UNIBET OPEN NEWS

 The Unibet Open descended on Paris for the first time from May 3-6, attracting a massive field of 439 runners for the €1,500 NLH Main Event. The Cercle Cadet Poker Room was packed to capacity with poker players eager to get their hands on a share of the €653,671 prize pool, but only 45 of them would succeed. And only one player could take down the €140,539 first prize. After four long days, relatively unknown Polish player Jaroslaw Barglik defeated an incredibly tough final table including five-time Unibet Open finalist Dan Murariu and a dramatic heads-up match against EPT Barcelona champion Kent Lundmark, to lift the trophy and become the Unibet Open’s first ever Polish winner.

Both Day Ones had a smattering of big names. Pieter de Korver, Alex Rousso, Dan Glimne, Matteusz Moolhuizen, Pieter de Korver and Tim Verbon were among the 201 Day 1a starters, the latter two seated next to each other for much of Day 1 until de Korver was eliminated late in the day. Young EPT winner Kent Lundmark also started on Day 1a, and following a massive AK v QQ coinflip towards the end of play, found himself firmly among the chip leaders. By the end of Day 1a, Lundmark was in pole position.

Day 1b drew an even bigger crowd of 238, including recent Unibet Open Prague winner Filip Verboven, EPT Snowfest winner Vladimir Geshkenbein, Unibet Ambassador Paul Valkenburg and four-time Unibet Open finalist Dan Murariu. Did someone say four-time? Before the weekend was out, Murariu had broken his own record, making his unprecedented fifth Unibet Open final. He spent Day 1b steadily accumulating chips, and by the close of play he was among the bigger stacks, although by no means the chip leader. The top spot for Day 1b, and indeed the overall lead going into Day 2, was occupied by Unibet Open Prague runner up Ruggiero Scommegna.

The 132 players returning for Day 2 whittled themselves down in double-quick time, Filip Verboven, Almira Skripchenko and Tim Verbon among the early casualties. Others fared better, of course. Vladimir Geshkenbein continued his good run and was soon chip leader. And then no sooner had Geshkenbein assumed the lead than his stack was eclipsed by that of Dutchman Daniel Pastor.

The chip lead continued to change hands, and soon the field was down to 46, playing hand-for-hand on the bubble. It would be almost two hours before Gaetan Ancobard succumbed in the unluckiest spot. The big stacks took full advantage of the bubble – Jaroslaw Barglik, for example, went from roughly 300,000 to 900,000 during the two hours of hand-for-hand – and soon a large number of players were in the danger zone. In a field of short stacks, Ancobard was one of the shortest. He had been down to less than two big blinds when he had the good fortune to triple up with K-9 against K-5 and Q-9. But he shouldn’t have relaxed. He finally found himself all in on the big blind holding 7-2 – amazingly, ahead of Michal Kadziela who had limped in holding 4-5 suited. But Kadziela flopped two pair, and Ancobard was gone. It wasn’t all tragedy, though – as consolation, the Cercle Cadet presented Ancobard with a package to Unibet Open London.

He may have only scored a min-cash, but Magnus Lundin was the luckiest player in the tournament. He’d had just one ante remaining when Gaetan Ancobard burst the money bubble. Duly, it went in next hand and never came out again. The rest of the short stacks wasted no time in getting their chips in either, hoping to double up – but the majority busting out for a small cash. Among those who made the money but didn’t progress to Day 3 were Ruggiero Scommegna, Matteusz Moolhuizen, Vladimir Geshkenbein and Unibet Open Barcelona runner up Davor Pavic.

The day ended after 11 levels with 11 players remaining. Jaroslaw Barglik, who had so abused the bubble, was in the lead on over 2 million, more than double his nearest opponent’s stack. Dan Murariu had acquired a massive stack with pocket jacks against K-Q during the bubble, went into Day 3 on 930,000. Kent Lundmark was also doing well, on just over 1 million.

Day 3 began, and Jeremy Routier and Bruno Damien were quickly eliminated in 11th and 10th places respectively, leaving an official final table of nine with Jaroslaw Barglik still in the lead.

First to succumb at the final was Tarek Bouchama in 9th place, his pocket eights beaten when Giorgio La Iacona’s Q-T spiked a ten. Bouchama took home €13,073. Franck Tzafa soon followed in 8th place – his Q-J was roundly beaten by Jaroslaw Barglik’s A-Q and Tzafa took home €16,342.

Dan Murariu had doubled through Kent Lundmark with pocket aces against Lundmark’s pocket eights, but he would soon succumb anyway. He pushed over a raise from Jaroslaw Barglik and a flat-call from Giorgio La Iacona; Barglik folded but La Iacona called with pocket jacks. La Iacona made a straight on the Q-9-T-5-8 board, and Murariu was gone in 7th place for €21,048, unable to notch up a second Unibet Open trophy at his fifth final table.

David Lichentin-Rubintin’s K-Q fell foul of Daniel Pastor’s A-5 and he claimed 6th place for €29,873; his fellow countryman Quentin Lecomte soon bluffed himself out in 5th for €39,220 with Q-T on the river of a J-9-2-5-J board against Jaroslaw Barglik’s Q-J. Play slowed down for a while, and it took a huge QQ v KK cooler against his fellow Dutchman Daniel Pastor for Giorgio La Iacona to bust out in 4th place for €54,908.

