Phil Laak Wins First Bracelet at WSOPE

Phil Laak added another bright spot to a tumultuous 2010 by winning the first event at the 2010 World Series of Poker Europe. Laak topped the 243-player field at Event #1, the ₤2,500 Six-Handed No Limit Hold’em tournament, winning ₤170,802. The victory also gave Laak his first World Series of Poker bracelet.

Saying that Laak’s 2010 has been “eventful” would be an understatement, particularly over the last few months. Eaerlier this year, Laak broke the world record for the longest continuous session of live poker by playing for 115 hours straight (with only five minutes of break time per hour allowed) at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

But there have also been low points for Laak recently. In August, he was injured in an ATV crash, which sidelined him for some time. In fact, Laak played with a cast on his right arm, a reminder of the accident that seriously injured him last month.

But Laak has been playing well on the comeback trail. In the past two weeks, Laak has cashed in both the Partouche Poker Tour in Cannes, and the English Poker Open, held just days before the WSOPE began. Of course, neither of those cashes could compare to winning his first ever bracelet today.

The final table began with Canadian pro Andrew Pantling holding a commanding chip lead with 627,500 chips. Laak stood third with 317,000, just behind Chris Bjorin, who had 368,500. Pantling was looking for his second major win of the year, having already won the €5,000 Heads Up tournament at the European Poker Tour Grand final in Monte Carlo.

Laak worked his way through the final table to emerge with Pantling in heads up play at the end. Pantling came into heads up play with a small chip lead, but Laak won several small pots to bring the two back on equal footing. Over the next three hours, the two players swapped the chip lead seven times, in what proved to be a long, tense battle for the first WSOPE bracelet of 2010.

On the final hand, Pantling raised on the button, after which Laak reraised all-in. Pantling called, and when the cards were revealed, he was actually ahead: his A9 of hearts had the advantage over Laak’s K5 offsuit. When the flop came 744 with two hearts, Pantling looked to be in excellent shape to double up. The turn, however, brought the 5 of diamonds, improving Laak to a pair. The queen of clubs did not help Pantling on the river, and Laak had finally broken through to win his first ever bracelet.

The win brought Laak’s career winnings to over $2.3 million. For second place, Pantling took home ₤105,506.