WSOP Final Table Reunites, First Eliminations Take Place

Nine survivors put up quite a performance at the end of this year's World Series of Poker As Nov. 6 approached, poker fans became impatient in anticipation of the 2011 World Series of Poker final table in Las Vegas. The final nine reunited in a final countdown and a fierce battle for the lion's share in the massive prize pool. Their prizes will be determined on a sliding scale, based on their positions, so the winner will take home $8,715,638, the runner up $5,433,086, the third-placed $4,021,138, and the fourth placing being worth $3,012,700, etc. In terms of this year's final nine, they are: Martin Staszko (35) - the chip leader at the beginning of the final table action, a poker pro coming from Trinec in the Czech Republic; Matt Giannetti (26) - a professional poker player from Las Vegas who studied at the University of Texas before going pro; Badih Bou-Nahra (49), a grocery wholesaler in Belize, the oldest player at the table and the only amateur player, going through his fourth World Series of Poker; Eoghan O'Dea (26) - a young and prospective Dubliner, the son of famous Irish poker professional Donnacha O'Dea, already has five WSOP cashes and several more in other top live tourneys; Phil Collins (26) – a local player, known as a tough and successful online player who previously studied at the University of South Carolina; Anton Makiievskyi (21) – the youngest final tabler who comes from Dnepropetrovsk in Ukraine, and gives brilliant performance at his first WSOP; Sam Holden (22) – British online ace, comes from Sussex in the UK; Pius Heinz (22) - a Cologne, Germany pro, the first German at a WSOP final table, and a player known for his steady and aggressive style; Ben Lamb (26) – a poker pro from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who has seen a fantastic year with four cashes that comprise a gold bracelet win and a second place finish at the WSOP, and now the final table in the Main Event. When the nine reunited at Rio in Las Vegas on Nov. 6, there was lots of whooping, chanting, flag-waving, light shows and hot show girls firing logo-emblazoned T-shirts from air launchers into the crowd. However, the action itself began on a quiet note, and continued that way for some two-and-a-half hours, after which the players started shooting from their own heavy machinery. Therefore, after 100 hands, five of the final nine got eliminated from the play, so the remaining four, Pius Heinz (22), Matt Giannetti (26), Ben Lamb (26) and Martin Staszko (35), can look forward to a guaranteed $3 million payout. The five that left the competition include British online ace Sam Holden (22), who stayed in the action for only fifty one hands before he became the first casualty of the day. He was eliminated by Ben Lamb, but he still earned himself the biggest live tournament paycheck - $782,115. The second elimination was that of Ukrainian Anton Makiievskyi (21) who earned just over a million dollars for his eighth place. The seventh placing was occupied by the Belize amateur player, Badih 'Bob' Bou-Nahra, who was defeated in a clash with Martin Staskzo on hand 67, but still earned a hefty cheque for $1,314,097. Following him out the door was Eoghan O'Dea, who was a bit disappointed about his placing despite the paycheck to $1,720,831. He was bundled out of the event by Martin Staszko, but a major share of his chip stack was lost to Heinz beforehand. Finally, the fifth placing belonged to Phil Collins (26), who was taken out at the 100 hand mark, immediately after O'Dea, and he was kicked out by a dominating Pius Heinz. He still earned a nice pay day of $2,269,599, which brought his current career earnings to around $2.5 million. Around 9.50 Pacific Standard Time, the remaining players' chip stacks were the following: Pius Heinz 89,600,000 Martin Staszko 44,350,000 Matt Giannetti 41,800,000 Ben Lamb 30,200,000 However, as the plan was to play down to the last three finalists, there was room for another, sixth elimination – that of Matt Giannetti who fell victim to Ben Lamb's fierce play on hand 178. His fourth placement earned him $3,012,700 - quite a consolation prize. Now there are only three formidable survivors remaining - Pius Heinz, Martin Stasko and Ben Lamb. Their unofficial chip counts after 10.5 hours of play are: Pius Heinz (Germany) 107,800,000 Ben Lamb (USA) 55,400,000 Martin Staszko (Czech Republic) 42,700,000.