And Finally

I played in the £1,000 NLH event at the WSOPE (E for Europe) recently, which I felt was worth a punt, but I never intended to tackle the main event (£10,000 entry) which has just moved to the final table stage at Day 4.

Ironically, it will of course finish (today) more than a month earlier than the final of the WSOP Main Event itself from the Vegas series due to the TV-inspired 3month+ break in that tournament.

There are clear differences in the two events; the most striking of course is the difference in the field size although at ~400, the European Main Event was not remotely small for such an enormous buy-in [the WSOP main event had about 6,500 entrants this year].

The other difference, I would say, was the quality of the starting field. It was absolutely packed with high profile players and it seems like the whole of the global elite of poker is spending the entire autumn in and around London, with so many key events being staged. The EPT festival is already underway in fact whilst the WSOPE has not yet finished.

The intense starting field has led to an insanely talented final table.

http://www.gutshot.com/bforum/showthread.php?t=33588

I previously mentioned that I have two "interests" at the November final table. It promises to be a fascinating encounter with Phil Ivey in the mix, but I will of course mainly be following both James Akenhead (Gutshot heritage, and "I know him" factor) and of course Steve Begleiter (Bear Stearns veteran).

The incredible thing is that James Akenhead has made the final table of the WSOPE Main Event as well. What is more, another player (Antoine Souat) has also made both final tables.

It's an amazing feat on both their parts. To top it, one of them could go on to win both titles I suppose which would very probably be an achievement never to be repeated. In fact, if either James or Antoine were to take this title then it's safe to assume that it will be a gift to Harrah's and ESPN in time for the November coverage.

James' stock - already very bullish with his 2nd place in WSOP Event#2 last year, November 9 this year and Full Tilt pro deal - must be absolutely through the roof here.