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If poker players were Gods, and the World Series of Poker (WSOP) was Olympus, then Phil Hellmuth would be Zeus. And yet, I doubt there is any repentance in the mind of Besim Hot, more like impiety, as the man from Switzerland ended Hellmuth’s run at a 16th gold bracelet.

Event #10: €25,500 Mixed Games Championship attracted 45-entrants, and for 44 of them, the gold bracelet became more stinging nettle than dot leaf. The three-time WSOP bracelet winner, Benny Glaser, led the final 21 players at the end of Day 1, including Player of the Year chasers Shaun Deeb, Phil Hui, Daniel Negreanu and Robert Campbell.

By the end of Day 2, seven players emerged from burning hot coals, all within a shot of an origin story hitting the headlines. Hot was in charge, Glaser was hanging by a thread, Hellmuth looked healthy, and Negreanu was the only Player of the Year in-waiting left in the field.

Let’s see how Hot did it.

Final Table Seating

Seat 1: Dzmitry Urbanovich – 7,425,000
Seat 2: Julien Martini – 4,475,000
Seat 3: Besim Hot – 15,795,000
Seat 4: Phil Hellmuth – 5,495,000
Seat 5: Benny Glaser – 2,750,000
Seat 6: Alex Livingston – 4,005,000
Seat 7: Daniel Negreanu – 5,315,000

The Nutshell Action

Mixed-games is Benny Glaser’s religion. Variety is in his bones. And the three-time bracelet winner, doubled up early on Day 3 when he got the better of Julien Martini, and Daniel Negreanu in a hand of Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, but it still left him woefully short of any serious challenge.

Shortly after resumption of play at the end of the first break, Alex Livingston nearly amputated Martini from the table during a hand of Limit Hold’em that saw the Frenchman folding to a flop bet on As9s2c, leaving him only four big blinds. Martini then doubled up through Negreanu in a hand of Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better.

Martini’s well-timed injection of hope would ultimately hand him a couple of pay jumps. Livingston became the first player to leave the final table. The WSOP Main Event finalist gave his chips to Hot after failing to find the better hand in Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better.

Martini continued to scrap and scrape, doubling through Negreanu in a hand of 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw, holding a 7x5x4x3x2x, and Glaser did likewise through Phil Hellmuth in a hand of Seven Card Stud, making a straight versus the airball of the 15-time WSOP champion. Then the Englishman doubled through Hot during a hand of Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better.

Negreanu’s pursuit of a seventh bracelet remained intact when he doubled through Glaser in a hand of Razz, but it wasn’t enough to keep him in the game, as Hellmuth elbowed his fellow titan out of the competition in the same game a few hands later.

Chip Counts

1. Besim Hot – 15,400,000
2. Phil Hellmuth – 14,400,000
3. Dzmitry Urbanovich – 6,950,000
4. Benny Glaser – 4,930,000
5. Julien Martini – 3,900,000

Martini will have mixed feelings on his final table experience. The Frenchman would have loved to have run deeper, but vaulting two pay jumps after being reduced to chip dust is sure to bring a sense of satisfaction. The bracelet winner exited at the hands of the only person remaining never to win a bracelet, Urbanovich – the Pole shoving him into the rail after a game of Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better.

Urbanovich then made a hermit out of Glaser when the pair locked horns in a hand of No-Limit Hold’em. Glaser got it in holding Jc8s, and Urbanovich called and won with pocket nines, but it wasn’t enough steam for the Pole. Hot and Hellmuth continued to strangle the life out of the table, and it was Hellmuth who eliminated Urbanovich in third place during a hand of Razz.

Heads-Up

The Tale of the Tape

Besim Hot – 24,075,000
Phil Hellmuth – 20,925,000

Hot created a 2:1 lead after winning hands in Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha. Then a chasm emerged between the two players after Hot won back-to-back pots in Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better.

Hellmuth doubled his stack during a hand of 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw, but Hot pulled ahead with wins in No-Limit Hold’em and Seven Card Stud. Hellmuth added more chips to his stack in a hand of Razz, but it wasn’t enough. During a hand of Pot-Limit Omaha, Hot raised to 750,000 on the button, and Hellmuth made the call. The flop fell Tc9h9c, Hellmuth checked, Hot bet 500,000, and Hellmuth check-raised to 2,000,000. Hot moved all-in, and Hellmuth called.

