Poker News / Short-Stacked Shamus / 03 September 2010 / Leave a Comment

September is the month the poker world turns its collective attention toward London, where a number of important events on the professional circuit calendar are taking place.

Currently, the World Poker Tour's London stop is coming to a close, with a champion due to be crowned over at the Palm Beach Casino on Saturday. And later in the month the European Poker Tour will be making coming to London as well with its Main Event kicking off at the Hilton London Metropole on September 29th.

But in between will come the series of events that will surely be attracting the most attention worldwide -- the World Series of Poker Europe at the Casino at the Empire, set to take place from September 14th through the 29th.

It has been interesting to watch the WSOPE grow since it was first introduced back in 2007, by now having established itself not only as an important stop on the professional tour, but a significant part of WSOP tradition as well.

When then-WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack announced back in February 2007 that the inaugural WSOPE would be taking place that September, he noted that even though the series was "designed with European players in mind," it was nevertheless the case that "registrants from every country are welcome." He also added that he hoped the WSOPE would become "an annual tradition for poker enthusiasts and a home for WSOP fans after the action concludes in Las Vegas each summer."

When the announcement was made that WSOP gold bracelets would be awarded to the winners of the three scheduled events in London that fall, there was some initial debate over the bracelets' legitimacy. Would these bracelets, the first ever to be awarded outside of Las Vegas, be regarded as "real" bracelets?

2004 WSOP Main Event champion Greg Raymer acknowledged the issue during an interview with PokerListings at the 2007 WSOPE. "A lot of people are debating whether it's a real bracelet or not," said Raymer. "I'm on the 'It's a real bracelet' side."

When asked to clarify, Raymer pointed out that the WSOPE events weren't that different from the preliminary events at the WSOP in Las Vegas for which "real" bracelets are also awarded. "You've got identical events, except for their date," argued Raymer, "and to say these bracelets don't count is kind of ridiculous." He did add, however, that if the WSOPE were to grow to 50-plus events as happens in Vegas each summer, that would be "a little different."

I think by now that debate has subsided somewhat, thanks in large part to the high quality of player fields the WSOPE has attracted during its first three years. Winning a WSOPE bracelet has proven to be quite the triumph, something that tends to gain one a lot of respect among one's poker playing peers as a not-so-simple achievement.

It also hasn't hurt that the WSOPE has managed to yield several notable stories during its brief existence, adding further to its prestige. Indeed, so far each year of the WSOPE has given us several notable stories.

2007 WSOPE
In 2007, the big story was obviously Annette Obrestad's victory in the £10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event. The online phenom known as "Annette_15" was a day shy of her 19th birthday when she won, having bested a star-studded field of 362 to do so. Winning the event also instantly made Obrestad the youngest-ever bracelet winner and catapulted her to the top of the career earnings list for women at the WSOP. Quite the kick-off for the WSOPE.

But the two preliminary events also garnered some attention -- and appreciation for the caliber of play and player -- at the 2007 WSOPE. A not-so-well-known German player named Thomas Bihl won Event No. 1, a £2,500 H.O.R.S.E event. But in order to win, Bihl had to outlast a final table that included Joe Beevers, Alex Kravchenko, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Kirk Morrison, and Jennifer Harman (who finished 2nd). Quite the line-up, including two players -- Ferguson and Harman -- who were among the 10 most-nominated for the 2010 Poker Hall of Fame!

The other event -- Event No. 2, £5,000 Pot Limit Omaha -- also attracted a highly-regarded, tough field, with Dario Alioto winning at a final table including Tony G, Sherkhan Farnood, and Andy Bloch.

2008 WSOPE
The next year was the first in which the WSOP introduced the "November Nine," that is, the delayed final table for the Main Event. Thus did the 2008 WSOPE that September appear amid that interim period while we waited for the WSOP ME to conclude. The scheduling thereby helped create the potential for some interesting stories involving that year's top performers at the WSOP in Vegas.

Jesper Hougaard won the first of the four scheduled events at the 2008 WSOP, a £1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event. The Danish pro made history as the first ever to win a bracelet in the same year at both the WSOP and the WSOPE, as Hougaard had won a $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event at Vegas that summer.

Sherkhan Farnood came back to win Event No. 2, the £2,500 H.O.R.S.E event, outlasting a final table including Jeff Lisandro, Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, and Ivo Donev. Theo Jorgensen won Event No. 3, the £5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event, beating Sorel Mizzi heads-up and surviving a final table at which sat Erik Friberg, Max Pescatori, Chris Ferguson, and Jason Mercier.

November Niner Ivan Demidov then made a remarkable run at the £10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event, ultimately finishing third. Demidov would go on to finish second in the WSOP Main Event a couple of months later, falling to Peter Eastgate. John Juanda won the 2008 WSOPE Main Event crown following an epic heads-up battle with the Russian, Stanislav Alekhin. Daniel Negreanu and Scott Fischman also made that final table, again helping demonstrate how the WSOPE was succeeding in attracting many of the world's best-known and accomplished players.

2009 WSOPE
Last year's WSOPE again had four events on the schedule. And once more, someone who had won a bracelet at that year's WSOP -- English player J.P. Kelly -- won a WSOPE bracelet, too, taking Event No. 1, the £1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event.

Erik Cajelais won Event No. 2, a £2,500 Pot Limit Hold'em/Omaha event, with Men Nguyen, Chris Bjorin, Hoyt Corkins, and Howard Lederer all making the final table. Lederer came close in Event No. 3, £5,000 Pot Limit Omaha, too, taking second to Jani Vilmunen.

Then came the 2009 WSOPE Main Event, again a £10,000 No Limit Hold'em tournament, and this time the final table saw not one but two of last year's "November Niners" -- Antoine Saout and James Akenhead -- among the final nine players. Akenhead would go out in ninth (as he would in the 2009 WSOP ME, too), while Saout would finish seventh (he'd make third at the WSOP ME).

Meanwhile, Barry Shulman -- whose son, Jeff, was also among the 2009 November Nine -- won the event after a stirring heads-up battle with Daniel Negreanu. Praz Bansi, Jason Mercier, Chris Bjorin, and Matt Hawrilenko were also among the group at that memorable final table.

This year will see five events at the WSOPE, four of which will be no-limit hold'em tourneys (including a six-handed one and a "high roller" event) and one pot-limit Omaha. The first three years of the WSOPE have set the bar fairly high when it comes to the quality of play and the excitement produced. Safe to say many will be watching the action closely this year to see which pros succeed, as well as to follow the progress of this year's November Niners.

I think one can say that much as Jeffrey Pollack had hoped, the WSOPE has in fact become "an annual tradition for poker enthusiasts." I know at least it has for this one.

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