After the 2011 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe festival’s successful move from London to the South of France, 2012 saw the return of the WSOP to the Majestic Barrière Cannes and the Le Croisette Casino Barrière casinos in Cannes for a poker feast like no other. Once again, seven WSOP bracelet events would occur, with the Main Event revealing a stunning winner who achieved something in 2012 that has never been repeated since.
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Outside the Casino for the WSOP-E
The Magician Pulls a Rabbit
The opening event of the 20212 WSOPE series was a €2,700 entry No Limit Hold’em Six-Max event, which had a good turnout of 227 total entries. Only 24 of those players cashed, including Phil Hellmuth, who scraped into the money to min-cash of €4,887 in 24th place. The Poker Brat, wearing a custom-made jersey bearing his nickname, was disappointed to fall short of winning a record-extending 13th bracelet but vowed to battle on during all six other events… with plenty of success.
After results for others, such as Hollywood actress Jennifer Tilly (17th for €6,548), five different nations were represented in the last five players at the final table. Welshman Roberto Romanello missed out in fifth for €31,925, while French player Yannick Bonnet came close to banking the first bracelet for the home country, but it was the Tunisian Imed Mahmoud who claimed gold, taking home €147,099 into the bargain.
The second event had the lowest buy-in of the series at €1,100 and was the most heavily attended of the entire 2012 WSOPE series. Competing in NLHE, 626 entries meant a prize pool of over €600,000 and a top prize of €126,207. Just 63 players got paid, with the bulk of them (31 total) from France. International players of repute such as Marvin Rettenmaier (47th for €2,133), the 2023 WSOP Main Event winner Daniel Weinman (35th for €2,608), Canadian Erik Cajelais (27th for €3,846), and Americans John Monette (23rd for €4,489) and McLean Karr (6th for €24,309) all got close to the gold.
While three French players made the final five, it was an American who won the title and the most in-form player on the planet. Earlier in the year, Antonio Esfandiari, known in the poker world as The Magician, won the Big One for One Drop in Las Vegas for over €18 million, the biggest single prize ever awarded in poker at the time. The Magician pulled it out of the bag again, winning the second event of the 2012 WSOPE for €126,207.
Home Country Success at Last
The third event of the WSOP Europe 2012 series finally saw a French player win a title in their own country, as legendary professional Roger Hairabedian took down the €5,300 PLO Event for €142,590. With 97 entries, only a dozen players made the money, including poker legends Vanessa Selbst (12th for €9,929), Jason Mercier (9th for €12,245), and Aussie former WSOP Main Event winner Joe Hachem (6th for €25,490).
While Michael ‘Grinder’ Mizrachi came close, falling in third place for €62,749, it was Hairabedian’s day as he got the better of one of three Finnish players amongst the final five, Ville Mattila, heads-up, claiming the top prize and the first of his two career WSOP bracelets. ‘Big Roger’ is a poker legend in France, and his victory kicked off a spate of success for French players in the game.
Event #4, the €3,250 NLHE Shootout Event, was won by Giovanni Rosadoni before the fifth event, a €10,450 Mixed Max NLHE Event, saw 96 entries topped by the Portuguese player Jonathan Aguiar, as he beat Brandon Cantu to the title and €258,047 top prize heads-up. Cantu, a good friend of Phil Hellmuth, was cheered on by The Poker Brat during the heads-up match after Hairabedian’s bid for two bracelets in three events was ended when he fell in third.
After Aguiar’s fellow Portuguese Francisco Da Costa Santos won Event #6, the €1,650 PLO 6-Max Event, for €83,275, denying Spanish player Ana Marquez her first bracelet, it was time for the WSOPE Main Event. It was huge in Europe in 2012 and with 420 entries, the prize pool surpassed €5.2 million.
