On Friday, in the Main Event of the World Series of Poker Europe, Barry Shulman broke through in a surprise victory against Daniel Negreanu to take home a WSOPE bracelet and £801,603. Coming into the final heads up round of the event, Negreanu seemed to be the sure bet to win the tournament. However, Shulman was not intimidated and won out in the end with some fantastic hands.
Barry Shulman, father of Jeff Shulman of the WSOP November Nine, has been in the game for a while now. This was his second bracelet win. He took home his last bracelet at the 2001 WSOP, Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split $1,500 event, and has been long due for another tournament win.
There were 334 players in the WSOPE Main Event, many considered to be some of the best poker players in the world. The top nine, and their winnings, are as follows:
1. Barry Shulman with £801,60
2. Daniel Negreanu with £495,589
3. Praz Bansi with £360,887
4. Jason Mercier with £267,267
5. Markus Ristola with £200,367
6. Chris Bjorin with £150,267
7. Antoine Saout with £114,228
8. Matt Hawrilenko with £87,074
9. James Akenhead with £66,533
I was amazed to see Shulman, who had not taken home a bracelet in eight years, beat Negreanu who holds four WSOP bracelets and two WPT Championship titles. This was certainly one of the most exciting matches of heads up poker I’ve seen in awhile.