De Wolfe on fire

After the runner-up finishes of John Duthie and Jeff Kimber days ago it was yet another case of so close but so far for the UK at the WSOP yesterday. Going into Event #34, $ 1,500 No Limit Hold’em we had two players at the final table, Steven Bradbury and the red hot Roland de Wolfe.

The Full Tilt pro had already created history earlier in the week by winning his first WSOP bracelet, completing the ‘Triple Crown’ of world poker – EPT, WPT and WSOP titles. If he were to collect his second bracelet here it would have been a huge coup both for de Wolfe and UK poker in general. However, after battling a short stack for a long portion of the final table Roland did well to finish in 5th place, earning $ 112,957. Steven Bradbury, in his first WSOP cash, could only muster 7th place for a very tidy $ 74,351 score. US online pro Eric Baldwin eventually won the event.

Though it may have ultimately been disappointing again for the British contingent, the remarkable consistency and skill of our players at the WSOP this year has really caught the eye. While established stars such as de Wolfe, Praz Bansi and Ben Grundy have all performed well the future for Uk poker has been just as encouraging with JP Kelly, Jamie Roberts and Jack Powell among others all making an impact on the WSOP at a young age.