/Bring it on! - Beyne celebrates his victory
Fresh off a $266,000 victory in the Asian Pacific Poker Tour just six weeks ago, PKR wild man Vladimir 'Beyne' Geshkenbein has just taken down the $120,000 top prize at the Heads Up Grand Slam in London. Check out our photo gallery from the event.
In an incredible display of non-stop aggression, Beyne took out PKR Pro James 'james666' Sudworth in an epic semi final while a confident Juha Helppi looked on, having already booked his place in the final with a victory.
From Helppi's perspective Beynes incredible aggression and wild antics at the table must have made the Swiss player seem like easy pickings. And Beyne's verbal jabs at Helppi during his semi final match with James Sudworth must have further whet his appetite.
Asked by Kara Scott how he would deal with the Fin, Beyne turned to Helppi and commented matter-of-factly, "I don't know how you play, but it's not a problem for me."
Beyne began the match in command of the conversation, with Helppi content to give brief replies. After the first key pot however, where Helppi tank-called a large Beyne value bet, a veil of silence descended, and the match was never the same.
Once Beyne had built a 2-to-1 chip lead, there was no looking back and two hours into the enthralling encounter, Helppi found A-6 and called Beyne's preflop all-in. The Swiss star was behind with Qd-Td, but after flopping a gut-shot and turning a flush draw, the river completed Beyne's flush to the delight of the partisan crowd.
And so ended the first Heads Up Grand Slam, with fine performances from PKR qualifiers and pros alike with Vladimir 'Beyne' Geshkenbein triumphant and every inch the champion. Make sure you tune in later this year when the Heads Up Grand Slam is broadcast for explosive action and unrivalled table chat as Beyne destroys the field to win the 2009 title!