WSOP Event #14 $10,000 World Championship Stud: Oppenheim Has His Second Chance
High-stakes pro Oppenheim will hope to improve on last year’s third place finish as he leads the final table this time around.
Monday 9th June 2008
He might not be one of the most recognisable names in poker, but he’s certainly one of the most respected amongst his peers. David Oppenheim finished third last year in the championship Stud event, finishing behind Chris Reslock and Phil Ivey. This time things are a little different, after Ivey’s elimination in ninth saw a final table set with Oppenheim in pole position.
The seating and chip counts for the tough looking final table is as follows:
Seat 1: David Oppenheim - 508,000
Seat 2: Alexander Kostritsyn - 495,000
Seat 3: Jim Paluszek - 413,000
Seat 4: Erik Seidel - 273,000
Seat 5: Vassilios Lazarou - 259,000
Seat 6: Minh Ly - 424,000
Seat 7: Fu Wong - 429,000
Seat 8: Eric Brooks - 359,000
As mentioned, Phil Ivey was knocked out in ninth, shortly after Daniel Negreanu’s quest to win his fourth bracelet ended with elimination in eleventh. Both did better than a whole host of pros who failed to make the money in the event, including Doyle Brunson, Greg Raymer, Carlos Mortensen, Scotty Nguyen and Andy Bloch.
While many will watch to see if Oppenheim can improve on last year’s third, there’s also another interesting subplot as Eric Seidel meets Alexander Kostritsyn once again. If the name sounds familiar, that’s because it was the young Muscovite who pipped Eric Seidel to first in the 2008 Aussie Millions. While Seidel is a the short stack coming to the final table, you can never count out a player of his calibre. There’s also ‘The Big Game’ regular Minh Ly, who is yet to win his first bracelet and will know Oppenheim’s game well from their time in Bobby’s Room.
