blonde poker forum

Howdy ho, peeps, and welcome to the final day of this year's London EPT. With John Shipley, Mark Teltscher and Vicky Coren triumphing in previous years, the pressure lies heavily on the shoulders of Ian Cox as our only remaining flag flier looking to continue the British domination of this event. However, something tells me that Mr Crapper, as he is affectionately known is some quarters, will be more concerned about the €600k plus up for for grabs rather than aiding any nonconstructive record.

I actually spoke to Ian after last night's events, and although he was admittedly enjoying his 4th or 5th beer, he seemed high in spirits and eager to continue the scorching hot run he has been on over the last year or two. So soon after finalling in the GUKPT in Plymouth, Ian finds himself at a final yet again, and a highly lucrative one to boot - not bad for a guy who only plays live occasionally.

A sports better by trade, Poole's Ian Cox is married with five kids, so is much more inclined to frequent the online tables, but when he does hit the live scene, he is lethal, and his records back up this claim. "Because I don't play particularly often," he says, "I feel I come in focussed and can really play my 'A' game. I leave all the sports betting behind, because I want to insure I make an investment on my money. Actually, the only problem with running well is that the wife expects you to bring something home every time you're away."

I'm sure everyone here at blonde, myself included, will be wishing Ian the very best of luck, but it won't be easy. His final table companions might not be the most famous of crews, but they are certainly threatening, my pick at the start of the day, Marcel Baran, being a dangerman worth highlighting.

Final Day chip counts:

Florian Langmann -- 917,000
Jospeh Mouawad -- 780,000
Marcel Baran -- 583,000
Josh Egan -- 477,000
Anthony Lellouche -- 466,000
Paul Mendes -- 282,000
Ian Cox -- 234,000
Fredrik Haugen -- 190,000

 
1st    £611,520
2nd   £346,528
3rd    £203,840
4th    £152,880
5th    £124,342
6th   £97,843
7th   £77,459
8th   £57,075
9th   £34,652          Jason Hackett
10th   £34,652         Pascal Perrault
11th   £28,537        Phidias Georgiou
12th   £28,537           Surinder Sunar
13th   £22,422         David Obrobrac

My 3 picks, I'm going to stick with my guns:

Marcel Baran
Ian Cox
Anthony Lellouche

gl ian!

Plenty there to be getting on with Ian, best wishes ;applause; :)up

 ;goodluck; Ian....whatever happens, her in doors wont be dissappointed!

Fine work Mr Crapper, get it won  ;goodluck;

go on the crapper

Please pass on my good luck wishes to Ian:

In my time playing poker in the UK i was fortunate enough to play in tournaments with Ian a couple of times, one of the nicest, most genuine person  your ever likely to meet.

I really hope he takes this one down.

Good Luck Ian.

Believe me.......I'm never disappointed, lol. ;mexicanwave;

 ;gobsmacked;

Good Luck Ian.

what time start?

Officially 3.30pm. So I reckon around 5pm.

cheers Chris

good luck to everyone espically the crapper

Actually, it looks like there is a good chance that play will commence very soon. The players are being intorudced as I write.

Before they start, it must be emphasised that there is an inaccuracy in my initial post; Paul Mendes is in fact British, meaning we have two flag fliers at this final table.

Good luck to them both.  ;cheerleader;

Play has now commenced. An early pot saw Josh's pre-flop raise of 36k re-raised to 88k by my pick (ahem) Marcel Baran who won the hand without having to see a flop.

Photos of all finalists will arrive shortly.

The first flop of the day involves Ian Cox, the sports bettor from Poole raising to 33k after Joseph Mouawad had limped from early position for 12k. Joseph called the raise, but folded to a 33k continuation bet on the 6s 3s 3h Flop.

Seat 1: Ian Cox -- 234,000

(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1739&g2_serialNumber=1)

Seat 2: Florian Langmann -- 917,000

(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1749&g2_serialNumber=1)

Seat 3: Antony Lellouche -- 466,000

(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1755&g2_serialNumber=1)

Seat 4: Fredrik Haugen -- 190,000

(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1757&g2_serialNumber=1)

Seat 5: Josh Egan -- 477,000

(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1743&g2_serialNumber=1)

Seat 6: Marcel Baran -- 583,000

(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1741&g2_serialNumber=1)

Seat 7: Paul Mendes -- 282,000

(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1745&g2_serialNumber=1)

Seat 8: Jospeh Mouawad -- 780,000

(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1753&g2_serialNumber=1)

As those who have been watching the live feed will be able to verify, there have been no major pots, just players taking in turn to nab a few smaller pots. Don't fret though, it's certainly not a total foldathon, there should be some excitement very soon.

