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Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2007
WPT wraps 2007 with Doyle Brunson Classic
Hachem won this event last year. Can he do it again?
By Earl Burton
The action has been frenetic in Las Vegas this December as many poker professionals stay close to home, not only for the holiday season but also for the tournament action.
After the finish of the National Poker League's Vegas Open last week, this week sees a 2007 poker tournament finale of sorts, with the start of the World Poker Tour's Doyle Brunson Classic at the Bellagio's Five Diamond World Poker Classic.
The $15,000 buy-in event is the fourth-largest tournament in the poker world when ranked by entry fee, behind the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament at the World Series of Poker, the $25,000 WPT Championship (also held at the Bellagio, in April) and the £10,000 World Series of Poker Europe Championship Event.
Because of its location at the Bellagio, one of the finest casinos in the world, and the plethora of professionals who live on the West Coast, the Five Diamond's WPT event is usually one of the most pro-laden fields during the tournament poker season.
A look at the list of events for the Five Diamond's schedule - dominated as it is by No-Limit Hold 'Em - demonstrates that this is not an arena for the faint-hearted or those with a short bankroll.
You won't find any $300 or $500 buy-in events in this (or any) tournament held at the Bellagio. The minimum buy-in for an event is $1,500 (also applicable to the super-satellite tournaments), and larger buy-in events (anywhere from $2k to $5k) that consistently draw the cream of the poker world fill up the majority of the schedule.
The results from the Five Diamond World Poker Classic events that have already played out indicate how rigorous the prospective field for the WPT event will be. Earlier action has crowned such notable professionals as WPT champion Roy Winston, David "The Dragon" Pham (who has been at several WPT final tables) and 2006 WSOP bracelet winner Dutch Boyd.
Other players who have routinely appeared in the mix in the late goings at the Five Diamond this year include former World Champion Layne Flack, 2007 WSOP Player of the Year Tom Schneider, the underrated Amnon Filippi and the Binger brothers, Michael and Nick.
2005 World Champion Joseph Hachem won the Five Diamond last year, but he won't be back to defend his title this year. Instead, he's taking on the APPT event in Syndney, Australia.
However, there are plenty of other players who can take his place as favorites to be considered, including Bill Edler, who has been on a huge run in the last half of 2007, Jonathan Little (who is in the heat of the battle for WPT Player of the Year) and J.C. Tran.
Could this be the one for Kid Poker?
Another familiar pro who could easily rise to the top of the tournament is Daniel Negreanu. In viewing his previous success at the Five Diamond, he can't be overlooked as a big threat.
In the past three years, Negreanu has been at the final table of the Five Diamond WPT event twice, winning in 2004 and taking third last year.
Another title at the Doyle Brunson Classic would be a great way to finish an otherwise uneventful 2007 for Negreanu, as he started the year with a runner-up finish at the WPT event at the Gold Strike in Tunica in January but has been pretty quiet since.
If the turnout approaches last year's field of 583 players - and there's no reason to think it won't - the Doyle Brunson Classic will be an excellent way to finish off the 2007 tournament poker season … and an even better one for the one player who will walk away Dec. 18 with an early Christmas present in the form of a WPT championship.
PokerListings.com will be there for every turn of the card in our Live Updates Section, so tune in early and often as the Five Diamond World Poker Classic wraps its action with the Doyle Brunson Classic starting today.
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