Lehmann Takes Control of WPT Event in Spain
Gus Hansen led the way into the World Poker Tour's Spanish Championship. He had the chip lead at the final table with over 960k of the big ones. The Full Tilt sponsored pro looked poised and ready to claim his fourth WPT title. He's already the record holder for most WPT titles with three. Especially sweet for The Great Dane was the fact that he would be crowned the first ever WPT champ in the Catalan capital. Unfortunately for the 2007 Aussie Millions Main Event champ, five other men were standing in his way including Vladimir “the Vampire” Poleshchuk placed 3rd at the EPT Baden Event a little over a week ago, earning €225,000 for that effort. Poleshschuk, the short stack, still proved to be a factor at the final table if only for the fact that he impaled multiple opponents at the Baden event. His table image is that of a killer – and it preceded him. Despite that, even Vlad couldn't overcome the devastating effects of the short stack. Soon after the intros and champagne toast were made, the Vampire himself was struck dead. On the fourteenth hand, Poleshschuk went all-in from the button with a K,9. Steve Sung, a Korean-born youngster who goes by the online handle “MuGGyLiCiOuS”, contemplated, then called with an A,2. The board gave Sung two-pair, effectively driving a stake through the Russian's heart. His sixth place finish added an additional €83,900 to his coffers. Hansen's own tournament life would be cut short next. After a considerable break due to some technical difficulties, the frustrated players returned to the felt. Hansen lost a big pot almost immediately to Ludovic Lacay, a French player who was introduced to the game by his pal, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier. The action folded to Hansen in the small blind. With A,10 in the hole, he made it 75k to go. Lacay made a quick call with his pocket rockets. Hansen didn't improve and headed home earlier than expected in fifth place, giving Lacay a sizeable chip infusion to take over the lead. Steve Sung, who has cashed no less than four times in the WPT since turning 21 over a year ago, held the chip lead at the end of Day Two. He played some impressive poker to get to the final table. However, it all came to end on a very difficult hand. Sung went all-in with pocket kings. Unfortunately, Lehmann woke up with pocket aces. The turn gave Sung a set of cowboys. However, the river dredged up another heart, giving Lehmann the nut flush. Ouch! Christer Johansson, a poker pro from Hollviken, Sweden, sang his swan song next. No stranger to the WPT having placed 13th at the Grand Prix de Paris in '06, Johansson can also claim multiple cashes at the WSOP, including two final tables (2004 Pot Limit Omaha and 2003 S.H.O.E. Tournaments) and an eleventh place finish at the EPT Scandinavian Open last year. He was KOd by Lehmann, a “top distributor of Herbalife”. Lehmann, an Austrian born in Germany who makes his home in the Principality of Liechtenstein, had a bit of a chip disadvantage as heads-up play began. He held 1,583,000 chips to Lacay's 1,809,000. However, it only took 22 hands for Lehmann to take over the lead – and pull out the win. On that final hand, Lacay went all-in with an A,5 and middle pair. Lehmann, with a K,8 called and won the day with a pair of eights he hit on the flop. These are the final results: 1) Markus Lehmann – $786,805 2) Ludovic Lacay - $418,505 3) Christer Johansson - $214,073 4) Steve Sung - $166,438 5) Gus Hansen - $142,621 6) Vladimir Poleshchuk - $118,945