By
Dan |
Published
Nov 07 2008, 10:46 PM
|
After Day 2 of the World Poker Tour’s World Poker Finals, two familiar names led the way for the PocketFives.com contingent, Kevin BeL0WaB0Ve Saul and Christian charder Harder. The duo ended the day with 199,700 and 188,900, respectively, both trailing chip leader Jonathan Jaffe’s stack of 522,000. Day 3 of the World Poker Finals kicks off at 12:00 Noon ET from Foxwoods on Saturday. The tournament will air on Fox Sports Net as part of the WPT’s seventh season. In the fray at the tournament is Court Harrington, who is covering the action for PocketFivesLive.com, the best source for WPT coverage of online poker players. The event will crown a winner on Tuesday night. Let’s take a look at all of the results from PocketFivers on Friday.
Leading members of PocketFives.com was a man with as much success in live poker tournaments as you’ll find, Kevin BeL0WaB0Ve Saul. He’s also ranked seventh in the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings. Saul logged two six-figure cashes during the ninth Full Tilt Online Poker Series for a combined $270,000. Saul also won the $100 rebuy on Full Tilt Poker in August for $34,000. In July of 2007, he won the WPT’s Bellagio Cup III, taking home $1.3 million for first place and besting a final six-handed table that included Mike Matusow and fellow PocketFiver Shane Shaniac Schleger, who finished fourth.
At Foxwoods, Saul is among the 91 players who remain for Day 3. The top 50 players will finish in the money and the champion of the World Poker Finals will find their bank account balance boosted by $1.1 million and also receive a $25,000 buy-in to the WPT Championship at the Bellagio in April. Harrington commented on Saul’s play so far: “Kevin's style is not something that many players can pull off, but when he is on top of his game, he has to be one of the toughest players to deal with. He is constantly putting players to decisions and keeping his opponents in uncomfortable spots.”
Also near the top of the pack is the 15th ranked player on PocketFives.com, Christian charder Harder. He sits with a stack of 188,900 entering play on Saturday. He took 11th place in the WCOOP Main Event, banking $87,400 in the process. In September, he won the Pot Limit Omaha WCOOP Second Chance tournament for $23,000 and then finished as the runner up in the subsequent No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed WCOOP Second Chance tournament for another $18,500.
Sitting with a stack of 103,400 is Jon pokertrip Friedberg. A World Series of Poker bracelet winner, Friedberg took home his coveted piece of hardware by winning a $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament in 2006, outlasting a field of 2,891 players and defeating John “The Razor” Phan heads-up. Friedberg pocketed over a half-million dollars for his groundbreaking win. Team PokerStars Pro member Humberto Brenes finished seventh in that tournament and two-time bracelet winner Carlos Mortensen landed in 10th.
On Friedberg’s play, Harrington commented, “Jon just plays solid poker without making many mistakes. He takes advantage of the situations he is presented with and knows how to change gears when the time is appropriate. He has been steady through the first two days of play and will be a serious threat going into the money bubble on Day 3.” Friedberg nearly captured his second WSOP bracelet in 2007, finishing third in a $1,500 buy-in Pot Limit Hold'em tournament for $101,276. He finished 148th in the 2008 Main Event.
Other PocketFivers who survived to see Day 3 included:
Jonathan FieryJustice Little - 85,900
Joe ender555 Ebanks - 78,200
Doug dougmanct Mandeville - 67,000
Jeff YoungSupremacy Hakim - 57,900
Randy Randers Haddox - 43,500
PocketFivers who were eliminated during play on Friday included:
Adam Roothlus Levy
Matt All In At 420 Stout
Steve gboro780 Gross
Ben bfineman Fineman
Jason JP_OSU Potter
Don dbase22 Yucius
Jason JCarver Somerville
Kyle kwob20 Bowker
Mike inissint Glasser
Amit Amak316 Makhija
Adam A_Junglen Junglen
Boris fratboy247 Kravets
The top 10 chip stacks overall at Foxwoods are:
1st Place: Jonathan Jaffe - 522,000
2nd Place: Larry Greenberg - 370,200
3rd Place: Arther Azen - 350,000
4th Place: Adam Lippert - 338,200
5th Place: Charlie Marchese - 322,700
6th Place: Tom Nguyen - 315,000
7th Place: Jack Schanbacher - 310,000
8th Place: Richard Dabal - 299,000
9th Place: Jing Tian - 290,300
10th Place: Dimitri Haskaris - 290,000
Join us beginning at 12:00 Noon ET on Saturday for Day 3 of the 2008 World Poker Finals. For more information, check out PocketFivesLive.com, the best source for WPT coverage.