A little over three months of waiting is what the nine finalists will have to wait until the World Series of Poker (WSOP) final table.
From the left; James Akenhead, Jeff Shulman, Phil Ivey, Antoine Saout, Darvin Moon, Joseph Cada, Steven Begleiter, Kevin Schaffel y Eric Buchman.
Let’s meet them
In order of chips obtained
Darvin Moon is what’s call a Lucky guy! This 45 years old man owns a small logging enterprise in Maryland, U.S.
This amateur player got a seat at the main event after winning a Satellite tournament in West Virginia. He never had the intention of playing poker in the big leagues or even turns his hobby into a way of life. Used to play with friends in Maryland Moon is impressed and overwhelmed by the attention he attracted at the WSOP.
“What were there, 6,400 players in this tournament?” asked Moon “I’d guess about 6,300 of them are better poker players than I am.” Moon said after reaching the final and become one of the favorites of the audience.
Predictions for November sets Moon as a possible winner being that exceeds almost twice the chips to Eric Buchman. Moon has achieved very good cards during the main event and has known when to fold, call or rise in the right moment.
Erich Buchman is used to play in the big leagues; nine are the times that he has made a charge at the WSOP and fourth in the WPT for the past 5 years. Unlike Moon, Buchman is a professional player who makes his living playing poker.
Eric has 28 years old and come from Valley Stream. The pleasure becomes ambition and, with his tough and serious game, he aspires to get the big price.
Steven Begleiter comes from Chappaqua, New York. He has played poker all his life and owes to his friends the value he required to reach the main event. Back there, in Chappaqua, Steven plays in a league where he earned his pass to the tournament. The money collected will be divided among the all members of the league.
“The whole town! There are going to be a bunch of people; I don’t know how many are going to be here, these guys have a piece of me” said Begleiter when he was asked of how supported are going to be his friends at the final in November.
“I’m dancing between raindrops in the middle of a minefield and somehow I’m still standing,” he said. “I’ve already won. It’s insane I made the final table. I’m not quite sure how I did it. My objective is to play well – so far I’ve played well.”
Begleiter is 47 years old and is one of the players who enjoy the break before the final round in November.
Watch his personal interview by CNBC:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1185961572&play=1
Jeff Shulman is the only player who has played in a WSOP final table before. In 2007, he remained in seventh place wining $146.700.
Shulman is the most controversial player of the table; he is the editor of the well known Card Player magazine and has announced that, if he wins the tournament, he will throw the bracelet in the garbage. The causes for this behavior would be his disagreed with the organization of the event in recent times.
“This is the easiest field I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. Everyone talks about luck in poker, but the luck is all in the table draw. I was blessed with beautiful tables for the first couple of days.” Said Jeff Shulman after the game.
Joseph Cada. With 13.215.000 chips, Joseph is the youngest player at the table. With just 21 years old, Joe started playing poker online and today he’s become a finalist at the World Series of Poker.
Cada come from Michigan and, despite being extremely happy, he can’t wait to go home, have rest, and enjoy the summer with his friends practicing water sports.
Kevin Shaffel can’t believe he has reached a seat at the final in November. With 51 years old, this is the first time in fifteen years he reaches a nice place at the WSOP.
For five years Kevin has been practicing really hard in order to reach to this point. Kevin closed his printing; he retired and decided to play poker seriously. During the brake, he’ll practice poker with his friends and play golf.
“I’ll come back in November and do what I can. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. It’s been a great ride whatever happens. My son is on cloud nine. I can’t wait to come back.”
Phil Ivey is the favorite to win the WSOP in November. However, it is seventh in the final counting of chips which turns him into an easy target for other players.
Whit an impeccable resume, the other members of the final table are feeling a little bit scared of having one of the best Poker players in front of them. With just 33 years old, Phil has got 7 WSOP bracelets.
“You have no idea how bad I want this,” said Ivey, who would rather skip the 12-week wait and finish the tournament immediately. “Today was a bad day, but I made it. I would say the wait is a drawback because I’m kind of in a groove playing with all of these guys. I’m going to forget some of the things I saw from them and will have to replay some of the hands in my mind. I would love to play through right now.”
Antoine Saout is 25 years old and got his ticket to the main event through a Satellite tournament. From Saint Martin des Chams, France, Saout hopes to get the support that he needs from his family to make his best in November.
“My mother was against it but she sees the results and she has to be happy now,” he said. “My friends and family back home are really proud and happy for me.”
James Akenhead comes from London and is the last player getting a place in the final table. Like Phil Ivey, Akenhead is not happy with the break until November.
James is 25 years old and finished in second place in one of the WSOP tournaments last year. He won $520.000.
“It’s like a dream,” he said. “I told a friend in January I just have a feeling that I’ll run badly in the other events, but pull something out for the main. And it’s happened!”
Only two years ago that James learned to play poker and, from the begging, has always been his dream to win the main event of the World Series of Poker. Let’s see how he goes in November.
