WPT London Finale; Duhamel’s Premier Party Trick

London’s WPT National Final Table

The WPT’s National event in London moved a step closer to completion yesterday as 27 runners became just eight.

After a day of action that saw two females make it into the final few, Elior Sion was the man who finished on top. After dispatching with poker femme fatale, Xuan Nguyen, Sion bagged 1,731,000 chips at the close of the session.

The dominant haul put them comfortably in front of a mixed final table that included veteran British grinder Carlo Citrone, poker coach Kevin Williams the last remaining female, Emma Tolley.

Another player who finished the day with a stack strong enough to claim today’s winner’s trophy and £80,000 top prize was Rasmus Larsen.

The Danish player bagged 1,268,000 chips to hold more than 55% of the chip in player along with Sion.

Today’s session kicked off at 14:00 GMT and interested spectators can watch the final action via PartyPoker’s dedicated live stream.

Pros’ Premier League Party

PartyPoker’s Premier League kicked off on Sunday and after the first two heats it was Jonathan Duhamel and Tobias Reinkemeier who finished on top. Having split the 16 poker pros into two groups, it was tournament newcomer Duhamel who took the plaudits in Heat 1.

Having outlasted Premier League veterans in the form of Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth and Antonio Esfandiari, Duhamel found himself with a chip disadvantage going into the heads-up stage of the tournament.

However, when you’re a former WSOP champion not even the likes of Sam Trickett can intimidate you into submission. Indeed, after rallying his position and gaining the lead, Duhamel proceeded to close out the match when his top pair and nut flush draw left Trickett’s gutshot trailing in its wake.

With 16 points and $32,000 banked, Duhamel now finds himself in a strong position to make the final stages of the shootout event.

In Heat 2 it was Tobias Reinkemeier who bested another strong table comprised of poker icons such as Jason Mercier, Tony G, Phil Laak and Igor Kurganov.