2009 WSOP is in full swing

[Steve Ruddock]

It's been quite a start to the 2009 WSOP.

• Greg Raymer's deep run in the $40k event
• Thang Luu wins back to back Omaha 8 tournaments
• Old faces dominate the young guns in the Champion's Invitational
• $1k stimulus tournament has 6,000+ runners

These are just a few of the headlines from the WSOP so far.

For my money Thang Luu's domination of the Omaha 8 tournament is the most jaw-dropping: Luu finished 2nd in this event in 2007, won the event in 2008, and repeated as champion in 2009! Simply an amazing feat in a mega field tournament (918 entrants in 2009: 832 in 2008: 534 in 2007), not bad for a guy who finished 3rd in the 2005 Casino Employee Event!

There is still a full docket for today's action: The conclusion of the Champion's Invitational: The $1,500 PLO tournament which can be seen a BLUFF: and Day 3 of the $1k NLHE stimulus tournament which still has 767 runners.

Amazingly the old champs are teaching the youngsters a thing or two in the Champion's event; of the last 6 Main Event Champions only Peter Eastgate is still in the hunt, while Doyle, Tom McEvoy, Jim Bechtel, Dan Harrington, Berry Johnston, Huck Seed, Robert Varkonyi, and Phil Hellmuth are still alive. 2001 champ Carlos Mortenson is the current chip leader with 41,000 chips: Hellmuth is on the extreme short-stack with just over 1k in chips.

It's shaping up to be a very interesting WSOP.

[Riken177]

i agree for luu to win back to back and runner up in 3 years is such a achievement, who says poker is a game of luck?