WSOP Europe / Dave Allan / 21 September 2009 / Leave a comment

Fabien Dunlop kept up his impressive early tournament form to go into the WSOPE £1000 No Limit Hold'em final as the chip leader. Dunlop has almost twice as many chips as his nearest rivals but with WSOP bracelet winner JP Kelly on his tail this one certainly isn't over just yet.

Play stopped in the early hours as we lost our final table bubble boy Ganesh Bathmanathan. Bathmanathan pushed his small stack in with A7. Richard Allen wasted no time and called with AK. Three raggy looking diamond cards hit the flop and with Allen holding the King of diamonds and Ganesh holding none, his three original out cards were reduced to two. No miracle came on the turn or river and Bathmanathan had to settle for 10th place, pocketing £9,381 in the process.

Earlier in the day we lost some notable names. Chris "Jesus" Ferguson was looking in great shape following his exploits on Day 1. Ferguson could only manage 15th though and a £6,980 prize. His fellow American professional John Juanda also struggled to make an impact yesterday. Juanda headed for the rail 43rd after nursing his short stack into the money. Joe Grech, Padraig Parkinson and Roland De Wolfe found the going even tougher and couldn't register a money finish.

The focus now switches to the final later today and it certainly looks like a mouth watering affair. JP Kelly will be the favourite for many observers. His WSOP bracelet success earlier this year will certainly stand him in good stead as he hunts for European success. Fabien Dunlop looks like a man on a mission, though. His constant accumulation of chips yesterday has given him a big lead and he looks like a man at the top of his game.

The final nine are as follows:

Seat 1: Fabien Dunlop - 538,000
Seat 2: James Tomlin - 49,000
Seat 3: William Martin - 122,500
Seat 4: Richard Allen - 332,000
Seat 5: Anthony Roux - 88,000
Seat 6: Adnan Alshamah - 121,000
Seat 7: JP Kelly - 317,500
Seat 8: Thor Drexel - 77,000
Seat 9: Neil Suarez - 217,500

Players will take their seats at The Empire Casino in London for the final at 2pm UK time today. Over £130,000 and a WSOPE bracelet awaits the winner.

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