With the Main Event getting under way on Thursday, we've got some serious catching up to do. In this batch of photographical housekeeping, we'll peek at some of the action from the last two weeks of preliminary events in the Rio, Events #40-50. We'll start right off with the heads-up battle in what is perennially one of the toughest events to navigate, the $5,000 Six-Max. And some very clever cup stacking from the railbirds.
It was Matt Jarvis (right) looking for WSOP hardware and a little final table redemption, heads-up with Justin Filtz (left).
From the November Nine to WSOP champion. Jarvis came out on top after a three-hour heads-up duel to earn himself the bracelet and some serious credibility.
Less than a year removed from the 2010 Main Event final table, Jarvis got to sit and pose for the champion's photos, overcoming one of the toughest fields of the summer to earn his second-largest WSOP payday of $808,538.
Eugene Katchalov created a bit of a buzz in the building when he final tabled the $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout Event #41, searching for his second bracelet of the summer.
But Katchalov fizzled out in fourth place, and Justin Pechie went on to claim his first bracelet and the 41st of the summer.
Event #42 was a big one, the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship. Joe Hachem turned up to play. All the way from down undah, mate.
Chau Giang took part in the shenanigans both on and off the felt as well, and he's seen here yelling something at Jason Mercier.
We couldn't understand what Giang was yelling, but we did catch a peek at what he was folding.
Ummmm, dude, we saw some of those cards, too. Online legend Sami \"LarsLuzak\" Kelopuro made it to this final table in his strongest game.
But he ran into a bulldozer by the name of Ben \"Benba\" Lamb. Lamb (left) is seen here giving a consolatory fist bump to Christopher King (right), whom he'd just eliminated in fourth place.
Kelopuro made it all the way to heads-up with Lamb. But it's never a good idea to show your opponent your cards…
And Lamb went on to seal the deal after a quick tug of war. The run-across-the-stage-and-into-a-mass-of-blue-tinted-friends celebration has quickly become a staple in the newly-designed featured table arena.
For his work, Lamb earned $814,436, his first gold bracelet, and a spot atop the Player of the Year standings.
The first of our $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em events of this stretch, Event #43. Ray Foley won one of these things in 2009, and he final tabled this one, too. Wearing the same lucky outfit, we might add. Foley exited in ninth place this time around, though.
EPT Grand Final champion Nicholas Chouity also made the final table, but his bid for a bracelet came up short in sixth place.
Every summer, a couple of under-the-radar events surprise everyone with awesome finishes. The heads-up battle for this Event #43 bracelet painted one of the more memorable scenes thus far this summer.
It was Berlin Nachman (left) and Andre Akkari (right), and they couldn't settle the score in the appointed time. A fourth day was added on to the event, and even then, they continued to battle heads-up for several more hours.
Nachman was a formidable foe, but Akkari brought backup with him. The entire nation of Brazil -- or at least, it sounded like it -- flooded to the rail.
With the stacks traded back and forth and nearly back to even again, all the chips went in preflop, and Berlin's ace-eight was a small favorite against Akkari's king-jack. Berlin figured this was a fine spot to use his \"one time\".
Berlin would be less than pleased with the result.
Akkari struck gold, spiking his king right on the flop to pull into a big lead and send the crowd into a frenzy.
While Berlin was devastated, Akkari was relishing in the moment. He's seen here standing back with his friends to sweat the last two cards on the monitors overhead. He'd make trips promptly on the turn to quash any potential ace-on-the-river drama.
It was hugs and head-rubs all around on the Brazilian side, but nobody knew if he had, in fact, won the match.
The chips had to be counted down to see which of the two men started the hand with the bigger stack, an agonizing few minutes for Akkari.
It can't hurt. Akkari asks for a little help in having his opponent covered.
It was enough! Trip kings give Akkari all the chips, a bracelet, a few hundred thousand dollars, and a smile that's even harder to wipe off than usual for the gregarious Team PokerStars Pro.
Razz time! The $2,500 buy-in event #44 was the only razz event on the 2011 schedule. This guy in a gorilla mask played.