Looks like Wardonkey to me...

did he borrow the hat from jonmw

Although I'd love to go for the hattrick of quoting the Mendes picture, I feel obliged to introduce you this lad, who is a perfect example of the existence and authenticity of the term 'Generic Scandie".

As we were scouring the arena for the finalists, we came across Fredrik Haugen as he raced towards the feature table so grabbed him momentarily to request a photo. Naturally, he duly obliged and we managed to obtain our 8th snap thereby completing our set of finalists.

As he departed, evading the feature table might I add, I suddenly realised that he wasn't actually Fredrik Haugen at all, but rather a generic Scandie that had happily posed for a photo without really knowing why. Our bemusement as we re-examined the photo was a sight to behold.

Moments later, the real Slim Haugen arose from the staircase and we were forced to take a 9th photo, our red-faces hoping not to bump into Scandieboy ever again.

As I alluded to at the start of this post, this incident is surely proof that there is justification in the term 'Generic Scandie', as Chili and I, who have been covering Fredrik Haugen's progress over the last few days, were thrown by a mere change of attire and took a photo of the wrong guy.

 ;noflopshomer;  ;noflopshomer;

(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1751&g2_serialNumber=1)

Afternoon everyone, I am here too.  I was just waiting for Snoopy to post all the players pictures so I didn't post in between them.  We are discussing our favourites here in the press room and the Parisian Antony Lellouche appears the clear favourite with the ladies.  I gotta go for this one too, not only because he winks everytime I take his photo, think my hardrive has more Lellouche pictures than anyone else this week hehe.

We have been graced with the glamour of Liz Lieu here in the pressroom this afternoon, a bit weird.  Not sure why she wants to sit in here with us tea drinking, pastry eating bloggers.  Picture anyone??

Does Ian Cox want to be any more golden? This guy has already had a phenomenal year then this. Bear in mind he has also won a seat to the poker million so can look forward to another 90 large coming his way. Jammy sod. Best of luck, bit annoyed i refused that drink he offered now, dont like to see the rich get richer :)

Er... me! She clearly fancies me.

"The biggest pot of the day goes to Macel Baran," announces the er... announcer, but, in my opinion, and I acknowledge that Lellouche probably had a big hand too, it was relatively obvious that Baran had a flush.

But before I explain why, let's trudge back through the pre-flop action, Lellouche min-raising (as he often tends to do) to 32k, only to be called in the small blind by Baran and then checked in the big by Mendes.

The Flop came 8d Qd 8s and everyone nonchalently checked without too much hesitation.

Then, on the Td Turn, Marcel suddenly paused, his expression changing perhaps alluding to the fact that he'd hit. After eyeing up his chips, Marcel confidently threw out a bet of 55k which was duly called by Lellouche as Mendes ducked out of the way. As Lellouche called, the camera turned to Marcel, the German's face grimacing with his eye brows dipped.

On the River, we saw a seemingly irrelevant 4h, a card which I doubt would have made a difference to Marcel's 80k bet. Reaching for his chips relatively quickly, Lellouche riffled them on the felt before making the call.

A King flush was revealed for Marcel, and I believe Lellouche mucked, but for me, the tell was on the Turn, Marcel's pause, expression and reaction to the call suggesting that he'd made his hand and had his opponent under the cosh.

Then again, I'm not sitting at the final table of an EPT...

Shh, the Poker Million hasn't been televised yet.  ;ashamed;

Antony Lellouche and chip leader Florian Langmann clash in a small blind versus big blind battle that went limp, bet, all-in, call, Lellouche catching Florian with his hands firmly trapped in the cookie jar.

Lellouche = Ac Ts

Langmann = 6s 5s

Board = 9c Ahrt 4s 9s 3d

Crucial double up for the Frenchman who propels himself into 3rd place.

Ok since you all asked so politely, and the final hasn't sprung to life yet I'll post this.  I made Snoops  move us from the kitchen to the more glamourous  location of the men's toilet door!!

(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1759&g2_serialNumber=1)

Apologies for any delays, everyone in the mediaroom is experiencing severe connection problems.

I won't divulge why they were lingering outside the gentleman's lavatory.