The stacks were almost even as play went three-handed, and it took another big hand for Daniel Pastor to bust out in third place. Pastor was holding on a flop for top pair and a flush draw when the chips went in. Jaroslaw Barglik was holding for a set, and it was all over when the made Barglik quads on the turn. Pastor received €70,596 for third place, and Barglik was heads up with a 2:1 chip lead over Kent Lundmark.

Kent Lundmark quickly doubled up to the chip lead when his Q-7 kicker played against Barglik’s Q-3 on a queen-high board. But just minutes later Barglik had doubled back through with against Lundmark’s :Tf on a flop, and the Pole was back in position.  After some back and forth, Lundmark moved in preflop with , only for Barglik to wake up with . There was some drama on the board, but Barglik’s aces ultimately held and Lundmark had to settle for second place and €98,051. Barglik, who had maintained a perfect poker face throughout the tournament, exploded in ecstatic celebration over his €140,539 first place money – his biggest ever live tournament cash by miles.

Barglik was all smiles as he was swarmed by his many railers and supporters – the first Pole ever to win a Unibet Open title may also be the happiest winner we’ve ever seen. We suspect that we’ll be seeing more of Barglik and our other finalists at the next Unibet Open live event in London in September. Until then, it’s au revoir…

Pack your sun tan lotion, put your shades on, and whatever you do, don’t forget your swimsuit – because this winter, Unibet are offering you the chance to play poker in paradise!

Over the past five years, we’ve visited some of Europe’s most glamorous and exciting cities, bringing the unique Unibet spirit to thousands of happy poker players across the continent. So to celebrate, for our 5th Anniversary Special, we are pulling out all the stops. This December, the Unibet Open will be giving you an extra dose of sunshine, with our greatest ever poker festival taking place on the spectacular Caribbean island of St Maarten!

Our players’ home for the week will be the luxurious Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino , a 10 acre beachfront complex in one of the Dutch Antilles’ most beautiful spots. This resort-within-a-resort features a luxury hotel and spa, the Casino Royale – the largest casino on the island – and all the shopping, dining and entertainment facilities you could need, all in one place. The resort is just five minutes from the island’s airport, and with direct flights from Amsterdam and Paris, getting there from Europe is a breeze as well.

Legend has it that St Maarten, the smallest island in the world split between two nations, was divided when one Frenchman and one Dutchman raced around the island, claiming the land they each covered for their own country. The Frenchman, fuelled by wine, made it around two thirds of the island. The Dutchman, powered by the somewhat stronger gin, only got a third. Whichever tipple you choose, though, we can guarantee that you will have the time of your life. With stunning beaches, perfect weather and the best restaurants and nightlife in the Caribbean, St Maarten is simply the ultimate poker player’s destination, and the ultimate location to enjoy the legendary Unibet hospitality.

The Main Event will be a €1,500+150 NLH freezeout, and for the first time ever we will be extending the tournament for an extra day to make sure you get to spend as much time enjoying the island as possible. And of course, if you are unlucky enough to bust out early from the tournament – well, this is the hottest tournament around in more than one sense, so we’re certain that you’ll find some way of occupying yourself for a week on the pristine white sandy beaches.

Unibet will be running online satellites for full packages worth €3,500 from freeroll up from April 23rd onwards, so even if your pockets are feeling the strain, there’s no reason why you can’t join in the party – click here for more info. So what are you waiting for? The water’s lovely – dive in!

Pack your umbrellas, adopt a stiff upper lip and prepare yourselves to have a jolly good time, because this September the Unibet Open is heading for good old Blighty!

From September 13-16 2012, the Unibet Open will be a very British affair as we descend on the UK capital for the third time. Our venue for the week is the brand new Aspers Westfield Casino in the very heart of hip East London. This amazing new location has everything the poker player could desire, with cash games and side events going on in addition to the full service casino, two stunning bars and top class restaurant – check them out at www.aspersstratford.co.uk. What’s more, the venue is just six minutes away from St Pancras International station by high speed rail link for the Eurostar and other international train services, so getting there couldn’t be easier.

The Main Event itself will be a €1,500 + €150 NLH freezeout with a 20,000 starting stack, and with a 300 cap, we’re looking at well over €100,000 for the winner. It’s not just about the money, though – the eventual victor will join previous winners Thanh Doan (2009) and Paul Valkenburg (2010) in the prestigious club of Unibet Open champions and will get to take home the coveted Unibet Open trophy.

In addition, everyone who plays the Main Event will pick up all-important Leaderboard points – and with three different Unibet Open packages at stake, you can’t afford to miss it. For details on this year’s Leaderboard, click here.

Our players’ home for the week will be the newly opened Premier Inn Stratford, offering convenience as well as comfort – it’s just seconds away from the tournament venue and equipped with everything to keep the poker player happy. And don’t worry if you bust out of the tournament – we’re planning our most spectacular Players’ Party ever to get you started, and with all of London’s attractions right on your doorstep, you’re guaranteed to have an amazing time.