Hellmuth: Ah9d4h3c

Hot: QcJs9s7h

Hellmuth was ahead with trip nines and the ace kicker. Hot also had trip nines with a queen kicker.

The turn was the Jc, to improve Hot’s hand to a boat, and the 4c on the river was as safe as Swiss house, and Hot had the bracelet, and not Hellmuth.

Final Table Results

1. Besim Hot – €385,911
2. Phil Hellmuth – €238,509
3. Dzmitry Urbanovich – €162,463
4. Benny Glaser – €111,689
5. Julien Martini – €77,502
6. Daniel Negreanu – €54,287
7. Alex Livingston – €38,389

There was a time when people with money would organise a fox hunt, or hire a fool to entertain them during a ball. Today, they play host to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and organise last-minute side events with €100,000 and €50,000 buy-ins.

The game of choice was Short-Deck, and the organisers classed both events as ‘non-bracelet’ affairs. 

Two men won.

Two were more fox-like than bloodhound. 

We begin with the €100,000 No-Limit Hold’em King’s Short-Deck Super High Roller, and host Leon Tsoukernik defeated a field of 29-entrants (inc. 15 re-entries) to win the €1,102,000 first-prize.

The win is Tsoukernik’s fourth of his part-time poker career and his second most significant score behind the $1.8m received for finishing fourth in the 2017 Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB). It also erases the memory of finishing runner-up to Pablo Joaquin Melogno Cabrera in a $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em event during partypoker MILLIONS South America earlier in the year. 

Tsoukernik defeated Phil Ivey, heads-up, for the title, and the former God of the poker world is having a splendid time at the WSOPE finishing ninth in the €25,500 Short-Deck bracelet event, and finishing runner-up to Jonathan Depa in the €50,000 non-bracelet Short-Deck event.

Depa’s win came shortly after finishing seventh in the €25,500 Short-Deck bracelet event. It’s his second victory of the year after winning a $25,000 game at the partypoker MILLIONS South America. The €641,250 haul earned in King’s is his biggest of his career. 

Another player worthy of mention is Cary Katz. 

A few people spit in the eye of his slow but steady pace, but Katz is as consistent as a cucumber in a juice bar. The Poker Central founder finished fifth and 13th in €25,500 bracelet events and took third in the €50,000 and fourth in the €100,000 non-bracelet games. Katz’s eye socket bursting form shouldn’t come as a surprise after he won the Super High Roller Bowl London before jetting to the Czech Republic. 

Here are the results.

€100,000 No-Limit Hold’em King’s Short-Deck High Roller

29-entrants (inc. 15 re-entries)

ITM Results

1. Leon Tsoukernik – €1,102,000

2. Phil Ivey – €826,500

3. Paul Phua – €551,000

4. Cary Katz – €275,500

€50,000 No-Limit Hold’em King’s Short-Deck High Roller

27 entrants (inc. 17 re-entries)

ITM Results

1. Jonathan Depa – €641,250

2. Phil Ivey – €384,750

3. Cary Katz – €256,500

Phil Collins once sang:

“She calls out to the man on the street. Sir, can you help me? It’s cold, and I’ve nowhere to sleep. Is there somewhere you can tell me?”

How about the King’s Resort in Rozvadov and the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE)?

And so another day in paradise begins.

Event #6: €25,500 No-Limit Hold’em Short-Deck High Roller attracted 111-entrants; the ballpark area for the organisers who pinned a €2.5m guarantee on this thing and were happy with the €2.636m return.

Besim Hot led the Day 1 field, and Orpen Kisacikoglu led the final seven.

Here they are.

