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Because the method of picking the teams is so difficult, we've once against conscripted the assistance of PokerStars' own Bunker Bob, a person who spends an excellent part of his time in a fortified underground chamber crunching numbers on a large golden abacus (he had it polished last week!).
While the teams haven't yet chosen their competitors, the next eight nations could have representatives within the Bahamas this January:
To see how they got there, here's Bunker Bob's World Cup of Poker IX finalists' report.
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Group 1: Canada were carrying an outstanding 63 point lead going into the second one 1/2 qualification, with seemingly only two in their opponents in with a shout of catching them. By the top of the third qualifying match though, defending champions Peru had forced their way into the image. 'MrTWOPAIRJOR' beat Canada's '02/01/68' to the 99.7 points for first to maintain the Peruvian interest alive. However Canada locked up both semi final spots to push Honduras and Argentina further back
Any Canadian fears were laid to rest within the final qualifier on Sunday, as they produced a unprecedented clean sweep of the highest four places. 'eqn778' was the eventual victor with a 118.4 point score. The emphatic performance means Canada progress with a thumping 206 point lead over their nearest rivals. A DISTINCT mention must visit group runner-up Honduras, who went into the crowd because the smallest team.
Group 2: The standings were much tighter in Group 2, with just 50 points between the highest four teams. It was pre-match favourites Brazil that took the higher hand after Saturdays qualifier, with 'thor99alpha' defeating his compatriot 'alan93sb' for the 66.75 points. Colombia brought themselves further into contention with a semi-final finish for 19.76 points.
Going into Sunday's final qualifying match, Brazil held the advantage, but with four other teams hopeful of toppling them. After six hours of play, it inevitably went all the way down to the wire - 'JMTrindade' of Brazil against 'abcpoquer01' from Venezuela in one heads-up match for a spot within the Bahamas. There have been 37 points between the teams, and a 40 point difference between 1st and 2nd. After a tense 70 hand battle, it was Brazil that took the utmost points and their place within the finals.
Group 3: Germany's domination of Group 3 continued within the second 1/2 qualifying, as they locked up both tourneys; 'Joaggi' on Saturday for 129.56 points, after which 'monal1.' on Sunday for 136.58 points. The clean sweep of tourneys allowed them to rack up a competition-high of 655 points.
Greece and Poland should get credit for battling performances, but there has been no answer for the varied and merciless German team.
Group 4: Meanwhile, within the second European group, six European teams were scrapping for each point they may get. The favourites, the united kingdom and Ukraine were way off the pace, and the underdogs sensed an upset. It was Bulgaria that capitalised, with 'pastroka6666' taking the win and 124.58 points. The Bulgarian cause was aided by Macedonia (FYROM), who fought through to take the runner up spot within the tourney. It will not be enough to get them in search of qualification, nevertheless it denied the front-runners within the group from securing major points.
The final match saw 150 points at the line for first place, and the massive dogs finally raised their game because the UK and Ukraine facing off within the final. It was too little too late though, as Bulgarian 'olelemaiko' had secured enough points within the semi-final to hold his team over the road. Croatia can also be disappointed to be pushed into second, once they outpunched all but one in every of their bigger rivals.
Group 5: The primary half Group 5 was a tale of smaller nations keeping the enormous Russian poker population at bay. Within the second half, they were simply too big and too strong. The Saturday qualifier witnessed a Russian whitewash, with the highest four players all from that nation. '8invencible8' closed out the match to secure a gain of a minimum of 157 points on all of the other teams within the group.
In Sunday's match it was 'FrankyS15', again from Russia, that took the win. Only Portugal's 'trooll4ever' prevented another last four blanket finish for Russia. The outcome gave them a 340 point margin of victory within the group. Some credit must visit Ireland and Lithuania for keeping their opponents at bay within the earlier stages of the competition.
Group 6: Another upset was within the works in Group 6, with the Netherlands unable to show their sizable poker population into good results. It was their Belgian neighbours that made the primary move within the penultimate qualifying match, as 'Hartige' secured 123.82 points. Serbia did enough to stick involved as 'sinaloa44' picked up 64.22 for second place.
The Sunday qualifier came right down to almost a straight shootout between Romanian and Belgium from the quarter-final stage, with only a lone Cypriot player representing the remainder of the gang. It will have swung either way, but in reaching the final, Belgium did enough to earn their place within the Bahamas. They went directly to win the tourney and 106.14 points, way to player 'Mikedem'.
Group 7: Taiwan took the initiative in competitive Group 7, after they took a 1-2 finish in Saturday's qualifying match. 'BladeQQueen' topped the sphere for 65 points, along with his teammate 'lak512' crucially helping push the japanese team out within the semi-finals. The outcome overturned the 8 point lead Japan had built up within the first 1/2 qualifying, and gave them a large advantage going into Sunday.
However the dream resulted in the quarter-final stage for the previous winners, as their last remaining player fell with three Japanese players still within the tournament. Japan didn't let the chance slip, they usually closed out the tournament with a 1-2 in their own.
'Chiyoukan'picked up 88.75 points, and secured his country's second appearance within the live World Cup of Poker finals in as many years.
Group 8: The combined force of the remainder of the arena team held a healthy lead going into the weekend's matches, but they lost ground to Australia and Kazakhstan within the opening contest. 'I'mJigJig' took 61.35 points for the antipodeans, and 'ZERENDA' a pretty good 34.05 points for Kazakhstan.
Sunday's match gave the impression of a 3 horse race, and with the overall four composed of the leading three teams, hopes were high world wide. However, both RoW teams, represented by Turkmenistan and South Africa, would have to be eliminated before the general. It wasn't to be, because the latter progressed to the overall. Kazakhstan's 'Papanya68' closed out the tourney for 61.02 points, but 'Deckoo8' from South Africa had done enough, sending Row through to a different World Cup of Poker finals.
It was a perfect combined effort from the RoW team, as Iceland, Turkmenistan, Tunisia and South Africa all contributed to their progression.
The competition now moves to the players selection phase, with the eight qualifying teams selecting their four players for the live finals. The players can be chosen from four tournaments all going down on August 26*:
Those four players can be joined by a distinct Team Captain when the action begins again on the tenth annual PCA!
*Due to live events in Japan in this date, qualifying for that team will happen on September 2.
Read More... [Source: PokerStarsBlog.com :: World Cup of Poker]
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