Canadian Erik Cajelais wins Event 2 at WSOPE!
Looking at him today, he’s not the person you would want to ever get into a scrap with, on or off the felt, and he’s a name you most likely never heard of until now, but his young poker champion, ERIK CAJELAIS is sure to making himself better known in no time after winning his first bracelet at Event 2 Pot Limit Hold em/Pot Limit Omaha at this year’s WSOPE being held in London England.
The 27 year old former bartender turned professional poker player from Montreal Quebec started the day on the final table as second lowest in chips at 81,000 and managed to quickly chip his way within eight hours to capture his first bracelet event for a prize of approx $170,000US. His work going into the day was cut out for him though, as well known poker professional Men “The Master” Nguyen was also on the final table and eager to the win. And they don’t call him The Master for nothing!
In a hold-emround, Richard Gryko raised to 21,000 and Erik re raised another 45,000. Gryko called and both see a flop of KhQh7d. Erik lead out for 80,000 and Gryko moved all in, getting instantly called by Cajelais holding AcKc. Gryko needed help with KdJk, but the turn and river blanked him and Gryko was eliminated, giving Erik a substantial boost in his stack.
Awhile later, also in another Hold em round, Erik tangled with Men ‘The Master’ himself. Men had re raised the Canadian all in and Erik called showing Js10s against Men’s As8s. The board came down Ks8c5s, and Men looked very good to take Erik out with ace high and the nut flush draw. Turn came down 7c, giving the young Canuck a gut shot straight draw to go with hitting a pair with his hole cards. The miracle 9c came on the river to fill Cajelais’ straight and virtually eliminating Men ‘The Master’ in fourth place. The dream of beating a pro like that had come true for the young Canadian.
27 yr old Cajelais wins WSOPE Bracelet
Robin Keston would be Cajelais’ next victim. Keston raised preflop and Erik bet the pot. Keston moved all in and was called by Cajelais’ KK. Keston’s pocket 2′s needed a lot of help but none could be found by the poker gods, especially after a King hit the flop to make Cajelais’s set and Keston went out in third place.
Heads up in a Omaha round, Mats Gavin shoved preflop with 10d10s9c8c and was called by QhJd9s7s. The flop came with two queens to give Erik the lead, and the ended with a full house on the river for his first bracelet victory.
Since turning pro in 2005 Erik has 16 money finishes on the circuit with total earnings of about $1.6Million. He also won the 2006 Five Diamond World Poker Classic on the WPT circuit. He had come close to his first bracelet in 2007, finishing second to Burt Boutin in the $5000 PLO Rebuy event, but even that event cashed him just under $500k US. When asked about his second place finish and how it impacted him today, Erik said “It was extra motivation. I felt like I really, really, really wanted to win it. I had to do everything I could to win and today I played well and the cards came my way”.
Erik is also registered in Event 3, a 5000GBP Pot Limit Omaha event, and hopes to go back to back with a victory again in London.
This young Canadian player is certainly on the right road to becoming one of best players this country has ever seen. You can be sure you’ll be seeing a lot more final tables with this young man on them in the future.
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