Final Table Seat Draw

Seat 1: Jonathan Depa – 12,925,000

Seat 2: Siamak Tooran – 20,925,000

Seat 3: Orpen Kisacikoglu – 22,925,000

Seat 4: Netanel Amedi – 22,300,000

Seat 5: Rob Yong – 3,700,000

Seat 6: Thai Ha – 6,275,000

Seat 7: Besim Hot – 21,600,000

The Nutshell Action

Richard Yong, who came into the final table with peanuts, turned them into Brazil nuts, after doubling through Netanel Amedi when his AQ beat KQ. As Yong rose, Jonathan Depa slipped, and he fell into the rail after running JdTd into the pocket kings of Amedi. 

The Dusk till Dwan (DTD) owner avoided the housefire of 7th place finish, but he couldn’t prevent the bonfire of 6th. After jamming with KQ, Siamek Tooran called with AK, flopped an ace, and Yong headed for an early bubble bath.

Amedi doubled through Besim Hot when AJ found a jack on the flop to beat AK. Then the Swiss poker player with the best name in the business exited in fifth place when Orpen Kisacikoglu came from behind with KJ to beat AQ after flopping a two pair hand that turned into a full house on the river.

Thai Ha doubled through Amedi KQ>AT, and then Siamak Tooran took what was left of his stack when QT beat JT.

Kisacikoglu looked in a world of hurt when he got it in Ah7d versus the AhTd of Ha. Things got decidedly worse when the flop of AcJhTs improved Ha’s hand to two-pairs until an eight and a nine on the turn and river handed Kisacikoglu an unlikely straight, and the voices in his head began chanting his name.

The chanting stopped when Kisacikoglu got it in holding pocket kings against the AK of Ha. The deck created an incision in Kisacikoglu’s chest, and a rivered ace ricocheted into his heart. 

Heads-Up

Tale of the Tape

Thai Ha – 75,900,000

Siamak Tooran – 34,600,000

Ha had all of the chips. Tooran started like a troll realising that someone had dared to cross his bridge. The German was unstoppable, winning pot after pot to leave Ha dazed and confused enough to commit his tournament life on Ac7s. Tooran called and won with AhKc.

It was the first win of Tooran’s live tournament career. His previous best score being a runner-up finish to Danijel Hodak in a €220 No-Limit Hold’em event at the partypoker MILLIONS Germany back in 2018. Tooran earned €56,104 for that win, also in the King’s Resort. Tooran’s past 11 in the money finishes have come in Leon’s gaff. 

Here are the final table results.

Final Table Results

1. Siamak Tooran – €740,996

2. Thia Ha – €457,964

3. Orpen Kisacikoglu – €323,553

4. Netanel Amedi – €230,807

5. Besim Hot – €166,258

6. Rob Yong – €120,946

7. Jonathan Depa – €88,861

Five more high rollers who went deeper than a cold harpoon driving through the blubber of a whale minding his own business in whale disco were Dario Sammartino (8th), Phil Ivey (9th), Leon Tsoukernik (14th), and Daniel Negreanu (16th).

James Chen soared to the summit of Event #4: €250,000 Super High Roller No-Limit Hold’em like a majestical griffin at the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) in the King’s Resort in Rozvadov.

It was a victory that erased the pain of his last two heads-up defeats, losing to Kuisong Wu in an HKD 200,000 Super High Roller in Macau, and Stephen Chidwick with the $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) High Roller – the coveted bracelet, a fingernail from his grasp in the summer.

Chen earned a million bucks for finishing runner-up to Chidwick, his previous personal best, until this score.

“I wouldn’t say that winning a bracelet necessarily means you are a good player or not but when I was a beginner in poker it was always just a dream of mine to win one,” said Chen.

It’s Chen’s first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet, and his $7,337,206 lifetime haul, sees him climb to the summit of the Taiwanese All-Time Money list. It’s going to be a long time before anyone catches him.

The event pulled in 30-entrants (inc. 8 re-entries), creating a prize pool of €7,125,000, and this is how Chen took it down to Taiwanese town.