Qualifiers for the Unibet Opens are running now, from freeroll all the way up to the weekly €255+20 Weekly Sunday Final – click here for more info. So what are you waiting for? London’s calling…

Unibet Open Prague is long gone, and there’s still over a month to wait before Unibet Open Paris. But never fear – this time the Unibet Open is coming to you! This weekend Unibet Open Online 1 will be taking place in the comfort of your own home, on a computer screen of your choice. We’ve got a huge prizepool, valuable Leaderboard points up for grabs and of course eternal fame for the winner – and you won’t even have to get off the couch to be a part of it!

Unibet Open Online 1 kicks off this Sunday, March 25th at 19.30 CET and we are guaranteeing a massive €25,000 – not bad at all for a buy-in of €255 + €20. And don’t worry if your pockets aren’t quite that deep – there’s still time to qualify. Satellites are running daily from freeroll all the way up to the €55 + €5 satellite daily at 21.00 CET, so there is something to suit every bankroll. Click here for details and you could soon be joining last season’s champions Roger Ersberg, Costin Fucea, Tim Verbon, Henrik Hecklen and unprecedented two-time winner Alexander Debus in the hall of Unibet Open Online fame.

It’s not just about the money either. There’s an added incentive to take your best shot at this Unibet Open Online – as well as the guaranteed €25,000 prize pool and €7,500 first place money, the 2012 Unibet Open Leaderboard is at stake. The top ten ITM finishers in every Unibet Open Online will receive Leaderboard points and improve their chances of winning Unibet Open buy-ins and packages in 2013. With three different prize packages to next year’s Unibet Open up for grabs, you can’t afford to miss this opportunity to rack up some all-important points – check out the Leaderboard rules for more info on how to start earning points. Just ask last year’s Leaderboard winner and Unibet Open Online 3 winner Tim Verbon – his Unibet Open Online win proved crucial, winning him the overall Leaderboard top spot by a whisker.

“I like the Unibet Open Online,” says Verbon, “Because it means more tournaments count towards the Leaderboard and this makes the Leaderboard more skillful.” And how does it feel to claim a Unibet Open Online title? “I felt great when I won Unibet Open Online, because there are many good players who play even better than a big live tournament I think, so that made me proud to win!”

So what are you waiting for? With so much on offer, there’s no excuse for not joining in. Good luck, and see you at the virtual tables…

Prague has long been one of the Unibet Open’s favourite destinations. Fuat Can claimed the title there on the Unibet Open’s first Czech outing back in 2009; a year later it would Henri Ojala who hoisted the trophy. Thus it was with delight that the Unibet Open returned to the Hilton Prague for a third time in February 2012 in anticipation of a great weekend packed with parties and poker. Four days later, Filip Verboven became the third Unibet Open Prague champion and the first Belgian to lift a Unibet Open trophy, battling through a field of 254 players to claim the title and a first prize of €100,000.

By the time registration closed on Day 1a, 117 players had taken their seats. Among their number were Unibet Open Malta champion Matteusz Moolhuizen, last season’s Leaderboard winner Tim Verbon, Unibet Open Riga winner Peter Harkes and Alex “Pickleman” Rousso. Of those, only Rousso would make it as far as the end of the day. The chip leader at the end of the first nine-level starting day was Filip Verboven’s countryman, Jonas Mols.

The Day 1b field was rather larger than Day 1a’s, comprising 137 players by the close of registration. Among their ranks were Unibet Open Golden Sands winner Dan Murariu, EPT Copenhagen finalist Magnus Hansen, EPT Barcelona finalist Mihai Manole, two-time EPT finalist Artur Wasek and his brother Lukasz, EPT High Roller winner Martin Kabrhel, Unibet Ambassador Paul Valkenburg and Swedish former footballer Tomas Brolin.

One of the most popular players taking to the Day 1b felt was Dutch model Ancilla Tilia. The lovely Ancilla had a good start to the day and was third in chips at the first break, but ultimately she couldn’t go the distance. She busted out towards the end of Day 1b when her Q-T failed to spike against Przemyslaw Wolowiec’s pocket nines, and the field and live stream alike were robbed of their best eye candy for the rest of the weekend.

The chip leader at the end of Day 1b was Petr Jelinek, representing the host nation. Curiously, his stack at the end of the second start day was exactly the same as Jonas Mols’ stack at the end of Day 1a. On 159,800 apiece, Jelinek and Mols went into Day 2 as joint chip leaders – but neither of them would survive to make Day 3.

The Day 2 action was fast and furious despite the addition of a 1,200/2,400/200 level, in a slight change to last season’s Main Event structure. Among those who crashed out before the money were Paul Valkenburg, Ramin Hajiyev and Unibet.fr sponsored player Basil Yaiche.

Down to 28 players with only 27 places paying out, it took just three hands of hand-for-hand play on the bubble for Swedish player Karl Rudwall to succumb in the unluckiest position. The Irish Open finalist got the last of his chips in with but was dominated by Day 1b chip leader Petr Jelinek’s . With no help from the board Rudwall took his leave, the round of applause from the 27 players now in the money probably offering him little consolation as he left with nothing.

With Rudwall gone, play loosened up further, and players began to drop like flies. The first in-the-money finisher was Day 1a chip leader Jonas Mols – and Day 1b chip leader Petr Jelinek followed him a few places later in 17th. Other notable in-the-money finishers on Day 2 included Alex Rousso in 19th place, Unibet Open Online winner Henrik Hecklen in 12th place and Day 1a big stack Dariusz Paszkiewicz who improved on his 16th place at Prague in 2010 – he finished in 10th place this time around, just short of the final table.

