Steve Billirakis Wins WSOPE Event #3

WSOP Europe / Matthew Pitt / 13 October 2011 / Leave a Comment

Photo credit: PokerNews.com / WSOP.com

Billirakis used his substantial chip advantage to push his remaining opponents around and when the dangerous Ramzi Jelassi was sent packing, by Billirakis, there was never going to be any other result except a second WSOP win for the young Chicago-born poker pro.

Back in 2007 Steve Billirakis won the $5,000 Mixed Hold'em Championship at the World Series of Poker and in doing so he became the youngest-ever winner of a WSOP bracelet (until Annette Obrestad won the WSOPE Main Event a few months later) and now he has won a second bracelet after taking down the €5,300 Pot Limit Omaha event at the 2011 WSOPE in Cannes.

A total of 180 players swapped €5,300 for 15,000 tournament chips and the chance of winning a coveted gold bracelet, and let us not forget the not-so-small sum of €238,140 in prize money. Some of the biggest names in world poker such as Phil Hellmuth, Sam Stein, David Williams and Mike McDonald entered but ultimately fell short of the cash places, those were reserved for the likes of David Benyamine, Shawn Buchanan and Jason Mercier.

Even the nine-handed final table was full of well-known and respected players but it was Billirakis who outlasted them all to become a worthy champion. The first to be eliminated from the final day's play was Eoghan O'Dea who you may recall is part of the November Nine, followed by Sam Chartier (winner of a WSOP-C ring), Erich Kollman and Konstantin Uspenskiy.

When the tournament was down to five players Billirakis was not in the best of shape but he doubled up through one of the two Brits at the final table, Jerome Bradpiece when his aces faded a flush draw, a hand that set Bradpiece's demise in motion. It was quite fitting then that Billirakis become his executioner shortly afterwards when Bradpiece's money went in with top pair and a gutshot straight draw but he could not fade the flush draw Billirakis was on and the popular Brit headed to the rail in fifth place.

Another Brit, Sam Trickett started with high hopes of becoming a WSOP bracelet winner but those dreams were ended prematurely when he busted out in fourth place. According to his Twitter account he never really had a playable hand during the entire final table and when he did his opponents outflopped him. This was shown in his exit hand when Michele Di Lauro called a raise with Qc-3c-7h-2h who then went to flop two pair on a 5c-7s-2d flop to crack the KhJs10d10s of Trickett.

From that point on Billirakis used his substantial chip advantage to push his remaining opponents around and when the dangerous Ramzi Jelassi was sent packing, by Billirakis, there was never going to be any other result except a second WSOP win for the young Chicago-born poker pro.

Heads up lasted exactly two hands, the first saw Billirakis pick up a one million chip pot when he called a raise on the river of a board reading 6c-6h-10h-2h-9s having made a full house with AhJc9d6d, much better than the 5s4c2c2d Di Lauro held. The very next hand the money went in on an As-Kd-7s flop with Billirakis holding top two pair, which held and he become a double WSOP champion.

Final table results

1st: Steve Billirakis - €238,140
2nd: Michele Di Lauro - €147,171
3rd: Ramzi Jelassi - €105,937
4th: Sam Trickett - €77,642
5th: Jerome Bradpiece - €57,912
6th: Konstantin Uspenskiy - €43,950
7th: Erich Kollmann - €33,922
8th: Sam Chartier - €26,610
9th: Eoghan O'Dea - €21,221

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