Barry Shulman Crowned WSOP Europe Main Event Champion 2009

Barry Shulman overcame one of the toughest tables ever witnessed at a WSOP final table to be crowned the WSOPE Main Event Champion 2009 and collect the top prize of £801,603.
Shulman now has two WSOP bracelets, the first coming in 2001 in the $1,500 seven card 8 stud event, and with 14 money finishes at the WSOP and 8 at WPT events, he has now earnt in excess of $1,600,000 from live tournament play.
“When I moved to Vegas, I took up poker to try and prove I could beat the best in the world,” Shulman said. “I got pretty good for a while and I proved it about ten years ago. I haven’t been playing very hard since then. I went back to work and bought CardPlayer Magazine and here we are again and I’m excited to be working hard at poker and now I’m back on the winning trail and feeling very good about it.”
The action at the final table got started when Daniel Negreanu, short stacked and looking for an opportunity to double up, faced a Chris Bjorin raise and a James Akenhead all-in ahead of him while holding pocket A A. November Niner James Akenhead showed a badly dominated A Q and was knocked out in ninth place .
Matt Hawrilenko was the next to bow out, finishing in eighth place, shortly followed by the remaining November Niner Antoine Saout in seventh spot who was also another one of Negreanu’s victims.
Negreanu’s onslaught continued, first by eliminating Bjorin in sixth when he moved all in with A J and was called by Negreanu’s A Q, then knocking out Markus Ristola in fifth. Next it was Mercier’s time to exit the competition after his push with 7 7 was looked up by Daniel’s 9 9, and then Bansi finished in third having pushed with a weak queen only to be called by Negreanu holding A Q.
The action was now heads up and Negreanu, on a seeming unstoppable roll, almost closed out the title when all the money went in with his A A up against Shulman’s flush draw. Shulman hit his suit which left Daniel in bad shape but he managed to claw his way back into the match until he walked into Shulman’s A A while holding Q J and a J showing on the flop. Despite a second J hitting on the turn to give Daniel trips, Shulman hit a third A on the river to complete a full house which effectively handed him the tournament. Negreanu was eliminated a few hands later in second spot for an impressive £495,589 pay out.
Talking about the key hand, Shulman said: ” I knew that I got in with the best hand and when the jack came, I had frankly pretty much given up.I said to myself at least I’m not going to be embarrassing myself here, I got it in with the best hand. What are you going to do? That’s poker.”
“And then suddenly, the miracle ace fell. I about passed out,” exclaimed Shulman.
Now Barry Shulman is the 2009 WSOPE Champion, he expressed his aspiration son Jeff manages to capture the WSOP main event in Las Vegas this November to complete some ” World Series history that may never be broken.”