-Limit Omaha
championship (6th place).
NOTE: Farnood is sometimes listed (incorrectly) in various poker media as
"Farnood Sherkhan." These names should be reversed and properly listed as
"Sherkhan Farnood."
Farnood collected first place prize money totaling ₤76,999, equivalent to
about $192,894 in US dollars.
Farnood's victory means that the five WSOPE tournaments played so far have
been won by players from England (2), Norway, Denmark, and Afghanistan.
When heads-up play began, rival Ivo Donev enjoyed a 3 to 2 chip advantage
over Sherkhan Farnood. However Farnood recovered from an all-in situation
late and stormed back to dominate the final 30 minutes of play. Farnood
scooped virtually every pot in the later stages of the tournament.
The runner up was Ivo Donev from Lochau, Austria. In 2000, he won a gold
bracelet in the $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold'em event. This marked his ninth time
to cash in a WSOP competition. This was his fourth final table appearance.
Donev is the only poker player from Austria ever to win a WSOP gold
bracelet. Donev was born in Bulgaria. However, he immigrated to Austria in
1990. Prior to becoming interested in poker, Donev was (and remains) an
international chess master. In 1989, he won the prestigious CSSR
International Chess Tournament. He wrote a chess book published in
German language, which is translated as "The Most Important Ideas in the
End Game." Donev has his own German language website, with lengthy
discussions on games. It can be found at: www.ivodonev.com
This was the most experienced final table lineup of the year, considering all
57 WSOP events played thus far. All eight of the top finalists had previously
made WSOP final table appearances. Four players were former gold bracelet
winners.
Two-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Howard Lederer finished in third place.
This marked his 38th career WSOP in-the-money finish. Lederer's first time to
cash came in 1987. His last WSOP victory came in 2001.
Fourth-place finisher Jeff Duvall has a long and impressive record of
tournament finishes dating back to 2000. He has previously won events at
the European Poker Tour, Midlands Masters, Euro Poker Finals. This was his
highest WSOP-related finish ever.
Cash game pro Mark Gregorich finished in fifth place. Gregorich is widely
respected as an Omaha High-Low specialist which meant the mixed-game H.
O.R.S.E. format certainly favored his strengths. However, Gregorich remained
short on chips throughout the tournament. At one point in the middle of Day
Two, well short of the prize money, Gregorich was second-lowest in chips.
However, he managed to survive and went all the way to fifth in the final
standings.
There was considerable interest in whether or not Phil Ivey would record his
sixth career WSOP victory. Ivey had the chip lead at various stages of play
on Days One and Two. But he struggled much of Day Three and ended up
going out in sixth place.
Jeffrey Lisandro suffered a series of brutal beats at the final table. He was
primed to make a run at winning his second WSOP title. But about four hours
into play the Italian/Australian pro lost three critical pots that took him down
to the felt. Lisandro ended up as the seventh-place finisher.
Yuval Bronshtein finished in tenth place. Last year in this same event,
Bronshtein took sixth place.
Eleven-time WSOP gold bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth finished in 12th place.
This was Hellmuth's 69th career cash at the WSOP. He is the all-time leader
in that category. He continues to distance himself from the pack.
It was a case of déjà vu all over again for Marc Goodwin, from Birmingham,
UK. Goodwin took 15th place in 2007 and 15th place again this year.
Thomas "Buzzer" Bihl won this event in 2007, which was the first WSOP-
related tournament ever held outside the U.S. Bihl played again this year but
did not make it into the money.
Nikolay Evdakov, from Moscow, Russia played in this event, but did not cash.
In 2008, Evdakov shattered the record for "most cashes in a single year" at
the WSOP, when he finished in-the-money ten times (the previous record
was eight cashes). He has two more opportunities to add to his record, with
two WSOPE events still to be played.
This was the second H.O.R.S.E. tournament to be played at WSOP Europe.
Last year's tournament attracted 102 entries. This year, 110 players signed
up. H.O.R.S.E. is a rotation of the five most popular forms of poker played in
cardrooms today – including Hold'em, Omaha High-Low, Razz, Seven-Card
Stud, and Stud High-Low.
The buy-in amount for WSOPE Event 1 was ₤2,500, equivalent to about
$4,640 (USD) at the current exchange rate.
The final table was played on Wednesday, September 22nd. Play began at 3:
30 pm and ended at about 5 am – lasting 13.5 hours.
This tournament is classified as "WSOPE Event 2," as well as "WSOP Event
57" as it is the 57th WSOP gold bracelet event of the 2008 calendar year.
World Series of Poker Europe Presented by Betfair includes the final four gold
bracelet events of the 2008 season. WSOP events 1-55 were played in Las
Vegas, Nevada (USA) from 28 May through 14 July. Events 56-59 are played
in London, England from 19 September through 2 October.
All WSOPE results are included in official WSOP records -- including all-time
wins, cashes, final table appearances, etc.
This marks the second consecutive year of WSOPE Presented by Betfair. In
2007, three WSOP gold bracelet events were played in London.
The turnout for WSOPE Event 2 was 110 players, up from the 105 who
played in this event last year.
This tournament attracted one of the most formidable fields in WSOP history.
About a quarter of the players who entered – 26 out of 110 -- were former
WSOP gold bracelet winners. This list of former champions included:
David Benyamine
Chris Bjorin
Thomas Bihl
Doyle Brunson
Brandon Cantu
Allen Cunningham
Ivo Donev
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson
Layne Flack
Barry Greenstein
Thor Hansen
Phil Hellmuth
Phil Ivey
John Juanda
Howard Lederer
Jeffrey Lisandro
Jeff Madsen
Mike Matusow
Daniel Negreanu
Max Pescatori
John Phan
Erik Seidel
David "Devilfish" Ulliott
Jen Voertmann
David Williams
Robert Williamson III
All four WSOPE events this year are played at Casino at the Empire, located
in Leicester Square, in Central London. Leicester Square is best known as
the theatre district of the city. Casino at the Empire is part of London Clubs,
International, which is owned by Harrah's Entertainment.
Casino at the Empire holds 25 poker tables. Gaming tables were removed
during the 16-day duration of WSOPE in order to make necessary room for
the large turnout of players and spectators.
This year's World Series of Poker is the largest in history. A grand total of
59,240 players have entered the 57 gold bracelet events held so far – with
two WSOPE events still to be played. This number exceeds last year's total
entries, which was 54,288.
This was the richest World Series of Poker in history. A grand total of
$182,060,002 in prize money awarded (so far) in 2008 makes this the richest
event in all of sports. Note: This figure does not include two upcoming
WSOPE events. These figures represent an increase of 14 percent over 2007.
The 2008 World Series of Poker championship gold bracelets are designed
and manufactured by Corum USA. For more information and specifications,
contact Knych Keller: kkeller@corumusa.com
_________________________________
World Series of Poker Commissioner – Jeffrey Pollack
Director of Sponsorship and Licensing -- Ty Stewart
Director of Broadcasting and New Media – Craig Abrahams
Director of Communications – Seth Palansky
Regional Vice President of Specialty Gaming -- Howard Greenbaum
Tournament Director – Jack Effel
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