November 05 2011, PokerNews Staff

On Friday, we brought you the first half of the PokerNews Staff’s predictions for the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event Final Table. This is the other half. Only time will tell which half is the better half, but it’s not about who’s better, it’s about being right. Please let one of us be right. One time.

Donnie Peters, Live Reporting Manager

1. Phil Collins
2. Martin Staszko
3. Matt Giannetti
4. Eoghan O’Dea
5. Ben Lamb
6. Samuel Holden
7. Badih Bounahra
8. Pius Heinz
9. Anton Makiievskyi

Who will be the most active player at the final table?

Ben Lamb.

Who will be the tightest?

Badih Bounahra.

How many hours do you think it will take to get to three-handed play on Sunday?

14 hours.

How many hours do you think it will take to get to heads-up play?

three and a half hours.

How many hands will heads-up play consist of?

79 hands.

Give us a bold prediction.

A fan will streak through the Penn & Teller Theater.

Chad Holloway, Senior Writer

1. Matt Giannetti
2. Ben Lamb
3. Anton Makiievskyi
4. Martin Staszko
5. Phil Collins
6. Eoghan O’Dea
7. Badih Bounahra
8. Pius Heinz
9. Samuel Holden

Who will be the most active player at the final table?

I think there will be three players, those being the three listed atop my predictions. Anton Makiievskyi has the most work to do and has shown he isn’t afraid to mix it up on the ESPN broadcasts. I think he’ll do work and put himself in contention.

Who will be the tightest?

If my above prediction of Makiievskyi being the most active proves wrong, he’ll be the tightest, hoping to grind into the biggest cash possible (he is staked for 75 percent); however, I don’t think that will be the case. Instead, I think Eoghan O’Dea will be patient with his big stack, which will result in him playing too tight. I don’t think it’ll be an effective strategy at this final table.

How many hours do you think it will take to get to three-handed play on Sunday?

The stacks are relatively deep, so in all likelihood, it’ll turn into a marathon. For the sake of throwing out a number, I’ll say 16 hours.

How many hours do you think it will take to get to heads-up play?

I’ll say one hour and forty-five minutes, but there might not even be heads-up action (see my bold prediction below).

How many hands will heads-up play consist of?

Less than five. It’s just a wild guess, but I think when heads-up play begins, one player will have such a huge chip advantage that it won’t take too long.

Give us a bold prediction.

I think Anton Makiievskyi making a comeback is pretty bold, but I’ll go even further and suggest something totally outrageous. Since this is the first year three players will return on the last day, as opposed to the final two, I’ll say the final hand of the tournament will be a double elimination. We’ll see some hand like vs. vs. . Kings will hold and it’ll be all over, in favor of Giannetti if my predictions prove true.

Lynn Gilmartin, Producer/Hostess

1. Phil Collins
2. Ben Lamb
3. Matt Giannetti
4. Eoghan O’Dea
5. Martin Staszko
6. Badih Bounahra
7. Anton Makiievskyi
8. Pius Heinz
9. Samuel Holden

Who will be the most active player at the final table?

It’s too hard not to choose the obvious in Ben Lamb. The man is blessed this year, and he’ll probably continue to shock us all in dominating the other eight, but to second place, not first. That’s my prediction!

Who will be the tightest?

I’m going with age on this one and choosing Badih Bounahra.

How many hours do you think it will take to get to three-handed play on Sunday?

A nicely rounded 10 hours.

How many hours do you think it will take to get to heads-up play?

Another three hours.

How many hands will heads-up play consist of?

101.

Give us a bold prediction.

Eoghan O’Dea will go out drinking the night before.

Mickey Doft, Senior Tournament Reporter

1. Eoghan O’Dea
2. Phil Collins
3. Martin Staszko
4. Matt Giannetti
5. Ben Lamb
6. Pius Heinz
7. Badih Bounahra
8. Samuel Holden
9. Anton Makiievskyi

Who will be the most active player at the final table?

I think Eoghan O’Dea is going to really be involved with a lot of three-betting and putting pressure on the rest.

Who will be the tightest?

Badih Bounahra. I think he is just overmatched and will find it difficult to get involved with a such an aggressive group of opponents.

How many hours do you think it will take to get to three-handed play on Sunday?

Seven hours.

How many hours do you think it will take to get to heads-up play?

One hour.

How many hands will heads-up play consist of?

36 hands.

Give us a bold prediction.

Eoghan O’Dea is going to run an absolute sick bluff. I’ve covered him in tournaments abroad before the WSOP and was always impressed with his play. This is his time to shine.

Danielle Barille, Director of Strategic Development

1. Phil Collins
2. Matt Giannetti
3. Eoghan O’Dea
4. Martin Staszko
5. Pius Heinz
6. Anton Makiievskyi
7. Ben Lamb
8. Badih Bounahra
9. Samuel Holden

Who will be the most active player at the final table?

I think Eoghan O’Dea will be fairly active at the final table. He has the chip stack to be involved in a ton of pots and has the ability to see quite a lot of flops.

Who will be the tightest?

I think Matt Giannetti will play rather tight, and based on that, I have him going all the way to the final two.

How many hours do you think it will take to get to three-handed play on Sunday?

This is my first November Nine, so I’m not really sure what to expect. I think since they play down to three-handed, it will take a little less time as opposed to playing down to heads-up. I am going to go with nine hours and 45 minutes.

