Tabatabai deep in WSOPE Event 1

Poker News / Matthew Pitt / 15 September 2010 / Leave a Comment

The 2010 World Series of Poker Europe is in full swing with Day 1 of Event#1, the £2,650 No-limit Hold'em Six-handed tournament completed. A host of big names failed to make it through the first day but one who did was Betfair's very own John Tabatabai.

Tabatabai, or "kunku wap" as he is known at the virtual felt, has had a barren spell in tournaments over the past year but looks on course to end the run when play resumes today. He burst onto the live poker scene back in 2007 at the inaugural WSOPE when he finished as runner-up to Annette Obrestad in the £10,000 Main Event. The following year he won the All Africa Poker Tour before following that up with a victory in the $5,000 Heads-up event at the 2009 Aussie Millions. The young Welshman has 69,900 chips in front of him, with the average stack being 59,032, placing him in 12th spot currently.

Of the 244 players who entered only 31 survived Day 1 and of those returning for Day 2, seven will walk away empty handed. One of those who finds himself at the wrong end of the leaderboard is British pro Praz Bansi who will return with 49,300 chips. Bansi, who won his second WSOP bracelet at this year's series in Las Vegas, will have a real battle on his hands to win bracelet number three but if anyone can the aggressive Brit can.

Britain has another representative at the opposite end of the spectrum in Chris Moorman. The Brighton-based online pro finds himself fifth in chips with a healthy 94,200 stack just 10,000 less that the current chip leaders Chris Bjorin and Andrew Pantling.

Swedish veteran Bjorin looks on course to make a record fifth WSOPE cash, nudging out Daniel Negreanu, when the players return to The Empire at 1400 today. Over the years Bjorin has amassed live tournament winnings of $4,657,054 and is easily the most experienced player left in the competition.

The overnight chip leader is Canadian Andrew Pantling who has been a consistent performer since appearing on the live circuit in 2007. His best results so far include a final table appearance in the $15,000 High Roller event at the 2008 Aussie Millions, a third place finish at the 2009 Irish Open and more recently, an outright win in the €5,000 Heads-up tournament at EPT Monte Carlo.