Every year on December 31st, we look back at the previous twelve months and think, "There is no way PokerStars will be able to outdo itself after this year." Every year, we are proven wrong.
In 2008, PokerStars broke nearly every record on the books. It topped itself in as many ways as it could. Its Team PokerStars Pro members continued to astound, winning events on the EPT, WPT, and at the World Series.
At this point, we could be tempted to proclaim that PokerStars will never have another year that is this good. However, as we have been proven wrong time and again, we think it best just to say, "Wow, what a year."
Here's a look back at what happened at PokerStars in 2008.
It was not uncommon for a winner of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure to become a member of Team PokerStars Pro. John Gale did it. So did Steve Paul-Ambrose. It was something entirely unique to see somebody do it in reverse. In January Team PokerStars Pro Betrand "ElkY" Grospellier won $2 million in the PCA.
Doing well on the PokerStars Tournament Leader Board has always been a significant point of pride. Starting in January 2008, it became something worth quite a bit of money. Just ask Dustin Mele who won the PokerStars Passport. It afforded him the ability to--for nothing out of his pocket--go to ten big buy-in events around the world. For more on Dustin, read his autobigraphical post HERE.
It had to happen eventually and no one was upset to see nice-guy Mike "Timex" McDonald become the youngest person to ever win an EPT title. It happened in Dortmund, Germany and earned McDonald more than a title. He also picked up €933,600.
In past years, we saw people buy books, trips, and cars with FPPs. In February of this year, we saw an FPP first. Well-known Supernova Elite Bigjoe2003 bought a house with his Frequent Player Points.
"I grew up in a trailer park, so being able to live in a million dollar house was always a dream of mine," bigjoe2003 said. "I greatly appreciate PokerStars' help in allowing me to reach that goal."
In what will probably be the poker tournament quote of the year ("It's been nice playing with you sir, I call..."), Tim Vance won his first major event. The PokerStars qualifier from St. Louis, Missouri won €834,590.
It's a wild ride going from a freeroll on PokerStars.net to the $20,000 NBC Heads-Up Championships. That is exactly the ride Alisha Kunze got to take in February after winning a qualifier.
Just a month before, a PokerStars player turned his FPP points into a house. In March, PokerStars player blego151 decided to take a different path. He turned his points into a pretty good looking horse for his daughter.
The gift horse's honest to goodness registered name?
The race to Supernova Elite only lasted until March when George Lind III, also known as jorj95, became the first player in 2008 to earn a million VIP Player Points. Like all Supernova Elites he earned free entry into the World Championship of Online Poker main event, as well as two big buy-in live events.
Team PokerStars Pro Hevad Khan kicked off his 2008 rush with a win in the PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up for nearly $100,000. The link above takes you to a full interview he did with the PokerStars Blog after his win.
Team PokerStars Pro Hevad Khan let his rush carry him from March to April. Just a few weeks after winning the PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up, Khan took down an event at the Foxwoods Poker Classic for more than $100,000.
In April, PokerStars introduced its first SNG Tournament Leader Board. The Battle of the Planets is a weekly competition that pays out more than $3 million a year to SNG players. It will begin its first full year in 2009.
The second-to-last EPT event of the season gave way to an American PokerStars qualifier from Florida winning the title in San Remo. This was the first year the European Poker Tour had held an event in Italy. Mercier won €869,000.
Team PokerStars Pro grew a lot in 2008. The big time growth began with the introduction of Gavin Griffin and Chad Brown. Both new team members joined just in time for the EPT Grand Final, the same event Griffin had won the year before.
In an affair fitting of its Grand Final name, the season-closing EPT event in Monte Carlo drew the world's best players. Canadian Glen Chorny took down the title and the monster €2,020,000 first prize.
In May, the Latin America Poker Tour kicked off its first-ever event. The event in Brazil marked the beginning of a tour that would see its second season before the end of the year. Nineteen year old Julien Nuijten won the event for $228,000.
In February, PokerStars ran a trial version of what would eventually become the Turbo Takedown. The 5000 Frequent Player Point event now runs once a month with a $100,000 prize pool and guaranteed $20,000 first prize.
PokerStars, a longtime supporter of AIDS research, once again helped sponsor Life Ball, a giant fund raiser and gala for the study of an AIDS cure. PokerStars and its players gave their hard-earned money to Life Ball 2008 to the tune of more than €150,000.
In May, PokerStars once again broke new ground by opening PokerStars Macau, Macau's first live poker room. The Grand Waldo Hotel and Casino card room kicked off with space for for 160 players. It continues to offer cash games and boast of a pretty nice weekly tournament schedule. See the ribbon cutting on the event HERE.
He had to travel from Hungary to San Jose to do it, but PokerStars qualifier Valdemar Kwaysser took down the Season 1 LAPT event in Costa Rica. His efforts earned him $280,000.
May marked the five-year anniversary of Chris Moneymaker's revolutionary achievement that set the poker world on a new course. As everyone remembers, Moneymaker used a $39 satellite entry to get into the World Series of Poker and win the entire thing for $2.5 million. To celebrate the anniversary, PokerStars created Team Moneymaker--a special crew of players to go to the 2008 World Series and play for $39.
After the tragic earthquakes in China, PokerStars and its players banded together to raise money for quake relief. PokerStars matched every dollar donated by its players and gave it all to the Red Cross to aid the suffering in China.
Everybody was familiar with PokerStars old lobby and tables. At the same time, there comes a time in everybody's life when a little change is good. With that in mind, PokerStars began offering a new slick theme for its lobby.
It was only a matter of time before Daniel Negreanu did it again. He's won tournament after tournament, and he knew he would pick up his fourth bracelet eventually. He did it during the 2008 World Series. Negreanu won the $2,000 Limit Hold'em event for more than $204,000.
PokerStars' headquarters sits on the Isle of Man in the UK. In June, a police officer from the Isle found himself at the highest point in the world--with a little help from PokerStars. The link above is his story, in his own words.
Barry Greenstein already had two World Series bracelets to his name, but that wasn't enough. He tore through the Razz at the World Series and picked up his third bracelet.
Just in time for the World Series Main Event, two of Europe's top poker pros joined poker's most elite team of players. William Thorson and Marcin Horecki hit the ground running in late June.
PokerStars has long been an innovator, but in July it did something so spectacular it needed a whole new website. PokerStars launched a brand new web TV platform for video blogs, live coverage of PokerStars events, and replays of online events. You can watch at PokerStars.tv.
Alexandre Gomes, a 25-year-old lawyer from Curitiba, Brazil, had been leaving behind his profession in law and slowly but surely gravitating toward poker. He finally made the decision to join Team PokerStars in the middle of the World Series. He was the second Brazilian to join the Team (Andre Akkari was the first).
PokerStars has always been known for its huge parties, but this year's World Series party took the cake. Burlesque celebrity Dita von Teese was the star of the show for the thousands of people in attendance.
The World Series had a name for its four-month-delayed final table players: the November Nine. Two thirds of those players came straight from the PokerStars ranks. The PokerStars six left Vegas for four months with $900,000 in their pocket and a chance to play the final table in November.
PokerStars has built a great team of poker professionals. In August, it added a hockey legend to its ranks. Mats Sundin signed on with PokerStars as one of its ambassadors.
The World Championship of Online Poker gets bigger every year. 2008 was no different. PokerStars guaranteed at least $30 million in prize money over the 2 1/2 weeks of tournaments. What's more, tournament organizers added new events this year, including some big high-roller events with event buy-ins as high as $10,000 and $25,000.
Folks from the UK have played a lot of WCOOP events. A lot. But they had never won a WCOOP bracelet until Shane147 took down Event #1 of the 2008 WCOOP.
Everybody in American professional poker knew the name Nam Le. Now, everyone in Asia knows it after he won more than $3.7 million Hong Kong dollars in the high roller event of the APPT's second season in Macau.
It's not very often one finds a $25,000 event online. When PokerStars' WCOOP ran the the heads-up event for the first time, it saw online phenom stevesbets go up against Team PokerStars Pro Betrand ElkY Grospellier. Stevesbets took it down and won more than half a million bucks.
The World Championship of Online Poker was one for the books--the record books--with nearly $40,000,000 in prize money. The biggest money went to ckingusc who picked up $1.26 million for the championship win.
The three PokerStars World Series champions faced off against the PokerStars Six in a single table event for bragging rights. The first of the champions, Chris Moneymaker, took it down.
Everybody's favorite nice guy Michael Martin came tantalizingly close to winning the EPT Grand Final in March. In London, he actually took down the title.
It's one thing to win a big event. It's another thing to win a big event with your hometown crowd around you. That's exactly what Daniel Cracker did at the APPT event in Auckland.
ElkY may not have won a WSOP bracelet this year. He came close to winning a WCOOP bracelet several times. That said, he won an EPT title in January. And then in October, ElkY won on the WPT. He took down the Festa al Lago event for $1.4 million after beating out a field of 368 people. He wrote about it HERE.
The second season of the LAPT came before the first season was even a year-old memory. American player Ryan Fee took the short flight to Costa Rica and blitzed his way through the tournament for a victory he called "easy."
After waiting for months to play the final table of the World Series, Peter Eastgate took down the Main Event bracelet. Eastgate, at 22, became the youngest ever Main Event winner. He won $9,152,416.
ElkY won a couple of big titles. So did Hevad Kahn. Daniel Negreanu is not one to be outdone. So, he went home to Canada and took down the British Columbia Poker Championships for $371,000. You can read about his victory in his trip report.
PokerStars is pretty well known for sponsoring some pretty big events. It happened again in Brazil when PokerStars raced around the track with Thiago Camilo.
PokerStars has tours in almost every part of the world, but its empire has not reached capacity. Enter the Russian Poker Tour, a brand new series kicking off in 2009.
In mid-December Vanessa Rousso took some time out of her day to take down the APPT TOC and win some big cash for the No Limit, No Profit Initiative, a charity set up to aid cancer research.
After a month of qualifying and battle, the PokerStars World Cup of Poker V set its live final teams. They will meet Janaury 6 in the Bahamas to determine the World Cup of Poker champion. For a look at recent World Cup news, click here.
The EPT season would go on into 2009, but the last event of the year came in December in Prague. The title went to Salvatore Bonavena who won €774,000.
For the first time, PokerStars turned the World Blogger Championship of Online Poker into a series of events. This year, Imric_est took down the championship title and will be playing at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in 2009.
PokerStars hosted World Record week and shattered just about every record it could find. From the biggest ever poker tournament, to the biggest number of players online, to the biggest Sunday Million, to the biggest Sunday Warm-Up, PokerStars broke them all.
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Thank you all for a great year and your visits to the PokerStars Blog. Happy New Year. We'll see you in the Bahamas to kick off what is sure to be a fantastic 2009.
Team Ireland landed in the finals of the World Cup of Poker IV, England did it the year before, and Scotland did it the year before that. 2009, however will see these nations gathered together under the banner of Team United Kingdom as they go for the gold in the Bahamas.
Under World Cup of Poker regulations, Team U.K. received an automatic berth in the finals and will be represented by Team PokerStars Pro Vicky Coren, two freeroll qualifiers, one TLB leader, and one magical mystery player whom as of press time, is still to be determined.
To those of you who follow the tournament scene on PokerStars, the name "allinstevie" should be extremely familiar. Hailing from Omagh, Northern Ireland, 26-year old Stephen Devlin is one of the U.K.'s top online players, having notched victories in the $109 NLHE freezeout, the $55 NLHE deep stacks, and the $25k guaranteed in 2008. His largest online score this year, however came when he final tabled the Sunday Warm-Up on August 31st, finishing 7th for $21,000. A huge Manchester United fan, Devlin brings a good deal of live tournament experience to the table for Team U.K., having played in a slew of EPT and WSOP events in addition to playing the PCA Main Event last year.
The thing Devlin (seen left in photo below) is most excited about in the Bahamas, though? The weather, obviously. "It's frickin' freezing here at the moment" he reports of the Irish winter.
Freeroll qualifier Sean "N!GHTMAR3" Flaherty loves nothing more than to go out with his mates, have a laugh and play some online poker. Flaherty caught the poker bug after watching a televised tournament and made his way to PokerStars, where he taught himself the game. The World Cup finals will mark Flaherty's first live tournament experience.
Also earning his way in on a freeroll is Derek "Purr of Aces" Morris. A veteran online player, Morris has twice represented Great Britain at the World Cup of Poker. The 39-year old lives in Lancashire, England and works as a bookmaker's assistant when he's not making final tables on PokerStars (he claims over 400 of them). Like his teammate Stephen Devlin, Morris brings a significant amount of live tournament experience with him, having competed in two EPT events, a WPT event, and countless tournaments on the Grosvenor U.K. Poker Tour.
Morris with a Bahamian local he met at his last PCA
When asked about the prospect of spending a week on Atlantis, Morris said "I'm looking forward to the weather, trying the new dolphin cay, and sipping a few cocktails to be honest. My daughter is pretty devastated that the Jonas Brothers are playing in Atlantis two weeks before we arrive. Shame on you Stars!" he teased.
Joined by Team PokerStars Pro Katja Thater, Team Germany made the finals of last year's World Cup of Poker, but unfortunately had to say "Auf Weidersehen" in seventh place. Now, after plowing through five teams of their fellow countrymen, Team Germany 1 is set to make a repeat appearance with Thater again as its fearless leader.
Yes, you read that right-- five teams. The German player base has grown so much that rather than compete within one of the European divisions, Germany occupies its own division like the United States and Canada. Among our four qualifiers are three amateurs and one rising young pro who will attempt to bring the crown home to the motherland.
20-year old Bastian "mados4k" Wulff is the first to admit that he got extremely lucky in the freeroll qualifying matches that earned him a spot on Team Germany. Only having learned the game recently, Wulff primarily plays freeroll MTTs on PokerStars and the World Cup finals in the Bahamas will mark his first live tournament experience.
Like Wulff, Peter "SmArTdOg1970" Schmidt is another World Cup finalist whose poker experience is largely confined to playing freerolls. The 38-year old auto mechanic from Esslingen is excited not only to play poker on the world stage but to represent Germany in the process.
"I´m very proud to play for my country and who can say in his life (that he had) the chance to win a world championship!" said Schmidt.
40-year old Georg "josha45" Geissler earned his spot on Team Germany via his TLB status for 2007. Married for 14 years and the father of three daughters, Geissler works as a marketing VP for a high-tech machinery company. He discovered PokerStars in 2006 and also plays in a live game at the Casino Wiesbaden once a week. Geissler is especially excited to travel to the Bahamas--last year he won a seat to the PCA but was unable to play due to health issues. This year, he looks forward to experiencing the warm weather and will represent Germany in the World Cup with someone special on his mind, his grandmother, who recently passed away.
"She would have (been) too excited about it as she always supported me, loved playing cards as well and taught me this when I was young," Geissler related.
Our final player is TLB qualifier Thomas Boekhoff who first caught the eye of the poker media with his impressive 14th place finish at the 2008 EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo, for which he took home €76,000. The 21-year old took up poker in 2006 and dropped out of school shortly thereafter to pursue a career as a poker professional. He can often be found playing up to 40 tables simultaneously.
Boekhoff admitted to us that he isn't too familiar with the island nation he's about to experience. "(I) don't know much about the Bahamas, I actually thought it was somewhere around New Zealand to be honest... just looking forward to have some nice relaxing days,' said Boekhoff.
Sun. Sand. Crystal-blue water. Fruity drinks. Awesome cash game action. That's all you need to know.
In the poker year that was 2008, Italy made a lasting impression. Luca Pagano was voted the EPT Player of the Year. Dario Minieri won his first World Series of Poker bracelet and Max Pescatori won his second. San Remo hosted their first EPT event, and though American Jason Mercier took down that title, three Italians went on to make the final table on the tour's most recent stop in Prague, where Salvatore Bonavena came away with the title, wrapped in Il Tricolore as he posed for his winner's photo.
Fittingly enough, in a year where Italy had such a significant impact on the poker world, it will represent the continent of Europe for the first time in the World Cup of Poker finals. Two freeroll qualifiers and two Tournament Leaderboard achievers will be heading down to the Bahamas to see if they can add one more title to Italy's till.
Leading the team into battle will be Team PokerStars Pro and EPT player of the year Luca Pagano. While this will be his first time at the World Cup, his live tournament experience is many years long and could serve his team exceptionally well.
Pennisi "Omaruccio" Omar is a self-described "nice boy from Sicily" who is no stranger to the gambling world. By day he works managing a firm that sells and leases slot machines and by night he feeds his online poker hobby, playing multi-table tournaments on PokerStars.
Though he had a rough start when he first started playing in January 2006, Omar persevered and posted excellent tournament results in 2007, earning him the second spot on Italy's Tournament Leaderboard. Omar also loves to travel and is not only excited about getting to experience the Bahamas, but is especially intrigued by the World Cup format.
"What I find exciting in the Bahamas tournament is the fact that there will be a team work-- you play for your own nation and the win depends on every single member of the team. That is very different from other live tournaments," said Omar. "A World Cup win would be an indescribable emotion and a deep personal satisfaction."
Michele "mm-mh" Migliore is coy when it comes to his background, preferring to keep a low profile. A recreational player for the last decade, Migliore qualified for Team Italy via his TLB standing. Though he enjoys the online game, Migliore also comes to the table with some significant live tournament experience, having played three WSOP Main Events in addition to cashing in tournaments at the Orleans Open, the Foxwoods World Poker Finals, and the Master Classics of Poker in Amsterdam.
Joining our TLB duo is freeroll qualifier Valeriano "BILLIKO" Bilancetti. In addition to playing online, the 32-year old often plays live in a private game at the Casino San Remo.
Rounding out the quartet is Gerardo "gvilla2" Fabrizio, whose road to the World Cup Finals began when he finished in the top nine of a 552 player freeroll qualifier. The 23-year old electrician has been playing poker for three years, but began taking the game seriously only this year when he became an active participant in poker strategy forums. Aside from playing on PokerStars, he also plays frequently in local tournaments.
What's he looking forward to the most in the Bahamas? "Doubtless the beautiful place!" he replied.
Will the names Migliori, Omar, Fabrizio, and Bilancetti be etched into Italian poker history alongside Minieri and Pagano? Stay tuned...
We may be in the middle of PokerStars' World Record Week, but this weekend was where the biggest action happened. In just the span of one day, we saw the world's biggest ever poker tournament, the biggest ever Sunday Million, the biggest ever Sunday Warm-Up, and more than $12 million in real cash tournament prizes awarded to PokersStars players.
Oh...and while we're mentioning broken records, we should also mention that Sunday around 3:30pm ET, we saw the biggest number of people ever logged into PokerStars. As you can see in the screen capture below, the number topped out at more than 250,500 players (click on the image for a full-size version).
Perhaps the most talked about attraction all week long was PokerStars' attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest ever poker tournament. The players came through--all 35,000 of them. Not only was it a win for PokerStars, it was a pretty significant win for stan34powa who topped the field of 35,000 to win the Guinness World Record tourney and $30,000.
The Guinness World Record attempt may have been the tournament with the most players, but the PokerStars Sunday Million dwarfed everything with its prize pool. The tourney pulled in a whopping 16,260 players who played for a $3,252,000 prize pool. Not only was it a monster Sunday Million, it was also one where the winner cut no deals and collected a $331,378 prize. Many congratulations go to lp_Saki Saki from Sweden. Read how he did it in the 12/28/08 Sunday Million report.
If that's not enough broken records (and yes, I'm perfectly aware I'm starting to sound like one), the Sunday Warm-Up eclipsed its largest ever number of players this weekend. When the tournament finally settled on a total number, it looked like 5,836 playing for a $1,167,200 prize pool. Hr_Herman went into the final table with one of the smaller chip stacks but emerged with the victory and $147,067. Read all about it in the 12/28/08 Sunday Warm-Up report.
Oh, that should be enough, right? Well, it's not. Not only was PokerStars rocking and rolling in the record-breaking department, it was also celebrating the last Sunday of the month (and year). That meant it was time for the PokerStars Turbo Takedown and the Battle of the Planets Triple Shootout. Turbo Takedown honors (and $100,000) went to perky246 (read the full report HERE). In the Battle of the Planets showdown, el cuCut ran the table and came out with the victory (full report HERE).
You think that's it? Well, it's not.
This weekend also marked the time when the members of Team PokerStars Pro would face off against each other and determine the team's captain. Who won? After a tough heads-up battle with Daniel Negreanu, Victor Ramdin walked away with the win. We provided full coverage of the match. You can see the whole live blog HERE or read the Team PokerStars Pro Championship match wrap-up.
You think that's all? Well, that's all we have room for here, but there were still tons of other major tournaments on Sunday. For a full breakdown of winners from the big weekend, visit the (12-28-08) PokerStars Sunday Tournament Results page.
Congratulations to PokerStars for its record-breaking weekend. Moreover, congratulations to all the players who raked in the big cash.
The fields were super-sized during World Record Week and December 28th's special edition of the Million drew a mind-boggling 16,260 players to the felt creating a prizepool of $3,252,000, easily surpassing the $2.5 million guarantee placed on the event in honor of World Record Week. As the tournament neared the end of its fourth hour, 2.475 of those players made the money, with Katja Thater winning the Team PokerStars Pro last-longer, making a deep run that ended in a 134th place finish.
Podarok ended up the final table bubble boy, busting out in 10th place when salmor turned a flush against his flopped two pair. With that, we had our final nine, their stack sizes looking like this:
Seat 1: lp_SakiSaki (31,505,955 in chips)
Seat 2: manifest23 (13,908,936 in chips)
Seat 3: kharak (14,643,069 in chips)
Seat 4: MauryFishant (2,944,989 in chips)
Seat 5: salmor (26,352,162 in chips)
Seat 6: Beufford (13,892,416 in chips)
Seat 7: La_Alvarado (12,286,663 in chips)
Seat 8: AAmerican (35,907,574 in chips)
Seat 9: k0rt (9,458,236 in chips)
Kharak was the first player to exit the final table. After AAmerican opened for 1.5 million with blinds of 250,000/500,000, khrarak moved all in for 10.8 million and salmor called from the big blind. AAmerican gave it up and kharak revealed Ah-Qc to salmor's 9d-9h. The first race of the final table went to the underpair, as the board ran out Jc-8c-4d-6d-4h, eliminating kharak in 9th place for a $22,764 payday. Next to go was La_Alvarado, who from the small blind shoved over the top of lp_SakiSaki's 1.5 million opening raise and MauryFishant's flat-call. Lp_SakiSaki folded but MauryFishant made the call. La_Alvarado was in trouble, his Ac-Td dominated by MauryFishant's As-Js. La_Alvarado couldn't catch up on the eight-high board and he hit the rail in 8th place, collecting $32,520.
Nearly 30 minutes would pass before the next elimination. With blinds up to 400,000/800,000, MauryFishant opened for a min-raise to 1.6 million. AAmerican shoved for just over 3.9 million and MauryFishant made the call, showing Qh-Jh to AAmerican's Ad-5h. A queen hit the flop, though and AAmerican could not improve, finishing in 7th place for $50,406. Four hands later, salmor would get very unlucky against lp_SakiSaki. With the board reading 7c-6s-5c-7h, salmor moved all in on the turn holding As-7d, only to run into lp_SakiSaki's flopped straight with 4s-8s. The 3d fell on the river and salmor was out in 6th, earning $73,170.
Manifest23 was the short stack as play turned five-handed, and with only seven big blinds left, he needed to make something happen quickly. He moved in on a steal from the cutoff, but Beufford looked him up, showing pocket sixes to his 3c-6c. No help on the board for manifest23 and he collected $97,560 for his 5th place finish.
With the field down to four k0rt broached the subject of a deal, but lp_SakiSaki quickly put the kibosh on it. Then, only about twenty seconds later k0rt was all in against lp_SakiSaki and in great shape, with Kc-Kd vs. lp_SakiSaki's Ad-Js. Though the flop was a seemingly safe-looking 9h-8c-6c, lp_SakiSaki turned the Qh and rivered the Tc to make a runner-runner straight and sent k0rt to the rail with a one-two punch and $130,080 in his pocket for 4th place.
Beufford was the next to bring up a chop, asking if his opponents wanted to "look at numbers". With 70 million in chips to Beufford's 54.2 million and MauryFishant's 37.3 million, lp_SakiSaki again declined, preferring to play it out for the full amount. Though MauryFishant won a few small pots early on in three-handed play, his stack began to dwindle steadily while lp_SakiSaki turned up the aggression. He may have been tightening up, he may have been utterly card-dead, but when he found 3c-3h on the button, he raised to 4.8 million, only to have lp_SakiSaki move in for his entire 101 million stack from the big blind. MauryFishant made the call, and was crushed to see lp_SakiSaki turn up Kc-Kd. The flop was Jh-7h-4s, and though MauryFishant got a ray of hope on the turn when the 5c fell and he picked up a gutshot straight draw, the 2d on the river sealed his elimination in 3rd place. He earned $162,600 for his finish--which, on a "normal" weekend, would be close to the Million's top prize.
As lp_SakiSaki and Beufford went heads-up, their chip counts looked like this:
Seat 1: lp_SakiSaki (127,356,568 in chips)
Seat 6: Beufford (35,243,432 in chips)
Lp_SakiSaki began heads-up play with a nearly 4-1 chip lead over Beufford. The two mostly traded small pots, lp_SakiSaki grinding Beufford down to a low of 21.3 million to his 141.2 million, but Beufford was able to double up to 42 million when he made two pair and lp_SakiSaki's straight draw failed to materialize. Beufford appeared to be gaining momentum and at one point narrowed the gap to a 5-3 chip deficit, but ultimately, it would not be enough to overcome lp_SakiSaki. On the final hand, lp_SakiSaki opened for 2.8 million from the button and Beufford called. Beufford led out for 4.2 million on the 8h-2d-2c flop and lp_SakiSaki came along with a call. The turn was the 4c and Beufford made a massive all-in overbet for his remaining 50.7 million in chips and lp_SakiSaki practically beat him into the pot, showing 2h-8d for a flopped full house! Beufford and his Kd-8c were drawing nearly dead--only the case 8 could end the hand in a tie. The Ts fell on the river, though and lp_SakiSaki took down the largest non-WCOOP tournament ever held on PokerStars, banking $331,378.80 for his win. Beufford earned $227,640 for his runner-up finish.
After playing for huge stakes with no chop of the prize money, here's what our nine finalists took home:
Sunday Million Results for 12/28/2008
1st place lp_SakiSaki ($331,378.80)
2nd place Beufford ($227,640)
3rd place MauryFishant ($162,600)
4th place k0rt ($130,080)
5th place manifest23 ($97,560)
6th place salmor ($73,170)
7th place AAmerican ($50,406)
8th place La_Alvarado ($32,520)
9th place kharak ($22,764)
For more information on how to register or satellite in to the Sunday Million, hit up the Sunday Million page.
PokerStars went for the record books this weekend--the Guiness Book of World Records to be precise, putting together the largest poker tournament in history--a 35,000 player, $10+1 buy-in event with a guaranteed prize pool of $500,000. Selling out days before cards ever went on the screen, the capped starting field hit the felt at 4:30 pm EST and a whopping 8,750 of them hit the money less than three hours later. With a tournament of this gargantuan size, would it surprise you that eighty players were lost during hand-for-hand play on the bubble as the action on 876 tables played out?
As we reached the final table of ten, the stack sizes looked like this:
Seat 1: Goldman007 (9,863,968 in chips)
Seat 2: gustave44 (11,654,326 in chips)
Seat 3: stan34powa (11,516,965 in chips)
Seat 4: Nekochan48 (8,822,692 in chips)
Seat 5: alepolice (9,373,489 in chips)
Seat 6: meiky777 (20,884,333 in chips)
Seat 7: FuFish (6,384,140 in chips)
Seat 8: n0ideahh (7,239,435 in chips)
Seat 9: rumred14 (4,506,500 in chips)
Seat 10: ONE_TIMEE (14,754,152 in chips)
FuFish, who was being cheered on by an enthusiastic bunch of railbirds, was unfortunately the first to be eliminated from the final table. With the blinds at 250,000/500,000 with a 62,500 ante, gustave44 opened for a raise to 1.5 million from middle position, FuFush moved all in for 5.75 million and gustave44 made the call, turning up Kh-Qs to FuFish's pocket sevens. With a king on the flop and a queen on the river, the overcards outran the underpair and FuFish finished in 10th place, good for $1,500.
Next to exit was ONE_TIMEE, who fell to Goldman007 on a blind vs. blind hand. After open-shoving from the small blind for 6.2 million and getting a call from Goldman007 in the big, ONE_TIMEE was no doubt verbalizing the clarion call of his screen name as he awaited the flop, his Kd-9s trailing Goldman007's Ks-Js. The flop, though, was Jc-7h-2c, making top pair for Goldman007 and ONE_TIMEE could not catch running cards to improve, ending his long day of poker with an extra $2,000 in his account for his 9th place finish.
After a much-deserved break, the final eight returned to blinds of 500,000/1,000,000 and an ante of 125,000. Stacks were shallow, with the average stack at that point at about 13 big blinds. Even dominant chip leader meiky77 only had 32 big blinds. This action was going to move fast.
Seated under the gun and facing the 1,000,000 big blind on the next hand, alepolice pushed in for 1.6 million. Meiky777 flat-called from UTG+1 and the action folded around to stan34powa, who moved all in for 9.9 million from the small blind. Neckochan48 gave up his big blind and meiky777 mucked as well, leaving their two opponents heads-up. Alepolice's Ks-9s was dominated by Nekochan48's Ac-Kc and he could not improve, hitting the rail in 8th place for $2,500.
Four hands later, stan34powa opened for 2.75 million and n0ideahh made his stand, moving in for 3.1 million with Qd-Js. Stan34powa called the additional 385,000 with pocket sevens and they held up to send off n0ideahh in 7th place. Two hands after that, Nekochan48 curiously limped in from UTG and the action folded around to gustave44 in the small blind. He moved all in for 19.6 million only to have stan34powa move all in for 19.9 million from the big blind. Nekochan48 got out of the way and the cards were turned up, gustave44's Ad-Ts trailing stan34powa's Qc-Qs. The flop was a tantalizing As-Ks-2s, gustave44 flopping top pair but stan34powa still in it with the nut flush draw. The turn was the 2d, but the river was the 3s, making both players a flush, stan34powa's the higher one as gustave44 exited in 6th place.
Rumred14 started talks of a chop once play became five-handed, but no one was ready to talk deals yet. He'd be the next player to get action, moving all in pre-flop for his remaining 9.1 million and earning a call from Nekochan48 in the big blind, who had him slightly covered. It was a race situation, Nekochan48 holding pocket sixes and rumred14 the Ad-Ks. The board ran out As-8c-3d-Tc-Jd and rumred14 doubled up, crippling Nekochan48 to only 585,209, all of which was posted in the small blind on the next hand. Nekochan48's 4d-Ts could not improve against rumred14's Ah-Td and he was eliminated in 5th place, collecting $7,500.
A dozen unanswered open-pushes later, meiky777 opened for 6 million with blinds of 750,000/1.5 million. Goldman007 reraised to 10.5 million and meiky777 four-bet to 15 million, setting Goldman007 all in. He quickly called and turned up As-Ac to meiky777's Ah-4h. Though Goldman007 was in one of the best pre-flop situations a player can be in when it comes to hold'em, the flop opened doors for meiky777, coming down 6s-3h-2s. The turn was the Kh, but the river was the disastrous 5d, making meiky777 a six-high straight and bouncing a very unlucky Goldman777 from the tournament in 4th place. Though he came out on the wrong end of that hand, he still managed to turn $11 into $10,000 in the space of eight hours.
Rumred14 asked about a chop again when play was three-handed and the chip counts had evened up. Once again, his suggestions were met with silence from his opponents. Only a few minutes later, rumred14 called meiky777's 3 million opening raise and they saw a flop of Th-8s-7s. With rumred14 holding Qs-Js for straight and flush draws and meiky777 with 7c-8c for bottom two, it was inevitable that the money would go in the middle. The turn, though was the 8h, making meiky777 eights full of sevens and leaving rumred14 drawing dead. Rumred14 took home $15,000 for a stellar performance.
As heads-up play kicked off between meiky777 and stan34powa, the chip counts looked like this:
Seat 3: stan34powa (37,213,054 in chips)
Seat 6: meiky777 (67,786,946 in chips)
After all the open-shoving that marked most of the play at the final table, the 57-hand heads-up battle was a real back-and-forth chess match, with the lead constantly swinging back and forth between our final two players. Stan34powa wrestled the lead away from meiky777 when he made kings and fives against meiky777's sevens and sixes, but meiky777 took it back just as quickly after stan34powa attempted a river bluff with ace high and meiky777 called him with two pair. The pendulum kept swinging, with neither player taking more than a 7-3 chip lead, until this hand came up:
Meiky777 limped in from the small blind and stan34powa checked. The flop was 8h-5s-3s and stan34powa checked to meiky777, who bet 2.5 million. Stan34powa raised to 7.5 million and meiky777 shoved over the top for 31.2 million. Stan34powa called, having meiky777 covered and the hands were revealed--stan34powa with 2d-8d for top pair and meiky777 looking to improve with Ac-Kd. The turn, though was the Js, the river was the 7s and it was all over. Stan34powa had outlasted 34,999 opponents to win the world's largest-ever poker tournament and $30,000 for his performance. Runner-up meiky777 added $20,000 to his bankroll.
With no deals made, here's how the final table finished up:
On a weekend laden with free money getting tossed into the ring, why not join PokerStars' biggest monthly freeroll? For 5,000 FPPs you receive a seat for a shot at a prize pool worth $1 million and a $100,000 first place prize. Tonight's $1 Million Turbo Takedown featured 9,532 players that "bought-in" or worked the satellite circuit to reach the final nine shown below:
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Seat 1: pezi2000 (5,844,901 in chips)
Seat 2: BigDennys (2,745,539 in chips)
Seat 3: plattsburgh (1,939,168 in chips)
Seat 4: krissyb24 (3,374,825 in chips)
Seat 5: lexwilly (865,053 in chips)
Seat 6: Shogu (3,359,768 in chips)
Seat 7: joehenry (1,779,972 in chips)
Seat 8: perky264 (5,434,185 in chips)
Seat 9: GKnight00001 (3,252,589 in chips)
lexwilly had to make something happen early and often to get into the deep money at this final table. Something happened early that negated the often, as six hands into the final table with blinds at 60,000/120,000 ante 12,000 lexwilly found himself open pushing his remaining 1,051,053 from middle position with pocket sixes. He got action from perky264 in the cutoff with Ac-7c who called creating the nearly 2.4 million chip pot. Top two flopped for perky264 on the board of 7d-As-3c-Qc-5d leaving lexwilly hanging in ninth place for $5,500 from his 5,000 FPPs spent.
Three hands later plattsburgh, Shogu, and GKnight00001 got into a three-way hand that would leave one person in eighth place. All three checked the flop of 4s-Ks-Kh, and then on the turned 6s, GKnight00001 led out for 240,000 from the big blind. plattsburgh responded with a shove for 1.3 million and Shogu took some ninja cover as GKnight00001 made the call holding just As-3h for the nut flush draw. Seeing the flush draw and not a king made plattsburgh's pocket jacks (Js-Jd) very happy. But the river 3s turned that smile upside down as GKnight00001 held the larger flush and collected the 3.7 million chip pot while $10,000 real cash was shipped to plattsburgh for his eighth-place finish.
Short on chips with ever-growing blinds means you must push when you get a chance. joehenry took that chance when the table folded to his button while holding just 361,972 chips (only three big blinds). perky264 folded in the small blind while GKnight00001 could make a math call with any two, but actually held a decent Ac-Ts. Unfortunately for joehenry he did not have the live cards he was hoping for with Th-9c. A flush board for both players ran out 4c-Kc-Ah-6c-2c but GKnight00001's nut flush toppled the nine kicker flush for joehenry. Slaying another dragon, GKnight00001 knocked off his second opponent and joehenry received $15,000 for his seventh-place finish.
Shogu managed to increase his short-ish stack after netting a nut flush against GKnight00001, knocking him off his steed for once in a 5.1 million chip pot. BigDennys also tried to get out of the short stack hole by putting a squeeze play on perky264's 319,500 chip raise from the cut-off and a call by GKnight00001 on the button. A push of 2.4 million chips from the big blind with hopes to collect the 933,000 in the middle went south in a hurry for BigDennys' Ah-6h as perky264 had 6 million chips behind after making the call with As-Qh. Queen on the flop of 3h-Qs-4c left BigDennys gasping for some runner-runner skillet combo, but the Kc and Jh on the turn and river left BigDennys searching for a grand slam breakfast in sixth place but with an extra $20,000 to tip the third shift waitress with.
Chip deals sour quickly when we just can't all get along. While five-handed the remaining players got the chip-chop numbers but couldn't form a circle of friendship large enough to split up the remaining prize pool. So, onward they played until pezi2000 found himself calling the all-in push of GKnight00001. Both players formed a 5.4 million chip pot with GKnight00001 leaving only 341,523 chips behind with the blinds at 90,000/180,000 and ante of 18,000. Ac-Jh for GKnight00001 was well ahead of pezi2000's Ah-7s as a battle of the zeros was won by the gallant GKnight00001 when the board produced 6d-5s-6c-2h-6h and sent pezi2000 home with $25,000 in fifth place.
krissyb24 was the thorn in the side of the deal talks and that proved to be a costly decision as he got short-stacked with 3.4 million chips and blinds at 90,000/180,000 ante 18,000 decided to pushed those chips from the big blind eliciting calls from button perky264 and small blind GKnight00001. With 11 million chips in the middle both perky264 and GKnight00001 checked down the board of Kh-Qd-Ad-Jh-9d to reveal GKnight00001's pocket black jacks for the set. krissyb24 mucked his hand without showing and was awarded fourth place, good for $32,500.
Shogu would gain some chips for GKnight00001 with a Ac-Kc vs. Ad-6s showdown that chopped into GKnight00001's stack and gave Shogu 8.3 million chips with the blinds escalating to 100,000/200,000 ante 20,000. Three-handed poker would be played for over 30 hands until GKnight00001 took a couple of nicks to his armor and was blinded down to 2.3 million when perky264 raised to 489,500 from the button and GKnight00001 responded from the small blind with a three-bet to 1.4 million. perky264's final answer? Let's play. They formed a 7.7 million chip pot, Kd-Jh for perky264 and Ah-2h for GKnight00001. GKnight00001 looked well on his way back to the round table with the 6c-6h-5d flop, but was sent to the dungeon as the Jc fell on the turn and no ace 9c on the river. $40,000 to save a fair maiden was transferred to our third-place finisher GKnight00001.
perky264 would start heads up play with 19.5 million to Shogu's nine million as the two had some wiggle room to play for a while and still no deal in place. The two traded blinds for over 20 hands, but perky264 got the bigger pots as he sliced at the ninja's stack until he pushed all-in from the button with 4.7 million chips left. perky264 with 23.7 million had enough to safely cover and made the call with Kd-Qd. With As-3c for Shogu the race was short and sweet for this month's $1 Million Turbo Takedown champion. 5h-Kc-2c gave perky264 a big lead but three aces and four fours were out there for Shogu to collect the 9.7 million in the middle.
The ninja left in a cloud of smoke after the 6s and 9d fell on the turn and river handing the victory to perky264.
Here's the final money tally with no deals, perky264 snagged the entire $100,000!
As part of World Record Week here at PokerStars, several tournaments received a money injection into their guarantees. The Sunday Warm-up, normally a guaranteed $750,000, became a $1 million guarantee, and just so people would not confuse this tournament with the "Sunday Million" the marquee weekly PokerStars tournament's guarantee was bumped up to $2.5 million!
The added guarantee wasn't necessary as a record 5,836 showed up for the Sunday Warm-up to boost the prize pool to a staggering $1,167,200.
The stars of MTT's at PokerStars came out swinging as TLB regular BeL0WaB0Ve put in a valiant effort in 21st place. He led with a commanding lead during several portions of the tournament but ran into the force from down under known as Andy McLEOD who defeated BeL0WaB0Ve's K-Qs with A-To that connected a rivered two pair to overcome BeL0WaB0Ve's flopped top pair, sending him home. The Aussie has been a force on the TLB standings with Sunday Million final tables, and nearly getting Australia into the World Cup of Poker (being played next month as part of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure).
In Andy-like fashion, he ran over the table with a variety of head-turning plays, and once the table came back to their senses, he was the one standing tall with the most chips. Here's how the final table started off with aforementioned Andy McLEOD with the final table chip lead:
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Seat 1: Andy McLEOD (13,573,358 in chips)
Seat 2: Hr_Herman (3,975,211 in chips)
Seat 3: zmeyer (4,242,287 in chips)
Seat 4: groengras (3,943,729 in chips)
Seat 5: Tehanu (7,989,306 in chips)
Seat 6: KKgeoroAA (2,646,560 in chips)
Seat 7: totaloser (10,787,241 in chips)
Seat 8: Iceman1278 (4,573,710 in chips)
Seat 9: 69CANA69 (6,628,598 in chips)
It took nearly 30 minutes for Andy to claim his first victim, but KKgeoroAA was short-stacked with blinds at 200,000/400,000 ante 40,000, and facing a 800,000 chip raise from Andy McLEOD while in the big blind. KKgeoroAA responded with a push for his remaining 1.2 million behind his big blind with Kh-Tc. A snap call by Andy McLEOD with Ah-Ks proved to be the right one as the aggressive player had the cards to back up the bet this time and the Jc-2d-6c-9d-8d changed nothing. 3.8 million chips to Andy, and KKgeoroAA was the first to fall in ninth place earning $8,170.40
This set off an explosion of action as on the very next hand Andy McLEOD raised from UTG+2 to 800,000 and groengras pushed for 6.8 million from the cut-off. Button and small blind folded but Iceman1278 made the call in the big blind with Ad-Ks for his remaining 4.4 million. Andy McLEOD folded and groengras' three-bet steal attempt was exposed as he turned over Qd-6s. Neither player hit the 5c-2s-5h-Th-9d board and the 11 million chip pot was shipped coolly to Iceman1278 while groengras was left with 1.9 million. Two hands later groengras tried shoving again but Andy McLEOD was waiting in the wings, dominating the Th-6c of groengras with As-Ts. Andy hit his ace on the board of Js-3h-Jh-Ah-3d sending the aggressive groengras to the rail with $14,006.40 for eighth place.
The very next hand, terminator Andy McLEOD again knocked out a rival as 69CANA69 open-shoved his remaining 2.8 million on the button and with 15 million in chips, Andy McLEOD gambled a bit and made the call with Kd-Jc. It proved to be the right thing as 69CANA69 turned over the dominated Kh-4h. Five cards later, Jd-3c-9s-7c-9d, and the 6.3 million chip pot increased his lead to 19.2 million, nearly double of Iceman1278 in second place with 10.7 million. A seventh-place finish for 69CAN69 earned him $22,176.80
Sixth place was decided in a huge 18.2 million chip pot with the blinds increasing to 250,000/500,000 ante 50,000, when a three-way, all-in preflop chip battle broke out.
Andy McLEOD: Js-Jh
totaloser: Ac-Qh
Tehanu: 6c-5c
Tehanu had 4.1 million and totaloser 6.7 million as Andy covered both as all three pushed all-in to see a flop of 7d-4c-Kc. Tehanu flopped the world with an open-ended straight and flush draws. The turn 2h gave the lead back to Andy McLEOD, but the cruel Qs on the river missed Tehanu's huge draw and beat Andy McLEOD for the main pot shipping 18.2 million chips totaloser's way and sending the unlucky Tehanu out in sixth place, earning $33,848.80
In fifth place, and for the first time, Andy McLEOD decided to let someone else do the deed as Hr_Herman started things off with a 1.5 million chip raise UTG and zmeyer to his immediate left three-bet his remaining six million chips. Lucky pocket sevens for Hr_Herman were good enough to make the call as the race was on against zmeyer's Kd-Qd. The jackpot flop of 3c-6h-7h hit Hr_Herman's set and left zmeyer drawing dead to a chop. The 5c provided some ooohs and ahhhs but the 8s handed $45,520.80 for fifth-place money to zmeyer.
He might lose sometimes but those sometimes are far less then the ones he wins. Andy McLEOD once again was in the eye of the storm as Iceman1278 tried to push his remaining 6.3 million chips into a 10.8 million chip pot and claim it with the board showing 5h-3c-7d. Andy sniffed out the Ad-8h bluff from Iceman1278 with ace high himself but with a better kicker as his Ah-Kd was in the lead. 2d and Td later and Andy McLEOD landed the 19 million chip pot into his lap and the Iceman1278 was a melted memory in fourth place with $57,192.80
Andy would lose many of those chips to Hr_Herman on a 30 million chip preflop all-in hand with Hr_Herman holding pocket kings (Kh-Kd) and Andy Jd-Td. The board was an enticing 7h-Th-6h-5h.... 3h. Andy McLEOD still held 11 million in chips while totaloser sat in second with 16.3 million.
Pre-flop play dominated the next 20 hands, then totaloser and Andy McLEOD got into a preflop all-in with Andy holding one million behind and the blinds moving up to 300,000/600,000 ante 60,000. Pocket sevens for totaloser and Ad-Th for Andy McLEOD, and the flop provided all the love Andy would need as the Td-4s-3s gave him the lead with top pair. 8d on the turn and an unnecessary Ac on the river for two pair sent totaloser home with an unloser-like $68,864.80 in third place.
"Chop?", asked Hr_Herman.
Andy politely declined and they played one of the quickest heads up matches seen in the Sunday Warm-up. With blinds still at 300,000/600,000 ante 60,000, and Hr_Herman holding a 35.8 million to 22.4 million chip lead, they played nine hands with the big hand coming on hand number six when Hr_Herman came in for a 1.8 million chip raise on the button and was called to see a flop of 3d-9c-Ac. The 2.4 million chip continuation bet was called by Andy McLEOD as was the 6.6 million turn bet when the 6h fell. After the 7d splashed the river, Hr_Herman splashed the pot with a push that would leave Andy with either the victory or 1.9 million in chips.
Andy got 1.9 million in chips as Hr_Herman turned over Ad-Ts for flopped top pair to overcome Andy's second pair with Jd-9s. One double up later, the two faced off for the final hand as Hr_Herman's Tc-4s overcame Andy McLEOD's Js-6h on the turn when the board played out 3h-6c-9d-Ts-Ks to become this week's Sunday Warm-up champion!
Both players scored six-figure paydays as Andy McLEOD received $101,546.40 as the runner-up and Hr_Herman got $147,067.20 for the win.
Every team needs a captain and why should Team PokerStars Pro be any different? The details are still under wraps about the PokerStars All-Star Weekend, a new online team competition debuting next year, but to settle the captain's job, Team PokerStars Pro decided to do it as only poker players know how--they played for it. All 29 members of the team were on hand Sunday afternoon to go for the title, with the added bonus of a $30,000 prize pool that would be divvied up among the top three finishers' favorite charities. This being a true pro's match, the 8-game format was used, the rotation encompassing 2-7 triple draw, limit hold'em, Omaha hi/lo, razz, stud, stud hi/lo, no-limit hold'em and pot-limit Omaha.
The first hour saw five players exit including Greg Raymer, Tom McEvoy, Andre Akkari, Humberto Brenes and EPT creator John Duthie, who confessed to drinking "a bit too much mulled wine" as he railed the action. The table talk between the pros was lighthearted and often hilarious throughout the tournament, notably when Isabelle Mercier and Bill Chen attempted to recruit Victor Ramdin to the practice of Bikram yoga.
"What is bikram is that all u can eat buffet?" quipped Ramdin.
The field shrunk to 14 after the second hour and only thirty minutes later we arrived at our six-handed final table after Daniel Negreanu eliminated Alex Kravchenko in 7th place on a pot-limit Omaha hand. Here's how the chip counts looked as the final table got under way:
Seat 1: ChadBrownPRO (6,820 in chips)
Seat 2: RaiNKhAN (4,092 in chips)
Seat 3: Bill Chen (2,984 in chips)
Seat 4: Money800 (17,739 in chips)
Seat 5: VictorRamdin (19,500 in chips)
Seat 6: KidPoker (6,865 in chips)
Bill Chen was eliminated from the tournament on the first hand of final table play. In a hand of 2-7 triple draw vs. Chad Brown, Chen bricked on the third draw, ending up with A-8-7-5-2 against Brown's 8-7-6-3-2 to send him to the rail in 6th place. Next to fall was Brown himself, also on a triple draw hand. Brown was all in before the third draw against Victor Ramdin, who stood pat while Brown drew one. Ramdin's 7-6-5-4-2 crushed Brown's 9-8-7-4-2 and he was out in 5th place.
Triple draw would also spell the end of Hevad "Rain" Khan, who got in all in on the second draw against Victor Ramdin. Once again, Ramdin made a monster 7-6 low, besting Khan's T-9 and the "Bulldozer" drove off in 4th place. With Khan's elimination, Moneymaker, Ramdin and Negreanu were all in the money, guaranteed a payday for their charities.
Continuing on his rampage, Victor Ramdin also took out 3rd-place finisher Chris Moneymaker. Playing limit hold'em, Moneymaker called Ramdin's button raise from the big blind and they saw a flop of Kc-8s-5s. Both players checked to the turn, which fell the 6h. Moneymaker led out, Ramdin raised, Moneymaker moved in the last of his chips and Ramdin called, turning up As-Ks for top pair top kicker to Moneymaker's Kh-7d. The river was the 5h, not the four, seven or nine Moneymaker was hoping for and Ramdin took down the pot as Moneymaker hit the rail. The 2003 WSOP Champion's efforts today earned $5,000 for the charity of his choice.
Moneymaker's elimination left Victor Ramdin and Daniel Negreanu to duke it out to see who would become team captain. Here's what their chip counts looked like as they began heads-up play:
Seat 5: VictorRamdin (32,972 in chips)
Seat 6: KidPoker (25,028 in chips)
Negreanu put Ramdin on the ropes early, whittling his stack all the way down to 2,772 in chips at one point before Ramdin stormed back, winning or splitting 11 out of the next 12 pots and evening back out their chip counts. Their final hand came in stud hi, where Ramdin started off with buried eights and improved to queens up by the river after a raising war with Negreanu. Though Negreanu had made a pair of sevens on fifth street with running flush and straight possibilities as well, he couldn't improve and Ramdin's two pair held up to win him the Team PokerStars Pro Championship and $15,000 to his charity. For his stellar play, Negreanu earned $10,000 for his charity.
Congratulations to a very worthy champion and Team PokerStars Pro's new team captain, Victor Ramdin! And don't forget -- later this week, you will be able to watch the whole match on replay with all the players' hole cards exposed...stay tuned.
What better way to end a successful year (or slide back into the black) with a nice four to five-figure score from a freeroll? PokerStars rewards its players in many ways, but for the serious SnG players the biggest perk is a free entry into the Battle of the Planets race each month. Even if you were not one of the lucky nine to make it to the final table today, there are weekly prizes to be won regardless of the size of your bankroll. From the $1-$2.99 buy-in Mercury division to the high-rolling $300+ buy-in Jupiter division, size doesn't matter for the below final nine as they played for bulk of the $50,000 month-end triple shootout freeroll.
klop0007 went out for a six-course meal as he was the first to nail down his seat at a final table (and waited nearly 45 minutes to play) awarding $12,500 to the winner. solody, a former 2006 WCOOP final tablist in Razz got to play Hold'Em with hopes of adding on to the $22,827.20 he won two years ago. doucheburger returned to the final table as he trapped potlogic with pocket aces versus pocket queens. He managed a 6th place finish back in September (link here), and one month later nearly took down the $1 million Turbo Takedown (link here) with a runner-up finish for $52,000.
The last final table seat was decided between Vegas_Matt78 and levaitom, sadly 10th place pays the same as 81st in the triple shootout and it was after a well spirited heads-up match that levaitom fell for the $195 consolation prize in 10th place to set our final table.
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Despite two victories to get here, all players started off with the same $1,500 chip stacks and the blinds at an easy going 10/20. Any chance at an early deal was taken off the board by doucheburger:
AdamDay342: do they do table deals at this table?
doucheburger: they do
doucheburger: but i don't
He may not do deals, but PokerStars does, by now if you have been playing this weekend there are several World Record Week promotions going on. Check out the promo page (link here) for reload bonuses, 10,000 player SnGs, and Milestone hands which can make you a winner just for sitting down and playing cash games!
No blood was drawn early, as AdamDay342 was the first to reach 2,000 chips followed closely by eL cuCut whose connection problems got the table grumbling, but none of the players felt the hurt from the blinds escalating from 10/20 to 15/30. Patient play shown by all the players as 3x big blind preflop raises took the blinds as very little post flop play was seen.
The first push came after a 3X big blind raise from the shortstacked klop0007 from Sleven11 with the blinds at 25/50. But, klop0007 decided to fight another day with his $775 in chips and folded. doucheburger jumped on a raise from Deurdy on his immediate right with a push but much like the prior hand, Deurdy took his $1,600 in chips and passed $150 of them quietly to doucheburger while mucking.
Steal attempt gone wrong, but chips shipped regardless. As the blinds moved up to 50/100, it folded around to doucheburger on the button who pushed with $1,310 chips remaining hoping to snag the $150 in the middle. But, AdamDay342 woke up with pocket nines in the big blind as doucheburger had to show the Qd7d busted steal attempt. The flop Kd-Jh-Ah provided some love for doucheburger for straight outs, the turn 6d added on the flush outs which hit on the cruel 9d river. Despite hitting his set, AdamDay342 fell to doucheburger's flush and had to settle for $775 in ninth place.
The blinds at 50/100 now represented some problems for the shorter stacks as Vegas_Matt78 and klop0007 managed to double up off doucheburger and eL cuCut respectively to go from short stack to average stack.
At the break here's how the stacks looked as the players came back to 75/150 blinds:
Seat 1: Sleven11 (1,180 in chips)
Seat 2: eL cuCut (2,465 in chips)
Seat 3: Fosca1 (2,170 in chips)
Seat 4: Vegas_Matt78 (1,580 in chips)
Seat 5: solody (1,300 in chips)
Seat 6: Deurdy (1,600 in chips)
Seat 7: doucheburger (1,655 in chips)
Seat 8: klop0007 (1,550 in chips)
Many all-ins but no one all out as the 75/150 blind level went thru without incident. But, as soon as the blinds bumped up to 100/200, solody and Sleven11 started the rain on all-ins and a call. Leaving $445 in chips behind, solody called the all-in push of Sleven11 from middle position with pocket jacks. Sleven11 was short on chips and short on luck as his Tc-9c never had a chance on the 5d-2d-Qc-Ah-8s board. solody collected the $2,410 chip pot and Sleven11 collected $1,200 in eighth place.
Two hands later, with only $605 left, Vegas_Matt78 open-pushed two off the button and Deurdy followed in suit on the button with a push of his own while holding $1,225 in chips. No "Deurdy" river needed in this race of Deurdy's Ac-Qc versus Vegas_Matt78's pocket deuces. The flop hit Deurdy's ace showing 9d-4d-As and held up through the Td turn and 9c river. Vegas_Matt78 was chatting about $1 SnG and will now be able to play a little higher thanks to the $1,700 he won in seventh place.
Another two hands later, another all-in and a call preflop. This time klop0007's button push with Ac-7d found himself well behind the big blind Fosca1's Ad-Ks. No suspense in the outcome as the flop showed Kc-7h-Kh giving Fosca1 flopped trips and leaving klop0007 searching for the remaining sevens in the deck. Td and Qh on the turn and river sent the double agent home for the holidays with an extra $2,200 in his PokerStars account in sixth place.
Most hands this late in the tournament with the blinds at 125/250 ante 25 begin with a push and end with either a fold or call preflop. eL cuCut raised from the button with Ah-Qd to $600 and was facing a push from solody in the big blind for most of his chips saving $1,010 behind. He made the correct call and found himself racing with the pocket deuces on solody. The 3c-Jd-Ks flop added four more outs to the race for eL cuCut, the 8d on the turn did nothing, but the Ts on the river danced eL cuCut to his winning broadway straight and sent solody home with $2,735 in fifth place.
The very next hand produced a very "Deurdy" river. Again it was eL cuCut mixing it up leaving $1,560 in chips behind this time as he called the three-bet push of Deurdy with a suited big slick (Ac-Kc) and Deurdy found himself well behind with Ad-Td. The flop 3h-Tc-3c hit Deurdy hard he now he was dodging clubs and three kings to take the $7,620 chip pot. Js on the turn opened up three more queens for outs, and the "Deurdy" river 6c flushed Deurdy out of the last 2008 Battle of the Planets final table in fourth place earning $3,350.
doucheburger decided to go on the offensive pushing the next three out of four hands but losing most of his chips to Fosca1 when his Ac-3s missed the board, and Fosca1's Jc-7s connected for a winning pair of sevens. Down but not out, doucheburger with only $730 left won the blinds the next hand but lost the following hand when his 6d-2d could not make up for lost ground against Fosca1's Ad-2h on the 9c-3c-9h-8h-Ks board. doucheburger did add another impressive finish to his mantle with a third-place finish worth $4,500.
Even with doucheburger out, talks of chopping up the final two places only materialized after the following hands: eL cuCut's 8,430 to Fosca1's $5,070 heads up lead would evaporate after 18 hands when Fosca1's pocket eights overcame the overcard and flush draw of eL cuCut's Kd-5d on the 2d-4h-Qd-4c-7c board leaving eL cuCut with just $1,460 in chips. But, eL cuCut would battle back to even thanks to a few steals and pocket aces versus Fosca1's pocket nines brought to gap into deal making range.
After a short wait for the trusty PokerStars Host, our remaining contestants divvied up the $19,500 left in the prize pool. Chip-chop it up!
Fosca1: $10,273.52
eL cuCut: $9,226.48
The players pushed the next two hands and with pocket Tens, eL cuCut held off the Qs-8c of Fosca1 to become the December Battle of the Planets champion!
Here's how the final table's share of the prize pool was given out:
December Battle of the Planets (Based on two-way deal)
PokerStars bloggers Change100 and Johnny Kampis will be live blogging the whole of the Team PokerStars Pro Championship Match. Click refresh to see the latest updates. This match will be an 8-game mixed contest with 29 players. The top three finishers will be awarded money for charity. The winner will be declared Team PokerStars Pro captain.
5:00pm -- That's a wrap!
Congratulations again to Victor Ramdin, who proved himself to be the pro of pros today as he defeated a 29-strong field, comprised entirely of his fellow members of Team PokerStars Pro. Many of the Team Pros have now headed over to play the Sunday Million, which, in honor of World Record Week, boasts a 16,260 player field and a monster prize pool of $3,252,000!
Stay tuned for continuing coverage as World Record Week makes history.
4:58pm -- Victor Ramdin wins Team PokerStars Pro Championship! Daniel Negreanu eliminated in 2nd place
After a protracted battle in which he got down nearly to the felt, Victor Ramdin has defeated Daniel Negreanu heads-up to win the tournament.
On the final hand of stud, Ramdin started with two eights in the hole, and improved to queens up by seventh after a raising war with Negreanu. Though KidPoker caught a pair of sevens on fifth with running flush and straight possibilities, Negreanu could not improve and two pair ruled the day and won the event.
Congratulations to Victor Ramdin, Team PokerStars Pro's newly anointed team captain! He also earns $15,000 for the charity of his choice. Negreanu's charity will also receive $10,000 for his efforts.
4:47pm -- Negreanu puts Ramdin on the ropes, Ramdin resurges
Daniel Negreanu had Victor Ramdin whittled all the way down to 2,772 chips to his 55,228 but Ramdin has staged an amazing comeback, winning or splitting 11 out of the 12 pots that followed. Ramdin is now back up to 24,712 while Negreanu sits with 33,288.
4:38pm -- Heads-up play commences
Here's how the chip counts look as heads-up play gets underway between Victor Ramdin and Daniel "KidPoker" Negreanu:
Victor Ramdin: 32,972
Daniel Negreanu: 25,028
4:37pm - Chris Moneymaker eliminated in 3rd place
Victor Ramdin raised to 2,000 from the button playing limit hold'em. Moneymaker called from the big blind after Negreanu folded his small blind. Both players checked the Kc-8s-5s flop. Moneymaker led out for 2,000 after the 6d hit the turn and Ramdin raised to 4,000. Moneymaker put in his last 496 and revealed Kh-7d. Ramdin held As-Ks for top pair top kicker and the nut flush draw. The river was the 5h and Moneymaker finished in third, leaving Ramdin to duke it out with Daniel Negreanu for the title. Not all is lost, though. The charity of Moneymaker's choice will receive $5,000 for his play today.
4:34pm -- Hevad "Rain" Khan eliminated in 4th place
Hevad Khan played his last hand on the 2-7 triple draw round, getting the remainder of his chips in after the second draw. Khan made a T-9 low but it was crushed by Victor Ramdin's 7-6 low, eliminating the "bulldozer" from the tournament.
4:33pm -- Chad Brown goes down in 5th
Playing 2-7 triple draw with 1,000/2,000 stakes, Chad Brown got all in against Victor Ramdin after the third draw. Before the third draw Ramdin stood pat and Brown drew one. He called for his last 944 and showed 9-8-7-4-2, but could not beat the monster hand of 7-6-5-4-2 held by Ramdin, who is now up to 21,268.
John Duthie, watching from the rail while apparently enjoying some mulled wine, couldn't resist a quip about Brown's bulging biceps.
John Duthie said, "well played Chad. Back to the bench presses."
ChadBrownPRO said, "lol. that was the problem."
4:28pm -- The Chris Moneymaker comeback
The game was PLO and Daniel Negreanu started off the action with a min-raise to 800 from the button. Chris Moneymaker reraised to 1,800 and Negreanu called the 1,000 balance. The flop was Qh-3h-3c. Moneymaker bet 1,600, about half of his remaining stack. Negreanu moved him all in and Moneymaker called, turning over Qs-8s-5d-3d for a flopped boat to Negreanu's As-Jd-Td-3s for trips. The turn was the Jc, also giving Negreanu a boat, but it couldn't sink Moneymaker's queens full. The river was the 5c and the 2003 WSOP champion dragged the pot, doubling his stack to 12,196 as Greg Raymer cheered on his comeback from the rail.
4:20pm -- Hevad Khan doubles through Victor Ramdin
We promised you action with this NLHE round and our Team Pros delivered. After Victor Ramdin opened for 1,200 from the cutoff, Hevad Khan moved all in for 3,404 from the big blind and Ramdin made the call, turning up As-7c to Khan's Kc-Qc. A queen hit the flop, however, and though Ramdin turned a pair when a 7 came off, he couldn't hit an ace on the river and Khan got a much-needed double up to 7,258.
4:19pm -- Moneymaker survives
Chris Moneymaker shoved all-in for 2,124 with Ad-5c and ran into the Ac-Kh of Daniel Negreanu in the small blind, but Moneymaker flopped a five to win the hand and move up to 4,795.
4:13pm -- Break it down!
Here are the chip counts for our five remaining players at the third break. Victor Ramdin continues to maintain a commanding lead.
1. Victor Ramdin 27,578
2. Daniel Negreanu 15,000
3. Chad Brown 9,544
4. Hevad Khan 3,004
5. Chris Moneymaker 2,874
When they return from break, the game will be no-limit hold'em with 200/400 blinds and a 50 ante, which should inject some serious action into the proceedings.
4:10pm - Cream rises
John Duthie is observing the final table and recently typed into the chat box: "I see that the cream has risen to the top."
Responded KidPoker: and the riff raff ended on the bottom? [; )]
3:59pm -- Ramdin owns final table so far
Victor Ramdin has managed to build his stack up to 24,400 while his opponents all hold between 7,000 and 10,000 chips.
3:39pm - Bill Chen first out at final table
Bill Chen led out betting most of the way on his final hand of 2-7 triple draw, but Chad Brown outdrew him in a heads-up pot. Chen ended up with A-8-7-5-2 against the 8-7-6-3-2 of Brown. Chen left the tournament in 6th place while Brown moved up to 9,604.
3:35pm -- We have a final table!
Victor Ramdin, Chris Moneymaker, Daniel Negreanu, Chad Brown, Hevad Khan and Bill Chen are your final six! Here's how they stack up as the final table gets underway:
3:34pm -- Kravchenko KOed in 7th place
The majority of Alex Kravchenko's remaining chips went in the middle before the flop after Daniel Negreanu opened a PLO hand with a raise to 300. Kravchenko re-potted to 1,050 and Negreanu called. The flop came down Kh-3s-Kd and Kravchenko's last 561 sailed into the middle. Negreanu made the call. The turn was the 4h, the river was the Ad and Negreanu's Ah-7h-5d-4d made two pair, aces and kings to beat out Kravchenko's Qh-Qc-9d-7s to win the pot and eliminate the Russian sensation.
With Kravchenko's elimination, we've reached our final table of six.
3:34pm - Goral leaves in eighth
Marcin "Goral" Horecki got the rest of his 1,600 chips into the pot pre-flop in good shape against Victor Ramdin on a PLO hand, but it was not to be. The Ah-Kh-Js-Jd of Horecki was bested by the Ks-Ts-6s-7c after the board came 9d-Qc-8c-4s-5d. Ramdin is steamrolling the competition with a stack of 19,650.
3:30 pm - Dario Minieri eliminated in 9th place
Dario Minieri made his last stand, moving all in pre-flop with As-7c in a no-limit hold'em pot and found his hand dominated by Victor Ramdin's Ad-8c. No help for the young Italian on the Qd-9h-6c-4s-9d board and Ramdin added even more to his growing stack, which now sits at the 18,445 mark, good for the chip lead.
3:29pm - Gomes goes home in 10th
Playing no-limit hold'em, Alexandre "Allingomes" Gomes shoved his 1,800 stack all-in from the small blind and Chad Brown called from the big blind. Brown was a 2-to-1 favorite with Qh-Kc versus 8h-7s and the board ran out Qs-2h-6c-6h-9c to give him a 8,265 stack and send Gomes to the rail.
3:26pm - NoMercy for 11th place Isabelle
There was no luck for Isabelle Mercier when she got it all in pre-flop in NLHE with pocket kings against the A-K of Victor Ramdin and the flop came A-6-9. She could not catch the case king and Ramdin was up to a commanding 17,351 after the hand.
3:18pm -- Exclusive exits in 12th
More stud carnage--after being crippled by Chris Moneymaker's straight two hands earlier, Noah "Exclusive" Boeken was eliminated when he got it all in with Q-J-8 versus the J-4-2 of Moneymaker. The 2003 world champion managed to catch two deuces and a four to make a full house and was up to 10,500 after the hand, challenging Victor Ramdin for the chip lead.
3:14 pm -- Lee Nelson eliminated in 13th place
Lee Nelson's last hand in the tournament would also be a stud hand. Though he started with two jacks in the hole, Alexandre Gomes caught up to him by the river making a queen-high flush to send the Kiwi to the rail.
With 12 players remaining, we're now down to two tables.
3:12pm -- Seven-card stud spells the end for Steve Paul-Ambrose
Locking horns with Bill Chen in a stud hi pot, Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose bet the last of his chips on sixth street and earned a call from Chen. Paul-Ambrose couldn't manage more than a pair of eights by the river and Chen took down the pot with aces up, sending the 2006 PCA champion home in 14th place.
3:10pm -- Chip counts at second break
More than half the field is gone now after two hours and we are about to play 250/500 Stud with a 50 ante. Here are how things stack up:
1. Victor Ramdin 12,394
2. Chad Brown 7,976
3. Noah Boeken 5,672
4. Bill Chen 4,834
5. Chris Moneymaker 4,687
6. Daniel Negreanu 3,964
7. Isabelle Mercier 3,767
8. Alexandre Gomes 3,560
9. Alex Kravchenko 2,388
10. Dario Minieri 2,142
11. Martin Horecki 2,110
12. Lee Nelson 1,800
13. Steve Paul-Ambrose 1,552
14. Hevad Khan 1,154
3:06pm -- Negreanu giving razz lessons
After watching his tablemate Dario Minieir put in a third street reraise with a 9 showing in razz, Daniel Negreanu offered his fellow Team Pro a bit of a lowball lesson.
KidPoker said, "wjy re-raise with a 9 my friend?"
Dariominieri said, "cuz u had any 2 and i had 2 very low cards+ is it wrong"
KidPoker said, "if the 9 is in the hole its fine but not if its showing"
Dariominieri said, "mmm ok"
Dariominieri said, "thx a lot"
KidPoker said, "you cstch one bad card on 4 or 5 and you're dead
William said, "just wait for 2-7 dario"
William said, ":p"
2:59pm -- Two pair no good for Katja Thater; out in 15th
Now playing Omaha hi/lo with 100/200 stakes, Katja Thater raised it to 400 from the button and Alexandre "Allingomes" Gomes called from the big blind. After a flop of Qh-4s-6h, he checked and she bet 200. He raised and she called. He led out for 400 after the As hit the turn and Thater moved all-in for 729. The hands were Ad-4d-6s-8c for her and 2s-5d-7s-3c, giving Thater two pair, but providing Gomes with the nut low and wraparound straight draw. The straight got there when the 2h hit the river and Gomes was up to 6,855 in chips.
2:56pm - William Thorson out in 16th
Playing limit hold'em, William Thorson got his 642 stack into the pot pre-flop from the cutoff with Qs-3s against the Ah-Td of Alex Kravchenko. The board ran out 3h-8d-7d-6h-9c to give the Russian pro the straight and move him up to 4,648 in chips.
2:54 pm -- Pagano doubles through Gomes, then eliminated by Nelson in 17th place
EPT player of the year Luca Pagano has had a bit of a rough go of it this afternoon, but was just able to double through Alexandre Gomes to survive for a few more hands. Playing limit hold'em, Pagano jammed the pot pre-flop with J-J and Gomes called him with A-9. The fish hooks held up and Pagano doubled up to nearly 1,000.
Only two hands later he got it all in again, his Ad-Ks dominating Lee Nelson's As-7c. Unfortunately for Pagano, the board ran out Ts-6s-5s-2s-7d, and Nelson made an ace-high flush on the turn, besting Pagano's king-high flush and eliminating the Italian in 17th place.
2:53pm - LadyMaverick exits in 18th
Playing limit hold'em, Victor Ramdin raised Vanessa Rousso's big blind to 320. She called and check-raised Ramdin on a flop of Ts-Kc-3s. Ramdin called and then the two got into a raising war after the 2h hit the turn, putting Rousso all-in. The hands were Ks-7s for Rousso for a pair of kings and flush draw, while Ramdin was ahead with pocket aces. The river bricked off with the 5d and Rousso was out. Ramdin was up to 6,454 following this hand.
2:44 pm -- Love is in the air
With Barry Greenstein's elimination in 19th place, another table was broken and Dario Minieri was shuffled over to Table 5, where his girlfriend and fellow Team Pro Isabelle Mercier is playing. Mercier just nearly doubled her stack, taking down a 2,100 chip pot in 2-7 triple draw and now leads her man in the chip count with 4,100 to his 2,800.
One other Team PokerStars Pro couple remains in the hunt for the title, though they haven't had to square off on the same table yet-- Chad Brown and his fiance Vanessa Rousso.
2:42pm - Barry Greenstein wakes up in time to finish in 19th
Barry "barryg1" Greenstein finally made an entrance and found himself with 85 chips.
Said Greenstein: just woke up
Replied KidPoker: you don't seriously think you can spot the field this much
Greenstein was eliminated two hands after appearing when he got it all-in on a PLO hand with Ah-9d-6s-4s against the As-Kc-Qc-Jh of Lee Nelson. The board came 7d-5s-Tc-2s-Qh to knock Greenstein out. Nelson had 2,588 after the hand and we are down to three tables.
2:34 pm -- No sugar for 20th place Hachem
Joe Hachem limped into a NLHE pot pre-flop and was joined by potential Bikram yoga recruit Victor Ramdin, who completed the small blind. William Thorson checked his option in the big blind. The flop came down Ks-Jc-8s. Ramdin and Thorson checked it over to Hachem, who bet 120. Ramdin called and Thorson got out of the way. When the Qh fell on the turn, Ramdin checked it again, Hachem bet 360, and Ramdin shoved all in for his remaining 1,123. Hachem called all in, Ramdin having him slightly covered. The 2d on the river changed nothing, and Hachem turned over a set of kings, only to see the bad news when Ramdin shows 9c-Th for the straight. No sugar for everyone's favorite Aussie as he exited in 20th place.
2:33pm -- Vicky Coren finishes in 21st place
Playing no-limit hold'em, Vicky Coren shoved the rest of her 443 stack in from the button with Tc-Jc and Lee Nelson called from the big blind with Kh-5h. The board was a tease for Coren as it ran out 9h-Ts-6c-4h-Qh, giving her flopped top pair but providing a running flush for Nelson. After the hand, he was up to 2,773.
2:26 pm - Raymond Rahme eliminated in 22nd place
Playing seven-card stud hi/lo, Raymond Rahme got the rest of his chips in on third street showing the 6h vs. Joe Hachem, who had the Qd up. Rahme's starting hand of 6d-9c-6h was behind Hachen's Qd-9d-9s and he'd need some serious help to improve. Rahme only caught blanks, though, while Hachem made aces and nines by the river. With neither player making a low, Hachem scooped the lot and sent Rahme to the virtual rail.
2:21pm -- Gavin Griffin gone in 23rd place
Playing seven-card stud, Gavin Griffin raised on third with the As showing and only Noah "Exclusive" Boeken called, showing the 5c. Griffin led out on fourth after catching the 5h and Boeken called with the 3s. Boeken checked his option after pairing the 3 on fifth and Griffin bet. Boeken then check-raised and Griffin called.
Boeken bet out on the last two streets and Griffin called all-in. Boeken showed trip threes while Griffin could only manage two pair -- fives and fours. Griffin was eliminated in 23rd place and Boeken was up to 5,719.
2:20 pm -- Team YogaStars?
Bill Chen just popped into the chat box on Table 5, where Isabelle Mercier and Victor Ramdin are seated. The two are avid practicioners of a particularly torturous brand of yoga called Bikram, which is done in a room heated to a toasty 105 degrees. Mercier got Chen hooked on the practice over the WSOP and they just may have a new recruit in Ramdin. Check out their chat, and Victor-- get ready to sweat!
Bill Chen said, "hey guys, isa"
NoMercy said, "whats up bikram yoga partner?"
NoMercy said, ":)"
VictorRamdin said, "can i join the bikram party"
NoMercy said, "FOR SURE"
NoMercy said, "cant wait"
VictorRamdin said, "what is bikram is that all u can eat buffet"
VictorRamdin said, "lolol"
NoMercy said, "you gonna love it"
NoMercy said, "Bill and I were going to win the wsop main event thanks to bikram"
2:10 pm -- ElkY out in 24th
Chris Moneymaker raised to 160 from the cutoff in Omaha hi/lo and Bertrand "ElkY" Gospellier put in his last 176 from the button. Noah "Exclusive" Boeken also called from the small blind and the three players saw a flop of 4s-Ts-7d.
Boeken check-raised Moneymaker's bet after the flop and also after the 8h hit the turn. After the 8c fell on the river, Boeken bet out and Moneymaker raised. Boeken called and showed 5h-6h-Jd-7c for a straight and Moneymaker held As-Ac-Kc-2h for aces up and nut low.
ElkY mucked, while Boeken and Moneymaker were up to 3,199 and 3,539 after the hand respectively.
2:02pm -- Chip leaders at the break
We are an hour in and about to play Omaha hi/lo with 80/160 stakes after the break. Of the 24 players remaining here are the top 10:
1. Daniel "KidPoker" Negreanu 4,651
2. Alexandre "Allingomes" Gomes 4,016
3. Alex Kravchenko 3,504
4. Chris "Money800" Moneymaker 3,431
5. Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose 3,415
6. Noah "Exclusive" Boeken 3,171
7. Bill Chen 3,148
8. Dario Minieri 3,046
9. Hevad "RaiNKhAN" Khan 2,980
10. William Thorson 2,890
1:54pm -- FossilMan out in 25th
Greg "FossilMan" Raymer was eliminated in 25th place when his 9-8-7-6-2 low in triple draw couldn't best the 8-5-4-3-2 of Daniel "KidPoker" Negreanu. Negreanu was up to 4,800 after the hand.
1:52 pm -- Tom McEvoy eliminated in 26th place
The first level of pot-limit Omaha was unkind to 1983 WSOP Main Event champion McEvoy, as his stack was decimated on a three-way hand where his top two pair fell to Chad Brown's Broadway straight. Left with only about 300 in chips, he got it all in a few hands later in 2-7 triple draw, but ran into Marcin "Goral" Horecki's wheel to hit the rail in 26th place.
1:51 pm - Andre Akkari eliminated in 27th place
Down to only 375 in chips, Andre Akkari called William Thorson's opening raise in a 2-7 triple draw hand and each player took one card. Thorson check-called Akkari's bet and drew one card on the second draw while Akkari rapped pat. Thorson check-called another bet and drew one card again on the final draw. Thorson checked, Akkari bet his last 15 chips and Thorson called. Thorson's T-5-4-3-2 bested Akkari's T-8-7-6-4 and the Brazilian became the second Team PokerStars Pro eliminated from this event.
After the hand, Thorson was up to 3,940.
1:49 pm -- Humberto Brenes eliminated in 28th place
Chris Moneymaker raised it to 90 preflop playing PLO and Brenes made it 285 from the big blind. Moneymaker called and the two saw a flop of 9c-3c-6c.
Brenes led out for 585 and Moneymaker put him all-in for 352 more. The hands were Ah-Ac-Qh-9s for Brenes and As-th-8s-7s for Moneymaker, giving him a 16-out straight draw. The 5c on the turn gave Moneymaker the hand and a 3,079 chip count as the Costa Rican "chark" headed to the rail.
1:47pm -- John Duthie eliminated in 29th place
John Duthie became short-stacked early on and made his last stand on a pot-limit Omaha hand vs. Lee Nelson and Vanessa Rousso. Duthie made it 105 to go pre-flop, Nelson called from the button and Rousso called from the big blind. Rousso checked the Tc-3d-2d flop, Duthie moved all in for his last 298, Nelson called and Rousso folded.
Duthie turned up Kh-Qc-Js-Th for top pair to Nelson's Qd-Jd-9s-5s for the flush draw. The 7d on the turn filled Nelson's flush and the meaningless 2c hit the river, giving Nelson the hand and eliminating the EPT creator in 29th place.
1:44pm -- Paging Barry Greenstein
Three of the four players initially sitting out at Table 2 are now in the game -- Greg Raymer, Ray Rahme and Joe Hachem -- but there is still no sighting of barryg1.