That has got to be a future caption comp pic.

These were the chip counts post-Lellouche double through:

Seat 1: Ian Cox -- 227,000
Seat 2: Florian Langmann -- 759,000
Seat 3: Antony Lellouche -- 660,000
Seat 4: Fredrik Haugen -- 342,000
Seat 5: Josh Egan -- 465,000
Seat 6: Marcel Baran -- 714,000
Seat 7: Paul Mendes -- 178,000
Seat 8: Joseph Mouawad -- 579,000

As if on cue, a few pots are getting a bit juicyer rather than raise, pass, raise, pass etc.

Fredrik (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=550) Haugen (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=550), starting the day as short stack, has slowy slowy built his stack, taken down a few uncontested pots.  Just now, he called a raise from Joseph Mouawad for 50k, the flop

 Jd 6h 6c   Joseph bet out 60k and again Hougen pushed all in and Joseph passed eventually, but Haugen has built to about 460K.

i am in lust

can we get some more norkage pics please

Errr, that's Dag Martin Mikkelsen, formerly a huge winner at the high stakes Stars turbo sngs and went deep in Barcelona and the WSOP ME. (Chip leader of both for a while). He got a press pass in Barcelona so he could take photos for his blog.

I think you'll spot him at a few more events. :D 

Unfortunately someone going in the opposite direction since the final started is Ian (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=171) Cox (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=171), seeing himself down to 112,000 he moves all in from the button.  Florian Langmann in the small blind makes the call, just as Ian sighed and displayed a slight grimace.  That was because he chose to make his move with  Kh 7s  amazingly though he was ahead because Florian was calling spectulatively with  Ks 3h.  The board was a sorry

 Qd 3d 2h 8h 6h   and a shrug from Ian, stated "thats the way it goes."

to send Ian Cox out in 8th place for a not too shabby £57,075


Of all today’s final table players, Ian (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=171) Cox (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=171), a poker pro & sports bettor from Poole, Dorset, has the most experience beneath the studio lights. His first live poker came after qualifying online for the 2005 Poker Million and he’s played in three later TV tournaments. Cox spent 11 years terrorizing fixed odds bookmakers with his knowledge of golf betting, before moving to the exchanges. He took up poker while waiting for market moves. Three final tables from 11 live events in 2006 and six from 14 this year attest to the skills of a natural.

(thanks to Pokerstars for the player biographies)

UL mate, nice lift all the same.

Plus you won £25 from tikay to make it £57,100.

well played.

The players might not be rattling towards the rail at electric pace, but it would be unfair to suggest that they weren't playing any hands, the latest confrontation being a rare Lebonase/German battle.

Raising it up to 80k pre-flop, the calculated Marcel Baran, who, with all due respect, looks like he should be sat in front of his computer playing tournament Starcraft, awaits the decision of Paul Mendes, the shortest stack at the table. Admitting that it was a fold or all in jobby, Mendes opted for the former and released his hand.

With the Steston-ed Mendes stepping out of the way, it was left to the Beirut real estate developer, Jospeh Mouawad, to make the call.

The Flop came an action-packed and all-in potentialising 7d 9s Ts, which subsequently triggered a 100k bet from Marcel who has a bizarre habit of staring down at his chips inquisitively on every hand.

Someone who didn't hesitate was Joseph, the Pokerstars qualifer insta-pushing for 253k more quicker than a sheep in Wales.

As he reclined in his chair, biting down gently on his lip, Marcel asked for a confirmation of the count before pitching up tent in the think tank. Clearly not holding a bag of spanners, Marcel continued to weigh up his options before finally announcing call and showing Js 9c. Joseph showed Ahrt Th.

The Aspades Turn may have made Joseph two pair and eliminated the Jack as a German escape route, but in turn produced nine more outs for Marcel to take a shot at.

However, it was indeed the now irrelevant Jack that arrived on the River, Joseph's superior two pair being enough to earn him a vital double up.

Well played Ian/Crapper, did yourself proud!

I think he was the very first player out in Monte Carlo this year, he flopped a straight with the nut flush draw against the nut straight...

Yes, that's Dag, a recent addition to blondepedia in fact. However, he's still a generic Scandie in my book: young, blonde, aggressive and annoyingly of all... good!