Exciting stuff. But by far the most exciting day was had by Dan Murariu. The Unibet Open Golden Sands winner had already had a pretty wild ride on Day 1 – he’d come back from just five big blinds at the 400/800 level to finish on over 36,000 at the end of the day. He had a second close shave on Day 2, dropping to just one and a half big blinds at the 4k/8k level; but again, he recovered. And when he was only just inside the money, Murariu found himself all in with pocket tens against pocket aces. A min-cash seemed likely – until a ten dropped on the river, doubling him up and saving his tournament life.

Still, there was more excitement to come for Murariu. With 21 players remaining, Murariu found aces against Tobias Peters’ kings to send the latter to the rail and increase his own stack to 450,000. A few minutes later it looked as though Murariu was on another downturn as he found aces again, only for the all-in Flavien Guenan to turn a set of nines, dropping Murariu back down to 250,000. But the very next hand, Murariu and Guenan got the lot in a second time. Murariu was dominating again – A-K against A-Q – and this time the best hand held. Murariu doubled back up to 500,000 – but the roller coaster ride wasn’t over. Murariu’s stack was once again bisected when he took on Hans Sybrandi’s pocket queens with pocket jacks. Sybrandi’s queens held for the double up, and it was back down to a quarter of a million chips for Murariu. But Murariu soon found A-Q to knock out Alexey Polozhentsev holding A-9 in 11th place, and, following the exit of Dariusz Paszkiewicz in 10th place, Murariu’s place on the final table was assured. His nerves might have taken a beating though.

Filip Verboven’s tournament run had been relatively unremarkable on Day 1, but he proved to be a dark horse – by the time the field had shrunk to 17 players on Day 2, Verboven had snatched the lead. He knocked out Jens Neumann in 15th place and then knocked out Henrik Hecklen in 12th; and by the time a final table was reached, signalling the end of Day 2, Verboven had a massive chip lead on 1,367,000. His nearest rival, the Netherlands’ Stieven Razab-Sekh, was the only other player to breach the million-chip mark, on 1,039,000.

It must have been a terrible sacrifice for the nine finalists not to attend the legendary Unibet Open Players’ Party on Saturday night, but the thought of the €100,000 on offer for first place must have consoled them somewhat as they got an early night in preparation for the final table.

Particularly enjoying the Saturday night Prague party scene were our three newly crowned Unibet Live Final winners. Following the success of our first ever Live Blackjack Final last year in Riga in conjunction with the Unibet casino, we ran it again. This time the happy winner was Kevin van der Hulst, who took home €8,000 for first place. Meanwhile, Prague was the backdrop for two more brand new Live Finals – Andreas Karlsson from Sweden became the first Live Betting Champion, winning €5,000, and Alex Harbatsevich from Belarus won the Poker Million Sit & Go, earning himself the right to take part in the One Million Draw and taking home €5,000.

Down to business, and it didn’t take long for the final table to lose its first player. Though not the shortest stack going into the final table, Unibet.fr’s own Flavien Guenan was the first player to leave it. He shoved with K-T to a raise from Filip Verboven, but unluckily for him Verboven had picked up aces and made the obvious call. Guenan took home €9,400 for ninth place in his first Unibet Open, and we reckon we’ll be seeing him again on his home turf at Unibet Open Paris in May.

One might been forgiven for thinking that Dan Murariu was invincible, after a roller coaster ride that would have put Blackpool’s Big One to shame. But it was not to be. Having recovered from the very brink more than once already over the course of the previous two days to make his fourth Unibet Open final, Murariu didn’t appear to worry too much when he doubled up Stieven Razab-Sekh with sixes against Razab-Sekh’s kings. But just a few hands later, Murariu pushed all in to a raise from Hans Sybrandi, only for Filip Verboven to cold-four-bet shove over the top. Sybrandi folded, and Murariu once again found himself up against pocket kings. He himself could only muster Q-T, and failed to hit anything at all on the board. Murariu’s extraordinary run was finally over, and he departed in eighth place for €13,200. Verboven meanwhile was now in possession of over a third of the chips in play.

Dutchman Hans Sybrandi was next to bust out, eliminated not by Verboven but by the other Belgian at the final table, Gerret Van Lancker. Sybrandi shoved under the gun with , Van Lancker reshoved with , and Sybrandi left with €17,000 for seventh place.

Down almost to the felt after doubling up Jan Grajzel, Tomasz Kozub soon exited in sixth, running A-9 into Ruggiero Scommegna’s pocket jacks. The only Pole to make the final table duly busted out and received €20,700 for sixth place.

Jan Grajzel doubled up again (this time through Ruggiero Scommegna) meaning that when Gerret Van Lancker made an opening raise, Grajzel was able to set him in. Van Lancker called all in, but found that his was dominated by Grajzel’s and a few moments later he was gone in fifth place, taking €24,500 home to Belgium.

Down to four players, Jan Grajzel raised and then four-bet all in from the button holding pocket sevens. Scommegna, who had reraised him from the big blind, naturally called with his pocket aces. Scommegna doubled up to around 1.5 million, and Grajzel was left with 250,000 – around eight big blinds. When Filip Verboven raised to 65,000 a hand or two later, Grajzel curiously just called. They saw a flop and Grajzel now went all in with ; Verboven shrugged and called with . No queen appeared on the turn or river, and Grajzel was eliminated in fourth place, winning €30,200.

