Black Friday prevented PokerStars staff from making an appearance at this year’s WSOP, but the site still had plenty of presence at the series thanks to its myriad of patch-wearing pros. Team PokerStars was out in full force, some of them with very impressive results. I’ll be taking a look at some of the best PokerStars Pro performances from WSOP 2011, and this article will start with pros from Europe.
The best performance from a UK PokerStars Pro goes to JP Kelly thanks to his deep run in the Main Event. He was the longest lasting of all the PokerStars Pros in the big tourney, and while he did not make the November Nine, $302,005 for 26th is nothing to sneeze at. He also placed 18th for $13,368 in Event 24, a $5,000 No Limit Shootout tournament. His total cashes for WSOP in 2011 were $315,373.
Another PokerStars Pro to go deep in the Main Event was Sebastian Ruthenberg from Germany. He placed 55th for $130,997. He also finished 55th in Event 55 for $108,503 and 40th in Event 38 for $10,771. This brings his total cashes for WSOP 2011 to an impressive $250,271.
France’s Bertrand Grospellier, known as ElkY online, had the best World Series of all Team PokerStars. He won a bracelet in Event 21, the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship. This netted him $331,639. He made even more money in Event 46, however! This was the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Six Handed Championship and he placed 3rd for $447,074. He also had two other cashes this series: 11th in Event 16 for $27,928 and 104th in Event 13 for $4,998. His total cashes for WSOP 2011 total to an astounding $811,639!
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier at the Event 46 final table. Photo courtesy of PokerNews.
PokerStars saw two more of its European pros win bracelets. Eugene Katchalov, originally from Ukraine, took 1st place for $122,909 in Event 5, a $1,500 Seven Card Stud tournament. He also placed 4th in Event 41 for $50,993 and 36th in Event 23 for $5,740. His total cashes for WSOP 2011 were a respectable $179,642.
The other bracelet winner was Maxim Lykov, who won Event 54, a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament. This wasn’t just any $1,000 tournament though – it was the five day version. This meant a huge field and an enormous 1st place prize of $648,880! This cash alone ensured that he would end up one of the biggest winners on Team PokerStars. He also cashed Event 24 for $13,368 thanks to a 38th place finish. His total cashes for WSOP 2011 were an impressive $662,248.
Maxim Lykov shows off his new jewelry after winning Event 54, a $1k No Limit Hold'em tournament. Photo courtesy of PokerNews.
Although he didn’t make any final tables, Lex Veldhuis of the Netherlands went deep in several events and had quite a few cashes. He placed 24th in Event 3 for $8,191, 102nd in Event 13 for $4,998, and 56th in Event 26 for $7,962. He also just missed the final table of Event 20, a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament. He placed 11th for $28,517, which was probably a huge disappointment for him. In total he cashed for $49,668.
That sums up the best performances from PokerStars Pros based in Europe, and to say that they were impressive is an understatement! Were they better than those from America, however? I’ll be highlighting the best performances from North and South America in my next article, but here’s a hint: players from Brazil and the United States gave ElkY a run for his money.