Home / Poker News September 2009 / Erik Cajelais wins WSOPE bracelet in event #2
Erik Cajelais wins WSOPE bracelet in event #2
Posted by: James Carter. - Thu, 2009-09-24 09:57
The second event of the WSOPE London saw 5 players return to the tables of the Empire Casino, survivors of an initial starting field of 158. All these guys were pretty close to the gold bracelet offered by the £2,500 Pl Holdem/PL Omaha mixed event, but closest of all was Mats Gavatin, whose 448,000 chips gave him the chip lead heading into the final table hostilities.
Richard Gryko was second in chips (with 329,00), followed by Men Nguyen, with 268,000, Erik Cajelais with 81,000 and Robin Keston with 63,000.
Cajelais, the Day 1 chip leader, had made it to the final table but his short stack obviously put him in a precarious position as soon as the action kicked off. Under pressure to double up, he saw a flop of 5,3,3 with Mats Gavatin. The money went all-in on the flop and Cajelais showed A,4,6,3 for a gutshot straight draw and a set of threes. Gavatin had A,A,K,7 for an overpair. The 7 on the turn hit Cajelais head on, filling up his draw. The 10 which came on the river changed nothing and Cajelais was in business again.
The first victim of day 3 wasn’t Robin Keston (the other short-stack) but Richard Gryko who had to tangle with Cajelais in order to force him back to a short-stack status. His Kd, Jd though proved to be no match for Cajelais’ Ac, Kc and instead of forcing his opponent out, Gryko hit the rail himself. His 5th place was worth £26,619.
The two double ups he’d scored really set Cajelais on fire. Not even Men Nguyen could hope to stop him, and it wasn’t for lack of trying either. “The Master” pushed it all in against the Canadian with As,8s and when Cajelais tabled Js, 10s, things were looking great for him. The flop of Ks, 8c, 5s didn’t change much but things were starting to turn bleak for Nguyen when the turn landed a 7c. Sure enough, the river came a 9c, filling Cajelais’ straight and sending “the master” to the rail in 4th place. His prize was a £35,412 one.
Robin Keston was the next victim and I reckon I shouldn’t even tell you who bounced him… That’s right, it was Cajelais yet again, who turned into a truly unstoppable hit-man over the course of a few final table hands. Keston trusted his tourney life to a pair of deuces he’d picked up, but Cajelais’ set of Kings never gave him any breathing room. Keston picked up £47,858 for his 3rd place.
The heads-up action between Cajelais and Gavatin was an uneven affair. Gavatin had to do something and he had to do it fast if he wanted to get a fair shot at the title. Sure enough, he managed to double up, but that still wasn’t enough. He had to push his luck further and he moved all-in again on his 10,10,9,8 in a PLO round. Cajelais called him and tabled Q,J,9,7. The flop fell A,Q,Q and it became obvious straight away who Lady Luck bet on that day. The turn brought an A and the J on the river filled Cajelais’ boat to give him the title and the £104,677 first prize.