The last hope for the Netherlands, Stieven Razab-Sekh, was next to hit the rail. Chip leader at one point on Day 2, Razab-Sekh made his final stand holding K-9 on a nine high flop, but he came a cropper to Ruggiero Scommegna’s A-9. The last Dutchman standing out of the 39 who competed at Unibet Open Prague took home €37,700 for third place.

Ruggiero Scommegna had been chipping up for some time, and the acquisition of Razab-Sekh’s former stack nudged him into a slight lead – 2.6 million to Filip Verboven’s 2.5 million when they went heads up. However, just a few hands into the match, the chip lead was back in Verboven’s hands – Verboven turned a flush with and Scommegna called a big river bet, only to muck when Verboven’s hand was revealed. Verboven was now in control of 3 million of the 5 million chips in play.

Scommegna would take the lead again as the three-hour heads up match progressed. Verboven continued to win a series of small pots against the Italian, but Scommegna soon doubled back up to the chip lead, his flush draw coming in against Verboven’s trips on a flop. The turn brought in the flush, the river was overkill, and now it was Scommegna who was in control of 60% of the chips in play.

Verboven took this setback in his stride and resumed gently chipping away at Scommegna’s stack. This approach soon had Verboven back in the lead without him having to show a hand. Finally, Verboven raised from the button and Scommegna called. The Italian check-raised the flop, and then went all in on the turn. Verboven called, and turned over for second pair and a flush draw. Scommegna could only manage for bottom pair, needing a lot of help. The was not what he needed though, and Scommegna was finally out in second place for €56,600. All that was left was for Verboven to hoist the trophy and claim his €100,000 first prize – his first major live tournament win.

Verboven and his loyal railers cracked open the champagne as Belgium claimed its first Unibet Open title and headed off into the Prague night. We suspect though that we’ll be seeing more of Verboven soon – and, indeed, our other finalists. After all, Unibet Open Paris is only a couple months away…

What could be lovelier than springtime in Paris? The Unibet Open coming to Paris, is what! We are offering you a chance to fall in love with poker all over again in the City of Romance from May 3rd-6th as the Unibet Open lands in France. It’s going to be magnifique!

Our first ever French outing will introduce the legendary Unibet spirit to a country already renowned for its joie de vivre – with poker and partying a-plenty, Paris is the place to be this May.

Our venue for the week will be the newly opened Cercle Cadet Poker Room, right in the bustling heart of this beautiful capital city. Hosting 20 tables and offering a variety of cash games and tournaments in addition to the Main Event, the Cercle Cadet is the ideal venue for playing poker in central Paris – c’est tres jolie! See the Cercle Cadet website for more info.

Our players’ home for the week will be the luxurious 4* Hotel Concorde La Fayette, nestled between the business district of La Defense and the shopping district of the Triangle d’Or, close to the Champs Elysees. One of the largest hotels in Paris, the Hotel Concorde La Fayette offers spectacular views across Paris and every amenity a poker player could possibly want, including a private health club and the exclusive “La Vue” bar 33 floors above the city. Perfectly located for sightseeing, the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre and the Musee d’Orsay are all within easy walking distance. Visit Concorde Hotels for more info.

Qualifiers will be running from late February on Unibet – click here for all the details. Vive la France!

2011 Leaderboard winner Tim Verbon

This year, there will be no deductions from the Main Event prize pools – all the prizes will be completely on us. We are offering players the chance to play a complete season of Unibet Opens for free, with all expenses paid to every Unibet Open event in 2013.

The top three players on the Leaderboard at the end of the 2012 season will win Unibet sponsorship for 2013 to the following events:

1st place – 4 Unibet Open Live packages and 3 Unibet Open Online seats

2nd place - 3 Unibet Open Live packages

3rd place - 3 Unibet Open Online seats

Players can accumulate points by playing in Unibet Open Live Main Events, making Unibet Open Online final tables, and by playing on Unibet and earning VIP points between live events. Please click here for further details, and good luck at the tables!

The year is almost over, and the 2011 Unibet Open season feels like the distant past already. But never fear! The Unibet Open is set to make 2012 its best ever year with four amazing live stops, three online legs, a brand new Leaderboard format with no prize pool deductions, and a plethora of new and exciting offers for players.

Never mind if you didn’t get what you wanted for Christmas – we’ve got some belated gifts that will be sure to please even the most discerning poker player. We already announced that the first live leg will take place in February in one of our favourite cities, Prague, and we are now pleased to announce that the rest of the Unibet year is going to look like so:

Unibet Open Prague – 16-19 February

Unibet Open Online One – 25 March

Unibet Open Paris – 3-6 May

Unibet Open Online Two – 29 July

Unibet Open London – 13-16 September

Unibet Open Online Three – 4 November

Unibet Open 5th Anniversary Special Edition (venue TBC)

The Main Event buy-in will remain the same as last season – €1,500+150, with a full package including accommodation, meals and €300 travel money worth €2,500. The structure with its generous 20,000 starting stack will also remain the same as in 2011, and most events will have a cap of 300. The ever-popular Unibet Open side events will include in 2012 an exciting selection of Omaha events, team events and ladies’ events as well as the classic NLH events.

