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Rigged in Riga has been a great success for the bwin team, and the numbers say it all. There was 5 in-the-money finishes, and our congratulations go out to eferoni1 (15th), ubiycaboli (13th), MARTINE62 (12th) and test135 (11th) for taking 1,141 Lats (€1,600) home with them. A special over the top congratulations though to Rigged in Riga winner, Wieringen. Not only did the Dutchman take down the 1st place prize of 20,541 Lats (€29,000), but he did it in emphatic style. Busting out the last 3 players in the space of 4 hands is an utterly astonishing acheivement, and having delved deep into my memory tank, I can't think of another tournament where this has happened. Perhaps a phonecall to Guinness is needed to find out if this is somekind of new world record?

Wieringen celebrates his Rigged in Riga win!

I can only repeat the words of fellow bwin blog supremo, Seth Shafer "Well done, Wieringen!".A fantastic tournament with a fantastic result, and from what I witnessed in the aftermath of the finale table...a fantastic night rounded Rigged in Riga off!

I have to admit I was more than a little jealous of the crack blogging duo of Gareth "Jesus" Young and Daniel "Batman" Batliner yesterday as Wieringen powered his way to victory at the Rigged in Riga live event, as I've had the pleasure of covering live event trips the Dutchman has been on since way back in ancient times at the first live event he qualified for, the 2007 WPT Legends of Poker tournament in Los Angeles.

It brings a tear to me eye to see how much Wieringen has grown up since then, from wide-eyed and amazed at his first stretch Hummer limo ride to having no clue how to order a proper steak at a steakhouse ("I dunno what to get. Seth! What are you having? Just give me what he's having," to the seasoned poker road pro that he is today. He's also grown as a poker player from those early days. In 2007 he was completely gutted and dejected to go out at the very end of Day 1 when he open-shoved AKo and ran into pocket aces; these days he'd only take a few levels to do the same, shrug, and forget about it ten minutes later. (I kid, I kid...)

But anyone who's been on a trip with him would agree that it couldn't have happened to a nicer, more deserving guy, as far as Wieringen stepping up big to be the first bwinner to take down the main event title on one of the live trips. Well done, Wieringen!

Wieringen througout the years with the bwin Team at various live events. And even a photo without a bottle nearby or a bar in the background!

Two players have outlasted a total field of 161 in a roller coaster of emotions and drama. Two days of poker has reached its pinnacle, and we’ve now reached the final point of the business end of another successful Rigged in Riga tournament. Wieringen and Mihail Suliks have just played one hand, but with no flop being reached, it was quickly on to the next…

…and what a hand it was! All-in pre-flop, the railbirds and media began fighting for inches around the Final Table as the cards got some light. Suliks shows A♦ 5♦ against Wieringen’s 8♦ 8♣. Holding a 3 to 1 chip lead, it’s not the end of the world if things suddenly go pear-shaped. Tournament Director Erik Hedberg, cannot be heard over the roaring crowd as the flop comes K♥ K♣ K♠. Just the turn and river stand in the way of Wieringen collecting the 1st place prize of 20,541 Lats (€29,000). Before calculations and outs have enough time to be worked out, the turn slips out a 9♥ . It’s one more step closer to glory. The bwin blogging team can smell success and the tears are beginning to well up. Just an Ace or the remaining King on the river would dampen the mood. It’s all gone silent as the river is dealt. In what seems like slow motion, the dealer pulls out a J♥ !

Wieringen...Rigged inRiga!

bwin Team forever

Wieringen celebrates IN champagne (© RipCheader)

It's all over, and Wieringen has shown the rest of the field how easy poker actually is! It's been a fantastic ride for the Dutchman and the entire tournament area is celebrating in style along with him. What else can be said? It's the perfect end to a perfect tournament!

Let's use the generic poker term thats been repeated for eons and eons..."Sick". After ploughing his stack up to 1,1 million, Wierengen is in action the very next hand.

The Dutchman fires out 66k only for Jonathan Lamla to make it 200k. Wieringen doesn't take too long in thinking about his next move, and announces "All-in". "What do you have, Aces?" asks Lamla, and finishes his sentence with an "I call". The cards get some light and Lamla shows Ks Qc againt Wieringen's 4s 4c . It's a big pot, and at such a crucial point, even the bwin blog team holds their breath. The dealer drops out a flop of 2h 9h 6h . So far so good. With the tension mounting, I witness the turn through 1 eye. It's an 8s . Just 6 outs to dodge now. The bwin blog team has officially stopped breathing. The river is whipped out in the form of a 2s and the Dutchman now goes heads up with a stack of 1,8 million.

Wieringen has come close to cashing with the bwin team in live events before, but can't he bust that statistic in glorious fashion? The tournament area is now totally buzzing and alive with excitement. The chants of "bwin bwin" must surely be able to be heard from the otherside of the Earth!

Wieringen gives us some drama

Coming next, heads up action involving Wieringen (1,8 million) and Michail Suliks (600,000).

