WSOP Main Event coverage begins on ESPN

ESPN has aired the first two hours of its WSOP Main Event coverage. Lex Veldhuis and Mike Matusow took the leading roles in this weeks' episodes.

ESPN began its coverage of the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event this week. The first 2 hours of footage featured action from Days 1A and 1B. Bi-hourly broadcasts of recorded Main Event footage will be shown on ESPN every week until November's final table

Action from this week featured a host of top pros, including previous champions Chris Moneymaker, Johnny Chan, Jerry Yang, Greg Raymer, Chris Ferguson and Doyle Brunson. PokerStrategist Marco "abi0sex" Mattes also made a brief appearance as he tangled with 2007 champ Jerry Yang.

Lex Veldhuis' Bluffing Masterclass

The feature table on Day 1A had Dutchman Lex Veldhuis demonstrating his poker skills by dominating a table that included Eli Elezra and Allen Cunningham. Veldhuis with his girlfriend Evelyn Ng watching at the stands showed off his hyper aggressive style of play by pulling off bluff after bluff.

Elezra (pictured right) did not approve of Veldhuis showing his bluffs, and the pair was shown engaging in some verbal jousting. "Even the donkey wake(sic) up with a hand once in a while," said Elezra as Veldhuis for once took down a pot with the best hand.

In the second hour, a very different kind of player was the main feature. Mike Matusow whose mantra is "day 1 is a marathon not a sprint" played tight and disciplined poker to ensure that he outlasted the other runners in the huge main event field.

His tight play paid off as the self proclaimed "unluckiest poker player alive" dodged some tight spots with disciplined lay downs. Matusow also used his tight image to take down a couple of pots towards the end of the day. 

Footage from Main Event Days 1C and 1D will be shown in next week's broadcast.