The annual Unibet Open Leaderboard will take a slightly different format in 2012. There will be no prize pool deductions from the Main Events, and rather than cash prizes, players will be competing for an awesome prize – more on that to come in the next few weeks, so keep your eyes peeled for news.

With the Unibet Open 2011 season all wrapped up, we can now reveal the results of the annual Leaderboard!

All season, 5% of the prize pool at Unibet Open Live Main Events was withheld for the top ten players on the Leaderboard. After four events, the total Leaderboard prize pool came to a whopping €93,350, which has been divided as follows:

Pim van Riet (left) was frontrunner for much of the season after making two consecutive final tables at Barcelona and Dublin, but his failure to cash at Riga allowed two other Dutchmen, Tim Verbon and Peter Harkes, to overtake him, and he eventually finished in third place overall. A fourth Dutchman, Pim van Wieringen, bubbled the Riga final table to award him 78 Leaderboard points and fourth place at the end of the season, while fifth place on the Leaderboard was taken by Dutch-speaking Belgian Laurens De Smet.

The only nation other than the Netherlands who can claim more than one spot in the top ten is Denmark – UO Online 5 champion Henrik Hecklen and three-time UO Online finalist Soren Blanner are tied for eighth place on 147 points each. The UK’s Alex Rousso was the only Unibet Ambassador to make the Leaderboard cut after a solid performance this season, and he gets €5,601 for his efforts.

By midway through Day 2 at Riga, well inside the money, it became apparent that it was going to be a battle for the top spot between Tim Verbon and Peter Harkes. The crucial hand took place with 23 players left. Verbon went all in with A-Q and after some deliberation Harkes called him with K-4 suited – he said afterwards that he’d called purely for the sake of the Leaderboard points. Verbon doubled up and although he exited not long after, the extra few places he laddered were enough to win him 58 points for 20th place. When added to the points for his 19th place finish in Malta, a fourth place finish in UO Online 1 and first place in UO Online 3, plus 30 points for amassing the requisite VIP points between live events, Verbon’s excellent all-round performance was enough to secure him 208 points. If Harkes had won the hand, it would have been him in first place and Verbon would have been relegated to second.

Peter Harkes won’t be particularly disappointed by his second place Leaderboard payout – for a man who didn’t play half the Online legs or Unibet Open Malta, second place is an extraordinary feat indeed. Fifth place at Unibet Open Dublin was actually the young Dutchman’s first ever live cash, and he followed it up weeks later with his second ever live cash, first place at Riga. He gets an extra €14,002.50 for his efforts, on top of the roughly €115,000 he made from his two final table appearances.

To see the full 2011 Leaderboard results, please click here. All the Leaderboard winners will have their prizes paid to their Unibet accounts after Christmas, and the full details of next year’s Leaderboard structure will be published in the coming weeks.

Many congratulations to Tim Verbon and all the other Leaderboard winners – we hope you’ve all enjoyed the Unibet Open 2011 season as much as we have, and we look forward to seeing you again next season.

A total of 308 players descended on the spectacular Royal Casino in Latvia’s capital city Riga December 1-4 for the grand finale of the Unibet Open 2011 season, generating a 307,238 LVL (€438,900) prize pool. After four long days of play, young Dutchman Peter Harkes claimed the trophy and the 62,829 LVL (€90,016) first prize. It was only his second ever live cash, his first having come just a few months ago at Unibet Open Dublin, where he made the final table and finished in fifth place – among the most impressive poker debuts in recent years.

The Royal Casino was a spectacular venue for Harkes’ first major live win. The lush gilded interior of the tournament, glittering with chandeliers, was just a lovely place to play poker, and the generosity of the casino extended to offering a consolation prize to the first player out on Day 1a. Paulo Rodrigues was the recipient of the wooden spoon provided in association with Welcome2Riga.com – a trip out to the Latvian countryside to shoot guns. What better way to let off steam after a bad beat.

Going all the way wasn’t plain sailing for Harkes – at one point on Day 1a, he flopped three sets in a row and lost every time, reducing him from a big stack to just 8,500 in the space of a few minutes. While Harkes recovered from his setbacks and went on to be crowned champion, others did not fare so well. Players who came and went before the money included Unibet Ambassadors Alex Rousso and Paul Valkenburg, EPT finalist Paul Berende and Dutch model Ancilla Tilia. Also failing to make the money was back-to-back Unibet Open finalist Pim van Riet, formerly the frontrunner for the annual Leaderboard. His failure to cash at Riga cost him the Leaderboard top spot and it looks as though he’s finished the season in third place behind fellow Dutchman Tim Verbon and fellow back-to-back finalist Harkes.

Finland dominated the top of the chip counts in the early stages of the tournament – three of the four biggest stacks going into Day 2 were Finnish – but it didn’t last for long. Overall Day 2 chip leader Jami Juutila and Day 1b chip leader Teemu Autio didn’t even make the money. Ilkka Heikkila made it as far as 18th place, but it was only Lithuanian Vytautas Milvydas – third in chips going into Day 2 – who made it as far as the final table.