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We lose a player from the Final Table.

Kaspar Kjeldsen and Wieringen are all in pre-flop. It took a while for the Dutchman to call, but call he did. Kjeldsen shows 8♣ 8♠ against Wieringen's A♥ 9♣ . The flop came 7♦ 9♦ 4♠ and sent the Dutchman out in front. The turn dropped a 3♦ on the and signaled the end of any potential runner-runner theories. The river slipped out an unimportant J♥ onto the felt and with 3 players left, Wieringen is now up to 1,1 million in chips.

The Final Four

Having acquired such an immense stack, the Dutchman now becomes even more dangerous than he previously was. Your blogging team is suddenly awash with a warm feeling inside!

The players have just enjoyed a 15 minute sabbatical from poker, and have now returned to the felt to mix things up again. The blinds are now up to 12k/25k with antes of 2k.

Wieringen

The chips counts on the Final four are as follows:

1st – Michail Suliks – 916,000
2nd – Jonathan Lamla – 709,000
3rd – Weiringen – 528,000
4th – Kaspar Kjeldsen – 492,000

There's a break fast approaching, and with it, the obligatory raising of the blinds. When the players come back from their the 10 minutes of peace and quiet, they'll have to pay 8k/16k with antes of 1k. Not that it really matters too much anymore, but the average stack is just over 600k. Oh, and by the way...we're down to 4 players.

Shannon Thomsen out in 5th - All-in pre-flop Thomsen's pocket Snowmen are no match for Wieringen's pocket Queens. The board spits out brick after brick, and the Dutchman marches on! If players had Bounties placed on them, Wieringen would be rich beyond his wildest dreams!

The Final Four

The chip counts at the break you ask? Well, keep on reading my online railbirds!

1st – Weiringen – 940,000
2nd - Kaspar Kjeldsen – 620,000
3rd – Jonathan Lamla – 565,000
4th – Michail Suliks – 290,000

Wieringen really is pumped up for this tonight and the Dutchman isn't slowing down for anything!

Edwards Kudjriuecs out in 9th - Kudjriuecs moves all-in with Jd Ad, Wieringen isolates by making it 110k. The isolation works and and he shows Kc Ks. The Cowboys hold and the Dutchman stretches his lead.

Yuri Osns out in 8th - Osns' Kd Jc never quite caught up to Jonathan Lamla's Ad 2h . The table shrinks to 7 players..

Arthurs Jegorovs out in 7th - Jegorovs pushes with Ts 6s and Mihail Suliks calls with his Ah Kc. The board is full of bricks and all of a sudden there's just 6 players remaining.

Ernest Patajs out in 6th - On a flop of 7h 5d 8h, Wieringen bets 68,5k. Patajs puts another 80k on top and the Dutchman moves all in. Patajs calls and shows tens against Wieringen's top pair. The turn is an 8d, followed by a brick. The Dutchman claims another scalp.

Want to hear what Wieringen had to say earlier in the day? Fill yer boots with this!

With only 5 players left in the chase for Rigged in Riga glory, Wieringen is now guaranteed at least 5,325 Lats (€7,500).

Forget about the "November Nine", the real final table this year has just begun!

There's only one player at the Final Table that's really worth watching. In seat 6 sits bwin player Weiringen. The last remaining player from the bwin team also happens to be the Rigged in Riga chip leader. During the break, the Dutchman looked relaxed and ready to step it up a gear or two. He's played brilliantly so far today and is now within sight of the 1st place prize of 20,541 Lats (€29,000).

The seating draw is as follows;

Seat 1 - Shannon Thomsen – 485,000
Seat 2 - Yuri Osns – 73,000
Seat 3 - Jonathan Lamla – 203,000
Seat 4 - Edwards Kudjriuecs - 78,500
Seat 5 - Arthurs Jegorovs – 49,000
Seat 6 - Weiringen – 644,500
Seat 7 - Michail Suliks - 520,000
Seat 8 - Ernest Patajs – 150,000
Seat 9 - Kaspar Kjeldsen – 283,000

The chip leader - Weiringen

The blinds start off at 4k/8k with antes of 500. The average stack is 268k. Weiringen has over 25% of all the chips in play.

With just 12 players left in the tournament, the question is "Will bwin players represent a third of the Final Table?"

And the answer is "No". Out in 12th position went MARTINE62. The Frenchmans K♦ T♦ trailed from start to finish against his opponents K♣ K♠ the entire way as the board bricked out. MARTINE62 takes 1,141 Lats (€1,600) from Rigged in Riga.

12th – MARTINE62 – 1,141 Lats (€1,600)

While we're on the subject, test135 was the next player out. With the chips in the middle pre-flop, test135's T♥ T♣ looks good against his opponents 7♠ 7♣ . A horrific touch of bad luck brings a flop of 5♥ 6♣ 7♥ . There's no way back for the Swiss player and he exits in 11th place and also collects 1,141 Lats (€1,600).

11th – test135 – 1,141 Lats (€1,600)