Just as the blinds move to 10K / 20k  2K ante a big pot develops again.  Fredrik Haugen, who has clearly come to play today, raised it up to 55k.  Josh Egan reraised all in for a total of 329K, this gave Haugen some dwelling time but he did call, the hands were

Fredrik Haugen   Ad Td
Josh Egan    Qh Qd

A queen on the board gave Josh Egan a lovely pot worth 810,000 and all of Haugen's hard work early on has been pulverised to nothing.  He is left short.

unlucky ian but i blame the fact you just played 90 minutes against leeds scoring the equalizer late into the game

We are down to 6 players after a raise, all in and a call that happened in a nano second.  Englishman Paul Mendes was the other table short stack with 150k, he pushed all in with  Kh Th but Antony Lellouche was not gonna roll over with   Aspades Kc.  After this exact board

 Ad 4d 3d  6h  Qc



Paul Mendes is the 7th  place finisher winning a cool £77,459


Londoner Paul has been a striking figure at EPT London thanks to his distinctive Stetson– a gift from Vegas. He said: “I wear it for special occasions – and this is certainly one of those.” Today’s final table place is by far Paul’s biggest result to date. His previous biggest win was £1,200 after coming 8th in a tournament in Edinburgh a couple of years ago. The 44-year-old screenplay writer took up poker when he was working in a petrol station. He was invited to a game by some regulars, won the game and hasn’t looked back since.

1st    £611,520
2nd   £346,528
3rd    £203,840
4th    £152,880
5th    £124,342
6th   £97,843
7th   £77,459         Paul Mendes
8th   £57,075         Ian (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=171) Cox (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=171)
9th   £34,652         Jason Hackett
10th   £34,652       Pascal (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=691) Perrault (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=691)
11th   £28,537       Phidias Georgiou
12th   £28,537       Surinder (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=422) Sunar (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=422)
13th   £22,422       David Obrobrac

Some pictures from today's final table:

(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1767&g2_serialNumber=1)

Fredrik Haugen
(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1765&g2_serialNumber=1)

Marcel Baran
(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1763&g2_serialNumber=1)

What about Paul Mendes ?

Try and keep up Kev  ;noflopshomer;

The 2 short stacks Baran & Haugen are taking it in turns to move all in, but no one is bothered and letting them nick the blinds which totalling 42k are nothing to sniff at. 

Marcel Baran in action again, this time raising for about the 3rd time out of 5 hands, he makes it 55k, Josh Egan reraises about 200k and Marcel goes all in for not a massive amount more.  Josh calls and this time Marcel does have the best hand in  Ahrt Aspades, Josh flips over  Qs Qh.   No excitement on the board for Josh to improve and Marcel rakes in a 656,000 pot.

The players are now on an hour dinner break, so full chip counts of the remaining 6 to follow from Snoopy.

Seat 1: Ian Cox -- out
Seat 2: Florian Langmann -- 1,241,000
Seat 3: Antony Lellouche -- 601,000
Seat 4: Fredrik Haugen -- 263,000
Seat 5: Josh Egan -- 457,000
Seat 6: Marcel Baran -- 656,000
Seat 7: Paul Mendes -- out
Seat 8: Joseph Mouawad -- 656,000

The players are currently on a one hour dinner break.

Play is scheduled to recommence at 7.05pm.

Buckle up peeps, we're underway once again.

Joseph Mouawad is the player who drank Red Bull during the lunch, firing out of the blocks by winning the first two hands. The first one saw him push all-in against Marcel on a T-J-Q-A board whilst the second was a simpler affair, re-raising Josh Egan's 80k raise to 180k after Marcel Baran had smooth called the initial raise. Both players folded in lightening speed.

As Marcel snaps up the blinds, we are reminded of the current level, 1,500 and 3,000 with a running ante of 3,000.

great updates as usual snoops and chili!

And just like that, we have our first post-din dins all-in showdown, the buffet clearly kick-starting our current crop of players into fifth gear.

The encounter started with Antony Lellouche who put in a standard raise from the button. Haugen pushed from the small blind, and Lellouche called, believing he was virtually pot committed.

Lellouche = 6h 5h

Haugen = 5d 5c

Board = 3d Ad Jc Ts 9c

Bedlam here as the players go antsy in their pansty and stick it all-in yet again, this time Joseph Mouawad and Florian Langmann the players guilty of splattering too much sugar on their half time cornflakes. With Florian raising it up pre-flop, Joseph stuck in a re-raise of 200k from the big blind but was swiftly faced with an all-in from Florian putting his Lebanese opponent to a decision for his tournament life.