How many hours do you think it will take to get to heads-up play?

This would vary depending on who makes it to heads-up. If we go with my predictions (Phil Collins v. Matt Giannetti) then I imagine it will be a long battle unless someone goes into heads-up play short stacked. I’ll go with two hours and 30 minutes. I guess it could be a little longer if Phil Collin’s rail sings a song every time he wins a hand – I mean that could nearly double the time it takes to play heads-up.

How many hands will heads-up play consist of?

Wow, this is getting pretty specific. On the low end I would say maybe something like seven. On the high end, I’ll go with 64.

Give us a bold prediction.

I feel pretty confident that an American will be the Main Event champion this year.

Be sure and follow our Live Reporting Coverage on Sunday to find out if any of us got it right. What do you think? Let us know below, and as always, follow PokerNews on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.

November 04 2011, Chad Holloway

Playing your first World Series of Poker and making the final table of the Main Event is every poker player’s dream. In 2011, that dream came true for 22-year-old Pius Heinz, a student from Euskirchen, Germany. To make things even sweeter, Heinz becomes the first player from Germany to make the Main Event final table. If he hopes to become the first German champion, he’ll have his work cut out for him; he starts the table seventh in chips with 16,425,000.

Before the Main Event, Heinz actually navigated a field of 2,713 in Event #48 $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em to make the final table, ultimately finishing in seventh place for $83,286. That win gave Heinz the bankroll and confidence to enter the Main Event.

PokerNews recently caught up with Heinz to get his thoughts on being a member of the November Nine, what he’s been up to since July, and what he’s doing to prepare for the final table this weekend.

Was there any hand during the Main Event that you thought was a turning point for you?

Obviously there were a couple of really important hands. On Day 1 actually, in the first level, there was a hand where I had a four-card nut flush draw. My opponent had a straight flush draw. It was with two clubs, an offsuit on the turn, and the on the river. I bet 1,800 and my opponent, like a 58-year old gentleman, made it 5,000. I just called [with the ace-high flush] and he showed . This could have eliminated me from the tournament, so that was pretty interesting.

On Day 6, I won a gigantic flip against Sebastian Ruthenberg when I had and he had . I was fortunate enough to win the flip in an eight million-chip pot at the time, which was for a top three stack I believe.

What did it feel like making the November Nine? How long did it take to set in?

It felt incredible, just unbelievable. I was waiting for someone to wake me up. It was really, really, really sick and completely unbelievable. It took me a pretty long time to realize actually. When it happened, I wasn’t feeling anything else but happiness, basically. It’s really hard for me to describe that moment.

What was the reaction of your family and friends back home in Germany?

They obviously went crazy. Most of them aren’t poker players, so you might expect that they don’t really realize what’s going on, but they may have been even more excited than me to be honest. They were really excited, and we had a small party. They were really, really proud of me.

Who will you be bringing to watch you at the final table this weekend?

I have a couple of poker friends coming. Most of my family is going to be here: my brother, my sister, and my mother. A couple of other friends from back home.

What have you been doing in the days leading up to the final table?

I have a couple of interviews to do. I’m going to try to use the next couple of days to relax. When I have the time, I’m not going to do anything too overly exciting. I’m just going to relax as much as I can.

During the three-month November Nine hiatus, what did you do with your time? Did you do any traveling? Play any tournaments?

I actually didn’t play that many tournaments. I moved to Vienna, that’s not really traveling, but it obviously takes some time. I went to Barcelona for the European Poker Tour. I busted on Day 2, but I managed to win a side event, so it turned into a pretty profitable trip, which was nice. Other than that, I was just meeting friends, doing all sorts of media stuff, playing some online poker, and basically just taking it easy.

Have you spent anytime watching the ESPN broadcasts of the Main Event and studying your opponents?

I watched a lot of the coverage, mainly from Day 8. I’ve watch a little from Day 5 and everything, but I’ve watched everything from Day 8.

If you were to make it to heads-up play, whom would you like to face off against?

Probably against Bob Bounahra.

Is that because you feel he is the easiest to defeat?

I don’t want to say it that way, but I think I would have an edge against him. It would be fun though, he’s a pretty cool guy. He was really excited and definitely enjoying his time. I think it’d be pretty fun actually.

What’s more important to you: the money of the Main Event bracelet?

The money.

Did your final table earlier in the WSOP give you the bankroll and confidence to enter the Main Event?

Yeah, but I swapped with people, which is pretty standard. I mean everybody did that. I don’t think anybody at the final table [didn't swap] other than maybe Badih, who is a businessman, and I guess maybe Ben Lamb. It just makes the best since because you can beat the variance more easily.

Do you have any plans for your money? Any big splurges?

No, not really. I’m not really worried too much about that right now. I haven’t bought anything meaningful like a house or car or anything like that. I don’t know what I’ll win yet, I know the minimum amount, but there is quite a bit of difference between winning [and finishing ninth].

Do you think poker is in your future? Do you plan to travel the circuit a little bit?

Oh yeah, I’m definitely going to be doing that. You’ll find me at a lot of EPTs this season.

It was announced the day after this interview that Heinz became the latest PokerStars Pro, joining Team Germany.

To learn more on Heinz, check out his post-November Nine interview:

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Follow Chad Holloway on Twitter – @ChadAHolloway