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Rolf 'Ace' Slotboom
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27 May 2007
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Sunday, 27th of May 2007 03:48 PM
Now that Jeff Kimber has won the last round 4 match, the quarter finals look like this:
Daniel Carter (England) - Dave Ulliott (England)
Gilles Sanchez (France) - Carlos Ilado Fabregas (Spain)
Oscar "lapua" Blanco Carrasco (Spain) - Jeff Kimber (England)
Mikko Lehtonen (Finland) - Dan Simcelescu (Rumania)
Monday, 28th of May 2007 02:08 AM
Three quarter finals for today are over. Full reports & results can be found below. Later today (28 May), at about 3:30 p.m., we will continue with the fourth and last quarter final, immediately followed by the two semi-finals.
Monday, 28th of May 2007 12:00 AM
Oscar "lapua" Blanco Carrasco (Spain) - Jeff Kimber (England)* 1h55
The third and last quarter final of today has just started - between the strong Jeff Kimber and Oscar Blanco Carrasco, a popular Spanish player that is usually referred to by his nickname "lapua". He has gotten off to a very good start. On the flop K T 5 , he check-raised to 3,700 and got called - but when he bet out 7,000 on the turn 7 he made Jeff lay down.
Lapua looking focused
As I said, Jeff is a very strong player who in the past 18 months has had many final tables, and a few paydays in the 70,000-100,000 Euro region. Used to playing big tournaments with, say, 5,000 Euro buy-ins, he is definitely not intimidated by the stakes that he is playing for - yet after 25 minutes of play, he is trailing 12K-28K.
And things start to look even dimmer for Jeff after the following hand. Facing a limp from Oscar on the small blind / button, Jeff raises it up to 1400, and Oscar calls. After a flop 7 5 3 Jeff then follows up his preflop raise with an 1800 bet - but is unable to call the Spaniard's all-in raise. The chip count is now 3-to-1 in Lapua's favor.
After 75 minutes into the match, we are close to a decision. Wiith a flush draw + overcard against Jeff's top pair, Oscar has a good chance to finish things off. The Spanish crowd shouts for the diamond that Oscar needs to clinch this match, but it doesn't come - and suddenly it is Jeff who has taken over as the (slight) chipleader with 22K.
Jeff Kimber successfully turns match around
And indeed, it was Jeff who would win the match. Having Increased his chiplead to almost 30K, he & Oscar end up in a big pot. After preflop raises, the flop comes A52 and Oscar - who has just a KJ - decides to try and represent the ace through a big all-in move. However, as Jeff had a big ace himself, AQ, the Spaniard gets called instantly. The turn J even gives Oscar a glimmer of hope, as now any king or jack on the river would still win him the pot. But a blank on the river means that Jeff Kimber is our third quarter finalist - and that the local favorite is out.
Sunday, 27th of May 2007 08:02 PM
Gilles Sanchez (France) - Carlos Ilado Fabregas* (Spain) 1h49
Gilles Sanchez
Now that the Devilfish elimination is clear and irrefutable, it is time to focus on our second quarter final, between Frenchman Gilles Sanchez and Carlos Ilado Fabregas from Spain - two very nice and likeable players. It is the hometown player who has gotten off to a good start. In a raised pot, he check-raised the Frenchman's 600 continuation bet to 1200. The Frenchman called, and when the turn came 9 6 4 T, Fabregas check-called 2000. After the river T it went check-check, and Fabregas' Q9 proved good.
Gilles, who was the one who knocked out Roy Brindley, not in the last place because of two crucial pots with JJ versus QQ and A9 versus 99 where he got a little lucky, has gotten off to a fairly bad start in this match. Right after losing the hand I just described, he also lost a pot where on the river K 7 4 8 3 he bet 2K on the river into a 4K pot, and then got check-raised by his Spanish opponent. Gilles folded, and Carlos showed one card, the 3. After 45 minutes of play, the chipcount is now 29K-11K in Fabregas' favor.
