By Alexis Russell

10/02/2008

              The World Series of Poker Europe is winding down its second annual tournament and all that remains is deciding who will take down the huge pot in the Main Event.  The final 9 players have fought their way there and it seems Phil Hellmuth hasn’t gotten his chance at being the first American to win the event.  However, there are a few poker players representing the U.S. this year at the WSOPE final table.

                Yesterday the final table was fought for by 24 players but 15 were sent packing.  US players have had a strong presence in this year’s WSOPE Main Event and two of them have landed themselves a chance at the top prize.  John Juanda is one of those players and is holding the most chips going into the final table.  His 1,349,000 chips isn’t much more than the second highest chip stack holder Stanislav Alekhin but it has given him some good padding to aid his aggressive playing style going into the final round of playing.

                The second US pro player making a final table showing is the longtime fan favorite Daniel Negreanu.  Currently fourth in the chip stack totals Daniel Negreanu played smart poker to take Justin Smith’s huge stack and solidify his seat at the final table.  Negreanu already has 4 WSOP bracelets and is looking for a fifth, while Juanda is looking to take home a fourth bracelet.

                But the biggest story of the WSOPE Main Event has got to be Ivan Demidov.  The young Russian player early this year became the first player from his country to earn a seat at the WSOP Main Event final table which is to be played out in November.  Demidov is the first player to achieve the feat of final table showings in both of these events in the same year and may not be followed for some time to come.  But Demidov isn’t just settling for getting to the final tables.  He still has his eyes on the big pay off that comes to the last player standing.

 Seat 1 - Robin Keston – Chip Stack: 849,000

Seat 2 - Daniel Negreanu – Chip Stack: 1,002,000

Seat 3 - Chris Elliott – Chip Stack: 281,000

Seat 4 - Bengt Sonnert – Chip Stack: 385,000

Seat 5 - John Juanda – Chip Stack: 1,349,000          

Seat 6 - Ivan Demidov – Chip Stack: 1,006,000

Seat 7 - Toni Hiltunen – Chip Stack: 386,000

Seat 8 - Scott Fischman – Chip Stack: 732,000

Seat 9 - Stanislav Alekhin – Chip Stack: $1,278,000