1:30pm -- First half hour chip update
After the first 30 minutes of play, Daniel Negreanu is the chipleader with 4,000 while John Duthie is currently last with 900.
KidPoker has certainly been helped by his table draw that includes the four players who were initially sitting out (Raymer has finally arrived).
Bil Chen popped over to observe long enough to type: ok, I see why you are r00ling daniel
Chris "Money800" Moneymaker just got heavily involved in a hand against Noah "Exclusive" Boeken before realizing he wasn't playing what he thought he was playing.
Money800: shoot this is razz
Moneymaker showed down two pair and Boeken took the pot with 8-5-4-2-A to move up to 2,702.
1:17pm -- Ace-deuce comes through for Chen
Noah "Exclusive" Boeken, Gavin Griffin and Bill Chen saw a flop of 2c-Jh-2d for four bets in Omaha Hi-Lo. The action slowed down at this point with Griffin calling Chen down after a turn and river of 8c-7c.
Chen showed As-2s-3d-7d for a full house and nut low to scoop the 855 pot. He is now at 2,050 chips
1:09pm -- The sitting out table
Daniel "KidPoker" Negreanu and Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose are having a field day at Table 2. That's because Ray Rahme, Joe Hachem, Greg "FossilMan" Raymer and Barry "barryg1" Greenstein are all sitting out.
Quipped Ambrose, "easy game."
1:05pm -- ElkY holding up the show
Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier is acting slowly at his table, which prompted this exchange:
Exclusive: elky stop playin 20 screens
GavinGriffin: he's playing starcraft too
ElkY: im in exuma island [:(]
ElkY: not very good connection here
1:08 p.m.-- What's at stake
Today's Team PokerStars Pro championship match will not only determine who will captain the team (which will play a significant role in a future promotion) but will divide up the $30,000 prize pool among the winners' favorite charities. $15,000 will be donated on behalf of the champion, $10,000 for the second-place finisher and $5,000 for third.
1:00p.m. -- Off and running
Our 29 Team PokerStars Pros are settling in to play in today's eight-game Pro Championship Match. The games will be played in this order: Limit Triple Draw 2-7, Limit Hold'em, Limit Omaha Hi-Lo, Limit Razz, Limit Stud, Limit Stud Hi-Lo, No Limit Hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha. We may not see any eliminations until we get to the seventh level. At that point all bets are off.
Cards are in the air... or rather, on the screen!
12:54pm--Team PokerStars Pro Championship Match set to begin
Join us here for live coverage of the Team PokerStars Pro Championship Match at 1pm ET.
After facing an eighth place elimination in last year's edition of the World Cup of Poker, Team Mexico is back for a repeat appearance in the live finals and looking to proudly represent Latin America. An eclectic foursome with diverse backgrounds has qualified to play under the Mexican flag. One is a future industrial engineer. Another sells helicopters. One is an avid chess player and another is a radio announcer. Their road to the finals went through Argentina and Peru, Chile and Colombia, Costa Rica and Guatemala, Uruguay and Venezuela before Mexico edged out Brazil to stamp their ticket to the Bahamas. 2008 has been an explosive year for poker south of the border; meet the four players who will be carrying the torch for Latin America on the island of Atlantis.
Jose Francisco Muñoz Osuna , aka "Pythomunoz" qualified to become a member of his nation's World Cup team by attaining Mexico's second-highest Tournament Leaderboard score. The 21-year old native of Mazatlan, Sinaloa still lives with his parents and is studying to become an industrial engineer. Three years ago, Pythomunoz was playing freerolls. Now he is a Supernova VIP, via a high volume of NLHE play in cash games, SNGs, and multi-table tournaments. Though he's clearly a poker success story, Pythomunoz still views poker as a hobby.
A victory in the World Cup would be far more than just a payday for Pythomunoz. "More than the money, winning the cup would be the biggest pot I have collected, I mean, it would be the reward of (dedicating) many hours and effort to the game, and also I would be so happy if I can prove that Mexico has world class poker players" he said.
Joining Pythomunoz is Team Mexico's second TLB qualifier, David "dhubermex" Huber. Originally from Texas, Huber balances dual careers as an online poker pro and a part-time radio announcer in his adopted hometown of Mexico City. Married with twin sons, Huber built his bankroll by playing a heavy volume of mid to high buy in NLHE turbo SNGs, regularly playing 16 tables at a time. He slowed his SNG pace a bit over the last year, however and began to expand his repertoire to include multi-table tournaments.
Jorge "Kingeorge63" Lozano (at right) qualified to represent Mexico the old-fashioned way--by grinding it out in freerolls through multiple qualifying stages. Married with one son, Lozano works as a salesman and is a huge fan of soccer and car racing. He started playing online poker about three years ago after dabbling in home games decades before, but it is another game Lozano credits when it comes to the development of his poker skills--chess, which he has played since age 7.
Antoine "AntoineMex" Barriere had to wade through a 1,200 player starting field in the Mexico National freeroll to earn his seat on the World Cup team. Now living in Mexico City where he works in international sales for Eurocopter, Barriere is a French national who has lived all over the globe, from Madrid, to Norway, to Missoula, Montana. Barriere first played poker about two years ago at a family Christmas gathering. At the time, he was still living in Paris, and he soon began venturing out to the local cardrooms to develop his skills. Now that his career has taken him to Mexico, he primarily plays on PokerStars, but enjoys the occasional trip to Las Vegas to play live tournaments and a little $1-2 no-limit.
Barriere is looking forward to his time in the Bahamas, not only to rub elbows with some of his favorite pros like Humberto Brenes and Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, but to enjoy the spectacular surroundings.
"I am also very excited of the possible opportunity to swim with dolphins. And also snorkeling!" he said.
The current temperature in Halifax, Nova Scotia is somewhere around 14 degrees Fahrenheit. It is snowing, and chunks of ice drift through the ocean waters that surround the small province off Canada's eastern coast. In only a few weeks time, four lucky Nova Scotians will leave this frozen winter landscape for a sun-drenched Bahamian beach, where their poker skills will be put to the test on a global stage at the World Cup of Poker final.
Team Nova Scotia, though, didn't exactly have easy sailing as they competed against their fellow Canadians en route to the finals. A slew of poker's elite were born under the maple leaf flag including Mike "Timex" McDonald, Matt "ch0ppy" Kay, and Team PokerStars Pros Daniel Negreanu, Isabelle Mercier, and Steve Paul-Ambrose.
Negreanu will lead his Canadian team back into battle on January 6. This will be his second year on athe World Cup FInals and he will be leading a star-studded collection of players.
Negreanu with the 2007 Canadian team
Dennis "dendoggone" Hamlin qualified to play in the World Cup by being the second-highest ranked Nova Scotian on the PokerStars Tournament Leaderboard. Married with two young sons, Hamlin is a computer programmer who plays poker on the side. He learned the game by playing freerolls, ultimately winning a 7,700 player tournament to win the seed money from which he grew his bankroll. He has been playing cash games for about two years now.
Hamlin's success online has inspired a slew of questions from curious friends. "People are asking me for knowledge of how to get more involved with poker, and as always I lead them to PokerStars.com and say 'That's the best learning tool there is.'"
Hamlin's teammate Matthew "lobstrman29" Muise woke up one day to a call from a PokerStars representative asking if he would like to play for Team Nova Scotia in the World Cup of Poker. For the father of three, it was an offer he could not refuse. Though he has played online for five years, Muise has never set foot inside a casino, his live poker experience confined to home games with friends.
"It would be so good to give Canada its first World Cup win and being from a small province like Nova Scotia it would be great to be able to make that accomplishment" said Muise.
Wanda "AK**QUEEN**" Whitlock earned a spot on Team Nova Scotia via FPP qualifiers at the National and Divisional levels. A self-described "little ole housewife and mother," Whitlock has two grown sons and has been playing on PokerStars for the past four years. Though this will be her first live tournament, she'd like to encourage other players to get out there and chase down their poker dreams.
"It's possible for anyone to be able to participate in such a prestigious tournament. All you have to do is believe" said Whitlock.
Along with freeroll qualifier born_in53, these three newcomers are out to make history for their home and native land. O Canada, indeed.
What is the only thing harder than getting to the top?
Ask a top athlete, an A-list actor, a business tycoon, and yes, even a poker player this question and they'll all have the same answer.
Staying at the top.
Last year, Team USA came away from the World Cup of Poker live finals in Barcelona with the title, $100,000, and global bragging rights.
2007 World Cup Team USA: Greg Raymer, Randy Principe,
Tyler Netter, Shaun Deeb & John Kenlan
This year they'll be looking for a repeat in an equally sunny seaside locale--the Atlantis Resort in the postcard-perfect Bahamas. The bar couldn't be set any higher for this American quintet, comprised of two amateurs looking for that first big score, one of the world's most recognizable poker names, and two of the online game's most successful professionals, one of whom must be feeling a strong sense of déjà vu right about now.
Shaun "shaundeeb" Deeb was one of the five members of Team USA who shared in last year's World Cup of Poker crown. Arguably the most dominating multi-table tournament player on PokerStars (as well as one of the most prolific), Deeb currently sits atop the 2008 Yearly Tournament Leaderboard; this after winning the 2007 TLB and finishing 3rd in 2006. Among his mind-boggling 24 PokerStars MTT wins in 2008 were victories in WCOOP Event #25 ($320 Pot-Limit Omaha with Rebuys) for $144,112, the Wednesday Quarter Million for $46,875, and the Sunday Warm-Up for $102,642. Now 22 years of age, Deeb has also emerged as a strong presence on the live tournament circuit, playing a heavy schedule at the World Series of Poker as well as winning a number of seats in EPT events.
Shaun Deeb at World Cup of Poker IV
Also no stranger to the tournament leaderoard is Xthesteinx. A high-volume tournament player, he finished 3rd on the 2007 Yearly TLB and 69th in 2006. This online pro has wins in the $109 Rebuy, the $215 Rebuy, the Nightly Hundred Grand, and the Wednesday Hundred Fifty Grand.
The most recognizable face on Team USA will be 2004 World Series champion and Team PokerStar Pro Greg Raymer. Raymer is back for his second straight year on Team USA.
As Raymer wrote for the PokerStars Blog this week, "The prize money for this event, while not chump-change by any means, was a lot smaller than the $5 million I won for the WSOP. Yet, winning this event carried with it just as much emotion. This was so mostly because I was representing not just myself, but my country and my team."
The first of Team USA's two freeroll qualifiers is 62-year old Michigan native Bruce "ba-detroit" Armstrong. Though he played stud back in the 1970s, Armstrong picked up hold'em only two years ago. He recently retired after a 43-year career at the Ford Motor Company and now has the free time to play poker that he always wanted. In addition to playing on PokerStars, Armstrong hits up Las Vegas about four to five times per year to play tournaments.
Bruce "ba-detroit" Armstrong
Armstrong tells us he is "glad to be part of this team, and (has) hopes of victory." But even if his team doesn't' come out on top, he's "just happy to play."
Rounding out the foursome is Jarred "J@M0K3Y!"Gabin. The Los Angeles native has worked in the computer industry for the last ten years and makes his home with his fiancé and two children. Gabin learned to play poker about five years ago and due to work and family constraints, mostly plays online. A money finish in this event would mark his first-ever live tournament cash.
Gabin couldn't contain his excitement when asked about the prospect of competing live in the Bahamas.
"This whole ride has been just amazing. I have been floating on cloud nine for the last few days. I am excited that I am going to meet some PokerStars Pros and getting to play cards with any of them is a dream in itself. The fact that it is being held on a tropical island isn't such a bad thing either," he said.
This week, I want to continue the topic of staking.
Staking occurs both in cash games and tournaments. In both areas there should be strict guidelines followed to ensure that there is trust, as well as a fun and relaxed atmosphere for both people -- that's imperative. Game results may not pan out the way you anticipate, so there should be no hard feelings either way if that happens.
First, let's discuss cash ring games.
In this area, trust is most important, especially in live casinos, because there are no "official" records. At least in online cash games, a player can request per session records directly from the site, as well as hand histories, to back up his records. I like that idea, because there can be no discrepancies.
"Taking a piece" is also an option, and can often be better than full staking.
Before I got fully staked, I was playing $75/$150 Stud with my own bankroll. I noticed that there was a potentially more profitable daily $300/$600 half Stud, half Stud Hi/Lo game, which I wanted to play in. However, I neither had the adequate bankroll, nor had yet developed enough of a reputation as a winning, trustworthy player, so I did not have anyone to ask for full staking. I estimated that I would need $240,000 to play in this game. Although I was hoping to have gotten the full $240K up front, I soon realized that was not going to happen.
But there were people who were interested in taking a piece of my action at that limit. So, I put up 25%, $60K, which was the same amount as I would bankroll for playing $75/$150. I was able to raise the other 75%, $180K, from a handful of poker players who had competed against me in the $75/$150 games. I took my backers on their honor, and accepted $60K of that amount to get started, with a guarantee of the additional $120K if needed.
If I had lost at the start, and my backers did not keep their word, this would have meant that I would have actually put up 50% of the working bankroll, and $120K would have been too low an amount for me to have had a legitimate shot of winning at that limit. This scenario can happen whether you are being fully staked, or pieced out. That is why it is important to try and get backers who will keep their word, especially in the face of losing, which tends to make people lose confidence in your ability (and sometimes honesty).
Luckily, I was able to win right away, which assuaged my backers and gave me a reputation of being an honest, hard working poker player. This in turn enabled me to get full backing at a later date.
I would not be hesitant to ask people you trust to either take a piece of you, or fully stake you. If you are winning player, there are people, usually the poker players whom you're competed against, or sometimes people who do not play poker at all, who enjoy investing in other players. But I do not think you will be able to achieve this unless you have already proven yourself as a winning, hard working, and honest player. This will take time, but will usually happen at some point along the road.
This is one reason I like playing in the same game, limit and (if possible) time of day -- to get to know some of the other players. Some may end up wanting to back you in a higher limit game.
Continuing on the concept of "piecing out," if you are respected enough you may also be able to play for a bigger piece than you are putting up. For example, you invest 50%, and are only responsible for 40% of the losses, but get 60% of the profits.
I think it's important to make clear than you should not let your ego get involved in wanting to play in games higher than your own personal bankroll. Your investment in playing bigger games should still be within your means; the "risk of ruin" still goes up if you overextend yourself. While it may seem like a nice accolade to say that you are being "pieced out," I see no reason to do this unless you are considering playing in higher limit game which is potentially more profitable than the lower one which you are playing on your own. Don't let your ego push you into a bigger, less profitable game.
Again, I would come up with a game plan, decide what bankroll you feel is necessary, and try to secure as much of that amount up front from your backer(s). Only if you feel that you can trust your backers to come up with the remaining balance (if necessary) of their promised bankroll, would I play with the lower amount of money that they had already given to you.
I would also put all the terms and conditions of your deal with your backers in writing, and, if necessary notarize it. This contract should include a number of items, including:
The amount each of you are agreeing to invest and in what increments.
The type of game and limit you are going to play.
The percentage deal you are both agreeing to.
The minimum amount of hours you are going to play per week, month or year.
The money management guidelines you are going to adhere to.
The time frame or dollar amount of when you are going to split, if there is profit.
When you will be getting any additional stake money (if applicable or necessary).
Guidelines as to when you have to present your playing results to your backer.
Guidelines as to how involved your backer will be (watching you play, offering advice, etc.).
Consequences on both parties if the contract is breached. As a player, with a notarized contract which cannot be discharged with a bankruptcy, you may be able to take your backer to court if he/she does not fulfill his/her monetary obligations. As a backer, this can sometimes also be done.
If you are getting fully staked, as opposed to getting pieced out, what the working bankroll can be used for other than poker playing. (Expenses,for example.)
Getting fully staked should be your ultimate goal, and we will discuss that next week.
In the meantime, you can find me in the $10/$20 and $30/$60 limit games in our Stud section, as well as in our weekend $215 buy-in tournaments for Stud games. Please check the starting times of each of those events under Tourney > Special in the PokerStars lobby.
Feel free to contact me with any questions, suggestions or thoughts at adamr@pokerstars.com. See you at the tables!
Team PokerStars Pro Greg Raymer is preparing to help Team USA defend its title in the PokerStars World Cup of Poker. In just a couple of weeks, Raymer and the team will be in the Bahamas for the World Cup live finals. Greg was part of Team USA when it won the championship in 2007. We asked him to give us his thoughts on what it takes to get ready for such a big event.
The PokerStars.com World Cup of Poker is a great event. I was only able to read about the earliest editions of this event, but was very fortunate to be asked to be a member of Team USA at Barcelona in 2007. I was already coming to Barcelona for the popular EPT tournament that takes place there, and was asked to stick around after the EPT to play in the World Cup as the celebrity member of Team USA.
The World Cup is a unique tournament, with four of the members winning their way onto their countries team via freeroll satellites on PokerStars.com or by being one of the top two point leaders in the annual TLB competition on PokerStars.com. In 2007 Tyler Netter was the TLB leader and captain of our team, with Shaun Deeb also getting onto the team via the TLB. Satellite winners were Randy Principe and John Kenlan. Now these four guys did some of the hardest work, by beating out a slew of countries in the online tournament.
You see, once you get onto your countries team, you still have to beat out other teams to advance to the live finals, and they did that in 2007. Only afterwards was I asked to play alongside them in Barcelona.
Once in Barcelona, we all got together to discuss strategy. This is the key to winning a team competition. In a regular tournament, you can follow one of two viable strategies, play for first, or play for money. In team competition, it is important that you balance your strategy with the team's overall strategy, to best maximize the team's chances of advancement.
Playing for a team is so different than playing for yourself. If I make a correct but marginal decision in a tournament and get eliminated, I am disappointed, but happy that I made a correct decision. In team play, you feel like you let everybody else down, and the disappointment takes a lot longer to fade. The key is to determine the strategy together, so then you know that the decision you made is the same decision the rest of the team would have made.
Also, a lot of poker players can get emotional. It is essential that as a team you support one another, call time-outs to settle down a player who is getting emotional, and lend them your support. Once the emotional player remembers they are representing all of you, they usually have no problem regaining control and playing their A-game.
The most important thing that we did as a team to win in 2007 was exactly this, we supported one another. I was clearly the member of the team with the most live tournament experience, and I did not hesitate to share all of my advice with the other members of my team. In addition, captain Tyler and Shaun both have played thousands of online tournaments, and know the basic strategies of tournament poker by heart. They also pitched in to help our other team members, both of whom were good players, but much less experienced. As a team we developed our overall strategy, given the structure of the World Cup. That, plus a few key cards, guided us to victory.
It was a great feeling to represent my country, something I had never done before. The prize money for this event, while not chump-change by any means, was a lot smaller than the $5 million I won for the WSOP. Yet, winning this event carried with it just as much emotion. This was so mostly because I was representing not just myself, but my country and my team.
We will have full coverage of the World Cup of Poker January 6, 2009 live on the PokerStars Blog.
By now, you likely have heard that PokerStars intends to break a world record this weekend. The plan is to have 35,000 people playing in the same poker tournament at the same time. The $11 buy-in $500,000 guaranteed tournament is set to break the Guinness world record for the biggest poker tournament ever. Not only could you say you played in a record-breaking tournament, you could win a bunch of money. You can sign up under Tourney and Special for the December 28 15:30 ET time event.
That feat alone would be reason for PokerStars to celebrate. As usual, PokerStars is going over the top with wild and crazy promotions to mark the occasion. The information has been embargoed until this very moment. Now, we can release the full details of this week's promotions. Take a deep breath with us and strap in for the ride.
Reload Bonus
You've been waiting for it, and now it's here. During World Record Week, PokerStars is offering a 25% reload bonus up to $150. The bonus kicks off at 14:00 ET today and runs through the end of the year. The code "PS25" will get you the bonus. For full details, be sure to see the 25% bonus page at PokerStars.
$2.5 Million Sunday Million
The Sunday What? This weekend, the Sunday Million will be the Sunday $2.5 Million. Everything about the tournament is the same--same buy-in, same time, just a much bigger guaranteed prize pool. As an added treat, PokerStars is offering tons of extra satellites for the Sunday Million, including some cool FPP qualifiers that can get you into the Sunday Million for free.,
$1 Million Sunday Warm-Up
Well, you can't very well increase the guarantee on the Sunday Million without giving the Sunday Warm-Up a bump, right?
This weekend, at 12:45 ET, the Sunday Warm-Up will have a $1 million guarantee. PokerStars is also running extra satellites for this event as well.
10,000 player Sit & Go's
Remember the day when a Sit & Go was just a few people tossing a few chips back and forth? Well, how about this: PokerStars is going to be running $1 buy-in 10,000 player Sit & Go events this weekend. You will see them pop up in the lobby on December 27.
Need some added incentive? PokerStars is adding $10,000 to the prize pool of each event.
Good enough?
Milestone Hands
The Milestone Hands are back. A tried and true promotion at PokerStars, the Milestone Hands will award some big cash to the people dealt into each millionth hand. Once again, the higher your VIP level, the more money you make for getting dealt in to the milestone hand.
Team PokerStars Pro Championship Match
This Sunday at 13:00 ET, Team PokerStars Pro's members will face off against each other for a chance to win money for charity and determine who will be the Team PokerStars Pro captain. Why would they need a captain, you ask? Well, the details are still coming in on that one, but it has to do with something called PokerStars All-Star Weekend, a brand new online team competition coming next year
The Team PokerStars Pro Championship match will be an 8-game mixed event. The PokerStars Blog will have live reports for the duration of the match. You can watch the event play out under Tourney/Special. Later in the week you will be able to see the tournament replayed with the cards up.
PokerStars wants to break a record. A world record. A Guinness World Record.
This Sunday, December 28 at 15:30 ET, PokerStars is going to attempt to break the record for the world's biggest poker tournament. PokerStars hopes to have...get this...35,000 people playing in the same tournament at the same time.
Now, to do this kind of thing, PokerStars isn't just counting on everyone taking their Sunday afternoon to help break a record, so it is offering a little bit of incentive. How does a $500,000 guarantee on an $11 tournament sound?
Yep. For $11 you can help break a world record and have a shot at a half million prize pool. In fact, you can register right now under the Tourney/Special tabs in the PokerStars lobby.
Oh, and there's more to this week than just one massive tournament. Lots more, in fact.
Oh, you want to know more? Well you'll just have to wait. Watch this space at noon ET Christmas Eve for the full details of PokerStars World Record Week and same amazing promotions.
It's a holiday week here at the PokerStars Blog. While that might normally mean wild parties, writers hopped up on eggnog, and somebody taking pictures of their hind end with a Xerox machine, we're going to be a bit more reserved (at least for the next couple days). After all, there is a lot to talk about in regard to this weekend's poker.
We will begin with the Sunday Warm-Up where the appropriately named Snowking_85 beat out more than 3,800 other players to win nearly $100,000. You can see a full recap of the final table at: Snowking_85 wins a slugfest in the Sunday Warm-Up.
In other news, KopplarJocke cut a four-way deal with his opponents and still won a ton of money in the PokerStars Sunday Million. Check out the full final table report for a wrap-up of the action.
Before we hit the mistletoe, we have to congratulate Imric_est for winning the 2008 PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker. Imric_est beat out the top 369 WBCOOP qualifiers and won a $14,300 prize package to the 2009 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.
With two Sundays left before 2008 comes to a close, it meant only two more chances for poker players the world over to grab a Sunday Million title. What better way to celebrate the holidays and ring in the new year than with a near-$200,000 prize and a prestigious online poker title?
With that in mind, a total of 8,015 players turned out for the 12/21/08 edition of the Sunday Million. The stellar field created an even more stellar $1,603,000 prize pool and corresponding first prize of $196,367.50. An amazing turnout for the most popular weekly tournament in cyberspace!
Knowing that 1,170 players would receive a portion of that $1.6 million at stake, play went quickly through the afternoon, only taking about 3 hours and 45 minutes to hit the hand-for-hand play that precedes the money. It took a few minutes, but Frings27 from South Bavaria ended up as the bubble player in 1171st place, making room for the remaining survivors to cash. Moments later, it was Sjelle who did it first, leaving in 1170th place with $320.60.
A flurry of players followed, but the tournament didn't reach its final two tables until about five hours later. And it was nearly 45 minutes after that that hand-for-hand play began for the nine available seats at the coveted Sunday Million final table. During that time, mezyoureyez was able to double up to stay in the game, and jeff710 went to do the same with an all-in push from the big blind preflop. vuki called with Kh-Ts, but jeff710 had to feel good showing the Ad-Qs. That was, until the board came Kc-7h-8c-9h-Tc, and the two pair were good enough for vuki, sending jeff710 out in tenth place. Despite the bubble status, he was awarded a hefty $8,015.00 for the effort.
The final table was then set with the following chip counts:
Seat 1: crazylarry43 (15,059,126 in chips)
Seat 2: tAAggart (2,531,626 in chips)
Seat 3: dstrung (12,033,491 in chips)
Seat 4: KopplarJocke (4,990,670 in chips)
Seat 5: vuki (26,436,817 in chips) out of hand
Seat 6: gladik (5,689,408 in chips) out of hand
Seat 7: mezyoureyez (2,709,944 in chips) out of hand
Seat 8: DFGBOYS (4,995,812 in chips)
Seat 9: phil steve (5,703,106 in chips)
The unrivaled chip leader at the start of play was vuki, with many short stacks needed to double up -- at least once or twice -- to stay in contention. mezyoureyez attempted to do just that after the initial raise from vuki. mezyoureyez pushed all-in with pocket nines, and vuki called with an inferior-looking 7s-6s. But the board came just as the chip leader hoped -- 4h-Js-Ts-3s-2c -- and there was the flush. mezyoureyez was out in ninth place with those nines, and it was good for a $11,221.00 payout.
It only took a few more minutes to see the next exiting player. tAAggart took the opportunity to raise all-in preflop for 4,403,252, and it folded around to DFGBOYS, who called from the small blind with pocket tens. But tAAggart was happy to show his pocket aces, and they anxiously awaited the board...until it came 9h-7c-Th-Js-4s. The flopped ten gave DFGBOYS the trips and the win, while tAAggart went down swinging with those aces. tAAggart was out in eighth place with the accompanying $18,434.50 prize.
gladik was another who attempted a double-up, and it worked once as he doubled through crazylarry43. But several hands later, gladik tried it again but went in slowly with a 2,000,000 raise preflop. phil steve wanted to push it, though, and raised all-in. gladik called all-in for 2,238,816 more with Ac-Qh, and phil steve showed Ad-Jd. Again, it was the flush that did it when it came Td-7d-8c-8s-8d, phil steve took the pot, sending gladik to the virtual rail in seventh place with $28,052.50.
In a conversation initiated by DFGBOYS, many of the six remaining players were willing to look at the chip count numbers with reference to a possible deal, but with no responses from dstrung or crazylarry43, no talks were to be had.
A few hands after the break prior to starting Level 37, dstrung was low on chips and ready to move. dstrung got involved with 9s-8s against the Jc-8h of phil steve, with the former having committed all of his chips. But when the board came 8c-7d-7s-4s-Ac, the two split the pot. dstrung was able to live another day...or another hand. The very next hand prompted another all-in move from dstrung, this time finding a caller in DFGBOYS. dstrung showed Js-Th, but DRGBOYS turned over Ad-9c. The board came 4s-Ks-6h-5s-4h, and the ace kicker took it. dstrung, on the other hand, took sixth place and a $40,876.50 prize.
The next elimination took some time, but it happened with DFGBOYS pushed preflop for a bit more than 4.5 million with pocket eights, only to be called by phil steve and his As-6s. Since it was flush night at the Sunday Million final table, it was logical that the board would come 4s-2c-7s-9c-3s to give phil steve the flush. DFGBOYS was eliminated in fifth place, which was worth an admirable $56,906.50.
The four players realized that the time was nearing 3:00am ET, and everyone was admittedly tired and ready to discuss numbers. Upon asking for a chip chop count, they received the following numbers:
vuki $133,610.69
phil steve $119,579.58
crazylarry43 $107,565.94
KopplarJocke $100,723.59
With the understanding that an additional $30,000 would be awarded the ultimate victor, everyone quickly agreed, and play resumed.
And the fatigue factor was obvious, as KopplarJocke pushed all-in only a few hands after the deal with A-2. But he cracked the pocket kings of phil steve when he hit the wheel on the turn. And crazylarry43 attempted an all-in with pocket tens versus the jacks of vuki, only to double when a ten came on the turn.
Finally, vuki pushed again preflop with only 3,589,208, and KopplarJocke called with Ah-6c. vuki showed Ts-9s and might have been looking for the ever-popular flush. But the Kc-8s-As-6h-Jd came just short of it and knocked vuki out in fourth place, though it was worth $133,610.69 based on the deal made previously.
The all-ins and double-ups continued three-handed...and continued...and continued until one player just couldn't repeat the process again. phil steve moved all-in for just over 12 million chips with 9c-6c and was called by KopplarJocke and his Ah-3d. The board, shockingly, delivered a four-flush for KopplarJocke with 5d-Qd-Ks-6d-Kd, and phil steve was ousted in third place for the previously-agreed upon amount of $119,579.58.
Heads-up play began with the following chip counts:
Seat 1: crazylarry43 (19,548,362 in chips)
Seat 4: KopplarJocke (60,601,638 in chips)
The two battled for some time despite the starting chip disparity. crazylarry43 took a 25K pot to nearly even the stacks, and though crazylarry43 lost ground again over time, the chip lead did change hands. Neither were willing to concede the match, though, because of the title and the additional $30K attached to the win.
On the 66th hand of heads-up action, it came down to the deciding hand. KopplarJocke began by raising it up to 4,250,000, and crazylarry43 popped it up and all-in for his final 27,208,362. KopplarJocke called with Ad-7d and was likely relieved to see that crazylarry43 had As-4h. The virtual dealer gave them Ts-8d-9c-7c-Ks, and crazylarry43 was designated as the tournament's runner-up with a $107,565.94 prize.
It was KopplarJocke who was patient enough to wait for the right moment. He captured the Sunday Million title and the $130,723.59 prize money. Congratulations!
A whopping 3,837 players took to the field for the last Sunday Warm-up before Christmas in 2008, and 585 of those players found at least $383.70 in their stocking by the end of the day. As the stores began to close on the east coast for shoppers, the final nine players gathered for their shot at the big money, including an impressive $99,762.00 for first place.
As the final table bubble neared, chip leader dan82mur amped up the aggression, taking out several players on the final table bubble to increase his chip lead. After a lengthy hand-for-hand period, etn99 busted in 10th place and the final table was set, with dan82mur taking a big chip lead into the final nine.
Caution was the watchword to kick off the final table, as the players took their time committing chips to the pot. Finally, with blinds at 100,000/200,000 and a 20,000 ante, liverdracon moved all in preflop from late position. He found action in the form of cadillacsa moving all in over the top with As-Qc. Liverdracon tabled Qh-9c, and needed help to stay alive. The board brought a little help, but not enough for liverdracon, as it ran out 6h-5h-3h-Qd-Ad to give cadillacsa two pair and send liverdracon packing in 9th place ($6,599.64).
With the first elimination, the floodgates cracked open and players began to be willing to commit chips to the pot. Next time around, it was eitishoo moving all in preflop with pocket jacks and snowking_85 making the call with Ac-Jh. That cracking sound you heard? That was the sound of an ace on the turn cracking eitishoo's jacks as the board ran out 4s-7h-2c-As-4c. Aces and fours for snowking_85 was good enough to best eitishoo's jacks and fours and send eitishoo home in 8th place, good for $9,592.50.
In an ironic 7th-place exit, AhKhQhJh10h moved all in preflop with Ah-Kd and found one caller in jas21, who showed Ac-Qc. The flop was certainly interesting, coming down Js-10c-9d to give both players the inside straight draw. The 4h on the turn was no help for anyone, but the Kh on the river made jas21's Broadway straight and busted AhKhQhJh10h in 7th place for $15,348.00.
Cadillacsa made a move from early position when he open-shoved with Ac-5c, but he ran into trouble when jas21 made the call with Ah-As. Cadillacsa needed help to stay alive, and the flop left him drawing even thinner when it came down Js-Ad-2c. Jas21 made a set on the flop, and cadillacsa needed running straight cards to survive. The Qc on the turn left him drawing dead, and when the 7d hit the river, cadillacsa was done in 6th, with $23,022.00 for his troubles.
Raising with marginal hands from the button is a tried and true method of increasing your stack late in a tournament, and there was plenty of that on display at the final table. It went wrong for OMGSHIPIT when he shoved all in from the button with Ks-7d, but only because snowking_85 woke up with a real hand in the small blind. Snowking_85 made the easy call with Ah-Kc, and OMGSHIPIT was dominated. The flop brought a pair for both players, as it came down 2c-Qs-Kd. OMGSHIPIT needed a seven to survive, but it was not to be as the turn and river ran out 6d-Qc to send OMGSHIPIT home in 5th place ($30,696.00).
With OMGSHIPIT's elimination, the remaining four players were very close in chip stacks. Talks of a deal surfaced but were quickly quashed, and play continued. Four-handed play continued for quite a while as the players jockeyed for position, and when the dam finally broke, it was ael1979 headed to the rail in 4th place with $38,370 for his troubles. Ael1979 raised preflop, and snowking_85 made the three-bet in position. After a long think, ael1979 moved all in over the top with Jh-10d. Snowking_85 quickly called with Ad-Qh, and the flop made things even uglier as it came down 2d-10s-As. Ael1979 picked up a pair, but so did snowking_85 with the ace. The Qc on the turn made two pair for snowking_85, and only a ten on the river would save ael1979. It was not to be, as the river brought the 3d, and snowking_85 took a commanding chip lead with three players left.
Dan82mur had built a stack repeatedly by aggressively stealing the blinds and antes and making solid moves in position. Every once in a while, he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and that's exactly what happened to him when pay got short-handed. After getting called on an all-in shove with 8-6o, he found himself the short stack and needing to make something happen. He made his move from the button with Qh-3h, and jas21 made the call with pocket nines. Dan82mur needed to pick up a queen to stay alive, but the board ran out 2h-Ac-7s-5c-Jh and he was done in 3rd place. $46,044 is a pretty good day's work, and that's what dan82mur collected for his 3rd-place finish.
That big hand left the remaining players close to even in chips as heads-up play began, as jas21 and snowking_85 battled it out for the top spot. Heads-up play was a lengthy duel, with jas21 taking a 2:1 chip lead going into the last break of the evening. Snowking_85 wasn't going to go easy, though, as he climbed back into contention to bring things close again. As the back-and-forth heads-up match continued, it was snowking_85 with the chip lead going into the final big hand. After a raise from snowking_85, the flop came down 10h-Qs-9h. Snowking_85 led out with a bet and jas21 moved all in over the top with Kh-10d for second pair and a straight draw. Snowking_85 made the quick call with 9s-10s for flopped two pair. The 9d on the turn ended all hope for jas21, and when the Ah hit the river, jas21 was done in 2nd place ($69,066.00). Snowking_85 came out on top after a tough back-and-forth heads-up battle, and pocketed $99,762.00 for his first-place finish, with no chop.
Congrats to snowking_85 on a hard-fought victory, and to all the 585 players who cashed in this week's Sunday Warm-Up!
Six days of preliminary events. Thousands of entrants. And many, many blog posts spread all over the internet chronicling from a myriad of viewpoints the highlights (and lowlights) of the players' efforts. Then came the finale, the main event of the World Blogger Championship of Online Poker.
A final total of 369 poker-playing scribes made it through those six events to play in today's culminating event, with some serious prizes on the line. Those finishing in 46th-100th all earned Step 3 tickets. The next 18 (28th-45th) each would receive $109 tournament entries. Those finishing 19th-27th were looking at $215 tourney entries -- i.e., free spots in PokerStars' popular Sunday Million.
The 10th-18th place finishers would earn $320 tourney entries. Then came the final table, and the serious prizes, culminating with a PokerStars Caribbean Adventure package worth a gawdy total of $14,300.
Lots of good stuff to be had. And, beyond the prizes, some good stories to write about as well.
BigSlickNut was our first casualty today, "winning" the so-called Gigli award (no cash value) for finishing last. TNSpaceman, Pinkypollo, and PRO_rANDY all grabbed some chips in the early going, though all three would not make it to the final hundred.
At the one-hour break, peggydee held the chip lead -- peggy would eventually finish in 40th place. At the two-hour break, 170 players remained with Rex Ferric atop the leaderboard. Rex would end up in 35th.
At about the two-and-a-half hour mark, we'd already made it down to 100 players and the money (so to speak). At the three-hour break, Olimpinho had emerged as our chip leader, and would remain either near or at the top for much of the remainder of the afternoon. After four hours of play, the field had shrunk down to just 20 players, with Olimpinho still in front with 337,578, twice the stack of nearest competitor BuddyDank who had 164,591.
Before we reached the five-hour mark, LaxStarr1995 went out in 10th place and we had our final table. Here was the scene as the first hand of the final table was being dealt:
Seat 1: Littlemage (252,668 in chips)
Seat 2: HappyPixel (198,444 in chips)
Seat 3: TarHeel1641 (58,778 in chips)
Seat 4: Imric_est (309,530 in chips)
Seat 5: SmileyHere (251,764 in chips)
Seat 6: Priitk (326,512 in chips)
Seat 7: Olimpinho (77,536 in chips)
Seat 8: Lesage88 (195,666 in chips)
Seat 9: Tiibo (174,102 in chips)
On the very first hand of the final table, one of the short stacks, Olimpinho, pushed all in only to see HappyPixel reraise all in behind. The others folded, and Olimpinho showed 6s-6c vs. HappyPixel's Ad-Ts. The flop came Td-9c-2h, and HappyPixel was quickly way ahead. The turn was the 2c and the river the 4d, and Olimpinho (from Brazil) was out in 9th place, earning a $530 tourney entry for his efforts.
Shortly thereafter, SmileyHere was the next to go in 8th place. After Imric_est had open-shoved all in for nearly a quarter million, SmileyHere called with his last 104,208 and everyone else got out of the way. Again, we had another race, with Imric_est's 8h-8d up against SmileyHere's Js-Ah. This time the pocket pair held up, as the flop brought another eight (8s-9d-5c) and the two deuces on the turn and river made Imric_est a boat. SmileyHere (of the U.S.) was out in 8th place, earning a Step 5 ticket for doing so.
After the next break, HappyPixel was eliminated after shoving all in with pocket sixes only to run up against Imric_est's pocket kings. The board brought no help, and HappyPixel (from the U.K.) landed in 7th place, earning a $1,050 PokerStars tournament buy-in. Tiibo (Finland) would go out just two hands later, again at the hands of Imric_est. Tiibo pushed with 5d-6d, Imric_est called with Ad-Kd, and the board came 6c-Jc-As-8d-3h, knocking Tiibo out in 6th. Tiibo received a Spring World Championship of Online Poker Main Event entry -- worth $1,575 -- for his finish today.
We were down to five. This time Tarheel1641 (U.S.) would push all in, and once again Imric_est was waiting there with the big stack and a hand. Tarheel1641 had ace-four, Imric_est had ace-ten, and the board ran out As-Js-5c-6h-Ts. Tarheel1641 was out in 5th, earning a Step 6 ticket (worth $2,100).
Littlemage (from Hungary) was the next to go. And yes, Imric_est was the one responsible once more.
Action had folded to Littlemage in the small blind who pushed his short stack of 175,961 all in with Jh-6c, and Imric_est called with Jd-Ad. The board came 8s-5c-Ks-2s-5h, and Littlemage was gone in 4th place. For his efforts, Littlemage earned a free SCOOP Main Event entry, plus a Step 6 ticket -- together worth a cool $3,675!
Just five minutes later, Priitk open-raised to 80,000 from the button and Lesage88 pushed all in for 277,207 from the small blind. Imric_est stepped aside, and Priitk made the call. Lesage88 showed Ac-Qh, dominating Priitk's Ks-Qs. Until the flop, anyway, which came Kd-Tc-5d. The turn (9s) and river (7c) didn't save Lesage88 (Switzerland), and he was out in 3rd, having won a European Poker Tour package worth $7,500!
At the start of heads up, Priitk had a healthy chip advantage of 1,242,856 to Imric_est's 602,144. In just the second hand of heads-up, however, the pair essentially switched their stacks.
In that hand, Priitk raised to 60,000 from the small blind/button, and Imric_est called from the big blind. The flop came Ad-Qh-4d. Imric_est checked, Priitk bet 80,000, Imric_est minimum-raised to 16,000, Priitk shoved all in, and Imric_est called. Imric_est showed Kd-Qd for middle pair and a flush draw, while Priitk had As-Js for top pair. The turn was the Ks, giving Imric_est two pair. The river was the 9s, and suddenly Imric_est had the 2-to-1 chip advantage.
Imric_est maintained the lead for the next several dozen hands, having Priitk on the ropes a couple of times, but Priitk managed to wiggle free. The closest call came when Prittk was all in preflop with Ts-6d versus Imric_est's As-Jh, but two sixes flopped and Prittk survived.
Finally, on the 107th hand of heads up play came the climax of today's story. With the blinds 30,000/60,000, Imric_est raised to 90,000 from the small blind/button, Prittk shoved all in for 490,174 total, and Imric_est called.
Imric_est: 9d-Qh
Prittk: Kh-8c
The flop came 9h-4h-9s, giving Imric_est a commanding lead in the hand. The turn was the Ac, making the 8s on the river meaningless.
Prittk (from Estonia) was our runner-up, winning a EPT prize package, a SCOOP Main Event ticket, and a Step 6 ticket -- prizes worth a total of $11,100 altogether.
And Imric_est (also from Estonia) gets the big one -- the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure prize package, worth $14,300. Congratulations to Imric_est and to all of those who won prizes today! See a full list of all of those prizes by clicking here. And read more about today's event by checking out the WBCOOP Main Event live blog.
We now look forward to all players' accounts of today's action on their respective blogs.
The 2008 PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker live updates are brought to you by bloggers Jen Newell, Change100, Martin Harris, and Brad Willis. Click refresh to see the latest update. Playing in the event and have something to say? Shoot us an e-mail to blog@pokerstars.com.
9:12pm--That's a WBCOOP wrap!
That does it for the 2008 WBCOOP grand finale. Big congratulations to all of our prize winners today, especially the overall winner, lmric_est, who will be traveling to the sunny beaches of the Bahamas in January.
Thanks for joining us today!
9:10pm--lmric_est wins the 2008 WBCOOP Final! Priitk is your runner-up as the Estonians go one-two
lmric_est opened for a standard 3BB raise to 90,000, Priitk moved all in for 490,174 and lmric_est made the call.
Priitk Kh-8c
Imric_est Qh-9d
The flop all but sealed the win for lmric_est, coming down 9s-9h-4h. The turn was the Ac, the river was the 8s, and somewhere in Roela, Estonia, a loud scream was likely heard as lmric_est won himself a PokerStars Carribean Adventure package worth $14,300!
Priitk, also hailing from Estonia, played a hard-fought match picked up a European Poker Tour package, a SCOOP Main Event ticket, and a Step 6 ticket worth $11,100.
9:03pm--Small-ball
Though this final table has to have set some sort of speed record, our final two players are, for the most part, playing careful, small-ball poker in their heads-up battle. Though a few decent-sized pots have been exchanged like the one below, their chip counts remain relatively close to where they started, with Imric_est at just over 1.2 million and Priitk with about 650,000.
8:59pm--Battle of the prize packages
As the final two compete in this ultimate battle of the bloggers, let's take one final look at the prize packages up for grabs.
Second place is a combo deal that includes a European Poker Tour package, SCOOP main event ticket, and Step 6 ticket, all of which is worth a combined total of $11,100.
First place is one prize package that will take that player to the Bahamas in a few weeks to compete in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, which is worth $14,300.
Technically, either prize could be parlayed into a great deal more than its value, and both prizes are well worth the time to be played for tonight. And all of this from a freeroll? Amazing.
8:54pm--lmric_est's ace high is up, it's.... good!
lmric_est raised to 75,000 from the button and Priitk called. lmric_est led out for 100,000 on the Qd-9c-9d flop and Priitk came along wiht a call. Both players checked the Qd on the turn and checked it again when the Ts hit the river. lmric_est's ace kicker with Ad-2d in the hole was good against Priitk's Jh-3c and he raked in the 356,000 pot to take his stack up to 1.2 million. Priitk was left with 621,000.
8:46pm--Heads-up begins!
With the elimination of Lesage88 in third place, the final two players began their heads-up match with the following chip counts:
Seat 4: Imric_est (602144 in chips)
Seat 6: Priitk (1242856 in chips)
8:45pm--Lesage88 eliminated in 3rd place, is EPT-bound!
Priitk opened for a raise to 80,000 from the button, Lesage88 moved all in for 277,207 from the small blind and Priitk made the call. Though Lesage88's Ac-Qh dominated Priitk's Ks-Qs to start, the flop came down Kd-Tc-5d, pairing up Priitk. The turn was the 9s, the river was the 7c and Lesage88 could not improve. Though he hit the rail in 3rd place, we'll be seeing him on the European Poker Tour next season-- he just earned an EPT package worth €5,300!
8:43pm--Littlemage out in 4th
Down to four-handed, action folded around to Littlemage who open-pushed with Jh-6c from the small blind for 175,961. lmric_est called from the big blind with Jd-Ad. Tough spot for Littlemage.
The board came 8s-5c-Ks-2s-5h, and Littlemage was gone in 4th place. For that 4th place finish, Littlemage scored a SCOOP Main Event entry, plus a Step 6 ticket -- together worth a cool $3,675!
8:37pm--TarHeel1641 booted in 5th place
TarHeel1641 open-shoved for 216,444 and Imric_est made the call. Unfortunately, TarHeel1641's A-4 was dominated by his opponent's A-T. No love for TarHeel1641 on the As-Js-5c-6h-Ts board and the lone American remaining made his exit in 5th place, good for a Step 6 ticket.
8:35pm--Tiibo tko'ed in 6th
Just two hands after HappyPixel's elimination, Tiibo open-shoved for 123,186 from the cutoff and it folded back around to lmric_est who called out of the big blind. Tiibo showed 5d-6d for suited connectors and a lot of potential. Meanwhile, lmric_est hoped his even better suited connectors -- Ad-Kd -- would hold up.
The flop came 6c-Jc-As, giving lmric_est an even greater advantage. The turn was the 8d and the river the 3h, and Tiibo was out in 6th place, earning a SCOOP Main Event ticket for his efforts (worth $1,575).
8:34pm--HappyPixel eliminated in 7th place
Blinds are up-- and they're big. 8,500/17,000 with a 2,125 ante to be precise. Over 36,000 is in the pot to start and our seven remaining players are doing whatever they can to pick up that dead money, primarily by shoving all in pre-flop. With 217,355 left in his stack, HappyPixel open-shoved only to have Imric_est move all in behind him for 251,210. The rest of the field folded as the cards were turned up.
HappyPixel 6d-6c
Imric_est Kd-Kh
HappyPixel was looking for that third six, but couldn't find it on the Th-4d-3h-2s-4s board. For his 7th place finish he earned a $1,050 PokerStars tournament buy-in, which should certainly ease the blow.
8:28pm--Play slows...and they take a break
At the seven-player mark, play slowed tremendously. Maybe a five-minute break will rejuvenate them...
Level 31
Blinds 8,500/17,000, ante 2,125
Average chip count: 263,571
Players remaining: 7
First prize: $14,300 PCA Package
lmric_est open-shoved from UTG for 235,752, and SmileyHere called with his last 104,208 chips. The rest of the table folded, and lmric_est showed 8h-8d to SmileyHere's Js-Ah.
The flop came 8s-9d-5c, giving lmric_est a set and making SmileyHere frowney. The turn and river were both deuces, and SmileyHere goes out in 8th place. That Step 5 entry may turn SmileyHere's frown upside down, though.
8:12pm--Olimpinho KO'ed in 9th place
On the first hand of final table action, Olimpinho open-shoved for 76,036, HappyPixel moved all in for 196,944 behind him, and the rest of the table folded. On their backs...
Olimpinho 6s-6c
HappyPixel Ad-Ts
Ace-ten proved once again to be Olimpinho's kryptonite, outflopping his pocket sixes when the first three came down Td-9c-2h. The turn was the 2c, the river was the 4d, and Olimpinho was eliminated in 9th place, much to the chagrin of his flock of Brazilian railbirds.
8:09pm--And we have our finalists!
The exact final table chip counts going into nine-handed action were as follows:
Seat 1: Littlemage (252668 in chips)
Seat 2: HappyPixel (198444 in chips)
Seat 3: TarHeel1641 (58778 in chips)
Seat 4: Imric_est (309530 in chips)
Seat 5: SmileyHere (251764 in chips)
Seat 6: Priitk (326512 in chips)
Seat 7: Olimpinho (77536 in chips)
Seat 8: Lesage88 (195666 in chips)
Seat 9: Tiibo (174102 in chips)
8:08pm--LaxStarr1995 out in 10th
Down to 10 players, we were five-handed. Lesage88 folded UTG, then SmileyHere raised to 36,000. LaxStarr1995 then reraised all in to 71,154. Olimpinho and Littlemage both folded, and SmileyHere made the call, having LaxStarr1995 covered.
SmileyHere showed Tc-Ks and LaxStarr1995 7h-7c. We had what we like to call a race situation, Vince.
The board came Qs-8h-Ts-Ac-9h, and SmileyHere took it with a pair of tens. LaxStarr1995 is out in 10th place, the last of those who have earned a $320 tourney buy-in. We've reached the final table!
8:05pm--Olimpinho crippled
Once our far and away chip leader, Olimpinho has dipped to less than seven big big blinds. He open-shoved for his entire 188,000 and Littlemage gave him action, making the call with Ah-Td to Olimpinho's 3d-3s. The flop was Kd-9c-9d, the turn was the 6d, but the Kh on the river counterfeited Olimpinho's pair and Littlemage took down the hand with two pair, kings and nines with an ace kicker. Olimpinho was left with only 77,000.
7:59pm--TiJoao out in 11th place
Littlemage had just doubled through TiJoao the hand before when his pocket rockets held up against TiJoao's Big Slick, leaving TiJoao with just 15,542. Then Littlemage raised all in preflop from late position (for more than 125,000), and it folded to TiJoao in the small blind. He thought a moment, then called. The big blind folded, and TiJoao showed 4d-3d. He'd need help against Littlemage's Tc-Ah.
Help didn't come, as the board ran out 9d-7s-Jh-As-3h, knocking TiJoao out in 11th place.
We're hand-for-hand again until we reach the final table.
7:57pm--BuddyDank smoked in 12th place
Priitk opened for 20,000, TarHeel1641 moved all in for 173,704, BuddyDank called all in for 73,054 from the big blind, and Priitk called all in as well, creating a massive, 250,000+ rock-em-sock-em three-way all-in pot.
BuddyDank 9h-9d
Priitk Ah-Ad
TarHeel1641 As-Kc
Both Priitk and BuddyDank's tournament lives were on the line as the flop came down Kh-7c-5d. The turn was the 8c, the river was the 3c and BuddyDank couldn't catch a nine or a straight card to stay alive. Priitk took down the monster pot, good for the chip lead, TarHeel1641 made out almost even on the hand and BuddyDank made his exit in 12th place.
7:54pm--JBug40 unluckily squashed in 13th place
Action folded to JBug40 who raised all in to 65,436 from middle position. Littlemage quickly repopped it right behind for 80,418 total. The table folded back around, and JBug40 revealed Kc-Jd, overcards to Littlemage's 9d-9h.
The board came 5c-6s-Ah-4d-8d, and JBug40 was eliminated in 13th place.
7:49pm--blahdy bounced in 14th place
blahdy's last 14,201 in chips went in with the 3h-4c and TarHeel1641 called the 6,201 balance from the big blind with Kc-7c. Though blahdy paired up when the flop came down Jc-Tc-4h, TarHeel1641 had outs with an overcard and a flush draw. He filled it when the 2c turned and blahdy went out as our 14th place finisher.
7:44pm--Artanis11 out in 16th; marc_26 gone in 15th
Artanis11 shoved all in for 77,549 with 4d-Qc, and found himself up against Tiibo's Ah-Ac. When the flop brought the case ace, Artanis11 said "ruh oh." But there was hope -- the flop was 2c-5c-Ad, meaning a trey could save him. Alas, the turn was the Ks and the river the 9d, and Artanis11 was out in 16th.
Then after Priitk had raised from middle position, marc_26 repopped all in to 53,543 from the big blind and Priitk called. marc_26 showed 4s-4h and Priitk showed Kd-Qd. The board came 7h-Jd-Jh-Ks-8h, and marc_26 was gone in 15th.
7:42pm--justalady42 eliminated in 17th place
Whittled down to only a few thousand in chips, justalady42 was all in from the small blind before the deal. BuddyDank limped in and Artanis11 checked his option from the big blind. Both players checked the Kc-Qh-6c flop. When the 7c came on the turn,Artanis11 checked, BuddyDank bet 7,000 and Artanis11 folded. BuddyDank turned up Ac-2c for the nut flush, leaving justalady42 drawing dead with her Kh-Tc. The 4h hit the river and justalady42 hit the rail in 17th place.
7:37pm--kolmteist krushed in 18th
Tiibo raised to 17,500 from middle position, and it folded around to BuddyDank who called from the small blind. kolmteist also called from the BB. The flop came 5s-Jh-7h. BuddyDank checked, kolmteist pushed all in for 47,692, Tiibo called, and BuddyDank folded.
kolmteist showed 2h-4h for the flush draw, while Tiibo held Js-Ts for top pair. The turn was the 8s and the river the 9s, and Tiibo's backdoor flush sent kolmteist home in 18th place.
7:33pm--Fubsy63 falls in 19th place
With less than sevn big blinds remaining, Fubsy63 pushed all in for 41,645 from under the gun. Tiibo moved all in behind him for a bit over 84,000 and the rest of the table folded. It was a race situation, Tiibo with 8d-8c for the pair and Fubsy63 with Ah-Ks for the overcards. The board ran out Qc-7c-7h-9h-9c and Fubsy couldn't improve, hitting the rail in 19th place.
With 18 players remaining, we've moved up a pay level-- everyone is now guaranteed at least a $320 tourney buy-in.
7:29pm--All ins all around
With blinds at 3,000/6,000 (plus 750 antes), even those with the average stack of 92,250 are feeling urgency at this point, and thus we are seeing all ins frequently on all three of the remaining tables.
Coming back from the break over on Table 39, we saw Artanis11 survive an all in. Then NitroHUN survived one. Then TarHeel1641 survived one.
Then the streak came to an end. NitroHUN pushed all in for 67,689 and HappyPixel happily reraised behind him. The others folded, and the cards flipped over -- Tc-Ts for NitroHUN and Ac-9c for HappyPixel. The flop came Qs-Ah-7c, and NitroHUN was way behind. The turn was the 9s and the river the 3s, and NitroHUN is out in 20th place.
We are now hand-for-hand until we reach two tables.
7:25pm--Break it up!
Players just returned from a five-minute break and are headed into the fourth hour of play with the following statistics:
Level 25
Blinds 3,000/6,000, ante 750
Average chip count: 92,250
Players remaining: 20
First prize: $14,300 PCA Package
Down to ten big blinds with 50,000 remaining in his stack, rockman255 moved all in pre-flop from middle position. BuddyDank moved all in over the top for 69,641 from the small blind, and kolmteist gave up his big blind. BuddyDank's As-Tc was in good shape against rockman255's 6d-7c and things stayed that way on the Qc-8h-3c flop. The turn and river were both jacks and BuddyDank's ace-high held up to send rockman255 to the rail in 21st place.
7:14pm--teamdobb eliminated in 22nd place
teamdobb made his last stand with Kh-6c and moved all in for 25,662, earning a call from TarHeel1641 with Ks-9h in the big blind. The flop was a disaster for teamdobb and utterly perfect for TarHeel1641, coming down Qh-Jh-Tc. Yep, that's a king-high straight, boys and girls. teamdobb was left only with outs to a chop, missing them when the turn and river came the 7s and the Jc to eliminate him in 22nd place.
7:08pm--Baalim bounced
Baalim raised all in to 28,008 from UTG+1, and Tiibo reshoved all in for 70,028 right behind. The table folded back around, and Baalim showed Ac-Kh vs. Tiibo's Th-Tc. There were no aces or kings among the community cards -- 8h-5h-Qs-3c-5s -- and Baalim was eliminated in 23rd place.
Tiibo now has 108,216.
7:04pm--Mo' fo' Olimpinho
Only moments after Olimpinho crossed the 200,000 chip mark, he crossed the 300,000 chip mark after knocking out Sentex in 25th place.
Olimpinho opened for his usual 7,444 and Sentex made the call from the big blind. The flop was As-Qc-9h. Sentex checked it over to Olimpinho, who bet 11,444. He called, and they saw the 6d hit the turn. Sentex checked again, Olimpinho bet 24,444, Sentex moved all in for 47,330 and Olimpinho made the call. It was a battle of the kickers, Olimpinho's Ah-Jd just edging out Sentex's Ad-Tc. No miracle ten on the river for Sentex and he hit the rail while the pot sent Olimpinho's stack up to 303,634 -- twice as much as Imric_est's 146,000 for second chip position.
7:01pm--pdxrogue hits the rail
TiJoao limped from UTG, then pdxrogue pushed all in from the button for 16,897. It folded around to SmileyHere who called from the big blind, and TiJoao called as well.
The flop came 7d-Qh-Tc. SmileyHere checked, TiJoao bet 9,000, and SmileyHere folded. TiJoao showed 7s-7c for the flopped set, well ahead of pdxrogue's 3s-3c. The turn was the 3d, giving pdxrogue a lower set and faint hope. But the river was the 6h, and pdxrogue was out in 26th.
6:56pm--Olimpinho turns his rockets on RealNaxer
Our chip leader continues to roll. In this latest piece of Olimpinho carnage, he got the betting started with an opening raise to 7,444. RealNaxer reraised to 18,000 and Olimpinho four-bet him to 44,444. That was enough for RealNaxer, who shoved for 87,496 total and Olimpinho made the call for the additional 43,000 and change.
RealNaxer 8s-8c
Olimpinho Ad-Ah
The board ran out Kh-7c-4h-9c-Jc and Olimpinho won the 180,000 pot. With over 219,000 in his stack, he has over 100,000 more chips than his closest competitor.
6:53pm--I'm telling you what I have with my bet size
Tiibo raised to the curious-looking total of 8,888 from middle position, and Cwik1 reraised all in for 26,000 even. Tiibo called.
Turned out that weirdly-sized bet may have been a tell, as Tiibo showed 8c-8s. Meanwhile, Cwik1 had Ts-As and the race was on. The board came Kd-Jc-2d-7s-Kc, and Cwik1 was eliminated in 28th place.
We are down to three tables! The next nine to go out all win $215 tournament entries!
6:49pm--Tarheel1641 slams another
olinsha open-shoved from middle position for 16,899, and Tarheel1641 called from the big blind. olinsha showed 4c-Ad, while Tarheel1641 had a big, Tyler Hansbrough-like hand of Kd-Kh.
The board came Qd-5s-6h-8d-3s, and olinsha was out in 33rd. After picking up another nice pot shortly afterwards, Tarheel1641 now has 88,821 (9th place).
6:45pm--Rex Ferric out in 35th on another coinflip gone awry
Rex Ferric had maintained a healthy stack throughout this event, but just made his exit in 35th place. Baalim opened the pot for 5,400 and RealNaxer popped him to 15,000 before Rex Ferric shoved for his remaining 33,043. Baalim got out of the way but RealNaxer called the extra 18,000, his Jh-Js racing against Rex Ferric's Ac-Qd. Ks-Jc-4s-6d-5s on the board and Rex Ferric's tournament was at an end, while RealNaxer moved into the top ten with 92,446 in his stack.
6:42pm--Reverse psychology
TwistedEcho, down to just 1,313, found himself all in automatically when the big blind (now 2,000) reached him. The table folded around to Littlemage on the button who after thinking for a while raised to 5,000. NitroHUN folded the SB, and it was TwistedEcho's pocket nines against Littlemage's Tc-8s.
"T" typed TwistedEcho. Repeatedly. "TEEEEEN." The board came 5h-4d-2h-2s-8c, and despite TwistedEcho's twisted pleas, he'd survived.
Four hands later, TwistedEcho pushed all in from the cutoff with Td-Ah and was called by both Sentex and Lesage88. When the turn showed a board of As-8d-Qh-Kc, Lesage88 went ahead and bet out to push Sentex out of the hand -- he'd turned Broadway with Jd-Th. The river was the 6h, and TwistedEcho was eliminated in 38th place.
6:41pm--BuddyDank snaps off kings to survive
Short-stacked with 17,979 in chips, BuddyDank open-shoved with his Ah-3h from late position, but was met with a quick call from csillagka on the button, who turned up pocket kings. The flop hit Mr. Dank, however, coming down Ac-Tc-Th. The turn was the 5s, the river was the 8d and BuddyDank survived, cracking kings to double his stack to 41,508.
6:38pm--Live from Hungary
Who knew you could watch football at midnight in Hungary. Well, there is one guy who knows. He's currently among the leaders in WBCOOP. "It's midnight here in Hungary and I'm watching Minnesota vs Atlanta," NitroHUN wrote. He's 19 years old and looking to grab one of the top prizes. He notes. "I only made my first deposit a week ago. Wish me good luck."
6:35pm--Olimpinho takes chip lead with 100K pot
Olimpinho opened for 5,444 from under the gun and WMZeus, directly to his left, put in a reraise to 14,000. The action folded back around to Olimipinho, who made the call. The flop was Ts-9d-3s. Olimpinho used up nearly his entire time bank on his decision to move all in for 69,406 on the flop, putting WMZeus to a decision for his remaining 33,591 in chips. After a bit of a think, WMZeus made the call and saw the bad news-- his unimproved Ah-Kd was up against Olimpinho's Js-Jc. The turn was the 9h, the river was the Jd and Olimpinho dragged the 100,000 pot to vault him into the chip lead with over 137,000 and eliminate WM Zeus.
6:29pm--50 left
Just 50 players remain. Lesage88 just became our new chip leader after winning a three-way hand on Table 21. Lesage88 raised to 6,000 from UTG, Rex Ferric called from the cutoff, and SmileyHere also called from the big blind. All three checked down the board of 6d-2h-4d-5s-Qh. SmileyHere showed As-9s, Lessage88 Jc-Js, and Rex Ferric mucked. That hand took Lesage88 up to 98,043 and first place.
Once we get down to 45, all of those finishing 28th-45th will be earning a $109 entry into a PokerStars tournament of their choice.
6:28pm--True romance
MrAckley needs a win today for more than just the cash and chance to play in the Bahamas. He writes, "Soon to be engaged. Please to send me to the Bahamas so I can pop the question there." MrAckley made the final WBCOOP final table in 2005. Living in Fairbanks, AL ("where it gets ridiculously cold," he says), he takes care of his elderly father during the day and what he calls "an evil puppy" at night.
6:24pm--Priitk rides them cowboys
Imric_est kicked off the betting with a 4,500 opening raise, which was three-bet all in for 20,152 by Medino0308. Priitk moved all in for slightly more behind him and Imric_est got out of the way when the action was folded back around to him. Medino0308's As-9s needed some serious help against Prittk's Kh-Ks, and the 3-3-3-T-8 board brought none of it. Priitk jumped up to the top ten in chips with 46,029 while Medino0308 hit the virtual rail in 53rd place.
6:21pm--Ballim bowls 'em over; two more go down
Ballim raised to 4,000 from middle position, thelivewire reraised all in for 10,807, and bosta_de_boi -- with less than 2,000 chips to start the hand -- called. Baalim called as well, showing Td-9d. bosta_de_boi had 7h-Ad. And thelivewire had Kc-3h.
The board came 7s-3s-Th-8s-5c, giving Baalim the hand with a pair of tens and knocking out thelivewire in 60th place and bosta_de_boi in 61st.
6:20pm--Rex Ferric drops 20K on coinflip
rockman255 moved all in pre-flop for 16,248 and Rex Ferric, one of the tournament's largest stacks at 53,754 made the call. It was a classic race situation, Rex Ferric's Ad-Kd up against rockman 255's pocket sevens. 9-4-9-9-Q on the board and Ferric couldn't catch up, the 35K pot heading rockman's way. The hand evened up the two players' stacks, Rex Ferric left with 37,331 to rockman255's 35,396.
6:18pm--Returning from break number three
And as they did, the top ten chip counts and other pertinent info was as follows:
Level 19
Blinds 750/1,500, ante 175
Average chip count: 30,245
Players remaining: 61
First prize: $14,300 PCA Package
6:17pm--Somewhere, from the top of Mt, Olympus (er...Lousiana)
It's hard to say why anyone is still playing. With a guy named WmZeus in the field, the end seems like a foregone conclusion. WmZeus is actually David Griggs, an 18 years old living in West Monroe, Louisiana. He made the final table in Tuesday's preliminary event and claimed his spot in the final.
6:14pm--Recent Eliminations
In the flurry of post-bubble eliminations, we lost Loretta8, o-hole-ne, Tom Bayes, j7gibson, Donegal, SushiSam, and ABVidale.
6:11pm--Two birds with one stone for NitroHUN
With 17,505 to start the hand, Rakewell1 shoved all in from the button when the table had folded to him, swerte_nmn decided to call with his last 11,390 from the small blind, and NitroHUN (who had 22,196 to start) decided to play as well, calling from the big blind.
Bad enough when one of the blinds wakes up with a hand, though Rakewell1. But both?
The board came 4d-7h-9d-Kc-Ah, and NitroHUN had knocked out both swerte_nmn (in 75th place) and Rakewell1 (in 74th). NitroHUN is up to 52,916 after that one.
6:10pm--JBug40 and the suck, re-suck
LuparFiend opened the betting with a raise to 3,400 and was met with a reraise to 7,500 from JBug40. Undeterred, he four-bet it to 12,500, JBug40 moved all in for 4,672 more and LuparFiend quickly called. LuparFiend's pocket tens were in dire shape against JBug40's K-K...that is until the flop came down Qs-Tc-8d, making him middle set. The turn was the harmless 5c, but LuparFiend's dreams were dashed as the Kc appeared on the river, giving the re-suck and the 26,000 pot to JBug40, who made a higher set. LuparFiend was left with only 7,200.
6:08pm--A little bit about our remaining players...
Once the players got into the money, we asked them to give us a little information about themselves.
Since then we have discovered that thelivewire is married with three kids. We remember him from a few years back when he came in third in WBCOOP.
In another e-mail, dOdGyGrD write, "It's 3am in Dubai and I just made the top 100. How long to win a place in the PCA I wonder. I'm Rick Theobald, a freelance writer for the likes of Bluff and Flush magazines. I have to say, having played in the last few of these, this year has been great, and not only because I locked up a prize!"
6:05pm--Where'd everybody go?
It took exactly 10 minutes for us to go from 100 players to 75. Olimpinho remains out in front with 92,488, followed by csillagka with 82,611.
6:03pm--Going for broke
The all ins are coming quickly now that the bubble has burst. MultiRulez just got bumped in 95th place when his Kc-Ah couldn't catch up to TarHeel1641's pocket rockets.
AllJyn92 got bounced in 89th when Td-9d was no match for ABVidale's pocket kings.
jrgiacon2 then pushed with 8c-8s and was up against peggydee's As-7s. An ace flopped, jrgiacon couldn't come back, and he's out in 80th.
5:59pm--Up4Poker can't luckbox this one
After working a short stack for the last level or so, Up4Poker finally succumbed. He open-shoved for his remaining 2,968 with Jh-9s and was called by Baalim with Ac-Qd. The flop was Kd-Td-2s. The turn was a jack, though, making Baalim the nut straight and sending everyone's favorite luckbox to the rail in 97th place.
5:55pm--100 remain
...of the 369 who began the day. Suddenly it occurs to us, with 369 players, all of whom keep their own blogs, could this possibly become the most meticulously chronicled online poker tournament in history?
Something tells me these last 100 might have more to say about it tomorrow than the other 269. That's because these 100 have all made "the money" (so to speak). Those finishing 46th-100th are all guaranteed at least Step 3 entries. The big prizes await, however. (Click here for details.)
5:52pm--TNSpaceman blown out of orbit, PRO_rANDY hits the rail
Down to 3,118 in chips, TNSpaceman called all in for less after Sorror I made a pre-flop shove for 6,871. TNSpaceman's Q-Q was up against A-Q, and the Kd-9c-3h flop looked safe enough. The turn was the 6c, another safe card, but the Ah spiked on the river, sending him to the rail in 126th place.
Eliminated in a similar fashion was PRO_rANDY, who moved all in on a Ks-Ts-8h flop holding Kc-Qd, only to have DonBartos hit the Ah on the river for his A-Q to take it down and send him to the rail.
5:49pm--Olimpinho out in front
Olimpinho has catapulted to the top of the leaderboard following a couple of huge hands over on Table 45. First Olimpinho scored a 23,000-plus chip pot with pocket aces against LParreira's pocket kings. Then a 32,986-chip pot came Olimpinho's way after he and Cynders 1 decided to get it all in on a flop of 5c-Qc-5h (see how that one played out below).
Olimpinho now has 75,948, over 15,000 ahead of nearest competitor csillagka.
5:47pm--Up4Poker's stack falls on triple-barrel bluff
Up4Poker was cruising along, vacillating between 13K and 15K in chips after his K-J vs. A-K double-up...until this hand came along.
In a three-way limped pot the flop came down Jd-5h-3s. sillidillen, in the small blind checked to Up4Poker in the big, who put out a bet of 900. thelivewire called from position and sillidillen folded. The turn came the Kc. Up4Poker fired again, this time for 1,200, but thelivewire wasn't going anywhere-- he made the call. The river was the 7s and Up4Poker took one more shot at it, betting 2,000. thelivewire called.
Up4Poker's 5s-9s was no match for thelivewire's pocket tens. thelivewire vaulted up past 20,000 in chips while Up4Poker was left with 7,658.
5:42pm--AllJyn92 wins all in
Down to 7,598, Muppinger decided pocket queens was good enough to push all in, but unfortunately AllJyn92 was waiting there with pocket aces. The board came 6h-9h-5h-2h-8c, and Muppinger is out in 113th. AllJyn92 is up to 25,606. That's 16th place out of the 110 players remaining.
5:36pm--LaxStarr1995 doubles through PRO_rANDY
With nearly 20,000 in chips to start the hand, PRO_rANDY called LaxStarr's 925 opening raise from the big blind and the two saw a flop of 8s-5h-3s. PRO_rANDY check-called a 1,250 bet from his opponent. When the turn came the 8d, PRO_rANDY checked again, LaxStarr1995 fired out 2,450, and PRO_rANDY shoved over the top for 17,073. LaxStarr1995 made the call for the rest of his chips.
Both players had overpairs, LaxStarr1995's J-J well ahead of PRO_rANDY's 9-9. The Kh hit the river and the 22K pot was shipped to LaxStarr1995, while PRO_rANDY was knocked all the way down to 8,477 in chips.
5:31pm--MultiRulez on the rise
Four players limped to see a flop of 7c-Qs-4c. MultiRulez led out from the small blind for 800, and both MrAckley and SiresNme called. Hurricane010 then raised to 2,500. MultiRulez called, as did MrAckley. Then SiresNme reraised all in for 6,602 total. Hurricane010 responded by pushing all of his 18,015 in the middle as well. Then MultiRulez called with his last 8,970!
MrAckley, seeing three all ins ahead of him, typed the LOLCATSish "holy crap i has huge draw" before stepping aside.
The turn was the Ks, and Hurricane010 was still ahead. But the river was the Jc, completing MultiRulez' flush and awarding him the huge 34,092-chip pot.
5:29pm--ZClub outruns mattythatguy
After csillagka limped in for 400, ZClub made it 1,600 to go, only to be raised all in by mattythatguy, who shoved for his remaining 5,465. csillagka ran for cover, but ZClub made the call, committing his last 3,053 in chips. ZClub's A-K outraced matthythatguy's J-J when a king flopped, good for the 10,356 pot. mattythatguy was left with only two big blinds after the hand.
5:27pm--Dropping like...you know
In the 12 minutes that have passed since the second break, 32 players have been eliminated! Of the 138 that remain, 100 will win prizes while the rest will go home empty-handed.
5:23--Three-chip disadvantage means Photograph17 finished
BuddyDank was down to 4,860 chips, while Photograph17 had 4,857. Almost even. Both surely took note of that fact when BuddyDank decided to call Photograph17's all in. BuddyDank had pocket kings, and Photograph17 had Jd-As. The board came 3s-2s-8d-2d-9d, and the three measly chips BuddyDank had behind suddenly mushroomed to 10,554. Meanwhile, Photograph17 was out in 148th.
5:21pm--Loretta8 passes 30K
Loretta8 didn't waste any time in acquiring chips early in this event and he just took down a key pot to turn his average stack into a monster one.
Loretta8's 810 opening raise was called by djhomeschool and they saw a flop of Kc-6s-6d. Loretta8 bet 1,200 and djhomeschool called. The turn brought the 4c, a 2,400 bet from Loretta8 and another call from djhomeschool. The 7h fell on the river and Loretta8 shoved for 9,241, which earned a call from djhomeschool. Both players had a king in their hands, but Loretta8's A-K outkicked djhomeschool's K-T to earn him the massive 28,112 pot.
Only a few hands later, Loretta8 passed the 30,000 chip mark and currently holds the tournament's third largest stack.
5:20pm--A couple of comments from the field
At the break, we asked the field to give us a couple thoughts on the tournament and tell us a bit about themselves.
Tom Bayes said, "I like green chile, badugi, and deuce-to-seven lowball. NL holdem is my least favorite game." Oh, and despite the fact Tom Bayes is still in the event, he said, "djhomeschool is the guy I want to see win."
How kind.
CUdeP remarked, "This is the best tourney I have played ever. Thank you very much for this. I´m dreaming with some big prize and starting to playing higher tournaments."
5:14pm--QQ in BB = good times for dOdGyGrD
dOdGyGrD just picked up what might have been one of the largest pots of the tournament after taking most of espanhol_pt's stack following a preflop all-in confrontation. espanhol_pt had open-raised from the button, dOdGyGrD reraised to 2,450 from the big blind, espanhol_pt shoved for 9,905 total, and dOdGyGrD called. dOdGyGrD showed pocket queens, well ahead of espanhol_pt's Qc-As. The board came 4s-7s-3c-4d-Kh, and dOdGyGrD claimed the 19,450-chip pot.
espanhol_pt, down to just 470 chips after that hand, was eliminated in 169th on the next hand.
5:10pm--170 players alive at second break
Level 13
Blinds 175/350, ante 45
Average chip count: 10,852
Players remaining: 170
First prize: $14,300 PCA Package
Blogger notables heading to the rail in the last few minutes include Obie34, Easycure, ZeemJr, and lightning36
4:55pm--Stacks on the rise
A glance atop the leaderboard shows a few players closing in on the 30,000-chip mark at the moment. Priitk is in the lead currently with 29,748, followed by Rex Ferric with 29.032, and CUdeP with 25,840.
We are now down to 200 players.
4:51pm--Ladies Save ZClub
ZClub hadn't been able to get anything going so far, and down to only 1,347 in chips, he got most of them in pre-flop and the rest of them in on the flop with Q-Q vs. thelivewire's K-T. Ad-5c-3d-Ac-4d on the board and ZClub earned a much-needed double up (and then some) to 4,324.
4:47pm--Long live the king; the king is dead
Shortly after that double-up through TNSpaceman, micon's day abruptly ended after a big hand versus shearin88. On a flop of 7c-Qc-9d, micon decided the multiple draws afforded by Jc-Tc were good for gambling, and shearin88 came along for the ride with a set of nines. The set held up, and micon was out 233rd.
4:44pm--Micon Doubles through TNSpaceman
TNSpaceman doubled up quite early on with pocket aces, but just saw his stack halved by the man they call the "King of All Degenerates"-- micon.
In a three-way limped pot, TNSpaceman led out at the Th-7s-2c flop for 300. Both micon and LaNaranjita called. The turn came the 7d, pairing the board and TNSpaceman took another shot at the pot, betting 600. micon called and LaNaranjita folded. The river fell the Ad. TNSpaceman slowed down and checked,but was met with a shove from micon for his last 1,887. TNSpaceman made the call.
TNSpaceman's 9h-Ts for two pair, tens and sevens couldn't match micon's sevens full of aces with A-7 in the hole and micon doubled to 6,484. TNSpaceman was knocked down to 5,278.
4:41pm--Here come cowboys; gadzooks64 doubles up
gadzooks64 raised to 600 from middle position, and the table folded around to schmengie who called from the big blind. The flop came 4c-5s-Th, and schmengie checked. gadzooks64 bet 1,000, and schmengie check-raised all in for 6,615 altogether. gadzooks64 called with her last 3,320, showing Kc-Kh for the overpair. "oops" typed schmengie, as he showed Jd-Jh.
The turn and river both brought sevens, and gadzooks64 doubled up to 10,165. schmengie is now at 2,295.
4:38pm--o-hole-ne doubles through PRO_rANDY in battle of the big stacks
PRO_rANDY, continuing to play with agression and abandon, opened yet another pot for 3 big blinds and found a caller in o-hole-ne. PRO_rANDY fired out 920 at the Kh-7c-2d flop, o-hole-ne put in a min-raise to 1,840, and PRO_rANDY called. The Jh on the turn gave PRO_rANDY pause and he checked, allowing o-hole-ne to fire out a bet of
1,590. PRO_rANDY made the call. The river was the 3h and both players checked.
o-hole-ne turned up Qs-Js, having paired up on the turn after raising the flop with air, crushing PRO_rANDY's pocket tens. o-hole-ne jumped out to 16,955 in chips while PRO_rANDY was left sitting on 15,978.
4:33pm--That's gonna leave a mark
Just saw a wince-inducing elimination over on Table 36. A short-stacked forstuvning had pushed all in for 1,987 with As-Js, and ABVidale, having him comfortably covered, made the call with Qs-Qd. The flop came Ac-2h-6d, and forstuvning was suddenly way ahead. The turn was the 4c. Still good. Then came the river... the Qc.
"No... Noooo!" typed forstuvning. In green, of course, as he had been rudely removed from the table, ending the day in 261st. Meanwhile, ABVidale is up to 15,397 -- that's top 15 at the moment.
4:31pm--8-game winner out of the mix
DjFog86, winner of the mixed 8-game qualifier is out of the 2008 WBCOOP after having his aces cracked by Kd-Qd on an all diamond flop.
