English Renaissance at the 2011 WSOP
An interesting characteristic of this year’s WSOP is that you can actually hear who’s winning an event before you get anywhere near the table. That has certainly been the case where the English are concerned – the supporters turning up to cheer on Jake Cody, Matt Perrins and Darren Woods have been more reminiscent of the hordes that descended on Las Vegas in their tens of thousands to watch Ricky Hatton win (and then lose) in previous years.
Jake Cody
To be fair to them, this has been a vintage year for the English. Jake Cody started it off in Event #2, winning the $25,000 No Limit Heads Up Hold’em. He walked away with $850,000 and a WSOP bracelet.
Matt Perrins was next up in Event #9, the 2-7 Draw Lowball. This win is worthy of an article in itself, Perrins had never played the game before and finding himself still in the competition at the end of the first day, decided he should read up on some Lowball strategy. Clearly it worked and he beat Londoner Chris Bjorin into second place, winning a bracelet and $102,000 in the process.
Darren Woods is the third bracelet winner so far and his victory came in Event #19, Six Handed Limit Hold’em. This was as straightforward a triumph as you’ll see in a big knockout tournament. Woods blasted through the 354 strong field, scooping $213,000 and the WSOP winners bracelet.
The British in general have made a good showing at the Rio this year, many of the final tables have featured British players who have made the trip across the pond. Whether they regard it as an advantage or not, they and other non-Americans are also able to spend their spare time at online poker rooms if they so wish, something the Americans are currently not able to do.
The Americans won’t be too discouraged though, they’re still miles ahead in the overall winners table and next week we’ll bring you a comprehensive list of the results.