Continental Showdown as Legends Collide
Just 48 players cashed in the WSOP Europe Main Event of 2012, with Justin Bonomo min-cashing for €20,150 in 48th place, along with Daniel Weinman (47th) and Daniel Negreanu (43rd). Others climbed higher but failed to make the final table, with Eugene Katchalov (40th for €21,250), Philipp Gruissem (29th for €22,982), Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier (25th for €22,982), Liv Boeree (18th for €26,611), David Benyamine (15th for €32,256), Toby Lewis (13th for €40,320) and Scott Seiver, who bubbled the final table in 10th place for a score of €66,528.
When the final nine convened at the final table, Phil Hellmuth (3.43m) had a marginal lead over the Ukrainian Sergii Baranov (3.33m), with Joseph Cheong (1.96m) the only other player to have more than half the chip leader’s pile. Timothy Adams busted in ninth for €66,528 before another North American, Jason Mercier, exited in eighth place for €84,672 when his ace-queen was defeated in dominant style by Baranov’s ace-king.
Exits for French players Stephane Girault (7th for €108,864) and Paul Tedeschi (6th for €149,184) followed, with English player Chris Brammer departing in fifth for €207,648 when two hands decimated his stack. Losing most of it with ace-six to Stephane Albertini’s king-four, Brammer then saw his stack disappear when his ace-jack lost to Baranov’s king-ten, a ten on the flop striking the fatal blow.
The Brat and Baranov Go for Gold
Down to just four players, the American player Joseph Cheong busted next. Cheong was so close to achieving his poker dream and was all-in with ace-queen, but lost in stunning fashion when Sergii Baranov’s king-queen flopped the nut flush draw on A-K-6 with two diamonds. A deuce of diamonds on the turn gave the Ukrainian the pot, taking out the dangerous Cheong for €292,320.
Out in third was the home hope Albertini, who won €423,360 and was unlucky to leave when he did. All-in with pocket jacks, he was miles ahead of Phil Hellmuth’s pocket sevens and stayed that way until the river produced a third seven and sent play heads-up. Hellmuth had a huge lead, and it didn’t take long for the Poker Brat to seal the deal.
When Baranov shoved with ace-four over Hellmuth’s raise, Hellmuth snapped him off and declared to his rail: “I’m going to win this right here,” as he opened ace-ten.
The Brat Runs Clean
Hellmuth, never shy about having confidence in his chances, especially in WSOP events, wasn’t wrong, as a clean board of J-9-5-A-3 fell to send him into ecstasy with his friends on the rail. While Baranov walked away to collect €632,592 as runner-up, Hellmuth collected €1.022 million as the sixth world champion in Europe – and became the only player ever to win the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas and European or Australasian soil.
“This is the best tournament I’ve ever played in my entire life,” Hellmuth told reporters after winning his 13th WSOP bracelet. “I was all in for my tournament life once and that was on Day 1; he had one out.”
After a stirring run to the title, Phil Hellmuth moved three clear of his nearest challenger in the list of all-time WSOP bracelet winners with the victory in Europe. To this day, he has extended that record even further.
| Player | Country | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Phil Hellmuth | United States | €1,022,376 |
| 2nd | Sergii Baranov | Ukraine | €632,592 |
| 3rd | Stephane Albertini | France | €423,360 |
| 4th | Joseph Cheong | United States | €292,320 |
| 5th | Christopher Brammer | United Kingdom | €207,648 |
| 6th | Paul Francois Tedeschi | France | €149,184 |
| 7th | Stephane Girault | France | €108,864 |
| 8th | Jason Mercier | United States | €84,672 |
| 9th | Timothy Adams | Canada | €66,528 |
2011 WSOP Europe 2013 WSOP Europe
About the Author: Paul Seaton has written about poker for over 10 years, interviewing some of the best players ever to play the game such as Daniel Negreanu, Johnny Chan and Phil Hellmuth. Over the years, Paul has reported live from tournaments such as the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas and the European Poker Tour. He has also written for other poker brands where he was Head of Media, as well as BLUFF magazine, where he was Editor.