4:26pm--Luckbox lives up to his name
Blogger Up4Poker is affectionately known as "The Luckbox" by his peers and demonstrated just how he got that name on this hand vs. kapiuksheing. Up4Poker opened for 375 and kapiuksheing made the call. On the Kc-6h-2h flop, Up4Poker checked, kapiuksheing made a small bet of 240, and Up4Poker check-raised all in for his remaining 2,429. kapiuksheing called and turned up As-Kd to Up4Poker's Ks-Js. No problem for the Luckbox, though... as the Jh spiked on the turn to make him two pair. No ace on the river and Up4Poker doubled to 5,923 in spectacular fashion.
4:21pm--Oh, and just one more thing...
Columbo777 started late today, and so had blinded down a bit by the time he finally took his seat late in the first hour. Down to 3,305, it appeared the time had come to solve the Case of the Dwindling Chips.
The table had folded around to Columbo777 who completed from the small blind. Player titcar, who had Columbo777 covered, raised to 360, prompting Columbo777 to repop it all-in. titcar quickly called, showing Ad-Ac, well ahead of Columbo777's 5c-5d.
The board came 9d-2c-Kd-Jc-Tc, and Columbo777 was free to walk his dog, having ended the day in 280th. titcar currently has 6,695.
4:16pm--Oh captain! my Captain! Our fearful trip is done
Speaking of OhMyCaptain's elimination...
Down to 1,993 chips, OhMyCaptain decided the time had come to right the ship. After DidiTKN raised to 320 from the button, OhMyCaptain pushed all in from the small blind, and DidiTKN called. OhMyCaptain showed 9d-Ac, and DidiTKM Tc-Ts. The board came 3d-7s-Qc-Kh-8h, and OhMyCaptain sailed away in 289th. DidiTKM has since chipped up to 12,703, good enough for the top 20.
4:15pm--Recent eliminations
Since the end of the first break we've lost esteemed bloggers OhMyCaptain, asphnxma, and NumbBono.
4:10pm--GRobman humbled, badblood44 in need of bandages
In the first hands after the first break, both badblood44 and GRobman went off to find other activities for the Sunday afternoon. GRobman was crippled before the break and came back with an eye on doubling up. It didn't work out. Badblood44's chips went to fellow poker blogger Donegal in a TT vs KK battle on a 334 flop. You can find badblood44 at the Badugi tables. GRobman will be somewhere combing his hair and admiring himself.
4:08pm--A visual of the rake's progress
As an added bonus, we have the visual for the Rakewell1 hand:
4:05pm--Rakewell1 rakes one in
Vegas rounder and oberserver of all things infuriating, blogger Rakewell1 just benefited from a timely double-up with AK vs A9. That was as entertaining for him as his recent observation the advertisement in Vegas that advertised steak "just off the casino floor" was for us.
4:02pm--Whew...first break
Level 7
Blinds 50/100, ante 10
Average chip count: 5,990
Players remaining: 308
First prize: $14,300 PCA Package
pillango and Tom Bayes both limped in for 50 and were met with a raise from lenCindahood to 250. TBPauly flat-called, pillango gave up his hand and Tom Bayes called as well. The flop came down Qs-7h-6c. Tom Bayes checked, lenCindahood bet 550, TBPauly shoved for 3,710, and Tom Bayes shoved behind him for his remaining 5,080, leading lenCindahood to get out of the way. The cards went on their backs:
Tom Bayes 7d-6d
TBPauly Qc-Jc
Bayes was far ahead with two pair to TBPauly's top pair, and his hand held up through the 2d on the turn and the Kc on the river. THe 8,845 pot was shipped to Tom Bayes, increasing his stack to 10,215, while TBPauly hit the rail in 341st place.
3:54pm--It wasn't a blind steal, after all
It folded to chezchez2 who raised 4x to 240 from the button. Vandalar called from the small blind, and pickup09 folded the BB. The flop came 4d-7c-Ah. Both checked. The turn was the 5c. Vandalar checked, chezchez2 bet 320, and Vandalar called. The river was the 9s. Vandalar checked, chezchez2 bet 640, then Vandalar surprisingly check-raised all in for a total of 6,735.
chezchez2 suddenly had a decision to make. After thinking for a while, chezchez2 made the call with his last 5,050. Vandalar showed 6s-7s for a pair of sevens. chezchez2 showed Ac-As for a set of aces.
That pot pushed chezchez2 up to 12,580, while Vandalar has tumbled all of the way down to 1,045 for the busted move.
3:45pm--Easycure takes it easy on OhMyCaptain
Easycure limped in for 60 from UTG+1, DidiTKM completed from the SB, and OhMyCaptain checked his option in the BB. The flop came 2d-7d-Jc. DidiTKM checked, OhMyCaptain bet 180, Easycure called, and DidiTKM got out of the way. Both checked the Ac on the turn. The river was the 8c, putting a possible backdoor flush on board. OhMyCaptain checked, Easycure bet 180, and OhMyCaptain called. Easycure showed Qh-As for top pair, and OhMyCaptain mucked.
Easycure now has 6,205, while OhMyCaptain slipped to 2,763 on that hand.
3:44pm--PRO_rANDY Grinds Out a Double
PRO_rANDY is tearing up his table, having already doubled his starting stack in the space of only a few hands. After making a full house against FANTOMEX, who had turned trip fours, PRO_rANDY took down three consecutive pots to chip up to 8,300. Then came this hand.
PRO_rANDY opened for 150 and got one caller in C8meplacton. The flop was Jc-6c-3c. C8mepacton checked, PRO_rANDY bet 225 and C9meplacton called. The turn was the 4d and C8mepacton check-called a 525 bet from PRO_rANDY. The river fell the Kh and C8mepacton check-called another bet, this time for 1,125. PRO_rANDY turned up Qc-8c for the flush and raked in another 4,075 chips to take his stack up to 10,405. He's currently among the top ten in chips.
3:41pm--SushiSam needs some sake
It's time to celebrate at SushiSam's table. Why? Well this is one helluva board.
[8c 4c 2h 4d] [Ks]
Why so hellish? Well, consider SushiSam held a four in his hand.
Consider his opponent,PNEWS_ITALIA, held pocket kings.
Now, consider SushiSam also held the case four in his hand.
"I can't believe it," SushiSam said.
3:40pm--sleddog leading the pack
Forty minutes in and so far 30 of our starting field of 369 have fallen by the wayside. Right now sleddog has the most chips of the 339 players left with 14,750, with Pinkypollo close behind with 14,720.
3:33pm--LoneRhino looks for another way to Bahamas
After winning Event #6 yesterday, LoneRhino looked in good form for today's event. It was not to be. He's out after the first half hour of play.
3:31pm--peggydee harpoons TheUKShark
TheUKShark just met an unfortunate, early end after flopping trip nines against peggydee. Unfortunately for TheUKShark, peggydee also flopped trips, and peggydee's bigger kicker meant TheUKShark was just about dead in the water. Here's how it happened:
3:28pm--MrAckley "Tight!"
Bloggers are sometimes like dealers. They have a lot of gamble in them. Not so much the case at MrAckley's table. "We might see a flop one in five hands," he said. MrAckley final tabled the first ever WBCOOP in 2005.
3:25pm--Obie34 Flushes the Competition
j7gibson opened for 160, and Obie34 made the call. j7 gibson led out for 200 on the Qc Td 7d flop and Obie34 called. The turn brought the Ad and j7gibson bet another 200 but was met with a raise to 600. Undeterred, he called 400 more. The river was a dangerous-looking Js, putting a possible straight out there to go with the possible flush. j7gibson checked, Obie34 bet 1,200 and j7gibson called.
The crafty Obie34 showed 8d-9d for a flush and raked in a hefty pot to start his tournament, increasing his stack to 6,550.
3:22pm--gadzooks64 spooks Shishio13
Player gadzooks64 -- who managed to make the top 72 in the first three WBCOOP preliminary events -- just picked up a few chips here at the outset of play. Shishio13 raised preflop from middle position to 120, and it folded around to gadzooks64 who called from the BB. The flop came As-6d-2h. gadzooks64 checked, Shishio13 made a continuation bet of 210, and gadzooks64 called. The turn brought the 2s, prompting gadzooks64 to bet 570 into the 675-chip pot. Shishio13 stepped aside.
Shishio13 now has 4,580, while gadzooks64 has 5,350.
3:16pm--Pinkypollo pole-vaults into lead
Pinkypollo has jumped out to an early lead, thanks to a huge hand versus Virrr. Preflop, Virrr had raised to 90 from UTG, Pinkypollo reraised to 150, and it folded back around to Virrr who called. The flop came 3d-Ks-9c. Virrr checked, Pinkypollo shoved all in for 8,330, and Virrr called for 4,655. Virrr showed Kc-Js for top pair, but Pinkypollo had Ad-Kh for top pair, better kicker. The turn was the 2d, the river the 5h, and Virrr hit the rail in 362nd.
Pinkypollo meanwhile sits atop the leaderboard with 13,330.
3:15pm--Blood spilled early
badblood44 opened for a 75 chip raise and RevmodPoker made the call. badblood44 led out at the 9c 3d 2s flop for 120, RevmodPoker popped him with a min-raise to 240, and badblood44 retaliated with a three-bet to 660. RevmodPoker called. The turn fell the 9s, pairing the board. badblood44 fired again, this time for 500 and RevmodPoker flat-called. The river was the Kh. badblood44 slowed down and ultimately check-folded to RevmodPoker's 750 river bet, conceding the 2,500+ pot.
badblood44 was down to 3,015 after the hand while RevmodPoker shot up to 6,200.
3:13pm--LParreria looking to go back-to-back
The 2007 WBCOOP champion is LParreria showing some early strength today. In the first fiteen minutes of play, he has doubled his stack to more than 10,000.
3:04pm--TNSpaceman rockets ahead
TNSpaceman open-raised to 60 from the cutoff, donkulate reraised to 200 from the button, the table folded back around and TNSpaceman called. The flop came 9h-2c-2d. TNSpaceman checked, donkulate bet 180, and TNSpaceman called. The turn was the 8h. TNSpaceman again checked, and this time donkulate bet 420. TNSpaceman promptly check-raised to 1,120. donkulate thought a moment, then called the reraise.
The river brought the 6c. TNSpaceman pushed all in for 2,280, and donkulate made the call. TNSpaceman showed 9d-9s for the flopped boat, while donkulate mucked. TNSpaceman is up to 8,810, while donkulate slips to 1,020.
3:03pm--GRobman humble as always
Anyone who has ever played live or online with GRobman knows he is as self-effacing and humble as any blogger in the business. GRobman qualified this week in one of the no-limit hold'em contests and today is proving the old adage, it's hard to be humble when you're this damned good. He said as the event began, "I'm honored to be playing in the Poker Stars Blogger Championship. I'm sure the other bloggers are equally honored to be playing with me."
3:02pm--Gigli honors go to BigSlickNut
Poker bloggers have a tradition of awarding the Gigli designation to the person who busts first from their tournament. That honor, named after the tragic Ben Affleck flick, goes today to BigSlickNut. He called all in with pocket queens on a 2c-5h-9h flop against Ah-7h. Sure enough, a heart fell on the river. Sorry, BSN.
3:01pm--Cards on the screen!
The first cards have been dealt, and we have a casualty in the first minute of play. BigSlickNut from Huntsville left the tournament in 369th place; more information to come. Action may be faster than anticipated today.
2:55pm--Ready for kickoff!
It seems that the players in today's much-anticipated event are taking their virtual seats at 41 tables and gearing up to win some phenomenal prizes today. With the final 100 survivors "in the prizes," if you will, we're looking for some exciting action at the kickoff with 369 players.
2:00pm--WBCOOP Main Event to begin shortly
The main event of the 2008 PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker will begin at 3:00pm ET.
PokerStars has already given away $50,000 worth of prizes in the prelim events. Now, it's time to fight for the $50,000 worth of Main Event prizes.
The 369 qualifiers from the six preliminary events will be fighting for the following prizes.
1st--PokerStars Caribbean Adventure prize package 2nd--European Poker Tour prize package, SCOOP, Main Event ticket, Step 6 ticket 3rd--European Poker Tour prize package 4th--SCOOP Main Event ticket + Step 6 ticket 5th--Step 6 ticket 6th--SCOOP Main Event ticket 7th--$1,050 Tournament entry 8th--Step 5 ticket 9th--$530 Tournament entry 10th-18th--$320 Tournament entry 19th-27th--$215 Tournament entry 28th-45th-- $109 Tournament entry 46th-100th-- Step 3 ticket
The 2008 PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker now has its final field set. Sunday's WBCOOP Main Event will host 369 of the world's top poker playing bloggers as they fight for a prize package to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, a European Poker Tour Trip, and other big prizes. You can see a full list of Sunday's players HERE.
Saturday's Event #6 was, as expected, the biggest preliminary event yet. Nearly 550 players showed up for the no-limit hold'em event. The top 72 were guaranteed seats in Sunday's final. Among the top 72 were some of the better known poker bloggers: BigSlickNut, on_thg, BuddyDank, Donegal, CawtBluffin, ZeemJr, and badblood44.
Perhaps the least surprising performance came from the well-known blogger known as glyphic (12th place). Not only did he make the final table in the 2006 WBCOOP, he also won the World Poker Blogger Tour's Holiday Classic a few years back. We'll be watching him today as he settles in to the WBCOOP final.
Top honors, however, went to the United States' Lone Rhino. He picked up three $215 tournament tickets, one $530 tournament ticket and an $11 tournament ticket to go along with the entry into the Main Event final.
Could there have been a better-named winner in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker 8-game mixed event? When the players are bouncing from game to game, it's hard to image a mix-master like DjFog86 wasn't destined to win.
More than 450 players showed up for Event #5 to compete for a seat in Sunday's WBCOOP final and tons of big prizes. With just two events remaining for the world's top poker playing bloggers to nab their chance at the big prizes, the pressure to finish well was near its zenith.
The top 72 players contained some names with which we've already become familiar. Event #1 winner snowsharkpe finished in 51st place. Longtime poker blogger asphnxma made his second appearance in the top 72. Noted poker blogger o-hole-ne nabbed his seat as well.
Also among the top 72 was a name we're beginning to see quite a bit. MrAckley final tabled the WBCOOP final last year and had already won his seat this year. Regardless, he snagged yet another spot in the top 72. The accomplishment not only earned him a Step 2 ticket for his 39th place finish, but it also thinned the main event field by one seat. The final had a maximum of 432 available seats, but every time a blogger qualifies more than once, it reduces the field of main event players. With one preliminary event left, the final field has 311 qualified players. Seventy-two seats are available in Event #6 before all the qualifiers move on to Sunday's main event.
Saturday marks the final opportunity the bloggers have to make it into Sunday's final. The 15:00 No-Limit Hold'em contest will award 72 seats and thousands of dollars worth of prizes. By evening we will know the final field for the main event and who will have a chance at the big-time prizes like A PCA package, EPT trips, and SCOOP seats.
So, you've dallied. It happens. We all get busy around the holidays. What with all the gift shopping, yuletide cheer, and family vacations, we can all be forgiven for not winning our Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure seat yet.
Seriously? You haven't got your seat yet? Get on the ball, folks, because time is running out. Fortunately for you, PokerStars is preparing for a giant weekend of PCA qualifying. On the weekend of December 27 and 28 PokerStars is going to give out 40 PCA seats in just two days.
On December 27 at 16:30, PokerStars is running the first of the two big qualifiers. The $650 qualifier will award a guaranteed ten seats to the PCA. Then, on December 28 at 18:00 PokerStars will roll out the big guns. The PCA satellite on Sunday will award a startling 30 seats.
If you don't have the $650 to drop into the satellites directly, that's no problem. PokerStars is constantly running feeder satellites to the big qualifiers. Just click on Events and PCA in the PokerStars tournament lobby to find the right price for your bankroll. You could soon enter the ranks of previous PCA winners Gus Hansen, John Gale, Steve Paul-Ambrose, Ryan Daut, and Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier.
Game preparation is another topic we generally do not see covered or discussed in poker literature, yet it is an integral part of your poker package. What can you do when not at the table, to be best prepared to play well on the table?
For starters, you should keep impeccable records of your play. I personally use an Excel spreadsheet. Your records should include the amount of hours you play; the date and time of day for each session; the limit and type of game you play; your per-game and overall session results (if playing in multiple games online). Keeping accurate records gives you an objective picture of your success (or lack thereof) at each game, and at each limit. You may be surprised at what you will learn about how certain situations affect your results. You can also assess your “money management” and “when I should have quit” decisions.
If you follow a money management guideline, there may be times when you get stubborn and do not adhere to it. Keep a chart on how you did in your session after not following those guidelines. You may find that a certain aspect of your game should be adjusted. For example, you may be shocked at how dramatically your results drop off after a certain number of hours. Having accurate information on this subject gives you a real picture of what’s happening.
These types of records should also be kept for tax purposes. This applies whether you are a winning or a losing player. Tax laws vary from country to country, as do accounting requirements. For the most part, the IRS trusts Americans to file accurately, and to keep accurate records. But they obviously do not react well to false reporting, which can lead to criminal charges. With a sport such as poker, the only times any formal records are reported to the IRS are when forms are issued if you cash in a tournament. If you do get lucky enough to have a big win, you may be able to deduct losses to offset that win, but you will need accurate records to justify those deductions. If you are a poker professional, or only using this sport to make extra income, I would recommend hiring a CPA familiar with gambling issues.
On an unrelated topic, I have met many people in my 20 years in poker who have become friends.
From 2001-2004, I took a break from all gaming activity, and many of these people remained friends, showing me that our relationships were not just out of convenience.
As we developed closer bonds, I found it harder to compete against them in poker, even though we understood that our results and strategy “at the tables” would have nothing to do with our “off the felt” relationship.
Although as adults and consummate professionals we were successful at achieving this, I admit that it was hard for me. It came to where I did not want to compete against my friends in poker, especially to bluff them. I am not saying to not become friendly with your opponents, I am just pointing out that it may be hard for you to “play hard” against them if you do. And if you are not playing hard against your opponents, you are not maximizing every situation, and that will reduce your earn.
Online poker somewhat alleviates this potential problem because there is no “visual” attached; you don’t have to see you opponents and “look them in the eye,” especially after a “tough beat” one of you gave the other. This is a problem that’s particularly problematic in poker, as opposed to other sports.
Professional athletes do develop friendships, even though they are competing against each other for a lot of money and prestige. The major difference with athletics, as opposed to poker, is that professional athletes (in most sports) are getting paid a lot of guaranteed salary regardless of their results. I can assure you that makes it a lot easier for them to compete hard against each other and not let it affect their friendship.
In poker, there is no salary. The money you are playing for directly goes from one player to another. Therefore, it is possible that players who genuinely like each other can let poker activity affect their relationship. That’s just human nature. Some successful players have that “killer instinct” no matter what – no matter who they are playing. They can be among the most dangerous players.
“Ego” also needs to be taken into account here. That, too, can negatively affect people’s feelings towards each other in the poker world. Although you and your compadre may try to avoid playing in the same, often that’s not possible because of the limited times and days your favorite games are being spread. If that is the case, you will just have to do your best to alleviate any potential discomfort.
You also should be aware that opponents, who know that you and your friend(s) are playing in the same game, may be suspicious of potential or perceived collusion between the two (or more) of you. Your opponents may also have an issue if you are playing in the same game with someone who is either taking “a piece of your action” or fully staking you. It’s important, for your own integrity and the integrity of the game, to always play your hands hard, regardless of your friendship or financial arrangements.
When I have been in this position, I have made it clear to my opponents exactly which player in that game was staking me. Because of the potential added scrutiny, my sponsor and I also made sure that we played super hard against each other, even though it was a losing proposition for the sponsor.
If you perform well, you may be offered to be staked, or have someone want to take a piece of your action. This may or may not be good for you. There are many people who prefer playing strictly with their own money. They feel bad if they lose someone else’s money, and might even change their play (usually for the worse) because someone else has an interest in their results.
It can also be difficult to give up a portion of your winnings after a big winning session. Some people would rather play lower limits with their own bankroll, limited as it may be, as opposed to having an investor. They do not like the added pressure.
I have found, for me, that sponsorship has given me more opportunities.
If there is a great game at a higher limit (either a one-time deal or something more regular) but you don’t have the bankroll to play, a full or partial sponsor could enable you to play in these higher limit games. There will always be great higher limit games with bankroll requirements beyond your means, no matter how much money you have accumulated. If you can deal with the pressure, you can take advantage of these opportunities. I would not change my play because I am staked, and I would not feel bad if I lose a backer’s funds. He/she should not be staking you if he/she did not have the money to risk. If you feel that your potential backer cannot handle your losing, you should not accept the arrangement.
I would advise only getting involved with a sponsor who does not “micro-manage,” i.e., hover over you, question your strategy or results, etc. Unfortunately, many sponsors do this, and I would stay away from them. A backing arrangement is one of trust. You should trust your backer, and he/she should trust you. You each must be completely honest with each other; a poker player’s word is his bond. If you break your word, people will hear about it, and you will find it hard to ever be trusted again.
Next week we will continue on this topic, and cover different type of deals that are commonplace in the poker staking world.
In the meantime, you can find me in the $10/$20 and $30/$60 limit games in our Stud section, as well as in our weekly $215 buy-in tournaments. Please check the starting times of each of those events under Tourney > Special in the PokerStars lobby.
Feel free to contact me with any questions, suggestions or thoughts at adamr@pokerstars.com.
See you at the tables!
Feel free to contact me with any questions, suggestions or thoughts at adamr@pokerstars.com. See you at the tables!
Thursday's Event #4 was a no-limit hold'em affair that awarded Main Event seats to the top 72 finishers and big-time prizes to the top 45.
The top 72 who players who earned seats featured longtime poker bloggers GRobman and ABVidale. Also among the Main Event qualifiers was last year's WBCOOP champion LParreira. Another final table player from last year, MrAckley, just qualified for his seat today as well.
Event #4 winner 2T!lt4Fold not only picked up a Main Event seat today, but also a ton of big prizes. His first place finish earned him three $215 tournament tickets, one $530 tournament ticket and a $11 tournament tickets. He and the other top 72 will not play Sunday for a PokerStars Caribbeann Adventure seat, an EPT seat, a few SCOOP seats (yes, we'll talk about SCOOP very soon...), and tons of other tournament tickets.
The Shark was feeling a bit peckish. Then again, Team PokerStars Pro Humberto Brenes is always feeling a little hungry for chips. Put him in water full of players who match his life experience and Brenes' stomach growls even more.
Such was the scene at Event #11 of the Bellagio Five Diamond seniors event. One hundred sixty-eight players put down $1,500 apiece to fight for the no-limit hold'em title. It was a feeding frenzy for the godfather of Costa Rican poker. Brenes confessed he was aching for a win. It had been two years since he'd nabbed a first place spot. With the blood in the water, Brenes went to work and emerged with the victory.
Brenes' work began early in event, increasing his stack by 50% on the second hand of the tournament. It allowed him to play some big-stack poker and relax for most of the first day. By the time the blinds had climbed to 500/1000/100, Brenes came in for 4,000 with Ad-Ac. His opponent, a conservative player, called with position. The flop came down Jd-7s-6d.
Brenes said later that, given he was holding the Ace of diamonds, he felt safe in going for a check-raise. It didn't work. His opponent checked behind and they saw the 7d. This time, Brenes put out a 10,000 bet. It was soon clear, Brenes' timing was off. His opponent moved all-in. It was 25,000 more for Brenes to call. The Team PokerStars Pro went into the tank. If he were to lose the hand, he would be down to 8,000 chips. Win and it's smooth sailing. Brenes made the call and felt his stomach turn. His opponent turned up Kd-Qd for the flush.
Brenes had eleven outs with one card to come. He got one of them, the 7c, and scooped the monster. The voracious chip eater dribbled a few luck crumbs on his shirt and smiled. Brenes reached the six-handed final table in second place with 182.000 chips out of 750,000 in play.
The Costa Rican had a great start at the final table, eliminating the first player with J-J against 4-4. Brenes retook the chip lead and held it until he got heads up with his old buddy Chris Bjorin. It took two and half hours to play out the heads up battle.
The ultimate hand played like this: Brenes had the button and completed with Qd-9d. Bjorin raised with Qs-Jc and Brenes called.The flop showed Jd-10t-6d. No question, this hand was about to be the last one. The chips were in with all due speed. The board ran out 3c-5d to give Brenes the flush and the win.
Humberto Brenes
Brenes pocketed $78,220 for his efforts and won his first bracelet at the Bellagio.
Bloggers love to gamble. Anybody who doubts that should spend five or ten minutes around them in Las Vegas (or, perhaps worse, when there are some spare limes that can be tossed into a trash can for large amounts of money). Anybody who still doubts it should've watched the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker Event #3.
The Pot-Limit Omaha 8/b event drew nearly 400 of the blogging world's gamblers. Seventy-two of them were guaranteed seats in this weekend's WBCOOP Main Event. There they will get a chance to play for some big prizes, not the least of which are a prize package to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, a seat on the European Poker Tour, and main event tickets to SCOOP (you don't know what SCOOP is, eh? Well, you will soon enough).
The top 72 was littered with notable names from the poker blogging community, including Up4Poker, TheTrooper06, OhMyCaptain, TNSpaceman, micon, willythewise, heffmike, asphnxma, and once again Easycure.
One of the more interesting stories out of WBCOOP so far is the one playing out at the hands of gadzooks64. Out of three WBCOOP events, gadzooks64 has placed in the top 72 in every one. The blogger wrote this morning, "My goal was to win as many seats as I could to reduce the competition for the Final Event. So far I'm 3/3 baby! I won my seat the first time out. I managed to score a Step 2 ticket from next event. Last night I wanted a Step 3 or better." So how did that turn out? Gadzooks64 was among the final table players who earned a Sunday Majors gold package.
Top honors in the event went to pgchips who outlasted the field to win three $215 tournament tickets, one $530 tournament ticket and a $11 tournament ticket for first place. Here's how the final table looked.
There are still three more chances for the bloggers to earn their seats in Sunday's final and there are still thousands of dollars in prelim event prizes left up for grabs. WBCOOP Event #4 kicks off at 14:00 ET Thursday.
Good luck to everybody still fighting for their seats.
Maybe you've been around the block a few times. Maybe you have sat across the poker table from the big name pros, called their bluff, and stacked their chips. But have you ever sat across the dinner table from them and shared a plate of chips? What about prop bet on a round of golf? Seen a Team PokerStars Pro with no shirt? Okay, ignore the last one. We're all still trying to forget that.
PokerStars has just announced a special promotion for the hundreds of people who have won seats to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure next month. Not only do the players get their buy-in, hotel, and travel money, they now get the chance for some once-on-one time with people like Daniel Negreanu, Humberto Brenes, Chad Brown, and Vanessa Rousso.
This Sunday, PokerStars is running three freerolls that will give satellite qualifiers a chance for a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Luxury dinner with Chad Brown & Vanessa Rousso (14:00 ET)
The top two players in this event will get a seat for themselves and their guests at a six-top table at the Seafire Steakhouse at the Atlantis Marina (recommendation: medium rare filet with a good dirty martini).
Dolphin swimming with Humberto Brenes (14:15 ET)
The top player in this freeroll will head out to Paradise Island's 14-acre dolphin sanctuary with Team PokerStars Pro Humberto Brenes. There, you will swim with the shark himself as well as a bunch of exceedingly cool dolphins.
Golf with Daniel Negreanu (14:30 ET)
You might have heard a little bit about Daniel Negreanu's passion for golf. He may not be the best shot in the world, but he's getting better every day and doesn't mind a little side action to keep things interesting. All of that aside, he's planning to take three people out with him for a friendly round of golf in the Bahamas. The top three players in this freeroll will get 18 holes with Negreanu at the Ocean Club Golf Course.
Say anything you want about Team PokerStars Pro Victor Ramdin, but don't question his ability to be bold or dedication to PokerStars players.
Ramdin was playing in the Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic this weekend and found himself in a tough spot. It had nothing to do with his ultra-tough opponents. Much to their surprise, Ramdin stood up in the middle of the tournament, announced he was otherwise engaged, and walked out of the tournament room.
As it happened, Ramdin was scheduled to play in two VIP Club matches on PokerStars. Each one of the players in the matches had spent 15,000 Frequent Player Points to play against Ramdin. Ramdin had spent $15,000 to get into the Five-Diamond. To Ramdin, there was no question at all. He estimated it would cost him no less than 20,000 chips in the live (not to mention anything he might actually earn in the meantime) if he went upstairs and played.
"It's important that you treat your fans with respect," he said.
And so to his computer he went, leaving his blinds to be nicked and his chips to be scattered among his opponents. Unlike some pros with a fan responsibility, Ramdin not only showed up, he played hard.
"I played my heart out," he said. "I didn't just shove my chips in."
His reward? A bad beat in each event to send him back to the Five-Diamond. Well, not only that. Because of his dedication to the PokerStars VIP Club members, the World Poker Tour named him the Blue Diamond Almond Bold Player of the Day. For that honor, Ramdin will get a can of Blue Diamond Almonds delivered to his house every week for a year. He may never want for the nuts again.
Ramdin went on to cash in the Five-Diamond, busting out late last night in 61st place for $23,420.
"I did what I had to do and I'm happy with that," he said.
In other Five Diamond news Team PokerStars Pro Humberto Brenes also made it to the money, and Barry Greenestein is still alive going into Day 4.
The top 72 players in WBCOOP's second event earned their place in the Main Event. Tuesday's no-limit hold'em contest drew 559 of the world's poker playing bloggers. As we've mentioned, this year WBCOOP is made up of six preliminary qualifiers and one Main Event. Each of the qualifying events awards 72 final seats plus thousands off dollars in prizes.
Event #2 took more than five hours to play out and saw tons of familiar names from the blogging community. Notable poker bloggers Easycure, Rakewell1, NumbBono, gadzooks64, and Loretta8 all made it to the top 72 and earned their seats in the Main Event. Top honors, however, went to the United States' malice51 who not only made it to the final, but also picked up three $215 tournament tickets, one $530 tournament ticket and a $11 tournament ticket (aka, Sunday Majors Platinum Package).
If you're an eligible blogger, you still have time to qualify for this weekend's Main Event. Top prizes include a full PokerStars Caribbean Adventure package and a chance to play on the European Poker Tour.
Here''s what the full Main Event prize pool looks like.
They have played countless hands of poker and written countless words about the victories and defeats. Now, they are facing off to determine who is the top blogger of 2008.
For the first time ever, the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker is playing out as a series of events. The seven-event series is putting the world's top poker playing bloggers against each other in a variety of poker disciplines. The top 72 players in each of the six preliminary events will face off this Sunday in a battle for blogging supremacy and for a chance to play at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and on the European Poker Tour.
Event #1 was a Pot-Limit Omaha affair that drew 450 of the world's bloggers to the virtual felt. The top 72 players earned a seat in this weekend's final. The final 45 players got at least a PokerStars Step 2 ticket and had a chance at event bigger prizes.
The five-hour event saw the kind of hard-core gambling you'd expect from an Omaha event. The final table players were all guaranteed at least two $215 tournament tickets and had a chance at the first prize, three $215 tournament tickets, one $530 tournament ticket and a $11 tournament ticket.
Top honors in Event #1 went to Italy's snowsharkpe who, like everyone in the top 72 won a seat to the final, but also more than $1,100 in prizes. Here's how the final table broke down.
WBCOOP continues Tuesday at 19:00 ET with a No-Limit Hold'em contest. The top 72 players in Eevent #2 will join those from the other preliminary events this Sunday.
Congratulations to the blogger who qualified in Event #1 and good luck to everyone in Event #2.
It's shaping up to be quite a December at PokerStars.
With the live PokerStars tournament scene on a holiday hiatus, it's time to turn our full attention to online action. And action there was this weekend with more than 20 big tournaments running on Sunday alone. The most notable of the contests was the PokerStars Sunday Million, an event that saw the top three finishers earn six figures apiece. PokerStars player opis/sp took down the lion's share, winning more than $150,000.
Only a few more opportunities to claim a Sunday Million victory in the 2008 calendar year brought another stellar field to the PokerStars tables on December 14th. No amount of holiday shopping or family obligations could keep poker players away from the most popular weekly tournament in online poker.
The total of 7,549 players brought the prize pool over the guarantee to $1,509,800, and the top 1,080 finishers would be awarded a piece of it.
Play moved right along until hand-for-hand kicked in at the money bubble little more than 3 hours and 45 minutes into the tournament. Several minutes later, it was 0120 who busted in 1081st place on the bubble to allow for Bradford_211 to cash in 1080th place for $301.96. Another 30 players left in the next two minutes, and play progressed toward the final table.
Among the Team PokerStars Pros in the field this Sunday were Barry Greenstein, Greg Raymer, Luca Pagano, Chad Brown, Vanessa Rousso, and John Duthie. But it was Steve Paul-Ambrose who finished in the money at 459th place.
From the 8 ½ hour mark at which the final two tables were reached, it took approximately 30 minutes to find the nine finalists. It happened when TommyE79 and Jarfish went to see the 9d-5h-Ac flop. Both checked, but when the Tc came on the turn, Jarfish pushed all-in with Jc-7c. TommyE79 called with As-Ad for trip aces, and when the 7h on the river didn’t complete Jarfish’s straight or flush, he was gone on the final table bubble. The tenth place finish was worth $7,549.00.
The final table was then set as follows:
Seat 1: opis/sp (12,767,804 in chips)
Seat 2: Mighty Horse (3,541,273 in chips)
Seat 3: CHI01 (10,390,449 in chips)
Seat 4: jdballer40 (8,197,282 in chips)
Seat 5: TommyE79 (14,622,073 in chips)
Seat 6: AvelonSalheb (5,001,841 in chips)
Seat 7: drpossjr25 (6,631,726 in chips)
Seat 8: Eeedz (10,212,455 in chips)
Seat 9: 5fish (4,125,097 in chips)
On the very first hand of nine-handed play, 5fish doubled up to be in a more comfortable position. After some time passed, drpossjr25 and Eeedz doubled as well. But when AvelonSalheb tried the same feat, it didn’t turn out as planned. He pushed from the big blind for 5,461,281 with Ad-Jd, and CHI01 called with Kh-Qd. The board came almost too perfectly for CHI01 with Td-Js-8c-9h-6d, and AvelonSalheb was gone in ninth place with $10,568.60.
Mighty Horse had been unable to get much going and finally pushed pre-flop for 1,841,273 with 9s-8c. TommyE79 called from the small blind with Ah-8h, and the short stack would need to improve dramatically. But the 6h-Kh-3c-2h-5s board didn’t cooperate, and Mighty Horse was eliminated in eighth place with a $17,362.70 prize.
Despite 5fish’s strong start, he found himself short again and moved his last 1,475,205 into the pot pre-flop with Ks-Qs from the small blind. opis/sp called from the big blind with Ts-2c, and the board came Jc-8s-Tc-6s-8h. The pair of tens for opis/sp, along with the eights on the board, was good enough to take it and send 5fish out in seventh place with $26,254.80.
Play then slowed tremendously. Many rounds passed before someone was willing to put all of their chips at risk, and it was TommyE79 who did it with his last 4,072,829 chips pre-flop. CHI01 called with Th-Qs, and TommyE79 showed As-2h. The board was a beautiful one for CHI01 when it came Ks-Kc-9c-8s-Jh to give him the straight, while TommyE79 wasn’t as thrilled but took $39,254.80 for the sixth place finish.
The very next hand saw Eeedz push all-in pre-flop with Ad-5h from the button, and drpossjr25 called from the big blind with pocket kings. The automated dealer gave them 9s-9c-Jc-7d-2h, and the kings held up for drpossjr25, while Eeedz was relegated to the rail in fifth place with $54,352.80 for the effort.
As the final table approached the hour and a half point, jdballer40 tried several times to instigate deal talks, but there were no responses in the chat box from any competitors. And with that, jdballer40 proceeded to chip up and double up to a very respectable stack. Finally, he got involved with drpossjr25 in a pre-flop raising war that ended with drpossjr25 all-in with pocket kings to the aces of jdballer40. The board brought another ace on the flop to solidify the deal, and after all of the Jh-Ad-6s-4s-3d cards were seen, drpossjr25 was gone in fourth place with $69,450.80.
With three left, all did choose to pause the action for talks, but without even seeing the chip count deal amounts, talks fell apart when the players were too far apart on their thoughts. With jdballer40 in the lead and opis/sp as the short stack, play resumed. But when opis/sp doubled through CHI01, the latter called for talks to resume. The result of the second deal-break was as follows:
$122,006.84 for each of the three remaining players
$30,000 extra for the ultimate winner
Play resumed with the deal in place and three players happy to know they were each getting a three-figure payout no matter the outcome. It took a few rounds to see the first elimination, but it happened after jdballer40 and opis/sp saw the 9c-4c-Ac flop. jdballer40 pushed all-in with Kc-Qd for the flush draw, but opis/sp called with Ah-8c and top pair. The turn and river were 5s and Qh, respectively, and jdballer40 was ousted in third place with the agreed-upon amount of $122,006.84.
Heads-up play began with the following counts:
Seat 1: opis/sp (57,879,650 in chips)
Seat 3: CHI01 (17,610,350 in chips)
And it only took two hands for the decision to be rendered. Both players raised it pre-flop but with no all-in, the two saw Jh-Kd-6s come on the board. opis/sp checked, but CHI01 pushed all-in with 5d-3d. opis/sp called with Qc-Jc and middle pair. The turn was a 6c that only gave opis/sp an even better hand, and the 7s on the river ended the tournament. CHI01 was eliminated in second place for $122,006.84.
opis/sp won the December 14th edition of the Sunday Million and collected $152,006.84 for the effort. Congratulations!
This week's Sunday Warm-Up saw 3,899 runners log on, thereby ensuring the $750,000 guarantee would be safely met. A total of 585 places paid for today's event, with the prize pool ultimately topping off at $779,900. Leaving aside any final table deal-making, the player finishing in first place stood to earn a handsome $101,374 for his or her efforts.
Player sasodiits was the fastest out of the gate, claiming the chip lead after the first hour and continuing to hang around the top of the leaderboard for much of the afternoon before ultimately hitting the rail in 96th place. The leader after the second hour was amarillion. amarillion would also make a deep run today, sitting in second place after four hours, and in 15th after six hours before ultimately busting in 42nd.
Other early chip leaders would also fall by the wayside as the day wore on. jumps13, who led after three hours of play, finished in 180th. After five hours 9ballor8 had the lead, but would be bounced in 53rd. And philivey6922 (who led during the fourth hour) lasted for a while but ultimately went out in 31st.
After six hours of play we were down to 49, and hidalgo18 had emerged from the pack to claim the chip lead with over 1.8 million. An hour later and hidalgo18 was still in first with 18 to go, his stack having ballooned to 5.9 million. At the time, mortens22 was his nearest competitor with 4.32 million. hidalgo18's stack would shrink, however, as we reached the final ten. Finally, near the end of Level 31, player Mi||a.TiMe knocked out TurboToad in 10th, and we had our final nine. Here was the scene:
Seat 1: mmmbillski (7,904,813 in chips)
Seat 2: yokerface (1,846,960 in chips)
Seat 3: D1rtyR1v3r (5,252,272 in chips)
Seat 4: riddup (2,525,008 in chips)
Seat 5: mortens22 (6,216,701 in chips)
Seat 6: DenyoDeluxXe (2,724,503 in chips)
Seat 7: suckedoutagn (5,429,773 in chips)
Seat 8: Mi||a.TiMe (5,705,289 in chips)
Seat 9: hidalgo18 (1,384,681 in chips)
The table's short stack, hidalgo18, would be the first to go. On the sixth hand of the final table, hidalgo18 open-shoved his last 1.03 million from middle position with Kd-Qc, and yokerface -- also on the short side with just 1.43 million -- called from the button with Tc-Ad. The flop came 2d-Qs-6s, giving hidalgo18 top pair. But the turn was the Ah, giving the lead back to yokerface. The river was the 4s, and hidalgo18 was out in 9th.
Just three hands later, yokerface raised 3x to 600,000 from middle position, and the table folded around to DenyoDeluxXe who pushed all in from the small blind for a total of 2.73 million. Too bad for DenyoDeluxXe -- suckedoutagn was waiting in the big blind with pocket rockets, and therefore promptly reraised all in for 5.18 million. yokerface judiciously stepped aside, and DenyoDeluxXe was left hoping for a miracle with his 8s-8h. None came, as the board ran 4c-Td-Kd-Jd-9d, and DenyoDeluxXe was out in 8th.
The next two eliminations came quickly as well. First yokerface pushed all in for 1.89 million with Jh-Qh and was called by riddup who held Ad-Qd. The board brought no jack (and a superfluous ace), and yokerface was out in 7th. Then, on the very next hand, mmmbillski made a small preflop raise to 512,505, mortens22 called from the small blind, and suckedoutagn also called from the BB. The flop came 6s-Ah-Ts, and when the blinds checked to mmmbillski he bet 845,500 -- about half the pot. mortens22 then check-raised all in for a total of 5.86 million. suckedoutagn folded, and mmmbillski made the call.
mortens22: Qd-As
mmmbillski: Td-Th
mortens22 had flopped top pair, but mmmbillski had him in bad shape with his set of tens. The turn was the Kh and the river the 5h, and mortens22 was gone. Just 15 hands played at the final table, and we were down to five players.
When the players reached the eight-hour break, mmmbillski had assumed the chip lead with a little more than 16 million, followed by suckedoutagn with 7.04 million, Mi||a.TiMe with 5.97 million, D1rtyR1v3r with 5.61 million, and riddup with 4.25 million.
suckedoutagn would soon take the chip lead after claiming a big 12 million-plus chip pot off of mmmbillski. That hand had begun quietly with suckedoutagn calling from the big blind mmmbillski's modest preflop raise from middle position. Both checked the very hammery flop of 7h-2s-2c. The 8h came on the turn, and suckedoutagn check-called mmmbillski's bet of 860,000. The river brought the 8s. suckedoutagn checked, mmmbillski bet 1.45 million, then suckedoutagn surprisingly pushed allin for 4.53 million. mmmbillski thought a while, then called showing Qc-2d for deuces full of eights. Alas, suckedoutagn had Ad-8d for the better boat, and had thus taken the lead.
Thus began a long sequence of preflop jockeying, with chips moving in relatively small increments back and forth across the virtual baize. mmmbillski retook the chip lead during this stretch, pushing up around 16 million, while riddup was nursing the short stack with less than 2 million. riddup was probably very glad to see 3rd and 4th place players D1rtyR1v3r (5.01 million) and Mi||a.TiMe (4.00 million) soon get involved in a huge pot. Mi||a.TiMe open-raised to 885,700 from the button, then D1rtyR1v3r pushed all in from the big blind. Mi||a.TiMe thought a while, then called with 7s-7c, well behind D1rtyR1v3r's Qh-Qc. The board came 9h-Th-3h-5s-8d, and it was rail time for Mi||a.TiMe.
With just four left, riddup gleefully pushed all in on the next hand, and in fact managed to double up when his Ac-Ts held up against mmmbillski's 9d-8d. riddup's joy would last a little while longer, until he pushed all in for 2.63 million with pocket queens and was called by D1rtyR1v3r who held pocket tens. A ten flopped, prompting riddup to type "noooooo" in the chat box. No queen came to save him, and D1rtyR1v3r responded with a "gg...ul" as riddup hit the rail in 4th.
mmmbillski still had the chip lead with 15.84 million as three-handed play commenced, with D1rtyR1v3r next with 12.87 million and suckedoutagn in third with 10.26 million. After nine more hands, the tournament was paused for the players to discuss a chop. By that point, D1rtyR1v3r had moved out ahead (16.77 million), followed by mmmbillski (12.39 million), and suckedoutagn (9.81 million).
As the tournament host explained, any deal would require the trio to leave at least $10,000 on the table. Payouts according to current chip counts were shared with the players, but both D1rtyR1v3r and mmmbillski wanted more than was being offered to them. suckedoutagn wasn't going to give up any of his proposed share, so the tourney was resumed.
Over the next 20 hands, D1rtyR1v3r pushed out to a commanding lead, moving past the 23 million mark. Then mmmbillski shoved all in for 6.8 million with Kd-4d, D1rtyR1v3r called with As-4c, a king flopped, no ace came, and D1rtyR1v3r had fallen back to the pack. Six hands later, D1rtyR1v3r lost another big all in confrontation with suckedoutagn, this time unfortunately running his pocket jacks up against suckedoutagn's As-Ad.
Just like that, D1rtyR1v3r was the short stack with less than 5 million, and soon thereafter would shove all in himself with Jd-6d. His bad fortune continued, as mmmbillski was waiting for him with pocket queens. The board brought no jack, six, or even a single diamond, and D1rtyR1v3r's dizzying swoon ended with him finishing the tournament in third.
At that point mmmbillski and suckedoutagain had almost exactly the same-sized stacks (each with right at 19.5 million) and so quickly decided to chop the remaining prize money evenly and play for the remaining $10,000.
mmmbillski pushed out to a lead during the first dozen hands of heads up, and when the pair reached the nine-hour break he held a 23.2 million-15.7 million advantage. After 50 total hands of heads up, mmmbillski still had the same lead. suckedoutagain soon made a move, taking a couple of medium-sized pots to take a small lead by Hand No. 60 of heads up. Soon thereafter came a huge hand in which suckedoutagn pushed all in with Ad-7d on a on a flop of Qs-As-Kh, only to get called by mmmbillski who held Kd-Ac. mmmbillski's two pair held up, giving him the 37.7-million chip pot. suckedoutagn was down to just 1.22 million.
suckedoutagn survived a sequence of all ins, though, and by Hand No. 80 of heads up had built back up to 11 million of the nearly 40 million chips in play. Then came Hand No. 85.
With the blinds 400,000/800,000 (Level 38), suckedoutagn called from the small blind/button and mmmbillski checked his option. The flop came Jd-Ks-Qd. mmmbillski checked, suckedoutagn pushed all in for his last 10.2 million, and mmmbillski called.
mmmbillski: 9d-Th
suckedoutagn: Qc-6s
mmmbillski had flopped the straight, while suckedoutagn had just a pair of queens. The turn was the 3s and the river the Kd, and mmmbillski took the extra 10 grand reserved for the winner. Congratulations to mmmbillski, as well as to everyone who cashed!
When you think of poker in Italy - and on the boisterous EPT these days you rarely have the opportunity not to - you probably think of the Team PokerStars Pro duo Dario Minieri and Luca Pagano, with notable mentions to Max Pescatori and Dario Alioto. But as from this evening, and the second-longest final table in the tour's history, there's another contender proudly draped in Il Tricolore and drowning in chips. His name is Salvatore Bonavena and he is the latest EPT Prague champion, €774,000 richer.
Our champion: Salvatore Bonavena
The 44-year-old Bonavena emerged victorious after 264 hands of play over 12 hours in the Czech capital, beating an Italian-heavy final table from which Massimo Di Cicco finished second and Francesco Cirianni fifth. All three were vociferously supported from a now fully-expected packed rail of supporters, and their success can only further inflate the extraordinary bubble of interest in Italy.
They already have the best food, some pretty spectacular scenery and a habitually world-beating football team. Can they seize the upper hand in poker too? Or is it already too late?
Certainly Bonavena played a terrific game today, riding waves of fortune, ill-fortune, and then fortune again to go from chip leader overnight, to short stack, and then chip leader once more. By the time he emerged as our winner, he had overcome all the inherent variance attendant on this game and turned in a thoroughly skilled performance. Congratulations to him, and well played.
The lone Nordic representative at the final table, Fredrik Nygard from Finland, then busted in sixth, running a two pair (kings and sixes) into the flopped quads of Konstantinos Alexiou and then perishing when his A-8 was outdrawn by Chen's Q-2.
Fredrik Nygard
Chen had the stack by then to make the move with such a meagre holding and for a good while both before and after that, this arena indisputedly belonged to the young Canadian. At only 20 years old, Chen was giving away decades in worldly wisdom to the majority of his adversaries, but was arguably the most experienced poker player of the bunch.
Andrew Chen
Chen recently made the final table on an LAPT event in Costa Rica, and was the class act for long periods here. One call in particular, against the aggressive and inpenetrable Alexiou, was inspired. Chen took a near million-chip pot with ace-high when he correctly put Alexiou on a busted draw. It looked like the kind of moment to encourage engravers to etch Chen's name on the trophy. But there was still much, much more action to follow.
Francesco Cirianni
Cirianni had allowed himself to get short-stacked, but continually showed a fighting spirit by repeatedly moving his short stack all in during level 26. However by the time he did so for the third time in quick succession, Chen had found a genuine hand. The Canadian's A-Q was unthreatened by Cirianni's A-8 and one Italian fell; two to go.
Alexiou was the next out, but it would be profoundly unfair to dismiss his contribution to this tournament in a few flippant words. The Greek player had been one of the railbirds' favourites throughout the final couple of days, always having chips, always having a smile, always having a manner around the table that fascinated, confounded, entertained and baffled players and spectators alike.
Konstantinos Alexiou
Alexiou's duel with Minieri yesterday kept everyone engaged, and his glasses schtick today - switching spectacles whenever he was about to announce all in - belied the tension of a tournament boasting a million-euro prize pool.
Perhaps his big mistake was not to alternate the specs when he shoved for his final 600,000-odd holding pocket threes. Bonavena, who was by then wielding a sizeable stack of his own, made the call with K-Q and spiked a king on the river. Alexiou took his leave.
Three handed, we might as well have been in a Roman coliseum. The plucky Canadian Chen was surrounded by hordes of rambunctious Italians and they threw everything they had at him, baying for blood. They had already wounded him - Bonavena's A-5 had outdrawn Chen's kings all in pre-flop, which would have given the Canadian the chip lead. And in the end, he simply could not overcome the numerical advantage, or Bonavena's A-6 armed only with K-Q.
Chen departed and we were left with a guaranteed Italian winner, the first ever on the EPT. Bonavena had three-to-one chip lead as they entered heads up play, and definitely had the momentum after his fluctuations throughout the day belatedly took a steep upward slant. But Di Cicco, the lone PokerStars qualifier on the final table, who qualified in an $8 re-buy satellite on PokerStars, undoubtedly had the game to rescue the situation, and take play past midnight and into the early hours.
Massimo Di Cicco
He doubled up once, emulating Doyle Brunson when his T-2 bettered Bonavena's Q-T on a board of Tc-4c-2h-7d-5c, and the stacks were level for an extended period of heads-up play. But then Bonavera found pocket eights and swung it back into his favour, and then as the 12th hour ticked around the players got to a flop of 8h-3h-2h, which was ripe with bluffing potential. Di Cicco seized the initiative and stabbed at it hard, but Bonavena was going nowhere and made what turned out to be a championship winning call.
Di Cicco had A-4, no heart. Bonavena had 7-8d and top pair. And as soon as the turn and river bricked, that 7-8d was being waved around Bonavena's head as the winning hand of the first Italian EPT champion.
Bonavena got there ahead of Messrs Minieri, Pagano, Pescatori, Alioto, Ferrari, Bugatti, Dante, Garibaldi, Marco Polo, Antonioni, Botticelli, Canaletto, da Vinci, Pavarotti, Maldini, Pasta, Pizza, Linguini, Spaghetti, and Caesar. "I'm really happy; I feel like up going to cry," Bonavena said. "I've done something no Italian has ever done. I feel very proud."
And rightly so.
Take a look back at how things panned out in Prague with any of the following links.
Plenty of video blogs, plus a full archive of previous action, can be found at PokerStars.tv. As ever, the wonderful photography at EPT Prague has come from the camera of Neil Stoddart. Next up, it's the Bahamas. Join us then. Goodnight from Prague until next year.
Play on the final table has entered level 29, with blinds at 40,000-80,000 (8,000 ante). The chip counts page will be updated regularly during each level. Prizewinners to date are on the prizewinners page. Remember all the action from the final is available on EPT Live.
1am: PokerStars sponsored player Salvatore Bonavena of Italy wins the EPT Prague and €774,000.
12.59am: Massimo Di Cicco from Italy, eliminated in second position, collecting €445,000.
12 hours, almost to the minute, Salvatore Bonavera wins the EPT Prague. There was a bet and call pre-flop before the 8h-3h-2h was dealt. Cicco moved all in and was called, although Cicco didn't look happy, showing Ad-4s which was overshadowed by Bonavera's 7d-8d. The turn 6c and the river Js put an end to this marathon show.
Massimo Di Cicco
12.55am: Cicco bets 180,000 pre-flop and Bonavera raises 800,000 more. Cicco wants none of it and folds.
12.52am: On a board of Jh-2c-Qs-Qh Bonavera made it 200,000 which Cicco called. The river brought a 6c which both players checked. Ten high for Cicco, pocket eights for Bonavera who picked up a pot worth 560,000.
12.50am: Massimo takes the chip lead - slightly - betting 210,000 and then moving all in for 2.2 million after Bonavena re-raised 600,000 more.
12.45am: With blinds so big the chip stacks change each hand by hefty amounts. Cicco helps himself a bit by moving all in to win the blinds but still trails Bonavena.
12.38am: On a board of Tc-4c-2h-7d Cicco bet 120,000 which Bonavena re-raised to 300,000. Cicco moved all-in with Ts-2c and was called by Bonavena with Qc-Th. The river, a 5c, doubled up Cicco.
12.33am: Current chip counts
Salvatore Bonavena - 4,293,000
Massimo Di Cicco - 1,404,000
12.30am: Bonavena wins a 660,000 pot in a cautios pot on a board of 7s-6s-2h-Qc-7h. Cicco bet on the end with Jh-5d and Bonavera called showing 9h-2s. That was enough.
12.25am: Play starts and it's first blood to Cicco who raises pre-flop before Bonavena folds.
12.20am: While players are still preparing to return, it's worth remembering what's at stake. First place pays €774,000 whilst the runner up will receive €445,000.
12.06am: Heads up situation
There's a pause in play as the final two players prepare to go head to head. The chip counts look like this...
Salvatore Bonavera - 4,123,000
Massimo Di Cicco - 1,574,000
12am: Chen eliminated in third place.
We're guaranteed an Italian winner after 20-year-old Andrew Chen moved all-in with K-Q and was called by Bonavena with A-6. The 3-7-5 wasn't good for Chen and the turn ended all hope, a four, giving Bonavera a straight. Chen's last hope was a chop on the river but an eight ended that hope - the Canadian was out.
Andrew Chen
11.55pm: Basically, the three remaining players are passing blinds around.
11.50pm: Latest chip counts.
Salvatore Bonavena - 2,896,000
Andrew Chen - 1,494,000
Massimo Di Cicco - 1,307,000
11.40pm: Play resumes with blinds at 40,000-80,000 with an 8,000. That's big.
Play on the final table has entered level 28, with blinds at 30,000-60,000 (6,000 ante). The chip counts page will be updated regularly during each level. Prizewinners to date are on the prizewinners page. Remember all the action from the final is available on EPT Live.
11.22pm: Players take a ten minute break from the action.
Three-handed
11.20pm: Andrew Chen's all-in is good for blinds and antes.
11.18pm: Latest chip counts
Salvatore Bonavena - 3,172,000
Andrew Chen - 1,305,000
Massimo Di Cicco - 1,220,000
11.10pm: Chen makes it 140,000 pre-flop which Cicco calls. On the 9d-3d-Th flop both players check. On the 2s turn Cicco makes it 220,000 and Chen folds.
11.05pm: On a flop of Ks-Kh-3s Chen made it 70,000 which Bonavena called. With an Ah on the turn Chen made it 180,000 and again Bonavena called. The river, an 8h, and the big guns came out. Chen made it 500,000 which it seemed would end the hand but Bonavena called with either sheer brilliance or total madness, showing Q-3 for bottom pair which was met with "nice hand" by Chen. The 1.1 million pot goes to the Italian.
Andrew Chen
10.55pm: Three-handed, and it's very very cagey. Andrew Chen is alone among the Italians, and it's difficult not to regard him as some kind of lone gladiator battling against the odds in a packed coliseum. But he's got some game, and is taking it to his opponents. Just recently, he flat called from the small blind, then watched Salvatore Bonavena raise his big blind 200,000 more. Chen was not frightened and bumped it up another 200,000 and Bonavena let it go. The latest chip counts have been updated over at the chip count page.
10:38pm: Bonavena makes a pre-flop bet of 270,000 and Cicco moves all-in. It's not much more for Bonavena to call but he takes his time before putting his chips in, showing pocket fours. Cicco showed As-Ts for a race. The board ran Jd-Ah-6h-Ac-8s. Sections of the crowd went crazy, so did Cicco. We play on.
10.31pm: Konstantinos Alexiou, Greece, eliminated in fourth place, earning €199,000
The roller-coaster show from the novelty-bespectacled Greek player Konstantinos Alexiou is over. Bonavena raises and Alexiou shoves in. Bonavena dwells for a good long while before calling the extra 580,000.
Konstantinos Alexiou
It's pocket threes for Alexiou; K-Qo for the Bonavena. It's looking good for the small pocket pair through flop and turn: 2d-2h-6d | 7c but the river is the killer. It's the Ks. Alexiou gets one grand shy of 200,000 and then there were three.
10.30pm: Three players get to the flop, Chen, Bonavena and Alexiou. The flop is Jc-8s-9c and there's a triple check. The turn is the Ah and there's a triple check. The river is the 10d and there's a triple check. "This is what we're dealing with," says one press-room wag. Salvatore Bonavena wins it with a cunningly disguised straight, holding 7-8.
10.25pm: These are the counts at the start of this level:
Salvatore Bonavena, Italy, PokerStars sponsored player, 2,213,000
Andrew Chen, Canada, 1,679,000
Konstantinos Alexiou, Greece, 1,055,000
Massimo Di Cicco, Italy, PokerStars qualifier, 750,000
10.25pm: Take that back, the red chips are still very much in play and the blinds in the new level are 30,000-60,000 and a 6,000 ante, hence the need for that red 1,000 denomination chip.
10.10pm: Players take a very brief break at the end of the last level as the red chips are coloured up. We've now gone beyond the published EPT structure so we're still waiting for official confirmation of what the new blinds will be.
Play on the final table has entered level 27, with blinds at 25,000-50,000 (5,000 ante). The chip counts page will be updated regularly during each level. Prizewinners to date are on the prizewinners page. Remember all the action from the final is available on EPT Live.
10.10pm: That's the end of the level and we now start level 28 with four players remaining.
10.05pm: Konstantinos Alexiou open raises all in for 1,075,000. Massimo Di Cicco, in the small blind, ponders and ponders and sizes up Andrew Chen's stack behind him. He gets no reads from Chen, who hasn't looked at his cards, and eventually Di Cicco lays it down. Chen then has the tough decision, but he also lays it down and Alexiou picks up the blinds and antes, worth 95,000.
9.55pm: Konstantinos Alexiou raises to 125,000 from the button and Massimo Di Cicco reraises all in from the small blind, for 665,000. Chen folds, Alexiou thinks, Alexiou folds.
9.50pm: After all that drama, the tension has ramped up again in Prague and the play has tightened. Perfect time, then, for a video blog special, entitled: "Tension".
9.40pm: Bonavena doubles up. Again!
This is a harsh game. Or a great one, depending on who you support. Andrew Chen and Salvatore Bonavena get them all in pre-flop and Chen has the massive Kc-Ks. Bonavena's charge looks like it's going to end here, when he tables Ac-5h. But an ace flops, the king stays away, and Bonavena now takes over the chip lead. Here's what they have:
9.37pm: Bonavena doubles up
Having moved in pre-flop again - the third time in a row - Salvatore Bonavena gets a call. He actually has the goods this time and shows As-Qd and Alexiou, his caller, has Ad-10h. The board comes Ah-6s-5h and the turn and river are also blanks - Js, Kc. He doubles up.
9.35pm: Salvatore Bonavena is now the one who moves all in pre-flop. He is the short stack, with only 340,000. Di Cicco thinks and thinks but keeps his stack intact and folds.
9.30pm: Massimo Di Cicco moves all in pre-flop for 730,000. Andrew Chen looks anguished as he folds, but fold he does. Di Cicco tries the same on the next hand, and this time everyone folds much quicker.
9.25pm: Andrew Chen follows up his breathtaking call with a reraise of Alexiou pre-flop. The Greek player, who has recently relinquished his chip lead for the first time during this final table, mucks dismissively. Chen is the first to pass three million and he has seized control of this final table in emphatic fashion.
9.20pm: Ace high wins
Chen makes it 115,000 pre-flop which Alexiou calls for a flop of 5s-9h-Qh. Alexiou checks and Chen makes it 120,000 to play which Alexiou calls for a 3s turn card. Both check that but things get more interesting on the river, a 7c. Alexiou bets 215,000. Chen thinks for a good while and makes an incredible call, showing Ac-6c to Alexiou's Th-8h. Chen allows himself a smile and rockets into the lead. Chip counts that reflect those changes are now on the chip count page.
9.15pm: Some chip swapping going on with Di Cicco and Chen moving all in getting no takers.
9.05pm: Players return and Alexiou Konstantinos raises straight away. Massimo Alexiou reraises all in and Alexiou calls. The all in player has found A-A and Konstantinos has a meagre 5-7d which has the potential to crack aces. Not this time, though, as the board runs out dry. Di Cicco is up to 830,000 and that's right up close to the third-placed player.
Players have taken a 15 minute break, and when they return they'll be sitting behind these stacks:
Play on the final table has entered level 26, with blinds at 20,000-40,000 (4,000 ante). The chip counts page will be updated regularly during each level. Prizewinners to date are on the prizewinners page. Remember all the action from the final is available on EPT Live.
8.50pm:Players take a 15 minute break at the end of the level.
8.45pm: Francesco Cirianno eliminated in fifth place, earning €166,000
Cirianno has been raising all in pre-flop with great regularity recently, but he is finally looked up by Andrew Chen. His stack is about 480,000 when he makes the move, but he only has A-8h. Chen has found a dominating A-Q and the board this time runs out completely blank, meaning the best hand stands up for once. Cirianno's charge is thwarted and we have lost our first Italian. Chen continues to be the dominant force and is closing in on the chip lead. Meanwhile Cirianno departs into the night.
Francesco Cirianna
8.40pm: Di Cicco makes a bet of 110,000 pre-flop. He doesn't have much left behind suggesting that this might be his all-in moment. Cirianni folds, Chen folds, Bonavena folds and Alexiou does the same. Di Cicco wants to keep his cards and it's no surprise when he showed aces.
8.37pm: Alexiou makes a minimum raise from the button and Andrew Chen calls from the big blind. They check the flop of 7s-Qs-5d, then Chen bets 70,000 at the 10h turn. Alexiou calls. The river is the 2d and Chen bets 200,000. It's too rich for Alexiou and he folds.
8.35pm: A strange hand causes confusion everywhere. Cirianni moves in for a third time in three hands and it's thought Alexiou called, showing pocket threes to Qc-Jc. But no, it seems Alexiou said fold. The dealer thought it was a call, but apparently not. More blinds for Cirianni.
8.30pm: Cirianni moves all-in two hands in a row, picking up the blinds each time uncontested, good for a stack of 410,000.
8.20pm: Di Cicco moves all-in for 334,000 which is folded round to Alexiou who begins chatting with Di Cicco about how much he'd like the call. It's 294,000 to the Greek who opts instead to fold.
8.10pm: Bonavena opened the betting for 270,000 and finds Alexiou moving all-in behind him, a total of 1,926,000. For anyone to call it would be for all of there chips and it was folded back to the Italian making for a heads up hand. Bonavena thought about it, chatted with Alexiou before folding Ad-Kd face up. Alexiou showed A-Q and promptly celebrated with a drink.
Konstantinos Alexiou
8.05pm: Francesco Cirianni moves in, stares at the others and gets no callers, taking the pot.
7.55pm: Another weird hand ends with the short-stacked Massimo Di Cicco doubling up. The chip-leading Alexiou Konstantinos raises, Di Cicco re-raises Alexiou shoves, Di Cicco calls. The show A-2 (Di Cicco) and 8-6 (Alexiou). The flop has an ace on it and Di Cicco's supporters go wild. He is now no longer the short stack.
Play on the final table has entered level 25, with blinds at 15,000-30,000 (3,000 ante). The chip counts page will be updated when official counts are taken at the end of each level; approximate counts will appear on this page. Prizewinners to date are on the prizewinners page. Remember all the action is also available on EPT Live.
7.45pm: Salvatore Bonavena raises pre-flop and Konstantinos Alexiou reraises all in. Bonavena calls! It's Ad-Jh for the Italian player, K-10d for the Greek. There are two diamonds on the flop and one of them is a jack, giving hope to each of them. But the turn and river run out blank and Bonavena's A-J holds up, putting him back to more than a million and taking a slice out of Alexiou.
7.40pm: Fredrik Nygard, Finland, eliminated in sixth place, earning €130,000
Andrew Chen puts Nygard to the test for his tournament life when he shoves all in with just the two of them remaining. Nygard calls and he has A-8. Chen was at it with Q-2. But the flop has a deuce on it, which gives Chen bottom pair. And it's enough as the board blanks. Nygard is out, and Chen adds the Finn's 300,000-odd to his stack.
Fredrik Nygard
7.35pm: Quads!
Massimo Di Cicco raises to 85,000 and Francisco Cirianni has a while to think, as is his style, but eventually folds. The next hand, Fredrik Nygard raises to 72,000 from the cut off and Konstantinos Alexiou calls from the button, as indeed is his style. The flop is Ks-6s-6c and Nygard bets 85,000. The turn is the Jc and Nygard bets 130,000. Alexiou calls again. The pot at this point is 637,000 and the 2d seems innocuous on the river. Nygard checks and Alexiou bets 200,000, which Nyard calls. A delighted Alexiou shows pocket sixes for the flopped quads and gets up close to 3 million.
7.30pm: Nygard raises to 72,000 and Konstantinos Alexiou calls rom the big blind. The flop is 3d-6h-2d, which they both check. The turn is the As and after Nygard checks, a bet of 80,000 is good enough for Nygard to win it.
7.25pm: Massimo Di Cicco moves all in for 328,000 from the cut off. Everyone folds. He is still the short stack, with 391,000; at the other end Konstantinos Alexiou has about 2.4m.
Massimo Di Cicco
7.20pm: Three players get to a flop of Kh-3d-3c and all check. The turn is the Jh and they all - Bonavena, Chen and Alexiou - all check again. The river is Qs and the all check that too and Alexiou wins with a jack.
7.15pm: Chen raises pre-flop - no surprise there - and Salvatore Bonavena calls again from the big blind. The flop is nine-high and Bonavena check-raises all in. Chen lets it go.
7.05pm: Nygard doubles up
Andrew Chen raises pre-flop and Fredrik Nygard reraises all in from the button, for about 320,000 more. Chen insta-calls after the blinds get out the way. Chen shows A-10 and Nygard shows a dominated A-5. But for the umpteenth time in a row, the best hand loses as the board shows Ac-6d-3d-7h-4c, which fills Nygard's straight. He doubles up.
7pm: Konstantinos Alexiou raises to 200,000 pre-flop, described by William Thorson as "sick". Everyone folds, including Fredrik Nygard in the big blind. Alexiou shows A-K behind the over-bet and he takes the blinds and antes.
6.55pm: Massive pot for Chen
Andrew Chen hasn't changed his strategy since the break and raises pre-flop twice in a row. He takes down the first one, but Salvitore Bonavena re-raises to 135,000 on the second attempt and Chen has to find 64,000 to call. He finds it. The flop comes 2s-10s-Kd and Chen checks. Bonavena, who has position, fires 220,000. Chen calls and the pot swells to 773,000. The turn is among the most dangerous cards in the deck - Ks - filling flushes and/or boats and they both check. They also check the 8d river and Chen wins it when he shows K-J for three kings. Bonavena takes a huge hit and is down to 510,000. Chen has 1,600,000 and is closing in on the chip lead.
6.45pm: With the larger blinds, it didn't take Massimo Di Cicco long to move his short stack all in. It was 233,000. Fredrik Nygard seemed to have a genuinely tough decision and pondered for a long, long time. And then he did call: and it turned out to be a good one. He had Ks-Js and he was up against Kc-9c. The flop, though, changed things: it was 3s-9s-3h, and although Di Cicco had hit his miracle 9, there was still a spade draw. The turn and river was good for Di Cicco, though - 4d-5h - and Di Cicco doubles up, leaving Nygard now the short stack.
6.40pm: We're back, and the six remaining players have taken their seats. The chip count page has been updated with their counts at the break, and Andrew Chen gets a walk first hand back.
Play on the final table has entered level 24, with blinds at 12,000-24,000 (2,000 ante). The chip counts page will be updated when official counts are taken at the end of each level; approximate counts will appear on this page. Prizewinners to date are on the prizewinners page. Remember all the action is also available on EPT Live.
Players take a one-hour dinner break. We will return will full counts and the remainder of this tournament soon.
The approximate counts at the break are:
Konstantinos Alexiou, Greece, 2,026,000
Andrew Chen, Canada, 1,166,000
Salvatore Bonavena, Italy, PokerStars sponsored player, 928,000
Fredrik Nygard, Finland, 670,000
Francesco Cirianno, Italy, 658,000
Massimo Di Cicco, Italy, PokerStars qualifier, 242,000
5.30pm: Cirianni doubles up Salvatore Bonavena raises pre-flop, the first time he's done so in a long while. But then there's an even rarer occurence: Francesco Cirianni moves all in. Bonavena knows he has to think a bit, and duly takes his time. But eventually he calls and has A-Qc, well ahead of Cirianni's miraculous J-8. The flop gives the agressor his miracle card though: it's 5d-8c-3s and there's no redraw. Cirianni doubles up!
Francesco Cirianni
5.25pm: Andrew Chen again raises to 57,000 pre-flop and again he gets it through. No one wants to confront the young Canadian, and he's making hay. The next hand, Massimo Di Cicco moves all in pre-flop and everyone folds. He shows 6c this time.
5.20pm: Fredrik raises to 57,000 from under-the-gun. And even Andrew Chen in the big blind lets it go. This has entered another slow period as we approach the second break of the day.
5.16pm: Andrew Chen makes a button raise and Salvatore Bonavena calls. The flop comes king high and Bonavena's check prompts Chen to bet 70,000. But Bonavena now check raises and Chen insta-mucks. He's flashed a king. Undeterred, he raises pre-flop next hand and this time gets it through.
5.15pm: Progress is slow in Prague, which gives us the opportunity to take a look at the latest video blog coming our way. What do poker players want for Christmas? Here's the answer:
5.11pm: Action. Of sorts. Salvatore Bonavena opens for 70,000 and Massimo Di Cicco moves his short stack all in. It's about 250,000 more and it seems that Bonavena can't fold. But does, and Di Cicco stays alive.
5.10pm: Andrew Chen makes a small raise pre-flop and it's folded around to Cirianno in the big blind. He takes a long time over it, but folds.
5.08pm: Konstantinos Alexiou makes up the big blind of Massimo Di Cicco. The queen high flop is checked and then the 5c prompts a tickle from Di Cicco. Alexiou loses all interest.
5.05pm: Massimo Di Cicco moves all in from under the gun for about 140,000. And he gets it through, living to fight another day. He flips a 5d.
5pm: In a battle of the blinds, limped, Andrew Chen and Fredrik Nygard sees a flop of Jc-10d-Ac. Chen bets 25,000 and Nygard calls. The turn and river, both checked, are a 7 and a 6, and Nygard's Q-J is good.
4.55pm: Massimo Di Cicco calls a small pre-flop raise from Alexiou. It's about a quarter of his stack, but he still lays it down on an ace-high flop when the aggressive big stack bets out. Di Cicco is now in big trouble.
4.52pm: Bonavena and Alexiou get to another flop together and it runs out 8-6-K-10-7, checked all the way. Alexiou ends up winning with pocket fives.
4.48pm: Fredrik Nygard moves all in pre-flop; he has about 400,000. Andrew Chen seems vaguely interested in calling, but ends up folding. Nygard says that he has his favourite hand - a suited 10-7 - and claims he has won ten times in a row with that hand. A likely story.
4.45pm: A quiet period, with Francesco Cirianno and Konstantinos Alexiou taking small pots pre-flop but not much more than that. Massimo Di Cicco is the short stack and will have to make some moves soon.
4.38pm: Cirianni and Alexiou wake up and go beserk on a board of 6c-2h-7h. The Italian player had raised the Greek's big blind pre-flop and then Alexiou shoved all in on the flop, close to two million. Alexiou has a decision for his tournament life and eventually folds, claiming he is letting A-K go. Alexiou flashes J-J. "Good fold," he adds.
4.35pm: Andrew Chen raises to 57,000 from the button and attacks Salvatore Bonavena's big blind. But the Italian has none of it, and re-raises about 150,000 more. Chastened Chen lays it down. The approximate counts at the end of that last level were:
Konstantinos Alexiou, Greece, 2,075,000
Salvatore Bonavena, Italy, PokerStars sponsored player, 1,148,000
Andrew Chen, Canada, 1,054,000
Francesco Cirianno, Italy, 733,000
Fredrik Nygard, Finland, 589,000
Massimo Di Cicco, Italy, PokerStars qualifier, 230,000
4.30pm: Andrew Chen begins the new level as he finished the last, with a strong right arm. After Nygard raises pre-flop, Chen shoves, which asks the question of Nygard's short stack. Nygard folds and Chen shows A-Qd. That puts Chen second in chips; he now has more than a million.
This has been the Andrew Chen show so far, and he started his day off with a chat to the video bloggers:
Play on the final table has entered level 23, with blinds at 10,000-20,000 (2,000 ante). The chip counts page will be updated when official counts are taken at the end of each level; approximate counts will appear on this page. Prizewinners to date are on the prizewinners page. Remember all the action is also available on EPT Live.
4.26pm: Andrew Chen breaks the million chip mark in a pot against Fredrik Nygard. Betting 48,000 pre-flop Nygard called for a Jd-8c-Jc flop. Chen made it 80,000 which Nygard called for a turn card Ad. Now Chen bet 200,000, good enough to make Nygard fold.
4.14pm: Alexiou bets pre-flop again, 60,000 this time. PokerStars qualifier Di Cicco thinks and makes what looks like a painful fold before the action gets to Andrew Chen who calls. Chen checks the 6h-9d-4h flop but Alexiou makes it 65,000. Chen raises to 200,000 using a tower of blues. Alexiou thinks about it but folds.
4.05pm: Andrew Chen, by far the busiest player here, raises to 48,000 from late position but Nygard, on the button, calls, as does Alexiou in the big blind. The flop is Ac-3s-4h and after Alexiou checks, Chen countinuation bets 75,000. Nygard snaps into action at that point and re-raises another 200,000. Alexiou says "Easy fold" and does just that. As does Chen.
4.02pm: Massimo Di Cicco moves all-in tow hands in a row and gets no takers on either occasion. Next, after a bet of 49,000 by Alexiou, Bonavena moves all-in for a million. Not surprisingly Alexiou folded.
3.56pm: Nasr El Nasr eliminated in seventh place, earning €99,500 Andrew Chen makes a pre-flop raise of 48,000. Nasr El Nasr moves all-in and Chen calls, showing pocket tens to Nasr's Kd-Jd. The flop of 2c-4d-Td gives both players hope but no further diamonds arrive to save Nasr, who exits in seventh place for €99,500.
3.51pm: Andrew Chen raises to 48,000 and Alexiou calls in the big blind. The flop is 8c-10c-As and both players check. They also check the 8h turn, and the 3h river. Alexiou shows A-J and wins with his pair of aces.
3.50pm: The first flop in a while after a bet from Bonavena from teh small blind, called by Alexiou in the big. The flop Th-3c-7s and Bonavena made it 100,000 to go which the Greek called. Both checked the 6c on the turn and Bonavena checked again on the Ks river. But Alexiou made a bet of 230,000 which after a pause for consideration ending the hand. A 564,000 pot for Alexiou.
3.40pm: Alexious breaks the 2 million chips mark with another pot played out pre-flop, re-raising an El Nasr raise.
3.35pm: Chip counts at the start of this level are as follows:
Konstantinos Alexiou - 1,883,000
Salvatore Bonavena - 1,259,000
Francesco Cirianno - 735,000
Fredrik Nygard - 612,000
Andrew Chen - 424,000
Nasr El Nasr - 504,000
Massimo Di Cicco - 270,000
3.25pm: Play resumes after the break. El Nasr makes a pre-flop bet to resume the action but gets no action.
Final table play has entered level 22, with blinds at 8,000-16,000 (1,000 ante). The chip counts page will be updated when official counts are taken at the end of each level; approximate counts will appear on this page. Prizewinners to date are on the prizewinners page. Remember all the action is also available on EPT Live.
3pm: Bonavena and Alexiou again get to a flop in a raised pot. It's 8d-Qd-3s and both check. The turn is 9d and after Bonavena checks, Alexiou bets 50,000. Bonavena folds and Alexiou shows the Ad-4d, otherwise known as the nuts. That's the end of the level, or thereabouts. Players take a 15 minute break.
Konstantinos Alexiou
2.55pm: Nasr El Nasr raises from the cut off and Massimo Di Cicco reraises all in from the big blind. It's 177,000 more than El Nasr's original raise. El Nasr thinks for a while, but folds, and Di Cicco shows pocket eights.
2.51pm: Nygard refuses to slow down and makes a standard pre-flop raise of close to 40,000. Nasr El Nasr shoves all in for another 224,000 from the big blind and the Finn goes into the tank again, where he has spent a good deal of this final table so far. El Nasr seems confident, but that doesn't stop Nygard calling. He's got A-J and is way behind against El Nasr's A-K. The flop has plenty of action on it: 10h-Jh-Ks, but the turn and river brick and El Nasr doubles up to 556,000. Nygard has fewer than 600,000 now.
2.50pm: Konstantinos Alexiou is now the comfortable chip leader with 1,700,000 in chips after taking down that 700,000 pot from Fredik Nygard.
2.45pm: Di Cicco gets his short stack in pre-flop, but no one fancies taking it on. He stacks the blinds and antes. Soon after, Fredrik Nygard tries another pre-flop raise and Alexiou re-raises 190,000. Nygard never seems to fold to a re-raise and doesn't this time either. He calls and sees 6d-Qs-Kh, which both players check. The Jc turns and they check it again, then the river is 5s. Finally someone bets - it's Alexiou, who casually throws in 120,000. Nygard is visibly baffled - that's one hell of a furrowed brow - and after a good deal of staring he calls. Alexiou has J-7 and it's good.
