PokerStars World Cup of Poker IV Finals Underway
Today, September 4, the PokerStars World Cup of Poker IV Finals kicked off at the Casino de Barcelona in Spain. 40 players from eight countries set to battle for national pride, bragging rights and a whole bunch of cash.
Four-player poker teams from eight different countries qualified on-line at PokerStars.com and were given a free trip to play at the final rounds of the World Cup of Poker IV at the Casino de Barcelona, which just days ago hosted the PokerStars European Poker Tour’s Barcelona Championship.
The 8 teams have been joined by a fifth team member selected by Stars, with those players including Greg Raymer (USA), Daniel Negreanu (Canada), and Katja Thater (Germany).
Apart from the USA, Canada and Germany, the other countries in this year’s PokerStars World Cup of Poker IV include Ireland, Portugal, Iceland, Mexico and Romania,which bested Hungary in a playoff to grab the final spot. All eight teams will battle for the title which was won last year by Poland. Poland, however, failed to qualify and won’t have a chance to defend their title.
Apart from Greg Raymer on the USA team, the squad also boasts online star Shaun Deeb, while the strong Canada team also includes father and son qualifiers Otto and Ed Byrne. You just have to love poker families.
For The PokerStars World Cup of Poker IV, the first two heats will be played today (Tuesday, September 4th). The third heat will be played tomorrow (Wednesday), and Heats 4 and 5 are set for Thursday. The top four of the eight teams based on performance in the heats will qualify for Friday’s final. The final four teams will share the $220,000 prize pool, with the winning team receiving $100,000, or $20,000 per player. The second- through fourth-place teams will divide $60,000, $40,000 and $20,000, respectively. Not a bad representation fee for winning poker for your country.
Anyway, news updates from the Casino de Barcelona revealed that the first heat is over.
Heat one went the way of Canada, with Michael Watson playing a good game that mixed right timing and patience, tight but aggressive. Michael Watson collected 15 points for Canada for coming in 1st place, plus a bonus of $5,000 for the team.
The opening heat also featured Greg Raymer, usually of Team PokerStars, but here representing the United States, as their celebrity player. Luckily for Team USA, Raymer is also a WSOP bracelet holder, having won the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event. However, he wasn’t able to make much of an impact despite being an early chip leader. He got booted out at 4th and collected 7 points for Team USA.
Other results for the first heat include: Team Iceland’s Friorik Jorgensson busted out first at eight place when his pocket 8s ran into Rockets. Jorgensson earned 1 point for Team Iceland. Team Ireland’s Derek Murray went out in 7th place with Big Slick versus Ladies, and the Ladies holding up. Murray collected 2 points for Ireland. Sixth place finisher was Mexico’s Antonio Childakis. The 77 of Childakis ran into Kings, and he was busted out at 6th collecting 3 points for Mexico. Germany’s Patrick Kubert busted out in fifth place and earned 5 points after he lost all his chips with a rivered flush. What can you do? That’s poker. Once again, Team USA’s Greg Raymer busted out 4th, but collected 7 points for Team USA.
The three remaining players had already earned themselves big points for their countries, as well as a decent cash incentive. Portugal’s Jorge Marques busted out at 3rd, earning 9 points for Portugal and a bonus pot of $2,000.
The heads-up battle between Canadian Michael Watson and Ravzan Bengulescu of Romania was a quick one. Just five hands into heads-up action, Bengulescu went all-in with K-Q and Michael Watson called with A-2. The ace on the river secured the first place for Michael Watson, earning 15 points for Canada and a bonus of $5,000. Romania earned 12 points for the 2nd place finish and $3,000.
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