The bubble was a swift but dramatic affair – dramatic largely because of the twin fates of the only husband and wife team playing the event, Henri and Katri Kasper. Henri was just a few places from the money when he got his stack in with against Andy Bell’s and looked set to double up when he flopped a full house against Bell’s trips. But the full board ran out giving Bell quads on the river, and Kasper busted out. Just a few minutes later, wife Katri busted out too. It was a straightforward coinflip – against Peter Harkes’ – but it was no doubt made much worse by the fact that Katri busted out in the last place before the money, the official bubble spot.

Once the remaining 39 players were in the money, the pace of play increased markedly. The chip lead swung back and forth: at the dinner break Jarkko Mammela led; two hours later it was the turn of Loek van Wely. Within a few hours, 30 players including Unibet Ambassador Atanas Gueorguiev, EPT finalist Koen De Visscher and brand new Leaderboard winner Tim Verbon had been awarded payouts ranging from 2,151 LVL (€3,082) to 7,220 LVL (€10,344) and sent home. The last exit of the night took place at 11.50pm, just in time for the midnight start of the legendary Unibet Open Players’ Party – Pim van Wieringen succumbed in 10th place to dominant Dutchman Peter Harkes, and play was over for the day. Nine players remained.

Peter Harkes carried a substantial chip lead into the final day – at 1,720,500 he had nearly a third of the chips in play, and only one other player – Maksim Martynov on 1,001,000 – had even broken the million mark. Despite doubling up several players during the course of the final, Harkes never lost the chip lead once during the entire course of the final table.

The final table kicked off with double ups for short stacks David Janssen and Vytautas Milvydas, and with the stacks a little more even it took almost two hours for the first finalist to hit the rail. The ninth place finisher was Ricardo Klaassen, who shoved with and was picked off by Maksim Martynov holding . He took home 8,295 LVL (€11,884). This was one of the few eliminations that was not the work of Peter Harkes – Harkes was soon responsible for the exits of Rytis Grunovas in eighth place (9,524 LVL/€13,645), Loek van Wely in seventh place (10,753 LVL/€15,408) and Vytautas Milvydas in sixth place (13,211 LVL/€18,929), all of these in quick succession. By now Harkes had around half the chips in play.

The pattern was only broken when David Janssen’s pocket were outdrawn by Jarkko Mammela’s , the board running out to send the Belgian home with 16,898 LVL (€24,211) for fifth place. It wasn’t the start of a great comeback for Mammela though – he soon became fourth place finisher after failing to outflip Maksim Martynov, Mammela’s playing Martynov’s , and took home 21,506 LVL (€30,817).

Three handed, Harkes remained the chip leader but there wasn’t much in it between him and Maksim Martynov. Arkadiusz Olszowy by contrast continued to nurse a relatively short stack, as he had all day. So it came as something of a surprise when Harkes and Martynov almost immediately began to get involved with one another. They had one minor scuffle – Harkes won – before all the chips went in. Martynov opened and Harkes reraised before Martynov went all in with . Harkes snap-called with . There was no help for Martynov on the board and he busted out in third place for 29,187 LVL (€41,814).

Harkes had more than a 6:1 chip lead over Arkadiusz Olszowy when the heads up began, and it looked like it could all be over immediately when Olszowy went all in on the first hand. The players had seen a flop and the chips had gone in, Olszowy holding Q-9 against Harkes’ K-9 – but an ace on the river chopped the pot. A few minutes later Olszowy doubled up with against Harkes’ , and was now on 1.45 million to Harkes’ 4.65 million – still at a disadvantage, but now relatively deep.

After an hour of slowly chipping away at Olszowy’s stack, Harkes found a dream spot. He min-raised from the button and Olszowy called to see a flop, which he liked enough to go all in. Harkes snap-called with for the straight, and Olszowy could only muster for top pair. The turn and river were not enough to save Olszowy, and he had to settle for second place and 42,705 LVL (€61,176). Harkes meanwhile took the trophy, a 62,829 LVL (€90,016) payday and third place on the Leaderboard, the full official result of which will be published in the next few days.

Click here to see the final table.

Click here to see the prize pool and payouts.

The Unibet Open 2011 season is now over, and what a season it was – four live main events, four online ones, dozens of side events, thousands of players, and an overwhelming party atmosphere bringing the whole lot together. At the Unibet Open, even if you lose, you’re still a winner.

For some, everything went right and they went home with six figure paydays, some rather nice trophies for their cabinets, and the sheer bragging rights of claiming a Unibet Open title. For others, things didn’t go quite as well – sometimes it doesn’t matter how well you play, the cards are just not on your side. At the Unibet Open, we know just how brutal a really bad beat can feel – so we thought we’d keep a little something for the player who suffered the absolute worst that tournament poker can throw at you.

All season, players busting out of our Unibet Open Live Main Events on particularly nasty beats have been reporting their misfortune to the tournament directors, who have in turn been logging the hands to find the worst bad beat of all, with the unluckiest player of the season receiving a Rolex Submariner watch worth over €4,000 as consolation. Now that the season is over we can announce that Simon Wilenius was the recipient of the single worst beat this season.

The offending hand took place at Unibet Open Malta. Simon Wilenius got his stack in with pocket kings against Pierre Milan’s pocket queens preflop. Both players flopped a set, but Milan rivered the case queen to make quads while Wilenius’ hand made a full house. This is how it went down, in Simon’s own words:

Players in the Hand: Pierre Milan and Simon Wilenius

Simon says:

Blinds were 100/200. Milan raised under the gun for 550, guy in UTG+2 call, I three-bet to 1,875 from cutoff-2, Milan four-bet and made it 4,875-ish, guy who limped folded, I took my time, we had played a couple hands with each other so a little history between us. Then I five-bet all in with around 30,000-ish. He thought long and called….