2.35pm: Massimo Di Cicco makes a minimum raise and Nygard calls from the big blind. The flop comes Qs-3c-6d and after Nygard checks, Di Cicco bets 100,000 into an 86,000 pot. Nygard looks mighty confused, so decides to put the question back at the Italian, re-raising all in, which covers the Italian. But it looks like he's made a decent read here as Di Cicco folds. Nygard is back with more than a million, Di Cicco has 211,000 and is the short stack.
2.32pm: Nasr El Nasr tries a button raise, tossing in close to 30,000-odd. But Massimo Di Cicco wants none of it and re-raises all in from the big blind, forcing the aggressive young German to rethink. He folds and is now the short stack.
2.30pm: Andrew Chen is getting involved with his newly acquired stack. He raises to 39,000 from mid-position, and Nasr El Nasr seems interested from the small blind. Interested, well, not that much. He folds.
Andrew Chen
2.25pm: Andrew Chen is all in again, with his stack now at 224,000. It's still short, and he has no option. Bonavena calls with K-Qd and Chen is again staring at the abyss with K-9c, another dominated hand. But this time the flop is another miraculous one for the young Canadian: it's A-9-9. "Wow," he mouths. There's no further action through turn and river and Chen can now play poker again.
2.10pm: Andrew Chen doubles up. He is forced to get his chips in pre-flop with just about any two, and he finds Q-7. Alexiou calls with K-Q and Chen is dominated. But the young Canadian sees a seven on the flop and doubles up, staying alive.
2.05pm: A peculiar hand plays out between the two millionaire chip leaders. Bonavena and Alexiou three and four bet pre-flop and build a pot of 354,000. The first three cards come down 4d-10d-8h and Bonavena suprises just about everyone with an all-in shove for more than a million. Alexiou shrugs and folds.
Play resumes on the final table in level 21, with blinds at 6,000-12,000 (1,000 ante). There are slightly more than 30 minutes remaining in the level, and all the action will appear here. The chip counts page will be updated when official counts are taken at the end of each level; approximate counts will appear on this page. Prizewinners to date are on the prizewinners page. Remember all the action is also available on EPT Live.
2pm: El Nasr raises pre-flop and gets it through. And that's the final hand of that level. We go up to 8,000-16,000 for the next level.
1.55pm: Konstantinos Alexiou takes a sizeable pot from Andrew Chen. They get to a flop of 8s-Ks-2c, which both players check. The 9c turns and Alexiou bets 30,000. Chen calls. The river is 6d and Alexiou has another stab, this time 120,000. Chen seems reluctant, but calls and Alexiou flips 6h-9h for two pair, made through turn and river. It's good.
1.50pm: After Mestre's elimination, the players have slowed down a touch, and we haven't seen a flop. The Greek player Alexiou Konstantinos had found his raising arm and took one down uncontested pre-flop.
1.38pm: Raul Mestre eliminated in eighth place, earning €71,800
Raul Mestre makes a standard raise from mid position and Fredrik Nygard reraises to 100,000 from the small blind. Mestre shoves for 311,000 and that sends Nygard into the tank. Eventually the Finn makes the call and he's ahead with two red nines, beating Mestre's Ac-7c. The flop is no help to Mestre - 8s-Jh-3h - and he stands up ready to leave. But he's glancing to the heavens when the Ah turns, putting him into the lead. But this is a cruel game and the re-suck-out comes on the river, when the Qh gives a flush to Nygaard. We lose the Spanish pro and Nygard is back among the chip leaders.
Raul Mestre
1.30pm: After a photo call and the lengthy process of attaching their feature-table microphones, play is due to begin imminently around the final table of EPT Prague. Here's the video introduction to the final table:
A televised final wouldn’t be the same without a certain degree of administrative hullaballoo before cameras roll. The slick, seamless production you get beamed to your home tends to betray the cables, the running around and general fog of war that goes on before play starts, a process currently being endured by the players now, who in turn are being interviewed before being left to mull alone with their thoughts in the darkness of the stage wings, awaiting their fate.
That fate is quite straight forward. The finalists will play until just one remains for however long it takes - a player who will quickly realise that the press obligations before the final were nothing compared to those after.
We start with thirty minutes of the level on the clock with blinds pegged back slightly to 6,000-12,000 with a 1,000 ante - news which thrilled Andrew Chen no end who, as short stack, will take any extra help he can find.
How long that takes we don’t know but coverage will be continuous until we find out. Naturally, all of this is available on EPT Live offering unparalleled coverage in some unparalleled languages, which seeing as though it’s the weekend no longer requires you to call in sick for a chance to stay home and watch.
EPT Live coverage is up and running already, produced by a group of pale men and women hidden far from the feature table in a back room somewhere with no windows. Little is known of these people, so the video blog team set out to find out...
Late last night, we found ourselves our final table eight, the octet outlasting 562 others to take their place around the feature table baize of the EPT. They are, in seat order, as follows:
Konstantinos Alexiou, 48, from Athens, Greece - 1,382,000 chips
Konstantinos studied mathematics at university but gave up on the subject after opening his own fitness club business. He currently lives in the Greek capital Athens with his wife and 13-year-old daughter. He took up poker as a hobby three years ago, playing cash games in Greece, and taking part in tournaments abroad. Although he’s not a full time poker player, this is his third final table in only a few weeks. He won the last two and is going into the final with the second largest chip stack.
Nasr el Nasr, 23, from Berlin, Germany – 376,000 chips
El Nasr is a student at the start of a round-the-world trip, kicking off his adventure in Prague and playing in his first EPT. The rest of his trip, which includes Cairo, Malaysia, Tokyo, Shanghai and New Delhi, will also involve some more poker stops, such as the Aussie Millions and APPT Manila. The 23-year-old initially studied Islam science but is now switching to international business. He has lived in Germany since he was five but his parents originally come from the Middle East – his father from Libya and his mother from Syria. Well known on the live poker circuit in Germany, this is his biggest success in poker so far.
Massimo Di Cicco, 50, from Sant’Elia Fiumerapido, Italy – PokerStars qualifier – 429,000 chips
Di Cicco celebrated his 50th birthday on Thursday and is a medical dentist from Sant'Elia Fiumerapido near Frosinone in Lazio, central Italy. He has been playing Texas hold ’em for two years and started playing on PokerStars six months ago. This is only the second live tournament he has ever played; the first was a side event in Venice where he came third. He said: “I feel very emotional about getting to the final table; I never thought I’d get to this point. It’s not enough to be good in a tournament like this – you also need a lot of luck to get to the final. The biggest emotion for me is telling my wife and children about it over the phone.”
Francesco Cirianni, 53, Vibo Valentia , Italy – 807,000 chips
Cirianni is a salesman by trade, who has been playing Texas hold ’em for the past three years, mainly live. This is his third EPT – he also played San Remo last season and Budapest earlier this year. He said: “I’m feeling more serene and happy than excited about the final table. This style of tournament is really suited to my game and getting this far is pay-back for all the losses I’ve suffered. I’m a solid player and only get knocked out because of bad beats.”
Raul Mestre, 26, from Valencia, Spain - 313,000 chips
The explosion in poker in Spain owes a lot to Raul Mestre, a high-stakes cash player from Valencia who recently began to share his knowledge with a team of other professionals. Mestre trains, among others, the recent LAPT Punta del Este champion Jose Miguel Espinar and now finds himself at an EPT final table, the first of his career. Although he does most of his playing, and winning, around the online tables, Mestre has a couple of high finishes on the WPT to his name, as well as victory in the televised Late Night Poker Ace series in 2006. Mestre is one of the short stacks going into the final, but quite literally wrote the book on poker strategy and has all the skills necessary to make a charge.
Andrew Chen, 20, from Toronto, Canada – 309,000 chips
Chen is a former biochemistry student at McMaster University in Hamilton (outside Toronto), but now plays poker full-time. His biggest live cash to date was in November when he came fifth at the PokerStars Latin American Poker Tour event in San Jose, Costa Rica for $61,063. He focuses on big-buy in live tournaments and regularly plays satellite events to qualify. He also plays both cash games and live tournaments online. His path to the final table today has been a little nervy. Twice he was all-in in a coin flip situation and both times had to wait until the river to hit one of his overcards.
Fredrik Nygard, 32, from Pietarsaan, Finland – 666,000 chips
Despite playing cards for more than half of his 32 years, Fredrik Nygard is contesting his first EPT here in Prague. He plays any games he can find - blackjack, Caribbean stud, five-card stud, whatever - but is most profitable around the poker tables, where he is primarily a high-stakes, live cash player. He has played on the WPT and at the Aussie Millions, focusing on the side action there, and enjoys travelling to play. Formerly a salesman for nine years, with his own sales consultancy business, Nygard now lives in Oslo, Norway, a short hop from his native Finland.
Salvatore Bonavena, 44, from Cessaniti, Italy – PokerStars sponsored player – 1,402,000 chips
Bonavena is an amateur player from Italy, enjoying a spectacular roll on the European circuit right now. He came second in a Notte di Poker event in Venice three weeks ago for €100,000 and is now chip leader going into the final table of EPT Prague. By day, Bonavena works for a housing association in Monza but he plays a lot of recreational poker in card rooms through Italy. This is his second EPT – he played San Remo last season but didn’t cash. He is married with two sons.
* * * * *
Before the final table started, Raul Mestre gave his run down on his opponents today in Prague:
Day three was a story of heroics, luck and what seemed to be a thousand Italian poker players in designer glasses romping into the EPT history books by sheer weight alone. Chief among the rompers was Salvatore Bonavena, who became our overnight chip leader.
While the Italian experience on the EPT approaches that time when numbers convert into results, the story of the day was almost that of the PokerStars ShootingStar Sebastian Ruthenberg. Ruthenberg staggered and astounded those watching today, as he remained on course for an historic second EPT title. But with nine left, and a short stack in front of him, he moved all in with K-Q and was topped by Massimo Di Cicco holding A-K. Ruthenberg fell one short of his second final table of the season.
Sebastian Ruthenberg
That all happened over eight hours of fraught play, in the shadow of the typically spectacular EPT feature table. Those lights may have shined down on the face of Ruthenberg early on, but plenty of eyes were also on John Riley, the amiable PokerStars qualifier, here for his first EPT having won a $22 re-buy satellite on PokerStars - on a whim.
Riley had turned up to play with just 10,900 to his name on day two, an amount that in the past has persuaded players to skip it and catch an early flight. Not Riley. Instead he tied rockets to his feet and lit the fuse, doubling up again and again to emerge with 124,000 at the start of day three. His rocket ride was cut short by a 31st place finish, but the miracle man had a story to take back to New Mexico, as well as €11,000.
PokerStars qualifier John Riley
That was the outcome bestowed on several PokerStars qualifiers; further proof, as if any were needed, of how profitable a few dollars spent in a satellite can be. Joris Jaspers, a talented young player from Holland, who has come close in EPTs before, finally made a day three, albeit exiting 28 places ahead of where he hoped. Twenty-ninth place paid Jaspers €11,000, two places ahead of another PokerStars qualifier Sander de Vries. Hungarian Daniel Biro reached 18th place for €13,800 while Canadian Daniel Drescher came within inches of the final table, busting in 11th and collecting €30,400.
Another name standing out from the player list this morning was Ludovic Lacay's. He was armed with more than half a million and was second in chips. The talented and stylish Frenchman’s most recent demonstration was in Warsaw where he reached the final table, exiting in explosive fashion - his cracked aces against Nico Behling a reminder of how close he came. Today he came to put that memory to bed, but was also left licking his wounds in 22nd place, the result primarily of a huge pot against Daniel Drescher. This time Lacay had kings, Drescher jacks, but a jack flopped and Lacay again felt the pinch.
Ludovic Lacay
You didn’t need to see them to know Italian players were doing well. Like last year when Gino Alacqua scorched his way into second place, the ravelling railbirds from down south were in full voice, every hand played out to the soundtrack of various Italian exclamations, usually resulting in an embrace, the slapping of hands - and the occasional good-natured warning from tournament officials over the extent of such exuberance.
That wave of enthusiasm may be responsible for three of the Italian contingent making tomorrow’s final. Di Cicco saw off Ruthenberg, as reported earlier, and earning him a stack worth 429,000. Francesco Cirianni, who survived some high drama in every level today, will be back with 807,000. Top of the Italian tree will be Salvatore Bonavena, an unassuming housing association officer from Vibo Valencia, chip leader tonight with 1,402,000.
Chip leader Salvatore Bonavena
Juan Maceiras couldn't quite make it all the way to the final shakedown. The PokerStars sponsored player may sit at the table with his trousers undone, like he’d just finished Christmas dinner and needed to loosen the strain, but he plays with a crowd pleasing flamboyance, never knowing when he is beaten and playing with the recklessness of someone who does not care. Judging by his look of disappointment on defeat the opposite is obviously true.
Juan Maceiras
Maceiras’s loss was Nasr El Nasr’s gain, particularly in a pot that helped propel El Nasr far enough along to reach his first EPT final. Other highlights included the stone-cold performance of internet demon Raul Mestre and Andrew Chen who avoided defeat hours ago with two quick double ups, each time being saved on the river by the king he needed.
Fredrik Nygard, an aggressive Finn from day one, ended on a devilish 666,000 and there is Alexiou Konstantinos from Greece, hard to miss in a bright red shirt, who steered his stack with persistent aggression to wind up second in chips, narrowly behind the leader on 1,382,000.
Fredrik Nygard
The Ruthenberg headline was so nearly a reality but tomorrow the story will be of Italy, one of the newest countries to embrace Texas hold’em, sending more players to EPTs than most others, and boasting that trio in the final tomorrow.
Here’s how the stacks will line up:
Salvatore Bonavena – 1,402,000
Alexiou Konstantinos - 1,382,000
Francesco Cirianni – 807,000
Fredrik Nygard – 666,000
Massimo Di Cicco – 429,000
Nasr El Nasr – 376,000
Raul Mestre – 313,000
Andrew Chen – 309,000
Until we reconvene at 1pm CET tomorrow you obviously have some hours to fill. What better than 16 hours of video blogs, courtesy of the video blog team, whose work is available in its entirety on PokerStars.tv. You can also browse all the action from today at any of the links below which include the always in focus, and always excellent photography of Neil Stoddart.
And there we have it. Sebastian Ruthenberg gets it all in with K-Q and he runs into Massimo Di Cicco's A-K. This time the board is queen-free and the PokerStars.de ShootingStar Ruthenberg is eliminated.
We have our final eight, and their chip counts are:
Salvatore Bonavena - 1,402,000
Konstantinos Alexiou - 1,382,000
Francesco Cirianni - 807,000
Fredrik Nygård - 666,000
Massimo Di Cicco - 429,000
Nasr El Nasr - 376,000
Raul Mestre - 313,000
Andrew Chen - 309,000
Raul Mestre and Alexiou Constantinos just got all their chips in pre-flop, with the Greek player covering the Spaniard. Chuckles from the rail greeted the two hands when they were exposed: Kh-Qc versus Kc-Qh. All backdoor flush possibilities were extinguished by the turn and they chopped it.
Seems like a good time for a video blog. Over to Juan Maceiras:
As these nine continue to slog it out, we continue to wait. There have been few major confrontations that we haven't already described, but the result of the small-ball poker we've seen is this chip count, with a guest appearance from a Swedish letter. See if you can spot it:
Seat 1: Sebastian Ruthenberg - 229,000
Seat 2: Alexiou Konstantinos - 1,214,000
Seat 3: Nasr El Nasr - 332,000
Seat 4: Massimo Di Cicco - 256,000
Seat 5: Francesco Cirianni - 873,000
Seat 6: Raul Mestre - 352,000
Seat 7: Andrew Chen - 24,000
Seat 8: Fredrik Nygård - 691,000
Seat 9: Salvatore Bonavena - 1,480,000
Although there's just the one table still in play, this is not the "real" final table, which on the EPT can only feature eight players. We need to lose one more from this pseudo final table until we can pack up for the night.
The TV bubble is a cruel one, denying television time as well as additional money. No wonder then that the short stacks at the moment are reluctant to get involved unless they have the goods, while the big stacks will do anything they can to polish them off. The Nygard/Cirianni hand moments ago was typical, and it was followed up by a similar hand where Nasr El Nasr re-raised all in on the flop after Nygard had had a tickle.
Nasr El Nasr
This time the Finn laid it down and the German stacked another few.
This period of play can last a good long while, and we will wait patiently until the inevitable explosion.
Francesco Cirianni has just doubled up, and it's a big one. He and Fredrik Nygard got to a flop of Jd-2s-8d and there was a bet from Cirianni, a raise from Nygard and all all in push from the Italian, for 275,000 more. Nygard smelt a rat - it was clear from his face - but couldn't resist calling with the opportunity to knock out one of the medium stacks and settle this one for the night.
Francesco Cirianni
He made the call, showed K-J for top pair, second kicker, but Cirianni had pocket aces and they held through turn and river. That brings Nygard back into the pack, and promotes Cirianni among the leaders, where he's in the company of his countryman Salvatore Bonavena and Alexiou Konstantinos of Greece.
Down to nine players on a single table, and Sebastian Ruthenberg is the first of the short stacks to double up. He flops two pair with Q-9 and gets it all in, leaving Alexiou Konstantinos fearing he's behind but forced to call. The Greek player was drawing dead by the turn and Ruthenberg, the EPT Barcelona champion, edges closer to his second final table in one season.
The chip counts for the final nine are on the chip count page. Or below, if you don't fancy that one extra click:
Salvatore Bonavena - 1,426,000
Alexiou Konstantinos - 1,300,000
Fredrik Nygard - 1,246,000
Francesco Cirianni - 449,000
Raul Mestre - 390,000
Andrew Chen - 267,000
Massimo Di Cicco - 240,000
Sebastian Ruthenberg - 187,000
Nasr El Nasr - 179,000
And then there were nine. Daniel Drescher, a short stack for much of the day, found a hand he was prepared to move in with. It was folded back around to chip leader Alexiou Konstantinos who had found pocket queens to Drescher’s A-T. The queens held up making Drescher the next to leave.
Over on the feature table Sebastian Ruthenberg was all-in and looking good with pocket jacks against Jonathan Duhamel’s pocket sevens. The flop kicked Ruthenberg in the teeth though, arriving as it did 2s-7c-Ks.
All of a sudden the sevens were ahead but the 8s on the turn gave the hand an interesting twist. Ruthenberg had the Js and could find an unlikely route to victory if another spade hit the river. It did, the Qs, and Ruthenberg couldn’t believe his luck. Duhamel on the other hand was left with just 36,000. It wasn’t difficult to predict what would happen next...
Scared to look: Jonathan Duhamel
On the next hand Duhamel pushed in with A-Q against the J-5 of Nasr El Nasr. The flop brought a jack, humanely putting Duhamel out of his misery, eliminating him in tenth place when his hand didn’t improve.
Play now switches to the feature table where they will play nine handed until another player is eliminated.
Within two minutes of the return from the break, two players have busted. They are Igor Rejdovjan, whose Q-Q lost to Francesco Cirianni's A-K all in pre-flop. The king flopped and there was no queen in sight.
Then on the feature table, Juan Maceiras got it all in on a board of Qc-5s-9s with 6s-8s. He had a flush and a straight draw, but Nasr El Nasr had top pair with his A-Q. The turn gave no help to Maceiras - it was the 5h - and the river ended it. It was Qd. Two down.
And now a double up: It was looking mighty bleak, and mighty unlucky, for Salvatore Bonavena who was all in pre-flop with K-K and ran into Nasr El Nasr's A-A. But how fortunes can fluctuate: The flop brought a king to send the Italian rail wild and leave El Nasr's stack sliced back down to size. Bonavena doubled up to more than 500,000
A glimpse of Raul Mestre’s composure before the break. As the clock struck zero in level 20 and players began to leave for cigarettes, bathrooms and both, Mestre and Greek player Alexiou Konstantinos tangled, Konstantinos betting 15,000 on the flop and turn and 50,000 on the river with the board showing Ac-As-8c-3h-6h. It was on the river that Mestre’s response changed.
He had been sitting motionless throughout the hand, hidden under headphones and black sunglasses whilst Konstantinos’s pose was more an arms crossed leaning back thing. After the Greek made the river bet Mestre announced “all-in”, 181,000 more.
To look at him Mestre could have been asleep, leaning his head on his hand. Konstantinos had asked for the count and was now going through the motions, eventually folding. Mestre immediately removed his glasses and headphone in one big gesture of relief.
“He just took a breath” said one onlooker. It looked that way.
Still 13 players in Prague, with seven on the one remaining outer table and six on the television table, currently getting the full EPT Live treatment.
There are very few flops and fewer sizeable fluctuations, but we now have two players with close to a million, one either side of that mark. They are Alexiou Konstantinou and Fredrik Nygard and are our comfortable table captains.
The current chip counts, taken at the end of level 20 are as follows:
Outer table
Raul Mestre - 363,000
Massimo Di Cicco - 295,000
Igor Rejdovjan - 211,000
Francesco Cirianni - 248,000
Alexiou Konstantinou - 800,000
Daniel Drescher - 130,000
Andrew Chen - 280,000
Feature table
Fredrik Nygard - 1,298,000
Nasr El Nasr - 516,000
Jonathan Duhamel - 150,000
Salvatore Bonavena - 673,000
Juan Maceiras - 283,000
Sebastian Ruthenberg - 118,000
Domenico Iannonne just got blasted from this tournament with a brutal outdraw at the hands of the chip-leader Fredrik Nygard. Iannonne had more than 300,000 when they got it all in on a flop of 9h-4h-7h. Nygard was the aggressor, but winced when Iannonne called his all-in shove. Nygard showed A-8, no hearts, and Iannonne showed K-K, no heart either. It was looking very good for Iannonne: the pot had more than 800,000 in it, and he would jump right up among the chip leaders if his kings could hold up, at Nygard's expense.
Fredrik Nygard
The problem was the Ah on the turn, which catapulted Nygard into the lead. And although both players prayed for a heart on the river - Iannonne to remain in the tournament; Nygard because he said he felt guilty about the outdraw - it did not emerge.
The Italian is out and the Finn back at the top of the pile, with 1.3million.
I would like to continue discussing the concept of table and game demeanor.
Last week, I brought up the name Danny Robison, who I used to play a lot of high limit stud poker against. I considered him a great player, and one whom I also learned from.
When I say “learned from,” I do not only mean strategy while playing. I also mean his game persona and demeanor at the poker table.
I think it is important to learn from others, and even incorporate some of their habits. This not only applies to poker, but to virtually everything in life. But, since we are all individuals, we have to pick and choose what is best for ourselves. Our psyches and personalities have to be taken into consideration, as well as our physical makeup and the aura we give off to other people.
David Heyden was another excellent stud player during those years. Like Danny, David was a big winning player. But David was Danny’s antithesis in virtually every aspect, both on and off the poker table.
Whereas Danny was gregarious, slovenly, absent minded, and played “fast and loose,” David used to come into the poker room dressed in a suit and bowtie, with close-cropped salt and pepper hair, closely trimmed beard, and wearing horn-rimmed eyeglasses. While Danny would be chatting non-stop, David would rarely utter a word at the table.
Even their eating habits were different. Danny was overweight and ate like a vacuum. David was slim, and would eat salads, drink tea, etc.
All of their outward non-poker behavioral characteristics were reflected in their styles of play at the poker table.
Danny played a lot of hands, aggressively. David was much more selective, and was more of a check and call player. Because of his style, Danny would get much more in-hand action, as well as getting paid off on a lot of hands which his opponents would lay down against other good players. That was very profitable for him. Conversely, David would not get the same type of action, but he usually won the hands he played, and he was also able to bluff hands, which was profitable for him as well. Danny could rarely get away with a bluff (though he might talk you out of calling).
The bottom line is that both their completely different styles were profitable to them in different ways.
Another aspect of David’s play intrigued me. Many of us who competed in the casinos have people “sweat” us, sit behind us while playing. Or, we’d be involved in conversations about who knows what topic while in the poker game. Danny thrived on distractions – he created them to try to put his opponents off their games.
David never allowed himself to do that. He was “all business”, all the time.
This is a very important thing to be aware of, whether you are playing in a live casino or online. Distractions can rarely be good for you. They cause you to make mistakes, and mistakes are costly. While playing online gives you even more ways to distract yourself, i.e., television, internet surfing, telephone, family, etc., it is also much easier to avoid all of those things. In casinos, there is only so much you can do to block out discussions at the table, the lights, the noise, the TVs, the cocktail waitresses, etc., which are constant.
When you play online, you are completely in control of your environment, and have the ability to minimize distractions. I strongly recommend that you work in solitude, preferably in a room with some fresh air, that is well lit and quiet.
You should also invest in high speed and quality internet services, as well as a high level computer, whether it is a laptop or desk top. I also recommend using a wireless mouse. It is easier to click, which may lessen your mistakes. Just be sure to keep the batteries fresh!
I also have a 23”monitor swivel hinged on my wall directly above my 13” laptop computer. I use my monitor solely for online poker play. I split this screen into quads to enable me to play in up to three games concurrently and have the PokerStars lobby in the fourth quadrant. That way, I can keep an eye on what is going on in games that I am not in, without getting distracted from my own play.
Turn off your phones. If you need to speak on the phone or take care of online business, either take a break from the poker game or quit and come back to play when you are free of all other commitments and distractions.
Do not watch television or surf the internet while playing online poker.
The higher the stakes you play, the more important it is to have a backup internet connection, which is through an entirely different provider. There’s little more frustrating to an internet player than having their ISP go dead in the middle of a key hand or a tournament. Even short disconnections can be frustrating and distracting, so having a backup is great for your peace of mind.
Although you may be proud of your accomplishments as a poker player, and want to show off by letting family or friends watch you while playing, I recommend against it. The results can only be negative for you. Either you will make decisions that you normally would not because someone is watching, or you will get distracted while explaining your decisions. And of course you might find yourself getting involved in other discussions unrelated to the games. This recommendation applies regardless of what type of poker player you are, whether you are playing for fun, working as a professional or just trying to earn a little extra money.
As important as these things are, I also advise you to never let your poker playing interfere with other aspects of your life, whether professional, personal, or financial. This means that when you are out with family or friends in a venue completely outside of the poker world, do not start thinking about or discussing what happened in your last poker session.
And never take your poker frustrations out on other people.
Poker is a social game, and you may find that you develop lasting friendships. It’s just important to have some perspective on these relationships. In a sense, you’re not just judging your opponents on the table, but also off the table.
For example, I think that getting together with your poker peers to solely discuss poker play can be fun and potentially profitable. However, because this game is so “cutthroat,” many of our peers, who may also be good friends, do not want to discuss poker strategy because they do not want to give away their edge (perceived or otherwise) while playing against you.
Discussion with friends can be helpful, but I think honest self-analysis is vital to improving your play and results. I suggest analyzing your whole “poker package”, i.e., money management, table demeanor, etc., the concepts we have been covering in these blogs. To this day, after many years of playing professionally, I will analyze my play and specific hands after a session. Unfortunately, that too often happens at 3 AM in a nightmare…..just kidding.
Just as in other aspects of life, we have to hone our performance to enable us to reap the best results possible (monetarily and otherwise). We will continue on this topic nest week.
In the meantime, you can find me in the $10/$20 and $30/$60 limit games in our Stud section, as well as in our weekly $215 buy-in tournaments. Please check the starting times of each of those events for your geographic area under Tourney > Special in the PokerStars lobby.
Feel free to contact me with any questions, suggestions or thoughts at adamr@pokerstars.com. See you at the tables!
We've lost another one, and it's the final Swedish player in the tournament. Previously such a dominant force on the EPT, Rifat Palevic's elimination in 15th place means the Prague title won't be heading back to Stockholm, or anywhere near it, this year.
Palevic and Nasr El Nasr got it all in pre-flop with the classic hold 'em heads up coup: A-K (Palevic) and Q-Q (El Nasr). This time the pocket pair was good as the board ran out dry, and Palevic's day is done. He takes €16,600 for 15th place, and everyone remaining is now guaranteed at least €22,100. Remember, we play to a final table of eight tonight.
A double up for Nasr El Nasr, courtesy of an emphatic quad jacks. After the chip leader Fredrik Nygard raised pre-flop from the button, Nasr reraised all in from the small blind. Nygard tanked but made the call, even though he had just Qh9h. The flop brought the first of two remaining jacks; the turn brought the second. And that was good for a double up for the short-stacked German, who now has 275,000.
With players on a break a redraw has taken place, chips have been moved and only two tables remain. Just 15 players are left, a further seven will depart without the need to return tomorrow. You can find all the latest results so far on our prizes page as well as the superlative wall to wall coverage being broadcast on EPT live. While we wait for players to return here's a look at how they line up...
Feature table
Seat 1 – Fredrik Nygaard – 1,032,000
Seat 2 – Nasr El Nasr – 156,000
Seat 3 – Jonathan Duhamel – 270,000
Seat 4 – Salvatore Bonavena – 252,000
Seat 5 – Domenico Iannonne – 552,000
Seat 6 – Rafit Palevic – 168,000
Seat 7 – Juan Maceiras – 475,000
Seat 8 – Sebastian Ruthenberg – 133,000
Two very speedy eliminations from an outer and then the feature table. First the Slovak player Igor Rejdovjan got busy with his recently doubled-up stack and ousted Jens Hansen. Hansen had 7-8 on a flop of A-8-x. It was no good against Rejdovjan's A-K.
Then Dan Pedersen walked, getting his final 48,000 all in on a board of 8-7-5 holding 9-10. He had good straight possibilites, or so he thought, but Raul Mestre had some of his outs - and the better hand - with 6-6 and the pocket pair held. The damage had been done previously to Pedersen, when his A-Q had been outdrawn by Nasr El Nasr's K-6, all in pre-flop. On that particular coup, a queen on the flop was no good when a king turned.
We are now down to 16 players and a redraw is taking place. One of them will become the new EPT Prague champion, wrestling the crown from Arnaud Mattern, who shared his thoughts with the video blog team earlier:
A double up for Slovakia's Igor Rejdovjan, who moved all in on a flop of Js-3s-Qs. Andrew Chen didn't much like it - he clearly knew he was behind - but was forced to call about 73,000 with Q-7o. Rejdovjan had pocket aces, including the As, and when a fourth spade came on the turn, Chen was drawing dead. A nice double up for Rejdovjan, and Chen is still alive too.
Another Italian victory dance just took place, paid for by Dominico Iannonne. Unlike other big hands which have seen pre-flop all-ins, this hand developed with some traditional betting and a flop. On a flop of Qh-7s-9c Iannonne bet 55,000 from the small blind which was called by Daniel Biro on the button. The turn card 8s saw Iannonne check and Biro move all-in, another 89,000 in total.
Iannonne, who had at a guess two thirds of Italy a few feet away from him on the rail, looked again at his cards and then his stack, re-arranging it for “what if” purposes. Eventually he counted it out and called, showing As-8s to Biro’s Kc-Ts. Biro was on a draw but the seven on the river helped him none. Cue Italians.
Jakob Eberg has become the latest victim of the PokerStars qualifier Massimo Di Cicco's relentless rise up the chip ladder. Supported by a crowd best described as "vocal and passionate" (I suppose just describing them as "Italian" would do the trick), Di Cicco ousted Eberg with A-Q versus A-J all-in pre-flop. No jack and Eberg is toast.
Di Cicco has somewhere in the region of 300,000 now, and has a lot of kiss marks on his cheeks flooding in from the rail.
And another: Just as this was being typed up, we saw another faller and - yes - the vanquisher was an Italian player. Salvatore Bonavena had Manuel Bevand covered and had the Frenchman all in. Bonavena had K-Js and Bevand could only muster a T-6d. The board offered gutshot possibilities for Bevand, but they missed and he is out. We are down to 18.
Four all-ins in quick succession and no doubt who the luckiest man in the world is right now. If he had the chance he might be out buying lottery tickets right now, but Andrew Chen was the beneficiary of two double up in a row after losing most of his stack to seat one player, himself an all in.
On a flop of 6c-2c-9h the money went in, seat one pushing in with Ah-9h, ahead of Chen’s Qs-9s. That cost Chen nearly everything, leaving him with less than 100,000, but then it was his fortune to be painted gold.
All-in on the next hand with Ad-Th, Rifat Palevic called with pocket fives. This was good on a board of 8d-6d-8h-3s but Palevic was out of his seat, pacing up and down to cool off, when a king hit the river.
Andrew Chen
The image of kings might be burned into the mind of Chen form this day on. On the next hand Chen moved in with Ah-Kc and was called by Nikolaos Panopoulos, who was covered by the swede, holding pocket tens. The tens were good up to the river, but if you haven’t spotted our signposting yet, the king hit the river, the same card bailing out Chen for a second time. Panopoulos could only watch as his chips were counted and it was confirmed he was out, his reprieve was a brief one, eliminated in 21st place.
This followed an earlier hand featuring ShootingStar Sebastian Ruthenberg, all-in with A-8 against the A-9 of Jonathan Duhamel. Ruthenberg described himself as a “luckbox” following his EPT Barcelona win and demonstrated a flash of it here with the board running out As-4s-Jd-Kh-Qs, for a split pot.
The 15 minute break at the end of level 18 gave us the chance to take an official chip count and ensure we had all the details of remaining players correct. There was a huge let off for the Greek player Nikolaos Panopoulos, who we reported as being out earlier. Well, he's not. In fact he has 169,000 in chips and is still breathing.
The accurate list of eliminated players is over at the prize-winners page, while the full official chip counts have been added to the chip counts page. There are 21 players remaining into level 19.
A double up in the closing stages of level 18. Players are currently on a break between levels but it will be Jens Hansen who feels most relieved, doubling up through Rifat Palevic. His chips went all-in with Kc-8s against the pocket nines of Palevic who stayed ahead at the turn before a lighting strike hit the river, giving Hansen the king he needed to survive. It caused a loud “oooh” form the others at the table as Hansen squirmed in his seat.
Others before him had tried the same, pushing in, although they found no takers. Jonathan Duhamel hid behind his t-shirt which he pulled up to his nose when he moved in behind a raise from Italian player Massimo Di Ciccio. Di Ciccio scratched his head for a while as Duhamel sweated it out, but ultimately passed.
When play resumed in level 19 blinds will be 4,000-8,000 with a 1,000 ante.
Ludovic Lacay is out! The French player, second in chips at the start of play, just came over to media row to describe the details of his elimination, in three key hands.
First, he found himself pot committed with K-J against 9-9 - "He flopped a nine, I flopped a king." Then there was a huge three-way coup, where Lacay was a massive pre-flop favourite with K-K against Dan Drescher's J-J and Alexander Andermatt's 9-9, but, "He turned a jack."
Ludovic Lacay
The final blow came when Lacay shoved from the cut off with A-8s and the big blind called with K-Qh. There were two hearts on the board and the executioner's axe fell on the river. Lacay won't be going to back-to-back final tables.
Francesco Cirianni made the easiest decision of the tournament, calling the all-in of Phulippe Baa Carlier of Belgium, and turning over two red aces. Carlier could only muster As-Jd which would need some help on the board. It didn’t get any, and Carlier became the latest elimination.
Ludovic Lacay just saw off another player at the same table: Alexander Andermatt left in 23rd place. On the TV table Raul Mestre picked up a good sized pot from Dan Pedersen by virtue of the all-in move pre-flop. Pedersen considered it but turned down the opportunity to call for 181,500 more.
When the 25th player was eliminated, the tournament officials broke a table and play continued on three eight-handed tables. There's been some shuffling of seat orders to accommodate the ever-shrinking field, with the players now lining up as follows. Please note, their chip counts at this stage are unofficial, with a complete count expected at the next scheduled break. We're still in level 18.
Feature table
Seat one - Nasr El Nasr - 155,000
Seat two - Juan Maceiras - 225,500
Seat three - Fredrik Nygard - 838,000
Seat four - Dan Pedersen - 471,000
Seat five - Raul Mestre - 290,000
Seat six - Manuel Bevand - 244,500
Seat seven - Sebastian Ruthenberg - 108,500
Seat eight - Salvatore Bonavena - 150,00
Table two
Seat two - Jens Hansen - 68,000
Seat three - Andrew Chen - 290,000
Seat four - Igor Rejdovjan - 70,000
Seat five - Rifat Palevic - 410,000
Seat six - Roy Von Der Locht - 260,000
Seat seven - Jakob Eberg - 92,000
Seat eight - Daniel Biro - 180,000
Table three
Seat one - Francesco Cirianni - 225,000
Seat two - Alexiou Konstantinos - 480,00
Seat three - Daniel Drescher - 170,000
Seat four - Alexander Andermatt - 88,000
Seat five - Ludovic Lacay - 280,000
Seat six - Phulippe Carlier - 90,000
Seat seven - Jonathan Duhamel - 190,000
Seat eight - Massimo Di Cicco - 250,000
Next to go is Georgios Gatselos from Greece. He moved in with Ah-Kd and was called by Fredrik Nygaard with pocket jacks which made a set on the flop, busting the Greek.
Elsewhere a huge pot sprung up featuring the Italian Francesco Cirianni and Frenchman Ludovic Lacay, which pitted pocket nines against K-9 on a T-K-9-6-T board. Cirianni’s expressions of loud joy tipped us off that he held the nines, Lacay handing over 100,000 chips confirmed the speculation.
It leaves just 24 players and a table breaks to fill in the gaps. The latest results are on the prizes page and don’t forget, if you’re at home watching you can follow all the action on EPT Live. If you’re at work it seems a shame to miss it. You can still watch, just be ready to hit Tab-Alt if the boss walks in.
A crazy few hands has accounted for four players in quick succession. Just as Joris Jaspers was spotted heading to the rail, elimination details unknown, there were three other all ins. Haward Speer went out, see below, as did Sander De Vries and Nikolaos Panopoulos.
De Vries got it in with Kd-6d versus Ludovic Lacay's 10h-10s but the flop only favoured the Frenchman. It was 8s-9s-2s and the non-spade king failed to appear through turn and river. Goodbye De Vries. And on another table Jakob Eberg was filling a flush with his A-K, which put paid to Panopoulos's 6-4, even after the Greek player had flopped a six.
The man on a charge this afternoon is Salvatore Bonavena, who began with just 36,000 but double up twice through Sebastian Ruthenberg and has now just done so again, eliminating Brian Jenson in the process.
Salvatore Bonavena
Bonavena had J-J, Jensen had A-10 and after a jack flopped, there was no way back. Bonavena must now be among the chip leaders, something we will confirm as soon as is humanly possible amid this carnage.
With what was left of level 17 now complete level 18 has just begun, with blinds now 3,000-6,000 with a 500 ante.
Haward Speer becomes the latest evictee, all-in with K-6 against the J-7 of Daniel Biro. The flop proved that the pen is mightier than the sword, or in this case the Biro is mightier than the Speer, landing as it did 9-7-7, ending the hand right there with a second nine on the turn. Speer leaves in 29th.
Back on the feature table Brian Jensen was just rattled by a Manuel Bevand all-in behind his own raise. Jensen was thinking and blinking for a while before opting to fold.
A couple of major hands have recently played out on two tables. The first was a double up for Georgios Gatselos of Greece, whose A-K was good enough to oust Jonathan Duhamel's Q-Q. They got it all in pre-flop, with Duhamel comfortably covering Gatselos's 38,000. The ace flopped and he double up.
The second major hand in as many minutes signalled the end of the line for John Riley. He got is all in on a nine-high flop, holding A-Q. But Dan Pedersen had A-9 and had flopped top pair. No miracle queen this time, and Riley is out.
A shift in fortunes and it’s Sebastian Ruthenberg making the all-in move behind a bet of 40,000 by PokerStars sponsored player Juan Maceiras. It was 134,500 total which Maceiras considered but passed on after some time in the tank.
Sebastian Ruthenberg
If the TV people were looking for action from the feature table they’re getting it, and all in glorious colour. A few moments later another all-in, this time by Brian Jensen, pushing for 66,000. Salvatore Bonavena, now the beneficiary of two double ups that are making his life a little easier, had the decision, ultimately passing.
Then PokerStars qualifier John Riley, who you can’t help rooting for after hearing how he won his way to Prague, pushed his stack of 109,000 into the middle. It was folded back round to Juan Maceiras on Riley’s right who made hints at calling, making Riley scrunch up his face in monetary panic, but the Spaniard passed for an easy walk for the American.
There's a definite opportunity these days for an entrepreneurial publisher to commission a travel book centred on poker. It would feature details of the best tournaments around the world, with all the vital information concerning structures, buy-ins and side action. But the book would also include an in depth guide to the host city, giving the tournament player all the information they could want for where to spend either their days off or their winnings; maybe even some ideas for travel companions to idle away the time as the poker action progresses.
"We loved going under the powder tower, and to that beautiful square. And the Charles Bridge. And the food here is great. We ate around the square a couple of times."
That was John Riley, the PokerStars qualifier from Carlsbad, New Mexico, who is playing in his first European Poker Tour event and has been accompanied to the majestic Czech capital by his wife Leslie. They perhaps haven't had as much a chance to explore the city as they would have liked, owing to the fact that John is still going strong as play begins on day three. Any sightseeing the couple may have managed was crammed between John's charge into the money.
But it might not have been that way. We described yesterday how Riley went from only 10,900 in chips at the start of day two, to 125,000-odd in a spectacular four-hand charge. I heard the story from the horse's mouth this morning: at one point Riley was all in with A-K against Juha Helppi's J-J. The flop had another jack on it, and "I went ahead and got up," John said. But by the turn, there was also a gutshot-straight possibility and although John was mentally preparing for an expedition through Prague's old town, "My wife looked at me and said 'queen'. And then the dealer did one of those slow turn-overs of the last card, and there it was: the queen."
John Riley
Riley progressed to a peak yesterday of around 180,000, but chipped back down to about 120,000 by day's end. It's still enough to make another move on day three. "I've got to be aggressive," he said. "I'm kind of on autopilot."
Autopilot is probably the right word for a man who describes playing "eight, nine or ten" multi-table tournaments as "grinding". Playing as "johnfr", Riley is an online professional player, having completed his masters in electrical engineering, but opting to apply those skills around the poker tables. He played the World Series main event in 2007, and is working on qualifying for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in January of next year. He booked his seat to Prague in a $22 rebuy turbo satellite, outlasting a 100-strong field to claim the only seat.
And after his success here - both on the tables and as a tourist around the town - we're expecting to see a lot more of Mr and Mrs Riley through the coming few seasons.
Here's how John shared his thoughts with the video blog team this morning:
The first all in of the day came to nothing. Francesco Cirianni pushed, stood to await his fate but only saw the others fold one by one. Still, that’s good for the blinds, currently 2,000-4,000 with a 500 ante.
Soon after the feature table got its first all-in action, which you may have seen yourself on EPT Live, courtesy of Italian Salvatore Bonavena. He pushed with Ah-3h and was called by ShootingStar Sebastian Ruthenberg holding Jd-Tc. Bonavena got his ace on the flop and a second on the turn to bring that action to a close, doubling him up.
We just heard a “Yes!” from another player, as yet unidentified, so another double up has struck somewhere. Not so for Petr Samcenko who, by the look on his face during a slow walk to the cash desk, is our 32nd place finisher.
Then a few moments ago Salvatore Bonavena was at it again, pushing with A-Q which, again, Sebastian Ruthenberg called. This time an emphatic flop for the Italian, making two pair on a Ad-Qh-5c-9d-5s board. Now it's Ruthenberg looking for help.
Dawn is breaking on day three of the EPT Prague. Of course we mean a poker dawn, which by loose definition means around noon. Yesterday’s eight and a bit hours of play shaped what looks likely to be a tense day three, featuring players with titles, credentials and EPT previous, as well as a few new faces looking for a first spot in the history books.
Last night it was Finnish player Fredrik Nygaard who left with an easy smile across his face, topping the chip list on 609,500, some 95,000 ahead of second place Ludovic Lacay.
Lacay may be setting out today with a flash of revenge in his eye following his abrupt aces cracked exit from the final table at EPT Warsaw two weeks ago. Armed with 513,000 the Frenchman certainly stands out as a likely candidate to make it two final tables in a row.
Today will prove a test of intestinal fortitude for PokerStars sponsored player Juan Maceiras. The Spaniard was blazing a trail across the sky for much of last night, but the contrails in his wake began to wobble before the close when he lost a chunk of chips (is 200,000 chips more like a wodge?) to Fredrik Nygaard. The best players can put that behind them and rebuild. Maceiras could be that player.
Other notables include the Lazarus figure of PokerStars qualifier John Riley. From New Mexico, Riley won his seat on PokerStars and was a minnow at the start of day two, returning with a meagre stack of 10,900 before he lit the touch paper and emerged from the smoke 100 grand to the good. That saw him into the money and ultimately into day three, where he starts with 124,000.
And what do you know, that old chestnut we like to bandy around – the prospect of a first double EPT winner - is still alive, thanks to the mighty hands of EPT Barcelona winner and PokerStars ShootingStar Sebastian Ruthenberg. Like Maceiras, the German suffered some big hits yesterday, reducing him to pittance at times, but he rallied well to finish the day on 178,500.
There are other stories in there that we’ll no doubt catch up with as the day progresses, but for now it's a story of 32 players remaining, playing through to a final table of eight. Sometimes that doesn’t take long, other times it’s an endurance slog through the night. Either way, by clever use of the PokerStars blog and EPT live you won’t miss a thing. EPT live will bring live coverage from start to finish and in languages you never knew existed. And for latest results as play progresses you can check out our prizes page for all the payouts. You can also check our chip counts page for all the scores.
That just about covers it. The stage is set, literally, in TV form, which from our gantry position sparkles with all the tricks of the trade, ready to beam the next however many hours across the universe. Stand by. Here’s how they line up...
Table 1 (feature table)
Brian Jensen, Denmark, 74,800
Juan Maceiras, Spain, PokerStars sponsored player, 266,500
John Riley, USA, PokerStars qualifier, 124,000
Dan Pedersen, Denmark, 260,000
Raul Mestre, Spain, 247,000
Manuel Bevand, France, 248,500
Sebastian Ruthenberg, Germany, ShootingStar, 178,500
Salvatore Bonavena, Italy, 36,500
Table 2
Haward Speer, Germany, 46,000
Jens Glud Hansen, Denmark, 62,500
Andrew Alan Chen, Canada, 222,500
Igor Rejdovjan, Slovakia, 64,000
Roy Von Der Locht, Germany, 112,500
Nikolaos Panopoulos, Greece, 187,000
Jakob Eberg, Sweden, 149,000
Daniel Biro, Hungary, 65,000
Table 3
Francesco Cirianni, Italy, 52,000
Alexiou Konstantinos, Greece, 267,000
Shander De Vries, Holland, PokerStars qualifier, 152,000
Alexander Andermatt, Switzerland, 172,500
Ludovic Lacay, France, 513,000
Phulippe Bara Carlier, Belgium, 113,000
Petr Samcenko, Czech Rep, 56,000
Massimo Di Cicco, Italy, PokerStars qualifier, 87,000
Table 4
Jonathan Duhamel, Canada, 253,500
Daniel Drescher, Germany, PokerStars player, 224,000
Georgios Gatselos, Greece, 54,500
Rifat Palevic, Sweden, 368,000
Joris Jaspers, Holland, PokerStars qualifier, 176,500
Nasr El Nasr, Germany, 104,500
Fredrik Nygard, Finland, 609,500
Domenico Iannonne, Italy, 197,500
And here's how the video bloggers set up day three:
The world may have had to wait 24 hours to see Peter Eastgate win the World Series of Poker this year on ESPN, but when PokerStars crowns the World Cup of Poker champions, it will happen live and for the whole world to see.
PokerStars announced today that the live finals of the World Cup of Poker V will happen live on PokerStars.tv. Not only that, PokerStars.tv plans to show the event with the hole card cams exposed. So, as the nine teams fight it out for the World Cup of Poker title, you will be able to see every bluff, every laydown--every card!
The live finals are scheduled to take place over one day on January 6 in the Bahamas. Live coverage of the finals will begin on January 6 and run until a champion has been determined.
Stay tuned for more information on the finals, the teams, and the players over the next few weeks.
At the very start of the day - day two at EPT Prague - the tournament director Thomas Kremser announced that we would be playing down to four tables of eight, 32 players, no matter how long it took. Typically, there was a weary groan from the press corps, veterans of this tournament reporting who know that making 177 into 32 can take a lot longer than most people would care to stay in the same room.
But the groans turned out to be misplaced. The journalists were wrong. Although we ended up playing slightly longer than eight levels, the action was fast and fascinating, with twists and turns along the way to keep even the most cynical hack gripped. The short story is that there are some monstrous stacks in front of some hugely talented players, earned during a day of fierce competition. The chip lead will be contested by the French EPT stalwart Ludovic Lacay (513,000) and and Fredrik Nygaard (609,500), a Finn who won the tournament's largest pot to date, when he took a massive chunk from the PokerStars sponsored player Juan Maceiras (266,500) right at the death.
Juan Maceiras
The notable absentee from that clutch of talent is the Team PokerStars Pro Dario Minieri, who was the most prized scalp of Raul Mestre's day as barbarian. Minieri was swarmed all day by a baying rail, but they could do nothing when the Italian went heads-up with Mestre, an online cash-game legend, and the Spaniard's A-Q flopped an ace to better Minieri's pocket queens.
Dario Minieri
Minieri cashed for what he would consider to be a meagre €8,300, but just glancing at the list of players who also took that amount - Johnny Lodden, Juha Helppi, Petter Petterson, Alessio Isaia, Roberto Romanello, as well as Minieri - indicates the strength of this field.
Sebastian Ruthenberg
Tomorrow is day three, and the television table has now been assembled to follow all the day's best play. You can watch all that on EPT Live, where you might also see the likes of Sebastian Ruthenberg (178,500), the EPT Barcelona champion who is still going strong in Prague, or the PokerStars qualifiers Joris Jaspers and Shander De Vries, both from Holland, or John Riley, from the United States. They all took the well-trodden path from online satellite success to bricks and mortar profit, and are still in the hunt for the major money.
Joris Jaspers
Any of the links below can take you through today's play; the highs and lows, the bust outs and the double-ups.
And if you're a glutton for words that make no sense at all, then try reading the stories from EPT Prague in Swedish or Hungarian or Italian or German.
The video bloggers' finest work is available day and night in multiple languages - for FREE! - over at PokerStars.tv. All photography on PokerStars Blog comes from the camera and trigger finger of Neil Stoddart.
Stefan Mattsson of Sweden leaves in 35th place. He moved in with pocket deuces against the As-5s of Brian Jensen which held tight until the river card. The board ran out 3s-6d-6s-Qc-Ad sending Mattsson to the rail.
You can find a complete run down of all the prize winners so far, down to 35th place, on our prizes page, as well as the payouts for tomorrow. We play down to 32 players tonight with play resuming at 12 noon on Friday.
As Mattsson collects his money the sound of a man experiencing the shameless joy of a good poker hand can be heard echoing across the room. Constandinos Alexiou is the man, getting some more good fortune catching a gutshot straight on the river against pocket jacks.
With the side event in full swing the tournament room is full again, and with the added body warmth the place is getting a little hot and a tad funky. Not that that bothers Frenchman Ludovic Lacay who plays on in a hat, scarf and jumper, oblivious to the heat.
A player who might be feeling it more than he was before the break is Raul Mestre who tangled with Constandinos Alexiou in a battle of the blinds that saw the money go in on the flop of 5d-6d-Kd. Mestre showed 4s-3d while Alexiou had his diamond covered with As-Jd. That didn’t matter though when the 3s and Qh hit the turn and river.
“Yes!” from Constandinos Alexiou.
“No!” from Mestre.
Some notable chip counts at the break, before level 17 begins
Juan Maceiras - 535,000
Ludovic Lacay - 520,000
Rifat Palevic - 315,000
Fredrik Nygard - 285,000
Jonathan Duhamel - 280,000
Raul Mestre - 260,000
Dan Pedersen - 250,000
Sebastian Ruthenberg - 240,000
Constandinos Alexiou - 165,000
Joris Jaspers - 165,000
Alexander Andermatt - 160,000
A massive hand for Ludovic Lacay gives the Frenchman the probable chip lead. He flopped a flush with 10d-9d -- in fact, it was an open-ended straight flush draw with the board showing Jd-8d-3d. He managed to get Pavel Blatny, holding A-J, to part with all his sizeable stack, and the flush was good. Very good. It was the biggest pot of the tournament so far, and Lacay, who final tabled in Warsaw last month, is looking very strong again here.
Not so Juan Manuel Pastor, who has just bust in bizarre circumstances. He moved all in and thought he heard a call from Raul Mestre. Mestre hadn't actually called, but was in fact asking for a count. But before this was cleared up, Pastor had shown his hand. It was A-K. The tournament director Thomas Kremser ruled that Pastor's action was accidental, so he wouldn't be penalised, and Mestre still had the option to either call or fold.
Mestre calculated and decided to call, even though he only had 5-2. But when the two came on the flop, Pastor was out.
With 40 players remaining another table has broken and the rope perimeter gets shortened again as if these tables were defending the Christmas tree standing in the corner of the room. It’s not long before the 40th place finisher is confirmed. Tome Moreira has that honour, quietly doing the paper work as attention focuses on the chip leader.
That man is PokerStars sponsored player Juan Maceiras who takes ten minutes to re-stack is chips after moving from broken table. At best count the Spaniard has 476,000.
There's no one more accustomed than Johnny Lodden at building short stacks into mountains. But let's be honest, he's not bad at sometimes turning mountains into dust as well. Sadly for the Norwegian professional, the latter is true here in Prague, where Lodden has just departed in 43rd place. He has ridden his usual roller-coaster, up among the clouds and down in the gutter and, as ever, it's been thrilling to watch. But he was very short-stacked and got them all in with A-K. Ludovic Lacay called with pocket nines and Lodden was done.
He takes €8,800 for his troubles here, not as much as he'd surely have liked, but that's two cashes out of three tournaments since he's been kitted out in the PokerStars livery. There can be no complaints about that.
Also falling in the past few hands were Lars Johan Persson, Riccardo Lacchinelli, Roberto Romanello and Petter Petterson.
The Minieri-shaped hole on table eight has had the effect of sucking many of the railbirds away from the main tournament. Some are now playing in the €2,000 side event, while others have gone of in search of anything that might come close to the action provided by the dynamic Italian. Base-jumping, or something.
Minieri's vanquisher, Raul Mestre, now sits behind about 365,000 in chips, but is not the chip leader. That is almost certainly now an accolade belonging to Juan Maceires, who has more than 450,000. Maceires is on the same table as Ludovic Lacay, who has taken something of a hit but is still comfortable with more than 200,000. Looking slightly less perky on the same table is Johnny Lodden, whose roller-coaster may be on its final dive. The Norwegian has only 22,000, although that might easily be 100,000 by the time I finish writing this.
The prizewinners are listed over at the prizewinners page. We'll do our best to bring the latest chip counts here, or on the chip-counts page.
The last remaining Team PokerStars Pro Dario Minieri has just been eliminated. A resting place of 47th for the Italian who left a trail of wreckage in his wake. He got it all-in with pocket queens against Raul Mestre’s A-Q. The first card on the table was an ace, busting Minieri.
After the scenes of jubilation when the bubble, like those in mission control when they bring a damaged rocket safely back to earth, we’re back to the serious business of eliminations. Everyone gets paid now but the new goal is to make it through to tomorrow.
Some of those who won’t be there are now making an orderly queue at the cash desk.
Paolo Grossi went first, a €7,000 pay day for the Italian thanks to the narrowest of margins. He was followed by Oscar Silow of Sweden and Jeff Sarwar of Finland. The Finn’s path to the money was a shaky one, first getting dangerously close to the felt before regrouping in a quick fire all-in call hand against Johnny Lodden. Lodden had led but was soon regretting it when Sarwar called showing pocket jacks to Lodden’s T-3 which Lodden seemed more keen to fold than to show.
Lodden’s crash took him to less than 23,000 but as usual that would not be the end of the Norwegian. Whilst Sarwar would depart after a Q-J versus aces hand, Lodden would bounce back after two all-ins and is now armed with 52,000. Not much but an improvement.
The bubble has burst and the man to leave Prague with nothing is Erich Kollman, the Austrian pro. Kollman got involved with A-Q against Rifat Palevic, who had him well covered in both chips and hand. Palevic had kings and although a queen came on the turn, it wasn't enough and Kollman is gone.
It means that the 56 players remaining are all in the money. All that matters now is how much they're going to get. The full prize structure can be found on the prizes page, which will also be updated with winners as and when they know. A full, official chip count is also on its way. That, predictably enough, will be on the chip count page.
The video blog team are here in Prague, catching up with many of the players, following all of the action, and sharing their moving images with the world via the PokerStars.tv portal. But what does a team of video bloggers do in their down time? Well, it turns out they rap. Yes, rap. And they film it. Here's the proof.
They're quickly closing in on the bubble, with only 59 players now remaining. For some, this is all about survival with the short stack, hoping to edge into the cash at the minimum possible risk; for others, this is all about well-armed bullying, plundering the dead money on offer.
The PokerStars.de Shooting Star Sebastian Ruthenberg has been this deep in countless tournaments and is fast becoming one of the surest bets to get into the money.
Sebastian Ruthenberg
The champion in Barcelona earlier this season, Ruthenberg has four other EPT cashes, as well as a World Series bracelet, and he also had too many chips for Paulo Grossi to get involved with him moments ago. Grossi raised to 8,100 from the button, Ruthenberg shoved another 30,000 or so in from the small blind, which had Grossi covered, and the Italian folded.
The big stacks at this point include the following:
Juan Maceiras 195,000
Joris Jaspers 220,000
Daniel Drescher 170,000
Dan Pedersen 250,000
Manuel Bevand 220,000
Raul Mestre 200,000
Dario Minieri is inarguably the main attraction here in Prague. Every 10 minutes or so, the tournament officials are forced to make an announcement requesting spectators to stay behind the ropes and not crowd the tables. They're referring specifically to one table, where the Team PokerStars Pro sits at the centre of a four-deep throng.
Of course, Minieri himself doesn't seem to care at all. He's still buoyantly engaging the entire table in conversation, and bullishly entering just about every pot. The Swedish player, Rifat Palevic, is sitting to Minieri's left and the two of them have been scrapping all day. Palevic even claims to have bluffed Minieri out of a decent pot earlier on, and he certainly has a decent sized stack to back up the claims.
"You're just too good," Minieri said to Palevic as they went heads-up in a recent pot. "You've got too many chips; you're just too good. I'm not going to be bluffing at you."
This speech play came as Palevic was considering a call of 17,500 looking at a board of 8d-9d-4c-3s-3d. It was an unraised pot pre-flop, but Minieri had bet every post-flop street: 5,500 on the flop, 17,500 on the turn. Palevic was eventually goaded into calling on the river too, and was shown K-9c by Minieri, for two pair, nines and threes. It was good.
"I was pretty sure I had the best hand," Minieri said, stacking up something like 130,000.
There are 63 players left and we've just entered level 14. Six more need to depart and then we're on the bubble.
There will be a time in the not so distant future, when young kids, no taller than your knee, will watch old clips from the European Poker Tour, look up to their parents and say “when I grow up, I want to be Dario Minieri.”
Sure they'll still be plenty of aspiring firemen, ballerinas and cowboys, but "being Dario" will feature near the top of the list. It won’t just be for a style of poker that has the explosive power of TNT, or the dashing look of his branded scarf; it will be for his sheer balls in the face of adversity, the knack of convincing an overwhelming favourite that he’d be a fool to call. The deal he offers is always the same - surrender now and be treated well.
Team PokerStars Pro Dario Minieri
The latest episode came on a board of 5d-4s-4h. Minieri announced all-in and stood up, the fate of his remaining 34,700 no longer in his hands. Milan Kojnok of Slovakia had the decision to make.
“I hope you fold but it doesn’t matter” said Dario. “I will show if you fold. If I had more chips then maybe... or I could be lying!” This last bit came with a grin. Perhaps prudently Kojnok folded his pocket sixes face up. Minieri showed his A-4
“I had outs!” exclaimed Minieri, leaping up to gather his chips. The kids will be right - everyone should want to be Dario Minieri when they grow up.
Christer Johansson is out. The overnight chip leader moved tables and came straight into the big blind surrounded by monstrous stacks. Most of them folded around to the PokerStars qualifier Shander De Vries in the small blind and he raised, prompting Johansson to shove for 31,000 more.
De Vries pondered for a while, but then found the call with As-Js, miles ahead of Johansson's Ah-7h. The board bricked and the Swedish player was put out of his misery. It was a rough day.
Christer Johansson
The probable chip leader at this stage is Manuel Bevand, from France. He is sitting to the left of the chair recently vacated by Johansson and has about 245,000 in chips. Fredrik Nygard recently cracked kings to win a sizeable pot and put him north of 160,000. And Constandinos Alexiou still has three huge towers of red chips, worth 1,000 apiece, putting him close to 170,000. Yellow chips are also now in play, and Bevand has the most of them.
There are 77 players currently taking a break at the end of level 12. When they return, they'll be playing blinds of 1,000-2,000 (200 ante). A full, official chip count will appear on the chip count page very soon.
Gino Alacqua has fond memories of the EPT Prague thanks to an extraordinary performances here twelve months ago, a runner-up spot to Arnaud Mattern that earned him €407,300. Since then more success has followed, with cashes in Copenhagen and a second final table a few weeks ago at the EPT Budapest.
That third final table remains a possibility but he’d admit his chances just took a knock, all-in with pocket Kings against A-T. The middle card on the flop matched the ace; the turn card matched the ten, sending Alacqua’s stack to well below average. Still he’s pulled off great escapes before.
At the same table is PokerStars sponsored player Johnny Lodden. When Lodden loses he tends to lose with an expression on his face that says no matter, it was all a joke in the first place.
PokerStars sponsored player Johnny Lodden
On a flop of 7s-7h-8d the small blind player Jakob Eberg had made it 3,800. Lodden had upped the stakes, re-raising to 11,000 which Eberg called.
On the Ts turn 1008 checked to Lodden who announced “17,000”. As if they were following a script Eberg replied “I call”. The river, a 2h, and now neither player was interested in betting more. Both checked for a showdown.
“Two pair” said Lodden before Eberg showed his Ks-7d. Lodden mucked.
“You had ace-eight?” asked Eberg.
“Something like that” replied Lodden, down to 45,000. He’d lose a few more thousands a few minutes later.
The same went for another PokerStars sponsored player Sebastian Ruthenberg. The EPT Barcelona champion check raised all-in with 9h-6c on a board of 5s-Kh-9d-2d only to be called lightening fast by Tome Moreira holding Kc-Qh. The river brought an ace, doubling up Moreira. The shooting star down to 68,000.
It's not been a great day for the overnight chip leader Christer Johansson, who ran queens into aces in an 80,000 pot very early on and then got consistently unlucky in a number of small pots until he dribbled down to about 40,000.
Johansson was drawn on the same table as the day 1a chip leader Ludovic Lacay, and the day has been slightly brighter for the Frenchman, who is sprinkling his play with some characteristic flamboyance. Moments ago, Lacay made a standard raise from the button and Nikolaos Panopoulos called from the big blind. The flop came As-7s-3h and Panopoulos check-called Lacay's continuation bet.
Ludovic Lacay
The turn was the 2h and Panopoulos bet 10,000, which snapped Lacay into action. He re-raised another 30,000 and Panopoulos reluctantly folded. Ever the showman, Lacay turned his cards over and showed Jc-8s which translates, generously, to second-pair draw. (Nothing, in other words.)
A few tables away, a pot was brewing between Juan Maceiras and Juha Helppi. Helppi raised 4,000 from under-the-gun and Maceiras was the only caller on the button. The flop came Qd-7d-Jc and Helppi checked.
Juan Maceiras
Maceiras bet 5,000 and Helppi took some time over his decision. "Come on Juha," goaded Maceiras. "I'll show you, Juha! I'll show you!"
"All in," said Helppi, and slid his stack of about 37,000 towards the middle. Gulp, said a now silent Maceiras.
"All right, you win," Maceiras admitted, a touch sheepishly. He then turned over a queen to show that he was folding top pair. Helppi looked a little surprised but didn't return the compliment. He handed his cards back to the dealer and began stacking chips.
Players' seats are drawn entirely at random, and when tables break their new seat assignment is also decided by the luck of the draw. And so there's nothing sinister about the fact that Dario Minieri's table seems to have about half the chips in play from the entire tournament. It just happened to work out that way.
At the end of level 10, about 45 minutes ago, the official chip count showed the Greek player Constandinos Alexiou at the chip summit, with close to 200,000. He is in seat three of Minieri's table and is still floating along quite nicely on roughly the same mark. Amazingly, though, he is not the table captain: that honour goes to Raul Mestre, the Spanish player, who has about 210,000. Mestre is furiously writing notes on every hand played at the table - whether he's involved or not - and will quickly be running out of paper.
Most recently, Mestre took a pot from Minieri. There was a sizeable-ish scattering of chips in the middle by the time I arrived, and they were already at the turn. The board showed Jh-3h-Qd-6d and Mestre bet 6,000. Minieri called. The river was Kd and both players checked. Minieri insisted that Mestre show his hand first, and the Spaniard flipped Ks-10s for a rivered pair of kings. "Nice hand," said Minieri, and mucked.
We have just entered level 12, and 94 players remain. The plan is to play down to 32 tonight, which will take us through the bubble of 56 players.
The task at hand is first to make it to the money, still some 41 eliminations away, and then to get as deep as possible, with the ultimate aim a place on the televised final table. It sounds simple bashed out on the keyboard, in the reality looks a lot different. In the three levels played today the “oomph” sound of defeat has rattled the tournament room about the same number of times a sudden yelp of relief has. There’s a lot at stake - some players can’t help themselves.
Martin Jacobsen just proved himself to be a man of great restraint. On a board of Qd-7s-6s-Jc he was faced with a decision whether or not to call an all-in, with 60,000 sitting in the pot already. The clock was called and with three seconds left he announced call. Good as far as drama was concerned, bad as far as his stack would look. He turned over ace-king only to see his opponent show two sixes.
Jacobsen managed a “nice hand”, an achievement itself at a time when others would be punching stuff. He’s left with 30,000.
Elsewhere there was drama on Petter Pettersson’s table where the Swede had moved all-in for 80,000, another 30,000 was already in the pot.
Standing, looking at the flop of Jh-5h-Tc and wondering whether or not to call was Tome Moreira; the Portuguese would be all-in if he called but stood to win over 100,000 if successful.
“Will you show?” he asked Petterssen, who simply nodded. Moreira mucked.
“Good fold” said Pettersson, showing his own Qc-9c.
Yesterday's "A round with Peter Eastgate" served its purpose of illustrating some of the realities of major poker tournaments, namely even with a table stacked with stars, there's a lot of time when nothing much happens. Today's "A round with..." features the Team PokerStars Pro Dario Minieri, and it illustrates another stark truth: with Minieri on your table, there's always something going on.
It began with Minieri's opening table being broken by the tournament staff, beginning an anxious scamper around the tournament area in search of a new seat. This isn't easy for Minieri these days: he is the main attraction wherever he seems to go, and he had to shake a lot of hands, pose for a lot of photos, and exchange polite platitudes with countless supporters as he made his way through the busy channels between the tables, all while clutching two trays of tournament chips.
Dario Minieri
When he finally sat down, he was greeted by the sizeable stack of Constandinos Alexiou, the Greek player who also welcomed Minieri with the words: "I think I have a little better than you," waving his fingers over about 100,000 in chips. "How much is that?" Minieri asked. "One-thirty? Thanks. Just to have an idea."
And then the fun started. We were in level nine at the time, with blinds of 400-800.
Hand one:
The PokerStars qualifier Marcel Baran opened for a standard raise from early position and Pawel Chmiel moved all in for about 8,000. Minieri - this is the first hand since he sat down, remember - announces re-raise over the all in player, and begins to count out chips. Baran says, "Don't worry," and folds, earning a chuckle and a finger wag from Minieri. The two remaining players show their cards. Chmiel has A-J, Minieri has A-K and the big slick stands up. One hand played, one scalp for Minieri.
Hand two:
Alexiou calls pre-flop on Minieri's big blind. Minieri checks and the flop comes 10c-4c-5c. Both players check. The turn is the 6c and a 2,000 bet from Alexiou takes it.
Hand three:
Minieri is in the small blind, but gets out the way at the first opportunity to allow Marcel Baran, under-the-gun, and Niko Hainninen, big blind, to go to war. They get to a flop relatively cheaply, and Hainninen checks with 4h-6s-8c showing. Baran bets 4,000 but the Finn now makes it 12,000 and Baran announces that he's going to call the check-raise. He pushes his chips forward, but accidentally splashes them into the pot, meaning no one knows if he paid the full price or not. It's a genuine accident from the experienced player, but the floor has to be called anthere's a good deal of discussing and counting. Eventually it's agreed that the call stands, and that Baran has paid the correct amount, so they see a turn of 6h. Both players check, and the river is the Jh. Hainninen bets 22,000 and Baran tanks, then calls, and is shown 6-4d by Hainninen - a full house - which is good. Baran is down to 22,000 and Hainninen joins the big stacks on the table.
Marcel Baran
Hand four:
David Sonelin, the PokerStars qualifier from Sweden, raises to 2,000 from under-the-gun and Minieri calls on the button. Hainninen and Baran, in the blinds, come along. The flop is 10d-4s-9d and it's checked to Sonelin, who bets 5,500. Minieri and Hainninen fold, but Baran announces all in, 19,700 more, and Sonelin folds.
Hand five:
An unknown player, two off the button, raises to 2,000 pre-flop. Minieri, to his left, reraises to 4,600 and the original raiser calls. The flop comes 6d-4h-2d and after the unknown player (who seems to have misplaced his name card) checks, Minieri bets 7,000. His opponent moves all in, which is only 2,000 more than Minieri has bet, and so the Italian makes the mandatory call. The all in player shows pocket eights, Minieri has the mighty 9-7o (good for a reraise pre-flop, obviously) and when turn and river blank, the all in player doubles up. "Nice hand," says Minieri.
Hand six:
Alexiou, still in possession of the biggest stack at the table, raises to 2,500 pre-flop. Hainninen reraises to 7,600 from late position and Alexiou calls. The flop comes 5c-5s-2d and Alexiou checks, prompting a bet of 8,000 from Hainninen. Alexiou re-raises to about 30,000, which is too rich for the Finn, who folds.
Hand seven:
Minieri, who sat out the last hand entirely, raises to 2,500 from mid position and it's folded to Alexiou's big blind. He calls. The flop is Kh-Kc-5h and after Alexiou taps the table, Minieri bets about 5,000, and Alexiou insta-folds. "I have quad of kings," says Minieri, who never promised anyone that he would tell the truth at all times.
Hand eight:
Hainninen raises pre-flop and that is good, completing a breathless round.
The undisputed success story of the day so far is the PokerStars qualifier John Riley. He's top of the list to have a chat to, not only because he's made the long trip to the Czech Republic from the United States, after winning his seat online, but also now because he's turned his overnight stack of 10,900 into 125,000.
PokerStars qualifier John Riley
Our Hungarian blogger was railing Daniel Biro, the Hungarian PokerStars qualifier doing well in Prague, who happened to be sharing a table with Riley, and watched as it was the American who came out on top. Riley's first double up came with A-J versus Biro's K-10, all in pre-flop; then Riley doubled up again with A-Q, outdrawing Biro's A-K.
That put Riley up to about 45,000, and he then found his own A-K. That was good enough to get it all in pre-flop once more, against pocket jacks, and when a jack flopped, it looked like Riley's ride was over. But a 10-J on the flop and a queen on the river gave him the straight and another massive pot. Then his pocket nines stood up against K-J and Riley became one of the chip leaders.
Also up there is the PokerStars qualifier and EPT favourite Joris Jaspers, who has more than 120,000. Oh, and Johnny Lodden lost a big pot, to go down to around 30,000, but then doubled up two hands later and is back with about 60,000.
The patented PokerStars Lodden-o-Meter™ has been dusted down for day two in Prague, and has already come a-quivering into action. For those who missed the introduction to this piece of kit, it's an impressive chunk of machinery designed specifically to record the major fluctuations in chip stack of the Norwegian pro. It's something like a cross between a seismograph and a polygraph, and is the only thing capable of plotting the continual up and down motion, often in jagged spikes, of this action player's stack.
Early on, it started whirring when Lodden found himself all in with A-9 against A-7, but when the board paired twice, they chopped up the pot, and there was no major movement. But after his table was broken, Lodden ended up on the same table as Joao Barbosa, the EPT Warsaw champion, and Jose Luis Valero, who had a decent stack overnight. Lodden decided to get busy, and peeked down at one card: it was an ace, good for a raise.
He made it 2,200 to go and Barbosa and Valero both called. The flop came J-2-2 and Lodden continuation bet 4,800, which was also called in two spots. The turn was an off-suit three.
Lodden said later that he felt inclined to check in the dark at this spot, but then figured he might as well look at his other card. It was a glorious deuce. Now sitting with trip twos, top kicker, Lodden bet 8,000, leaving himself just 6,000 behind. Barbosa folded, but Valero looked interested, especially when Lodden said: "If you push, I'm probably going to have to fold."
The speech play prompted an insta-push from Valero, Lodden called and showed his winner. Valero's kings were toast, and the Lodden-o-Meter™ registered a factor four quake, ending with 55,000 in front of the Norwegian.
Arriving today with 16,300 means there’s work to be done with relatively few options. It’s all or nothing, no time for finesse. That’s the deal Team PokerStars Pro Noah Boeken has this afternoon, sitting with less than that after nearly a full level of play thanks to the erosion effect the blinds have. Biding his time, Boeken finally found a hand to push with, a little more than 10,000.
“I’ve giving you respect” said Roger Johannessen, folding, “it’s the first hand you’ve played.”
“Exactly, I’ve been waiting all day for it.”
Fifty minutes in Boeken has stemmed the leak by at least a round of blinds, but another move can’t be far away.
After just after a level 40 players have made their way to the door. Make that 41. Noah Boeken has since left the building.
Another Dutchman has had a slightly better ride into day two. PokerStars qualifier Joris Jaspers arrived with 63,000 and now has more than 100,000 thanks to a check-raise all-in play that pushed Christophe Haller off of his hand with a flop of 2s-8c-3c already dealt.
One of the volatile players of day one was London player Lukas Schwartz, up at one stage, down the next, who arrived today in command of a stack worth nearly 70,000. He’s now down to about 40,000 though after a dead end hand against Rifat Palevic from Sweden.
The tension was ratcheted up with the board already showing 8h-7h-6d-Qd. Schwartz was waiting for a response from Palevic to his 9,000 bet. The Swede called to see an Ah on the river. Now both players, separated only by an empty seat, turned side on to each other, ready to duel. Then did nothing.
Eventually the action was checked to Palevic who went through a long and elaborate process of counting, re-arranging and sub-dividing his stack, before finishing with a flourish and bet of around 20,000. The move represented the flush, which didn’t make Schwartz any happier.
“Where are you from?” he asked, trying to get a word, to get anything, out of his iron faced opponent who did nothing more than raise his eyebrows. Schwartz talked through various scenarios, judging his best option. This was a big pot but a call and a defeat would leave him with only a handful of chips. It was too much.
There’s a certain cruelty attached to day two of any EPT event. The effort used to survive day one turned bagging chips up last night was an achievement, succeeding where hundreds of others failed. But this morning the realisation dawns that you’re still some way from having anything to show for your work and you could easily leave this place as an also-ran. The 177 players returning today only 56 will be paid. That’s 121 people to disappoint.
That said, it sure is fun to watch. A colourful mix of players from all corners of the poker world trying to do justice to a long eight hours at the table earlier this week can make for a gripping day. Leading them chip wise is EPT stalwart Christer Johansson who bagged up 108,100 chips last night. Manual Bevard is the Swede’s closest pursuer on 97,200.
All that will change of course as we play through until just 32 players remain. Tournament officials have redrawn and we’ll be eight handed from here through to the final on Saturday.
Level nine is about to get underway with blinds of 400-800 with a 100 ante. It should be quick fire. Brace yourself.
The line-up for day 1b at EPT Prague read like a glittering who's who of modern poker. There were EPT champions and online legends and then a man entered the house with the biggest reputation of all: Europe welcomed back to its bosom Peter Eastgate, the 22-year-old Dane who went to Las Vegas in the summer alongside more than 6,800 other hopefuls and came home with all the bacon. Eastgate - for the benefit of cave dwellers - is the newly-crowned World Champion, but $9 million seemed to rest easy on his shoulders.
MC Eastgate
"I played this tournament last year," Eastgate said, taking charge of the microphone for shuffle up and deal formalities. "But I busted in level five. I'm hoping I can do better this year." Not quite, Peter. Not quite.
Eastgate, in fact, started on one of the toughest tables in the room and was one of its inevitable casualties. His A-K was outdrawn by Stuart Rutter's excellently-disguised A-3 during the late afternoon, and Eastgate's homecoming was not as glorious as it might have been.
But there was no shame in elimination today. The same fate befell the Team PokerStars Pros Alex Kravchenko, Katja Thater and William Thorson. It befell the former EPT champions Pascal Perrault, Mike McDonald, Jan Boubli, Roland de Wolfe, William Fry, Sander Lyloff and Andreas Hoivold. It befell such proven quality performers as Ben Grundy, Marc Goodwin, Nicolas Levi, Ramzi Jelassi and Praz Bansi.
Katja Thater
Ben Grundy
But it's a measure of the talent here that emerging from the wreckage of day 1b are still numerous notable names. Dario Minieri's charge continues. The Team PokerStars Pro, a final table player last time out in Warsaw, remains in the hunt into day two and finished with more than 50,000.
Dario Minieri
Whatever Minieri's team-mate Noah Boeken got up to today, it was always likely to be much less loud than his violently garish hoodie. But Boeken's silent progress through the field meant he bagged up 17,000 chips overnight.
Noah Boeken
The very top of the tree is adorned by players from Sweden, France, Italy, Finland and Germany. They are Christer Johansson (110,000), Manuel Bevand (105,000), Alessio Isaia (93,500), Fredrik Nygard (60,000) and Marcel Baran (50,000). There's a whole lot of EPT experience among that lot - as well as the expected new faces.
When the field merges tomorrow, and the survivors of two days come together, there will still be fewer than 190 players in total. We reduced 298 into 96 today and 272 into 88 last night. Those 184 left now know what they are playing for: it's a first prize of €774,000, from a total prize pool of close to €3 million. Full payout details are available on the prizes page.
We'll probably play down close to the bubble tomorrow, which will burst when player number 57 departs. And then Friday and Saturday's action, under the gaze of EPT live, will decide our champion.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. The following links give a review of today's action:
And if it's EPT Prague as a means to the betterment of your language skills, then you can take the beginner's course in Swedish poker commentary; or elementary Hungarian; maybe even grade five Italian, or advanced German. You might not learn how to ask the way to the train station, but you'll be fine for button raises, nut flushes and the like.
