blonde poker

 
When France legislation prohibited the WPT endorsement of the Grand Prix de Paris, the lack of television cameras naturally saw numbers for the main event almost bisected in half with just 138 stumping up the $10,000 buy-in, followed by am equally disappointing 139 the subsequent year.

However, all was not lost, as WPT looked to resurrect the European market with a replacement (of sorts) in the form of the Casino Barcelona in Spain. With an accessible and popular location, an experienced team and a venue that had a history of hosting such esteemed events, Barcelona seemed like the perfect place to get the WPT back on track.

On completion of its second trip to the Spanish capital, it would appear as though the jury is still out, fields of 226 (2007) and 253 (2008) showing a steady incline, but clearly not boasting the numbers that the rest of the Tour attracts, and certainly failing to pose a threat on any other of the major European based tournaments.

One of the reasons for this may well be a lack of marketing and generation of public interest, but also the result of the tournament being an untelevised event, yet further proof that perhaps the world of TV poker is covered in lard and continuing to slide downhill.

Of course, the lack of cameras, and, consequently, a lack of ‘star attractions’, made this a predominantly European affair, with notable appearances arriving in the form of Patrik Antonius, Julian Thew, Pascal Perrault, Tore Lagerborg and Erik Friberg, the latter of whom bubbled in seventh for just over €50k.

The final table itself was a rather eclectic affair, six countries being represented, including two South American nations in Brazil (Thiago Nishijima) and Venezuela (Andreas Vidal). Flying the British flag was Martin Lundenius of Scotland, although his moment of fame was short-lived as he dropped in sixth.

Heads-up left us with an all Nordic affair, Scandinavian Vikings Stefan Mattson and Casper Hansen representing Sweden and Denmark respectively. However, although the battle was fierce, it was Dane Hansen who came out smelling of roses, his triumph earning him the lion’s share of the $1.9 million prizepool. Last seen final tabling the 2007 Irish EPT in Dublin, Hansen took home $662,592 for his efforts.

1st  Casper Hansen -- $662,592
2nd  Stefan Mattson -- $342,592
3rd  Thiago Nishijima -- $175,080
4th  Andres Vidal -- $136,260
5th  Guy Sitbon -- $116,928
6th  Martin Lundenius -- $97,128