Final Table Chip Counts

Seat 1: Dominik Nitsche – 42,500,000
Seat 2: James Chen – 13,100,000
Seat 3: Christoph Vogelsang – 16,300,000
Seat 4: Chin Wei Lim – 23,900,000
Seat 5: Cary Katz – 20,000,000
Seat 6: Ryan Riess – 15,600,000
Seat 7: Tony T – 18,600,000

Dominik Nitsche is a confident man. Add a monstrous chip lead to the comfortableness of knowing you once beat 132 people in this venue to win €3.5m, then you have a dragon, with the rush of air from his wings capable of sending all and sundry to the rail.

But even dragons need a good start.

Nitsche didn’t get one.

With blinds at 500k/1m/1m, Nitsche opened from midfield to 2m and called when Christoph Vogelsang moved all-in for 13.8m in the cutoff. Nitsche showed AsQs, but his compatriot had him beat with pocket kings. Vogelsang would river an unnecessary flush to double up through the chip leader.

Then Nitsche’s altitude fell further when the same situation presented itself in the same level – this time James Chen’s pocket kings doubling through Nitsche’s AdQh.

The unthinkable happened a few orbits later.

Nitsche moved all-in for 14.6m, holding AdKs, and Chin Wei Lim sent him smashing into the rail like an errant pinball with pocket queens. The overnight chip leader was the first to bite Freddie Mercury’s dust.

The elimination of Nitsche brought the action to the money bubble, and it was the former World Champion, Ryan Riess, who wore the crown of thorns.

With blinds at 600k/1.2m/1.2m, Riess, who had fallen below ten bigs, moved all-in from the cutoff, and Tony G reshoved from the button. Riess tabled AhJc, but G had him beaten with AdQh, and neither the flop, turn or river could prevent G from roaring like thunder.

Vogelsang then took the chip lead in a hand that crippled James Chen.

With blinds at 600k/1.2m/1.2m, Vogelsang opened to 2.4m holding pocket aces, and Chen defended the big blind with AsQd. The flop of 6s2h2d hit the table, Chen checked, Vogelsang bet 1.8m, Chen check-raised to 6m, and Vogelsang called. The turn was the Jh, Chen bet 8.5m, and Vogelsang called. The river was the 3d, Chen moved all-in with his bluff, and Vogelsang took him to a town called malice after a quick call, leaving Chen with a mere 8.3m chips leading into the first break of the day.

Chen returned from his 15-minute break, and immediately doubled up through Lim. Chen opened shoved the button for 7.5m, holding Kh5d, and Lim called and lost with Qh8h after Chen flopped a king.

Cary Katz Eliminated in 5th Place (€538,722)

Then we lost Cary Katz.

With blinds at 800k/1.6m/1.6m, Tony G opened to 3.5m in the hijack seat, and Katz defended the big blind. The flop dragged KsJd9h out of the deck, Katz moved all-in for 5.3m, and Tony G called. Katz had flopped the second pair with Jh6h, but G had him beaten with KcQs for the top pair hand. The turn and river bricked for Katz, who exited in the fifth place.

Chen began rising through the ranks, doubling through Vogelsang AhJs>ThTc. Then Lim took the chip lead after doubling through G QdJd>9s9d.

Tony G Eliminated in 4th Place (€799,045)

G never recovered from the mop over the head from Lim.

With blinds at 800k/1.6m/1.6m, Chen opened to 3.2m from the cutoff, and Tony G defended the big blind. The dealer fanned AdTc8c across the centre of the table, and Tony G check-raised jammed for 27.9m; Chen called. G showed Jh9c for the open-ender, and Chen showed AsTd for the top-two pair hand, and it held.

Vogelsang doubled through Chen: KsQs>KhJc, and then Chen got them back when pocket sixes out flipped AsKc.

Chip Counts

James Chen – 89,200,000
Chin Wei Lim – 43,400,000
Christoph Vogelsang – 17,400,000

Christoph Vogelsang Eliminated in 3rd Place (€1,185,161)

Then we lost the former Super High Roller Bowl winner.

With blinds at 1m/2m/2m, Lim opened to 6m on the button and called when Vogelsang moved all-in for 15.4m in the big blind. Vogelsang was ahead pre-flop with pocket fives taking on AcTc, but Lim flopped a ten to take the German’s scalp, and scarf.