All the video blogs from the tournament, as well as an archive of all previous televisual excitement, is always available at PokerStars.tv. Thanks, as always, to Neil Stoddart for the static images, and there'll be more of all the same tomorrow.
“This is the second time you’ve tried to bluff me! I’m all-in!”
PokerStars sponsored player Juan Maceiras knows how to entertain the rail. The seat seven player had raised Maceiras for a second time and the Spaniard wanted to put a stop to it, moving all-in. He felt happy for himself until the seat one player looked interested.
“Hey,” said Maceiras to his potential assassin, the rest of the table laughing, “wait, this is not your war...” The seat one player wasn’t put off. “I’m a funny guy” added Maceiras “you want to be sitting with me for two more days.”
Maceiras was standing, nervous after sitting for several hours in a comfort position - his belt was undone. He quickly fastened it, announcing that now he was ready for pictures. There would be a few taken - the seat one player called.
“Wow.” Said Maceiras, turning to the original raiser. “Now I want you to call, I don’t care now.”
He didn’t, but that still left the showdown, the Spaniard turning over Ac-Kc to his opponent’s A-Q. Fortune shone on Maceiras who hit a king on the flop. The queen on the turn was just for a bit of drama – Maceiras had doubled up.
William Thorson is busto, ending a fairly miserable backward slide through the final couple of levels for the Team PokerStars Pro. Ever the action player, Thorson had doubled up early, and built his stack to around about 35,000 at one point. But all his chips drifted away in sizeable chunks until he was left with 7,000 and mistimed a bluff that left him with 3,200.
William Thorson
Those went in soon enough - a push from the big blind over a button raiser. But the button had sixes, Thorson could only manage A-9 and it did not improve.
Noah Boeken and Dario Minieri remain in the hunt, as the rapid eliminations continue. Also on the rail by now are both the EPT Budapest winner William Fry and Matt "Ch0ppy" Kay, two players who featured on that undisputed table of doom from earlier, alongside Peter Eastgate, Nicolas Levi, et al. Neither has anything to prove, though, and they shared their thoughts with the video blog team earlier.
The first couple of these videos feature Fry; the third is with Ch0ppy. Enjoy.
Dutch PokerStars qualifier Joris Jaspers was in “take no prisoners” mood in a hand against a player whose name was on his shirt but who was gone too quickly for anyone to read it. On a flop of 9h-5s-Qh Jaspers bet 1,325 which his opponent re-raised to 3,650. After a short pause Jaspers neatly moved the remainder of his chips into the middle, 5,000 more which was ultimately called, Jaspers showing Jh-Td against Jc-9c. The Tc and 6d on turn and river put new life into the Dutchman’s stack, now up to 15,000.
EPT Warsaw winner Joao Barbosa is still on the way to potential runner-runner titles. He just shoved all-in on a board of 2c-4c-Td behind a raise of 3,000 from a player opposite who then tried to interrogate Barbosa.
“You can’t possibly be on a flush draw... can you beat ace-ten?”
Like a machine Barbosa sat quietly waiting for a raise, call or a fold. None came.
“Okay,” said his opponent folding, “nice.”
Barbosa up to 20,000
Talking of which Barbosa was one of the many players who talked to the video blog team earlier today...
Giuseppe Festa has just been eliminated; his pocket sevens beaten by pocket kings and with a few handshakes the Italian was gone.
Festa’s story happens to be one of the more interesting here given that it started one year ago and today marked something of an anniversary.
Twelve months ago Festa, one of many emerging pros coming out of Italy, made the final of a side event at the EPT Prague. Everyone in unanimous in loving the city of Prague but Festa loved it so much he decided to move here from his home town near Rome, and now makes his living playing high stakes cash games in local casinos. Having set about learning the language (“tricky for an Italian!”), Festa spent three months living in a hotel before finally moving into a new home where his wife and two year old son joined him.
“Prague is an amazing city, perfect. The Czech people do everything slowly so there’s no stress, which suit me. Prague changed my life. The European Poker Tour changed my life.”
When I spoke to Festa earlier he talked about the pressures of playing in his new home town, where everyone would be supporting him. Alas it was not to be for the local boy who earlier in the day had to lay down two big hands, both times to pocket acves. He leaves the EPT Prague in level six. No plans to leave town though...
The most recent level has been the one where we slipped into top gear. Until now, this seems to have been a much slower day than yesterday, but they found the accelerator pedal in the past hour or so and there have been huge movements at the top of the chip ladder, and plenty of players drifting out the door.
Emerging at the top of leaderboard is Christer Johansson, without question one of the most popular players on the tour, and with a career record to make most envious. He recently rocketed to north of 80,000 in chips, but was coy as to where they all came from. "He keeps flopping sets," said his table-mate Juha Helppi. "He flops so many, he forgets."
Christer Johansson
Johansson's fellow Swede Petter Pettersson also scaled those kind of heights within the past hour, getting way over 60,000. He's moved tables a couple of times since then, and appears to have spewed a few chips on his journey, and seems to be back now among the pack.
Completing the Nordic dominance of the upper echelons, Fredrik Nygard still has 65,000-odd and is right up there. He's from Finland, but it has long been established that there's something in the poker air up there.
Stop press: It seems it's true that Pettersson has lost a lot of chips, and Alexio Isaia, who is sitting on Pettersson's new table, has more than 75,000. There's no official confirmation that these two facts are linked, but two and two do occasionally add up.
Prague hasn't been so kind to Alex Fitzgerald, Jan Boubli, Nicolas Levi, William Fry, Marc Goodwin, Michael Keiner, Ramzi Jelassi, Bn Grundy, Florian Langmann and Nico Behling. They're all now out.
Davidi Kitai of EPT Barcelona fame, showed his talent at the table back in September. Here he just showed his talent at remaining composed at an obvious rub down. It came by the hand of the seat nine player, who went by the name of “seat eight player” when he was on Dario Minieri’s table.
Kitai folded T-8 on a board of 6s-4d-8c-Qs-5h after being in the tank for some time before folding. His opponent asked Kitai if he wanted to see his cards. Kitai obviously said yes but wasn’t too pleased to see him turn over 9-6.
Davidi Kitai
Kitai wasn’t down for long, sending a player to the rail on his next hand, A-K against A-Q.
Another player in rocket man mode is Team PokerStars Pro Dario Minieri who, since level three, has shown no let up. He just doubled up, pushing in with K-T on a 6-T-8 flop. His opponent called with 8s-9s and found no help on the ace or three on the turn and river.
There was an immensely impressive array of talent lining up for day 1b in Prague, but so far the upshot of the first five levels of play has been the population of an immensely talented rail. Many of the top names have fallen by the wayside, leaving some of the more unheralded EPT fighters to do battle.
Naturally there are some familiar faces mingling near the summit - the likes of Christer Johansson, Praz Bansi and Marcel Baran need no introduction - but top of the pack is the less well-known Fredrik Nygard, from Finland, who has 64,000 and the chip lead.
Also very much alive, and also from the Nordic lands, is the Dane Christian Grundtvig, a PokerStars qualifier with one of the most glittering resumes in European poker. Grundtvig, who won a WPT event in Paris, talked to the video blog team earlier in the day.
The official numbers are finally in and the number crunchers have done their chomping. There were 298 players in today's day 1b field, added to yesterday's 272 players to make a total of 570 entrants into what is now comfortably the second-most popular EPT event, behind only the Monte Carlo Grand Final.
The prize pool totals €2,764,500, of which the winner will receive €774,000. The top 56 players will be in the money.
All the details are on the prizes page, where we will also update prize-winners as and when they're known. The bubble will probably either burst late on day two (Thurdsay) or early on day three.
At the moment, 202 remain as we pass the midpoint of level five. The most recent chip counts, taken at the start of the level, can be found on the chip counts page.
PokerStars sponsored player Juan Maceiras fits the typical poker player mould. Young, neglected stubble that has become a beard, youthful clothes and a attitude fit to take on the world. He’s also a good player.
A flash of that talent came earlier in the shape of a top draw lay down that saved Maceiras’ tournament, folding pocket fours on an As-3h-8h-8d-4c board, his opponent showing Ac-8c.
PokerStars sponsored player Juan Maceiras
The Spaniard has continued to win chips. Meanwhile Team PokerStars Pro Dario Minieri has lost some, an all-in move with A-J damaging his stack when called by A-Q. The Italian is down to 14,000.
Stop press: Katja Thater is out. The Team PokerStars Pro pushed in with pocket sevens on a ten-high board only to run into a caller with a ten.
Two people won't be on Peter Eastgate's Christmas card list. One of them is Stuart Rutter, the English player who has just knocked out the World Champion from EPT Prague. The other is the idiot reporter who just bounded up the the World Champion and said: "Peter, can you tell me how you just busted please?"
"Well, I had ace-king under-the-gun," he told me. "I opened for 525 and the big blind defended. He was the only one. The flop came A-Q-8 and I bet 1,000 and he called. The turn was a 3c, meaning there were now two clubs out there, and I bet 2,000. He called. And the river was a six and I put it all in, 7,500. He called."
Rutter flipped A-3 for two pair. Eastgate's A-K was no good. Within five minutes, the Dane was at the bar, a bottle of Budvar in his hand. Good man.
Late yesterday, a big screen was rolled back in the tournament room that soon became more like a temporary wall. It separated a decent chunk of the ballroom from the action area, permitting anything to occur behind it without interrupting the tournament flow.
Although we still can't see through the wall, I'm reliably informed that they're currently building the television set, where a feature table will be in place throughout days three and four of this tournament - Friday and Saturday in real terms. Not only will this be where the action is recorded for posterity, but the live play will appear on the peerless EPT live. There will be uninterrupted coverage at PokerStars.tv of the action, which will be well worth tuning in for.
After Peter Eastgate had completed his shuffle up and deal formalities, all eyes tracked the World Champion to determine who got the first chance to cross swords with the nine million dollar man. Under normal circumstances, Eastgate's table-mates might have been overawed, but these are not normal circumstances. Awaiting the Dane were Nicolas Levi, Pascal Perrault, Stuart Rutter, Thomas Brolin, Aniol Alcaraz, Peter Traply, Matt "Ch0ppy" Kay and Niko Hanninen.
World champion Peter Eastgate
Some of those are household names - Perrault is a former EPT champion; Levi is an EPT sensation; Brolin is a former professional footballer; Rutter is a prime-mover on the UK poker scene. Others need little introduction: Kay, for instance, is best known as "Ch0ppy" and his Pocket Fives poker profile shows three recent online MTT results: $91,770 from a $750 buy in, $52,500 for $200 and $42,600 from $300. Not bad.
We had already reported a big hand that went the way of Hanninen, and by the time I dropped by most recently, Perrault had been eliminated (final hand, Perrault's A-K beaten by Levi's 5-2. "I did my best to double him up," explained Levi, having busted his fellow Frenchman. "We have a code.") But in Perrault's seat was William Fry, the champion from EPT Budapest last month, and hardly a soft touch on this increasingly cut-throat table.
It seemed like a good choice, therefore, as a table to loiter around for a few hands, giving us the latest instalment in an occasional series named "A round with..." Today's episode: A round with Peter Eastgate.
Context: Blinds are 75-150, and these are the opening stages of level three. Only Kay is under threat: he has less than 3,000 and when his friend walks past, he says: "What do you reckon? Do I shove with this?" Eastgate and Hainninen have close to 20,000; the others are all hovering around their starting stack, although it will seem a lot less or the Hungarian player Traply. He recently lost a huge pot when his flopped full house (with 4-2, obviously, after he defended his blind) was outdrawn on the river by pocket eights, which spiked another eight on the river to make a bigger full house. Traply was licking his wounds. We join the action with Thomas Brolin on the button.
Hand one: Button: Brolin; Small blind: Fry; Big blind: Alcaraz
Stuart Rutter raises from mid-position and takes the blinds.
Hand two: Button: Fry; Small blind: Alcaraz; Big blind: Traply
This time, Hainninen raises to 400 and he takes it. Fry begins a conversation with Levi. "Where are you from," says the Englishman. "France, but I live in London. I miss France." Fry adds: "I live in Nottingham, but I don't know how much longer." This soon becomes a cereberal discussion of escalating crime rates comparing the midlands town and the French and English capitals.
Hand three: Button: Alcaraz; Small blind: Traply; Big blind: Rutter
Fry continues his conversation, but bets 375 as he's doing so. It's good for the blinds.
William Fry
Hand four: Button: Traply; Small blind: Rutter; Big blind: Kay
Fry finds a groove and this time raises to 425 pre-flop. The result is the same and he takes the blinds.
Hand five: Button: Rutter; Small blind: Kay; Big blind: Eastgate
With the world champion in the big blind, all the players decide to respect him. Like hell. Fry calls from early position and Alcaraz bumps it up to 600. All get out the way except Fry, who pays to see the flop of Js-2s-2d. Check, check. The turn is 4c, check, check. The river is the Kd, Fry checks, Alcaraz bets 600. Fold. Job done for the Spaniard.
Hand six: Button: Kay; Small blind: Eastgate: Big blind: Hainninen
It's folded to Eastgate's small blind and he raises to 450. On a previous level, I'd watched this exact manoeuvre, which Eastgate had accompanied with the words: "I always do this, and you always call." That time, as with this, Hainninen did indeed call, and they looked at Js-5s-Qc. Eastgate fired 500, Hainninen folded.
Hand seven: Button: Eastgate; Small blind: Hainninen; Big blind: Levi
By this point, the crime problems of Nottingham, London and Paris had presumably been solved by Messrs Levi and Fry. Either that, or their attention had been seized again by the poker. Plenty of them got involved on this hand, though, especially after Thomas Brolin sneaked in a flat call for 150 from under-the-gun. Alarm bells tend to ring at these moments, but there's also always a massive carrot dangled in front of most players, eager for the chance to crack aces or kings. Seven of them called and saw a flop of Qc-2d-2c. It looked like a rotten beat could be coming up here - had anyone dared limp with a deuce in their hand? - and so Brolin bet to find out. It was in the region of a pot-sized wager and each hand hit the muck as soon as it could.
Hand eight: Button: Hainninen; Small blind: Levi; Big blind: Brolin
It's folded to the small blind of Nicolas Levi, who adds the extra 75 to make up Brolin's big. The former Sweden international striker is having none of that though and raises it up. Levi wants none of it and filds.
Hand nine: Button: Levi; Small blind: Brolin; Big blind: Fry
And now, amazingly, William Fry gets a walk in the big blind, ending a surprisingly cagey round with the world champion and all the pretenders. It remains, however, a table worth watching, which we will continue to do throughout the day.
We said something before the break about how Dario Minieri was playing a waiting game. Well, it seems the real Dario Minieri has arrived, albeit 15 minutes late, to use his usual bag of tricks – a bag of sublime talent mixed with cheek - to dazzle.
It’s not unusual for players to be late back by a minute or two but Minieri showed up fifteen 15 minutes into level three, his scarf tied around his waist about the same height you’d wrap your arms if performing the Heimlich manoeuvre. Something was different, and it wasn’t just the scarf. Minieri’s staccato hand movements had a new energy, like he’d been giving the rest of the table a head start and now his next step was to attack.
Team PokerStars Pro Dario Minieri
A bet of 450 from the seat three player was met by a two-handed re-raise by Minieri, 1,500 total. “I wanna get some chips” he said, which usually forecasts trouble. Sensing this, his opponent mucked. Minieri peeked again. “It’s easy with aces.” It was like the star quarterback had switched tactics from a stuck in the mud running game to pinpoint bombs to the end zone.
A bet of 375 this time, Minieri leading, which the seat eight player called from the small blind for a flop of 7h-9d-Kc. Both checked for a turn card 8h. Now the small blind bet out, making it 600. This seemed like a personal affront to Minieri who called to see a Kd on the river. I may have been mistaken but the small blind swayed slightly in his seat before betting 1,500, which naturally Minieri called, showing his winning Kh-4h.
The seat eight player was not done giving his chips to the Italian, being punished for insubordination.
Two hands later three players saw a flop of 2c-4h-Jh. Minieri started the betting, making it 700. EPT Dortmund champion Mike McDonald stared at Minieri before folding, but seat eight was done staring and at it again, re-raising to 2,000. Minieri removed his headphones, switching off his iPod so as not to miss a beat, then peeked at his cards again.
“I’m all in” he said. “I don’t like to be bluffed.”
That ended the hand there. The relentless pursuit of chips has just started, the Minieri kid is in town as we enter level four.
Two Team PokerStars Pros find themselves within shouting distance. Katja Thater sits two to the left of EPT Warsaw runner-up Nico Behling whilst a table across is Alex Kravchenko, alongside EPT Warsaw winner Joao Barbosa.
Of all of them it’s Kravchenko narrowly ahead, up a few grand more after betting all the way to the river which, on the last street saw his opponent stare one last time at his cards, visibly turn up his nose, and fold.
Over on Dario Minieri’s table the Italian has yet to switch on his EPT Warsaw form, instead keeping a low profile, or as low a profile as you can beneath headphones, a gold and amber football scarf, gold watch and a large silver crucifix.
Like yesterday a few players have arrived late- not necessarily by design. Whilst Roland de Wolfe sauntered in to take his seat fellow Englishman Ben Grundy was unpacking his days supplies well into level two, saying he’d thought play started at 2pm.
It didn’t, it started at 12pm, and with two levels played the board says 277 players remain on day 1b.
It's true that we always write something like this, but it's also true that it's always true. Today's truly star-studded field is truly one of the best we've seen. We have recently updated the chip counts page with a list of most (some?) of the notables in today's field. Click over there to take a look, where we'll also be updating their relative stack sizes throughout the day.
Just because these are the early stages there’s nothing to stop players using the all-in move as their best weapon. Within minutes two players were in the tank, one being a finalist here last year and in San Remo, Dag Palovic.
As Palovic folded a call of “seat open” was called and triumphant man noises came from another direction. But a hand of note was developing, on Peter Eastgate’s table with six players seeing the 6c-9d-Ks flop.
The seat eight player, who had started it all, made it 600 to go from the cut off. Eastage called on the button, as did Niko Hanninen in the small blind and by Pascal Perrault in early position. That left four.
Peter Roche said something which made Eastgate laugh, something along the lines of Nicolas Levi’s remark that this was an “action hand”. Those not in it were started to regret it.
The turn came Kd. Hanninen made it 2,500 now, a level one size bet that usually puts a hand to bed. Not this one. Perrault called, as did the seat eight player. Only Eastgate, laughing, slid his cards towards the dealer. The river card 7d didn’t slow the hand any. Hanninen made it another 3,000 to go. Perrault called. Laughing, so did the seat eight.
It seemed a shame to end it there but Hanninen had the best of it on the showdown, turning over two red sixes for a full house. Perrault looked long and hard at his hand, no doubt missing by the narrowest of margins, but ultimately mucked, as did seat eight, responsible for this early entertainment.
While Hanninen scooped a pot that took his stack to around 22,000 the others indulged in some hypotheticals and discussed odds as the bell sounded for the end of level one.
Among those arriving early to today's action, filling out their forms and riffling their chips before the room filled with others doing the same, was Janek Schleicher, a PokerStars qualifier from Germany, whose face seemed familiar.
"Have you played on the EPT before?" I asked, certain that this was not the first time he had graced these tables. "Yes," came the reply. "I played Budapest*. And the WSOP. And I qualified for the Bahamas. I like playing the 'steps'."
Janek Schleicher
Schleicher was referring to the PokerStars "steps" satellite tournaments, a series of sit n goes that allow players to earn their shot at the big time for as little as $7.50 (a "step one" satellite) and gradually progressing rung by rung ("step by step") up the ladder. There are slight variations depending on the particular tournament, but largely the winner and second place of a single-table game gets a ticket to the next step, the third and fourth placed finisher gets another shot at the level they're on, and the fifth and sixth get a ticket to one "step" down.
Players can enter at any level, paying a commensurate buy-in, and once you've started, it can be tough to bust out - you end up with a bunch of tickets for level three, a handful for level four, a couple back there for level one and - if you play your cards right - a golden ticket for the big prize.
"What level did you enter?" I asked Schleicher. He looked at me, blew a sharp gust of air upward, and shrugged his shoulders in the universal language of "I haven't got a clue." It seems likely that Schleicher has more than a handful of these tickets, ensuring we'll be seeing plenty more of him at the coming tournaments.
And once you've all but ensured entry for a pittance into the big dances, you can be the kind of player who gets all your chips in during the first couple of hands. So it was with Schleicher. There couldn't have been more than three hands played when I wandered past and saw him re-raising a further couple of thousand looking at a board of 7d-Js-6d. His solitary opponent called, and then checked the 2s turn. Schleicher moved all in, sending his opponent into the tank, and sending the railbirds chattering.
Schleicher's opponent wore a T-shirt bearing the slogan: "I'm all in", prompting an observer to comment: "If he's T-shirt says he's all in, surely he's all in." Only he wasn't. He thought, pondered, tilted his head this way and that, grimaced, thought, pondered and folded. Job done.
*Schleicher came 31st in Hungary, good for more than $12,000.
Even now, in December 2008, there are people who decry the celebrity culture that has entered poker. Some people suggest that card players can't be bone fide mainstream stars; they say that the game should be played by people you don't know in places you have never been.
But last month in the United States, more than 1,000 spectators packed into a Las Vegas theatre to watch a heads-up poker game, the finale of a tournament that began in June and paid its winner more than $9 million. That winner - a 22-year-old Dane by the name of Peter Eastgate - is as far away from the trashy, boarish "celebrity" stereotype propagated by the entertainment channels and supermarket magazines. And yet, hell, the kid won NINE MILLION BUCKS playing poker. That's a celebrity in anyone's books.
All this comes by way of introduction to day 1b at EPT Prague, where the newly-crowned World Series of Poker champion Peter Eastgate returns to European action after his most profitable of all excursions over the pond. He remains quiet, humble, polite and accessible, and yet there's is no question he is a star. We'll soon see whether he can make a splash on the European Poker Tour. After being given the honour of uttering the fabled "Shuffle up and deal!" Eastgate will be back where he belongs and feels most comfortable, around the slab of baize.
Peter Eastgate
Eastgate will be joined there by the type of field to which we have grown rapidly accustomed. Representing Team PokerStars Pro for starters are the Roman gladiator Dario Minieri; the German World Series bracelet owner Katja Thater; one of the first-ever EPT champions, Dutchman Noah Boeken; the much-feared Swedish dynamo William Thorson and the World Series main event final table player Alexander Kravchenko.
Throw in the former WPT champion and perennial PokerStars qualifier Christian Grundvig, the British online maestro Ben Grundy, the EPT Dortmund champion Mike McDonald, the EPT Deauville champion Mats Iremark, the EPT Budapest champion William Fry and, in the words of our Swedish blogger Lina Olofsson, "a lot of Scandis", we're in for one hell of a show.
Cards will be in the air in less time than it takes you to look at this video blog introducing the action:
Tournament staff are busy preparing themselves for the beginning of day 1B, with the tournament director Thomas Kremser drilling them once again on what they can expect. Short version: poker.
The full chip counts from day 1a made their way onto the official chip count page overnight, the same place you will be able to find today's approximate counts as and when there are fluctuations among the notable players.
As we get ready to prowl the room and see what we have on offer this afternoon, why not share the day 1a experiences of Lukas Schwartz, a British player who rode high throughout yesterday. He's not short of confidence, as you'll soon notice:
The EPT these days runs like a well-oiled machine. Starting stacks are in place long before the scheduled off time, cards and dealers are ready immediately to begin to shuffle up and deal. The only things that habitually miss the advertised start are the players themselves, some of whom amble in up to three hours late - and then proceed to stumble into the cogs of the tournament's engine room, where they're chewed up, spat out and sent packing again, with no accounting for reputations.
Day 1a of EPT Prague followed all of these unwritten rules. Play began on the stroke of noon, but most dealers were fizzing cards towards unsigned television waiver forms and empty chairs. But as soon as the dribble through the entrance door became a torrent, so the same was true of the exit. Mattern: IN! Mattern: OUT! Pagano: IN! Pagano: OUT! Horecki: IN! Horecki: OUT! And finally deep into level three, Gus Hansen: IN! Gus Hansen: OUT! The revolving door is on order for next year.
Luca Pagano - in and out
Marcin Horecki - in and out
Gus Hansen - Last in, but still out
The stark numbers show this: 272 players stumped up €5,000 for their seat on day 1a. By the end of eight hours' play, only 88 remained. More than two thirds of today's field are now sampling the wonders of the magnificent Czech capital, else sharing bad beat stories with the algae at the bottom of the Vitava River, to where they plunged after best plans went awry around the tables.
Some players survived, of course, and there are some familiar faces. The PokerStars.de ShootingStar Sebastian Ruthenburg has a hefty 50,000-odd and is well placed to make a charge for a second EPT crown.
Sebastian Ruthenberg
And fresh from a final table in Warsaw last month, the French player Ludovic Lacay has the closest to 90,000, profiting gladly from a kings versus aces showdown late in the day.
Ludovic Lacay
Constandinos Alexiou, from Greece, is in the same neighbourhood as Lacay, as is the Hungarian PokerStars qualifier Daniel Biro, who may or may not have invented the pen*.
(*He did not invent the pen.)
Other PokerStars qualifiers coming back for day two include Phidias Georgiou, the Cypriot player soon to be promoted to "serial PokerStars qualifier" status, and Alex Zervos, who is a new name to us but a natural around the tables. He bagged up about 60,000.
PokerStars qualifier Daniel Biro
Alex Zervos
Tomorrow is another day, and yet it will also be the same. It's day 1b, starting at noon (CET), and there will be close to 300 of them again, each beginning with 10,000 in chips. Among the returning players will be the Team PokerStars Pros William Thorson, Katja Thater, Dario Minieri and Noah Boeken. Oh, and some guy called Eastgate, who did something or other worth $9 million in Vegas in last month. He might be worth keeping an eye on.
The latest approximate chip counts for some notable players can be found on the chip counts page. The chip fairies will magically replace those approximate counts with the full, official lists sometime over night, as soon as the tournament staff release the digits.
While you wait, take a look back at all the action from today with any of the following links.
And why not try to get in touch with your inner Swedish, Italian, Hungarian or German, by reading all the action described in any of those languages.
Moving pictures, with sound and everything, are to be found at PokerStars.tv. And all the wonderful static photography on the PokerStars blog today comes from Neil Stoddart.
There will be more of the same tomorrow, and do sleep well in the meantime. Goodnight from Prague.
Carnage in the middle of level seven with three big names sent packing in quick succession, changing the look of day 1a. First it was Gus Hansen, taking with him the hoards of spectators crowding his table.
Then it was fellow Dane Theo Jorgensen who was clobbered and out at almost exactly the same time as Trond Eidsvig who lost a traditional pre-flop all-in with A-J against A-K. With that three big names had departed.
There are many left though, with PokerStars sponsored player Johnny Lodden, and Shooting Stars Sebastian Ruthenberg, acting like a cat among pigeons up to 63,000; whilst fellow Shooting Stars Johannes Strassmann fights as one of the pigeons on a meagre 8,500.
PokerStars Shooting Star Johannes Strassmann
For more chip counts, and an explanation as to why our Hungarian blogger is getting excited about a certain Biro, check out the updated chip count page.
You can also get the latest interview from the video blog team who caught up with Enlgish PokerStars qualifier Phil Hepburn who played today...
Six polish players began day 1a but only three remain. One of them is Jacek Ladny. Anyone with a keen mind who is able to cast it back to 2006 might remember Ladny from the PokerStars World Cup of Poker held in Barcelona that year where he was part of the winning team, triumphing over the United States. Ahh, happy days.
Flash forward to now and things aren’t quite so rosy.
“Now start praying.”
That’s what Ladny said after picking up a welcome few hundred to take his stack to back over the 10K mark, still a tentative armoury with the current average standing at 18,500.
Gus Hansen
Ladny’s task was made trickier by the arrival of Gus Hansen earlier today, but the Great Dane has not found the going to be fast, instead it’s muddy at best, another few thousand going in a pot a few moments ago that forced him into a painful fold. Another load went before that, plunging him down to less than 3,000.
As if this kind of thing was news at all, Johnny Lodden's chip stack has altered again since last report. This time there's been a positive swing on the all-new PokerStars patented Lodden-o-Meter™, with the bungee-yo-yoing Norwegian now up again to 25,000 in chips. How long that will last is anyone's guess, but my estimate says no more than five hands.
Johnny Lodden: easy come, easy go
On more stable footing today is the French EPT veteran Antony Lellouche, another player hardly shy when it comes to accumulating, then spewing, the accumulating chips. The reason Lellouche is more steady today is that his tournament hasn't started yet; there's a starting stack of 10,000 with his name on them for tomorrow.
But the video blog team caught up with Lellouche to talk about his history on the EPT, and how Prague fares as a venue.
With Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano gone that left just Marcin Horecki flying the PokerStars flag on day 1a. That was until level five. Horecki has fallen.
The end came for Horecki in the big blind holding Q-J against the small blind’s A-K. He wound up calling Horecki’s all-in on the T-9-x flop, ultimately outlasting Horecki.
Team PokerStars Pro Marcin Horecki
PokerStars sponsored player Johannes Strassmann is faring better, the German Shooting Star adding a few grand to his stack without showing on a board of Js-5h-8c-Ad-6c. His opponent having none of the 3K bet on the end from Strassmann.
Put this on a graph and plot it. 23K, down to 18K, down to 13K, then up to 20K and back down again to around 13K, no make that 10K. That’s level five for PokerStars sponsored player Johnny Lodden in a nutshell.
As the level comes a close that’s the “roller coaster life of Johnny Lodden” as one onlooker put it as he was up and then went down again thanks to an 800 bet pre-flop, raised to 2,500 which Lodden then re-raised to 6,000 before his Portuguese opponent moved all-in. Lodden folded.
“Did you have queens?” Asked the Portuguese.
“Almost...” replied Lodden.
You can get Lodden’s and other notable chip counts on the updated chip count page which was accurate when it said Lodden had just 1,800. We also mentioned Luke Schwartz earlier who has just lost a lot of the force we credited him with, losing a massive pot to Jose Luis Valero. Valero is now the likely chip leader on over 60,000.
During the recent break at the end of level four, the PokerStars player lounge was its usual bustle of fussball players, conversationalists and Wii guitar heroes, all the entertainments the average poker player could want to cram in to a 15-minute suspension in action. But as most filed out for the resumption of the day's play, one individual remained, transfixed by one of the television screens showing previous EPT action.
On the screen, the Finnish PokerStars qualifier Mika Paasonen was on the final table of EPT Barcelona from season four. He held pocket queens against Patrick Bruel's A-10 and the turn card was already down, showing Q-10-x-10, the coldest of cold decks. Sure enough, chip stacks slid into the middle, Paasonen tabled his near-unbeatable full house, and Bruel was looking for the exit from his first EPT final table.
"He actually made a bad call pre-flop," said the solitary spectator. "There was a raise and a re-raise." The speaker drained a cup of coffee and watched the car-wreck commence. It was as though he might have seen it once or twice before. This, of course, was the December 2008 incarnation of Paasonen, watching his August 2007 version end the hopes of the French singer-songwriter and to go on to place fourth for more than €300,000, the biggest win of his poker career.
Paasonen has since become a fixture on the EPT and has now played in more than 10 events, ofter qualifying on PokerStars, as he has done again here. He won his seat on a Saturday night qualifier, with an $800 buy-in, and is up to more than 25,000 at the second break. "That's pretty good," he added, content with his day's work today.
The Finn has not quite scaled those Barcelona heights since that moment last summer. But is increasingly there and thereabouts. And with the inspiration of his win playing repeatedly in the player lounge, he might be another decent bet to prosper in Prague.
Play ends in level four with the clock showing 191 players. It would have shown 192 but in the closing minutes of the level Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano became the first of the Team to be eliminated in a three-way all-in. He held pocket eights against A-Q and A-K. The King kicker was ahead on the flop when a king and jack fell, but the ten on the river swung the pot another way and out of the hands of Pagano who leaves the tournament room at the half way point of the day.
You think you’ve got away with it; you’ve watched and worked out how each man at your table plays and think you’ve got the best of it, and the chips in the vacant seat two, well they’re easy pickings. Then Gus Hansen turns up, captaining what’s left of that stack. Suddenly this has become a more foreboding place.
Few players can ensure this kind of glitch in the Matrix; Minieri, Ivey and Negreanu would be among the few, but each brings with them an atmosphere of expectation, like Sinatra would walking into a Karaoke bar.
A dozen cameras arrived as Hansen did, waiting to see what pillaging the Dane will do with his surviving 7,000. Perhaps an early indicator was his first hand; a pre-flop raise called once but not twice on a Kd-4d-6s flop.
Hansen is in the building and there are about 40 eye witnesses to his every move.
In Vegas in November, you couldn't move for people named Schwartz.
At the final table of the World Series Main Event was the PokerStars Million Dollar Man, Ylon Schwartz, who went all the way from the New York sidewalk chess scene to a four million bucks payday as a poker hero. I also visited the World Series of Poker archive at the University of Nevada, sampling some of the history of the event. It is presided over by an author and historian by the name of Dave Schwartz.
Then a trip to the legendary Gambler's Book Shop in downtown Vegas yielded a lengthy conversation on all things poker with Howard Schwartz, who has managed the industry's premiere literature outlet for longer than most of us have been alive.
A couple of minutes ago there was a discussion going on on table eight of the grand ballroom here, nothing more acrimonious than a discussion about betting tactics, player reads and styles of play. The most vocal participant might just be the chip leader in the early stages of this tournament, so I waited for a break in the conversation to lean in and ask his name.
"Luke Schwartz," he said. "S-C-H-W-A-R-T-Z."
Luke Schwartz
It made sense.
Schwartz has been added to the official chip counts page, where the latest stack sizes will continue to appear from now until the end of he tournament.
After five seasons you don’t have to go far along the aisles of day 1, to find an EPT winner or someone who has come close. EPT Prague is proving no exception with a cast on one row of tables alone featuring Trond Eidsvig, Michael Martin, Albert Iversen, Gino Alacqua, Theo Jorgensen, Jan Sjavik and Arnaud Mattern.
No, not Arnaud Mattern.
If we have a double winner in Prague it won’t be defending champion Mattern. The Frenchman got involved in a pot worth 21,000, all-in on the turn and looking good with a flush draw and over cards. His opponent had a flush draw, albeit in a different suit, but in the end neither player made his flush, the river card matching one that Mattern couldn’t afford to see.
Last year's EPT Prague winner Arnaud Mattern
Iversen is another looking at a gradual decline today, the Budapest finalist missing out on a pot with LAPT Punta del Este winner Jose Espinar, a king high flush forcing Iversen to muck his hand with a knowing nod before resuming with less than 3,000.
We’re approaching the end of level three. Level four blinds will increase to 75-150.
"Congratulations players," dead-panned the tournament official Steve Frezer about 15 minutes ago. "You have made it through to the first break."
It's not quite the same as the announcement that a final table is set, that the bubble has burst or even that a day end has been reached. But to win a poker tournament, you have to still be in at every step of the way, and still being in the field at the end of the first two hours is certainly an achievement of sorts. And it's not something that everyone managed.
When I started writing this post, the tournament information board showed that there were 254 players remaining. As I write this sentence, it is down to 250, accounting for some bustouts before the break. You might think it would be easy to last two hours with 10,000 in starting chips. But you'd be wrong.
The final numbers for the first day should be with us shortly, and then tomorrow's field will feature slightly more. Dario Minieri, for instance, never did show up this afternoon, so he'll presumably be playing tomorrow, as will the likes of a jet-lagged Peter Eastgate.
One man who did arrive on time (give or take five minutes), and who accepted the congratulations going into the break, was the Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano, who is hoping to overcome some of the bad luck he has encountered this season on the EPT. He explains all to the video blog team:
Rolf Slotboom, who has had tournament success on the EPT and in his native Holland, will find none of the same here in Prague, eliminated in the opening levels of day 1a. It was made doubly cruel by the dealer responsible for giving him the hand that did it, a kings against ace-queen debacle - she happens to be Slotboom’s girlfriend.
Rolf Slotboom
Elsewhere, Team PokerStars Pro Marcin Horecki’s table is shaping up to be one of the more recognisable in terms of line-up.
Horecki is looking to put the disappointment EPT Poland behind him in favour of the kind of form that took him to third place in London. Alongside him are players also looking to repeat performances of events past. Former EPT winner Mads Andersen is on Horecki’s left, as is Juha Lauttmaas, who rocketed into the poker consciousness last season in this very room, finishing in fourth position.
Team PokerStars Pro Marcin Horecki
They're just some of the 270 who started today, with the latest notable scores available on our chip count page.
Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano just played his first notable hand, heralding a first step on his way to a potential EPT title. Placed against the hands a few hours or days from now it will be insignificant but everyone starts somewhere, and for Pagano it was a cautious bet from the small blind, contesting the hand with Farid Mekhfi the player in seat nine and large white rimmed sunglasses. Ultimately Pagano took it down on a board of 6h-As-5d-Qc-Tc thanks to a sizable bet on the end.
Team PokerStars Pro Luca Pagano
Elsewhere the scenery in this first level is always changing. Team PokerStars Pro Dario Minieri has chosen to take a relaxed approach the start, so relaxed he has yet to arrive, choosing instead to bide his time. PokerStars Sponsored player Johnny Lodden arrived thirty minutes into the level, taking his seat as the rest of his table wondered what they’d done to deserve him.
The picture will change a lot before the day is out, with level two about to begin.
Such is the fashion for arriving late to poker tournaments these days that by the time EPT Prague season nine rolls around, the dealers will be passing out cards to empty tables for the first hour or so of play. Today's day 1a got underway remarkably close to the scheduled noon kick-off, and yet on every one of the 30-plus tables there were stacks of chips in front of empty chairs, and television release forms awaiting a signature.
Walking the room moments ago, therefore, became less an exercise in listing the players than trying to predict who might be arriving. We have a list of expected participants, but not all of them are here. Still, at this early stage we can guarantee the following are in attendance on day 1a, studding the field with the usual smattering of stars:
Luca Pagano - Team PokerStars Pro and EPT Player of the Year Marcin Horecki - Team PokerStars Pro and EPT London final table player Sander Lyloff - EPT Barcelona season four champion Johnny Lodden - Online legend and multiple EPT casher Jose Miguel Espinar - Champion of LAPT Punta del Este Michael Martin - Reigning EPT London champion Arnaud Mattern - Defending champion of EPT Prague Johannes Strassman - PokerStars.de ShootingStar and multiple EPT final table player Mads Andersen - EPT Copenhagen season two champion Mike McDonald - EPT Dortmund champion, season four Mats Iremark - EPT Deauville champion, season two
Also expected, although not yet sighted, is the nine million dollar man himself, Peter Eastgate. The new world champion was due to be in today's field, but having played the APPT Grand Final in Sydney last week, he can be forgiven for postponing his appearance until tomorrow.
Perched as we are ten feet above the tournament floor on a concert stage, a panorama of wall to wall poker tables gradually filling with players to the soundtrack of The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony, and there’s little doubt we have the best seat in the house for day 1a of the second EPT Prague. That means you have the best alternative to being here yourself, the EPT world just on the other side of your computer screen beamed from the Hilton Casino on the banks of the Vitava.
We’re set for a start right on time, clockwork organisation engineered by tournament director Thomas Kremser. Eight one hour levels is the plan, played nine-handed, to come with breaks after each two levels. A full run down on who’s here will follow but you can keep track of the runners and riders, plus their scores, on the chip count page throughout the day.
That’s the written account, check out the moving picture version in glorious Technicolor, complete with sound, courtesy of the video blog team...
There was a fairly simple plan to writing this welcome post to Prague, the latest stop on season five of the European Poker Tour (EPT). We landed early this evening, we quickly freshened up at the hotel, and then the idea was for a spirited scamper around the city to sample all it had to offer, and then to translate it to the page.
But the ruse was thwarted by an obvious hurdle: Prague is inarguably among the most spectacular cities in the world. To sample all it has to offer will take something like a lifetime and a half - and so it is that this is a belated welcome to the Czech capital for another five days of the finest poker action. When Prague is out there, the laptop is less attractive than it has ever been, and explorations have barely even scratched the surface; this place is worthy of all the accolades heaped upon it.
Day 1a of the latest high-stakes spectacular begins at the Hilton Hotel Casino in less than 12 hours. And by then it is hoped that the majority of the expected 550-strong field have also czeched out this city, a bewilderingly beautiful warren of winding, cobbled streets, alleys and bridges, lined by an unending procession of statues, period buildings and architecture rendered from the furious imaginations of 700 years of the finest visionaries.
The Vitava river slices through the middle of central Europe’s most celebrated capital, separating the magnificent Mala Strana region, loomed over by the millennium-old castle, from the addictive charms of the stare mesto (old town), the home of Wenseslas Square, and museum after church after market square after synagogue after museum after church, etc. Spanning the gap, and with mighty fortifications at each end, is the Charles Bridge, a structure so majestic that the Golden Gate or London's Tower Bridge seem barely fit to serve the same purpose.
Down every street and in the middle of the wondrous squares, there are Christmas decorations and market stalls, selling all the souvenirs you can stuff into a carry-on, or all the mulled wines you can quaff. Alternatively countless bars and restaurants are thronged by the beautiful people, with cheekbones sufficiently chiselled that you could pop the cap from a bottle of crisp Czech lager on them, then swill together long into the night.
Doubtless plenty are doing just that as the countdown continues to tomorrow's action, for which some might even be preparing with an early night.
It's going to be another momentously tough tournament. Poker's newest king Peter Eastgate will be playing his first EPT since being crowned World Champion in Las Vegas last month. And he'll be joined in tomorrow's field by the likes of the Team PokerStars Pros Dario Minieri, fresh from a third place finish in Warsaw; fellow Italian and EPT Player of the Year Luca Pagano, Norwegian baize shaker Johnny Lodden and from up north Marcin Horecki. Katja Thater, Alex Kravchenko, William Thorson and Noah Boeken will await their day of destiny on day 1b.
Also here are a few shooting stars. Barcelona winner Sebastian Ruthenberg will grace the field tomorrow, flanked by some of poker’s demolition experts – Gus Hansen, Mads Andersen and Theo Jorgensen. They're anteing up €5,000 each and the field will be one of the largest we've seen.
The online portion of this competition is over, and it’s almost time to take it to the felt. Nine teams in the Bahamas in January for some of the most intense, exciting, and fun tournament poker that there is to be played.
The fifth installment of the World Cup of Poker is in our midst, and the final teams have been established through a series of freerolls and playoffs. For weeks, players from 54 countries--covering all parts of the globe--have given their all to make it through tournament after tournament, and nine teams, each consisting of four players, have made it to the finals.
It has been nothing if not a wild ride of states, provinces, divisions, and points that relied, in the end, upon a team effort and the success of all individual team members working together. That is part of what makes the World Cup of Poker such a unique event, and though the team poker concept is now starting to make its way into casinos and poker tours, PokerStars made it appealing through its inaugural World Cup event. Five seasons later, team poker is in full swing at the World Cup.
Without further ado, the teams that will participate in the World Cup of Poker V live finals are:
USA - Team 1 (shaundeeb, xthesteinx, J@M0K3Y!, ba-detroit) Nova Scotia, representing Canada (lobstrman29, dendoggone, AK**QUEEN**, born_in53) Mexico, representing Latin America (dhubermex, Pythomunoz, AntoineMex, Kingeorge63) Italy (mm-nh, omaruccio, billiko, gvilla2) Poland (Borys313, kAmIkAdZeEe, BartekPL, morderbest) Latvia (Partorg, vilks77, missjazz83, BuTuT?) Germany - Team 1 (joscha45, Boku87, Mados4k, SmArTdOg1970) New Zealand, representing Rest of World (bismillahno, rjmgrace, El Wayneo, Jubinator) United Kingdom (allinstevie, Purr of Aces, N!GHTMAR3, and one player to be announced)
Sure, everyone listed above has already won, to a certain extent. They are all being awarded amazing prize packages that will transport them directly to the luxurious Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas. Not only will each player be there on behalf of their respective nations, but they will play in the live finals to be held as part of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) from January 5-10, 2009.
A team captain will be assigned to each team prior to the trip, and all will compete for $290,000 in cash prizes. The winning team will not only win the trophy and title of World Cup of Poker champions, but $100,000 of that prize pool will be split amongst the team members. It gives the notion of “world champion” an entirely new meaning.
The 2007 winners were from the United States, so undoubtedly there is a little pressure on the 2008 USA team to keep the title. And believe it or not, player Shaun Deeb, who was a member of that 2007 team, has made the latest one as well. Can he help his team defend and secure a win for the USA two years running? Or will one of the other eight teams dominate?
We won’t know until January. But what we will know between now and then is more about the teams and players. In the coming weeks, PokerStars blog readers will get acquainted with the participants in the World Cup of Poker V through interviews and photos. So stay tuned for some background on the team that you’re rooting for.
This weekend in tournament poker was one that simply could not have been played without PokerStars' help. Not only did PokerStars put on its weekly array of Sunday majors, it also hosted the APPT events in Sydney and the division playoffs of the World Cup of Poker. It was a worldwide day tied together by some pretty impressive ethereal tubes.
In World Cup news, the planet's poker players decided the final eight teams that will be competing in the Bahamas live finals next month. We'll be telling you more in the coming weeks about the people who will be fighting for their country.
Of course, the Sunday couldn't go by without another running of the big Sunday tournaments at PokerStars. Shotgun78111 took down the Sunday Warm-Up yesterday for nearly $100,000.
Just a bit later, PokerStars player drritalin took the top spot in the five-way chop to win the 12/7/08 Sunday Million for more than $136,000.
As the stores and malls are bustling with shoppers during the busiest shopping month of the year, PokerStars has been busy with the World Cup of Poker and its regular uber-popular Sunday tournaments. The holidays have yet to put a dent in the number of players who log on to compete for the $1.5 million guarantee in the Sunday Million, and this week was no different.
A total of 7,577 players registered for the December 7th edition of the Sunday Million, creating a $1,515,400 prize pool. And along with the masses were several well-known Team PokerStars Pros, including Dario Minieri, Isabelle Mercier, John Duthie, and Marcin Horecki. William Thorson played along and busted short of the money in 1221st place, but Steve Paul-Ambrose did better by finishing in 1083rd for a small payout. It was Barry Greenstein who bested the rest of the pros by making it to 351st place, which was good for $909.24 in prize money.
Speaking of reaching the money, it was platinni as the bubble player in 1171st position who created the opportunity for the remaining players to get paid on this Sunday, with JasonGray leading the way as the 1170th place finisher; he received $303.08 for that distinction.
The survivors played on, finally reaching ten tables just after the six and a half hour mark, but it wasn’t until more than eight hours into the tournament that the final two tables were reached. Play slowed a bit, as it took nearly an hour to reach the final table. Stuck at 11 players for a bit, it was the elimination of wilder12u in 11th place that made way for hand-for-hand play to begin.
It was then that shane261966 decided to make an all-in move for just over 3 million chips with pocket jacks, but ggiillaadd called with pocket kings. The board brought some hope in the form of a straight draw for the short stack when it came 7c-Qd-8h-9c-4d, but the kings held up for ggiillaadd, and shane261966 became the final table bubble player, out in tenth place with a consolation prize of $7,577.00.
The final table was then seated as follows:
Seat 1: hiclimber (6,243,555 in chips)
Seat 2: drritalin (14,670,216 in chips)
Seat 3: herdgolf86 (9,750,193 in chips)
Seat 4: Winn8D (7,103,357 in chips)
Seat 5: mozitas (3,488,167 in chips)
Seat 6: Aftret (6,387,148 in chips)
Seat 7: mrvogt (7,929,158 in chips)
Seat 8: JSchnett (4,743,206 in chips)
Seat 9: ggiillaadd (15,455,000 in chips)
It only took a few hands for the first final tablist to be at risk, but hiclimber started it off by raising preflop to 777,777. Aftret came over with a reraise from the small blind to 2.4 million, and hiclimber responded with an all-in move for 5,558,555. Aftret called with pocket kings, and hiclimber showed pocket tens. The board couldn’t have been better for Aftret with 8h-Kh-Kc for quads, and the irrelevant 2d and 9s on the turn and river couldn’t have made a difference. hiclimber couldn’t argue with quads and took a ninth place finish and the $10,607.80 that came with it.
mozitas was the new short stack at the table and found no better time to try to double up. When herdgolf86 made an initial raise to 725,698, mozitas pushed all-in for 4,248,866 with Ac-Qs. herdgolf86 called with Ad-Kc and had to have felt pretty confident. That confidence was warranted as the board came 3d-3s-Tc-2s-4d, and herdgolf86 had to take an eighth place finish and $17,427.10 in prize money.
The next significant hand began with an all-in push from JSchnett preflop and a call from ggiillaadd. JSchnett showed As-Tc, and it would be a race against the pocket nines of ggiillaadd. The board brought 9d-4d-Td-6s-7c, and the pair of tens for the short stack didn’t match up to the trips of ggiillaadd. JSchnett was ousted in seventh place for a $26,519.50 prize.
With six players remaining, it was exactly tight play but cautious play that kept all of them playing for quite awhile. None were afraid to get millions of chips in the pot, but none wanted to go all-in either. mrvogt wanted to talk numbers, and Aftret was open to the idea, but herdgolf86 kindly said no and wished everyone good luck. Playing on through Level 35 and 36 they did, as ggiillaadd climbed to a massive 22 million chip stack.
Finally, it was herdgolf86 who pushed all-in for 5,812,036 preflop with Qh-Jc, and Aftret called from the big blind with Ah-Qd. The board came almost all hearts with Kh-7h-5c-3h-4h, and Aftret won with the ace-high flush, while the second-best king-high flush left herdgolf86 on the virtual rail in sixth place with $38,642.70 in prize money.
The remaining five players then paused the action to see request chip-count numbers from the tournament administrator. With the understanding that $30,000 must be set aside for the ultimate winner, the numbers were given, but Winn8D insisted on some additional cash. After much deliberation, the five players agreed on the following payouts:
With that, play resumed…slowly. It took another dozen or so hands before a player was put in serious risk. That player was Winn8D who moved all-in after an initial raise from Aftret. Aftret called with pocket tens, but Winn8D showed pocket jacks for a good chance at a double-up survival. But the board produced Qs-Ts-Kh-3h-Kc and a full house for Aftret. Winn8D was out in fifth place with the agreed-upon amount of $78,701.
Aftret had become the aggressor at the table and raised preflop, as he had so many times before. This time, however, mrvogt pushed his short stack of 11,556,103 all-in from the small blind in response. Aftret called with pocket kings, and mrvogt showed the Kh-Tc that made him the severe underdog. The virtual dealer gave them Ks-4s-4h-Qd-3h, and Aftret had another full house for the win. mrvogt was forced out in fourth place for the $96,458 deal amount.
Aftret lost a little of the afore-mentioned mojo when drritalin doubled through Aftret and took the lead with more than 47 million. Aftret gained some back in a subsequent hand, however, but couldn’t get back into the lead. Finally, after an initial raise by ggiillaadd, Aftret pushed 17,114,314 into the pot all-in with Ah-Th, and ggiillaadd called with Ad-Qh. The board came 3d-Jc-Kd-6h-6c, and ggiillaadd had the better kicker. Aftret was eliminated in third place with $92,881 in prize money.
Heads-up play then began with the following counts:
Seat 2: drritalin (23,539,671 in chips)
Seat 9: ggiillaadd (52,230,329 in chips)
drritalin doubled through ggiillaadd during heads-up play, but the tables were turned in the very next hand when ggiillaadd doubled back. drritalin maintained the chip lead, though, and ggillaadd was crippled with less than 5 million in chips. Still cautious, though, the two players saw a hand all the way through to the river as the board showed 4c-6h-6s-3d-5s. When drritalin made the last bet, ggiillaadd called all-in with 8s-4s for two pair, but drritalin showed 6c-5d for the full house and the win. ggiillaadd took a second place finish, which was good for the pre-made deal amount of $114,355.
drritalin was the December 7th Sunday Million winner, and in addition to the agreed-upon amount of $106,021, drritalin also received the $30,000 held out for the winner, making the total first place prize $136,021.00. Congratulations to the doc for the win!
Sunday Million Results for 12/07/08:
Strike another one up for Team PokerStars. After Chris Moneymaker’s victory in the $1000 No Limit Hold’em event two days ago, Vanessa Rousso has taken out the PokerStars.net APPT Tournament of Champions.
‘Lady Maverick’ was confirmed champion when APPT Grand Final winner Martin Rowe was forced make a move with 9-7 offsuit when he found himself short-stacked. Vanessa made an excellent read and called him down with K-5 pre-flop. The board blanked out and we had our new champion.
Vanessa Rousso, the 2008 APPT Tournament of Champions winner
Vanessa was playing for the ‘No Limit, No Profit Initiative’, which is a charity that was created by her and her fiancé Chad Brown. The charity is going to target the pockets of poker players to raise money for Africa and cancer research.
“This is just so great to win this event as all the money we have put into the charity so far has been our own. To get a boost like this is fantastic. We are in the process of organising a three-day event that will feature a concert, golf day and poker tournament in Las Vegas next year,” Rousso said.
Vanessa has wowed local fans with her regular appearances in the poker room, and has posed for score of photos and signed mountains of autographs over the past week.
For Martin Rowe, it’s been one of the biggest weeks of his life and he is a worthy runner-up in this event. As well as becoming a millionaire over night he has donated a cheque of $5000 to the Save the Children Fund, which helps disadvantaged children.
We’re heads-up in the PokerStars.net APPT Tournament of Champions, with Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso a big chip leader (4:1) over new APPT Grand Final champion Martin Rowe.
Players eliminated in the past hour have included Sydney young gun and 2007 APPT Macau High Roller champion in fifth. His close friend and Melbourne rival Van Marcus called down Eric’s all-in move on the turn. In Eric’s own words he was “looking for a miracle”. Eric put his arm around Van and covered his eyes as he missed the draw.
Eddy Sabat's TOC experience ended in fourth spot
Reigning APPT Macau champion Eddy Sabat was next to go. Vanessa Rousso called down Eddy’s all in with pocket 4s and Eddy was looking for an ace to hit the board but the youngest player in the field failed to connect.
Then Van Marcus was eliminated in third spot. His chosen charity was Child Fund and he was disappointed he couldn’t send them a cheque.
“I have been paying some money into Child Fund every month now for some time. I really hate to see children suffering and I try to do what I can. I would have liked to have won this event but I might make a bigger donation this month,” he said.
Martin Rowe is quickly adjusting to life as a poker personality. He leads the PokerStars.net APPT Tournament of Champions with four players remaining, and is within reach of an amazing double after winning the APPT Grand Final last night. After KOing most of the players at the final table of the APPT Grand Final, he’s picked up where he left off.
Ironically, it was this year’s champion that knocked out last year’s APPT Grand Final champion Grant Levy
The two APPT Grand Final winners shook hands and compared notes and Grant wished Martin all the best for the year to come. Grant is the only person who really understands the expectation and pressures that Martin will face in this poker-addicted city of Sydney. Grant is looking forward to a quiet holiday period with family and friends and a big year in 2009 on the tournament circuit.
A long but successful year comes to an end for Grant Levy
Moments later it was the other great Australian champion Joe Hachem who crashed out of the tournament in eighth. Lowe again was the man who was stacking up the chips. The dream of back to back APPT TOC titles didn’t turn out for Joe who graciously exited to a standing ovation from the supportive crowd.
Next to go in seventh position was New Zealand’s favourite poker personality, Lee Nelson. Lee had been sharing interesting stories with fellow Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso. Its event’s like this that the pros love because they get to spend time with their peers in a friendly environment.
Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson bows out
The next victim of Rowe was Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown. Chad had been keeping a fairly low profile on the table but was getting a little short on chips and when he pushed all in against Rowe, he couldn’t hit his draw. Rowe has 40,000 in chips and leads from Vanessa Rousso.
We’re into level two (50/100) of the PokerStars.net APPT Tournament of Champions, and already one of the champions has fallen. APPT Auckland champion Daniel Craker was unfortunately struggling with illness but ploughed on for his charity of choice to be here today.
With 9000 in chips already in the pot, action was checked down to the river on a board of 6s-5h-10d-4h-3d, Rousso moved all-in and Craker called but mucked when he saw her pocket sevens, good for a rivered straight. “Why didn’t you do that in the couples’ tournament,” Chad Brown quipped across the table to his partner, who now leads the field.
Daniel Craker is first out of the APPT Tournament of Champions
• Shortly after the APPT Grand Final was decided, rising South Australian online star Jarred flopnutsonyou Graham was crowned APPT Sydney High Roller winner.
Despite the big chip lead of ‘Colonel’ Sam Korman, Graham gradually wore down the Melbourne veteran to take home the AUD $222,000 first prize.
With the board showing J-4-3, Korman called Graham’s all-in bet with K-Q, and Graham was stunned to find his A-5 ahead. Neither player improved their hand, and the celebrations were underway for Graham and his rail comprising most of Australia’s best online players.
APPT Sydney High Roller winner Jarred Graham
Graham is arguably the hottest player on the local online scene, with almost USD $200,000 in tournament winnings for the past two months alone. His record includes a third in the PokerStars Sunday 500, and he went within a whisker of taking down the Triple Crown.
• While players were partying the night away at Star City Casino last night, APPT Macau winner and PokerStars Sponsored player Eddy Sabat was sipping on a Coke as he waited, and waited, and waited for the final of the heads-up event to start.
Patience paid off for Eddy Sabat
After a marathon day for the 32 heads-up competitors, Sabat finally took down Terrence Chan in the final to claim his second major title for 2008. The delay in the final was the result of a staggeringly long five-hour quarter-final between Roy Vandersluis and Nafiz Safi. Vandersluis won, but the long session told on him in the semi against Chan.
3,751 players signed up for one of the richest guarantees in online poker this week – the PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up. After 8 ½ hours of No Limit tournament play, the final nine players gathered round one table for their piece of the big money. Sbj1000 took the chip lead into a fairly even final table, without the huge leaders or micro-stacks we sometimes see at the final tables of the big Sunday tournaments. One name that stood out among the final nine was busto_soon, the Supernova Elite player who took second in his event for Team Netherlands in the World Cup of Poker Divisional Rounds early Sunday Morning. With a final table in the Sunday Warm-up starting some thirteen hours after his World Cup match kicked off, busto_soon certainly had a long day on Sunday.
The early going was fairly sedate, without any huge confrontations in the first few hands. But soon enough the action loosened up, as the blinds got high and the average stack crept down around 20 big blinds. The preflop shove to pick up blinds and antes became the norm, and it was only a matter of time before two players picked up a hand worth going to war with at the same time. When it finally happened, it was busto_soon who moved all in preflop from late position with Kd-Qc. Keramiken called from the big blind with pocket eights, and when the board blanked out, busto_soon was left crippled. Busto_soon got the last of his chips in on the very next hand with Ks-3d to eatyourstac’s Ad-8h. No help on the board for busto, and he did just that in 9th place ($6,751.80).
It took quite a while for our next clash of the titans to materialize, but when it did, former chip leader sbj1000 was left with just remnants of his stack. Sbj1000 raised preflop with Ah-Kd, only to find an all in re-raise from eatyourstac. After going into the tank for minute, sbj1000 made the call, only to find himself facing pocket kings. No ace on the board, and sbj1000 was left with just the most tiny of stacks. All in from the small blind on the next hand, sbj1000 busted in 8th place for $9,752.60.
FatsoFat6969 was the next to fall when he lost a big coin flip to KevinV for all his chips. KevinV moved all in preflop with A-Q, and FatsoFat6969 made the call with pocket Jacks. The Queen on the flop gave the lead to KevinV, but the Kh-Qd-Kd-10h board on the turn left Fatso with outs to the straight. The river was the 7c, however, and KevinV’s queens and kings held up to send FatsoFat6969 packing in 7th place ($15.754.20).
After that, the action picked up rapidly, as the bustouts flew fast and furious. Vishnu24 got the last of his chips in preflop with pocket threes, but needed help against Shotgun78111’s pocket sevens. The board ran out 8c-Jh-4d=Ac-2h, and vishnu24 was gone in 6th ($23,256.20). Just a couple of hands later, keramiken moved all in preflop and found callers in both eatyourstac and stirthepot. On a board of 2d-Qc-Kh-3c-7h, stirthepot tabled 8c-8h for a pocket pair of eights. It’s good enough to drag the pot as keramiken and eatyourstac both muck, and keramiken heads to the rail in 5th place ($30,758.20).
With only four players remaining, the survivors took a moment to discuss a deal. After a moment’s discussion, eatyourstac decided not to make a deal, and play continued. The four remaining players jockeyed for position for quite a while before another big confrontation, and this time is was KevinV coming up on the short end of the coin flip. The aggressive chip leader shotgun78111 raised preflop, and KevinV thought went into his time bank before making the all-in call with pocket sixes. Shotgun78111 showed Qh-Js, and the window card was the Qd, leaving KevinV drawing pretty thin. The final board ran out Qd-Ac-2d-4s-9d, and KevinV was gone in 4th place ($38,635.30).
The three remaining players paused once more to discuss a deal, and this time the deal went through. The final numbers looked like this, with $10,000 left on the table for the eventual winner.
Play resumed with $10,000 on the line, and the short-stacked stirthepot was the next to fall to Shotgun78111. Stirthepot pushed all in preflop with Qc-10s after a raise from Shotgun78111. Shotgun78111 insta-called with Ac-Jd, and both players picked up a pair on the 3h-Qs-Ah flop. The rest of the board ran out 9d-6s, and stirthepot was done in 3rd place.
Shotgun78111 took a 3:1 chip lead into heads-up play, but his GoldStar opponent wasn’t going easily. Heads-up play went back and forth for a while, with both players looking for an opening. Finally, eatyourstac raised preflop with As-10h, only to find a re-raise coming from Shotgun78111. Eatyourstac moved all in over the top, and Shotgun78111 quickly called with pocket Jacks. Eatyourstac picked up a straight draw on the Qd-2s-Js flop, but the 2d on the turn gave Shotgun78111 a full house and left eatyourstac drawing dead.
With the extra $10K for taking down first place, Shotgun78111’s haul for the evening totaled a whopping $98,104! Congrats to Shotgun78111 and all the players who cashed in this week’s Sunday Warm-Up!
After a long night of celebrations for new PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final champion Martin Rowe (not sure if he made it to bed), Martin Rowe is back at Star City along with the biggest names in the game for the 2008 PokerStars.net APPT Tournament of Champions.
Introduced last year, the TOC is the perfect way to end a long year on the road for the touring pros – there’s AUD $45,000 up for grabs for the charity of the winner’s choice and AUD $5000 for the runner-up’s favourite charity. But more importantly, the bragging rights up for grabs are significant!
Martin Rowe, welcome to the party
Last year’s champion was Team PokerStars Pro and 2005 WSOP main event winner Joe Hachem. It was Joe’s first major tournament in Australia. He will grimly defend this title and try and make it back-to-back success, all for the Shane Warne Foundation.
The field for today’s event is:
Seat 1: Eric Assadourian, 2007 APPT Macau High Roller champion (charity: Samuel Morris Foundation)
Seat 2: Grant Levy, 2007 APPT Grand Final winner (charity: Samuel Morris Foundation)
Seat 3: Van Marcus, 2008 APPT Manila champion (charity: Child Fund)
Seat 4: Joe Hachem, Team PokerStars Pro, 2007 APPT TOC winner (charity: Shane Warne Foundation)
Seat 5: Chad Brown, Team PokerStars Pro (charity: No Limit, No Profit Initiative)
Seat 6: Eddy Sabat, 2008 APPT Macau champion (charity: Hemophilia Foundation of Southern California)
Seat 7: Martin Rowe, 2008 APPT Grand Final (charity: Save the Children)
Seat 8: Lee Nelson, Team PokerStars Pro (charity: Canteen NZ)
Seat 9: Vanessa Rousso, Team PokerStars Pro (charity: No Limit, No Profit Initiative)
Seat 10: Daniel Craker, 2008 APPT Auckland champion (charity: Te Omonga Hospice)
At the start of the day, we knew one of the live final teams for the PokerStars World Cup of Poker. Now we know them all.
Under World Cup of Poker rules, the United Kingdom gets an automatic berth to the finals as a division all its own. The eight remaining divisions fought today to determine who will go to the Bahamas next month to compete for the World Cup of Poker championship. After a full day of action we know who will go to battle.
Here are the full results from today's divisional playoffs.
USA Division: Team USA 1 (shaundeeb, xthesteinx, J@M0K3Y!, ba-detroit) Canada Division: Nova Scotia (lobstrman29, dendoggone, AK**QUEEN**, born_in53) Latin America Division: Mexico (dhubermex, Pythomunoz, AntoineMex, Kingeorge63) Europe I: Italy (mm-nh, omaruccio, billiko, gvilla2) Europe II: Poland (Borys313, kAmIkAdZeEe, BartekPL, morderbest) Europe III: Latvia (Partorg, vilks77, missjazz83, BuTuT?) Germany: Team Germany 1 (joscha45, Boku87, Mados4k, SmArTdOg1970) Rest of World New Zealand (bismillahno, rjmgrace, El Wayneo, Jubinator)
Congratulations to all the players. We'll have more on the teams in the coming weeks.
If you'd like to see how all the teams made it this far, here's a complete look back at our coverage from the day.
After several rounds of qualifying, five teams of four players each faced off in the Division Canada Final today to determine which four players would defend the Great White North's fierce poker reputation in the Bahamas come January. Given the well-recognized level of play in Canada, it was a sure bet that whoever came out on top would have a fight on their hands all the way. The game was a perfect test of these Canadians' poker skills, as each table was only five-handed to begin.
The shorthanded action guaranteed that any big hands would produce even bigger fireworks at the table, as it did on three different tables almost immediately. Table FR1 saw polarbrr's A-A got cracked on the flop by sclarke792's 3-3, knocking the player from Team Canadian Territories out in 5th place. The deck was just as cruel to Team Canada 2's mign on TLB1; his aces got cracked by the Qs-9s of Team Nova Scotia's lobstrman29 to cripple him just before he got knocked out. Then on FR2, Team Nova Scotia saw born_in53's K-K held up against the A-K of Team Canadian Territories' Muck Or Call to send him out in 5th.
While the other tables kicked into high gear immediately, TLB2 didn't see an elimination until almost an hour into the proceedings. tjhopkinsiv ran his 4-4 into ROCKETMAN44's 9-9, giving Team Canada 2 its second 5th place finish of the day. Both ROCKETMAN44 and dendoggone were above average at the table, but ch0ppy and murok both held on to short stacks as the first break came along. ch0ppy would bust in 4th quickly after the break, followed by ROCKETMAN44, whose K-7 fell to dendoggone's J-T to send him out in 3rd and set up the heads-up showdown.
As TLB2 trudged along, the other tables were ending quickly. After knocking outdeonhope in 3rd with a set of deuces, lobstrman29 sealed up a win for Team Nova Scotia three minutes before the break when his 3-3 flopped a set against Bonds252525's J-J. On FR1, Team Quebec's sclarke792 opened up a lead when his K-7 cracked SEWB's T-T; he then ground down short stacks AK**QUEEN** and boodaluver until they were too short to do anything but move all-in with weak hands, claiming his table victory just six minutes after the break.
Table FR2's heads-up match was a small-ball extravaganza, as neither born_in53 nor johncrack was giving anything up with the blinds at 25/50 as they began their duel. The chip lead swung in both directions for a full 30 minutes; though born_in53 had entered with the chip lead, by 4:15 he found himself at a disadvantage. He moved all-in holding Jh-8h on a draw-heavy board of Kh-Td-9h, but johncrack had flopped the nuts with Qc-Jc. No hearts materialized, and johncrack won the table for Team Canada 1.
In the end table TLB2, which took so long to eliminate a single player, would close out with a hard-fought victory from dendoggone. He and murok fought back and forth for nearly 20 minutes before a decisive pot when dendoggone flopped top pair with a straight draw and got there on the turn. Down to just 700 chips, murok managed to double up once before moving in with A-9 and getting dendoggone to call with K-Q. The flop, however, brought a king and a queen to give Team Nova Scotia the win.
Though all the players put up valiant efforts, only one team could emerge victorious. With wins on two of the four tables, and a 2nd and 3rd to go along with them, Team Nova Scotia closed out a comfortable win to earn the right to represent Canada at World Cup V. It looks like lobstrman29, dendoggone, AK**QUEEN**, and born_in53 need to find suitable attire for the beach next month, because they'll be lounging in the Bahamas while they take on the rest of the world's best.
As anyone who spends time at the tables on PokerStars knows, poker has seen a surge in popularity throughout Latin America in the last few years. With today's Division Latin America final, eight nations from Central and South America got the shot to prove to the world that they are at the forefront of one of poker's fastest growing regions.
Four players from each of the ten nations - Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela - were in action today to determine who would fly to the Bahamas next month, with each one playing a single table tournament. Only one country could qualify for the live final, so strong performances from as many team members as possible would be the key to victory.
Two of the new kids on the Latin American poker block got off to bad starts that kneecapped their chances of advancing. Peru's team saw two players, crema2005 and ficofico75, go out first on their respective tables; the combined 5 points on their tables from tiburonbig (9th place) and MARWEST (6th) couldn't make up the difference for Peru. For the Colombian team, quick exits from juanferap69 (10th), diegovergara (9th), and alvagodo (9th) balanced out a strong performance from marroca5 (4th) to prevent them from advancing.
Predictably, the heart of the points table consisted of the teams who had a strong performance from one team member along with middle-of-the-pack finishes from the rest. Uruguay, for instance, got a 2nd-place finish from CROSA COLL on table FR2, but no other team member took higher than 5th place. Chile's farra311 also took 2nd place at his table, while his teammates all finished in 4th, 6th, and 10th on their tables. The pick of the litter, though, was Argentina's Crisper; he won his table, but none of his teammates finished higher than 5th place.
Probably the most disappointing finish of the day was for Costa Rica. Home to Team PokerStars Pro Humberto Brenes and his family of poker pros, the tiny Central American nation has had a reputation in the poker world for much longer than most of its neighbors. However, only team member TIJO managed to finish as high as 3rd place; everyone else finished in 5th place or lower. With only 22 points from the four players, Costa Rica will have to hope for some improvement next year.
As the tables began to wind down, three nations had a chance to win. Guatemala had been an unsung poker nation up to now, but three strong performances from sebas23 (2nd), ratsed (3rd) and SPOT1968 (3rd) suggest that the game has a bright future there. Without a win from the other three players, Guatemala needed team member tortumen to finish strong; unfortunately he went out in 8th place.
In the end it was down to Brazil and Mexico. Both countries had a 4th place and a bottom-end finish in their point totals as the other players went deep. On the TLB2 table, Brazil's LICO01 managed to score a win. Mexico responded with a win from Kingeorge63 on TLB1, which meant that the winner of the Latin America Division was decided by the heads-up match on the FR1 table.
Brazil's arielbh trailed Mexico's AntoineMex from the start of the match, but the table wasn't decided immediately. The two traded pots for a while, but after about 15 minutes AntoineMex had gained the upper hand. On the final hand arielbh got all-in on the turn holding a straight draw and two overcards to AntoineMex's lowly pair of deuces, but the river was a blank and Mexico claimed the day with his win.
Team Mexico's dhubermex, Pythomunoz, AntoineMex, and Kingeorge63 will be heading for the balmy Bahamas in January, looking to represent Latin America as well as all the players playing today's Division Final did for their respective countries - and hopefully to repeat their performance and lay claim to the World Cup.
It was the day that awaited players for weeks. Those who began in freerolls took to the felt week after week to make it to the Divisional Playoffs, and this was the day that would determine if it could be chalked up to a fun experience or if they would be the team to represent their country in the live finals.
The World Cup of Poker V is not just any final table; it will be a global tournament of champions with nine teams competing for the world title. Oh yeah, and it will just happen to be played out at the Atlantis Resort on the sunny beaches of the Bahamas.
So, five teams from the United States gathered on the virtual felt today to battle it out for that opportunity: USA 1, USA 2, and state qualifiers North Carolina, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. They took their places at the tables - one team member in each of the four tournaments - at 3:00pm ET.
With only five players per tournament, none of them were destined to take very long, but the quickness with which the USA players exited was fast, fast enough to make us wonder if there was somewhere to be, and we were not notified. Wisconsin lost JBdenaro157 right off the bat from the TLB1 table, and deblv3, representing South Dakota, departed quickly from the FR2 table. Both fifth place finishes were only worth 6 points, but both teams certainly had the opportunity to make up for it.
But South Dakota took another hit when blkjck went out of the TLB2 table. With less than 1,000 chips left, he pushed it all-in in response to a raise from D1rtyR1v3r preflop. And when the board brought 7s-7h-3h-Qh-Tc, it was D1rtyR1v3r’s pocket nines that held up to the Ah-Ks of blkjck. That meant another fifth place finish for South Dakota.
It was the FR2 table that continued to play out at a very fast pace. ba-detroit was severely short-stacked and left in fourth place, as was stellaz who took third. AlwaysTilt13 and CapeFear777 began their heads-up battle that was decided in very little time. CapeFear777 tried desperately to come back from a chip deficit that he brought to heads-up action, but it wasn’t enough. AlwaysTilt13 started the last hand with a raise, but when CapeFear777 pushed it up, AlwaysTilt13 came over the top all-in with Ad-Kh, and CapeFear777 called all-in with Ah-Qc. The cards came 2c-7c-Jh-9d-8c, and CapeFear777 was out with 15 points for North Carolina, while AlwaysTilt13 took 20 points for the win to Wisconsin.
The next table to complete was TLB1. After Sowerss took fourth and xthesteinx left in third, it was up to Kenny Rap and D1rtyR1v3r. Kenny Rap came into heads-up with the lead and kept it all the way through to the win with Ac-6c over the Ad-5h of his opponent. The board brought a five and a six, so Kenny Rap took the 20-point win for USA 2.
But it was USA 1 who dominated, especially after shaundeeb claimed a victory over devinr12 on table TLB1. shaundeeb had the lead going into the final hand, something that he worked hard to accumulate after coming to the match with a deficit. shaundeeb pushed with Qh-3d, and devinr12 called all-in with Jh-8h, but the board came 4h-9s-Qs-4h-Js, and the 20 points for the victory went to shaundeeb and USA1.
Not long after the first break, the only table in Division USA left standing found a winner. As the longest running table, it has seen MR BigRed66 go out in fourth place and toddsplace take third. That left LaddFactor and J@M0K3Y! as the heads-up players, with the latter of the two at nearly a 2-1 chip lead. LaddFactor couldn’t gain much momentum and finally went in for a hopeful double-up with pocket jacks. J@M0K3Y! called with Q-T and made a straight when the board showed K-9-6-7-8. Running cards did it for J@M0K3Y!, who earned 20 points for the win.
Once the points were tallied, though it was a close race between a few teams, it was USA 1’s team that came out on top. USA 2 came in with a respectable 54 points with a first, second, third, and fourth place finish amongst its members, but Wisconsin did two points better with one first place and two second places. USA 1 ended up taking it down, though, with a total of 59 points from its two first place finishers, along with a third and fourth.
The USA 1 team consisted of shaundeeb, xthesteinx, J@M0K3Y!, and ba-detroit, and those are the four players who will be packing their shorts and sunscreen for the sunny beaches of the Bahamas in January.
And if shaundeeb’s name sounds familiar, it is. Pro player Shaun Deeb is not only a popular and skilled poker player on the tournament circuit, but he was one of the representatives who won his spot on the USA team at the 2007 World Cup. Deeb’s team went on to win the title last year, and is likely looking forward to defending the USA title in person.
With that, the Divisional Playoffs for the United States division are a wrap. More about the team members in the weeks to come, all leading up to the live finals in the Bahamas in January.
For more information about the series and the nine final teams, visit the World Cup of Poker V page.
Updates on the late action in the PokerStars World Cup of Poker division playoffs can be found here. Click refresh (as often as your poker-filled heart desires) to see the latest action.
4:40pm - And that's a wrap!
Nothing more to see in this particular post, folks.
This afternoon, we found out that Mexico, USA Team 1, and Canada's Nova Scotia will be heading to the live finals in January. Not a bad way to spend the second week of the new year, eh?
Thanks for joining us today, and we'll be providing you with some division recaps very shortly.
4:35pm - Nova Scotia going to the beach for Canada
Tied for last place in Division Canada were Canada 2 and the Canadian Territories, each coming in at 38 point totals. Quebec looked good with 47 points, but Canada 1 had them beat with 51. It was the Nova Scotia team that scooped it with two wins, a second, and a third to accumulate 66 points for the victory.
The Nova Scotia team consists of lobstrman29, dendoggone, AK**QUEEN**, and born_in53, all of whom should go looking in their summer clothes stash for some beach gear, because they're going to the Bahamas in a few weeks.
4:33pm - dendoggone takes a win for Nova Scotia
murok was crippled moments ago on a hand where dendoggone flopped top pair and a gutshot draw with 7-5 on a board of 5c-4s-3c. dendoggone made half-pot bets on the flop, the 6h turn, and the 9s river; murok called on the end but lost out, leaving himself only 714 chips.
We were still going, though, after murok's A-J held up against dendoggone's 8c-6c to double him to about 1,400. Then murok moved in with A-9, dendoggone called with K-Q, and the flop brought a king and a queen. The ace on the turn gave murok some hope, but he couldn't make two pair on the end, giving dendoggone the win.
4:30pm - Team USA 1 can start packing their bags for the Bahamas!
Division USA has been decided. It was a close race, though South Dakota with 34 points and North Carolina with 37 points were the low scorers of the teams. But USA 2 came in with 54 points to the 56 of Wisconsin, and both were trumped - just barely - by the 59 points of USA 1.
It looks like shaundeeb, xthesteinx, J@M0K3Y!, and ba-detroit are going to the Caribbean!
4:28pm - Still just two in Canada
The blinds are up again on TLB2, moving to 100/200 this time, but there shouldn't be much change in the style of play for either dendoggone or murok. They're still within 1,000 chips of each other, with dendoggone holding the slight lead.
4:25pm - Last USA table ends with J@M0K3Y! as the victor for USA 1
With the elimination of MR BigRed66 in fourth place, three-handed action ended when toddsplace and his A-K fell to the pocket sevens of J@M0K3Y!.