Wilenius:
Milan:

Board:
Turn:
River:

All we can think to say is: ouch. We can’t do anything about how the cards, but we can do a little to ease the pain. So it is with considerable pleasure that we are awarding Simon the Rolex as consolation for his bad run. We extend both commiserations and congratulations to Simon, and we look forward to seeing him and his brand new wrist candy at future Unibet Opens.

Unibet Open Prague 2010 winner Henri Ojala

Czech your diaries now – we are pleased to announce that the first Unibet Open stop of 2012 has been confirmed!

After two highly successful events in 2009 and 2010, we are delighted to be descending on Prague for a third time from 16-19 February 2012. Last year Henri Ojala won €157,000 for taking the top spot and the year before that Fuat Can took home €167,500 for raising the trophy. In 2012 we will be crowning our third Unibet Open Prague champion – play your cards right and it could be you.

We are happy to confirm that, as in previous years, the luxurious Hilton hotel in the very heart of the city will be both tournament venue and home to our players over the four days. As anyone who’s been to previous Unibet Opens will already know, there are few venues in Europe as great to play and stay in.

And as far as après-poker goes, Prague is the perfect place to be. Heaven for the discerning poker player in search of entertainment, Prague is a perfect compliment to the legendary Unibet Open hospitality, and you can expect some spectacular parties as well as easy access to the many attractions that Prague has to offer.

For full info on Unibet Open Prague 2012, click here.

Satellites are already underway on Unibet Poker – click here for all the details, and see you in Prague!

The grand finale of the Unibet Open 2011 season is just a couple weeks away, and you’d better get your skates on if you’re planning to qualify – there are just two satellites left to go!

This is your absolute last chance to win a package to Unibet Open Riga in our online satellites. The last €255+20 Weekly Sunday Final takes place on November 20th and the last €100+10 Weekly Tuesday Final is on November 22nd – and after that, you’re just going to have to make your own way to Riga if you want to join us at what promises to be one of this year’s best poker tournaments.

If you don’t fancy coughing up the buy-in to either of those, there’s still time to satellite into the Weekly Finals – daily satellites to the Weekly Finals are running on Unibet Poker right now at every level from freeroll on up. Click here for all the details.

Good luck, and see you in Riga!

Last Weekly Sunday Final – November 20th, 20:30 CET
Last Weekly Tuesday Final – November 22nd, 20:30 CET

Alexander Debus last night performed the extraordinary feat of taking down his second Unibet Open Online of 2011, just a few months after claiming the title for Unibet Open Online 4.

The event was the biggest Unibet Open Online of the season, drawing a total of 110 players and generating a €33,000 prize pool – smashing the €25,000 guarantee. Debus’ second win netted him €9,900 and 40 points towards the Leaderboard.

Since the start of 2011 Debus has scored over €200,000 in live tournament winnings including second place in a major tournament in Monte Carlo and 137th place in the WSOP Main Event. Add to that €17,400 for his two UOO wins, not to mention the unprecedented glory of two Unibet Open titles in a single season, and 2011 is shaping up to be a vintage year for the young German.

Ten places paid out, with all the finalists getting a share of the prize pool and Leaderboard points.

It seems like only yesterday that we were crowning Henrik Hecklen champion of Unibet Open Online 5 – but there’s no time for nostalgia, because Unibet Open Online 6 is almost upon us.

The final online leg of the 2011 Unibet Open takes place at 19:00 CET on November 13th. This is your last chance to claim a Unibet Open Online title this season – and with a €25,000 prize pool guaranteed, it’s not just about the glory. Henrik Hecklen picked up €9,090 for his win in UO Online 5, as well as 40 points towards the Leaderboard. The expected prize pool for the Leaderboard is €100,000, and the top ten Leaderboard finishers will get a share of the money.

To qualify for UO Online 6, you’ll need to satellite or buy into one of these tournaments:

Mon-Wed 22:00 CET: €55+5 daily UOO Final Satellite (use UO ticket or cash to buy-in)

Thu-Sun 22:00 CET: €100+10 UOO Final Satellite (use UO ticket or cash to buy-in)

Qualifiers to these satellites are running daily at every level from freeroll up. Could you be crowned the winner of Unibet Open Online 6? There’s only one way to find out…

Terms and Conditions:

• Each player may only win one seat to any Unibet Open ONLINE event

• All satellite qualifiers will receive a tournament specific ticket feeding directly to the next Unibet Open Online event.

• Tickets to the event are not transferable and may not be exchanged for cash.

• Tickets won to a specific event may not be exchanged for a package/seat to a future Unibet Open event.

• If you win a ticket and you’re unable to play the event, your prize will be forfeited

• €25,000 guaranteed prize pool.

• The top 10 finishing positions of the Unibet Open Online will be awarded leaderboard points towards the yearly Unibet Open Leaderboard. Check the Unibet Open website for further details: http://www.unibetopen.com/leaderboard/.

• Unibet reserves the right to change these conditions at any time.