Looking down on the action for the WSOP Europe Main Event

The conclusion for the final table at the World Series of Poker Europe will air Sunday, February 28th at 9:00 p.m. EST on ESPN2.  The final table was stacked with some of the most accomplished names in poker, with ten WSOP bracelets at the table, looking to add a Main Event bracelet to their resume. Including BLUFF‘s 2009 Player of the Year Jason Mercier who entered play with roughly 30% of the chips in play.

The Casino at the Empire in Leicester Square in London hosted the event that saw 334 hopefuls vying for one poker’s most coveted titles. The final table featured one poker’s brightest stars, a publisher that landed in BLUFF’s annual Power 20 and two 2009 November Niners. The chips counts entering the final table lined up like this:

• Jason Mercier – 3,198,000
• James Akenhead – 1,398,00
• Praz Bansi – 1,160,000
• Barry Shulman – 1,090,000
• Markus Ristola – 784,000
• Antoine Saout – 701,000
• Matt Hawrilenko – 674,000
• Chris Bjorin – 518,000
• Daniel Negreanu – 438,000

The first hour will feature the start of the final table and cover the first five eliminations. A series of moves and double ups by the short-stacked players occurs as they try to chip up and hit the seven-figure mark.  The second hour of the broadcast features the final four players battling for the bracelet. The four-way action led to a truly epic battle for the title.

James Akenhead and Antoine Saout followed 2008 November Niner Ivan Demidov‘s lead when he made the WSOP Europe Main Event Final Table the year prior. Although neither Akenhead or Saout fulfilled their dreams in November at the Rio, the two are poised to make history together.

Barry Shulman built on a successful summer at the Rio where he made a final table and a couple other deep runs. Shulman is the oldest player at the table and made a historic Main Event Final Table appearance as his son, Jeff Shulman, was readying for his own Main Event title run as another member of the 2009 November Nine. They are the only father-son combination to each make a WSOP Main Event final table.

Daniel Negreanu may be the most popular poker player on the planet. The PokerStars pro has four WSOP bracelets already and is among the leaders for lifetime tournament earnings. The 2004 WSOP Player of the Year looks to put an exclamation point on his career by winning a Main Event title.

Mercier and Matt Hawrilenko both won their first WSOP bracelet during the 2009 WSOP and Praz Bansi won his in a 2006 event. They all have over $1,000,000 in tournament winnings in their careers and are poised to bring their career to the next level.

Chris Bjorin is one of the U.K.’s most accomplished poker players. He has two bracelets to his credit and over $3 million in lifetime earnings. He has been playing at the WSOP since 1991. While Markus Ristola was only 22 years-old at the time of the final table this marks his fifth final table appearance in his young career.

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