Heads-up began with LaddFactor and his 2,905 chips trailing J@M0K3Y! and his 4,595 chips. LaddFactor tried but couldn't make a comback, eventually putting his jacks into action against the Q-T of his opponent, only to see the board come K-9-6-7-8 for J@M0K3Y!'s straight.
LaddFactor took 15 points for Wisconsin, but J@M0K3Y! grabbed 20 points for USA 1.
4:20pm - Still heads-up on Canada TLB2
Neither dendoggone and murok is giving up anything in their heads-up match on TLB2. With only 7,500 chips in play at 75/150 blinds, one misstep could mean a quick exit.
4:15pm - johncrack won 20 points for Canada 1 team
johncrack has emerged victorious after coming in with a big deficit against born_in53. On the final hand, all the money went in on a Kh-Td-9h flop. born_in53 held Jh8h for the flush draw and open-ended straight draw, but johncrack's Qc-Jc had already flopped a straight. The 9d-5c turn and river ended the match as johncrack's straight held up.
4:12pm - TLB1 is heads-up for Canada
Play is now heads-up on TLB1 thanks to two eliminations. First to go was ch0ppy in 4th place, when his A-8 couldn't catch against dendoggone's T-T. murok managed to double up to 2,800 with aces on the next hand, putting the pressure on ROCKETMAN44; he then moved in with K-7, but dendoggone's J-T caught a jack on the flop.
4:11pm - sclarke792 takes a win for Quebec
sclarke792's J-6 beat AK**QUEEN**'s A-T with a six on the river to put the match into heads-up mode, but boodluver on had 500 in chips left to make a stand. His 9-6 fell to sclarke792's Q-J on the last hand, though, wrapping up the action on table FR1.
4:10pm - Short-stack survival
AK**QUEEN** survived a short-stacked all-in with K-K against boodaluver's 6-6 to reverse their position at the table a moment ago, but neither of them is over 600. Their table might finish any moment now.
4:08pm - Some tables actually reach break time
The last remaining USA table just returned from a short break, and the Canadian tables are running back now. Whew! The first hour was a whirlwind of action for both countries, so the end might be in sight...
4:05pm - Canada knows its small-ball
The heads-up match on FR2 has been a small-ball festival, seeing the lead swing in both directions multiple times. born_in53 is back on top at the break with a lead of 4,830-2,670 over johncrack.
4:03pm - Short stacks holding on...
On FR1 and TLB2, the short stacks are hanging on for their tournament lives. ch0ppy and murok are both under 1,000 on TLB2, while dendoggone has 3,085 and ROCKETMAN44 has 2,598. On FR1, sclarke792 can't close out AK**QUEEN** (458) and boodaluver (1,108) thus far.
4:01pm - shaundeeb claims 20-point victory for USA 1
shaundeeb came back from a slight deficit at the beginning of the heads-up match to take the lead. With 6,600 chips to the 900 of devinr12, shaundeeb tried to push all-in holding Qh-3d, and devinr12 called all-in with Jh-8h. The showdown on the board was 4h-9s-Qs-4h-Js, and devinr12 had to settle for 15 points for his USA 2 team.
shaundeeb picked up 20 points for USA 1.
3:57pm - lobstrman29 wins for Nova Scotia
It's all done on TLB1! lobstrman29 raised to 300 on the button and Bonds252525 shoved all-in from the big blind for 1,275. lobstrman29 used a bit of his time bank before calling with 3-3, only to find he'd made a big misstep against Bonds252525's J-J. A three on the flop erased that misstep, though, and gave him the win.
3:55pm - Canada's johncrack doubled to stay alive
The tide has turned on FR2, where johncrack got all-in on the turn holding Kc-6c against born_in53's Kh-4c on a board reading Ks-3d-2d-9c. A jack on the river doubled johncrack up to 5,020 and dropped his opponent to 2,480.
3:54pm - TLB2 in Canada finally lost a player
We've broken the deadlock on TLB2 at last. tjhopkinsiv moved all-in beore the flop with 4-4 but found himself up against ROCKETMAN44's 9-9. A nine on the turn left tjhopkinsiv out in the cold.
3:53pm - Kenny Rap takes first place for USA 2 team
Seriously, what is the rush?
With the elimination of XbonezX in fourth and thesidedish in third, the TLB1 table is down to heads-up between devinr12 and shaundeeb, the former having a slight lead over the latter.
And on TLB2, Sowerss went out in fourth and xthesteinx in third to make way for a heads-up match between Kenny Rap and D1rtyR1v3r. Kenny Rap dominated much of the match, and on the last hand, when Kenny Rap made a raise to 200, D1rtyR1v3r pushed his last 2,060 all-in with Ad-5h preflop. Kenny Rap called with Ac-6c, and the board came 5s-6d-Tc-Td-Kc. With a little tension on the flop, Kenny Rap ended up with the win for 20 points, and D1rtyR1v3r took second place for 15 points.
3:52pm - Heads-up on Canada TLB1
Action is now heads-up on table TLB1. deaonhope had almost blinded out before moving all-in on the button with Kc-4s, but lobstrman29 called with pocket deuces. A deuce on the turn was all it took to put lobstrman29 in the heads-up match with a lead of 4,245-3,255 over Bonds252525.
3:51pm - Down to three on Canada's FR1 table
We're now three-handed on FR1, thanks to the elimination of SEWB. He got his chips in the middle with pocket tens on a flop of Kc-5d-5h, but sclarke792 had called preflop with Kd-7d and did the same on the flop. sclarke792 now has almost 5,500 in chips, while his nearest competitor, boodaluver, has 1,158.
3:49pm - Canada TLB2 has action but no eliminations
The action is tense on TLB2, where nobody has busted out yet. murck was all-in on the short stack a moment ago with pocket tens against ch0ppy's A-K, but the pair held up to keep his hopes alive.
3:48pm - AlwaysTilt13 takes a win for Wisconsin in the USA
That was one of the fastest tournaments in the World Cup playoffs!
CapeFear777 made a tremendous effort to come back for North Carolina on table FR2, but it was not enough for the strong AlwaysTilt13. In the last hand, AlwaysTilt13 came in for the initial raise, but CapeFear777 took it up a notch. AlwaysTilt13 pushed all-in with Ad-Kh, and CapeFear777 called all-in with Ah-Qc. The board did not bring a queen, only 2c-7c-Jh-9d-8c, and that was it for CapeFear777, who earned 15 points for his finish.
AlwaysTilt13 brought 20 points to the Wisconsin tally.
3:43pm - Canada FR2 table heads-up
We're now heads-up on FR2, where born_in53 holds a 5,700-1,800 lead over johncrack. barneyyenrab had been short for a while, and his Q-J couldn't hold up against born_in53's Q-4, sending him out in third place.
3:41pm - Division USA FR2 table already down to two
Talk about aggressive! Is there something going on today in the U.S. that we're not aware of?
ba-detroit had been on the severe short stack for quite some time before he finally exited in fourth place for 8 points. Then it was stellaz who lost his last 35 chips to AlwaysTilt13 and left in third place for 11 points.
Heads-up began with AlwaysTilt13 ahead with 5,275 in chips versus the 2,225 of CapeFear777.
3:39pm - derek8 accrues 8 points for Quebec
derek8 is out on TLB1 after a coin flip gone wrong. He got his stack in the middle with Ac-Kh against Bonds252525's pocket tens, and even picked up a straight draw on the flop, but the tens held up to cripple derek8 to just 30 chips. He went out moments later in fourth place
3:37pm - born_in53 takes big one on FR2 table
born_in53 has opened a big lead on FR2, moving over the 4,000 mark when he knocked out miloup007 a moment ago. milup007 shoved with Ac-Th and born_in53 called with K-9, but the board ran out Jh-7h-4c-8h-Td to give born_in53 the straight and the win.
3:26pm - Latin America decided, and Mexico will be heading to the Bahamas!
And we're done. The last heads-up match for the Latin America division sees LICO01 of Brazil emerge victorious. On the last hand farra311 moved all-in from the button for his last 2,674 holding J-6. LICO01 called with A-8. The flop brought a six, but an eight on the turn gave LICO01 all the help he needed. He takes down 20 points for Brazil, while farra311 earns 15 points for Chile.
The final breakdown put Mexico at the top with 50 points, just four points ahead of Brazil.
Mexico - 50
Brazil - 46
Guatemala - 39
Argentina - 29
Chile - 29
Uruguay - 25
Costa Rica - 22
Venezuela - 21
Colombia - 14
Peru - 5
Congratulations to dhubermex, Pythomunoz, AntoineMex, and Kingeorge63. See you in the Bahamas!
3:29pm - lobstrman29 doing well in Canada Division
Over on TLB1, lobstrman29 just picked up a fortunate pot. His Q-9 flopped trip nines against mign's A-A. mign didn't go broke, but he is now down to a stack of just 495.
3:28pm - South Dakota takes another hit in USA Division
On TLB2, blkjck was the short stack and pushed all-in for less than 1,000 chips to a raise by D1rtyR1v3r preflop. D1rtyR1v3r called with pocket nines, and it was a race against the Ah-Ks of blkjck. The board brought only 7s-7h-3h-Qh-Tc, and blkjck was out of the tournament in fifth place.
That made two fifth place exits for South Dakota, leaving the two remaining players for that team with a little more pressure than before to score big in their tournaments.
3:22pm - No decision yet for Latin America
Heads-up play continues on TLB2 despite the elevated blinds and antes. farra311 holds a slight lead after doubling up with A-9 against K-T, but the two players are very close in chips right now.
3:19pm - Another quick exit for Canada
FR2 has lost a player. born_in53's K-K held up against short-stacked Muck Or Call's Ac-Kd after all the money went in the middle preflop.
3:17pm - Wisconsin & South Dakota lose first players in Division USA
That didn't take long.
On the USA table TLB1, JBDenaro157 left in fifth place for his home state of Wisconsin. And over on the FR2 table, it was deblv3 who was the first to see the virtual rail for South Dakota.
3:15pm - Canada sees first casualty
We have our first casualty on FR1! sclarke92 hit quads with 3-3 against polarbrr's A-A to cripple him to just 50 chips. polarbrr managed to chop the next pot when he got all-in with A-7 against AK**QUEEN**'s A-T, but the queen did him in with A-T to his Q-5 on the next hand.
3:13pm - Latin America on five-minute break
Our last heads-up match in the Latin America division has managed to reach a second break with LICO01 holding the lead 10,588-4,412 over farra311. They'll resume play in 4 minutes.
3:10pm - Divisions USA and Canada off and running!
Four tournaments began moments ago to determine the winning U.S. team from the five available, and the same set-up is running for Canada. Each tournament has five players, so it might not be long before we have our finalists from these two divisions.
3:06pm - Heads-up on last running Latin America table
We're now heads-up on TLB2 between farra311 of Chile and LICO01 of Brazil. LICO01 had the lead by about 3,000 in chips, but with blinds this big anything can change in a single hand. Short-stacked Pythomunoz went out in fourth place for Mexico, earning 8 points, while fellow short stack SPOT1968 picked up a third place finish and 11 points for Guatemala.
3:04pm - TLB1 finished, Argentina takes 20 points for first
TLB1 is in the books now as well. Crisper had been down and almost out before finding himself all-in with A-4 against sebas23's A-2. A four on the flop doubled Crisper up.
On the final hand the roles were reversed, as Crisper held A-6 to sebas23's A-7. With only 200 chips separating the two players it was do or die - and a 6 on the flop meant sebas23 got the "die" this time around.
That's 20 points for Argentina and 15 more for Guatemala.
3:02pm - Mexico in the lead for Division Latin America
Colombia saw all of its players finish and garner a total of 14 points for the team, so there will be no Colombia contingent in the Bahamas for the finals. In addition, Uruguay came in with a strong 25 points, but with Mexico still outstanding but already showing 42 points, Uruguay is also out of the running.
Mexico is looking strong to take the division...
3:00pm - Kingeorge63 wins 20 points for Mexico
FR2 has a winner - and it's Mexico's Kingeorge63! On the final hand he held A-Q against CROSA COLL's A-T. The board gave neither player any help, sealing the win - and 20 points - for Mexico. CROSA COLL takes 15 points for Uruguay with his second-place finish.
2:54pm - Colombia takes 11 points
marroca5 had been leading the way on TLB1, but one bad hand spelled the end for him. He shoved with A-8 from the small blind and Crisper woke up with A-K. Big Slick held up and marroca5 got 11 points for Colombia.
2:53pm - Peru, Venezuela, Costa Rica out of the running
All of Peru's players have finished their tournaments, and with a grand total of 5 points, Peru is officially out of the running for the live finals.
Venezuela came up with a total of 21 points for its four players, but Costa Rica did one better with a total of 22. However, Brazil is already beating that score, so Venezuela and Costa Rica are officially out of the race.
2:48pm - Down to the wire
Kingeorge63 just survived two all-ins in a row. The first saw his As-2s beat CROSA COLL's Ah-Qs with a flush on the turn. Then his A-K held up against A-7 to put him back in the match.
ballaperdida, meanwhile, has finished in 5th place on TLB2. His A-J was no good against farra311's A-K.
2:46pm - AntoineMex takes first place and 20 points for Mexico
The first of the four Division Latin America tables has wrapped up after a contentious heads-up battle on FR1. AntoineMex came in with the chip lead, but it was nothing if not a valiant effort on the part of arielbh to try to take over. The last hand, however, found arielbh with only 2,440 chips to the 12,560 of AntoineMex.
Both players saw a cheap 2h-9d-Tc flop, and another 400 chips each went in before the Td on the turn. arielbh bet his last 1,815 chips all-in, and AntoineMex called with 2d-5h for two pair. arielbh flipped his 8c-7c and only had the one board pair on his side, along with the straight draw. It didn't come on the river, and the Ad that did hit sent arielbh out in second place with 15 points for Brazil.
AntoineMex took first place and 20 points for Team Mexico.
2:43pm - Four players remain on TLB1
A three-way all-in on TLB1 has us down to just 4 players. Crisper moved all-in under the gun with pocket tens, and he got calls from Improved with 6-6 and Tullio_B with Ah-Kd. The Kh-Tc-2c-6c-3h gave every one a better hand than they began with, but Crisper still came out on top.
Just moments later, marroca5's A-3 cracked redskin134's A-Q to send him packing as well. So Tullio_B gets 4 points for Venezuela, Improved gets 6 points for Costa Rica, and redskin134 gets 8 points for Chile.
2:38pm - Mucho action on FR2
FR2's heads-up match between CROSA COLL and Kingeorge63 is neck-and-neck. Both are playing cautious but aggressive poker, making for some interesting viewing.
On TLB1, things are starting to get going now that Joao M. has busted out. His A-9 fell to sebas23's 3-3, sending him out in seventh place to give Brazil another 3 points.
2:36pm - More eliminations
dhubermex was down in seventh place on TLB2. After being severely crippled, he got in with Q-J against Crisper's A-K and couldn't hit.
Meanwhile, ratsed was out in third place on FR2. He shoved with K-5 but CROSA COLL's A-9 held up. That meant 11 points for Guatemala.
2:34pm - Kingeorge63, king of the chips
Brazil just notched up 8 points with kinhomd's elimination. His A-7 couldn't beat Kingeorge63's 9-9, so he finishes in 4th place.
On the very next hand, Kingeorge63 claimed the chip lead with a huge pot from CROSA COLL without showing down. The board read Ac-As-Kh-Qc-3c on the river; Kingeorge63's all-in reraise took down a 10k pot and gave him a monster lead.
2:32pm - Venezuela gains six points
CROSA COLL has been applying severe pressure - and running good to boot. His A-Q just caught an ace on the flop to crack pokerfrank76's pocket eights. That meant an even bigger stack for CROSA COLL, and another 6 points for Venezuela.
2:28pm - FR1 table speeds to heads-up action
Suddenly, the play on FR1 went faster than these little hands could type. estefano17 took a sixth place finish for 4 points, and capdevila wasted no time getting involved in a huge pot that went to arielbh, eliminating capdevila in fifth place for 6 points. RCSGOLD was the next to go at the hands of AntoineMex, and RCSGOLD was forced out in fourth place for an 8-point finish.
TIJO was the short stack at the three-handed table, and when AntoineMex made the initial raise, TIJO put just over 2,000 chips into the pot all-in. AntoineMex called with Ac-Jc, and TIJO showed As-8d. The board ran out Ts-7h-Ks-9s-Th, and that was all we wrote for TIJO. The Costa Rican player left in third place for a respectable 11 points.
Heads-up then began with the following chip counts:
CROSA COLL is applying severe pressure - and running good to boot. His A-Q just caught an ace on the flop to crack pokerfrank76's pocket eights. That means an even bigger stack for CROSA COLL, and another 6 points for Venezuela.
2:25pm - More on FR2
FR2 is getting interesting. Kingeorge63 just doubled through kinhomd with Q-Q against A-K, boosting him to 3,608 and dropping kinhomd to just 944.
On TLB2, meanwhile, argenpoker is out in 6th place. His pocket eights couldn't hold up against ballaperdida's Kc-Qc, so Argentina gets another 4 points.
2:24pm - Action on FR2
CROSA COLL has a stranglehold on FR2 at the moment, with 6,058 in chips. His nearest competition is Kingeorge63 with 2,308, so he's getting aggressive and taking pots seemingly at will.
2:18pm - Costa Rica lost one, gained three points
Over on TLB1, dhubermex managed to win his coinflip with Ad-Td against marroca5's pocket nines. That's good news for Mexico.
But on FR2, armandotje95 is out in seventh place, earning 3 points for Costa Rica. He got in with Ad-Kd against Kingeorge63's pocket tens, but he was drawing dead on the turn when the Ts came.
2:12pm - Short stacks moving
It's crunch time now for the short stacks with blinds at 75/150, and we're beginning to see a lot of all-in moves before the flop.
kinhomd survived one on FR2, doubling up to about 1,100, and then called all-in when nikks_07 shoved in front of him a few hands later. kinhomd's As-Kd was outflopped by nikks_07's Ac-Td, but a king on the turn gave him the win. nikks_07 grabbed 2 points for Argentina by going out in eighth place.
2:08pm - FR1 table loses tortumen and poro14
Before the break, tortumen took his ultra-short stack of 158 into battle with Ad-9d, but estefano17 called from the big blind with Ts-3h. Looked good for a double-up until the board came 4h-5h-6c-Th-5c, and tortumen was out in eighth place, which was worth 2 points for Guatemala.
And just after the break, poro14 decided to attempt a double-up with his last 820 chips by moving all-in preflop with Ah-6c. It was AntoineMex who called with the dominating As-Js, and the board brought a six on the flop for poro14 but then delivered a jack on the river for AntoineMex. poro14 was ousted in seventh place for 3 points.
2:03pm - Whew! First break
After some interesting action during the first hour of play, all four Latin America tables are on a well-deserved break. Players will return to Level 5 with 75/150 blinds.
2:00pm - TLB2 slows pace
After some crazy action on TLB2, things slowed down a bit. Mexico's Pythomunoz was suffering connection problems, leading to added time on the clock whenever it was his turn. The pace (not to mention his stack) dropped a bit as a result.
1:55pm - TLB1 picking up the pace
TLB1 now has a points finisher. tiburonbig of Peru moved all-in for his last 380 before the flop holding Qc-Jd, but he was dominated by marroca5's As-Js. An ace on the flop sealed the deal, giving Peru one point for tiburonbig's finish.
1:51pm - Uruguay first eliminated at TLB1 table
TLB1 just saw its first bustout with blinds at 50/100; this has been one tight table! And the hands reflected that. Uruguay's advanced got all-in preflop with Ad-Qd against Brazil's Joao M., who held pocket kings. No hope ever materialized, and Uruguay now has a player down with no points.
1:48pm - Venezuela sees first elimination, three points
tioalberto put up a valiant fight after being crippled earlier, but his journey came to an end here today. He moved all-in preflop with Ad-2d and argenpoker called with pocket nines. tioalberto developed a flush draw by the turn, but he didn't get there and thus exited the table in 7th place, earning 3 points for Venezuela.
1:43pm - Colombia hurt by third early elimination
We have our second point finisher on FR2, but that's not as encouraging as it may sound.
alvagodo had been crippled a few hands before on a queen-high flop holding K-Q against CROSA CROLL's pocket kings. He got his last 237 in the middle against MARWEST, who hit top pair on another queen-high flop to send alvagodo out with 1 point for Colombia.
That means Colombia has three players down already, each of them accruing only one point each.
1:40pm - diegovergara out for Colombia, one point for the team
The FR1 table saw four players see a flop of 8c-Kd-Ad, but when diegovergara bet into the pot, everyone folded but RCSGOLD. Small betting after the Jh turn led to the Ks on the river. RCSGOLD shoved all-in for 580 chips with Kh-Jc for the full house, and diegovergara could only show Ah-7d for two pair. The latter made the all-in call with the losing hand and was forced to accept a ninth place finish and the one point for Colombia.
1:38pm - Crushing dreams on TLB2
While some of the other tables have been quiet, TLB2 continues to swat down players' dreams. Mexico's fortunes just improved when Pythomunoz got all-in before the flop with pocket queens against tioalberto's pocket jacks.
The flop was ace high and all diamonds; unfortunately for tioalberto, his Jd was dominated by Pythomunoz's Qd so there were only two outs. Neither hit, and tioalberto dropped to 240. Pythomunoz shot up up to 3,490.
1:31pm - Table of death...or aggressive players, if you will
TLB2 is our death table right now - we already have another player down.
Costa Rica's LAJG opened for 90 in middle position and farra311 called in the hijack. tioalberto came along from the small blind and the flop was Ad-Jh-6c. LAJG led out for the pot, 300, and farra311 min-raised. tioalberto got out of the way and LAJG got all-in holding Ah-Kh.
The bad news was that farra311 held a pocket pair of sixes for the flopped set. The board ran out with no help and LAJG earned 2 points for Costa Rica. farra311, meanwhile, is up to over 3k in chips.
1:28pm - Player down on FR2
There's a player down on FR2, and he won't get any points.
Chile's apostolchile limped in with four other players to see a flop of Ah-Kh-7h, and when the action got to him he shoved for his last 576. Colombia's alvagodo called immediately with 6h-4h for the flush, while apostolchile had a shot with Ad-8h. In the end, he didn't catch, though, and he exits the competition.
1:26pm - Peru took another hit, lost ficofico75
It has not been a good day for Peru in the division thus far. On table FR1, four players saw a flop of 2s-As-7h, but when capdevila bet out 240, ficofico75 raised all-in for his last 835. Two players got out of the way, and capdevila called. capdevila showed Ah-Kc for top pair, and ficofico75 showed Ad-Qc for the same but with a lower kicker. The turn and river were 9d and 6d, respectively, and ficofico75 was out in tenth place.
Peru found its second finisher out of four players who was forced to accept no points for the effort today.
1:21pm - First point finisher gains, well, one point
We've got our first point finisher of this round, and it wasn't pretty.
Argentina's argenpoker raised to 60 in early position and got calls from Venezuela's tioalberto on the button and Colombia's juanfer_ap69 in the big blind. Action checked to tioalberto on the Ks-Js-Jd board and both opponents called when he bet 100 into a pot of 190. Everyone checked the 2s on the turn, and juanfer_ap69 led out for 340 when the Ts hit the river. argenpoker got out of the way, but tioalberto shipped it for more than juanfer_ap69 had left; when tioalberto showed Js-Td for the full house he scooped the pot against juanfer_ap69's Qs-9c for the flush.
That's one point in the standings now for Colombia.
1:20pm - AntoineMex in control of FR1 table
After coming out of the gate as one of the aggressors at the table, AntoineMex took another significant pot to hold a dominating chip lead after only 20 minutes of play. In a pot that grew after each street, diegovergara tangled with AntoineMex on a 3d-Jd-Kd-5s-4c board. diegovergara showed a solid hand of pocket jacks for the set, but AntoineMex's momentum held up as he showed pocket kings for the higher set. diegovergara then sat with less than half his starting stack.
1:12pm - Peru lost one, gained no points
Peru finally lost its first player, after crema2005 got all-in preflop with Qd-7d. Venezuela's tioalberto called in the big blind with pocket nines, which held up to mark our first elimination. Unfortunately, Peru started off with one of its four players garnering no points.
1:06pm - And...action!
After a slow start on two of our tables, we finally got ourselves some action. On the FR2 Latin America table, ratsed flopped a flush with 4d-3d and managed to get apostolchile to pay him off in a pot worth 1,600.
The bigger action, though, was on the TLB2 Latin America table. On the third hand of play, Peru's crema2005 had Qh-Qc in the small blind and saw a flop of 9d-5h-2h with Brazil's LICO01 in the big blind. Unfortunately, when all the money went in on the flop, the queens were no good against LICO01's Kh-Kd. crema2005 is still hanging in there, having tripled up to 90 chips, but the Peruvian has a long fight ahead of him now.
1:00pm - Latin America Underway
Welcome to coverage of the last three divisions in the World Cup! Division Latin America started as players took their seats moments ago, and the four tournaments have virtual cards in the air. There are four tournaments, each one consisting of a player from each of the ten countries competing for their seats at the live finals in the Bahamas. Points will be accrued based on the place each player finishes, and the team with the most points when all tables are complete wins that privilege.
The countries involved in the Latin American division are Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, and Guatemala.
Updates as the action happens...
For more information on the World Cup of Poker V, click here, and the schedules for today's action can be found here.
At the conclusion of this morning's matches, the Europe III division of World Cup V ended in a tie, with both Spain and Latvia claiming 43 points. For Spain, brsariego took a first place (worth 20 points), Rompe1946 took third at his table (11 points), and VARICO and pable818 both finished fifth (6 points each). For Latvia, both BuTuT? and Partorg finished second at their tables (earning 15 points each), missjazz83 took a third (11 points), and vilks77 took eighth at his table (worth 2 points).
Each team was asked to select one player to compete in a winner-take-all heads up match this afternoon to determine which country's team would get to go to the live final in the Bahamas on January 6th. Spain chose VARICO (of Madrid), and Latvia sent Partorg (of Riga) as their representative.
Play began shortly after 1:00 p.m. Eastern time, meaning it was early evening for our European competitors when they sat down behind their respective stacks of 1,500 chips to begin play.
After twenty hands, the starting stacks remained where they had begun, with neither player having enjoyed any significant advantage. Partorg then snuck out to a small lead after claiming a couple of modest pots without showdowns, edging out to 1,780 to VARICO's 1,220. Cautious play remained the rule, though, as no pot exceeded 240 chips through the first 32 hands.
A big bet from VARICO on a flop of 3d-8s-7h in Hand #33 won a 400-chip pot, enabling VARICO to reclaim the chip lead. Then, in Hand #35, VARICO raised to 60 from the button/small blind and Partorg called. The flop came Ks-Jc-Kc. Partorg checked, VARICO bet 60, and Partorg called. The turn was the Js, putting two pair on the board. Partorg checked again, VARICO bet 120, and Partorg called. The river was the 6c. This time Partorg check-called a bet of 320 from VARICO, who then showed As-Kh for kings full. Partorg mucked, and VARICO had chipped up to 2,130 to Partorg's 870.
By the first hand of Level 2 (Hand #55), VARICO had 2,310 to Partorg's 690. VARICO began the hand raising to 90, and Partorg called. The flop came 7s-Ts-9h. Partorg checked, VARICO bet 90, Partorg check-raised all in, and VARICO called. Partorg had Kc-Tc for top pair, but VARICO had 8s-8h for the open-ender. The turn was the 3s and the river the Ad, and Partorg was back in contention with a stack of 1,380. "GO LATVIA," typed Partorg's teammate missjazz83 in the chatbox, one of the many railers watching this decisive match.
VARICO kept the lead, though, chipping back up to 1,995 when, in Hand #77, pocket kings helped him claim a 660-chip pot and move back up to a 2,325-675 advantage.
After 100 hands, VARICO still enjoyed a commanding lead, with 2,445 to Partorg's 555. Hand #104 saw a desperate Partorg push all in with Kd-Qc only to get called by VARICO's pocket queens. The flop was 8d-9h-Tc, giving Partorg a gutshot draw. The turn was the 4s, and Partorg was down to one card and just seven outs (the three kings and four jacks). Life! The Kh on the river saved Partorg, and he was back up to 1,140. And by the end of Hand #120, Partorg had retaken the chip lead!
A few hands later, VARICO shoved all in with Ac-Jc, and Partorg thought a while before calling with Ah-Ts. The board brought no ten (but a jack), and VARICO had retaken the lead. When Level 4 began (blinds 50/100), VARICO had built back up to a 3-to-1 chip advantage. But in hand #141 Partorg would take back the lead. After VARICO pushed all in with Qs-8d, Partorg called with Ah-9h, and the board of 9d-Ac-Ts-5d-9s propelled Latvia back in front.
Then, after just over 50 minutes of play, came Hand #152, which began with Partorg enjoying an ever-so-slight chip lead with 1,570 to VARICO's 1,430. Partorg limped from the small blind/button, VARICO raised to 500, Partorg hesitated for a bit before reraising all in, and VARICO thought about it himself for a few seconds before making the call.
VARICO showed 9c-9s, well behind Partorg's Kh-Kd. The flop was 8s-2d-3d, and the turn the Ad. The river was the 9d, giving VARICO a set, but Partorg the flush. Latvia wins!
Congratulations to Partorg and the team from Latvia, who are now headed to the Bahamas for the live final on January 6th. Get your travel plans in order (and your Visas)!
The Europe III division saw ten teams competing at four tables. The ten countries battling it out were France, Switzerland, Spain, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, and Latvia.
Eliminations came fast and furious at TLB1, with half the table getting knocked out quickly, several thanks to Luigi da BP of Hungary. Soon after the first break, Luigi da BP and Partorg (of Latvia) were the only two competitors remaining, with Luigi da BP holding a commanding 10-to-1 chip advantage when heads up began. Partorg battled gamely, surviving a few all ins before finally succumbing to Luigi da BP. On the final hand, Luigi da BP was dealt Kh-Jc and put his short-stacked opponent all in. Partorg was ahead with Ac-6s, but the board came Qc-3h-7d-Js-8c, and the pair of jacks gave Hungary the 20 points.
Table FR1 was the next to complete. wfox007 (Slovakia) took an early lead in this one, but eventually became the short stack with four players left and was ousted in fourth. Then brsariego (Spain) eliminated missjazz83 (Latvia) in third, but was way behind lepkeke (Hungary) when heads up play began, with lepkeke's 11,236 way ahead of brsariego's 3,764.
With Don Quixote-like determination, brsariego battled back and eventually took the chip lead from his Hungarian foe. Finally lepkeke committed the last of his chips with Qd-Jd, only to find himself up against the Spaniard's Kc-8d. The board came 7h-6h-8h-4s-3c, and brsariego had triumphed.
Table TLB2 was a difficult one to get through. After an hour of play on TLB2, only one player had been eliminated -- altuk13 of Romania. Eliminations occurred quickly after that, though, and eventually ilushan of Russia and TigrouMaster of France were heads up.
On the final hand, ilushan (with 8,030 chips) limped, TigrouMaster raised to 600, then ilushan reraised to 2,000. TigrouMaster pushed all in, and ilushan called. TigrouMaster had Ad-6c, and was in dire straits versus ilushan's Ah-Ks. The board came Ac-Ts-5s-4c-Jd, and ilushan claimed the 20 points for Russia.
Table FR2 was the last to complete. Plenty were watching, as the battle for the points lead was still up for grabs. During the early going, dlighted1 (Lithuania) and looserSR (Slovakia) were sitting atop the leaderboard. Eventually all would fall except looserSR and BuTuT? (Latvia). If BuTut? could win, Latvia would move on to the Bahamas. Meanwhile, Spain was hoping looserSR would hold on, which would mean Latvia and Spain would finish in a tie for first, forcing a tie-breaker heads-up match.
In the end, looserSR proved too much for BuTuT?, finally finishing off the Latvian when the latter pushed his short stack with 8s-4d. looserSR held Jc-2d, and when the board came 2h-7h-3d-Qh-Ks, the Slovakian had won.
The finishes by BuTuT? and Rompe1946 meant both Latvia and Spain ended this morning's play with 43 points apiece. There will be a heads up match at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time between VARICO of Spain and Partorg of Latvia to determine which team will get to go to the Bahamas for the live final on January 6th. Stay tuned here on the PokerStars blog for the results!
Six teams from Germany each sent representatives to four tables to battle it out to see who would win the right to represent their country in the live final of the World Cup, to be played in the Bahamas on January 6th.
Representing Berlin was D.Nowitzki, xxB 52xx, NiceBet_1985, and Max Pro 101. For Nordrhein-Westfalia, utopias13, Watte, TomTomSnow, and DeepBlue3112 did battle. Sitting at their computers in Hamburg were GoaMick, fips2708, 1 Man@work, and noregretsall. And for Sachsen Unam1337, Rennwurm, nobody I, and Jo1701 played.
We also had two non-city specific teams playing: Germany 1, represented by Boku87, joscha45, Mados4k, and SmArTdOg1970, and the Germany 2 team, consisting of AjaxAchill, BongBob, Meledi 69, and HG25.
Play was fast and furious at the six-handed tables, and within an hour-and-a-half we had our winner, the Germany 1 team, whose representatives managed to claim first place at three of the four tables.
Over on Table TLB2, AjaxAchill (sporting a Sarah Palin avatar, you betcha) moved out to an early lead at Table TLB2, then suffered a huge hit in a big hand versus Boku87. After some modest preflop jockeying, both players seemed to like the flop of Qs-10h-5d, and thereby did Boku87 get all of his stack in the middle, and AjaxAchill most of his. AjaxAchill held Ad-Qd for top pair, top kicker, but discovered himself way behind Boku87's flopped set with 10d-10s. The turn and river didn't help AjaxAchill, and he was suddenly down to just 985 chips.
AjaxAchill battled back, though, and was still there at the end to battle Boku87 heads up. Down to less than 1,000 chips, AjaxAchill got them all in on a flop of 6c-10s-Js holding 6s-4s, giving him a pair and a flush draw. Boku87 had 9s-2s for a higher flush draw, and the 7s on the turn meant Boku87 had taken the table for the Germany 1 team.
TBL1 finished soon thereafter, with xxB 52xx of Berlin taking it down. The tourney ended with BongBob (Germany 2) pushing all in for 2,185 with 8h-6h, and xxB 52xx calling with Kd-Jc. The board came 4d-10d-Kh-5d-Kc, giving xxB 52xx trip kings and the 20 points for first-place.
Table FR2 was the next to complete. After an hour or so of play, DeepBlue3112 (Nordrhein-Westfalia) and SmArTdOg1970 (Germany 1) made it to heads up with nearly even chip stacks, and the pair battled for some time with neither taking a significant advantage. Then came the decisive hand. SmArTdOg1970 had 4,880 to start the hand, and DeepBlue3112 4,120. The pair each committed some chips on a flop of 8d-10h-8s, then after the turn brought the Qd they managed to get the rest in, with DeepBlue3112 holding 10s-2c for middle pair, and SmArTdOg1970 As-Ah for the overpair. The river was the 4c, and Germany 1 had won its second table of the day.
The last table to finish was Table FR1. There Mados4k of Germany 1 had his way for most of the match, finally finishing off nobody I (of Sachsen) when the latter committed the last of his chips wiht Kd-Jc versus Madosk4k's Ad-Th. The flop came 9h-8c-Qs, and Mados4k's ace was still tops. The turn was the 6h and the river the 2c, giving Germany 1 a third first-place finish.
Four Sit and Go tables, ten nations, one team trip to the land of sun and sand to play poker and national bragging rights for $100,000 ($20,000 per winning team member). The "Rest of the World" division brought together Armenia, China, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, and Taiwan to complete for a team spot at the nine seat World Cup of Poker V final table in the Bahamas. Since the World Cup is taking place along side of the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, the chance to rub elbows and chips with poker’s elite will also be there for the lucky team that advanced today.
The format sits the Tournament Leaderboard Champs of each nation at the TLB1 or TLB2 table. Also, the overall national TLB champ became the captain of his respective team; a fifth player will be added to the team by PokerStars in the near future.
(click for larger image)
Above was the start of the “big dogs” table as the TLB1 table consisted of PokerStars’ Tournament heavyweights. Andy McLEOD representing Team Australia stood out as he has collected his first World Championship of Online Poker bracelet a few months ago for a $98,280 score (final table write up here), along with several other high cashes. bismillahno was back for New Zealand trying to qualify again after not making it last year.
Starting with the TLB1 it was all about Andy McLEOD. The Aussie simply ran over his tables with aggression and ended up eliminating the last three competitors Pokerofwind (Korea), bismillahno (New Zealand), and danielfun (China) in consecutive hands to take down the 20 points for the PokerRoos and start them off racing for those Bahamas seats.
Australia 20 points
China 15 points
New Zealand 11 points
Korea 8 points
Lebanon 6 points
Japan 4 points
Armenia 3 points
Taiwan 2 points
Phillippines 1 point
South Africa 0 points
The gap between Australia and the “Rest of the World” got even larger when Australian teammate BOILIN WATER took a similar route to victory on his FR2 (freeroll) table. BOILIN WATER got hot after starting off his table by eliminating Jubinator (New Zealand) and gumasta (Philippines) in ninth and tenth place respectively. Then, finished a relatively short heads up session with putiko248 (Japan) to give the PokerRoos a huge lead in the team standings with two first places in the four tournament team score round.
Here are the standings after the FR2 completed (two more to go):
Australia 40 points
Japan 19 points
Korea 19 points
China 18 points
New Zealand 12 points
Lebanon 12 points
Armenia 11 points
Taiwan 6 points
South Africa 2 points
Philippines 1 points
Australia had a huge advantage as the FR1 and TLB2 tables wound down to the final three, but the other teams had a shot. Both Australia representatives had busted out of the two tables and scored a single point between the two leaving the door open for Japan, Korea, China, and New Zealand to capitalize on moving up. At the FR1 table islamei (Japan), bmumali (Philippines), and El Wayneo (New Zealand) would battle three handed all the way up to the 200/400 ante 50 blinds. It would be islamei claiming the 20 points for Japan as he defeated El Wayneo heads up when his pocket sevens dodged the nut flush draw of El Wayneo on a board of 8s-2s-As-Tc-Td.
After the FR1 table broke up the teams all gained on the front running Aussies with Japan nearly over taking them:
Australia 40 points
Japan 39 points
New Zealand 27 points
Korea 21 points
Armenia 19 points
China 19 points
Lebanon 16 points
Philippines 12 points
Taiwan 9 points
South Africa 8 points
Unfortunately for the PokerRoos, Stev0L_ only managed to score a single point on the TLB2 table to end the scoring of Australia at 41 points. Japan would need at least a seventh place finish to overtake them…
… and did with golteb taking exactly seventh thus boosting Team Japan’s total to 42 to lead the competition. That also meant that Team Korea was now shut out regardless of Dutchschult’s finish as they could only score a total of 41 points. But, the third place New Zealand team was very much alive with rjmgrace as a second place finish would tie them with Japan.
After rjmgrace took down Charmer1973 (Philippines) in third place it assured the Kiwis at a least tie-breaking sudden death spot with Japan. Luckily for Team New Zealand, rjmgrace wasn’t satisfied with a tie as he took his 2:1 chip lead into heads up play against Dutchschult and turned those chips into a plane ticket for four to the Bahamas. AQo versus A4o would be the deciding hand when rjmgrace flopped trip queens with his AQo leaving Dutchschult gasping for a miracle runner-runner quads that did not appear on the turn and river.
With the outright win, rjmgrace will be joining bismillahno, El Wayneo, and Jubinator in the Bahamas to represent the Rest of the World team in the fifth edition of the PokerStars World Cup. Ready up those visas and passports guys as PokerStars will be sending flight information soon!
Here’s the final point tally:
New Zealand 47 points
Japan 42 points
Australia 41 points
Korea 36 points
China 27 points
Philippines 23 points
Lebanon 22 points
Armenia 19 points
South Africa 12 points
Taiwan 11 points
Players from ten countries took to the virtual felt this morning to duke it out for a trip to the sunny Bahamas to compete in the finals of the World Cup of Poker. The Europe II division included players from Austria, Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia and Turkey. Over the course of two hours, and spread across four single-table SNGs, the forty qualifiers battled for the divisional championship and a spot in the finals. When the dust settled, it was Team Poland standing tall, with two outright victories and one second-place finish, as they topped Team Turkey for the championship.
Each country put two players from the top of TLB standings into the events, with two freeroll winners competing on other tables. Things didn’t look good for Poland early on, as kAmikAdZeEe was one of the first eliminations on table TLB 2. He would need help from is teammates after he ran into some tough luck early on. First he flopped top pair with K-10, only to run into a flopped set of sixes. Then he got the last of his chips in the middle with two live cards, but ran into Team Austria’s Vienna Bundy, who flopped top pair with Kd-Qd. KAmikAdZeEe was left to cheer from the rail as his teammates soldiered on.
Team Estonia had a rough go of it in the divisional finals, starting when sitkusevend got what he thought was a big blind special when he turned two pair with 9-3. He got all his money in on the turn, but Devil42 didn’t hesitate to call with his flopped set of fives. Estonia’s bad luck continued with an 8th-place and 7th-place finish, leaving them all but mathematically eliminated by the first break. The last surviving member of Team Estonia, Gusto_Frutta, decided to play the aggro card and moved all in every hand after the break, frustrating his opponents and causing chip swings like a psychotic teeter-totter. He caught just enough cards to bust a few opponents and make it all the way to 3rd place at his table and the highest finish on his team.
With chips flying all around, several teams came back from break to make a strong run at the finals. Austria looked good early on, but some rough hands (and finding Gusto_Frutta at the table) left Devil42 and cincinna-kid done in 4th place at their tables, so even though Vienna Bundy took down his table, Team Austria finished in 3rd place behind Turkey and Poland.
At the end of the day, it was only fitting that the two heads-up matches on the last two tables would decide the whole match. On Table FR1 it was heads-up between Turkey’s auercan and Poland’s BartekPL, with auercan holding a big chip lead going into heads-up play. On the other freeroll table, FR2, it was Poland’s morderbest taking the chip lead into heads-up play against Turkey’s ufcen07. After Borys313 took down the win on table TLB1, Turkey had to sweep the last two tables to make the trip to the Bahamas.
It took some doing, but auercan was finally able to dispatch BartekPL when BartekPL moved all in preflop with Js-9h. Auercan made the call with 6d-5d, and the flop brought victory in the form of the 5c. BartekPL didn’t get any help on the turn or river, and it was all riding on the last freeroll players. Over on table FR2, morderbest needed a little luck to take out ufcen07, but it came in the form of a four. Morderbest raised preflop with Ac-4d, and ufcen07 flat-called with Ad-8c. Both players hit the 4h-3s-8h flop, and ufcen07 checked his top pair, top kicker. Morderbest led out, and ufcen07 pulled the trigger on the check-raise. Morderbest made the call, then picked up trips when the turn brought the 4s. Ufcen07 led out, morderbest moved all in over the top, and ufcen07 called. Only and 8 would save Team Turkey, but it was not to be, as the river brought the 7h and victory for Team Poland.
With two first-place finishes, one second and one tenth, Team Poland earned their spot in the live finals in the Bahamas on January 6th. Get your travel documents in order an pack for warm weather, boys, you’re going to paradise! Congrats to all our teams in the Europe II Division, and especially to Team Poland, who’ll carry the banner in to the finals.
Poker is traditionally a solitary game; an every man for himself, out to conquer it all and leave nothing behind for the rest of the table pursuit. Players are accustomed to taking a seat and entering a zone where they think of nothing and no one else but themselves and their own goals - to win, to take all the chips and go home happy. The World Cup of Poker turns that mentality on its end. Players are now teamed up with others from their home country, and while they are still looking to be number one at their table, they're also taking stock of what is going on with their teammates and the teams around them. It adds a whole new exciting dimension to the game.
With the points system, a team wouldn't need to even win a tourney at all in order to advance to the finals round. Simply place high enough in all four events and you could rack up enough points to do the trick; assuming no other team did the same or better. And as the Europe I divisionals were wrapping up, it looked as if Italy had an almost certain lock on the win, with a player remaining in each tournament as play fell four-handed. But then again... Belgium still had three players in, and had already picked up 6 points with a 5th place finish from missEcreviss in FR2. Anything could happen.
Iceland was the first country to claim victory, oblivious to the drama that was unfolding between Belgium and Italy in the battle for points as eatyourstac climbed over Italy's billiko (3rd, 11 points) and Belgium's junglestar1 (2nd, 15 points) to claim the full 20 points for his homeland. The Italian was eliminated when he chose to push-all with Ah-Kc following a raise from junglestar1 and re-raise from eatyourstac. junglestar1 got out of the way leaving eatyourstac to call for just 368 more with Ac-6d. He hit a sweet flop - 4h-6h-4c that just got better with the 6c on the turn. A nice win for Iceland, and they'd pick up another 11 points with a great showing from Squrell with a 3rd place finish in TLB2, but the Belgians and Italians were simply too strong to overcome today.
For fans of Team Italy and Team Belgium, the action on the TLB tables was a bit like getting all-in with Aces only to find that your caller has the other two Aces in the deck. In the TLB1 tourney, Italy's mm-nh took it down with a win over Sweden's Dihxm with a pocket pair of deuces turned river quads. 20 more points for Italy put them ahead on the leaderboard. Almost immediately afterword, at the TLB2 tourney, Belgium's tinorossi hit a one-two punch to take out Norway's alesanre and bring home 20 points for his homeland. A double-up with Qd-8s made two pair on the flop and gave the Belgian over 13,000 in chips and crippled his opponent. alesanre pushed on the next hand with suited 6-3 and found he was up against Kh-8s from tinorossi. A flopped set for tinorossi signaled the end of the tournament, and then the case eight hit on the turn - quads to finish things off again. Belgium took 20 points and it all came down to the final event.
FR2 had been the tournament with the quickest pace, chips flying early and players departing quickly. After the first break only three remained - Italy's gvilla2, Norway's ToneLA111, and Israel's EMINEM_T. Despite the quick pace they started with, these three slowed things down and took their time, passing chips back and forth over and over until finally EMINEM_T took a stand. Short-stacked with just two big blinds remaining and now having to post the small blind, he raised all-in with 2h-Js pre-flop and got a call from gvilla2. The board paired, but was no help to EMINEM_T as gvilla's Kd-Qh took it down. With that elimination Israel picked up 11 points, but it didn't matter - it was all down to Belgium and Italy now, and it was all down to gvilla2 now. If he finished first, Italy won it all. If he finished second, Belgium would win and advance to the Bahamas.
It was a long heads-up match, both players working to wear the other down with a series of well-timed raises and continually fired bets. After just check-calling on a 8d-Qs-3c flop, gvilla2 then check-raised the 6h turn and pushed all-in as the Kh hit the river. ToneLA111 called with Qc-4s and doubled-up the Italian who had been holding pocket 3s for a flopped set and a 7,294 pot. Things were complicated for Norway by the fact that ToneLA111 was apparently having internet connection problems and was showing disconnected for several minutes. Advantage Italy? Perhaps. Once connection was restablished ToneLA111 came back kicking, but gvilla2 proved tough to take down, having built up a nice stack thanks to the free blinds. Despite best efforts, ToneLA111 was unable to overcome; pushing all-in with 2h-6s and gvilla2 took it down with Kd-Jh connecting with a Jack on the flop.
It was a hard-fought battle between not only Team Belgium and Team Italy today, but all of the Europe I teams that made it this far today. Congratulations to them all on a fine performance and a job well done! Team Italy advances to paradise - otherwise known as the live World Cup finals in the Bahamas - and no doubt the rest of the Europe I competitors will be cheering them on as they represent. (While planning for their own trip there in 2010, naturally.) Best of luck to Team Italy as you move on, and better get packing and travel documents ready - you're in for the experience of a lifetime!
Updates on the early action in the PokerStars World Cup of Poker division playoffs can be found here. Click refresh to see the latest action.
Thanks to all our competitors - 11:02am
That concludes our morning coverage of the World Cup of Poker V divisional qualifers, now look forward to the Canada, Latin America, and USA divisional champions to start at 1:00 EST. The live blog will continue then with Spaceman Jason Kirk and California Jen Newell taking you thru the exciting conclusion of the qualifer round. Thanks everyone for reading and good luck in the Bahamas to Team Italy, New Zealand, Germany 1, United Kingdom, and the winner of the Spain/Lativa tie breaker to come soon.
Europe I - 10:50am
Big wins in the end send Team Italy to the Bahama final for the possible $100,000 first place prize.
Team New Zealand will be representing the Rest of the World division in the Bahamas with their 47 point total over the four matches, overcoming the two victories by Andy McLEOD and BOILIN WATER of Australia and a strong showing by Team Japan to win the division.
Here are the final total tallies:
New Zealand 47 points
Japan 42 points
Australia 41 points
Korea 36 points
China 27 points
Philippines 23 points
Lebanon 22 points
Armenia 19 points
South Africa 12 points
Taiwan 11 points
10:36am - Germany
The Germany I team, taking first place in three of the four tables today, proved too much for their fellow countrymen. Thanks to the victories of Boku87, Mados4k, and SmArTdOg1970, the Germany I team was able to net the most points today, with the Berlin team coming second and Germany 2 taking third.
All four tables have completed in the Europe III division, and at the top of the leaderboard it appears both Spain and Latvia have ended with 43 points. Spain achieved its total largely on the backs of brsariego (who finished 1st) and Rompe1946 (who took a third), while Latvia was helped by two second-place finishes by Partorg and BuTuT?.
This means the team captains will be choosing a player to play a deciding, winner-take-all match! (Time TBA.)
Connection restored! Good news for Team Norway, ToneLA111 appears to have reestablished connection and is back in the thick of things in the heads-up battle.
10:23am - Europe 1
Norway may be in some trouble. We're still heads-up in FR2 but it looks like ToneLA111 is having a bit of trouble with getting a stable internet connection, and is showing disconnected. Per the tournament rules, the time clock is stopped briefly each hand to allow time for a reconnect, but if none occurs the hand is folded and the next is dealt.
Great news for Italy, as gvilla2 just has to sit back and collect the blinds. And if ToneLA111 can get things back up and running soon, it may even work out to be a good thing for Norway too. On one of the folds, gvilla2 showed the hand he was collecting chips with - pocket Aces. While he was no doubt upset at missing the opportunity to see some action with them, for Norway it may be the best that all that was lost was a blind.
10:20am - Rest of the World
TLB2 Table Points Update:
New Zealand 20 points
Korea 15 points
Philippines 11 points
China 8 points
Lebanon 6 points
South Africa 4 points
Japan 3 points
Taiwan 2 points
Australia 1 point
10:14am - Rest of the World
TLB2 just ended their heads up play. rjmgrace and Dutchschult found their chips heading into the middle preflop with the blinds at 300/600 ante 50 both with an ace. rjmgrace left 4,552 chips behind and showed Ac-Qs which dominated the Ad-4s of Dutchschult. The flop all but ended Dutchschult, Qd-Qc-Th as rjmgrace flopped trip queens leaving Dutchschult to a 989:1 shot for running fours. The 2s and 3s did not provide and rjmgrace picked up 20 points for the New Zealand team as Dutchschult found 15 points for Korea.
10:11am - Rest of the World
FR1 Table Points Update:
Japan 20 points
New Zealand 15 points
Philippines 11 points
Armenia 8 points
South Africa 6 points
Lebanon 4 points
Taiwan 3 points
Korea 2 points
China 1 point
10:08am - Europe I
Two more winners crowned in the divisionals, as Belgium and Italy each pick up 20 more points for the day.
Over at the TLB1 table, mm-nh had a "nh" indeed when his final pocket pair deuces flopped a set then rivered quads to best the Kc-7d held by Dihxm. "overkill" Dihxm typed in the chat as the last card hit the board.
At the TLB2 table, the Belgium win by tinorossi was a two-parter. The first hit came with Qd-8s, hitting two pair on the flop and getting all-in on the turn for a double-up to over 13,000 in chips. Having knocked alesanre down to just 1,732 he had no choice but to push all-in on the next hand. He flipped 6s-3s and it was Kh-8s for tinorossi. Two eights on the flop made it pretty clear how the hand would go.... but wait, there was more. This time on the turn, though - that fourth eight hit, giving yet another champion quads for his win.
10:06am - Rest of the World
After islamei chipped down El Wayneo to 3,678 chips, they got it into the middle preflop for a 7,406 chip pot. Ks-Qh for El Wayneo and pocket sevens (7h-7s) for islamei. The flop came a lovely 8s-2s-As for El Wayneo but he couldn’t connect on the turn Tc or Td river for a flush or overpair and islamei picked up the 20 first place points for Japan, while El Wayneo brough 15 more points to the Kiwis.
10:03am - Europe III
looserSR (Slovakia) won the last five hands of heads up, finally eliminating a severely short-stacked BuTuT? (Latvia). BuTuT? was down to just 795 chips, and so had no choice but to roll the dice with 8s-4d versus looserSR's Jc-2d. The board came 2h-7h-3d-Qh-Ks, and looserSR was the winner.
10:02am - Europe II
With a dominating 55 points, Team Poland crushed the competition in Europe II. With 2 first-place finishes and a 2nd-place finish, the closest competitor was Turkey with 45 points. Borys313 and morderbest took down their tables, while BartekPL took second at his. kAmikAdZeEe ran into some rough luck early and finished 10th at his table, but his teammates held on and they'll be moving on to the finals!
10:00am - Rest of the World
FR2 Table Points Update:
Australia 20 points
Japan 15 points
Korea 11 points
Armenia 8 points
Lebanon 6 points
Taiwan 4 points
China 3 points
South Africa 2 points
New Zealand 1 point
9:58am - Europe 1
Heads-up play has just now begun in FR2, the tournament that was the first to break to three players and therefore was expected to bring us the first winner! With the departure of Israel's EMINEM_T at the hands of gvilla2, Israel is now eliminated from the divisional.
FR2 is now down to ToneLA111 for Norway and gvilla2 for Italy. Both countries have other players battling it out in other heads-up matches as well.
9:57pm-- Europe II
yeah - 2 firsts and a second is too much to overcome - Poland wins
9:55am - Europe III
brsariego just claimed Table FR1 for Spain in the Europe III division, knocking out his final opponent, lepkeke (Hungary). Down to just 3,297, lepkeke decided to call brsariego's big preflop bet and commit the rest of his chips with Qd-Jd. brsariego held Kc-8d, and when the board came 7h-6h-8h-4s-3c, brsariego had won the table and the 20 points for Spain.
We have a winner over on TLB2 in the Europe III division. When the final hand began, ilushan (Russia) had 8,030 chips to the 6,970 of TigrouMaster (France). ilushan limped from the button/small blind, TigrouMaster raised to 600, then ilushan reraised to 2,000. TigrouMaster pushed all in, and ilushan called.
TigrouMaster showed Ad-6c, well behind ilushan's Ah-Ks. The board came Ac-Ts-5s-4c-Jd, and ilushan took the 20 points for mother Russia.
9:52am- Europe II
On Table FR1, short-stacked BartekPL shoved all in preflop with Js-9h. Auercan made the call with 6d-5d, and picked up a pair on the 3h-Ks-5c flop. No help for BartekPL as the turn and river came down As-Qh, and then there was one.
Over on Table FR2, it was another Poland v. Turkey matchup, this time with the advantage going to Poland. Morderbest raised from the button with Ac-4d, and ufcen07 made the call with Ad-8c. The flop came down 4h-3s-8h, and ufcen07 checked top pair. Morderbest fired, and ufcen07 went for the check-raise. Ufcen07 led out on the 4s turn, and morderbest quickly went all in with trips. Ufcen07 called, and when the 7h came on the river, that was all she wrote for ufcen07. Ufcen07 picked up 15 points for Team Turkey, while morderbest nabbed 20 points for Team Poland.
9:49 am - Europe I
We have a winner!
Iceland's eatyourstac has taken his moniker seriously, outlasting all others at his table to take home the honors and 20 points for his team. After knocking out Italy's billiko in 3rd place, eatyourstac was heads-up against Belgium's junglestar1. Play didn't last long between the two, as chips traded back and forth until finally they got them all in on the river of a 8h-As-9d-Td-3d board. junglestar1 had turned a pair of Tens with Ts-7h, but eatyourstac had flopped a pair of Aces with his Ac-Ks, and won it all. Belgium takes 15 points for the 2nd place finish, and still has tinorossi playing heads-up against Norway's alesanre in TLB2.
9:47 AM - Europe II
And that's all she wrote for Europe II! With heads-up matches everywhere, a flurry of activity led to a quick end to the Division.
9:47am - Germany
Mados4k (Germany 1) just finished off nobody I (Sachsen) over on Table FR1 when his Ad-Th outlasted nobody I's Kd-Jc. The board came 9h-8c-Qs-6h-2c, and Mados4k wins 20 points for the Germany 1 team.
9:45am – Rest of the World
TLB has reached heads up with rjmgrace (New Zealand) eliminating Charmer1973 in third place.
BOILIN WATER just notched another win for the PokerRoos as he continued his buzzsaw ways taking out putiko248 heads up when both flopped top pair on the board of 2c-5s-8d-3d-5d but BOILIN WATER’s As kicker over-matched the Jd for putiko248. The Aussies now have two wins out of four.
And that's all she write for busto_soon and Team Netherlands as he finished in 2nd place to Poland's Borys313. Borys313's pocket fours held up against busto_soon's Ac-9d on a board of 7d-Js-8h-Kd-6d for the win and 20 points for Team Poland.
9:43am - Europe III
After a tough heads-up battle, Luigi da BP (Hungary) has finally finished off Partorg (Latvia) over at TLB1. On the final hand, Luigi da BP picked up Kh-Jc and raised enough to put Partorg all in, and Partorg called with Ac-6s. The flop was Qc-3h-7d, and Partorg was momentarily safe. The turn brought the Js, though, and the 8c on the river was no help.
Luigi da BP claims 20 points for Hungary, while Partorg picks up 15 for Latvia.
9:42 AM - Europe II
Heads-up all over the place! With Danmc_MB's elimination in 3rd place on FR1, BartekPL and auercan are heads-up, with auercan holding a significant chip lead. Busto_soon is looking at an uphill battle in his heads-up match with Borys313 over on TLB1, as Borys313 has him outchipped 11,700 to 3300.
9:40am-- Rest of the World
FR1 table is now heads up between El Wayneo (New Zealand) and islamei (Japan) with nearly even chips as the blinds at 100/200 ante 25. TLB2 table is three handed between rjmgrace (New Zealand), Dutchschult (Korea), and Charmer1973 (Phillipines). FR2 is also three-handed between BOILIN WATER (Australia), IamJK (Korea), and putiko248 (Japan).
9:38am - Germany
SmArTdOg1970 just claimed Table FR2 for Germany 1. He only had a slight advantage over DeepBlue3112 (Nordrhein-Westfalia) when the hand began, but the combination of a sweet starting hand and helpful flop meant SmArTdOg1970 gobbled all of the chips. See how the hand played out:
9:35 AM - Europe II
After moving all in on every hand since the break, Gusto_Frutta finally fell at the hands of ufcen07. The last surviving member of Team Estonia picked up 11 points for his team, while ufcen07 went into heads-up play with morderbest with nearly a 3:1 chip lead.
9:35am - Europe III
On Table FR1, brsariego just knocked out missjazz83 in third place. Both were short-stacked, and in a blind-vs.-blind battle brsariego pushed with Ac-5c and missjazz83 called with Qs-Jh. The board came 3h-Ah-Kc-Jc-2d, and missjazz83 goes out in third, grabbing 11 points for Latvia.
That leaves brsariego -- playing for Spain -- with a steep uphill climb ahead of him versus the chip leader, lepkeke (Hungary). lepkeke currently has more than 11,000 chips to brsariego's 3,764.
9:33am – Rest of the World
Point update for TLB1 table:
Australia 20 points
China 15 points
New Zealand 11 points
Korea 8 points
Lebanon 6 points
Japan 4 points
Armenia 3 points
Taiwan 2 points
Phillippines 1 point
South Africa 0 points.
9:32 AM - Europe II
And we have a winner!
After a tough heads-up match Vienna Bundy finally dispatched CaMaroH when his Kd-10s held up against CaMaroH's Qs-10d on a board of 9s-Ah-2c-Kh-8s. Even with the King on the turn, CaMaroH was still live to a Jack on the river. But it was not to be, as Vienna Bundy picks up a whopping 20 points for Team Austria, while CaMaroH finishes out Team Belarus' run with a 15-point finish.
9:31am - Europe 1
If it was heads-up play that Dihxm wanted, he's got it now. TLB1 is now down to a battle between Sweden and Italy, as mm-nh has eliminated Jeffray73 from the tournament. Jeffray73 pushed pre-flop with Ad-8s and mm-nh waisted no time calling with his pocket Kings, and successfully dodged a King on board to take the chips and lead us to heads-up play.
9:26am - Germany
DeepBlue3112 (Nordrhein-Westfalia) and SmArTdOg1970 (Germany 1) are now heads up on Table FR2, with both players about even in chips with approximately 4,500 apiece. So far, the Nordrhein-Westfalia team has had two fourth-place finishes, so DeepBlue3112's deep run is certainly helping out their cause. Meanwhile, the Germany 1 team has had a first (Boku87) and a sixth (or last)
(joscha45), so they are also glad to see their teammate SmArTdOg1970 grabbing some points here.
9:24am - Europe I
And just like that, TLB1 is down to three players as Iceland's CASINOICE and Portugal's eduardodufas exit the tournament in rapid succession.
Remaining to battle it out are Dihxm, Italy's mm-nh, and Belgium's Jeffray73. From the looks of things, Sweden's Dihxm is ready to get things heads-up quickly (or he's just had a monster run of cards), putting his opponents to the test with massive raises one after the other. They've chosen to fold... for now.
9:22am – Rest of the World
Updates on the tables: TLB2 now sitting seven handed after rjmgrace’s Ad-Qd overcame the pocket eights of yclin on the river to send the Taiwan team member home in eighth place. They are now down to six players with the blinds at 100/200.
TLB1 table is three hands thanks to the buzzsaw known as Andy McLEOD, ok make that heads up, Andy just eliminated another player, or good grief make him the winner in three consecutive hands he took down PokerofWind, bismillahno, and danielfun in three hands to win the full twenty points for the PokerRoos.
9:21 AM - Europe II
Ireland's eyes might not be smiling as their last player just headed to the rail. j.thaddeus made a good run at TLB2, but fell in 4th place to finish out Team Ireland. Mere moments after that, Vienna Bundy took out xbelieverx the last surviving member of Team Finland at TLB 2. Vienna Bundy is now heads-up with Belarus' CaMaroH with more than a 5:1 chip lead.
9:20am - Germany
Our second table (of four) has now completed in the Germany division, with xxB 52xx taking first place and the coveted 20 points for the Berlin team. On the tournament's final hand, a short-stacked BongBob pushed his last 2,185 in the middle from the button with 8h-6h, and xxB 52xx called with Kd-Jc. The board came 4d-10d-Kh-5d-Kc, giving xxB 52xx all the chips.
BongBob nets 15 points for the Germany 2 team for his second place finish.
9:20am - Europe I
FR2 is down to just three remaining players; action having moved fast and furious in this first hour of play. Those that remain are:
Currently gvilla2 has the lead with just under 7,000 in chips, while EMINEM_T is the short stack with just under 3,000. These players will fight it out to see which country will be the first to claim a victory in these divisional finals today and rack up big points for their country.
9:17 AM - Europe II
And that's it for the Danes. With vegie1999's 5th place finish on TLB2, Team Denmark is done for the day. Now all that remains is to see if their 11 points is good enough for a trip to the Finals, but it's not looking good right now.
9:15am – Rest of the World
The PokerRoos are looking good in the early showing here as Andy McLEOD just eliminated sgt hashkat in sixth place on the TBL1 table when they both had a top pair of queens, but Andy’s Q-kicker was behind the sarge’s K-kicker until the Qs hit the turn and gave Andy the win on the 9s-Js-4s-Qs-3d board with two pair. The Armenia team picked up four points for his sixth place finish.
9:12am - Europe III
We are down to heads up at TLB1 in the Europe III division, with Luigi da BP (Hungary) holding a massive chip advantage over Partorg (Latvia) -- about 13,000 to 1,500.
9:10 am – Rest of the World
Andy McLEOD grabs some more points for the PokerRoos as he just eliminated lylpin of the Taiwan team in seventh place when his gutshot straight draw with Jc-4d missed on the turn of As-2s-3d-Jd but his jack paired up to overcome the pocket eights of lyplin. The Taiwan team member picked up three points for his team in seventh.
9:09 AM - Europe II
Then there were four. It didn't take long after the break for Table FR1 to thin out. First the dead stack of Ireland's ellens was busted, earning 4 points for Team Ireland. Then Belarus' SnakeSpirit headed to the rail in 5th place, picking up 6 points for Team Belarus.
9:08am - Germany
BongBob (Germany 2) and xxB 52xx (Berlin) were just all in preflop versus each other over at table TLB1 in the Germany division. When both players revealed pocket queens, an "lol" appeared in the chatbox, followed by Sachsen player Rennwurm's facetious call:
Rennwurm: QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ
9:03am - Europe III
During the first break, amichaiKK (Switzerland) jokingly asked the other three players remaining at his table if they were interested in chopping. Obviously, there will be no chops today. All players' finishes will translate into points for their respective teams. First place nets 20 pts., one gets 15 for second, 11 for third, 8 for fourth, 6 for fifth, 4 for sixth, 3 for 7th, 2 for 8th, 1 for 9th, and none for 10th. Here is a full explanation of the scoring system for the World Cup.
9:00 AM - Europe II
Going into the first break, the four tables of Europee II have seen a wild ride. While TLB 1 still has eight of the original ten players, TLB 2 has thinned the field all the way down to six-handed action, with early chip leader Vienna Bundy holding on to the top spot. FR1 is down to seven players, with Ireland's ellens yet to show up for the event! Even without playing, ellens' chair has guaranteed at least 3 points for Ireland.
Table FR2 is playing eight-handed with Gusta_Frutta putting on a display of power poker just before the break to finish in the top spot.
8:57am - Europe III
Play continues to be hotly contested at the four tables in the Europe III division. These four all began ten-handed. TLB1 has seen five players eliminated thus far, with Luigi da BP (Hungary) currently holding the chip lead. TLB2 has only seen one player knocked out. There VARICO (Spain) holds a small advantage over his tablemates.
Over on FR1, six players are left, and wfox007 (Slovakia) has the lead. Meanwhile, seven players remain at FR2, with dlighted1 (Lithuania) and looserSR (Slovakia) at the top of the leaderboard.
8:53am - Rest of the World –
Just before the break islamei and wollongong_i got into a blind versus blind tangle on the FR1 table as islamei trapped the Aussie Wollongong_i with a flopped set of threes versus the middle pair of fives on the 9s-5h-3h-2c-Qd board to send him home.
8:53am - Europe I
Sweden just picked up 3 points, courtesy of Norway's ToneLA111 and a river Queen.
With just under 800 in chips, AJES74 saw Ad-Jd as a great hand to make a move with, and raised pre-flop to 300. ToneLA111 hit back to 900, putting AJES74 all-in with the call.
Things were looking good for the Swede, the Ace was going to hold up and a double-up was coming... until that river hit. AJES74 finished FR2 in 7th place.
8:52am - Rest of the World
TLB1 table has its first elimination as Jaguar got his remaining 576 chips into the middle preflop with the blinds at 50/100 and folded around to PokerofWind in the big blind who made the call. Pocket eights for PokerofWind, Ah-3h for Jaguar, the big cat caught a decent Th-9h-Kd flop, but couldn’t connect for the flush and the South African is out in ninth place.
Rest of the World – 8:50am
BULLLLDOOOOOOOOOZER!! Wow. While the other three tables haven’t even had an elimination, BOILIN WATER for the PokerRoos is bent on getting max points out his table as he eliminated mailhyip of the Chinese team on a bit of a suckout snagging a queen on the flop to match his As-Qs to overcome the Ad-Kd of mailhyip. As the board ran out 3d-Qc-6s-9c-8c to boost BOILIN WATER’s chip count to 7,280
8:46 AM - Europe II
the dominos keep falling as we've lost another freeroll player, another TLB player, and now yet another freeroll player busted when simmovich's pocket tens couldn't find any help against BartekPL's pocket Aces. Nothing unexpected happened, and then there were seven.
8:46 am - Germany
Our first table in the Germany Division (TLB1) has completed, with Boku87 (Germany 1) taking first place. The table was three-handed for a while, with AjaxAchill (Germany 2) and D.Nowitzki (Berlin) both short-stacked. AjaxAchill took care of D.Nowitzki, though was still under 1,000 chips after doing so.
On the very next hand, both players got it all in on a flop of 6c-10s-Js. AjaxAchill had 6s-4s, giving him a pair and a flush draw, but Boku87 had 9s-2s for a higher flush draw. The 7s on the turn brought the flush, and AjaxAchill was drawing dead.
Boku87 picks up 20 points for Germany 1 with the victory, while AjaxAchill claims 15 points for Germany 2 for his runner-up finish. D.Nowitzki gets 11 points for Berlin for finishing third.
8:43am - Europe 1Nitram_10 has knocked out another player from today's event, this time Greece's sfaktis. With an Ace on the flop sfaktis pushed all-in with pocket Kings and Nitram_10 wasted no time calling him with As-6h. A third Ace on the river hit to seal the deal and send sfaktis out in 8th place in FR1; earning 2 points today for his team.
8:43 AM - Europe II
Table TLB 2 just lost another one when Estonia's madiso took a rough beat from Austria's Vienna Bundy. All the money went in on the ace-high flop, with madiso holding the lead with A-10 to Vienna Bundy's pocket queens. The turn reversed the pendulum, as a Queen peeled off and left madiso in dire straits. No help on the river, and madiso picked up 2 points for team Estonia.
8:42am - Europe I
So it's the World Cup of Poker and you've made it to the Divisional Finals... you're feeling pretty good about your game and you're proud to represent your country and take your team to the next level.
You sign on, ready to go, get seated at your table and then see... two Supernovas at your table?? Seated side-by-side no less?
Players at the TLB1 table were greeted with exactly that upon seating today. Both AABenjaminAA and bjolla carry the elusive red stars which indicate they certainly know their way around the virtual felt. Tough competition for sure, but the players that have made it this far are no slouches in their own right.
For their parts, no doubt bjolla and AABenjaminAA would prefer to not have a fellow supernova right next door in today's event either.
8:37am - Germany
We just had a major shift in chips over on TLB1, where AjaxAchill (Germany 2) had been holding court. Boku87 (Germany 1) just claimed most of AjaxAchill's chips in this hand:
8:37 AM - Europe IISuperbrono played his short stack well, but couldn't overcome his early deficit and busted in 9th place when his As-Qh was outflopped by fellow short stack Supa4real's 10s-9s. The flop came down all spades, and superbrono was looking for one more to make his nut flush. It was not to be, and he was done in 9th place.
8:36am - Europe I We've seen two more players exit the field; Greece's kalamitsis and Portugal's filipebap.
filipebap went out with Qc-8c versus As-Kc from eatyourstac, who took his screen name quite literally. filipebap was unable to hit anything on the board while eatyourstac rivered a King.
8:25am - Germany
Unam1337 (of the Saschsen squad) was just eliminated by AjaxAchill (Germany II). Holding Jc-7s, a series of raises and reraises saw Unan1337 getting it all in on a flop of 4d-Js-3d versus AjaxAchill's Jd-Td flush draw. The Kd came on the turn, and Ad on the river just rubbed further salt in the would. Unam1337 is out, and AjaxAchill currently is enjoying the chip lead at the now five-handed table.
8:24am - Rest of the World
BOILIN WATER just sent another competitor out of the race to reach the Bahamas. After the flop of 5d-Td-6s, he got it all-in versus Jubinator from the New Zealand team. Set of tens for BOILIN WATER and sadly pocket jacks for Jubinator who didn’t get the re-suck and with 9c and 3h coming on the turn and river to end his day. BOILIN WATER is now sitting on 4,345 chips.
8:24 AM - Europe II
Team Netherlands has lost its first member as Donkey_C moved all in over the top of SnakeSpirit's preflop raise with pocket nines, only to get the snap-call from SnakeSpirit, who tabled pocket Jacks. No help for Donkey_C, and he heads to the rail pointless.
– 8:20am - Rest of the Worl
Alarm clock not set? kimsurnhong of the Korean team and Roppongi Guy of the Japan team seem to have missed the starting alarm this morning (or evening) and have been sitting out currently.
Europe II -- 8:18 am Another on bites the bust. Sometimes it's just hard to get away from a good board. That's what happened to Estonia's sitkusevend when he turned two pair with 9-3 from the big blind. He moved all in on the turn, but found himself staring right into the fac of Devil42's flopped set of fives. No help on the river and TLB Table 1 for Europe II has it's first casualty.
8:15am - Rest of the World
First Elimination
gumasta from the Philippines caught a bit of a cooler when all-in preflop for his tournament life in a 2,925 chip pot against BOILIN WATER of the PokerRoos. Ah-Ac for BOILIN WATER and Ad-Kd for gumasta. The board ran out 5h-8d-Qh-5c-3c to send gumasta out.
8:13am - Europe III
Over on Table FR2, we had four limpers see a suited flop of 7d-9d-Td. Rompe1946 (Spain) bet 60, cooky962 (Hungary) raised to 400, the others folded and Rompe1946 made the call. The turn was the 9s, pairing the board. Rompe1946 checked, cooky962 bet 380, and Rompe1946 called. The river brought the Ac. Rompe1946 went all in with his last 650 chips, and cooky962 called with his last 610. Rompe1946 showed Qd-5d for the flopped flush, while cooky962 had 8c-6h for the straight.
cooky962 hits the rail.
8:12am - Europe I
We have our first elimination from this division, from the FR1 tournament. Bulgaria's beginner138 had his stack decimated when his A-K couldn't compete against Nitram_10's Q-K with a 9c-Qc-Kd flop. That hand left beginner138 with just 109 in chips and looking for a place to make a move.
A few hands later he found Ad-9s UTG and pushed all in with his remaining 79 chips. Three callers, with Israel's cutio holding the winning hand with Ac-6d and a rivered straight.
-8:10am Rest of the World - Starting Out Just Fine
On the TLB table 1, the play has been quiet so far with no huge pots being shipped. WCOOP bracelet winner Andy McLEOD is representing Australia this morning and currently sitting on 1,290 chips.
8:09 AM - Europe II
Our first casualty - after losing a huge pot with top pair against xbelieverx's flopped set, Poland's kAmIkAdZeEe got the last of his chips in the middle and lost out when Vienna Bundy flopped top pair with Kd-Qd on a Queen-high board. Poland will need a strong showing from their other performers to have a shot at a trip to the Bahamas.
8:06am - Europe III
Ten different teams are competing today to see who advances from Europe III: France, Switzerland, Spain, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, and Latvia.
8:05am - Germany
Six teams are competing to see who will represent Division Germany. We've only seen one elimination thus far here in the early going, as player TomTomSnow lost all of his chips with As-Ks versus nobody I's pocket rockets to go out in sixth on table FR1.
8:05 AM --- Europe II
The Europe II division teams (Austria, Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Finalnd, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Turkey) have wasted no time getting into the action In one of the very first hands, Austria's Vienna Bundy turned the nut flush against Slovenia's superbrono for a huge early pot, leaving superbrono with just 1/3 of his starting stack and an uphill climb in front of him.
8:03am --- Europe I
Action has begun in the Europe 1 divisional finals, and the chips are already flying across the felt as players represent their country in the bid for sweet Bahaman sun.
The Europe I division consists of Sweden, Norway, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, Greece, Israel, Iceland, Czech Republic, and Bulgaria.
8:00am -- Good Morning World!
Welcome to the 2008 PokerStars World Cup! This morning we will be bringing you live coverage of the Divisional Finals between the following divisions: Germany, Europe I, II, and III, and the "Rest of the World" division which includes: Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, NEw Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, and Taiwan.
We have a new PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final champion: Martin Rowe, from Sydney Australia. Rowe becomes poker’s newest millionaire. It was all one-way traffic for the new champion who systematically knocked out his challengers one by one at the final table.
In the last hand of the tournament Jason Gray limped in on the button and Rowe immediately raised it to 250,000. Jason quickly announced all-in and Martin just as quickly called and tabled A-Q. Jason sighed and turned over 9-5. The crowd was taken by surprise as the battle had been tight for many hours.
The flop came down A-Q-5 and the turn bought a 9. This gave both players two-pair but Jason would have to hit one of four outs if he was to stay alive. The river didn’t bring a miracle for Jason and Martin Rowe raised his arms in triumph.
Martin Rowe, Australia's newest million-dollar man
Gray fought bravely and came back from a huge chip deficit to claim around 40 per cent of the chips at one stage. The runner-up cheque of AUD $476,000 may ease a little of the pain of coming so close to a major title in his home city.
Martin Rowe is not a professional poker player, but may have to consider his position in the insurance industry after equalling PokerStars sponsored player Grant Levy's feat from last year. Even though he has had some encouraging results in smaller tournaments both here at Star City and at Crown Casino in Melbourne, this is without doubt, the highlight of his poker career.
An emotional Martin came over to thank Jason for the great heads-up battle.
“Thanks, mate. That was really tough. When you came back at me I wasn’t feeling well at all. I was feeling dizzy and knew I wasn’t right. After I had that last drink I started getting a few cards and I just knew I had to hang in there. I was lucky my hands held up there at the end,” he said.
A little later he talked to the Pokerstars video team...
Just when we thought the PokerStars.net APPT High Roller event might overtake the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final, runaway chip leader Martin Rowe has just eliminated another two players to set-up a heads-up battle with fellow Sydneysider Jason Gray.
After the dinner break it didn’t take long for Antonio Fazzolari and chip leader Rowe to tangle in a monster pot. The betting was furious on the turn when Fazzolari made two-pair and Rowe semi-bluffed hard into the pot with an up and down flush draw.
Rowe thought long and hard about calling Fazzolari’s last 350,000 even though there was around two million in the pot. The river didn’t bring one of the eight outs Rowe needed and Fazzolari won a massive pot taking him to 2.5 million in chips and a clear second chip leader behind Rowe.
It's all over for Antonio Fazzolari
Rowe got a big chunk of his chips back against Fazzolari. Rowe played aces softly and kept calling Fazzolari’s advances. A dangerous river card slowed down Fazzolari who only made a small bet on the river. It was quickly called by Rowe, whose aces beat Fazzolari’s top pair.
Then Antonio’s run came to an end at the hands of Rowe. Fazzolari was short on chips and pushed in with A-2. Rowe called him immediately with A-K. There was no reprieve for Fazzolari and when the board blanked out 7c-5h-Jh-8s-10s.
