October 15 2012, Chad Holloway

The Season X World Poker Tour $25,000 World Championship continued on FSN on Sunday night with part two of a three-episode arc. The tournament originally took place at the Bellagio in Las Vegas from May 19 to 26, 2012, and attracted 152 players, creating a prize pool of $3,660,500. At stake was a top prize of $1,196,858 and the title to one of the world’s most prestigious poker tournaments.

In Part I of the WPT Championship, the early stages of the tournament were highlighted, which saw Joe Serock emerges at the Season X Player of the Year after the tightest race in WPT history. It also showcased the first elimination of the final table, which happened when Trevor Pope moved all in for 1.46 million from the button holding . Philippe Ktorza then moved all in for 1.7 million from the small blind with , pushing Michael Mizrachi out from the big blind. Pope was a 3-1 dog and was up out of his seat even before the flop fell , giving him a gut-shot draw to a wheel. The turn gave Ktorza a set, but it also gave Pope an added flush draw. Unfortunately for him, the river was not what he needed and Pope finished in sixth place for $155,571.

Here’s how things stacked up at the top of the broadcast:

WPT Season X $25,000 World Championship Final Table

The Fashion Report: The WPT’s Mike Sexton has been a proponent of dressing nicely at high-profile final tables, and they don’t get much bigger than the WPT Championship; as such, I figured I’d put my keep fashion eye to the test and size of the five finalists.

Michael Mizrachi: I’ve seen “The Grinder” on the circuit quite a bit, and more times than not he wears a hat. That wasn’t the case at the final table as Mizrachi sported a shaved head and a plaid long-sleeve maroon and grey button-up complete with a Deepstacks patch. It was a strange getup in that it wasn’t too casual, but wasn’t really fancy. Grade: B-

Nick Schulman: A black t-shirt is definitely not classy, but when you look at the big, strapping Nick Schulman, you think more bad-boy outlaw, so the black t-shirt, which showed off the tattoo on his right arm and silver bracelet, worked just fine for the young pro. Grade: B

Marvin Rettenmaier: Those Europeans sure know how to dress, and this German pro is no different. “Mad Marvin” was sporting a long-sleeve white button-up, and when rolled up, the sleeves showed a fancy design. He completed that with a PartyPoker patch and a light brown scarf fastened in a way I’ve only seen in Europe. All he needed was a haircut! Grade: A

Steve O’Dwyer: A blue and white plaid button-up isn’t particularly special, but then again Steve O’Dwyer’s look is more about his trademark beard and flowing locks than anything. A shirt is a mere accessory, and in this case it did its job. Grade: B

Philippe Ktorza: Much like his European counterpart, Ktorza sported a white button-up with the sleeves rolled up. The Frenchman didn’t have a scarf, but he did sport a patch of the French flag, a nice watch, and a pair of sunglasses. It didn’t pop, but it was definitely upscale casual. Grade: B+

Steve O’Dwyer

Crazy Three-Way: With the blinds at 40,000/80,000 and a 10,000 ante, Michael Mizrachi looked down at and raised to 200,000. Marvin Rettenmaier, who was next to act, came in with a three-bet to 485,000 holding , prompting Steve O’Dwyer to move all in for 965,000 with . Mizrachi proceeded to five-bet all in for 2.14 million, and after thinking about it for a few moments, Rettenmaier called to put both players at risk.

Mizrachi was a 57 percent favorite to take down both the 2.35 million chip side pot and 3.025 million chip main pot, while O’Dwyer had just a 2 percent chance of winning outright, though he could still chop the main pot with Rettenmaier. The flop wasn’t of note, and neither was the turn. The river gave Mizrachi, who was going for his third WPT title, the chip lead with 5.375 million while sending O’Dwyer to the rail in fifth place for $192,176.

The Ladies Love Ktorza: Nick Schulman opened for 250,000 with only to have Philippe Ktorza move all in for 1.55 million after looking down at . Schulman thought long and hard before asking, “Hammer time?” He then dropped in a call and both players were up out of their seats. I’d like to say there was a good sweat, but the flop made sure there wasn’t one as Ktorza flopped four queens, leaving Schulman drawing dead. The French contingent went wild on the rail as the meaningless turn and river completed the board.

Five Questions Outtakes: Throughout Season X, the WPT aired a popular segment called Five Questions. This week’s segment featured outtakes from throughout the season. Here’ a small sample:

What is with your hairdo?

Will Failla: “Well, I was in Cannes, south of France, I’m watching all these French fries win all these chips, and I’m saying to myself, ‘What is it? What is it?’ And all of a sudden it hit me, I see their hairdo, and everybody’s got this French comb over. Haven’t lost a tournament since I’ve had the French comb over.”