Heads-Up Tale of the Tape

Chen – 94,200,000
Lim – 55,800,000

Lim took the chip lead when with blinds at 1.2m/2.4m/2.4m, he limped on the button holding AdQd, and Chen checked from the big blind with 6s5s. The flop was Qh9s6h, Chen checked, Lim bet 3m, and Chen called. The 3c hit the turn, and the same action ensued for 10m. The final card was the Jh, giving Lim the lock on the hand. Chen checked, Lim bet 15m, and Chen folded.

Lim – 80,400,000
Chen – 69,600,000

Chen then opened up a 2:1 chip lead.

In the same level, Chen limped on the button with two black queens, Lim raised to 8m from the big blind with AdQd, and Chen called. The dealer put the lowly looking 6c5c4s onto the flop, and Lim called a 9m Chen bet. The Tc hit the turn, and Lim folded after Chen bet 13m.

Lim then doubled back into contention when As3h bested Ah2d at the end of an all-in and call before Chen took another big chip lead.

With blinds at 1.5m/3m/3m, Lim raised to 6.5m on the button, holding Ks5d, and Chen called with Ts6d. The flop was Tc8d3s to give Chen top pair, and both players checked. The 8h joined the melee on the turn, Chen bet 7m, and Lim called. The final community card was the Td, Chen bet 19m, and Lim called with only king high. Chen showed the full-house and dragged in a monster pot.

And then it was over.

Chen moved all-in holding Ad4d, and Lim called with Ah5c. It was a fab situation for Lim until the second four hit the river to give Chen his first sliver of gold and leave Lim with invisible silver.

ITM Results

1. James Chen – €2,844,215
2. Chin Wei Lim – €1,757,857
3. Christoph Vogelsang – €1,185,161
4. Tony G – €799,045
5. Cary Katz – €538,722

It’s unusual to read, as I did this morning, that ice exists in the moon’s South Pole, and that scientists are keen to understand where it came from because future manned missions depend on using resources that already exist on the great rock. What’s not unusual to read, as I did this morning, is that Alex Foxen is beating up the competition again. 

In the past two-years, Foxen has been an arrowhead streaking through strata after strata of poker’s mass ecology, finally landing in the bullseye at the top of the totem pole firmly embedded in the world’s grandest stage.

The ninth live tournament win of his career came in the 19-entrant $20,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller as part of the WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble. Foxen defeated Joseph McKeehen, heads-up, to win the $182,400 first prize. Jorryt van Hoof finished third. 

The win ends a stubborn streak of frostbite for Foxen. The former Global Poker Index (GPI) World #1, has finished in the top three spots of major poker tournaments on eight occasions, without binking the win, leading back to December 2018. He has now earned $12,612,339 lifetime, $3,750,056 in 2019 – more than enough to get him on board a Virgin Galactic flight. He doesn’t pick up any GPI points, as the field size didn’t qualify, so he remains in #2 in the world rankings, behind Stephen Chidwick. 

Like Foxen, McKeehen has also struggled to turn deep runs into victories this year. The former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event winner, did win a World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) gold ring when defeating a field of 172-entrants in Atlantic City earlier this year. However, that win aside, McKeehen has finished #2 or #3 on five further occasions.

In April, McKeehen finished third in a $25,500 No-Limit Hold’em event at the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, earning $305,665.

In May, William Miller beat him to the title in an 862-entrant $550 No-Limit Hold’em event as part of the WPTDeepStacks event in Parx Casino, Bensalem, earning $52,369.

In June, McKeehen finished second again, this time to Evan Teitelbaum, in a $1,600 No-Limit Hold’em event at the Wynn, earning $89,218. 

In August, he finished third behind Jonathan Little and Tony Sinishtaj in a $2,200 No-Limit Hold’em event in the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open, earning $47,290.

McKeehen has earned $16,437,894 in live tournament earnings, bolstered by the $7,683,346 he won as the 2015 WSOP Main Event Champion. The $721,816 he has won in 2019, is his lowest return since 2013.

Van Hoof finished third in the WSOP Main Event the year before McKeehen took the title, and despite being primarily a Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) cash game player, he does pop up in the deep end of the odd No-Limit Hold’em tournament. 