Tony Basile was the highest finishing international, in third
Less than five minutes later, Martin Rowe found pocket kings against Tony Basile’s A-K. All the money went in pre-flop and when no ace found its way onto the felt (Jd-4c-9h-6c-Qc), we lost the likable Canadian in third spot.
Rowe takes an almost 5:1 chip lead into the heads-up battle but Gray, the most experienced player at the final table, is far from a spent force. Cheered on by friends and family including celebrated Aussie poker pro Billy 'The Croc' Argyros, Gray is settling in for a long battle.
There’s an awesome buzz around Star City Casino tonight – big money up for grabs, top pros battling it out at final tables, high-stakes cash games heaving and the players’ party about to kick-off.
Having just celebrated out final visit to the Garden Buffet and gorged down the last of the bread and butter pudding in record time, here’s a quick wrap-up of what’s going on around the room tonight.
• The PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final is into level 25, with blinds at 30,000/60,000 with a 5000 ante. Martin Rowe is a huge chip leader (5.5 million ahead of Sydney pro Jason Gray (1.6 million), Canada’s Tony Basile (1.1 million) and Antonio Fazzolari (1.1 million). Rowe is ideally positioned to keep the APPT Grand Final title in Sydney after Grant Levy’s win last year.
• The $3000 heads-up event has reached round three with players progressing from round two including David Steicke (who defeated last night’s $1000 NLHE event winner Team PokerStars Pro Chris Moneymaker), Joon Hee Yeh, Bill Jordanou (after a surprise win over Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson), Roy Vandersluis and Terrence Chan.
Bill Jordanou wiped the smile from Lee Nelson's face
The prize pool for the heads-up event is AUD $41,520 for first, AUD $23,700 for second, $15,360 for third and $15,360 for fourth.
• We’re down to four in the PokerStars.net APPT Sydney High Roller event after the first hour of play. The five players to be assured a cash were Andrew Pantling (270,000), Jarred Graham (190,000), Sam Korman (190,000), Adriano Cendron (75,000) and Jeff Lisandro (58,000).
Sam Korman is on a charge in the High Roller
Graham crippled Lisandro with aces against jacks to send the 2007 WSOP bracelet winner to the rail in fifth.
Then ‘Colonel’ Sam Korman used kings to remove his closest rival Andrew Pantling (jacks) in third, to give the Melbourne veteran a massive chip lead over Graham and Cendron. They’re playing for a first prize of AUD $222,000.
Martin Rowe, the local insurance man, has been the big mover in the past hour to take a big chip lead into the dinner break with just four players remaining in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.
More and more fans are crowding around the final table as Rowe climbs to more than four million in chips. He has played very solid poker and has started to increase his tempo and pick up some chips. He won a very nice pot against Antonio Fazzolari when he flopped a set of fives and Fazzolari was lucky not to lose more chips when he made two-pair on the river.
He then sent Frank Saffioti to the rail; a player who has brought plenty of colour and excitement to the tournament today with his large supporter group. Saffioti pushed in all of his chips against Rowe when he hit an ace on the flop (Ac-6s-7s). His A-Q, however, was far behind Rowe who had hit yet another small set (sevens).
The turn card was the best in the deck for Frank (Qc), giving him two-pair and a flush draw but the river was a blank (9d) and Saffioti departed.
Then on the final hand before the dinner break, Tim English bowed out in fifth position. Holding A-K, the final PokerStars qualifier in the field shoved all his chips in on a rainbow flop of 2-9-10. Rowe thought long and hard before calling with Q-J. English was in front, but Rowe had plenty of outs.
The final PokerStars qualifier, Tim English, is out
A jack on the turn was enough to knock out the youngest remaining player. Rowe now has more than 5.5 million, well over half the chips in play. Blinds will be at 30,000/60,000 with a 500 ante when players return.
For a guy without any real major tournament experience, Antonio Fazzolari is looking surprisingly composed and continues to control the final table at the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. He continues to lead the field but behind him, the chips continue to be shuffled around the table.
The remaining six have some very contrasting styles. Gray and Rowe at one end of the table seem content to sit and wait for their opportunities. At the other end of the table the Italian duo of Fazzolari and Saffioti are both showing plenty of aggression and are continuing to serve up the pressure on their more experienced opposition.
Frank Saffioti could be the next face of Aussie poker
If anything, the crowd is bigger now than when play started, with solid cheering sections for five of the remaining six players (we’re doing what we can for the Canadian Tony Basile).
Gray’s fans just had reason to cheer when he took down a huge pot against the aggressive Saffioti. Jason found pocket aces against Saffioti’s A-K. Gray let Saffioti do all the betting in the hand. Saffioti pushed all-in on the turn and Jason snap called and, to his delight, found that Saffioti was drawing dead on a board that filled out 3c-7c-10s-7d-Jd. The pot takes Gray to nearly 1.5 million in chips while Saffioti is back to just 500,000.
Jason Gray stacks up Frank Saffioti's chips after his aces held up
With the three early eliminations there are plenty of chips in play and it will take some time for the blinds to catch up. Last year’s APPT Grand Final winner, PokerStars Sponsored player Grant Levy has just popped over to check on the action.
“In a few hours I won’t be the champ anymore. Jason Gray is a good friend and a very solid player but Antonio Fazzolari has plenty of chips and is an exciting player and would make an excellent champion,” Levy said.
With about five minutes remaining at level 23, blinds will soon pop up to 20,000/40,000 with an ante of 5000. The small blind now represents the starting stack of each entrant!
Australia has a strong Italian influence thanks to the massive influx of migrants after World War II. That influence has flowed over into today’s final table, as three of the participants recently discovered.
Three of the player’s heritages lie in the Calabria region in the south of Italy. Antonio Fazzolari, Frank Saffioti and Tony Basile make up the trio – this final table could end up sounding like one of Tony Soprano’s home games!
Two of those three are the aggressors so far – a strategy that has worked for chip leader Antonio Fazzolari but has sent the stack of Frank Saffioti almost down to the felt.
In contrast, Daniel Kowalski featured in the opening pot of the tournament but has been barely sighted – indeed, he’s barely moved at all – so far in the opening two levels. However, he’s just made a move: out of his chair and out of the tournament in seventh position.
Daniel Kowalski gets outkicked, then kicked out
Four players saw a flop, which included an ace. Saffioti, who was first to speak, led out at the flop and was called by the others. The turn brought another low card and it was quickly checked around to Kowalski on the button. Kowalski bet 60,000 into a pot of around 400,000 and Saffioti immediately moved all-in.
Fazzolari and Rowe quickly folded and the action came back to Kowalski who pushed in his final 300,000. Both players had an ace but Kowalski had severe kicker problems and when the river failed to bring a 9 it was all over for the Pole.
We also lost Hai Bo Chu in eighth position. The well credentialled Melburnian picked up a gutshot draw on the flop after he called a small raise from Rowe in early position.
PokerStars qualifier Hai Bo Chu finished seventh
Chu, who was first to act, checked the flop and shoved over the top of Rowe who led strongly at the 10-high flop. Rowe wasted no time calling and turned over pocket queens. The remaining two cards didn’t help Chu and he was the second player to depart the tournament arena.
“I was starting to get low on chips and was looking for a good spot to be aggressive. I didn’t have him that strong and thought I would get him out on that flop,” he said. Blinds will be at level 23 (15,000/30,000 with a 5000 ante) after players take a quick break.
Welcome to our final table coverage of the 2008 PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. Cards are in the air on a massive day here, with a new poker millionaire to be anointed later today.
This is the most intimate setting of any APPT final table played so far. The feature table has been set up in the foyer area of one of the two theatres here at Star City, and bleachers have been set up. They are packed to capacity, and unlike events like the WSOP, the crowd are close enough to the table to see every heartbeat and twitch.
There's a great atmosphere around the final table
Meanwhile in the main poker area, the $3000 heads-up event has attracted a stellar field including Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem, Chris Moneymaker, Lee Nelson and Vanessa Rousso plus PokerStars Sponsored players Grant Levy, Van Marcus and Emad Tahtouh plus David Saab, David Steicke, James Obst and Graeme Putt.
And later tonight, the top five players who’ve made the money in the $15,000 APPT Sydney High Roller event will return to decide who will take home the first prize of AUD $222,000. Canadian Andrew Pantling, Jeff Lisandro and Jarred Graham remain in the running for that title, which will decide at 6pm tonight (play finished at 8am this morning)!
With blinds at level 21 (10,000/20,000 with a 3000 ante) and the tournament only a few hands old we have lost Tom Rafferty in ninth position. In a remarkable hand (given the even stacks at the start of the final table), Rafferty raised in the cut-off and Fazzolari called on the button.
Tom Rafferty's early move comes up short
The blinds folded and players saw the flop come A-10-7 with two clubs. Rafferty fired a pot-sized bet at the flop and was instantly raised by Fazzolari. Rafferty just as quickly moved all-in and Fazzolari called with top two-pair. Rafferty turned over a flush draw and was left desperately searching for a club to hit the board.
The turn and river bought no joy for the young Australian as Fazzolari raked in a huge pot giving him a commanding chip lead with a stack of more than three million. Blinds are about to go up to level 22 (12,000/24,000 with a 4000 ante).
The final table line-up for the 2008 PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final has been decided, and the odds remain firmly in place that another local will be crowned champion. Seven of the nine players are Aussies, with Daniel Kowalski (a UK based Pole) and Canada’s Tony Basile representing the internationals.
Michael Guzzardi bubbled the final table when he pushed in the last of his extremely short stack pre-flop and was joined by Hai Bo Chu and Antonio Fazzolari.
Play was checked down on a board of 7c-Ad-4d-Jc-2s before Fazzolari showed pocket fives, Chu edged ahead with pocket sixes while Guzzardi’s 10d-3h completely missed.
Despite losing that hand, Fazzolari remains chip leader ahead of Jason Gray and Tom Rafferty. There are three PokerStars Online Qualifiers (Chu, Kowalski and Tim English) at the final table. We look forward to bringing you all the action at the final table from 1.30pm local time.
Seat 1: Martin Rowe, Australia (995,000 in chips): A self employed local from North Sydney, this 34-year-old insurance worker has been playing poker for three years. In his first PokerStars.net APPT event, Martin goes into the final table 3rd in chips. A regular at Star City, Martin has also played and cashed in preliminary events at the Aussie Millions.
Seat 2: Jason Gray, Sydney (1,188,000 in chips): Don’t let the calm exterior or quiet demeanour of this poker pro fool you. He’s been playing poker full-time for three years but has featured in the nation’s biggest cash games for more than two decades. His best tournament results have come in the past 18 months – he won the $15,000 buy-in event at the 2007 Victorian Championships for more than AUD $125,000, then placed third in the $10,000 Omaha Hi/Lo Split World Championship at the 2008 WSOP for more than USD $200,000.
Seat 3: Tony Basile 863,000 in chips: A 39-year-old racehorse owner from Canada bought in directly to this year’s PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. Playing poker for the last 15 years, his career highlight was placing 309th from a field of 6844 in this year’s World Series of Poker main event. Heading into the final table 7th in chips he hopes to make the APPT Grand Final his first major win.
Seat 4: Timothy English (945,000 in chips): This 23-year-old science student from Melbourne’s Glen Iris qualified online at PokerStars in a Last Chance Qualifier last Monday. In his first big tournament he is ecstatic to have made the final 9 and will be cheered on by his mates who fly up from Melbourne on Sunday morning, ensuring he has plenty of support to take the title. He currently sits 6th in chips heading into the final day.
Seat 5: Daniel Kowalski, Poland (959,000 in chips): Not to be confused with the Aussie swimming great, 35-year old Pole Daniel Kowalski has been playing poker for a mere six months. In his first major tournament, Daniel is fifth heading into the final table having won his seat to Sydney on PokerStars. A self employed business man, Daniel resides in England. The APPT Grand Final in Sydney is his first tournament down under.
Seat 6: Frank Saffioti, Australia/Italy (790,000 in chips): This 37-year-old Australian born Italian has been playing poker for three years. A local of Sydney beachside suburb Seaforth, Frank owns a traditional Italian Restaurant in Sydney. Considering himself a poker enthusiast, Frank won his seat in a satellite on PokerStars and lies sixth in chips heading into the final table.
Seat 7: Tom Rafferty (1,101,000 in chips): Originally from Canberra, Tom Rafferty now calls Sydney home. This 24-year-old has been playing poker professionally for 16 months and is celebrating his tournament debut in perfect fashion – with a final table appearance and enough chips and determination to go all the way to the title. Tom is part of the new online poker generation and is excited to potentially become the next PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final Champion.
Seat 8: Antonio Fazzolari (1,775,000 in chips): Claiming to “invent the game,” Antonio is no newcomer to poker. The 58-year-old Melbourne resident, who owned a poker club in Jersey where Phil Ivey used to play, is chip leader heading into the final table. The retired engineer moved to Australia eight years ago and is looking forward to the chance to take out Sydney’s biggest poker tournament.
Seat 9: Hai Bo Chu (781,000 in chips): Qualifying on PokerStars for just $11, this marketing executive from Templestone in Melbourne will be cheered on from the stands by wife Bomi. Hai Bo has been playing poker for the last five years, however it has really started to pay off in the past 12 months – 186th in the WSOP Main Event, pocketing USD $38,600 for his efforts and taking out the Melbourne Champs main event last year for $100,000. Heading into the final table as the short-stacked player, Hai Bo will be looking for chips early in the day in order to become the next PokerStars.net APPT champion.
It is an exciting time in poker for national pride. The World Cup of Poker gives nine nations the opportunity to play for global recognition and the title of world championship team. In addition, the participants of each of the nine teams going to the finals are in for an unforgettable experience, courtesy of PokerStars.
The World Cup of Poker reaches a climactic point tomorrow as 54 countries compete in the much-anticipated Divisional Playoffs. Over the past few weeks, players have played freeroll after freeroll for the chance to be in this position, and as the levels of the World Cup challenge came ever closer to the Playoffs, the tournaments got tougher and more contentious. As the fun of poker consumed them week after week, the tension also rose as the ultimate prize began to come into view.
That prize we speak of is a coveted seat at the World Cup of Poker V live final tournament, the one that will crown one national team the internationally recognized team of champions. And to get there is half the fun, as nine teams of four players each will be flown to the Bahamas, more precisely the luxurious Atlantis Resort & Casino. All-expenses-paid prize packages will fly each of the members of the final teams to the island where the World Cup of Poker will play out alongside the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA).
The Divisional Playoffs on Sunday, December 7th, will result in those nine teams being decided and learning more about their prize packages. It is the stuff of dreams, so you can believe that each of the players in the nine divisions will be playing their hearts out tomorrow. The playoff times are as follows:
Division Germany: 8:00am ET
Division Europe I: 8:00am ET
Division Europe 2: 8:00am ET
Division Europe 3: 8:00am ET
Division Rest of World: 8:00am ET
Division United Kingdom: 9:00am ET
Division Latin America: 1:00pm ET
Division Canada: 3:00pm ET
Division USA: 3:00pm ET
Right from the beginning, the PokerStars reporting team will be on the case, watching the action and live blogging the best (and worst) of it right here on the PokerStars blog. So stay with us from the early morning hours of Saturday until the last tournament is completed, and cheer on your team of choice as they compete in the Divisional Playoffs.
In the meantime, check out the winner page from 2007 (USA) to see just what type of prestige and excitement awaits the ultimate winning team. And visit the World Cup of Poker V page for additional info.
With the elimination of Emanuel ‘Curly’ Seal and Richard Holmes, the remaining eight players have been condensed into a single table for the run to the money in the PokerStars.net APPT Sydney High Roller event.
Holmes (Q-J) fell to the pocket queens of Jarred flopnutsonyou Graham after the board fell 4-7-J-A-8. Graham, a 19-year-old from Adelaide in South Australia, is firmly ranked inside Australia’s top 10 online players.
Jarred Graham is well placed for a breakthrough result
The single table now comprises Masa Kagawa (100,000), Tony Dunst (50,000), Adriano Cendron (90,000), Jeff Lisandro (30,000), Sam Korman (70,000), Jarred Graham (160,000), Andrew Pantling (150,000) and Chad Brown (80,000).
We should also mention that another side event wrapped up tonight – a $1000 No Limit Hold’em tournament – and the winner was Team PokerStars Pro Chris Moneymaker.
Sydney seems to agree with Chris. He’s been a regular fixture in the poker room for cash games and tournaments and said after winning that he would love to keep coming back to Sydney for this event. Well played, sir.
John Juanda has been a great supporter of the APPT, with appearances in both Macau events, Manila and now Sydney. The man who won the WSOP Europe main event will be free to check out the sights of the town after being eliminated from the APPT Sydney High Roller event by 'Colonel' Sam Korman.
Other players to fall by the wayside in the past hour were James Andy McLEOD Obst, who check-raised all-in on a flush draw but Adriano Cendron’s pocket aces held up.
Grant Levy’s tournament ended when he failed to fill a flush draw of his own against Richard Holmes and Wooka Kim bowed out when Jarred Graham flopped a set of 10s against her A-Q.
The two tables of five players have a very different dynamic – there’s very little banter between Dunst, Holmes, Kagawa, Pantling and Graham but on the other table, Chad Brown and Jeff Lisandro are deep in discussion about the Oscar De La Hoya v Manny Pacquiao fight scheduled for tomorrow.
Chad talks up a storm with Jeff Lisandro between hands
He might not be the most verbose player in poker but find a topic that interests Lisandro and he’ll talk the legs off a chair. The blinds are now at 500/1000 (ante 100) with 10 players remaining.
Chip count (approximate) at the end of level 9
Andrew Pantling 125,000
Jarred Graham 110,000
Richard Holmes 85,000
Adriano Cendron 80,000
Sam Korman 80,000
Chad Brown 70,000
Masa Kagawa 60,000
Tony Dunst 55,000
Jeff Lisandro 25,000
Emanuel Seal 20,000
2.45am on a Sunday morning at Star City Casino in Sydney – the railbirds and punters are well refreshed, there’s enough skin on show for an X-rating and the security guards are busier than a termite in a sawmill.
After two very quiet levels (read: no eliminations), three players have been eliminated in quick succession as the PokerStars.net APPT Sydney High Roller ticks into level eight with 12 of the 37 players remaining.
Among the recent departures was 2008 WSOP main event winner Peter Eastgate. The young man has had a ball during his time in Sydney and was a welcome entrant in this event.
Peter Eastgate bows out of the High Roller event
He’d enjoyed a sweet run of cards in the early stages of the event but was short-stacked when he committed his remaining chips and received a call from Japan’s Wooka Kim.
It was an old-fashioned race with Kim holding A-K against Eastgate’s pocket queens. A flop of A-Q-7 gave the Dane yet another set, but a K on the turn gave her outs, and a 10 on the river sent Kim squealing and clapping in delight.
Tony Dunst has closed to within reach of the lead when he doubled through Andrew Pantling, but the Canadian still leads from Jarred Graham and Dunst.
Chip count (approximate) at the end of level 8
Andrew Pantling 88,000
Jarred Graham 87,000
Sam Korman 80,000
Tony Dunst 76,000
Richard Holmes 65,000
Adriano Cendron 65,000
Masa Kagawa 48,000
Chad Brown 38,000
Jeff Lisandro 32,000
Emanuel Seal 28,000
John Juanda 28,000
With the excitement of the final elimination on day 3 of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final subsided, focus has firmly shifted to the opening session of the APPT Sydney High Roller event.
Of the 37 players who paid the $15,000 entry fee, 19 players have been eliminated. Recent departures have included Tony Kambouroglou, Josh Pang Ang, Warwick Mirzikinian, David Steicke, Andrew Scott, Julian Powell and Bill Jordanou.
The price of poker is up to 250/500 with an ante of 50 (level 6), with Andrew Pantling still leading the field. The Canadian, who plays mainly online, has been a great supporter of the APPT since relocating to Australia.
APPT Sydney High Roller chip leader Andrew Pantling
He said the APPT events were a great excuse to travel around the region. And he’s already tasted some modest success. After leading the APPT Auckland main event, he finished 12th, then placed 41st in the APPT Macau main event.
Let's play some cards: Grant Levy
Close behind Pantling is last year’s APPT Grand Final winner Grant Levy, who’s enjoying the chance to focus purely on his poker after a tough PR schedule leading up to this year’s event. Others placed prominently are Tony Dunst, Masa Kagawa, John Juanda and Jeff Lisandro.
Chip count (approximate) after level 5
Andrew Pantling (Canada) 78,000
Grant Levy (Australia) 58,000
Tony Dunst (USA) 54,000
Masa Kagawa (Japan) 46,000
John Juanda (USA) 44,000
Van Tran (Australia) 42,000
Jeff Lisandro (Australia) 42,000
Peter Eastgate (Denmark) 35,000
Chad Brown (USA) 34,000
Danny Huynh (Australia) 28,000
Nat Seet (Singapore) 24,000
Sam Korman (Australia) 14,000
Shane Dye (Australia) 11,000
Spectators are six-deep around the rail at the two tables that remain in play for the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. One table is at the corner of the poker area, and a second is the feature table that will be used for tomorrow’s final table.
Two players who won’t be seated at that table for last day of the APPT Grand Final are Brendan Edmonds (12th) and George Kassis (13th).
The chip leader at numerous times during day 3, Edmonds lost a handful of pivotal pots before tangling with Tony Basile pre-flop. He showed Ac-10s to be marginally ahead of Basile’s Kc-7c but a seven on the flop was enough for the Canadian to eliminate one of the players expected to survive the day.
Brendan Edmonds fell just short of the final table
Kassis also committed his money with the best of it, with pocket kings against the pocket jacks of Jason Gray. The first card revealed on the flop was the jack of hearts and it was adios to Kassis.
With 11 players still in the hunt, Antonio Fazzolini (1.8 million), leads from Tom Rafferty (1.2 million), PokerStars qualifier Daniel Kowalski (970,000), Jason Gray (960,000), Frank Saffioti (945,000), Basile (790,000), Tim English (540,000), PokerStars qualifier Hai Bo Chu (460,000), Michael Guzzardi (435,000), Martin Rowe (405,000) and Lisa Delellis (210,000).
The entire field of 37 had yet to be seated in the PokerStars.net APPT Sydney High Roller when the first two players were eliminated. After winning his first major title here last year in the APPT Tournament of Champions, 2005 WSOP champion and Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem won’t win a second, at least tonight.
Canadian Andrew Pantling flopped a set of 10s, which held-up against the numerous flush and straight draws of Hachem. It’s Saturday night in Sydney, so the Aussie poker icon shouldn’t struggle to find something to do for the rest of the evening.
An early night for the 2005 world champ
Since then, Sam Youssef (the six-handed champ here last week and a dual High Stakes hold’em winner at Crown in 2008), Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso, Steve Leonard and Billy ‘The Croc’ Argyros are among the seven players eliminated in the early going.
Pantling (81,000) leads in the early going from Van Tran (43,000), Richard Holmes (36,000), John Juanda (31,000) and Tony Dunst (29,000). The remaining 30 players will be playing for a slice of the AUD $555,000 prize pool, with first taking home AUD $222,000, runner-up AUD $133,200, third-place AUD $88,800, fourth AUD $66,600 and fifth AUD $44,400.
The pace has finally slowed after the constant carnage of the afternoon session on day 3 in the PokerStars APPT Grand Final. Only three players have been sent to the rail since play moved to two tables.
The money was in pre-flop between all-in player Daniel Hameiri (kings) and Ray Lapitan (deuces). In one of the more remarkable hands of the tournament, Lapitan not only hit a deuce on the flop, he made quads on the turn to send Hameiri packing in emphatic fashion.
The cheering section for local Scott ‘Punty’ Smith were silenced when their man pushed all-in over the top of the pre-flop re-raise from Brendan Edmonds. Smith (A-8) started behind Edmonds’ A-J, and stayed there as he departed in 15th spot. That pot gave Edmonds a stack of more than 1.5 million and almost 15 per cent of the chips in play.
Punty booted: Scott Smith is out of the APPT Grand Final
Ray Lapitan was the last player eliminated before dinner after making a move on a board of 9d-Js-Ks-Qh. Lapitan was strong (Kc-Jc), but Tom Rafferty (Jh-10s) was stronger. The As on the river only improved Rafferty’s straight, and Lapitan was out in 14th.
Ray Lapitan was stoked with his top-15 finish
Players will soon to return from the dinner break (blinds will be up to level 22 – 12,000/24,000 with a 4000 ante), with three players over the one-million mark: Tom Rafferty (1.13 million), Daniel Kowalski (1.07 million) and Antonio Fazzolari (1.04 million).
There have been many innovations on the APPT since its first event last year, none more popular than the addition of big buy-in ‘High Roller’ events to the schedule.
The first High Roller tournament was played in Macau last year. Eric Assadourian, who just placed 20th in the APPT Grand Final, won that event, conquering a field of 64 of the world’s best players to win the first prize of USD $368,640.
In season two of the APPT, High Roller events were played in Macau (won by Nam Le), Auckland (where Carter Gill won) and Manila. So it’s appropriate that the big names are back for the APPT Sydney High Roller.
The $15,000 buy-in event has attracted the finest field ever assembled at the one time for an event in Sydney. The line-up includes WSOP champions, Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem and Peter Eastgate plus WSOP bracelet winners John Juanda and Jeff Lisandro.
Team PokerStars Pros Chad Brown and Vanessa Rousso are in the field, along with local online standouts James Andy McLEOD Obst, Tony bond18 Dunst and Steve stevo Leonard.
Tony Dunst and Vanessa Rousso: ready to roll
There are internationals like Wooka Kim, Masa Kagawa (both Japan), Nathanael Seet, Josh Pang Ang (both Singapore), David Steicke (Hong Kong) and Andrew Pantling (Canada).
Again, the locals have turned out in force, including 2007 APPT Grand Final winner Grant Levy, David Saab, Julius Colman, Richard Holmes, Shane Dye, Warwick Mirzikinian, Bill Jordanou, Emanuel Seal and Andrew Scott.
Players start with 20,000 in chips, with levels of 60 minutes. With a field of approximately 35 players, it’s anticipated that we’ll be here until play reaches the money. So get comfy, it’s going to be a long, long night.
The redraw for the final 16 players has just been completed as we reach the business end of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final at Star City Casino in Sydney. Aside from the single representatives of the UK (Daniel Kowalski) and Canada (Tony Basile), the other 14 players are all representing the host nation.
The best credentialed of the remaining players is Sydney’s own Jason Gray, who placed third in the $10,000 Omaha Hi/Lo Split World Championship at the 2008 WSOP for more than USD $200,000. However, the crowd is firmly in the corner of three players – Lisa Delellis, Scott Smith and Michael Guzzardi.
During level 19, eliminations were Ray Sukkar, who was caught out making a move with 10h-7h by Brendan Edmonds with Ks-Qh. The board ran out Jc-Js-9s-Kh-6s and the man who finished fourth in the 2008 PokerNews Cup was out.
Brendan Edmonds claims another scalp
Michael Fraser was also in all sorts of strife when he shoved with Kd-Js only to discover that Michael Guzzardi had woken up with pocket aces. They duly saluted, and Fraser was on his way to the cage to collect his cheque for AUD $15,400.
Marlon Goonawardana spent most of the day counting out or stacking up large numbers of chips after playing several big pots, but his tournament came to an end when he stuffed it in with 9c-10s. Frank Saffioti showed Ah-Qc to take the lead, and a queen on the flop signalled the end of the Melbourne’s player’s hopes of snaring the AUD $1 million first prize.
Table 15
Frank Saffioti 730,000
George Kassis 610,000
Jason Gray 540,000
Tony Basile 360,000
Scott Smith 630,000
Brendan Edmonds 700,000
Daniel Kowalski (PokerStars qualifier) 760,000
Martin Rowe 430,000
Table 16
Ray Lapitan 850,000
Michael Guzzardi 800,000
Lisa Delellis 350,000
Tom Rafferty 970,000
Antonio Fazzolari 880,000
Tim English (PokerStars qualifier) 570,000
Hai Bo Chu (PokerStars qualifier) 340,000
Need some tactical advice on getting to the final table? Settle back to watch Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem's advice...
The odds of another Australian player winning the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final are getting shorter with each elimination as we prepare to redraw the final 16 players. After yesterday’s sluggish progress, the field has been slashed from 48 to 17 as the battle for spots at the final table.
But the highest profile Aussie remaining, PokerStars Sponsored player Eric Assadourian, won’t be matching the finish of his good mate Grant Levy after he was just bumped by Brendan Edmonds.
It was Assadourian’s A-J against A-Q for Edmonds with a queen on the flop meaning the Sydneysider was out in 20th spot. It’s Assadourian’s second APPT cash after he won the APPT High Roller event in Macau last year.
Eric Assadourian's tournament ends in 20th position
However, the internationals are hanging tough with UK PokerStars qualifier Daniel Kowalski, who trails the only player with a seven-figure stack (1.1 million) and Tom Rafferty (920,000). They lead Canada’s Tony Basile (800,000) and Ray Lapitan (700,000).
Other players to fall by the wayside over the past hour include a player who’s dominated our blogs over recent days, New Zealand PokerStars qualifier Phil Willcocks. The queens of Tony Basile delivered the final nail into the coffin of Willcocks who was holding jacks.
Another player who dominated in the early stages of the event, Jamie Pickering, has taken off the technicolour dreamcoat and cowboy hat after Jason Gray’s A-5 connected on the river against Pickering’s K-10. We’ve also lost Jason Pritchard (23rd) and Bassam Habib (24th). Players are taking a quick breather before the blinds go up to level 20 (10,000/20,000 with a 3000 ante).
Half of the 48 players chasing the AUD $1 million on day 3 in the PokerStars APPT Grand Final have been sent to the rail as the steady stream of eliminations continues through the afternoon.
We’ve recently farewelled French PokerStars qualifier Mamouni Smain (28th) when his A-J came up against the A-Q of Marlon Goonawardana. The deep run of champion jockey Shane Dye ended in 29th in similar circumstances when his A-Q failed to improve against the A-K of Melbourne’s Hai Bo Chu.
The ultra short-stacked Chris Lee made his last stand with a reasonable hand, pocket eights, against the Qh-4h of Ray Lapitan only for runner-runner hearts to end Lee’s tournament.
Martin Rowe claimed another scalp when his A-K held up against the A-8 of Travers Nicholas, then Sydney newspaper reporter and media league satellite winner Valerie Gigliotti was KOed in 25th when her K-Q ran into Lapitan’s A-9, with a nine on the flop good enough to take the pot. That leaves Lisa Delellis as the last remaining female player in the field.
Lisa Delellis is assured the honour of leading female in the APPT Grand Final.
At the top end of the chip count, it’s incredibly even and the lead has already changed on several occasions today. UK PokerStars qualifier Daniel Kowalski (750,000) leads narrowly from Tim English (700,000) followed by Tom Rafferty (640,000), Antonio Fazzolari (630,000), Marlon Goonawardana (620,000) and Jason Gray (600,000).
Our last remaining PokerStars Sponsored player Eric Assadourian was clinging to his tournament life but now has some breathing space with his stack up to 300,000 (albeit below the average of 390,000). The blinds are about to kick up to level 19 (6000/12,000 with a 1000 ante).
J.C. Alvarado was down below 8,000 in chips and knew the blinds would be going up to 500/1,000/100 in level 9. And so it was an open shove that folded all the way to former PokerStars Brazilian blogger Maria "maridu" Mayrinck.
She was tortured as she peeled up Ah-Th. In what was clearly not an easy decision, she got her friend Alvarado talking.
"You don't have ace-king," she said. "You don't."
"I'm 80% to win by the river," Alvarado said.
Mayrinck didn't believe him. At all. Finally, after nearly five minutes of verbose contemplation, she made her decision.
"I think I'm ahead," she said, waited two beats, and declared, "I call."
Alvarado turned over 7c-8c.
"If I win, I'm sorry. You're so pretty," Mayrinck exclaimed. "Isn't he pretty?"
Alvarado's relative good looks aside, the flop made the hand interesting--5-6-K with two hearts. Mayrinck jumped from her seat and grabbed her buddy. "Let's not look together," she said pulling him in close.
"No, I want to sweat this one," Alvarado said.
He shouldn't have looked. The turn gave him a pair, but gave Mayrinck the heart she needed to make the nuts.
Up to 22,000, Mayrinck looked around for Jon "Apestyles" Van Fleet. "I need to go tell my boyfriend what happened."
A bit later, from across the room, her impossible to mistake voice came rising above the din.
"God bless the LAPT!" she called and stacked her chips.
Alvarado may be gone, but it's not entirely out of the money. Mayrinck promised him 4% of her winnings.
"And I'm going to win," she said.
In other news, Team PokerStars Pro Humberto Brenes has found the rail. After getting seated with his frenemy Ryan Fee (LAPT San Jose champion), we expected some bad blood to creep up. Once, when Brenes came in for a raise, Fee looked at some rags and said, "If you had like ten [thousand] more, I am so in."
Fee would not get the pleasure of booting his opponent. Brenes got his short stack in pre-flop with A-4. He got called by the big blind who held K-T. It all looked fine when an ace fell on the flop, but running Q-J gave Brenes a Broadway beat.
Finally...we're on an indefinite break here. As for exactly why we're on a break, well that's something we'll have to explain after we have a better sense for it.
We shouldn’t be cheering for players today, but we definitely had a soft spot for Frank ‘The Bank’ Bianco. One of the most popular staff members at Crown in Melbourne, Frank made it two cashes in two APPT events after he made the money in Macau.
Indeed, he enters the record books as the only player to have cashed in all the APPT main events he’s played! Frank recently farewelled us when he shoved with pocket nines only for Tony Basile to pair his A-J on the flop of Jc-4d-Ks. See you at the Aussie Millions, Frank.
Barely two levels into play, already 20 of the 48 players who started the day remain. Those checking out the cash-game lists include former chip leader Stewart Davidson, who sent UK PokerStars qualifier Daniel Kowalski into the chip lead when the money went in pre-flop with Davidson showing A-K and Kowalski pocket aces. There were no miracles, and Davidson was out in 37th.
PokerStars qualifier Dan Kowalski cracks the 600k barrier
The final US player in the field, Thomas McLaughlin finished 36th, with Michael Harrington (35th) and Sam Capra (34th) following soon after. Capra was looking good with kings against the pocket nines of Michael Guzzardi, only for a nine to land on the turn.
Dutchman Roel Pijpers was KOed by fellow PokerStars qualifier Phil Willcocks in 33rd, then Anthony Rafter was next to go when the money went in on the on the board of Ac-Qc-5d-6h. Fazzolari needed help with his K-5 with thepirat’s A-8 just ahead until the Kh sailed down the river to sink the Irishman’s hopes.
The 500 chips have just been raced off as the blinds increase to level 18 (5000/10,000 with a 1000 ante). There are 31 players remaining, and the field has been redrawn into four tables.
After such a tight bubble period last night, it was hardly surprising to see the short stacks waste little time in the opening minutes of day 3 in the PokerStars.net APPT. But five players in five minutes, talk about the eradication of a species!
It started with Jimmy Wong’s elimination in 48th when he pushed with A-Q into a flop of 8s-Ac-9s only to find Antonio Fazzolari wake-up with A-9. Dave Lee followed on the next hand, but his J-4 was always going to struggle against the A-K of chip leader Frank Saffioti. Other early eliminations were Robert Bechara (46th), David Kim (45th) and Zhi Hong Ma (44th).
PokerStars qualifier Phil Willcocks won a big pot when John Mendel pushed with kings only to find the Kiwi with eights, sending Mendel out in 43rd.
PokerStars qualifier Phil Willcocks is looking strong
Minh Nguyen, Aussie veterans Graeme Putt and David Gorr, and George Lind have also departed the tournament area. Lind butted heads on several occasions with Lisa Delellis, the pub poker qualifier from Wollongong.
She took a slice of Lind’s chips with pocket queens against A-8, then after a brief reprieve when he made two-pair (nines and fours) against Delellis’ pocket 10s, Martin Rowe finished off the PokerStars qualifiers.
We’re deep into level 17 (4000/8000 with a 500 ante) and only 36 players remaining. On the other side of the Star City poker room, the $1100 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event has also just kicked-off.
Before too many more exit the big event, we've got good luck messages to pass on from some of the big names...
While his tablemates chat to one other, bop to their iPods or simply stare at the green felt in front of them in between hands, Jim Collopy has work to do. In his lap sits a thick, hardback book topped with pages of handwritten notes and printed web pages. In his mouth, a ballpoint pen hangs from his lips. But why the multi-tasking in the middle of a major tournament?
Jim Collopy has a paper due on Monday.
Jim "Mr_BigQueso" Collopy
A sophomore economics major at NYU, 19-year old Collopy plays under the screen name "Mr_BigQueso" on PokerStars and has racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in earnings from playing online MTTs over the last two years. Less than three weeks ago, he final tabled the Sunday Million, finishing fifth for over $56,000, though his largest online score ever came in the quarterly $1,000 edition of the Million, where he finished third and banked $125,000. Over the last 12 months, he also won the $109 rebuy and finished second in the Sunday Second Chance.
The topic of Collopy's paper? 17th-century British politician and former Lord Protector of England Oliver Cromwell. That's some heady history zipping through his brain cells along with pot odds and percentages.
Since returning from the dinner break, Collopy's stack has taken some hits, slipping from 27,000 down to the 16,000 mark where he currently sits. For now (or at least until he doubles up) the book has been closed and the pen tucked away. His Bose headphones are on and he's dialed in on his opponents.
There’s a slight north-easterly breeze blowing down Sydney Harbour, and the weekend warriors have set the spinnakers for Saturday morning’s yacht races. It’s warm, the sun is shining and the cafes and restaurants along Darling Harbour are packed. Where would you rather be?
The poker room at Star City, of course, for day 3 of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. After last night’s thrilling bubble period, which ended with the unfortunate David Sanis finishing in 49th finish. The remaining 48 players are guaranteed a payout of AUD $8400. In total, 10 PokerStars qualifiers remain in contention.
We're on the home stretch to the final table
Dealers have just been told to load their shoes: a story in itself. Instead of dealing the cards by hand, the dealers use what can best be described as cutdown version of a blackjack shoe, which was conceived by two Star City staff members.
The dealer slides the card to the player and virtually eliminates the possibility of a card being exposed. Another unique feature of poker here at Star City is the placement of the burn card (on the turn and river) directly under the face-up car, while the turn and river cards are dealt with what is commonly known as the “Star City snap”.
Play is underway, with a few minutes remaining in level 16 (3000/6000 with a 500 ante). We’ll be playing down to the last nine players tonight. In total, 10 PokerStars qualifiers remain in contention.
The top 10 chip counts are:
Frank Saffioti (Australia) 619,000
Jamie Pickering (Australia) 572,500
Brendon Edmonds (Australia) 517,500 Daniel Kowalski (UK) PokerStars Qualifier, 447,000 Timothy English (Australia) PokerStars Qualifier, 415,500
Raymond Lapitan (Australia) 415,500
Marlon Goonawardana (Australia) 404,000
Antonio Fazzolari (Australia) 366,000
Wang Che Jung (New Zealand) 359,500
Stewart Davidson (Australia) 347,500
Seat draw, day 3
Table 7
John Mendel (Australia) 74,000
Robert Bechara (Australia) 42,000
Mamouni Smain (France) 269,000
Anthony Rafter (Ireland) 105,000
Jamie Pickering (Australia) 572,500
George Kassis (Australia) 205,000
David Kim (Australia) 41,000
Phillip Willcocks (NZ) 343,000
Table 9
Jason Pritchard (Australia) 157,000
Jason Gray (Australia) 308,500
Frank Bianco (Australia) 58,000
Roel Pijpers (Netherlands) 28,000
Graeme Putt (Australia) 29,500
Brendon Edmonds (Australia) 517,500
Christopher Lee (Australia) 171,000
Scott Smith (Australia) 201,500
Table 10
Michele Guzzardi (Australia) 142,000
Shane Dye (Australia) 139,500
Tony Basile (Canada) 343,500
Timothy English (Australia) 415,500
Wang Che Jung (NZ) 359,500
Michael Fraser (Australia) 69,000
Marlon Goonawardana (Australia) 404,000
Sam Capra (Australia) 82,000
Table 15
Frank Saffioti (Australia) 619,000
Stewart Davidson (Australia) 347,500
David Lee (Australia) 21,500
Tom Rafferty (Australia) 293,000
Bassam Habib (Australia) 192,500
Raymond Lapitan (Australia) 415,500
Mark Deutsch (Australia) 103,000
Daniel Kowalski (UK) 447,000
Table 16
Valerie Gigliotti (Australia) 32,500
Daniel Hameiri (Australia) 166,000
Minh Hau Nguyen (Australia) 69,500
Zhi Ma (Australia) 36,500
David Gorr (Australia) 133,000
Thomas McLaughlin (USA) 87,000
Ray Sukkar (Australia) 131,000
Eric Assadourian (Australia) 98,000
Table 18
Michael Harrington (Australia) 115,500
Hai Bo Chu (Australia) 66,000
Jimmy Wong (Australia) 112,500
Antonio Fazzolari (Australia) 366,000
Lisa Delellis (Australia) 103,000
Travers Nicholas (Australia) 123,500
George Lind (USA) 113,000
Martin Rowe (Australia) 129,500
Dinner time is upon us, yet another opportunity to take advantage of the all-inclusive package here at the Marival Resort. As the players head off to find some grub, here's one to think about.
We happened by Tyler Netter's table and couldn't help but notice he had pocket jacks. He came in for a standard raise and got a call from the big blind. The flop came down Qc-Qh-9s. The players went check-check and saw the Qs on the turn. Now, the big blind led into Netter for about half the pot. Netter seemed conflicted, but finally tossed out his call. The river...
The queen of diamonds.
Netter must have immediately known how sick of a river it was. He seemed almost ready to muck his hand before his opponent acted. And then something funny happened.
The big blind checked.
Netter pondered this unexpected turn of events for a moment before nearly laughing and turning up his pocket jacks. And then something funny happened again.
The big blind turned over A-9 for the stone-cold, rock and roll, slap-your-mama-it-feels so-good nuts. Netter simultaneously skipped over an opportunity to make a horrible bluff and took a big detour around the Big Blind's Value Town.
With that, we head to dinner. For our most recent chip count, visit the LAPT Nuevo Vallarta Chip Count page. The most notable move just before dinner has been Team PokerStars Victor Ramdin who has moved up to the chip lead. More to come after some food. Players return at 8:30 CT.
Of the three long rows of poker tables that blanket this ballroom, one has broken entirely. With approximately 164 players remaining out of our 242 starters, two-thirds of the field remains in contention for an LAPT title.
Maria Stern unfortunately will not make her second LAPT final table here in Nuevo Vallarta, and is now sweating her husband Max from the rail. Also eliminated within the last hour was actor-singer Sergio Mayer, who, during his bust-out interview lamented the presence of "muchos coyotes" (a lot of sharks) at his table.
Alex Brenes
Faring better is LAPT Punta del Este runner-up Alex Brenes. Seated only a few tables away from his "chark"-wielding brother Humberto, the younger Brenes has built his chip stack up to 48,000 and is among the chip leaders. Most of those chips came his way when he cracked his opponent's K-K with 7-7, the money going in on a 7-3-3 flop.
Shirley Rosario's stack also continues to climb. On a flop of 8h-6d-4h, the small blind checked, Rosario bet 2,200 and her opponent called. Both players checked the 2d on the turn. When the Kd hit the river, the small blind checked again, opening the door for Rosario to fire out a 4,000 bet. Her opponent quickly mucked and Rosario took down a nice pot.
A few minutes later, I passed by Rosario's table. She motioned me over.
"That hand before... I had nothing!" she said with a wink and a smile.
Each year for the past five, PokerStars has put on a unique event that draws people from around the world. Now, those people are having a bit of a reunion.
The PokerStars World Cup of Poker pits national teams against each other for some nice cash and huge bragging rights. Last year, Team USA won its first World Cup title and it did so with the help of Team PokerStars Pro Greg Raymer and well-known online scrapper Tyler Netter. Both men have made the trip to Nuevo Vallarta and are going strong in level 6.
Raymer and Netter would do well to keep an eye out for another World Cup alum. At last year's World Cup, Martha Herrera led her team to the live finals in Barcelona. One-time a small-town Mexican girl, Herrera moved to Puerto Vallarta and vowed to never leave. Though exceptionally busy helping with her husband's business, Herrera still finds as much time as she can to play poker. "It's the passion in my life," she said. Herrera won a local one-table satellite she played with friends. Each one of them has a piece of her action. As we prepare to head to dinner break, Herrera is still alive.
By the way, by some quirk of coincidence, the World Cup of Poker division playoffs are this weekend. We'll have live blog coverage of the playoffs on Sunday
In other news, Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari is no longer with us. Having fallen down below 4,000 in chips, Akkari open shoved with Qs-Ts. He got a caller who held A-Q. The board gave both players a queen but offered Akkari no further hope of surviving.
Also on the rail today is 2008 PCA final table player Christian Harder. Harder was down to 7,700 and found a perfect spot for a re-steal. The button came in for a raise to 1,100 and Harder pushed all-in for 7,700 with A-6. Too bad for Harder that the big blind made the call with A-Q. The board ran out 3-4-8-2-2 and Harder will have to look elsewhere for another final table.
Busting out of a major tournament strikes a dagger through any player's heart. One of the best things about the LAPT, though is that the sting of a bust-out is easily soothed by the warm Pacific waters lapping on the sand only a few yards outside the door. Here at the Marival Resort, players can hop on a jet ski, buy some local art, sip a frosty beverage, catch a few rays by the pool... or even be suspended by one leg and spun through the air on some sort of freaky merry-go-round.
Check out the clip below that the PokerStars video blog team put together, highlighting the best of Nuevo Vallarta.
Andre Akkari looked positively tortured as he stared at the Ks-9h-3s board, mulling over a decision that would cost him the rest of his chips. There was already over 4,000 in a pot that had been raised and reraised pre-flop and the man on his right, sitting in the big blind, had moved out two small stacks of chips, 9,100 in total, which would set the Brazilian all in. Akkari shuffled and re-shuffled his stack, ultimately rapping the table and flashing a red king as he mucked his hand and conceded the pot. He's now down to 4,300.
Andre Akkari, deep in thought
Faring much better is his fellow Team PokerStars Pro Victor Ramdin. Ramdin's first table recently broke and he just took a seat across the room, two seats to the right of WSOP bracelet winner Maria Stern, who finished 8th at the LAPT San Jose. In jovial spirits and chatting up a storm, he's currently sitting on a 25,000 chip stack. Ramdin also has also brought several members of his family down to Mexico, who are eagerly watching his progress.
Victor Ramdin
Josh Prager has also built himself a nice stack here in the early going, but just suffered a bit of a mis-step. On a flop of Kd-6d-5d, the small blind moved all in for about 4,700 and Prager made the call.
"I'm drawing dead" he muttered, as his opponent showed 8d-9d for the flopped flush. Well... not quite dead as there was the faint hope of his Kc-Jc hitting running cards to make a full house. No miracles for Prager, though as the Qs and 4h fell on the turn and river, but he's still well-stacked at 17,000. Prager left the table immediately after the hand to take a walk-- not to burn off tilt of any sort, but to check on the progress of his friends, including J.C. Alvarado.
When we hit the sack last night, the stars were out over the Pacific Coast. It was a nice way to end a long day. Though it shouldn't have surprised us, the stars were still out when we got there today.
Among the many PokerStars poker stars, we have found three people who are pretty big names on their own here in Mexico.
Tito Fuentes (not to be mistaken with Tito Puente...really) is perhaps the brightest star in the room. The lead guitarist for the Mexican hard rock hip-hop band Molotov has traded his axe for an ace today and is hoping he will become a different brand of rock star before the weekend is over.
Across the way from the axe-man is actor and singer Sergio Mayer. Mayer has been around the Mexican film scene for more than a decade and has done just about everything you can imagine in the entertainment industry. Today we're checking to see if he can swing it as a poker player. As it turned out, he acts better than he runs in poker. He was out and standing in as a an actor for ESPN during a rehearsal for later TV recording.
Alexis Ayala, yet another actor from Mexico, is proving he play the role of a poker player. Nearing the end of Level 4, the Mexcian film actor is still going strong.
We're working on a fresh chip count and hope to have that in in short order. In the meantime, here's a look at the party from which everyone is recovering today, including the dulcet tones of Humberto Brenes.
"Stephen Chidwick raises to 400... everyone folds... Stevie wins the pot."
That's what the commentary might sound like, were someone calling the action over at Table 3, where Stephen "stevie444" Chidwick is currently playing the role of table captain, vacuuming up his opponents' chips at an alarming rate. Judging by his growing tower of yellow 1,000 chips and the empty chair in Seat 3, Chidwick has already claimed one scalp today and is wasting no time in growing his stack even further.
Stephen "stevie444" Chidwick
Chidwick is somewhat of a legend among PokerStars players. This year, the online phenom won over 100 seats to the WSOP Main Event, primarily via the Steps tournaments. As he is three years away from being of age to play in the U.S., Chidwick turned them all in for cash. For those of you who aren't quick at math, that's over a million dollars in earnings. Not bad for a kid barely out of high school.
Since turning 18, Chidwick has started following the live tournament circuit, and is already building a solid record, placing 15th at the EPT Barcelona in September and winning a $1,000 side event at the 2008 PokerStars Carribean Adventure last January. Having recently made the move to the U.S., Chidwick is currently rooming with poker couple Jon Van Fleet and Maridu Mayrinck in Austin.
"Stephen Chidwick raises to 400... everyone folds. Stevie wins the pot."
That time, he turned over 3-9 offsuit with a small smile as he raked in even more chips. Opponents, beware.
Even in the face of tough tournament poker, some stories just must be told. Furthermore, some pictures must be seen. So, as the LAPT event in here in Nuevo Vallarta makes its way through level 2, we must pause for just a moment.
Why?
Well, if you read last night's party wrap-up, you might recall us mentioning Team PokerStars Pro Humberto Brenes had a run in with a bull. Or, as we put it last night...
As the oft-repeated story goes, Brenes set about some bull fighting yesterday. Instead of waving the red cape to his side, he waved it in front of a region best covered by a comfortable pair of boxer shorts. You can fill in the blanks, but apparently it wasn't pretty.
The beauty of such a story is the ability to back it up with proof. So, we now give you...proof.
Okay, so now you're thinking a couple of things. First, somebody really should've given the Costa Rican Team PokerStars Pro a little bit more instruction on where to hold the cape. That seems pretty obvious; That said you are probably also thinking, "Man, that's not a very big animal. Humberto can take him!"
In that case, you would be wrong. Very and sadly wrong.
Humberto, as you might know, is a big man, but if you give a big animal a head of steam and an inherent dislike of sharks, it can do some damage. How much? You be the judge.
The good news here is that Humberto survived the stomping with both his pride and flesh largely intact. While there was some blood and the brief hint of multi-million dollar lawsuit, Brenes is at the table today and looks as good as ever.
Here's a look at the bullfighting day from the folks at PokerStars.tv.
One person who could not survive until the third level is Team PokerStars Pro Alex Gomes. His day started off badly when he forgot to bring his passport to register. Then, once he figured out that mess, he lost most of his stack. Finally, down to 2,200 from his original 10,000, he found As-Kc in the big blind. When the button raised to 500, Gomes put it all in the middle. He was in good shape against Ah-Qd. That is, he was in good shape until the board came out Q-T-6-4-2.
Assistant Tournament Director Greg Pappas, always the first to comfort an eliminated player, yelled across the room, "Bring your ID next time! You'll last longer!"
A bit more sympathetic was Gomes' table mate Tyler Netter. Netter, who started drinking Sol beer in level 1, gave Gomes a glass of brew and sent him out with a smile.
As the end of level 2 came, Tournament Director Mike Ward announced this event officially had 242 registrants. The top 27 will get paid. First place will earn $158,000. We'll have a full breakdown of prizes in just a bit.
Thanks to our good friends at Bluff Latin America for the photos.
Female poker players, more often than not, find ourselves as the only girl in the game. Usually comprising about 2% of any given tournament field, we're vastly outnumbered by our male counterparts and typically find ourselves seated at a nine-handed table with eight other gentlemen. Taking a walk through the tournament area today, however, we found a number of tables with two, even three women seated together, many of whom are online qualifiers, flying the PokerStars flag high with their logo-ed caps and jackets. Simply by eyeballing today's field, that 2% mark has surely been passed here in Nuevo Vallarta.
Shirley Rosario
One veteran pro off to a roaring start is PokerStars player Shirley Rosario. The Los Angeles-based mother of two has already claimed one player's stack at her table within two hands. In the first, she took down a sizeable pot when she picked up pocket queens and a few hands later she finished him off when her K-K and his T-T both flopped sets. Naturally, all the money went in the middle on that flop and Rosario is now sitting pretty with nearly 20,000 in chips.
Maria "Maridu" Mayrinck
PokerStars player Maria "Maridu" Mayrinck was enjoying the company of another lady at her table-- that is until J.C. Alvarado hit the nuts and claimed her entire stack, sending the Latina beauty to the rail (stunning red patent-leather Louis Vuitton tote in tow) with 22 minutes to go in Level 1. Mayrinck made an excellent run in the 2008 WSOP, cashing three times in NLHE events. In Vegas she also finally met Jon "Apestyles" Van Fleet in person, after chatting with him a number of times online while the two were seated together during the Nightly Hundred Grand tournament. The happy couple has been together ever since and has settled down in Austin, TX. Today, they're sitting only a few tables away from one another.
Veronica Dabul
Veronica Dabul is another woman to keep an eye on. A former backgammon champion, Dabul made the switch to poker three years ago and cashed in both the 2007 and 2008 WSOP Main Events. An LAPT veteran, the Argentinian finished in 15th place in Punta del Este this past August. Today, she has Team PokerStars Pro Andre Akkari to contend with at her table.
Helen Prager has also taken a seat in this tournament. Her surname may be familiar to you-- she's married to Josh Prager, who made the final table of the 2007 EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo and finished 16th in the LAPT Costa Rica back in May. Both Pragers qualified online for the LAPT's Nuevo Vallarta stop.
There is a certain tone we have come to recognize in tournament director Mike Ward's voice. He's a friendly guy who rarely has a bad thing to say about anybody, but when we hear that tone we know he means business.
We heard that tone just now.
"Players, please take your seats," he said, and it was understood, anyone who did not find their chair was going to be left behind.
As the clock hit noon, the cards went in the air on this second stop of the second season of the Latin America Poker Tour. Here at the Marival Resort in Nuevo Vallarta, the madness has begun. From ESPN, to Fox Sports, to the throngs of traveling media, to more than 200 players, this event is read to rock and roll.
Players are starting with 10,000 chips and settling in for a full day of hour-long levels. They will all be tring to match the achievement of LAPT San Jose Champion Ryan Fee who won more than $200,000 a few weeks back. That task will be made harder by the fact the Fee is in in attendance here today.
Fee is joined by Team PokerStars Pros Humberto Brenes, Greg Raymer, Andre Akkari, Alex Gomes, and Victor Ramdin, not to mention does of PokerStars qualifiers and locals who all want the first title to come out of Nuevo Vallarta.
It is a safe bet that people know where Latin America is and can identify the countries in the region. Along with Mexico, there is South America and Central America, and online poker has become quite the popular game in Latin America.
But the rest of the world is a fairly large mass to cover. Considering there are World Cup divisions for the United States and Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom, three spots for the rest of Europe, and Latin America, that technically leaves only one all-encompassing division for other participating countries. Division Rest of World, therefore, includes countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the South Pacific. One of those regions will win a seat during the Divisional Playoffs on Sunday, December 7th and send the participating players to the Bahamas. Will the potentially long flights be worth the chance to play at the World Cup of Poker finals on a sunny beach resort island? We believe so.
The times for the playoffs were established to most easily accommodate the players in each division. Therefore, the Latin American countries will play at 1:00pm ET on Sunday, and the rest of the world will take their seats at 8:00am ET, which is certainly not as bad as it sounds when the actual times in each participating country are calculated. Without further ado, let’s list those countries.
Division Latin America:
Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Columbia, Costa Rica, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Guatemala
Division Rest of World:
Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Philippines, Taiwan, Armenia, South Africa, Lebanon
Each of the above-listed teams is made up of four players - two freeroll qualifiers and two leaderboard qualifiers. Some of the finalists are still being confirmed, but all will be ready prior to the tournament start times on Sunday. Wouldn’t you be if the live finals in the Bahamas were on the line?
Speaking of Sunday, don’t forget to tune in throughout the day for live blogging, as the PokerStars reporting team will be present and in top form to write accounts of the action as it goes down on the tables. The entire schedule for all divisions can be found here, and you can visit the World Cup of Poker V page for additional info.
A gruelling but enthralling day 2 has ended with the 48 players guaranteed of a cash after the bubble burst on the final hand of the day in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.
We started with 217 players, including a trio of Team PokerStars Pros (Lee Nelson, Gavin Griffin and Chris Moneymaker) plus PokerStars Sponsored players Ivan Tan, Van Marcus, Masa Kagawa and Eric Assadourian. Only Assadourian, the one Sydney based player of that group, remained at the end of the day.
Eric Assadourian: the hometown hero
Other big names to tumble during day 2 included John Juanda, Wooka Kim, Dory Zayner, Chris Levick, Harris Pavlou, Julius Colman, Jimmy Siu, Martin Cardno, Mark Vos, Dennis Huntly, Carter Gill, Nobbi Tanaka, Emanuel Seal, Warwick Mirzikinian, Alex Dickinson, Suzy Khoueis, Assadour Assadourian, Andrew Scott, Leo Boxell, Sam Korman, Kent Hunter, Tony Dunst and Jonathan Karamalikis.
The chip leader is Frank Saffioti, who was at the heart of the hands that ensured the bubble burst after a long and tense period on the precipice of the payouts.
David Sanis was the unfortunate victim. On a flop of 8d-5c-Jd, the money went in with Sanis holding pocket aces and Saffioti Q-9. Sure enough, the turn came 6h and the river 10h to rake in a massive pot. Then Sanis shoved with A-8 but found Tim English holding pocket queens. The board came 8s-Qc-9c-10s-3h, and Sanis was out in 49th. Tough break fella.
But that hand was typical of a day when the best hand with the money going in was often overtaken, and set over set or flopped quads weren’t unusual.
Behind Saffioti were Melbourne’s Brendan Edmonds (500,000), Phil Willcocks (390,000), Marlon Goonawardana (370,000) and Jamie Pickering (360,000). Other prominent players still in contention for the AUD $1 million first prize are Jason Gray (270,000), Graeme Putt (130,000), champion jockey Shane Dye (130,000), David Gorr (115,000), and Frank Bianco (65,000).
We’ll be back at 12.30pm for a massive program, including the race for spots on the final table of the 2008 PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final, plus the AUD $15,000 High Rollers Challenge from 6.15pm.
We'll leave you inside the minds of Team PokerStars Pro couple Vanessa Rousso and Chad Brown - they seem to know each other pretty well!
The nerves have well and truly set in for the remaining 56 players in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final with the bubble just spots away. Frustrations are boiling over as players strive to protect their short stacks long enough to ensure a minimum payout of AUD $8400.
The atmosphere around the poker area is electric. And that’s not a poker reporter beating up the story with a big stick – Star City is absolutely pumping with poker players, railbirds and plenty of Sydneysiders celebrating the festive season.
The APPT Grand Final and teams event have packed the rail
And several big names have been freed to join the party after busting out of the APPT Grand Final in the past hour, including Wooka Kim, the last two players who cashed in last year’s APPT Grand Final – Gary Diamond and Patrick Fletcher, the 2007 PokerNews Cup champion Dory Zayner, West Australians Petar Lackovic and Sam Jessop, Chris Levick, Derrick Wall, Harris Pavlou, Julius Colman and Jimmy Siu.
The top five chip counts heading into level 16 are Brendan Edmonds (440,000), PokerStars qualifier Phil Willcocks (390,000), Marlon Goonawardana (370,000), Jamie Pickering (360,000) and Ray Lapitan (330,000).
We get used to seeing quads in the early stages of tournaments when the tables are packed and the action thick and fast. But with 24 players to go before the money kicks-in at the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final, we’ve seen quads twice in the past five minutes.
Hong Kong’s Manish Sansi just made quad jacks (holding A-J) against A-2, which earned him a nice pot and a warning from APPT tournament director Danny McDonagh for persistent slow play. Just like the Australian Test cricket team!
Forget the title of leading female finisher – Wooka Kim, Lisa Delellis and Valerie Gigliotti are still here to win. Valerie Gigliotti works for the Daily Telegraph, Sydney’s biggest newspaper. Star City recently held a media event and gave away an APPT Grand Final seat as first prize. Miss Gigliotti was the lucky winner and finds herself in the last 72 players and still in with a chance of winning the AUD $1 million.
Valerie Gigliotti could end up on P1 of her own newspaper!
“I just love the game and this is a thrill to play in this tournament. I have only played pub poker but felt that the skills I learnt there stood me in good stead to win my way into this tournament. The longer structure in this tournament really suits my style,” she said.
The most experienced of the trio, Wooka Kim. Wooka has travelled to tournaments throughout the world. In the past 12 months she won a ladies tournament in Japan and is considered the best female player in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Wooka Kim has enjoyed tremendous form in 2008
Lisa Delellis hails from Wollongong, a regional city about an hour south of Sydney. Lisa plays in a pub-based competition called Satellite Poker. She won her seat in the APPT Grand Final through Satellite Poker.
“This is my greatest poker experience so far. I am just starting playing more seriously now and hope that in the future I can make an impact in the poker world. I am currently pregnant but who knows what the future holds,” she said.
Here’s the scenario: there’s 15 minutes to go at level 13 (1200/2400 with a 400 ante), the average stack is 116,000, you lose a big pot and get left with 4500.
Limp out? Not Petar Lackovic, who has staged an amazing comeback since his pair of kings was overtaken by a set of kings to leave him with nine purple 500 chips.
You can take the boy out of Perth but you can’t Perth out of the boy – Lackovic has since gone on a charge and after his A-9 connected on the flop against Jason Gray’s pocket 10s, his stack had climbed back above 55,000. Last year Petar’s brother Aleks cashed 49th in this event.
"That's nice, and so's the massage": Petar Lackovic chips up
And a quick look at last year’s results reveals that two players remain in contention for successive in-the-money finishes, South African Gary Diamond and former Brit Patrick Fletcher – both now Sydney residents.
Gary Diamond aims for another APPT Grand Final cash
We also just took a look back at last year’s event to see how the tournament was progressing at the same point. Just two of the 10 players among the chip leaders went on to make the final table – eventual winner Grant Levy and Sol Bergren, who finished fourth.
Players have just returned from a break with just 28 spots until the bubble is reached. Blinds are now up to level 14 (1500/3000 with an ante of 500). Five players have more than 200,000 in chips – Brendan Edmonds (400,000), Stewart Davidson (340,000), Antonio Fazzolari (335,000), Jamie Pickering (260,000) and David Lee (240,000).
Before getting back to the action, David Lee told our video team about poker in Australia and Asia...
Less than 100 players – 97 to be exact – have returned after the dinner break as the race for the money starts in earnest on day 2 of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.
Apparently a handful of players wanted to extend their meal break judging from the frenzied activity just before the dinner bell sounded.
Team PokerStars Pro Gavin Griffin, PokerStars Sponsored player Ivan Tan and Tom Guise were all KOed in a remarkable few minutes.
Tan and Guise were eliminated by Simon Wallace on the same hand after the flop came Js 10s 3h. Guise showed Ks-Jc; Tan showed pocket threes for bottom set; Wallace showed pocket 10s for middle set. Wallace’s set held through the river taking his stack to 200,000.
All over: Gavin Griffin has been eliminated from the APPT GF.
Griffin’s tournament ended when he committed the last of his chips with A-8 against Michael Whibley’s A-Q. The Team PokerStars Pro took the lead on a flop of Ah-8d-10d but his tournament ended when the Qh hit on the turn.
Jason Gray's dominance of this event is under threat
Whibley then put a big dent in the stack of former chip leader Jason Gray (two-pair against Gray’s pocket kings) to send him back to the pack for the first time today.
Maybe it was Mexican on the menu at the Garden Buffet tonight as the action has been fast and fiery since players again took their seats. Greg Cook doubled up when his pocket queens improved to a set on the turn against pocket aces, then almost straight after, Jamie Pickering won a hand in almost identical circumstances (set of queens against pocket aces).
Other recent eliminations have included New Zealand’s Martin Cardno, Jay Huxley, Kristine Milinkovic, Khac-Trung Tran, Mark Vos, Dennis Huntly, Warwick Mirzikinian, Alex Dickinson and Suzy Khoueis.
It’s like 100 buses just pulled up at Star City Casino and unloaded their contents in the past hour. With the teams’ event about to kick off, many players have returned to the poker room, joining the scores of railbirds and players still chasing glory in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.
Many businesses around the city are also holding Christmas parties tonight, and you can be assured many of those party animals will make their way to Star City at some stage this evening. It’s going to be a huge night.
Brendan Edmonds takes the chip lead to dinner
It’s already shaping as a night to remember for our new chip leader Brendan Edmonds. The Melbourne player just added the chips of Brooke Howard-Smith, the co-host of Celebrity Joker Poker in New Zealand to his stack after his middle pair held up against the Kiwi’s busted flush draw.
Edmonds overtook Stewart Davidson, who smashed the 200,000 barrier when his pocket aces took down Guillaume Lignon’s A-K on a board that came Qh-Kh-7h-6d-7d.
Slim pickings, but Ivan Tan's hanging tough
One player we’ve barely mentioned today is PokerStars Sponsored player Ivan Tan. He’s struggled to get much going today and has spent the day well below the chip average. The Singaporean just received a much-needed boost when his Kd-Qd held-up against an opponent’s 6h-9d with the board showing 7s-Qh-6d-7c-10s.
Predictably, the huge contingent of Australian players is dominating the APPT Grand Final, but the internationals have started to crash the party. French PokerStars qualifier Mamouni Smain has climbed over 200,000, US PokerStars qualifier Patrick Carron is on 195,000 and Team PokerStars Pro Gavin Griffin has almost 160,000. It’s almost dinner time!
If there’s a cult figure in today’s event, it’s Scott “Punty” Smith. He has fans following online and a big contingent on the rail, and they’ve had plenty to cheer about today.
He’s been a steady climber all day and recently took out another player when his opponent pushed all-in on a board of Qs-Ac-Qc-Ks. Smith called and tabled As-Kd, ahead of his opponent’s Ah-10s, with the 6c on the river sending a nice pot in Punty’s direction as his stack closes on 150,000.
Autographs after dinner, Punty
Another player on the climb is PokerStars Sponsored player Eric Assadourian. This Sydney young gun burst onto the scene when he won the 2006 Melbourne Championships main event. He showed that win was no fluke when he captured two titles at the 2007 NZ Championships, including the main event, then took out the 2007 APPT Macau High Roller for more than $360,000. He also had an event named in his honour here during the APPT Grand Final preliminaries!
Eric "Blessadourian": God bless the turn
With 20,000 already in the pot, Karim Jomeen and Assadourian saw a flop of Jc-Kc-4d, Jomeen bet all-in for 15,500 and Assadourian made the call. He showed pocket aces, but Jomeen’s pocket jacks were ahead.
Sure enough, Eric showed why he is nicknamed “Blessadourian” when the Ad landed on the turn to KO Jomeen.
In parent-sibling news, Eric’s father Assadour has been eliminated while Vera Milinkovic is also on the rail, but her daughter Kristine has charged to 110,000.
Want to run as hot as Eric? Listen to his tournament tips and you'll be on your way...
Other recent eliminations include Big Brother contestant Nobbi Tanaka, when Antonis Kambouris filled a runner-runner straight against Tanaka’s pair of jacks. Carter Gill is also out after he failed to improve on a flush draw against the two-pair of George Kassis.
With one hour until the dinner break and the blinds at level 11 (800/1600 with a 200 ante), 117 players remain and the average stack is 80,000.
Aside from the scores of PokerStars qualifiers we’ve been featuring over the past four days, many players in the APPT Grand Final field are doing so after qualifying through satellites at the host venue, Star City.
One of those is David Sanis, who we recently featured after he KOed Vincent Ha. David is a regular Star City player and won his way through in a single-table satellite earlier in the week.
“This is a really great tournament, well run and one that we are lucky to have here in Sydney,” David said after he just finished getting a massage, due reward after he took the chip lead.
David Sanis: This place looks familiar
Christopher Lee is another likable local who is working himself nicely into the tournament. He started the day on the feature table with Chris Moneymaker and Tony Dunst but has had no problem finding good opportunities to see his stack grow and now has nearly 150,000.
Lee has only been playing for only two years and he considers himself a cash player who is just starting to move into tournaments.
“This is my first big tournament and I would just love to make the cash. At the start of today I just wanted to concentrate on making it through day 2 but I might have to set my heights a little higher after such a good start to the day,” he said.
Roberto Damelian also won his way into the tournament via a Monday night tournament, with the seat to the APPT Grand Final part of the prize package.
He is sitting next to Irishman Anthony thepirat Rafter who told us that Roberto was playing very well and won a huge pot with suited connectors a little while ago. We asked what Roberto’s strategies were for the rest of the day: “I can’t tell you that … these other guys will be listening!”
Marlon Goonawardana is aiming to book-end 2008 with another big result on home soil. The Melbourne-based player, who won AUD $155,000 in the $1500 Bounty event at the 2008 Aussie Millions has been the big mover in the second session of day 2.
On a flop of 4h-6h-8h, Goonawardana (6c-8c) went heads-up with Wang Che Jung (Kh-2h), but the New Zealander failed to fill his flush. The 6d on the river gave Marlon and full-house and a stack of 150,000.
The Team PokerStars representation has been reduced to one after the recent elimination of Lee Nelson. Cashing his second APPT final table in a row, Nelson’s kings ran into the pocket aces of Martin Rowe, which held up. Gavin Griffin is left to wave the flag, but is looking strong on just over 100,000 (average stack 65,000).
No successive APPT final tables for Lee Nelson
We’ve also lost another of the PokerStars Sponsored players after Japanese high stakes gambler Masa Kagawa walked his pocket deuces into the jacks of Thomas McLaughlin.
That leaves Eric Assadourian (80,000) and Ivan Tan (24,000) as the last two PokerStars Sponsored players in the field.
The fairytale is also over for Sydney’s own Vincent Ha. He won a radio promotion on the Austereo Network, which included a seat to the APPT Grand Final.
Despite his lack of experience, Ha was among the chip leaders heading into day 2 (holding 123,800) and held his own early before he tangled with David Sanis just minutes ago.
Vincent Ha: Living the poker dream
The flop showed Qh-Js-6s when the money went in, and Ha was well placed with pocket jacks against the As-Ks of Sanis. The 10s gave Sanis a flush, and the brick 3h sent Ha to the rail, but he carried that ever-present smile to the rail after an unforgettable experience over the past four days.
We’ve mentioned several family combinations over the past two days – brothers Joe and Tony Hachem (both eliminated); father and son Eric and Assadour Assadourian (both still in contention) – but it’s not everyday you come across a mother and daughter combination in a poker tournament of this stature.
Even more remarkably, Vera and Kristine Milinkovic have both reached day 2 of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. Originally from Serbia and now residing in Sydney, Vera cashed 50th in the APPT Grand Final last year and is hoping to go much deeper in this year’s APPT season-ending event.
Vera Milinkovic eyes successive APPT Grand Final cashes
Kristine told us that she loves the fact that she can share an interest in poker with her mother and is looking forward to sharing a spot at the final table on Sunday along side Vera. Now that would be a good story.
Aiming to join mum in the money is Kristine Milinkovic
Speaking of the generation gap, two Melbourne players representing the old and new guard have had contrasting fortunes during the opening session today.
Dave Lee, a top cash-game player and emerging tournament star just took a big pot against former day 1A chip leader Warwick Mirzikinian. With the board showing 5s-5h-8c-4d, Lee check-raised to 40,000, with Mirzikinian getting out of the way after flashing an 8. Lee showed pocket kings and started piling chips into his stack of 120,000.
But it was a miserable afternoon for ‘Colonel’ Sam Korman. The Melbourne poker icon committed the last of his chips on a board of 9s-Qs-8d-Kc. Derrick Wall insta-called with Jd-10d, leaving the Colonel’s K-9 in the dust.
Players are back from the first break, with the approximate chip counts showing Jason Gray (180,000) leading from Derrick Wall (150,000), Dave Lee (145,000), Wang Che Jung (140,000) and Ray Lapitan (135,000). Around 160 players remain in the running.
A good journalist--the kind who has been around war long enough to count the bullets before they hit their target--knows the lead before the story is complete. He can tell you the capital "S" story in one sentence. This teller of tales cannot boil it down to one line. If forced, however, it would look a lot like this:
Team PokerStars Pro Humberto Brenes may not be a good bullfighter, but he does it better than he sings.
Tonight gave us the first generation of the PokerStars LAPT Nuevo Vallarta welcome party. Complete with everything from salsa roja to guacamole to tequila girls, it was an event not soon forgotten. Even more memorable however were stories of Brenes' attempts to fight a bull yesterday.
More on that in a moment. First, why we're here.
As mentioned earlier tonight, the PokerStars Latin America Poker Tour has settled in to its second stop of its second season. The event here at Nuevo Vallarta's Marival Resort is an all-inclusive affair. You want a beer, they give you a beer. You want fajitas, they give you fajitas. You want Humbeto Brenes singing traditional tunes...well, do you really want that?
Well, it's a matter of taste and one best left to the individual. Regardless, that's what happened tonight as the mariachi band took the stage at this event's welcome party. Accompanied by fellow Team Pro Andre Akkari on violin, Brenes sang to the assemblage with as much heart as he put into his bull fighting.
So you'e ready to hear about that?
As the oft-repeated story goes, Brenes set about some bull fighting yesterday. Instead of waving the red cape to his side, he waved it in front of a region best covered by a comfortable pair of boxer shorts. You can fill in the blanks, but apparently it wasn't pretty. We may or may not have pictures before the weekend is over. All we know is that the ever-tough Brenes was back on his feet tonight and ready to sing to the crowd.
And what a crowd it was. Among the revelers tonight were a host of Team PokerStars Pros. Joining Brenes and Akkari here in Mexico are Greg Raymer, Alex Gomes, and Victor Ramdin. They will be fighting tomorrow against such notables as LAPT San Jose champ Ryan Fee, online wunderkind Tyler Netter, and PCA final tablist Christian Harder.
Tons of Latin America celebs are in attendance in what is predicted to be a be a bigger-than-expected event. First though, the assembled crowd must sleep off the tacos and tequila. After that, we move on to the real purpose of our journey to the Pacific coast.
Play kicks off at noon CT on Friday. We will play three days before crowning a champion. By that time, we expect the food coma to have worn off and the tequila girls to be off to another party.
Technically, we should say three more seats, as Germany and the United Kingdom will be represented at the World Cup finals as well.
The rest of the European countries competing who made their presences known in the early rounds of the World Cup of Poker have been split up and will play in one of three different Europe divisions in the playoffs. This will allow for the grand numbers of poker players in Europe to be sufficiently represented at the table that will also include the U.S., Canada, Latin America, and the rest of the world. Nine teams will represent their individual countries at the finals in the Bahamas in January, and the Sunday Divisional Playoffs will find out who they are.
All three European divisions will begin their playoffs at 8:00am ET, which isn’t as bad as it sounds in Europe, with a total of 31 teams battling it out as follows:
France, Switzerland, Spain, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, France, Latvia
Each team will have four players, including two freeroll qualifiers who have been established and two tournament leaderboard qualifiers, some of the latter of whom are in the process of being finalized. And when the playoffs are over on Sunday, one team from each division will receive notice that its players will be receiving the Bahamas prize package and the chance to compete for the international World Cup title.
What’s in it for you on Sunday? The PokerStars reporting team delivering all of the action via live blog updates from the virtual tables. The entire schedule for all divisions can be found here, and you can visit the World Cup of Poker V page for additional info.
One up, one out – that’s the story so far today for Team PokerStars with Lee Nelson doubling up and Chris Moneymaker eliminated. The New Zealander Nelson (can you believe he lives near a town called Nelson) took control with A-K against Justin Cleary’s K-J, and the paint-free board took the 2006 Aussie Million winner’s stack to 50,000.
Moneymaker started the day on the ultra-tough feature table, and was among the first victims when he moved in with pocket 10s against A-K and his opponent saw an ace on the flop (eerily similar to the elimination of Joe Hachem from the same table yesterday).
Tony Dunst has also left the feature table after his A-K stayed behind Jason Plant’s pocket kings on a board showing 4h-3h-10s-3s-3d. We’ve also lost WSOP Europe champion John Juanda after his pocket kings were cracked by Ad-Jd when his opponent turned the nut flush.
Eric Assadourian is keen for a deep run in his home event
At the other end of the chip tally, some of the early movers have been PokerStars Sponsored player Eric Assadourian (52,000), Graeme Putt (40,000), Dennis Huntly (60,000), Tom Guise (90,000) and Chris Levick (95,000), who is on a charge after a big double-up with aces against queens. But it’s been a tough start for Mark Vos (25,000), jockey Shane Dye (30,000) and Jamie Pickering (25,000).
We’ve also just lost APPT Manila champ Van Marcus, who nursed a short stack through the opening level today before committing with pocket jacks. He found a jack on the flop, but his opponent’s pocket aces improved to a set on the turn, sending the PokerStars Sponsored player to the rail.
We’re about halfway through level 9, with blinds now at 500/1000 with a 100 ante. The first break is about 30 minutes away.
Sydney’s most famous amusement park (indeed only amusement park) sits just over the Harbour Bridge. Known as Luna Park, it features all the usual carnival fare, including roller coasters, ferris wheel, dodgem cars, etc. Best of all is the giant maniacal clown face that greets patrons on arrival.
Team PokerStars Pro Gavin Griffin has experienced a Luna Park-style start to day 2. With the board showing 7c-Qs-4s, Griffin called the all-in of Simon Wallace and tabled 10s-9s. Wallace showed As-7s, and slipped behind when the 10d fell on the turn. Both players made a flush on the river (8s) but Wallace had the nut flush and slashed Griffin’s stack to 76,000.
Luna Park, more ups and downs than a poker tournament
Barely a minute passed when Griffin had them all back. Kevin Wagler though he was good with pocket sixes making him a full-house on the board of Qc-6c-Qs-Ac-9s, but Griffin called his all-in on the river and celebrated after showing pocket aces. That took Griffin back to 153,000.
