WSOP 2011 Main Event: Meet The November Nine

After a fortnight of intense poker action in Las Vegas, the huge starting field of 6,865 players at the 2011 WSOP Main Event has now been reduced to a final table of nine.
The November Nine, as they are known, will now take a three and a half month long break during which time they can recoup whilst preparing for the biggest battle of their poker lives.
Each of the pros have already secured for themselves a minimum payout of $782,115 for their herculean efforts, but a massive $8,711,956 and all the accolade that goes with becoming the WSOP Main Event Champion awaits the one lucky winner.
The final day 8 of this summer’s Main Event was a master class in aggression with 3-bets, 4-bets and 5-bets the order of the day. In addition, the ever escalating blinds which reached 250k/500k and 50k antes by the end of play, heaped further pressure on the players.
Eventually nine talented competitors from seven different countries remained to become the 2011 Main Event November Nine. Now lets meet the talented players:
 
1: Martin Staszko, (pictured right) 35, from the Czech Republic leads the field with a 40.175m stack. He has earned $84,846 since 2010 playing live tournaments.
2: Eoghan O’Dea, 26 of Ireland (33.925m) boasts $732,511 in live earnings, in addition to a lucrative online career which saw him win the 2008 ECOOP III Main Event for $315,000.
3: Matt Giannetti, 26 of USA (24.85m) is a former internet pro known as hazards21, and has also earned nearly $500,000 from live cashes.
4: Phil Collins, 26 of USA (21.425m) is an internet pro with $3,234,505 in online earnings to go with his $124,984 from live play.
5: Ben Lamb, 26 of USA (20.725m) has amassed $2,553,878 in live tournament winnings, in addition to $1,131,871 playing online as Benba. Lamb also won a bracelet at this year’s WSOP $10k PLO Championship.
6: Badih Bounahra, 49 of Belize (19.95m) is a successful businessman who plays poker as an amateur. He has earned $34,548 from live tournaments.
 
7: Pius Heinz, 22 of Germany (16.475m) is a prodigious online pro known as MastaP89. He is also a newcomer to live poker and had his first cash at this year’s WSOP after finishing 7th in the $1,500 NL event for $83,286.
8: Anton Makievskyi, 21 of Ukraine (15.325m) is an aspiring poker pro.
9: Samuel Holden, 22 of England (13.725m) is an online pro with $285,614 in winnings as SamDMND, and $14,747 from live play.
Over the next few months, we look forward to learning more about these relatively unknown players who have now been immortalised as this year’s November Nine.