The Dutchman had a decent showing at the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona finishing 20th in the €10,300, and eight in the €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em events. He also won his second World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) title in successive years after winning a $530 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Max, Hyper-Turbo for $70,860.30.

Here are the ITM finishes.

ITM Finishes

1. Alex Foxen – $182,400
2. Joe McKeehen – $109,440
3. Jorryt van Hoof – $72,960

McKeehen and Shak Run Deep in the WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble Main Event

McKeehen followed up his success in the high roller by making the final nine of the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble Main Event. The event attracted 349-entrants, and McKeehen picked up $31,648 for his ninth-place finish. 

The only other high roller to finish ITM in this one was Dan Shak. The hedge fund manager finished 25th for $10,061. It’s Shak’s 11th cash of the year, with his highlight being a 3/440 finish in the $5,000 Bay 101 Shooting Star event for $200,055. 

Shak has earned $641,792 (gross) in 2019, but that’s likely to his downturn in attendance. Shak declared on Twitter that non-pros involvement in high stakes games would likely end due to the prevalence of solvers. 

Joshua Adkins won the tournament.

It was the first time he had ever competed in a WPT event, and as you can see, it meant the world to him.

Final Table Results

1. Joshua Adkins – $331,480
2. Tan Nguyen – $210,988
3. Joshua Kay – $155,340
4. Jason Lee – $115,691
5. Jonathan Cronin – $87,170
6. Jeff Cunningham – $66,457

Shaun Deeb is like a hammerhead shark.

The reigning World Series of Poker (WSOP) Player of the Year (POY) is in Rozvadov for the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE), and it didn’t take him long to bare his teeth. 

After all three POY contenders whiffed Event #1: €350 No-Limit Hold’em Opener, the triumvirate of Daniel Negreanu, Robert Campbell and Deeb turned their attention to Event #2: €550 Pot-Limit Omaha.

Negreanu and Campbell couldn’t levitate to Day 2, but Deeb did, leading the field with twice as many chips as his nearest competitor. Given the field size of Event #2 (476-entrants), if Deeb wins, he will pick up 836-points, enough to overtake Campbell at the top of this particular taxi rank. 

Of the three, Deeb is the only one with previous experience, competing in Rozvadov. Last year, Deeb cashed in four events in the WSOPE at King’s Resort, including a 38th place finish in the low stakes PLO event. It was also in this venue that the WSOP crowned Deeb, the winner of the POY. Nobody has successfully defended the title, and if he does so, he will become only the second person ever to win it twice (Negreanu won it in 2004 & 2013).

The only other player who frequents the high stakes circuit from time to time making an appearance in Day 2 is Anthony Zinno. 

High Rollers Whiff Event #1: €350 No-Limit Hold’em Opener

The snowball that was Event #1: €350 No-Limit Hold’em Opener has melted without a high stakes regular in the 152 paid places. 

The event attracted 1,011-entrants, and Renat Bohdanov defeated Norbert Mosony, heads-up, to win the bracelet and €53,654 first prize. The up and coming Eyal Benshimon finished third, and the 2009 WSOP POY, Jeff Lisandro, finished eighth.

Final Table Results

1. Renat Bohdanov – €53,654
2. Norbert Mosonyi – €33,112
3. Eyal Benshimon – €23,386
4. Mykhailo Hryhoriev – €16,736
5. Samuel Mika – €12,138
6. Michal Kral – €8,923
7. Rafi Elharar – €6,651
8. Jeff Lisandro – €5,026.

PokerGO to Stream WSOPE Action

If you need an excuse to skip the Rozvadov brothels, you’ve got it. 

They’ve left it unusually late, but Poker Central and the WSOP have shaken hands on a deal to bring you 14 days of live streaming on PokerGO.

The action runs Oct 16-31 with highlights including the €250,000, €100,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Rollers, the €50,000 and €25,500 Short-Deck events, and the tigress that is the €10,350 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event.

Park your private jet in the hangar, get the kettle on, and settle in for some of the best poker action on the planet.