Lifting his cards up in a folding motion, Joseph pauses before suddenly announcing call. At first, after Joseph had revealed a King to the camera, I initially thought he had a hand like K-Q or K-J and was gambling inexplicably. However, Joseph's hand was much stronger, the old Big Slick  Aspades Kh, hitting the table.

Meanwhile, Florian, who seemed genuinely bemused, turned over 4s 4d, but instead of being overjoyed at the coinflipping circumstances, moaned, "I thought you were going to fold" later adding "How could you call, there was no chance you were ahead?" and even allowing the mischievous F word to slip out uncontrollably.

Perhaps punishing a slight lack of respect to his opponent, the Poker Gods didn't mess around, shooting down a bullet on a clinical 8h Th Ah Flop. A 7d Turn and Kd River later and it was all over, Joseph exclaiming "Yes!" in an abrupt manner leaving Langmann to rue the unnecessary abolishment of his stack.

Seat 1: Ian Cox -- out
Seat 2: Florian Langmann -- 254,000
Seat 3: Antony Lellouche -- 324,000
Seat 4: Fredrik Haugen -- 592,000
Seat 5: Josh Egan -- 222,000
Seat 6: Marcel Baran -- 276,000
Seat 7: Paul Mendes -- out
Seat 8: Joseph Mouawad -- 2,237,000

Having connection problems here im afraid, and I have a load of pictures to upload but cant.  I will as soon as possible, in the meantime whilst one Joseph Mouawad is out there with nearly all the chips, the other players are dancing around.

Marcel Baran raised to 80k and after him Lelluche moved all in, Baran somewhat committed but still reluctant, called for all his chips with  8s 8h and Antony had to turn over  3s 7d.  He hit absolutely nothing and Baran doubled through to leave Lelluche with 23,000.

Antony Lellouche is OUT and becomes the 6th place finisher winning £97,843

All-in for what I understand was just 23k, the Frenchman found himself up against three other players in Marcel Baran, Joseph Mouawad and Fredrik (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=550) Haugen (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=550), all of whom I'm sure were inevitably eager to check it down and move up the financial ladder.

However, after all three players had checked the 2h Td 9c Flop in that somewhat collusive manner, Joseph seemed to like the Jc Turn and duly bet out 30k. Fredrik and Marcel sidestepped out the way leaving Joesph and his J-2 two pair to close the door on Lellouche's EPT, the Frenchman drawing dead with A-5.


Parisian Antony Lellouche 27, mainly plays live poker in high stakes cash games around the world. He is both respected and well-liked by his peers and mentors, including the “godfathers” of French poker Claude Cohen and Jan Boubli. Antony turned pro nine years ago, honing his skills at the smallest limit games at the Aviation Club. Fearless and intuitive, Antony has already made two WSOP final tables and come close in two EPT Grand Finals – 12th in 2005 and 21st  in 2007. Today gives him his biggest tournament payout to date.

Seat 1: Ian Cox -- out
Seat 2: Florian Langmann -- 462,000
Seat 3: Antony Lellouche -- out
Seat 4: Fredrik Haugen -- 565,000
Seat 5: Josh Egan -- 213,000
Seat 6: Marcel Baran -- 580,000
Seat 7: Paul Mendes -- out
Seat 8: Joseph Mouawad -- 2,075,000

This final is very strange, I have to say I have not often seen one so quiet.  The players are close to ignoring each other bar saying "how much"  "raise"  "I'm all in."  We suspect that the spectators in the stands are on strings as they sit still, rise when someone mutters those 3 magic words and then back down again. 

 rotflmfao

Tell Josh - he HAS TO DOUBLE and quick... GL Couzy Bro...

Fredrik (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=550) Haugen (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=550) is OUT and becomes the 5th place finisher winning £124,342

Florian Langmann pushes all-in and Fredrik (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=550) Haugen (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=550) calls.

Langmann = Qs Td

Haugen = Ad Jc

Board = 7d Kc Th Ts 4c


Fredrik, from Gothernburg, is already a highly experienced poker player. With EPT final tables often dominated by Swedes, Fredrik is – unusually - the last Swedish survivor at EPT London and, being the short stack, his task is hardest. One thing in his favour is his girlfriend Elvedina who made the journey with him, providing moral support from the rail. She admitted to being “very nervous” but Fredrik looks far more relaxed. His previous biggest win was 32nd place at EPT Dortmund last year.

