WPT Venice Final Table: Meet The Players

Seat 1: Xia Lin – 309,000 chips

26-year old Xia Lin has been playing poker professionally for four years. This is his 10th live tournament cash to date and no matter what position he finishes, it will be his best.

This is Lin’s second WPT event and he now has a two-for-two cash record after finishing in 24th place when Edoardo Alescio took down the Season X event at the Casino Di Venezia in Ca’Noghera.

As we skirted around the final table bubble, Lin was one of the players who looked the more likely to be eliminated. He was reduced to just 6BB when he doubled up Erion Islamay losing [Kh] [Th] to [Qs] [4c] when a lady appeared on the flop, before exacting revenge just a few hands later; [Qc] [2c] finding running deuces to out-duke the [Ad] [Qh] of Islamay. Lin then found a ledge of safety after doubling through Matt Salsberg 99>AJ and it was enough to see him scrape through as the short stack.

Seat 2: Rocco Palumbo – 406,000

What can you say about Rocco Palumbo?

The man is a young Italian legend after scooping his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold bracelet this summer. He has won close to $1 million in live tournament earnings in just a little over four years of live tournament poker.

Palumbo has one WPT cash to his name when he finished 21st in the Season X event in Ca’Noghera and most of Palumbo’s scores have come from within his own country.

The 24-year old is married, with one child, and was an accountant for three-years before deciding that there was a better use for his mathematical nous. But it’s not only the mathematical side of the game where Palumbo excels, he is also fearlessly aggressive and a real pain in the neck for anyone seated to his right.

Not one to be pushed around, Palumbo was involved in one of the bizarre hands of the tournament. It was back on Day Two when Palumbo got embroiled in a hand with the American Steve Behm. It was a single raised pot, and when Palumbo made a standard 5,500 c-bet on a flop of [Kh] [Jd] [9h], Behm moved all-in for 150,000. Behm ribbed Palumbo and he took the bait by calling with top two pair. Behm was holding the straight and Palumbo was in dire straits. It’s a great achievement that he held himself together to make it through to the final table.

Seat 3: Mike Sexton – 1,079,000

How dare we even attempt to write a bio of this great man? I mean come on…there just isn’t enough space! The WPT stalwart and legend has been a part of the WPT production team since the very beginning. His partnership with Vince Van Patten has been responsible for attracting tens of thousands of new poker players into the game.

The Poker Hall of Famer, and WSOP bracelet holder, is a mixed game specialist who cashed in the Big One for One Drop this year in Vegas. Sexton has over $5.3 million in live tournament earnings and has cashed in four WPT events, including the final table of the Bay 101 Shooting Stars competition in 2011, where he finished in sixth place.

Sexton has played well within himself from the very beginning of the tournament, but his tournament defining hand came against Erion Islamay just before the dinner break on Day Four. At the time Islamay was in a commanding lead, and was bossing the table when he put Sexton to the ultimate test. The board was showing [8d] [6d] [4c] when Sexton made a big check-raise only to find himself finding a call for his tournament life. He did find that call (holding [6h] [4d]) and the board ran out to hand him a flush. Then either side of the dinner break Sexton dispatched both Giorgia Tabet and Martin Staszko to the sidelines and he was the runaway chip leader. Sexton lost a few towards the end of the day though and starts third in chips.

Seat 4: Erion Islamay – 406,000

Erion Islamay is a 27-year old professional poker player from Italy. This is his fifth WPT event and his third successive WPT Venice cash, after finishing 33rd and 15th in subsequent years. The man who cites Tom ‘Durrr’ Dwan as his favorite poker player will stand to win his largest ever cash irrespective of his finishing place at the final table.

Islamay started the day as the man with the most chips, and after eliminating Angel Recchia straight out of the gate it seemed as though he would maintain that dominance. In truth, he did, despite losing the chip lead to Giuseppe Pastura early in the competition. As we approached the dinner break it is no exaggeration to say that Islamay played nearly every pot, and won over 50% of every pot he played.

But it only takes one mistake in poker and Islamay made it in a hand against Mike Sexton. He tried bluffing the great man off a [8d] [6d] [4c] board, but Sexton could not be shifted from his bottom two pair. Islamay had gone from hero to very nearly zero in a blink of an eye. But Islamay is made of stern stuff and he fought back from 10BB to find his way to the final table. If he can get an early double up then he will be a serious contender for this title.

Bizarrely, Islamay is the Italian commentator for WPT Final Tables on Poker Italia 24. So not only are we looking for a replacement for Mike Sexton, but Italy needs one also!

Seat 5: Marcello Montagner – 1,785,000

Marcello Montagner will start the day with the chip lead, but it could have been so very different had the deck not been so fortunate to the Italian. The 38-year old was heading for the door when he was all-in holding ace-king and Ludovic Lacay was holding pocket aces. Lacay was flying at the time, but a runner-runner straight kept Montagner in the competition, and a tilted Lacay bolted not long after.

Montagner’s next bout of fortune came against that runaway WPT train Matt Salsberg. The TV producer was desperate to make his fourth WPT final title so he could overtake Paul Volpe at the top of the WPT Player of the Year leader board, but the board, and Montagner had other ideas.

The money went in on the turn with the board showing [Qs] [3d] [2d] [9c]. Salsberg was holding pocket treys for the set and Montagner was holding [Jd] [Td] for the draw. The [Kh] came on the river, Salsberg was out and Montagner comes into the final table as the chip leader.

Seat 6: Robert Begni – 1,203,000

Robert Begni hails from Switzerland and has 18 live tournament cashes on his resume. He has been the quiet, charming unassuming man, who hasn’t really put a foot wrong during this tournament.

The man, who was taught to play poker by his father, was responsible for the vital eliminations of Kara Scott, Matteo Fortunato and Giuseppi Pastura.

He starts the day second in chips and any finishing position will become his greatest achievement to date.