Bloggers / Matthew Pitt / 29 October 2009 / Leave a comment

With the final table of the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event almost upon us I thought it would be an idea to give a quick run-down of the November Nine to see who is struggling for form and who is no fire right now. I am going to classify the three players mentioned below as long shots due to their starting chip counts come November 7.

James Akenhead - 9th place with 6,800,000 chips

Born in London in 1983, James Akenhead is part of the Poker Hitsquad, a group of players who travel the tournament circuit together and discuss strategy amongst other things. Being part of the Hitsquad has obviously paid off as James finds himself at the final table of the WSOP Main Event, albeit as the table's short-stack.

James has almost had his hands on a coveted bracelet before but lost cruelly heads up during Event#2 of the 2008 World Series when he called an all-in bet with Ace-King when heads-up against Grant Hinkle who held Ten-four, only for the flop to come TT4! To make matters worse the turn was the case ten, giving Hinkle quad tens and the title.

In preparation for the biggest final table of his life, James has been going about his usual business of playing poker tournaments both online and live with his best result finishing ninth at the £10,000 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event. No British player has ever made final tables at both the WSOP in Las Vegas and in London in the same year.

Antoine Saout - 8th place with 9,500,000 chips

The Frenchman from Saint Martin des Champs is the second non-US player to reach the final table this year. The 25-year old has gathered quite a following after qualifying for the Main Event online for just $50 and is already guaranteed over $1,200,000. Could he be the next Chris Moneymaker?

Saout has only been playing poker for around 18 months and whether he can cope with the pressure of the TV cameras and playing for such vast sums of money needs to be seen. However, he did manage to cope with having Phil Ivey directly to his left for the final three days of the Main Event so he will not be a complete pushover that is for certain.

During the three month break, Saout has been playing a lot more live poker, cashing for another $230,233, the bulk of which was from his seventh place finish at the WSOPE Main Event, the second player in the November Nine to reach double WSOP Main Event final tables.

Phil Ivey - 7th place with 9,765,000 chips

Phil Ivey, 'The Tiger Woods of Poker' needs no introduction. Arguably the best poker player to have ever lived, Ivey is easily the most accomplished of the nine remaining players with $12,096,302 in live tournament wins and countless millions in profit from the cash tables .If rumours are to be believed Ivey stands to win more from prop bets than he would receive from the prizepool but Ivey has openly admitted he really wants to get his hands on a Main Event bracelet

A 4th place finish here would see Ivey overtake both Jamie Gold and Daniel Negreanu on the all-time money list, whilst an outright victory would see him get his hands on his eighth bracelet (his third of the 2009 WSOP) and his first from a No-limit Hold'em discipline. Do not be fooled by Ivey's relatively small stack as if anyone is capable of overcoming this obstacle then it is Mr Ivey.

Only being able to get 6/1 on Ivey winning the 'Big Dance' is a testament to the man's skills. I would not bet against him that is for sure.

2009 WSOP Main Event Final Table: The Contenders