Some pictures from a little while ago

(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1779&g2_serialNumber=1)

Fredrik Haugen
(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1783&g2_serialNumber=1)

Pre exits today, Josh Egan in the foreground.

(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1793&g2_serialNumber=1)

Oops SuperBok, the action here 4 handed has been raising and passing, no calling and no flops!  Then Josh Egan just goes all in for 386,000 and is called in a flash by Florian Langmann.

Josh had  Kh Jd
Florian   Aspades Ahrt
We saw

 9d Jc 7h 2c 5h



Which means Josh Egan goes back to Auckland having finished 4th for £152,800


Student Josh has had a "massive roller-coaster" at the London EPT. Down to 3,000 in chips on Day 1, three great hands (fives, sixes and kings) turned it around for the 23-year-old from Auckland. Josh also qualified for the Barcelona leg of this year's EPT via a double shootout, on the same day that he also won his double shootout ticket to London -- four sit and go wins back-to-back, a 6,642 to one shot. He also previously qualified for the 2006 World Series where he came 602nd for $20,000. His strategy for today is suss out the table – and avoid chip leader Florian Langmann

Joseph Mouaward  2,203,000
Florian Langmann  1,428,000
Marcel Baran  348,000

Not bad for a few days work that will buy you a reasonable house in Auckland. With exchange rate almost 3 to 1.
WD Mate. Safe travels back to the big smoke. Haere Ra.

"That's poker," says Ian (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=171) Cox (http://www.blondepoker.com/blondepedia/blondepedia_view_player.php?player_id=171) as he props up the bar with his Scampie and chips. "It was a shocking call by him, but it doesn't bother me, that's the way it goes. K-3 is no hand, especially with the big blind still to play."

"The best player on there is Josh," he continues. "Impossible to get a read out of him because he looks the same at all times."

A flurry of activity and 3 hands later we are heads up.  Florian Langman raises to 110k and Marcel Baran goes all in for about 400k total.  Langmann makes the call with   Kc 7d  Baran pushed with  4d 4c.  The first card out was a K and no 4 to follow to help Marcel.


Marcel Baran is 3rd place finisher in the London EPT this year winning a grand £203,840


Marcel, from Aschaffenburg in Germany, has been pro for two years after quitting his job as a web developer. The decision has paid off as he’s now on the verge of his biggest cash yet. Marcel took up poker after coming home late one night and catching TV highlights of EPT Season 1. He is now set to improve on his previous best - 11th (€25,870) in EPT Dublin. “I’m not nervous. I’m only nervous when I’m all in. In a hand, I’ve no time to be nervous

The two remaining players are just having a quick break before they go at it.  Courtesy of Pokerstars:

Joseph Mouawad, Lebanon, PokerStars cash qualifier
It was nearly over before it began for Joseph Mouawad. He planned to come here with friends but when they cancelled, he nearly did too. Thankfully he changed his mind and is now 2nd in chips. “My friends are following the action from home instead. They’re very excited.”  Married with three children, the real estate developer from Beirut began playing poker nearly 15 years ago. He took up Hold’em two years ago when it became popular in his local casino. Today will be his best result yet. “I’ll be nervous for the first 15 minutes - but then I’ll get going.”

Florian Langmann, 24, Germany
Florian, the reigning German champion, carries the chip lead to the final table of the EPT and is enjoying the best year of his fledgling poker career. A professional player taking a break from studies in Dresden, he made two final tables in this year's Bellagio Cup in Las Vegas and cashed in EPT Dortmund last year. Oiginally from Verden in Germany,.

The players are returning after a short pre-heads-up break:

Florian Langmann -- 1,880,000
Joseph Mouawad -- 2,620,000

With blinds of 20,000 and 40,000, Florian makes it 100k pre-flop, Joseph re-raises to 310k, Florian folds.

no talk of a deal Sloppy?

Updated chip counts:

Florian Langmann -- 1,116,000
Joseph Mouawad -- 2,926,000

No sign of a deal, although it could have been discussed prior to the break.

Here they are just as they started.  Mouawad is on the left and its a shame the Langmann is sat with his back to everyone.