Irv Gotti on his friend Phil Ivey: “I’ll give you one Phil Ivey story, he’s going to hate this too. He was really pissed when he lost that [WSOP] Main Event when he got to the final table, so when he got interviewed and everything, he kept his poker face, but when we went out, he was like, ‘[BLEEP].’ It was the first time I’ve ever seen him upset about poker. Usually he’s got ice in his veins.”

Schulman Out in Fourth Place: With the blinds at 60,000/120,000 and a 20,000 ante, action folded to Marvin Rettenmaier in the small blind and he raised to 280,000. Nick Schulman responded by moving all in for 2.765 million and was snap-called by Rettenmaier. Even before the cards were turned up, Schulman’s face said he was in trouble.

Nick Schulman

The crowd was unusually quiet, and both Rettenmaier and Schulman were on their feet. Schulman needed some help, but the flop left him wanting. The turn paired Schulman, but the 27-year-old pro still needed either another five or an ace on the river keep his hopes of a second WPT title alive. The dealer burned and revealed the . Rettenmaier celebrated with his rail as Schulman exited in fourth place for $256,235.

“I just thought maybe he was a little card dead, getting a little desperate. I thought I might have him dominated, but you know, in retrospect, maybe I never do. It was probably a bad call,” Schulman told Jessica Welman in his post-elimination interview after being asked about his curious call against Philippe Ktorza. “I think I played pretty well, this last hand, he’s opening almost every hand in that spot… sometimes it just doesn’t go your way.”

Who will be the next to join this prestigious list:

Tune in Next Week:The conclusion of the WPT World Championship is set to air on Sunday, Oct. 21, on FSN, so be sure to check your local listings. If by chance you miss it, check back next week for the latest recap of all the action here on PokerNews.

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*Pictures courtesy of World Poker Tour.

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February 07 2012, Chad Holloway

The World Poker Tour Venice Grand Prix continued on Tuesday with Day 2 action from the Casino Di Venezia. Appropriately, the three players atop the chips counts – Filippo Candio, Gabriele Lepore, and Andrea Dato – were all from Italy and looking to keep the title on their home soil. By the end of the day, only 27 players remained and Marcel Bjerkmann led the way.

When action kicked off, 89 players from a field of 155 remained in contention, and it didn’t take long for players to start hitting the rail. One of the first eliminations of the day was Melanie Weisner. According to the World Poker Tour Live Update Team It happened when Simon Ravnsbaek opened from the cutoff for 2,100, Weisner three-bet from the button, and Ravnsbaek four-bet enough to put his opponent all-in. Weisner called off for approximately 31,000 and the cards were turned up.

Showdown

Weisner was in great shape to double, until the flop came down . Ravnsbaek hit his six and picked up a flush redraw. Neither the turn nor river helped Weisner and she exited the tournament floor.

Weisner was not the only notable to hit the rail in the early levels of Day 2. Guillaume Darcourt, Dario Alioto, Roberto Romanello, and Marvin Rettenmaier all failed to advance.

Another man who failed to survive was PartyPoker Pro Tony G. He began the day with a healthy 80,000, but couldn’t get anything going and dropped down to 16,000. He committed the last of this chips holding only to be called by Gianluca Trebbi who was holding . The board ran out clean for Trebbi, and he silenced the brassy Tony G.

Likewise, fellow PartyPoker Pro and WPT host Mike Sexton came up shy of the money. His demise came when Umberto Calabrese raised to 5,000 from the hijack and Sexton called from the small blind. Trebbi then exercised his option in the big blind with a three-bet to 17,500. Calabrese folded, and Sexton moved all-in for around 40,000. Trebbi made the call and it was off to the races.

Showdown

Sexton was ahead preflop, but the flop made him a major dog. The was no help, and neither was the . Sexton was eliminated on the hand while Trebbi chipped up to 450,000.

Not long after, Candio, who had finished Day 1 as the chip leader, followed Sexton out the door. It happened when he raised to 4,800 from early position only to have Jason Wheeler make it 12,300. The rest of the field folded and Candio moved all-in. Wheeler snap-called and Candio discovered the bad news.

Showdown

Candio was behind, but the flop delivered a set for him and the lead. Unfortunately, and much to Wheeler’s relief, the turn and river put a four-card flush on the board, giving Wheeler the win with his .

Joining Bjerkmann as the end-of-the-day big stacks are Marko Neumann (384,400) Wheeler (348,200), James Akenhead (336,000), Andrey Gulyy (326,900), and Trebbe (323,500). They will also be joined by Kara Scott, who is the last PartyPoker Pro standing. Only 27 players remained when clock expired, meaning nine more players will need to be eliminated on Day 3 before the money was reached. Here’s a look at the WPT Venice Grand Prix payouts:

Day 3 is set to get back under way at 1300 CET 90400 PST) on Wednesday.

For more on the WPT Venice Grand Prix, be sure to visit the Party Poker Blog to see what Tony G and Mike Sexton have to say from the Casino Di Venezia.

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*Photo courtesy of the World Poker Tour.

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