Clocking in at a seemingly infinite 19 hours and 10 minutes, John Juanda's victory at the 2008 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event was the longest final table in the 39-year history of the World Series of Poker. Measured in time from start to finish, the duration of this "final nine" shattered by three hours and ten minutes the mind-numbing 16-hours played in the $1,500 buy-in Razz championship, won by O'Neil Longson in 2005.
This final table lasted 484 hands, obliterating the previous record set during the legendary duel between the late Chip Reese and Andy Bloch, which occurred in the 2006 $50,000 buy-in HORSE championship, which lasted 354 hands.
Juanda, a 37-year-old professional poker player from Las Vegas, NV, who now owns four WSOP gold bracelets, collected £868,800 for first place, equal to about $1,598,587 in US currency. It was Juanda's forty-fifth cash at the WSOP and his twenty-third final table appearance.
2008 WORLD SERIES OF POKER-EUROPE
EVENT #4 10/2/08
NO LIMIT HOLD'EM CHAMPIONSHIP
BUY-IN £10,000
PLAYERS 362
PRIZE POOL £3,620,000
1. John Juanda . . . . . £868,800
2. Stanislav Alekhin . £533,950
3. Ivan Demidov . . . . £334,850
4. Bengt Sonnert . . . . £271,500
5. Daniel Negreanu . . £217,200
6. Scott Fischman . . . £171,950
7. Robin Keston . . . . £135,750
8. Toni Hiltunen . . . . £108,600
9. Christopher Elliott . £81,450
EVENT #3 9/26/08
POT LIMIT OMAHA CHAMPIONSHIP
BUY-IN £5,000
PLAYERS 165
PRIZE POOL £825,000
1. Theo Jorgensen . . . £218,626
2. Sorel Mizzi . . . . . . £132,000
3. Eric Dalby . . . . . . . . £84,562
4. Erik Friberg . . . . . . . £66,000
5. Max Pescatori . . . . . £51,562
6. Dave Penly . . . . . . . £41,250
7. Chris "Jesus" Ferguson £33,000
8. Jason Mercier . . . . . £26,812
9. Tomi Myback . . . . . £22,688
EVENT #2 9/24/08
H.O.R.S.E. CHAMPIONSHIP
BUY-IN £2,500
PLAYERS 110
PRIZE POOL £275,000
Sherkhan Farnood
1. Sherkhan Farnood . £76,999
2. Ivo Donev . . . . . . . . . £48,125
3. Howard Lederer . . . £30,250
4. Jeff Duvall . . . . . . . . £22,000
5. Mark Gregorich . . . £17,188
6. Phil Ivey . . . . . . . . . £13,750
7. Jeffrey Lisandro . . . £11,000
8. Spencer Lawrence . . £8,938
9. Erik Albinsson . . . . . £6,875
EVENT #1 9/22/08
NO LIMIT HOLD'EM CHAMPIONSHIP
BUY-IN £1,500
PLAYERS 410
PRIZE POOL £615,000
Jesper Hougaard
1. Jesper Hougaard . £144,218
2. Fuad Serhan . . . . . . £89,175
3. Yevgeniy Timoshenko . £55,350
4. Neil Channing . . . . . £44,588
5. John Dwyer . . . . . . . £36,285
6. Adam Junglen . . . . . £28,598
7. Linda Lee . . . . . . . . £22,448
8. Ian Woodley . . . . . . £17,835
9. Daniel Nutt . . . . . . . £13,222