(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1803&g2_serialNumber=1)

This is the remaining mular, you know as you type out these numbers, you just do it and then it hits how much money these players have actually won and are about to win  ;ashamed;

1st    £611,520
2nd   £346,528
3rd    £203,840       Marcel Baran
4th    £152,880       Josh Egan
5th    £124,342      Fredrik Haugen
6th   £97,843       Antony Lellouche
7th   £77,459       Paul Mendes
8th   £57,075       Ian Cox

is that dena dealing i thought she had quit

Just to give you an idea of what is happening and ensure you that we are indeed still watching live, here are the last 10 hands:

(1) Kd-7c-9s Flop, check check, 4d Turn, Joseph bets 200k, Florian folds
(2) As-4d-9s Flop, Joseph bets, Florian folds
(3) Florian folds small blind
(4) Ad-8s-3s Flop, Florian checks, Joseph bets 80k, Florian calls, Qs Turn, check, check, 5s River, Florian wins with Queen high flush
(5) Florian raises 50k, Joseph calls. 9c-9d-5c Flop, Joseph bets 190k, Florian folds
(6) 6h-As-Qd Flop, check check, Ts Turn, Florian bets 60k, Joseph calls. 7s River, Florian bets 110k, Joseph folds
(7) Florian raises to 100k, Joseph calls, 9d-4d-6s Flop, Joseph bets 100k, Florian calls, Td Turn, Florian bets 150k Joseph raises, Florian folds
(8) 4h-Tc-8c Flop, Florian bets 70k, Joseph folds
(9) Florian raises all-in, Joseph folds
(10) Qs-2c-3c Flop, Joseph bets 50k, Forian calls, 4h Turn, check check, 6h River, Florian bets 100k, Joseph folds

I dont think Dena works for Grosvenor anymore, I think she is more Freelance!

I think I may start a home game.

Just caught the end of an expensive hand for Joseph, the man from Lebanon calling a 250k bet on the river of Kh Ac 7s Ad 9h board only to lose to a full house, Nines over Aces.

The blinds are now capped at 25K / 50K with a 5K ante.

Still no biggie action, they are min raising preflop, calling, betting the flop, then passing.  That is the number one hand scenario.

thks 2 snoop dog and crew. u people are top draw thks  g8 updates mate

Florian Langmann is OUT and becomes the 2nd place finisher winning £346,528

In what seemed like an innocuous, relatively minor pot, Joseph pushed all-in on a 6h 9d Qd Flop only to be called by Florian whose tournament life was on the line.

Florian = 8h 9s

Joseph = Qc 3c

Turn = Qs

River = 8c

And that's all she wrote.

JOSEPH MOUAWAD FINISH IN 1ST PLACE BECOMING THE 2007 LONDON EPT CHAMPION WINNING £611,520

wow calling for your tourney life with 89?..guess if you already have 300k the other 300k don't matter that much ;)

DEAL MUST HAVE BEEN DUN

I agree they must have done a deal to finish it off in that way... any whispers?
Great coverage from the Chili Dog combo - enjoyed it ty both.

Alright, I'm back from the media pit with the camera.  Here goes, our winner Joseph Mouawad

(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1809&g2_serialNumber=1)


(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1811&g2_serialNumber=1)

 rotflmfao rotflmfao  your a very welcome.

They moved him across the otherside of the table when they realised the London mosaic was not in the background.

(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1815&g2_serialNumber=1)

(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1819&g2_serialNumber=1)

I hereby present your new EPT host - Kara Scott

(http://www.blondepoker.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1813&g2_serialNumber=1)

Alright guys, my brain connectors have officially been frazzled.  Its time for me to switch off and have some down time.   Right what shall I do?? ................Yesssssssss some cash downstairs in the card room it is then.  xx

No-one heard any whispers of a deal, but who knows, we shan't I guess. 

Another great updating job (love that ChilliDog phrase, Think that may well stick)


Good luck on the table tonight Maria.

Always top notch, many thanks Snoops & Chili  ;hattip;

And the sickest poker player of the week award goes to :

Marcel Baran

The lad finishes 3rd in the EPT London Season 4 for £203,840, is seen with a wedge in his top pocket, THEN goes and sits in a £5 / £10 cash game at the Vic!!!!  The kid is insane, he is not content - oh no - with playing 5 days straight for hours and hours on end, he wants to play more!!  Is it because he wants to make more money, cos he is unsatisified with his payday or is it because he just hasn't had his fix yet??

 ;tightend; ;tightend; rotflmfao ;tightend; ;tightend;

Yeah, that was Dena dealing.

She's not working with any company now, just taking up jobs to deal festivals/tv poker as it arises. Not quite so steady but far better money. She was born for TV dealing, that girl. Never met someone so photogenic in my life.