Carlos Ilado Fabregas
From there, Carlos tries to find ways to end the match. It still takes a very long time, because Gilles plays some good poker. But then the crucial hand comes. With blinds 200-400, Carlos raises to 800 from the small blind / button, and Gilles calls. The flop 998 goes check / check. After a deuce on the turn, Carlos raises the Frechman's 1000 bet to 6000, and Gilles (with an 87) decides to go all-in. That is: He tries to, but because he first said call and only then announced to raise all-in, it is called a string raise - meaning he could put his remaining 500 only in on the river. Either way, Carlos called with the best hand, pocket jacks - meaning that he is the first Spaniard among the final four. (But possibly not the last, as Oscar "lapua" Blanco Carrasco is still in. In fact, he will be performing in the third quarter final that will start in about 20 minutes from now.)
Sunday, 27th of May 2007 05:46 PM
TV preparations for today's quarter finals
Daniel Carter (England)* - Dave Ulliott (England) 1h49
A bit later than expected, we have our first quarter-final. It's between the charismatic "Devilfish" and his young fellow countryman Daniel Carter. The little delay before the match was filled with Dave performing the evergreen "Blueberry Hill" from behind the piano. (This was not the first time that I've heard him play this tune. I counted - and this being my 12th visit here in Barcelona, it must be something like the 60th time that I have heard play it, based on a reasonable average of around one time every day. But of course, credit where credit's due. It still works, and the people - not in the last place the girls - still seem to enjoy it as if it's the first time that they have heard it.)
"Piano Man" Dave Ulliott - for once, with a strictly male audience
And also in the match itself, not many surprises. Dave continues to chip away at his opponent by playing small pots, and by continuing to put the pressure on Daniel through sometimes witty, and sometimes intimidating chat. The man from Hull quickly takes a 25K-15K chiplead, but Daniel has just been able to level things. After the K83 flop and preflop raising and flop betting, Dave backs down with his pocket tens. After another trey on the river and another eight on the river, Dave knows that it is almost impossible for him to have the best hand, considering that Daniel had given him action on the flop. Still, he is probably happy to see Daniel check it back and simply show down his K9 - as it could be an indication that Daniel may not be value-betting his good hands to the maximum against Dave. Either way, the match has been under way for 45 minutes - and the stacks are even.
The first quarter final at this World Heads Up 2007. An all-English affair between the experienced Dave Ulliott and the young Daniel Carter
Not much later, Daniel again takes some chips off the Devil. First limping on the button, he sees Dave make it 1300 to go, and Daniel responds by reraising to 3700. After very long deliberation, Dave says: "What a big laydown this is", and then folds an AJ. Daniel doesn't show. And after taking down another pot, Daniel Carter, or the "Kid" as the TV-presenters like to call him, even has a 30K-10K over his experienced opponent.
And not much later, Daniel indeed manages to finish things off. Holding a 35K-5K chiplead and blinds of 200-400, it is quite remarkable that both players don't do much preflop raising, let alone the big all-in moves that many players choose to make in this type of situation. In one of the few raised pots in the last 15 hands of the match, Daniel makes an unusually small raise to 850, and Dave decides to call with the T 5. The flop 8 7 2 gives him a flush draw, so he chooses to bet out as a semi-bluff, 4200 all-in. Carter has Q 8 for top pair / good kicker, and obviously opts to make the call. The turn J gives Dave some extra outs, and he asks the dealer: "Nine, ten, spade" - an accurate sum up of the outs that he has. But unfortunately for him, the river blanks - meaning that the one remaining Superstar in this event is out. Being a quarter-finalist, he receives 11,250 Euros for his efforts (not that this will be of any interest, I guess), while the winner Daniel Carter has 25,000 Euros locked up. Plus, perhaps even more importantly: The young man is only two matches away from victory, and from taking over as the new World Heads Up Champion.
See Rolf Slotboom's blog on PokerPages.com by clicking here
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