And so did a couple members of the media. This is Tim Fiorvanti from Bluff.
Easily identifiable as the Mickey Mouse card capper that belongs to Mickey Mills. He was one of a pair of Mickeys in the field.
The other was our very own Mickey Doft!
Robert Williamson III was the crowd favorite for three full days until his deep run came to an end in fourth place.
The razz bracelet ended up with Rep Porter, the second time in his career he's climbed to the top of a WSOP field.
Up next, a little $1,000 fun fest, Event #45. We love us some Teddy \"Iceman\" Monroe.
We had another member of the PokerNews family to sweat in this one, Kristy Arnett. Don't be conned by her innocent smirk. She's a badass.
Also in the field, Antonio Esfandiari. He's seen here as the victim of a particularly intense massage.
The massage therapist must have been doing something right, because a couple days later, Esfandiari found himself playing for a bracelet at the final table. He was cut down in seventh place, though.
Andrew \"Tufat\" Teng did a bit better, pocketing six figures for a fifth-place run.
Meet Kenneth Griffin, the champion of Event #45.
Event #46 was the $10,000 Six-Handed Championship, and it was ElkY's turn to try and chase down a second 2011 bracelet. He ran out of steam at the end, though, and he ultimately bowed out in third place.
Chris Moorman was still there when ElkY fell; the Brit managed to get heads-up for the bracelet.
Moorman drew another installment of the \"Brit rail\", a phenomenon the security staff has become well accustomed to dealing with by now.
Joe Ebanks spoiled another British siege when he took care of Moorman and snagged the bracelet.
Bang! Pakistan's Owais Ahmed became only the second player from that country -- behind Hasan Habib -- to win WSOP gold. Ahmed's win came in the $2,500 Buy-in Mixed Hi-Lo Event #47, and his face would pop up again at a major final table a few events later.
Event #48, another $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event, gave us some pretty photogenic moments to look back on. This is Simon Charette, appearing a little lonely as he was potentially two cards from being eliminated.
His opponent was over in the far corner, and the two players were flipping for a 10-million-chip pot. This is Athanasios Polychronopoulos, waiting to see if his pocket fours could hold against Charette's ace-nine.
A jack-ten-four flop is a good start when you have pocket fours, and Polychronopoulos dragged the monster pot to all but seal the deal.
A better look at the champ, Athanasios Polychronopoulos (and friends), of Greece.
Event #49 was the $2,500 2-7 Triple Draw event, and another of our own hit the felt, staff writer Elissa Harwood.
Three days later, the starting field of 310 players was trimmed down to an impressive final table of six that included Eli Elezra, David Bach, Leonard Martin, Justin Bonomo, Masa Tanaka, and Jason Mercier.
Mercier was charging hard for his own second bracelet of the summer (and third overall), but he was sent off earlier than he'd hoped in sixth place. And that makes him feel sad.
In the end, the steadfast pro Lenny Martin took it down, and he was cheered on by some of poker's elite as he finally scored WSOP gold.
We'll finish with Event #50, the $5,000 Triple Chance. It was on that day that the Davids Baker made our jobs just that much tougher by moving right next to each other near the end of Day 1.
The event drew a whopping 817 players to the field, among them French actress Alice Taglioni.
Speaking of notable women in the field, Vanessa Peng entered Day 3 as the chip leader, and she worked it all the way to the final table with a chance to make some headlines. Her luck ran afoul, though, and the last lady standing dropped out in sixth place.
Eric Froehlich laddered a bit further than that before he lost a race to the eventual champion, Antonin Teisseire. Froehlich earned more than a quarter-million dollars as a consolation prize for a fourth-place showing.
But it was Teisseire snatching the gold. With a French frenzy as a backdrop, a jolly Teisseire poses for his winner's photos.
Antonin Teisseire takes to the mic to -- we're presuming here, since it was all in French -- thank his fans for their support. There are a few players, Teisseire included, bringing bracelets back to France at the end of the summer.
Here's a good one to leave you with, a celebratory Gene Simmons pose on Day 3. We'll tidy up the next seven events, including the $50,000 Players' Championship, next time around.
