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Demidov, Eastgate play for poker’s biggest prize
International finalists battling for pride, bracelet
By Jeff Haney
Mon, Nov 10, 2008 (3:30 p.m.)
Having secured at least second-place prize money of $5.8 million, both World Series of Poker main event finalists said they'll be competing Monday night for the prestige of winning the game's most revered tournament.
Ivan Demidov of Moscow, Russia, and Peter Eastgate of Odense, Denmark, will square off head-to-head for the no-limit Texas hold 'em world championship beginning at 10 p.m. at the Rio.
First place in the $10,000-buy-in tournament, which drew 6,844 entrants, pays $9.1 million. The winner also receives a gold-and-diamond championship bracelet, considered the most coveted prize in poker.
"It's about the bracelet and about winning the biggest poker tournament in the world," Demidov said Monday at the Rio.
Demidov enters heads-up play at the Penn & Teller Theater with $57.7 million in tournament chips to Eastgate's $79.5. Spectators are welcome, with doors scheduled to open to the general public at 9:30 p.m.
"We already know we're getting the paycheck, so it's pride that's on the line," Eastgate said.
As players were eliminated from the final table Sunday, which reconvened after an unprecedented 117-day hiatus, nearly every one of them mentioned Demidov, Eastgate or both as the toughest competitors in the event's endgame.
Both finalists became professional poker players after honing their skills online, moving up through the ranks to high-stakes play as they conquered each succeeding level.
Demidov, 27, entered play at the final table with a burgeoning reputation for "live" (that is, live and in person) tournament play as well. During the 117-day break, he finished third in the World Series of Poker Europe main event in London.
Eastgate, 22, became serious about poker in 2006 when he went on a major "heater," or winning streak, in online play. He was asked Monday at the Rio what he did before he embarked upon his lucrative career as a poker pro.
"Before that," Eastgate said, "I was in high school." |
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发表于 2008-11-11 10:32
