Home / Poker News September 2009 / WSOPE Event #3 – Jani Vilmunen takes title
WSOPE Event #3 – Jani Vilmunen takes title
Posted by: James Carter. - Mon, 2009-09-28 12:44
Nine players returned to the tables of the Empire Casino in London to determine the winner of the £5,000 PL Omaha event, #3 of the series. Parallel to the final table of the third event, the Caesar’s Cup event took place across the room, drawing a large number of railbirds and spectators who have no doubt contributed a great deal to the electrifying atmosphere surrounding the competition.
Robert Williamson III began the final table with a mere 64,000 chip stack. Sure enough, he became the first victim of the final table when Roberto Romanello decided to add Williamson’s chips to his stack.
Williamson’s K,K,8,4 didn’t look bad at all against Romanello’s K,Q,Q,J on the flop of 9,5, 5, but Lady Luck didn’t want him at the table, and the J and the 10 that followed on the board gave Romanello a runner-runner straight to eliminate him in 9th place.
Howard Lederer was the protagonist of the next decisive confrontation, against Jeff Kimber, which resulted in Kimber’s elimination. Both players hit two pairs, but Lederer’s was higher and Kimber bit the dust in 8th.
Williamson’s flimsy stack a small addition to his own, Romanello soon found himself in trouble. He showed all-in on a 9,8,5,4, looking to make a straight on a flop of 7,3,2. That straight never came though and Jani Vilmunen’s 7,6,5,4 proved enough to beat him to the pot.
Vilmunen didn’t stop at that though. A few hands down the line, he called Daniel Hindin’s all in and a decisive hand developed once again. Hindin’s A,Q,Q,5 proved to be no match for Vilmunen’s A,A,10,4 on the board of K,7,5,2,J and he too was done in 6th place.
After Hindin’s elimination, no outstandingly short stack was left at the table, so the action slowed down a little. Ville Haavisto made the first move following the lull, as he locked horns with Howard Lederer on a flop of K,8,5. Haavisto did have the advantage on the flop with his two pair pitted against Lederer’s top pair, but “Bubba” then proceeded to hit a straight on the river to dispose of Haavisto in 5th.
Ross Boatman stayed out of harm’s way for most of the final table, but his shortening stack finally flushed him out of his shell. He shoved all-in against Aaron Kivelio and his pair of Ks fell to Kivelio’s set of 5s.
Kivelio busted in third place, at the hands of Vilmunen, who made a more than welcome addition to his stack as Lederer had begun to pull away.
Kivelio’s elimination meant that Lederer’s lead going into the heads-up stage was only a marginal one.
The two of them played small ball for a while, until Vilmunen got tired of it and put an end to the hostilities on a flop of 8,7,6. Lederer had A,Q, 5,4 for the bottom straight, but Vilmunen was well ahead by then, holding Q,10,9,7.
The 10 on the turn and the A on the river gave Vilmunen the final pot of the event, together with the bracelet and the £204,048 first prize.