Down, then up for Gavin Griffin
The day 2 madness is well and truly underway with the short stacks quickly making the move to double-up or begin plans for a day at the beach or shopping in the nearby Sydney CBD.
One of the first victims was Terrence Chan. The Canadian started with just 13,000 and elected to commit those chips on the opening hand, but found himself on the wrong end of the flop and is free to explore Sydney – a city he knows well after living here for several months last year.
Even some of the not-so-short stacks are under attack. Adelaide’s Jonathan xMONSTERxDONGx Karamalikis looked good with A-K against fellow Australian Frank Saffioti (K-10), but the board was horrible to the youngster (8d-6h-7s-Kc-9s). He crashed out on the same orbit with A-J against A-Q.
It might be just after noon on a Friday, but the Star City Casino is heaving – the tables and slots are packed and 219 anxious poker players have started to assemble for day 2 in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. With the top 48 players paid, we should be close to the money before the end of play tonight.
Our chip leader Jason Gray has just wandered past the media area. Not the most gregarious character in the poker world, Gray offered a nervous smile as he headed for his seat.
Chip leader Jason Gray is ready for action
Gavin Griffin’s charge towards an incredible achievement of adding an APPT title to his WSOP, WPT and EPT tournament victories continues today, as he brings the second largest stack – 134,700. PokerStars qualifier Phillip Willcocks from New Zealand is close behind with 129,000.
Holding off the Aussie horde is NZ's Phillip Willcocks
We’ll also be keeping a close eye on the two other Team PokerStars Pros Lee Nelson and Chris Moneymaker who remain in contention.
The PokerStars Sponsored contingent is represented by Japan’s Masaaki Kagawa (who finished third in the 2007 Aussie Millions $100,000 buy-in High Stakes event); Ivan Tan from Singapore (two APPT cashes including one final table); Eric Assadourian (winner of the 2007 APPT Macau High Roller event) and the short-stacked Van Marcus (2008 APPT Manila champion). There are also 55 PokerStars qualifiers in today’s field.
The feature table line-up to start play is impressive: Jason Plant (27,100), Frank ‘The Bank’ Bianco (41,700), Chris Moneymaker (30,700), Tony Dunst (30,300), Christopher Lee (95,900), Irishman Anthony Rafter (68,600), Roberto Damelian (61,600), Dominic Sinagra (46,300) and Andy Meldrum (81,500). Structure for today’s play is:
Sometimes one location can't hold the entire paradise.
You've heard of Puerto Vallarta. It's an historic city, a familiar paradise, a vacation place for people around the world. When you think of Mexico and Vallarta, you think Puerto Vallarta, the oceanside resort city along the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas. A sandy Xanadu to people since before 500 B.C., this has been part of the resort royal family in Mexico since the 1960s.
But, hop in a car and speed to the city's outskirts and you will find something new. At high speeds, you could mistake parts of this area for Southern California. There's a familiar delivery pizza chain, a Carl's Jr., and the ubiquitous advertisements for Corona. Other sights will give you a better idea where you are: a roadside mariachi band, a truckload of loose oranges, and a speeding red truck outfitted with sirens and labeled B-10 Bomberos. No doubt, you're in Mexico and quickly leaving the place some folks call P.V.
A couple of turns later, you have entirely left the state of Jalisco but are still in a Vallarta. This is Nuevo Vallarta, the newest stop on the PokerStars Latin America Poker Tour.
Now in its second season, the LAPT has chosen Nuevo Vallarta as its second stop on the circuit. We are just settling in at the Marival Resort and Suites All Inclusive Resort. Dozens of PokerStars qualifiers are already wandering the grounds in purple wristbands (the all-important key to free Pacificos and taquito fare).
Just a few weeks ago in San Jose Costa Rica, Ryan Fee won more than $200,000 on the first stop of the LAPT's second season. Now, the ever-growing tour is looking to crown its second champion of the season.
While Mexico is no stranger to poker, this little area is. A poker tournament of this magnitude is not something you see here every day...if ever. By this time tomorrow, we will be in the thick of it. While we won't know the final number of players for some time, we know that dozens of people qualified on PokerStars. In just a short trip around the resort. What's more, we're expecting to see a whole host of Team PokerStars Pros, including Victor Ramdin, Greg Raymer, Humberto Brenes, Andre Akkari, and Alexandre Gomes.
Like all LAPT events, however, there are matters to which we must attend first. Just a short walk from here, the PokerStars crew is setting up for another of its legendary welcome parties. We'll be there as well just in cases any news breaks (and in the event it doesn't...hey, tacos!).
In the meantime, here's a look at what the players will be enjoying during their off-table time.
Germany and the United Kingdom are divisions unto themselves in the World Cup of Poker V challenge, and each is guaranteed a place at the live finals in the Bahamas in January of 2009. Come to think of it, that’s next month already!
But Germany has a tough task ahead, and it will all take place this Sunday, December 7th in the Divisional Playoffs. There are two German teams and four provincial teams, and only one of the six will win the spot at the final live table. Germany is home to some of the greatest players in the game and has been making quite the presence at live tournaments everywhere, but the country has no recorded wins at the previous World Cups of Poker. The pressure is on to send the most capable team to the Bahamas in order for the country to make its mark at this prestigious global competition.
Division Germany will see the following teams compete on Sunday for a shot at stardom:
Each team is a combination of tournament leaderboard finishers and freeroll qualifiers, and the victorious team will be packing for a trip to the beach, errr, poker table in the Bahamas.
Division United Kingdom is close to having its entire team in place:
Team UK: allinstevie, Purr of Aces, N!GHTMAR3 (plus one tournament leaderboard qualifier TBD)
The UK worked a bit differently than other divisions, and without having been divided up into sections or various teams, there are simply four qualifiers who have already won their place at the live final table. Therefore, there will be no Divisional Playoffs this Sunday for the UK. Once the last tournament leaderboard qualifier is confirmed, the four will be getting to know each other and devising their strategy in an attempt to win the World Cup of Poker.
But tune in on Sunday to see what happens with Division Germany, as the PokerStars reporting team will be on the case to bring the action to the readers via live blogging. More updates regarding other divisions will be posted as the week continues, and the entire schedule can be found here. And for even more information, visit the World Cup of Poker V page.
The day 2 field has been decided for the APPT Grand Final, with 207 players set to return to Star City in Sydney tomorrow in pursuit of a top 48 finish, then a shot at the AUD $1 million first prize.
Over the past three days, 477 players have taken their seats in one of the day 1 flights, and more than half have been eliminated.
One of the day 1C chip leaders was Anthony Rafter from Ireland (85,000), but he finished well behind the overall pacesetter Jason Gray, who takes a stack of 184,000 into battle tomorrow.
After yesterday’s lop-sided finish, today’s chip count was very even with 11 players finishing within 25,000 of the biggest stack.
Also returning from the day 1C field will be Team PokerStars Pro Chris Moneymaker, who looked at ease in compiling an impressive stack of 65,000.
Other notables to secure a day 2 berth include well known Melbourne players Jimmy Siu (70,000), Michael Guzzardi (56,000), David Gorr (46,000), Dory Zayneh (33,000) and Julius Colman (22,000).
Frank ‘The Bank’ Bianco (42,000) is aiming for another cash after sneaking into the money at the APPT Macau main event. Sydneysiders Scott ‘Punty’ Smith (58,000) and Patrick Fletcher (41,000) performed strongly as did our Big Brother contestant Nobbi Tanaka (38,000).
Carter Gill, who finished 28th here last year, remains in contention with 51,000 while John Juanda is still in the hunt to add an APPT title to his four WSOP bracelets but faces an uphill battle (13,000).
PokerStars Sponsored players Ivan Tan (53,000), Masa Kagawa (48,000) and Van Marcus (11,000) also progressed, but Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem, his brother Tony, Emad Tahtouh, Eddy Sabat, Bryan Huang, Daniel Craker and Brian McFadden were all eliminated.
Moneymaker joins Lee Nelson and Gavin Griffin as the only Team PokerStars Pros to return tomorrow, while PokerStars Sponsored player Eric Assadourian will also be waving the flag for the event sponsor.
We’ll be back from 12.30pm tomorrow as the race starts in earnest for the final title on season two of the PokerStars.net APPT.
Michael Guzzardi wasn’t really interested in playing the APPT Grand Final today after a tough session in the ‘big PLO’ game last night. But at the insistence of a mate, he decided to take a seat in the last satellite played yesterday. Sure enough, the Melbourne youngster won through and is sitting pretty late on 55,000 late on day 1C.
Guzzardi, known online as thebigsicko, made his major tournament debut in the WSOP earlier this year. He cashed in three WSOP events, including a tremendous seventh in the $1500 Pot Limit Omaha with rebuys event.
Michael Guzzardi, perhaps it's fate
He started playing poker online with a $1 bankroll and ran that original dollar up to six figures over the course of two years. His live record could be set for another major score if he continues the form shown today.
With less than an hour remaining on day 1C, the number of 2008 APPT champions in the field is down to one. Eddy Sabat, the APPT Macau winner, bowed out when he found himself in agonising spot with eights against nines. No haircut just yet Eddy.
APPT Auckland champion Daniel Craker got into a tangle with Jason O’Brien, the money going on a board of 10s-2d-9c-Ah-7s. The Kiwi saw O’Brien’s pocket sevens and knew he was beaten, mucked his cards and left the tournament area.
In contrast to Jason Gray’s runaway result yesterday, the stacks in the room are very even tonight, with Jay Huxley back to 85,000 but still leading. However, there are more than 10 players within 15,000 of the lead.
Although the time difference is only two hours from the now-frosty Tokyo, the jet-lag quickly settles in upon arriving in beautiful Sydney. The flight itself is at least 10 hours direct – more for players with stops in Seoul or Singapore on the way south. And yet when you take a look at Darling Harbour and the Sydney skyline, it all seems worth it.
There are three players representing Japan in the APPT Grand Final this year, and all are notable enough to be recognised on the regional poker scene. Aside from the obvious language barriers, the trio are having a ball.
Yoshihiro Tasaka won the APPT Seoul event this year and has played in the past two APPT events as a PokerStars Sponsored player. He’s come to Australia a few times in his life, but this time he hasn’t left the casino. He reckons Sydney is a great place though and likes the fact that it’s near the sea.
Masa Kagawa is a well-known high roller and is noted for his third-place finish at the 2007 Aussie Millions $100,000 buy-in event and a final table at the recent EPT London High Roller event. A frequent visitor to Australia for events like the Aussie Millions and last year’s APPT Grand Final, Masa loves Sydney. He finds it a great place to relax. He did some shopping yesterday just after arriving and there’s been a smile on his face ever since.
Game face time, but Masa Kagawa is loving Australia
Wooka Kim won the All Japan Poker Championship Ladies’ Event in 2007 and has been at the centre of the Japanese poker scene ever since, gaining followers on her Ice Beer blog where she writes about her travels.
Wooka Kim is aiming for her first APPT in-the-money finish
She hasn’t had a chance to see much of the city but she appreciates the fact that things in Sydney are concentrated and easily accessible. Hopefully she will make it to days 2 and 3 and not have much of a chance to see the sights.
Irishman Anthony thepirat Rafter enjoyed his dinner on Day 1C of the APPT Grand Final after amassing 70,000 in chips. Rafter bought into the event directly from his winnings on PokerStars.
Rafter has had some excellent performances online including a final table in a $1000 buy-in WCOOP event in which he finished eighth and won just under USD $20,000. He is a well travelled poker player with trips to the WSOP and EPT in Monte Carlo while this is his fourth APPT event, having previously played twice in Macau and Korea.
Anthony thepirat Rafter is sailing along nicely
“It my first time in Australia and I just love it. Yesterday I even went scuba diving,” he said. After all, he is thepirat!
Another who’s enjoyed his day at the tables is Tom Guise. Like your experienced blog team (yeah right), Tom comes from a professional writing background, which included a stint as editor-in-chief of Penthouse. He hasn’t exactly traded in his pen for a life of poker but he is far from a poker Playboy bunny.
Tom Guise swaps pen for poker
“It’s great to be playing in this event. I am living back in Sydney now and I won the package on PokerStars. Pro poker player? Get out of here! I am still writing but I have to admit I am playing a lot of poker at the moment,” he said, reflecting on a five-month stint in Macau from which he’s only recently returned.
The steady stream of PokerStars Sponsored players has continued out of the poker area at Star City Casino in Sydney as we enter the evening session on day 1C of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.
On the last hand before the dinner break, APPT Seoul winner Yoshihiro Tasaka added an extra few thousand chips to the ever-growing stack of Jay Huxley. With the board showing Kc-5s-10d-5c-7d, Huxley bet enough to put the Japanese player all-in, and he duly obliged after a long time in the tank. But his A-10 fell short of Huxley’s 8d-5d, good for trips.
Cohiba time for Emad Tahtouh
Then minutes after the hungry horde had returned to their seats, Emad Tahtouh was freed to return to the buffet for a snifter of cognac and a cigar when his A-J stayed dominated by A-K. It was an unhappy day for the PokerStars Sponsored player, who never looked comfortable as he nursed a painful hand injury. It can be a dangerous game.
A quick wrap of the other PokerStars folk still in contention reveals 2003 world champ Chris Moneymaker leading the bunch on 60,000, while three of this year’s APPT champions – Eddy Sabat (18,000), Daniel Craker (19,000) and Van Marcus (14,000) – are all below the chip average. Ivan Tan has 21,000 but Masa Kagawa is looking solid with more than 35,000 in front of him.
Ivan Tan is aiming for a third APPT cash
Huxley is now a clear leader with the only stack north of 100,000 as play ticks into level six (blinds 250/500 with an ante of 50) and just one level to play this evening.
Before his exit, Tahtouh told our video team how he thought events might shape up...
Adding more celebrity glamour to the tables today in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final is Nobuyuki Tanaka, known around Australia as simply ‘Nobbi’. A contestant in reality television show Big Brother, Nobbi is a regular online poker player who won his entry to the APPT Grand Final through a satellite on PokerStars (he actually won two seats).
His interest in poker began three or four years ago through casual games with his mates "using shrapnel" (or small change) and progressed to regularly playing in live and online tournaments.
Nobuyuki Tanaka AKA Nobbi
His enjoyment of the game led him to a job as a dealer at Crown Casino in Melbourne where he worked until he took his place on the 2008 Big Brother series. As one of the most dynamic characters on the show, Nobbi is remembered for spending two months banished outside the house in a Kombi Van and his constant clashes with the eventual winner, 53-year-old grandmother Terri Munro.
With the threat of his television personality making him a target for other players, Nobbi is has been playing slowly but aggressively when the cards are good. "I hope they target me. It wouldn’t be such a bad thing," he said. Sitting on 30,000 just before dinner, Nobbi will be one to watch this evening. At least he can't get voted out of this game!
It’s a long way to come from London for four hours of poker, but Peter Eastgate has proved a popular visitor to Sydney for the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.
The 2008 WSOP main event winner didn’t really get much going today and the final nail was delivered when he pushed pre-flop with Ah-8s, only to find Jarred Grimshaw wake-up with pocket aces.
Despite his short stay at the tables, a round of applause from the other players in the room showed they appreciated the appearance of poker’s newest ambassador.
Another PokerStars Sponsored player Bryan Huang has had his hot streak put on hold after bowing out during level four. Huang, who cashed in a record breaking three APPT events this season, made his last stand with K-10 but the board brought no assistance against his opponents pocket queens.
It’s been a case of mixed fortunes for the two Team PokerStars Pros in the past few minutes, with the elimination of Joe Hachem and a double-up for Chris Moneymaker.
Three world champs started, one remains: Chris Moneymaker
However, Moneymaker can consider himself lucky after he found himself all-in with pocket jacks against pocket kings on a flop of 10-4-8, only for a tournament-saving jack to appear on the turn, taking him to 45,000 in chips.
Hachem’s tournament ended almost immediately after that hand was played when his pocket nines came up against Marcus Bechara’s A-K, with an ace on the flop sending the 2005 WSOP winner and Aussie poker icon to the trail.
We’re coming up to the dinner break on day 1C, with 144 of the 197 who started play still in their seats. Blinds are currently at level 5 (200/400 with a 25 ante). Wang Che Jung (108,000) and Jay Huxley (104,000) to have cracked the six-figure barrier today.
The key numbers have just been confirmed for the final event of the 2008 PokerStars.net APPT, and for the second year in-a-row, players in the APPT Grand Final will be playing for a first prize of AUD $1 million.
The field of 197 players today takes the total to 477, meaning a total prize pool is AUD $2,862,000. The top 48 players will be assured a payout.
One of the players who’s been quick to put up his hand for a slice of that prize pool is Jay Huxley. Just three levels into day’s play, Huxley’s stack is just under 100,000 after he took down a massive pot against Brad Milinkovic when their chips went in on a flop of 10d-Qd-7c. Huxley showed pocket 10s, Milinkovic had pocket sevens and the champagne corks were cracking when the final 10 sailed down the river.
To rub salt into the wound, Milinkovic was sent to the rail just a few hands later when he ran A-K into pocket nines on a flop of 9-A-8. Sometimes, it’s just not your day.
Tony Hachem appears to have purchased a loop ticket for his roller coaster ride today, and recently tested the tolerance of the tournament staff with an expletive-filled rant when his opponent rivered a flush. The PokerStars player is down to just 3000.
Meanwhile, Tony’s older brother Joe isn’t faring much better and is down to just 7000 after a frustrating session at the feature table for the Team PokerStars Pro.
"Hey, you look familiar": Petar and Nik Lackovic
Another set of brothers in the field, Perth’s Nik and Petar Lackovic, are travelling much better than the Hachems. The siblings even spent a few minutes sitting together before APPT tournament director Danny McDonagh delivered a tap on the shoulder to separate them. Nik is on 21,000 while Petar has 25,000 in his stack.
Any of these players have a chance to win this thing, but they'd better listen to the advice of someone who's pretty good at winning big tournaments - here former world champion Joe Hachem talks tournament strategy...
Mike Comer is one of the more interesting personalities in the poker world. He was involved in the creation of the first Australian poker room many years ago in Adelaide but now calls Africa home. He has set up casinos and card rooms in Sierra Leone and Liberia and is currently setting up shop in Ghana.
“Sydney is still technically home, I suppose but poker is really the only thing I ever come back for. I like it in Africa,” he said.
Mike Comer chalks up some more frequent flyers
Mike’s brother Martin is also one of Australia’s most successful poker players but he busted out on the first hand of play on day 1A. “I can’t comment on that, I wasn’t here and it’s too close to home,” Mike joked.
Joseph Moussa doesn’t boast the glamourous travel lifestyle of Mike Comer, but Sydney’s own could be keeping his travel agent should he continue the start he’s made today.
A proud Sydneysider, Joseph Moussa
Moussa only entered the event at the last minute and has already run his stack up to 50,000. He’ has been playing poker for two years and describes it as his passion, along with supporting his much loved rugby league team St George Dragons.
“I travelled to Macau earlier this year and didn’t really like it as much. I love Sydney, it’s home and everyone is really friendly and the food is more to my liking,” Moussa said.
It’s not possible to win the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final during level one of the opening day, but your chances can sure end.
Sadly, we’ve just spotted a forlorn Brian McFadden wandering by after tangled with Gursel Ali shortly before the first break. In three-way action and with the board showing K-8-5-2, Ali bet 10,000, McFadden pushed all-in, the third player folded and Ali called.
The former Westlife singer showed A-K for top-pair, but Ali’s pocket eights (for a set) meant an end for the PokerStars Sponsored player before track one had even finished.
In contrast, Carter Gill could easily have followed McFadden to the rail but made a stellar move on a flop of A-J-6. With an opponent all-in, Gill folded pocket sixes and celebrated when the other player showed pocket sixes.
Tony Hachem: He's looking happier now
But pocket jacks did Tony Hachem no favours as he lost three-quarters of his stack in the early going today. Three players saw a flop of 7c-7s-3h, Brendan Edmonds bet 600 and both players called. The turn was Jd, Edmonds bet 1200 after Hachem checked, the third player folded and Hachem called.
The river was 9s, Edmonds bet 12,000, Hachem pushed all-in and Edmonds called, and showed pocket jacks for a full-house. Hachem showed pocket threes for a smaller full-house, leaving him just over 5000. However, the smile is back on the face of the affable PokerStars Sponsored player after his pocket aces just grew into quads, pushing him back over the 12,000-chip mark.
American young guns Carter Gill and Eddy Sabat are two of the new breed of poker superstars and both are playing on day 1C of the PokerStars APPT Grand Final. Both these likable guys have already sipped from the cup of success during season two of the APPT. Carter won the high roller tournament at APPT Auckland and Eddy, a PokerStars Sponsored player, took out the APPT Macau main event.
For some reason, the boys are still not satisfied with their results and have a side bet not to shave or cut their hair until they get another big result. In a twist of fate they have landed on the same table today, which will certainly lead to some interesting interaction between the two best mates but fierce competitors.
Eddy Sabat has a head start in the hair stakes
Gill and Sabat will head home to the USA for a home-cooked Christmas meal but will be straight back on the plane to the Aussie Millions after attending the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. It’s a tough life for this new breed of poker playboy!
Carter Gill: Ready for a close shave?
Seated just across from the boys is David Gorr. You hardly call the 60-something gent from Melbourne a poker playboy (he may have once been a poker playboy), but he certainly qualifies as one of Australia’s national poker treasures. He has been playing tournaments for longer than anyone can remember and is both feared and respected by his peers.
A month ago he bought a new laptop and won a package on PokerStars, making him one of the most experienced PokerStars qualifiers in the field.
"This online poker thing could catch on," says David Gorr
“I have had to change my game over the years. You can’t just sit there nursing a short stack like we all did in the old days. You have to look for a spot and push it in,” he said, a strategy that steered him to the final table of the recent PokerNews Cup.
He’s hoping to have similar good fortune here in the coming days: “It’s a really nice place to play cards. This is a good tournament and it’s great to get the opportunity to travel to other good poker destinations in Australia. I think the thing that I most like is the fact that (APPT tournament director) Danny McDonagh runs such a tight ship. You always know that the tournament gets run properly if he is in control.”
You can watch Eddy Sabat talking about that hair, and the prospect of playing Carter Gill, right here...
It’s not everyday you get to take a shot at the world champ, and Shane Moran didn’t waste any time taking a swing – metaphorically – at the new WSOP world champion Peter Eastgate. Barely minutes after Michael Carr had packed away his guitar after delivering another stirring rendition of the APPT Grand Final anthem, Moran decided to test the mettle of the London-based Dane.
In two-way action, Moran bet 500 on a flop of 3d-Ks-Ac. Eastgate called and the turn showed Jc. Another 500, another call and the river comes 3s. This time Eastgate made it 1000, and Moran decided that there might be a better time to butt heads with the PokerStars Sponsored pro, who took down a nice early pot.
Peter Eastgate has stepped over his first hurdle
And it's good to see that the USD $9.1 million hasn't gone to Eastgate's head, with his buffet voucher for dinner tonight sitting conveniently next to his stack.
There’s an addition to the star-studded line-up we previewed earlier. Seated two spots to the right of PokerStars Sponsored player Bryan Huang is Nobuyuki Tanaka. No, he’s not a Japanese high stakes baller, rather a contestant from the latest Australian version of Big Brother. Forget Hachem or Eastgate, Nobby is the genuine A-lister in today’s field.
We also omitted to mention Brooke Howard-Smith, who works along side Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson on the New Zealand version of the Celebrity Joker Poker TV series. An ambassador for SKYCITY Auckland (which hosted the APPT Auckland event two months ago), Howard-Smith will be able to swap some celeb gossip with PokerStars Sponsored player Brian McFadden, seated at the same table.
And an early vote for fashion statement of the day goes to reigning PokerNews Cup champion Nali “Iraqi Nick” Kaselias. Fresh from his cash in the APPT Manila main event, Kaselias is wearing a Rocky-like sleeveless hooded top. Pretty menacing Nick.
There’s a dash of Hollywood (sorry, there’s no real Australian equivalent to Hollywood) about today’s day IC field in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. Welcome back to Star City Casino in Sydney for the final flight on day one of the final event for the APPT in 2008.
Today’s feature stars Team PokerStars Pros Chris Moneymaker and Joe Hachem, the world champions from 2003 and 2005. It co-stars Peter Eastgate, making his premiere after taking out the 2008 WSOP main event.
Joe Hachem gets settled at the feature table
In charge of the soundtrack is Brian McFadden, the former Westlife singer and now successful solo performer. He’s being sponsored by PokerStars for this event. The Irishman took his seat in the WSOP main event and PokerStars EPT Dublin tournaments in 2006, so is no newcomer to the game.
The supporting cast includes a long list of PokerStars Sponsored players including Singapore duo Ivan Tan and Bryan Huang, Aussies Tony Hachem, Emad Tahtouh and Van Marcus, Japanese pair Masa Kagawa and Yoshihiro Tasaka, APPT Macau main event Eddy Sabat and APPT Auckland winner Daniel Craker.
APPT Auckland champ Daniel Craker is in the house
And expect cameos from four-time WSOP bracelet winner John Juanda, top local pros Dory Zayneh, Julius Colman and David Gorr, APPT Manila runner-up Tae Noh Jun and popular Kiwi player James Honeybone.
Our producer is APPT president Jeffrey Haas, with APPT tournament director Danny McDonagh in charge on the floor.
Enough of the silliness, it promises to be a terrific day of poker with the field expected to surpass 200 (taking the tournament total close to 500). There will be seven 75-minute levels played today, with the structure Level 1: 50/100; Level 2: 100/200; Level 3: 100/200 (25 ante); Level 4: 150/300 (25 ante); Level 5: 200/400 (25 ante); Level 6: 250/500 (50 ante) and Level 7: 300/600 (75 ante).
The teams are ready. There are players who qualified for their spots through freerolls and tournament leader boards, and they have played several levels of tournaments to get to this place. The only thing left to do is prepare mentally for the task ahead - the Divisional Playoffs - and sit down at the virtual felt next Sunday with skills at the ready for the chance of a lifetime. No pressure, though.
It is already determined that a U.S. team and a Canadian team will be at the live finals in the Bahamas in January of 2009, but who will be on those respective teams? That is what will be determined at the Divisional Playoffs on Sunday, December 7th. Both divisions will play at 3:00pm ET.
Division USA will be comprised of the following teams and players:
USA 1: shaundeeb, xthesteinx, J@M0K3Y!, ba-detroit
USA 2: devinr12, Kenny Rap, MR BigRed 66, stellaz
North Carolina: XbonezX, Sowerss, DAPBowler, CapeFear777
South Dakota: thesidedish, blkjck, toddsplace, deblv3
Wisconsin: JBDenaro157, D1rtyR1v3r, LaddFactor, AlwaysTilt13
Each of those teams are made up of two tournament leaderboard qualifiers and two freeroll qualifiers, and all five teams will be playing for their chance to represent the United States at the live finals.
Division Canada will see the following teams and players compete:
Canada 1: Bonds252525, ch0ppy, SEWB, johncrack
Canada 2: mign, boodaluver, barneyyenrab (plus one tournament leaderboard qualifier TBD)
Canadian Territories: deaonhope, murok, polarbrr, Muck Or Call
Nova Scotia: lobstrman29, dendoggone, AK***QUEEN**, born_in53
Quebec: derek8, ROCKETMAN44, sclarke792, miloup007
As with the U.S., the Canadian teams consist of two tournament leaderboard qualifiers and two freeroll qualifiers. The winners will be packing their bags for the Bahamas.
Keep in mind that Team USA won the World Cup of Poker IV last year, and members of the new team will be looking to defend that title. Team Canada finished fourth last year, so the pressure will be on to improve a few spots this year. For a refresher of everything that happened at the previous live finals, the PokerStars blog post is here for your reading pleasure.
Tune in on Sunday for all of the action, as it is blogged live by the PokerStars reporting team who will be glued to their computer screens to catch it as it happens. More updates regarding other divisions will be posted as the week continues, and the entire schedule can be found here. And for even more information, visit the World Cup of Poker V page.
Dustin Mele had a pretty cool year. The guy went just about everywhere in the world and played in the biggest tournaments around for exactly zero dollars out of his bankroll. How? He won the 2008 PokersStars Passport. From there, he took PokerStars' cash and jet-setted around the world as a poker celebrity.
Now, it's your chance to roll like Mele.
Another stamp in Mele's passport
The PokerStars Passport is the biggest reward a player can get for a great Tournament Leader Board performance. This year, PokerStars is giving away more than $200,000 in cash and prizes to the winners. You could end up going to Rio, Vegas, or halfway across Europe. It's up to you, as long as your traveling and playing poker (not a bad way to spend your time if you have the means).
If you're not already aware, here's how the PokerStars Passport compeition works. The top 1,000 finishers from the December PokerStars will get a chance to play for a single-stamp PokerStars Passport and thousands of dollars in cash. The top 100 finishers will be playing for an even bigger prize. On top of the cash prizes, there are single-stamp, three-stamp, and six-stamp Passports up for grabs. Every stamp gets you an entry into the main event of an live PokerStars-sponsored tournament or the main event of the World Series.
For complete details, schedules, and prize structures, visit the PokerStars Passport webpage.
PokerStars is headed to Russia, and now you can go along for the rise.
PokerStars has just introduced the Russian Poker Tour. The RPT already has its sights set on Moscow and St. Petersburg and it's going to give you a chance to win your seat.
January 25-February 1, PokerStars will host its first Russian Poker Tour event in St. Petersburg. A few weeks later, it's on to Moscow.
In recent years, we have seen some of the world's best players come out of Russia, most notably Team PokerStars Pro Alexander Kravchecnko and World Series runner up Ivan Demidov. As of this moment, the two men have won more money playing poker than any other Russians.
PokerStars has already kicked off satellites for the RPT. Winners get an $8,000 package that covers the buy-in, hotel, and travel cash. You can qualifiy for as little as $2.22 or 111 Frequent Player Points. You can find the satelllites under Events-Special in the PokerStars tournament lobby.
For more information, visit the Russian Poker Tour page at PokerStars.com.
It’s that time of year again. The time when all bloggers get to take a break and play some poker. That’s because the PokerStars WBCOOP is back. In case you didn’t already know, the World Blogger Championship of Online Poker is the tournament series that gives bloggers from all over the world the chance to win big and claim the championship title.
This is how it works. If you have a blog and want to get a piece of the action, first you need to register and get your blog verified. Then all you have to do is write a post on your blog - letting everyone know that you’ll be playing.
When you’ve done that, PokerStars will send you a ticket that can be used to enter any (or all!) of the Freeroll qualifiers, running December 15-20 in various different poker games. Make it big in the qualifiers and you could not only win a seat in the WBCOOP Final, but Sunday Majors entry tickets and Step satellite tickets too.
The Final itself is where the prizes really start to get serious - with PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and European Poker Tour prize packages up for grabs, plus tons more. Here’s just a little taste of what you can win.
WBCOOP Final Prizes
1st: PokerStars Caribbean Adventure prize package 2nd: European Poker Tour prize package + Step 6 ticket 3rd: European Poker Tour prize package
What better way to close out the year than proving you’re the best poker playing blogger on the planet? And there definitely isn’t any better way to get rid of those New Year blues than living it up on the beach in the Bahamas this January at the PCA.
The chips are bagged and on their way to the lock-up after a highly entertaining day of play in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final at Star City in Sydney, Australia.
Of the 172 players who heard Michael Carr pump out his unique version of Waltzing Matilda/The Gambler at the start of play, only 83 will be back here on Friday for day 2.
That line-up will include two of the three Team PokerStars players in action today: Gavin Griffin and Lee “Final Table” Nelson. The fortunes of that pair contrasted – Griffin flew out of the stalls and cruised through the evening to finish near the top of the chip count on around 130,000.
Gavin Griffin is ideally placed for day 2
Nelson had a tougher day and didn’t accumulate chips until after the dinner break. However, he finished the day strongly to be above the chip average of 41,445. The New Zealander, who won the Aussie Millions in 2006, is aiming for consecutive APPT final tables.
However, we farewelled South African Raymond Rahme midway through day 1B – the Team PokerStars Pro’s performance mirrored last year’s trip to Sydney where he bolted to a big chip lead early on day 1. Rahme was again among the biggest stacks in the early going but was KOed midway through the day.
Two PokerStars Sponsored players were also in action today – defending champion Grant Levy and Eric Assadourian. Levy just couldn’t get anything going and hit the rail before the dinner break, while Assadourian stayed well under the radar and finished with just under 40,000.
It was another Sydneysider, experienced Australian poker pro Jason Gray who topped the chip count with 180,000. The quietly spoken but fiercely determined Gray built his stack at the expense of Singapore young gun Nathanael Seet. Gray opened with a raise, there was a call, Seet made it 9,000 and Gray was the only caller.
Day 1B and overall chip leader Jason Gray
The flop came 10c-9d-7h, Gray called Seet’s bet and the turn was Js. Seet checked, Gray bet 13,000, Seet check-raised all-in for 54,000 and Gray called.
Seet showed pocket queens for an overpair and open-ended straight draw, but Gray had a made hand (8d-5d), and sent Seet to the rail when the river came a repeat 10. That pot gave Gray more than 170,000, and he maintained that stack through the rest of the evening.
Vince Ha is in third chip position
With 280 entrants already confirmed for the event, we’re expecting the biggest line-up of the three day 1 flights tomorrow, with the field headed by Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem and Chris Moneymaker, 2008 WSOP main event winner Peter Eastgate, PokerStars Sponsored players Tony Hachem, Daniel Craker, Bryan Huang, Ivan Tan, Eddy Sabat, Masa Kagawa, Van Marcus, Yoshihiro Tasaka and Emad Tahtouh. Should be a terrific day, we’ll be back at 12.30pm tomorrow.
Team PokerStars Pro Gavin Griffin is still moving along nicely and seems focussed on the job at hand during day 1B of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.
“Sydney has been really nice so far. The weather is fantastic and I even went out to Bondi Beach yesterday, it’s a great beach and lived up to all the hype,” he said.
The only player to have won the so-called ‘triple crown’ of a WSOP bracelet, an EPT event, and a WPT event, the 27-year-old achieved this milestone with wins in the 2007 EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo for almost USD $2.5 million, the $3,000 Pot Limit Hold’em event at the 2004 WSOP (then the youngest player to win a WSOP bracelet) and the 2008 WPT Borgata Winter Open. Incredibly, he’s also finished third in a WSOP Circuit Series event, taking his career tournament earnings to almost USD $4.5 million.
Gavin Griffin: eyeing the Fab Four after the Triple Crown
Unfortunately, Gavin and his partner Kristen don’t have the time to stay on in Australia for a vacation but he is expecting to be here over the weekend for a charge at the final table. WPT, WSOP, EPT and APPT titles – how would that be for a record?
Australia is a favourite among tourists from Sweden, especially backpackers, and PokerStars qualifier Alexander Soderlund is manoeuvring himself into a position to fill a pack full of cash after charging to more than 100,000 in chips early this evening.
It is his first time in Australia and he hasn’t seen anything outside of Star City yet, but he is planning to head down to Melbourne and the Aussie Millions after the APPT Grand Final.
A Swede in Sydney, Alexander Soderlund
“I am really looking forward to travelling around and might even try to catch a little of the tennis when I’m out here even though we (the Swedes) don’t have a good player at the moment,” he said.
Queensland nightclub owner Jamie Pickering has been shaking and grooving his way around many final tables in the last year. He won the Limit Hold’em tournament at this year’s Aussie Millions and had a successful campaign at the WSOP where he had a second-place finish in the $1,500 PLO event and multiple cashes.
The form player, Queensland's Jamie Pickering
Pickering is a man of few words at the poker table but his actions speak louder when he gets on a roll and starts to terrorise his opponents: “I was down to under 6,000 earlier and now am over 50,000. I’m feeling confident,” he said.
There will be a new APPT Grand Final champion in 2008 after last year’s winner Grant Levy bowed out just before the dinner break. The PokerStars Sponsored player’s stack was under attack from the opening hand and he made his last stand with pocket sevens against K-J. A king in the window had Levy collecting his personals and heading for the door with wife Sharon.
But the heirs apparent are emerging from the pack. One of the region’s rising stars, Nathanael Seet, has been steadily moving up the chip count throughout the day.
Singaporean sensation Nathanael Seet
The dominant player in the APPT Auckland main event before bowing out sixth, Seet is just one of the young band of Singaporean players tearing it up through Asia.
The graph of Jonathan Karamalikis’ chip stack looks like the Swiss Alps, but it’s heading up the side of the Matterhorn after a cliff-hanger of a hand.
With all the chips in the middle, Karamalikis’ eights were up against A-K, and he looked in strife when the flop came Ad-10s-Ac. One of his two outs, the 8s, landed on the turn, and the player known, colourfully, as xMONSTERxDONGx online, is up to 70,000.
But amid the pimply-faced horde, a wise old head is starting to make a move: Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson.
Lee Nelson: a reason to smile, at last
Fresh from a final table appearance in the APPT Manila main event, Nelson, who cashed in this event last year, finally broke through the chip average of 33,000 when doubled through Andrew Scarf with pocket queens against K-J. Lads, underestimate the wily veteran at your peril.
The 113 players remaining in day 1B of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final have just returned after consuming the GDP of Botswana at Star City’s Garden Buffet.
Swedish PokerStars qualifier Alexander Soderlund remains chip leader on 94,000 ahead of Aussie pro Jason Gray (84,000), Tom Rafferty (83,000), Team PokerStars Pro Gavin Griffin (82,000) and Robert Bechava (78,500).
Just before dinner, we had a couple of special guests checking out the action – Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem and PokerStars Sponsored player Peter Eastgate, fresh off the plane and ready for his first major tournament appearance since winning the WSOP main event. No pressure on you, young man! And how about a certain wager with Billy "The Croc" Argyros ...
Mark Vos is one of Australia’s most successful poker players. He is a high stakes cash player who plays the majority of his poker online. He enjoys playing tournaments and won a WSOP bracelet in 2006 in the $2000 No Limit Hold’em event. He went deep in this year’s WSOP main event, finishing in 80th position. He also scored an eighth in the Aussie Millions main event in 2006.
Mark Vos on a sleepy Wednesday afternoon
Despite spending much of the year on the road, Vos said he loves coming home to play in big events like the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. Mark is the sort of player that doesn’t lament on lost opportunities but it is clear that there is a touch of regret about falling at the final hurdle in this year’s WSOP main event.
“When you are one of the chip leaders with a 100 left in the Main Event you start thinking about the life-changing amount of money at the end of the tournament. I would never have to play poker again if I didn’t want to if I finished high up on the final table. I’m not a materialistic person, but on this occasion my disappointment was all about the money,” Vos said.
But the APPT is not all about the superstars of world poker. It offers the opportunity to players from across the globe to not only play in world class tournaments but to travel to places that they have never previously visited.
Scott Krueger has travelled all the way from Wisconsin in the USA. He was one of the many lucky players who qualified for this tournament on PokerStars. He has been sitting with Richard Holmes all day and they have been talking plenty of NFL. Scott is a huge Green Bay Packers fan and said it was nice to talk football with such a knowledgeable handicapper like Richard.
Scott Krueger is happy to be out of the Nth American winter
“I love the city of Sydney. I have walked around the harbour and it’s a great place. I am here for a few days after the tournament so I am looking forward to seeing a lot more before I return home to the cold,” he said. Soak it up Scott, and good luck.
We’re on the downhill stretch to the dinner break on day 1B of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final, with 144 players still seated of the 172 who crossed the start line.
Since the last break, the cry of “all-in” and “call” has started to echo across the poker room as the short stacks come under attack. Already, Sam Youssef, Sheldon Mayer, Billy Argyros, Peter Pratis and Reza Vakili have been eliminated.
The title defence of Grant 'Grunter' Levy is on the ropes as his stack falls dangerously close to the felt. The PokerStars Sponsored player has struggled to get anything going today – despite holding around 7000 in chips, don’t expect last year’s winner to give up without a fight.
Grant Levy: Cracking a grin after cracking aces
Barely had that last sentence been completed when the Levy fans erupted on the rail after their man doubled up when he hit a set of nines on the flop against pocket aces. He runs well.
As Levy can attest, winning a tournament of this size and stature is hard enough without throwing away a winning hand. That’s what we just saw while catching up on the progress of young Aussie online star Ben Delaney.
After a flop of As-Jd-Ks, Delaney called a bet of 1100 and the turn came 4s. Delaney bet 4000 on the river of Qs before his opponent open-mucked Ad-Js. Sometimes, the nut flush (just the 10s short of a royal flush) isn’t that obvious!
The impressively named Alexander Forslof Söderlund of Sweden is our new chip leader on 90,000 but Team PokerStars Pro Gavin Griffin lies second on 77,000.
Gavin Griffin is off to a flyer in the APPT Grand Final
Aussie Chris Levick was happy to take a nice pot off Griffin, a small measure of revenge against Team PokerStars after he was KOed by Joe Hachem in last year’s APPT Grand Final.
Levick, who operates several poker venues throughout Sydney, has two APPT cashes to his name and has been a tireless contributor to the local poker industry in recent years. Even Gavin can cope with a small contribution for the good of Aussie poker.
Australia is one of the most sports obsessed countries in the world, so it’s hardly surprising that poker has been embraced as part of the nation’s sporting culture. Long before Joe Hachem took poker from the backrooms into the mainstream in 2005, Aussies were making their mark on the world poker stage.
Sydney's own Gary Benson
One of the first was Gary Benson. He is a WSOP bracelet winner in seven-card stud (1996) and has been a regular on the Australian professional poker tour for many years. He also won the ‘Bad Boys of Poker’ at the 2007 PokerNews Cup. Gary calls Sydney home and would love to win the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.
Graeme “Kiwi G” Putt is a proud New Zealander but has been part of the Australian poker scene for many years. He has been a consistent winner in live cash play but his passion is tournament poker.
Kiwis like eating chips, says Graeme Putt
He has cashed in tournaments all over the world including Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, St Kitts, Macau, St Maarten and Austria. He has enjoyed travelling to most of the PokerStars.net APPT tournaments in the last few years and would love to cap of his career with a big win here.
Richard Holmes puts the formguide aside for a day
Richard Holmes is a professional gambler who resides on the Gold Coast in Queensland. He mostly focuses on sport betting but has a passion for poker. He spent many years living in Las Vegas where he was considered one of the world’s best seven-card stud players. He has cashed in tournaments in Australia, America and Great Britain. Got a tip for us Richard?
The Hachems are certainly Australia’s best-known poker family. Everyone knows 2005 WSOP world champion and Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem but his brother Tony, a PokerStars Sponsored player, is carving out a handy reputation as shown by his second-place finish in this year’s New Zealand Championships main event.
Tony has already enjoyed a good week and made the final table of the six-handed event yesterday. Both Joe and Tony are playing in Day 1C tomorrow.
Another family dominating in the Australian poker scene are the Assadourians. Eric is a sponsored PokerStars player and 2007 APPT Macau High Roller champion. Eric’s father Asic, started to be make his mark as a poker player after making the cash in the PokerStars.net APPT Auckland main event. Eric’s girlfriend, Lizzie Clarke, played yesterday but didn’t make it through to day 2.
Assadour Assadourian: "Watch out son!"
Suzy Khouies (seated at table 30 today) is another player who comes from a famous Australian poker family with brothers Sam and Kevin having won many tournaments here and abroad. Suzy, has amassed a remarkable record in the biggest tournaments on the Australian Poker League circuit.
Suzy Khoueis brings a stack of experience to the table.
Often playing along side husband Radi Chalghin, Suzy has stamped herself as the undisputed number one female player in the APL, a pub and club based competition boasting 400,000 players around the country. She has played almost 700 APL games with 30 wins and just over 200 final table appearances. No other APL player has scored more points in the past two years.
The 39-year-old mother of eight – yes, eight – is nicknamed “Guru”, a measure of the respect she commands from other players. Having dominated APL ranks, Suzy showed that she’s far from out of her depth in the pro ranks with a stunning 23rd placing in the APPT Grand Final at Star City last December, winning $18,500. Not bad for a major tournament debut!
After losing Vanessa Rousso and Chad Brown on day 1A, the Team PokerStars crew in today’s field have stamped their authority in the early going on day 1B in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. The two biggest stacks in the room belong to South Africa’s Raymond Rahme and “triple crown” winner Gavin Griffin.
Rahme was here in Sydney last year and won over everyone with his friendly demeanour. He also impressed on the felt, charging out to the chip lead on the opening day. Despite finding himself on a tough table featuring Andrew Scott and Dennis Huntly, Rahme has been quick to establish a tough table image, taking his stack to more than 50,000.
Raymond Rahme, on the move.
Griffin’s table draw also did him no favours, but he’s steered clear of Chris Levick (two cashes on the APPT) and Manny Stavropoulos to be sitting on 45,000 late in level 2.
The other Team PokerStars Pro in today’s field, Lee “Final Table” Nelson, has been working tirelessly in the past few days after guiding his latest batch of students at the official APPT seminar (along with Joe Hachem). But Nelson will need to put some of that knowledge to practise after suffering a couple of early hits to be down below 15,000 in the early going.
Last year’s champ Grant Levy also looks relieved to finally take his seat after a heavy promotional schedule in recent weeks (including a role in a TV commercial that has made the Sydneysider a national celebrity). His stack headed south initially, but he’s now back to close to his start stack of 20,000.
Hand number one, elimination number one. No, we’re not kidding. The money went on the turn between local player Martin Comer and Moe Toaube, with Comer showing pocket queens against Ad-7d. Comer was already in strife with the board showing 4c-7s-2s-7h, then the Ks had him headed for the rail before some players had even taken their seats!
A quick scour of the floor has revealed an ultra-impressive line-up of starters, including seasoned Aussie pros Jeff Lisandro (WSOP seven-card stud bracelet winner in 2007), Jamie Pickering (runner-up in the $1500 PLO event at this year’s WSOP), Mark Vos (2006 WSOP $2000 No Limit Hold’em bracelet winner), Gary Benson (the first Australian to win a WSOP bracelet, in 1996), Billy ‘The Croc’ Argyros, Sam Youssef, Graeme ‘Kiwi G’ Putt, Dennis Huntly and Richard Holmes.
The reputation of Mark Vos certainly precedes – his tablemates groaned in anguish when the gregarious South African-born Aussie took his seat. Wonder how long before Vos tests out the rule named in his honour at this year’s WSOP where his massive main event chip stack threatened to topple over on several occasions.
The younger Aussie brigade is represented by Haibo Chu (2006 Melbourne champion), top ranked local online player Jonathan xMONSTERxDONGx Karamalikis and Marlon Goonawardana (winner of the $1500 bounty event at the 2008 Aussie Millions).
A family affair for Eric Assadourian
Yesterday we had the girlfriend of Eric Assadourian, Lizzie Clarke, in the field – today it is Eric’s father Assadour who we’ll be keeping watch over. Assadour cashed at the APPT Auckland main event, how would it be to have father and son at the final table here on Sunday!
With entries still open for day 1B, already 170 players have taken their seats, taking the total entry close to 300 as we greedily eye last year’s figure of 561 players.
Players are catching the last rays of sunshine on another sensational day Sydney day prior to taking their seats for day 1B of PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.
Already 46 players have qualified for Friday’s day 2, but a much bigger field than yesterday’s start list of 108 will be aiming to survive the seven 75-minute levels scheduled for today in the poker room at Star City Casino.
Sorry guys, time to take your seats.
New Zealander Phil Wilcox stole the show yesterday and is sitting in the clubhouse with a very healthy chip stack of a little under 130,000 in chips. With a few more starters today we can expect that figure of 108 to be overtaken.
The big names are certainly out in force today, headlined by defending champion and PokerStars Sponsored player Grant Levy, Team PokerStars Pros Lee “Final Table” Nelson, Gavin Griffin and Raymond Rahme.
Team PokerStars Pro Lee Nelson.
Other PokerStars Sponsored players in action today are local Eric Assadourian and Ivan Tan.
Four-time WSOP bracelet winner John Juanda, APPT Macau High Roller runner-up Andrew Scott, 2007 APPT Grand Final fifth-place finisher Jai kemp and another huge batch of top Aussie pros and qualifiers.
The order to shuffle up and deal has just been delivered by 2008 WSOP main event winner Peter Eastgate (we’ll be chatting with the champ a little later today), and the cards are in the air! Structure for today’s play is:
Day 1A of the Pokerstars.net APPT Grand Final has come to an end after seven levels. Out of the original 108 that took to the felt earlier today, 48 players remain. The 75-minute levels and a healthy 20K start bank offered players plenty of time to gather some chips and ease themselves into the long slog that awaits over the next six days.
Team PokerStars Pros Vanessa Rousso and Chad Brown (despite starting strongly) were the big names in action but they busted out at either end of the day. The three PokerStars Sponsored players who featured on day 1A – Celina Lin, Lei He and David Saab – were also casualties of a testing day.
Poker's first couple swap bad beat stories.
It was also a day that featured many of the rising stars of Australian poker, although the majority fell by the wayside. Online sensations Jay SEABEAST Kinkade and James Andy McLEOD Obst were both were among the big names to tee off. Kinkade made an early exit and the youngster kid from Adelaide was among the first out.
Much of the drama was settled on a table that comprised Saab, famed jockey Shane Dye, Julian Powell and Jim Sachinidis. The least experienced of that quartet – Dye – handed out to the pros and finished the day with around 60k in chips.
Leo “The Mechanic” Boxell used his wealth of experience and class to end the day with just under 30k in chips. He was seated next to Brown and the two dominated the table for most of the day until Chad made his unexpected exit.
Steven Musca was one of the few WA players to survive day 1A.
Those who shone towards the end of the day included West Australian Steven Musca and Daniel Kowalski of the UK; both have just under 100k. It looks, however, that the day 1B and 1C players will be chasing Phil Willcocks from Auckland and his impressive stack of 130k.
We’ll be back at 12.30pm tomorrow local time for the continuation of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final from Star City Casino on the shores of Darling Harbour in Sydney, Australia.
And then there were none. In a Detroit Lions-esque showing, the PokerStars Sponsored crew have gone 0-5 on day 1A of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final in Sydney.
Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown has joined Vanessa Rousso on the sidelines after walked K-3 into the K-J of Phil Wilcox on a board of J-7-K-3. Tough break, but the temperature is going to be 84 tomorrow. Vanessa, pack the bathers and the sunscreen.
Chad Brown bowed out in the latter stages of day 1A
Lei He, the local player who finished third in last year’s APPT Grand Final, has also been eliminated by rhyming namesake Dave Lee. It was jacks versus fours, and the board stayed forlorn for Lei He.
The medicos finally unplugged the life support on the stack of PokerStars Sponsored player David Saab after the Manila-based Aussie pro had survived several all-ins.
Ironically, he busted when pushing with the best of it – A-K against A-Q – but a Q on the flop sent the last of Saab’s chips in the direction of Brett Burgess.
Kiwi PokerStars qualifier Phil Willcocks remains the chip leader with 120,000 ahead of David Lovell, Greg Cook, PokerStars qualifier Daniel Kowalski from the UK and Ray Lapitan. And so to day 1B ...
Tournament director Danny McDonagh has just announced that players will be playing seven levels, which means we have 75 minutes remaining on day 1A of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final. McDonagh likes to keep the opening day as short as possible for APPT events.
“We understand that players come here for a holiday. We don’t want to kill them on the first day. It’s also nice to start off with a large field on day two. There is plenty of time to test them out as the tournament progresses,” he said.
Separated at birth: APPT tournament director Danny McDonagh and Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown.
McDonagh is an Australian poker icon, and his work on the APPT has underlined his reputation as one of the world’s most respected tournament directors.
Leo “The Mechanic” Boxell is also held in high regard in the local poker community. A motor mechanic from suburban Melbourne, his poker achievements are far too numerous to cover on this blog entry. He’s won numerous Australian and New Zealand titles but his most notable effort was when he finished second to Peter Costa in the 2003 Aussie Millions main event.
"The Mechanic" Leo Boxell tunes-up for another big buy-in event.
He always carries a lucky wombat with him (a small, furry, tank-shaped Australian marsupial) that sits upon his chips, keeping guard. Leo’s loving wife Bev is also always close by during most tournaments in which Leo plays.
Boxell is flying at the moment with just under 50,000 in chips,. He’s seated next to Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown. The two most experienced players at the table, they’ve not tangled in too many pots.
Dan Ginnane is up there with the chip leaders on 80,000. Dan resides in Coogee Bay, one of the many beautiful seaside suburbs on Sydney’s east. Dan is quite the personality around town thanks to his work on Triple M radio as a rugby league presenter.
The future's so bright, Dan Ginnane has to wear shades!
“My two passions are certainly rugby league and poker. I have been playing for about four years and am having a blast in this tourny,” he said.
With the blinds now at level 7 (300/600 with a 75 ante), the chip leader is Phil Wilcox (120,000), David Lovell (101,000), Shane Dye (80,000), Greg Cook (78,000) and Stewart Davidson (64,000). Half of the field who started the day (54 of 108) are aiming to survive day 1A. And what would they do if they went on to win? See here...
We could make some cheap jibe about it being bedtime for the youngsters as we enter the evening session on day 1A of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final at Star City. But we won’t. Instead, here are the details of how two of the more youthful members of today’s field have been sent to the rail.
Celina Lin + A-6 = elimination.
PokerStars Sponsored player Celina bondgirl Lin committed the last of her chips with A-6 and found herself up against A-K. The board brought no help and the popular Melbournian was out of the tournament.
Steve stevo Leonard’s departure was far messier. He committed the last of his chips with Ah-7h on a board of 2s-6h-3s-2h-Kh. Nut flush good? Not if your opponent has pocket deuces.
Oh no, as stevo gets the heave-ho.
Jay Kinkade always needed help with A-K against the pocket kings of Mark Deutsch and it didn’t come, as the board ran out 5s-Qh-2c-7s-10h. And here is today’s trivia item: not only is Kinkade a gun poker player, he is also the guitarist for Perth thrash metal band Distortion. And he seems such a nice boy.
The post-dinner devastation has also claimed Josh Pang Ang, who bubbled the final table at the last APPT stop in Manila. The Singaporean’s stack swung worse than the Dow Jones over the past few weeks before he missed a flush draw against the straight of Phil Wilcox, who now occupies the chip lead with more than 90,000.
Anguish for Josh Pang Ang.
Fresh from a final table in the PokerNews Cup main event, Dave Lee collected some valuable chips at the expense of Perth cash-game specialist Jovan Skekic, while Jarred Graham and Jim Sachinidis have also been eliminated since dinner.
With play midway through level six (blinds at 250/500 with an ante of 50) and about two hours of play remaining, 63 of the 108 players that started day 1A are still in contention.
Now this is the sort of action we love! Aussie poker icon Billy “The Croc” Argyros loves a bet – be it poker, sports, horses, two cockroaches crawling up the wall; anything!
The Croc’s latest target is none other than the new WSOP main event champion Peter Eastgate. Argyros figures the 22-year-old will be jetlagged from the long trip to Australia, and is prepared to put up AUD $10,000 that he will last longer in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final than the Dane. The young PokerStars Sponsored player flies in tomorrow, wonder how long before news of the Croc’s offer reaches him!
The latest news from our feature table is that Shane Dye is still beating up on his more fancied opposition and is sitting comfortably on approximately 50,000 in chips. His sparring partner PokerStars Sponsored player David “Superman” Saab has been crippled as the Aussie hoop applies his own brand of beat down on day 1A of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final at Star City.
“I didn’t even realise I had played with Shane before,” Saab said. “He remembered me from a tournament in Melbourne where I apparently put him out of tournament when I hit a set against his aces. Everyone knows who I am. He is playing really well though today, with a very tight aggressive style of play.”
Shane, when asked if he enjoyed ‘riding’ over the top of the Superman, said: “I’m just annoyed I forgot to bring any headphones.”
Lei He makes a welcome return to the tournament poker scene.
Dye wouldn’t have any issues if he’d been seated next to PokerStars Sponsored player Lei He. Last year’s third-place finisher in the APPT Grand Final has started strongly and looks at ease in the early stages of the tournament.
“I have been sidetracked a lot this year so I really haven’t been able to spend the time on my poker that I would have liked to. This event is really special to me though and I would love to go a couple of spots better,” he said.
Meanwhile the preliminary events continue around the APPT Grand Final, with popular Crown player Sam Youssef the latest to celebrate victory after the $2,200 No Limit Hold’em six-handed event.
That's another title for Sam Youssef.
It’s been a big year for Sam who won the high stakes events at the Melbourne and Victorian Championships. He outlasted a field that included PokerStars Sponsored players Tony Hachem (sixth) and Emad Tahtouh (who has apparently suffered a fractured hand).
“It wasn’t about the money; I only do it for the trophy and the enjoyment of the game. It would have been disgraceful to lose the event when I got heads up. I owed it to the Melbourne boys to take the title home,” Youssef said.
As the sun starts to sink below the Blue Mountains to the west of Sydney on day 1A of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final, the blues have set in for a number of players who’ve exited the tournament.
Melbourne’s Julian Powell found himself all-in against Michael Wong with A-K after a pre-flop raising war. It was an astute move, as Wong showed just 7d-8s, but options opened up when the flop landed 10s-As-6s.
Sure enough, the 9c came on the turn and Powell was looking for a spot at the nearest cash game.
The Perth party at table 19 has been broken up with the departure of Matthew Kirk and Michael Pedley. With the flop showing Ad-8s-Jc, Mark Deutsch disappeared into the tank and eventually called with pocket queens, well behind Kirk’s A-K. Bang, Q on the turn, adios Matty.
Pedley’s tremendously consistent year on the local and international circuit ended on a disappointing note, but Jay Kinkade and Jovan Skekic are still waving the flag for the Sandgropers.
Warwick Mirzikinian, the early pacesetter on day 1A.
At the other end of the chip count, it’s Warwick Mirzikinian who’s leading the field a merry chase. The Star City regular actually won three seats into the APPT Grand Final. Winning form is good form, and Mirzikinian has torn a swathe through his tablemates so far today.
Tony bond18 Dunst gets the 007 look happening.
Also prominent on the chip count are a couple of online players very familiar with each other’s skills.
Queensland’s Harris harrismp Pavlou (currently holding about 60,000 in chips) is best known for his online PLO cash-game prowess but has also impressed on the live scene this year.
Tony bond18 Dunst won a $3k buy-in event at the Bellagio Cup after four cashing four times at the 2008 WSOP. He’s best known for his online tournament record, but is showing he’s no slouch at the live form of the game with a stack of 50,000 currently in his possession.
With players about to head off for the dinner break at the midway point of level five (200/400 with a 25 ante), about 25 players have hit the rail. Meanwhile, the countdown is on for players awaiting days 1B and 1C.
Dating back to the days before Australia was a federated nation, there has always been a healthy rivalry between the country’s two biggest cities.
Separated by less than 1,000 kilometres (that's not far in Australia), the cities that sit at either end of the Hume Highway are surprisingly different. Indeed, the rivalry between the cities was the reason that neither Melbourne (the largest city at the time) nor Sydney (the oldest city) was chosen as the capital when Australia officially became a nation in 1901.
How else are they different? When the world thinks of Australia, it thinks of Sydney’s Harbour Bridge and that Opera House, not the brown and muddy Yarra River. But Melbourne is widely recognised as the home of the nation’s cultural heritage, the best shopping and the finest restaurants.
The cities are home to rival football codes – rugby league in Sydney and Australian football in Melbourne. Sydneysiders drink middies of beer, Melburnians drink pots of beer; Sydneysiders eat potato scallops, Melburnians eat potato cakes. You get the idea.
The rivalry between the cities has certainly flowed over into poker. Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem (Melbourne) is the yin to PokerStars Sponsored player Grant Levy’s yang. Melbourne has Van Marcus, Sydney has Eric Assadourian; Melbourne has Steve Leonard, Sydney has Daniel Kochan.
But the battle for the hearts and wallets of poker players has stepped up another level since the first PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final was held last year.
Suddenly, Australia’s premier poker event the Aussie Millions (played in the nation’s largest poker room at Crown in Melbourne) was feeling some pressure from a major event that was played only weeks earlier at Sydney’s Star City Casino.
Once the winner of the 2008 APPT Grand Final has been confirmed, work will start on a brand new poker room at Star City, and another chapter will be written in the long-standing rivalry.
20,000 starting stack; generous structure; four days of play; an estimated AUD $1 million first prize – what’s the hurry? Surprisingly, there are plenty of short stacks in the room midway through level three on day 1A of the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final at Star City in Sydney.
One of those short stacks belongs to PokerStars Sponsored player David Saab, who lost a race with pocket deuces against the A-K of Michael Wong on a board that ran out Ac-9d-8h-3s-Qc.
Another player struggling in the early going is PokerStars Sponsored player Celina Lin. Gutted to finish just two spots short of the money in the APPT Manila main event, the Chinese-born Australian has taken a few hits early to be down to less than 10,000.
Celina Lin faces a challenge early on day 1A.
Celina leads a small but diverse line-up of female players in today’s field. They include PokerStars qualifier Kristine Milinkovic, Valerie Gigliotti, who won a seat via a media freeroll and Lizzie Clarke, the girlfriend of PokerStars Sponsored player Eric Assadourian.
Last week, Lizzie’s sister Sally won the ladies event (part of the APPT Grand Final preliminary schedule) for almost AUD $6,000. With Eric’s father Assadour also set to line-up in the main event, it’s shaping up as quite an extended family affair.
Sadly that list of female players in the APPT Grand Final no longer includes Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso, who has been one of the great supporters of the APPT since its inception last year. On a flop of 5c-10d-2h, Rousso moved all-in responding to a bet of 3,800 and quicker than you can yell “shark”, there was the call.
Vanessa showed pocket jacks but found herself up against pocket aces, which duly saluted the judge. Well, there are worse places to be stuck than Sydney on a sunny day!
Leo Boxell, meet Chad Brown.
Meanwhile, Vanessa's partner and fellow Team PokerStars Pro Chad Brown has rocketed to around 50,000 in chips. He appears to be in total control of the table and is sitting next to one of Australia’s poker icons, Leo “The Mechanic” Boxell.
Shane Dye is not only one of Australia finest jockeys; he has also been one of the biggest personalities of the sport over the years. When talking of a ride, a horse or another jockey he is never short of an opinion and it is this self-belief that will help him become one of Australia’s better poker players.
His record in the saddle is impressive. He won the 1989 Melbourne Cup aboard Tawriffic, then won Australasia’s premier two-year-old race the Golden Slipper, four years in a row from 1989-1992.
The eyes of a champion: top jockey Raymond Shane Dye.
Dye developed a love for the game when he returned from many years riding in one of the toughest racing theatres in the world, Hong Kong. Dye, while recovering from a horrendous injury, started playing poker.
Not only did he find that he enjoyed the game, he was a natural from the start and the results came early. He has already won a couple of smaller tournaments here at Star City in Sydney and played well and made day 2 of the PokerStars APPT Auckland main event earlier this year.
The affable Kiwi-born Aussie is never short of a witty comment, and when asked what his strategy for the day was, he replied: “What do you think? Get some good cards and survive!”
The jockey’s poker skills are being tested at the “table of death”, with Dye seated with PokerStars Sponsored player David “Superman” Saab, Jim Sachinidis and Julian Powell.
David Saab: "You can ride, but boy, can I talk".
Saab is a lovable rogue – the Korean-born Aussie, who currently resides in Manila, is quickly making a name for himself across the world as one of the loudest (but best) players in the game. His clash with Dye, an equally dominant force in the world of horse racing, will be worth watching.
The start of the poker boom in Australia can be traced back to a single date: July 13, 2005. That was the day that Joe Hachem was crowned the World Series of Poker main event champion. Within weeks, poker rooms around the country were being packed with a new breed of player. Three years later, the young guns have taken over the local scene, as shown by the results in the major local events in 2008.
Players like James Broom (Melbourne champion), Jay Kinkade (Australia’s number one ranked online player and the 2008 Victorian champion) and Van Marcus (APPT Manila main event winner) lead a long list of young champions challenging the old guard that has dominated the game here for more than a decade.
Another one of those young stars emerging through the ranks is Jarred flopnutsonyou Graham, a multiple title winner online this year who is ranked firmly in the top five online players in Australia.
Jarred Graham treads warily in the early going.
He’s also among the early movers today after he claimed one of the first scalps of the day. On a flop of Q-J-10 with three players in the hand, there was a bet of 1,100, Graham made it 3,000 with one caller. The turn was a 6, it was checked to Graham who bet 4,000 and took it down.
The same two players were at it again just minutes later after a flop of K-8-2. Graham shoved over the top all-in and, surprisingly, received a call. His opponent showed K-10 for top pair, but Graham showed pocket aces and took down his first scalp of the day.
APPT tournament director Danny McDonagh has confirmed today’s day 1A field at 108, with players currently on their first break midway through level 2 (blinds at 100/200).
The temperature is nudging 85 degrees outside; the ferries are chugging across Sydney Harbour in the brilliant Australian sunshine and in the Star City poker room, the anticipation is reaching fever pitch as players begin to assemble for the first of the three day 1 flights in the PokerStars.net APPT Grand Final.
Last year, the finale of the APPT’s first season attracted a massive field of 561. Registrations are ticking over, meaning this year’s field could still surpass that figure. Last year’s winner Grant Levy, a born and bred Sydneysider, has just given the order to shuffle up and deal after a short word from APPT president Jeffrey Haas.
We also had a stirring rendition of Australia’s unofficial national anthem Waltzing Matilda, which seamlessly morphed into every poker player’s favourite The Gambler. Nice touch.
"Know when to hold'em, know when to fold'em"
Many of the big names have confirmed their entries for days 1B and 1C, but that’s not to say the day 1A field isn’t without some talent. Leading the entry list are Team PokerStars Pros Vanessa Rousso and Chad Brown, along with PokerStars Sponsored players Celina Lin and David Saab (seated two spots to the right of well known jockey Shane Dye, these two should get the table talk going before too long).
Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Rousso gets busy early on day 1A.
The list of PokerStars qualifiers includes two of Australia’s premier online players Daniel puntnko Kochan and James Andy McLEOD Obst. Kochan has a runner-up finish in the PokerStars Sunday Million to his name while Obst won the $215 Pot Limit Omaha (w/ one rebuy and one add-on) event in the recent WCOOP on PokerStars.
Others in action today include veritable minefield of Western Australia’s best players – Nino Marotta (fifth in the 2008 Aussie Millions), Kent Hunter, Jay SEABEAST Kinkade, Michael Pedley, Sam Jessop, Jovan Skekic and Matthew Kirk.
Others representing the host nation include young guns Joel Dodds (14th in the past two APPT Macau main events), Julian Powell, Steve stevo Leonard, Harris Pavlou, Jarred Graham and Michael Chrisanthopoulos. Play is expected to run for about 8-9 hours depending on the number of players eliminated. The structure for today’s play (75-minute levels) is:
The Astral Bar is a penthouse bar and restaurant perched on top of the 17th floor right on the edge of Sydney Harbour and the City. It is one of Star City Casino’s many jewels and was a fitting place to launch the Pokerstars APPT Grand Final.
Local beer and local Aussie fare including specials such as meat and mushroom pies and skewered king prawns gave players a real flavour of the land Down Under. The funky grooves of the band belted out some tunes as the sun set over the city and the players relaxed before the action in the main event starts.
Team PokerStars Pros Vanessa Rousso and Lee Nelson party it up.
Notable early arrivals include Team PokerStar Pros such as Vanessa Rousso, Chad Brown, Gavin Griffin and Lee Nelson plus last year’s winner Grant Levy were among the guests.
• Andrew Johns is considered by many as the best rugby league player to ever lace on the boots and can now lay claim to being the Star City Charity Poker Event Champion. So who did he beat? Well, he did it the hard way, having to take down Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem.
Andrew 'Joey' Johns claimed the biggest scalp in poker to win the charity event.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever played to be honest so to beat a world champion, I don’t know. I can assure you it’s all luck! I’ve been bitten by the bug, though. My mates are going to hate me but it’s something else I can lair them up about. I loved it,” Johns said.
Other notable sporting champions who took to the green felt were former Wallabies full-back Matt Burke, triple Melbourne Cup winning jockey Glen Boss and former world heavyweight boxing champ “Aussie” Joe Bugner.
The fairer sex was also represented by marathon swimmer Susie Maroney and two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jane Flemming. The day, however, belonged to Johns who donated $10,000 to his chosen charity Ronald McDonald House.
On the last Sunday in November, a total of 54 nations sat down at their respective PokerStars tables to determine the final members of those nations’ teams for the World Cup of Poker V. It was anything but a lazy Sunday for those competing players.
Each tournament resulted in the top two finishers securing their spots on those national teams, and those teams will compete on December 7th for a place at the live final table. Only nine teams will make it to the Bahamas for that much-anticipated event, so the virtual felt will be alive with tense but healthy poker competition next Sunday.
Oh, and the PokerStars blogging team will be all over it with live blogging to bring you the wins and losses, and all of the exciting action that leads to those results.
To get an idea of who will be participating in the Divisional Playoffs on December 7th, we should let you know who qualified for those teams yesterday. The results of the first 34 national team finals that finished yesterday were reported here. The remaining 20 tournaments that played out, some of which were detailed here, resulted in the following team members being determined:
United States - J@M0K3Y! and ba-detroit
Canada - SEWB and johncrack
Argentina - Nikks_07 and poro14
Brazil - arielbh and kinhomd
Israel - cutio and EMINEM_T
Peru - ficofico75 and MARWEST
Uruguay - estefano17 and CROSA COLL
Guatemala - tortumen and ratsed
Venezuela - RCSGOLD and pokerfrank76
Chile - wuaren2 and capdevila
Columbia - diegovergara and migelco
Costa Rica - TIJO and armandotje95
Mexico - AntoineMex and Kingeorge63
New Zealand - El Wayneo and Jubinator
Australia - Wollongong_i and BOILIN WATER
China - yxw111111 and mailhyip
Japan - islamei and putiko248
Korea - kimsurnhong and IamJK
Philippines - bmumali and gumasta
Taiwan - StarRainy and Justin0720
These finalists, along with those determined over the past few weeks through freeroll and tournament leaderboard qualifiers, will join together in less than a week to play for their prize packages that will send them to the Bahamas and the World Cup of Poker V finals.
Visit us for updates throughout the week that will list the members of the teams and look forward to the Divisional Playoffs next weekend. For the times that each division will play, check out the schedule page. And, if you crave even more information, visit the World Cup of Poker V page.
PokerStars has always been among the fastest on the online track, but now it's trying on some new wheels. PokerStars is once again dipping its toes in the waters of big time racing.
The annual Kart race International Stars Challenge in Florianopolis, Brazil, put some of the best drivers together to celebrate the end of the year. Among them was PokerStars.net driver Thiago Camilo.
PokerStars sponsored Thiago Camilo is one of the Brazil's best new drivers. When he is not driving, usually plays poker at PokerStars and live. He finished the first heat of the International Stars Kart Challenge in third place this weekend and earned himself a spot on the podium.
The Stars Challenge did more than race this weekend. The drivers also raised and donated money to help the victims of a huge flood that killed more than one hundred people and left thousands homeless in Brazil.
Congratulations to PokerStars' Thiago Camilo for a great performance this weekend.
Looks like folks didn't feel like negotiation this weekend. Out of the 22 big tournaments we watched yesterday, only one final table cut a deal. That has to be some kind of record.
Because the deals had taken the weekend off, the big money went to the first place winners
The Sunday Million was a monster. The world's biggest weekly tournament drew more than 8,000 players playing for a prize pool of $1.6 million. When it was over, twirlpro won nearly $200,000. For a full look at the final table action, check out the Here is this week's Sunday Million final table report.
In other news, Yankees31 beat out more than 4,000 other players in the PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up. That win netted him $105,716. To see how he did it, check out the Sunday Warm-Up final table report.
Because it was the last weekend of the month, it was time for the 5000-FPP buy-in Turbo Takedown. That event paid out a cool hundred grand to the winner, Higote. To see how it played out, see our November Turbo Takedown final table report.
Finally, though it wasn't part of the regular tourney schedule, we can't pass up an opportunity to recognize GB2005's win in the Battle of the Planets monthly triple shootout for $12,500. Nice work!
The last day of November in 2008… Can anyone believe it? Another year seems to have flown by, but there is always time to get in a few more Sunday Million tournaments before the big New Year’s Eve party. And for the last one in November, a total of 8,001 players logged in to take part and compete for their share of the prize pool and put a little extra holiday spending money in their virtual pockets.
The sizable field of players created a prize pool of $1,600,200, which would be divvied up among the 1,170 final players with the most - $196,024.50 - going to the ultimate winner. Someone’s family and/or friends will be getting some sweet holiday gifts this year.
Per the usual timeframe, the bubble approached as the four-hour mark neared. Hand-for-hand play began at exactly 3 hours and 47 minutes with 1,171 players remaining, and four minutes later, it was determined that kobeshomie was the bubble player who left the tournament with nothing but memories. It was Majkal who benefitted from that bubble and cashed in 1170th place for $320.04. Four others followed from hand-for-hand, and it only took two more minutes to lose an additional 70 players. Within the next hour, the field was more than cut in half, down to less than 500 players.
A number of Team PokerStars Pros came to the tables today, including Alexandre Gomes, Barry Greenstein, Noah Boeken, John Duthie, Daniel Negreanu, Isabelle Mercier, Hevad Khan, Steve Paul-Ambrose, and William Thorson, but none of them made it into the money portion of the evening. But the one who came closest was Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, who finished in 1906th place.
The tournament reached its final two tables at the 8 hour and 20 minute mark with twirlpro as the leader with more than 12 million in chips. It only took about 25 minutes to reach the final table, and it was courtesy of the final table bubble player.
It began with martyyy as the short stack at the table, who attempted a move by pushing all-in from the small blind for 1,623,726. The original raiser, PureProfitFo, called with As-Jh, and martyyy showed Ad-9h with a need to improve. That need was not met with the Kh-3d-Ah-Qd-5c board, and martyyy was out in tenth place with $8,001.00 to show for it.
The final table was then set with the following chip counts:
Seat 1: twirlpro (12,725,996 in chips)
Seat 2: omba (1,880,872 in chips)
Seat 3: 1bobbyL (6,220,333 in chips)
Seat 4: Terkel1 (2,165,369 in chips)
Seat 5: svansa (19,352,418 in chips)
Seat 6: ankolo (4,635,660 in chips)
Seat 7: NewsKoooL (3,712,744 in chips)
Seat 8: PureProfitFo (11,800,471 in chips)
Seat 9: fratzl (17,516,137 in chips)
Though twirlpro had taken a firm third-place spot on the leaderboard, possibilities were still there. But svansa and fratzl had a fairly firm hold on the top two places, and it would take a grand effort for some of the shorter stacks to catch up.
One of those with the least chips made a stand not long into final table action. omba pushed all-in preflop for 1,760,872 in chips, and it was NewsKoool with the reraise all-in to isolate. It worked, and NewsKoool showed Ah-Qs, while omba turned over the As-Js for the underdog hand. The board came 5s-Kh-9h-Th-5d, and it was all over for omba in ninth place, which was worth an a prize of $11,201.40.
Play slowed a bit until the next major hand went down. PureProfitFo made an initial raise to 650,000, and svansa came over the top with a reraise to 1,750,000. PureProfitFo responded with an all-in reraise holding pocket jacks, and svansa called with As-Kh. The virtual dealer turned over Kd-2c-2h-9d-9s, and the flopped king was good enough for svansa to win with top two pair. PureProfitFo left the tournament in eighth place with $18,402.30 - not a bad profit for a day’s work.
The new short stack at the table was ankolo, who pushed all-in preflop from the big blind after a raise from fratzl. fratzl called with Ks-Qs, and ankolo showed pocket jacks. Since the last all-in with jacks didn’t turn out so well, there might have been some anxiety on the part of ankolo, especially when the turn hit on the 4h-5c-Ah-Qd-9s board. The jacks, again, did not hold, and ankolo was the victim, out in seventh place with $28,003.50.
1bobbyL had been experiencing a roller coaster of a final table. When short-stacked previously, 1bobbyL doubled through fratzl. In an attempt to repeat and after an initial raise from twirlpro in the small blind, 1bobbyL reraised all-in for 8,450,666 from the big blind. twirlpro called with Ac-Qh, and 1bobbyL had to show only Th-5h. The board ran out Qc-6c-5c-7c-4d, and not only did twirlpro pair the queens, but he made a flush on the turn to solidify the win. 1bobbyL was ousted in sixth place with $40,805.10.
Terkel1 had been unable to win a substantial pot for several rounds and was relegated to short-stack position. When twirlpro made a raise in the small blind preflop, Terkel1 took a stand and reraised all-in for 6,151,476 with Ad-6d. twirlpro called and showed Kc-7s with a need to improve to knock a player out. The board gave him that improvement when it came Kd-7h-4s-2c-3c, and the two flopped pair were more than enough to beat ace high. Terkel1 was eliminated in fifth place, worth $56,807.10 for the PokerStars account.
The battle then took a turn - a long turn - as four-handed action went from level to level to level… NewsKoool doubled through fratzl twice, and fratzl then doubled through twirlpro. The all-ins were frequent, though the folds were more frequent, and play continued for some time. When svansa reached a solid second chip position, he inquired in the chat box about some possible deal-making but got no response. So, play on they did.
Finally, svansa took a chance and went into battle preflop with twirlpro with nearly ten million in the pot. After the 7d-9s-Ah flop, twirlpro came out betting 8.4 million with 8s-7s and the straight draw, and svansa called all-in for the last 7,587,889 of the stack with Ad-6c for top pair. The turn and river were Ts and 5s, running cards to give twirlpro the flush, which knocked svansa out of the tournament in fourth place with $72,809.10.
NewsKoool tried to talk numbers with fratzl and twirlpro several times, almost pleading in the chat box for some type of response. But the two were chatless, presumably wanting to leave the results up to the cards. Finally, NewsKoool had no choice but to move all-in against the two massive stacks. After twirlpro did the all-in move first from the small blind with Kc-6c, NewsKoool called it for his last 8,570,492 chips showing Ah-5h. The board was painful for the short stack as it came 8d-4c-Jd-Qc-9c. Runner, runner flush beat the ace high, and NewsKoool was gone in third place. Deal or no deal (no deal), third was worth $89,611.20.
Heads-up action finally began with the two remaining players nearing the end of Level 38, with 500,000/1,000,000 blinds and a 100,000 ante and the following chip counts:
Seat 1: twirlpro (37,782,346 in chips)
Seat 9: fratzl (42,227,654 in chips)
fratzl slowly lost the chip lead over a series of hands, and twirlpro continued to chip up, finally eclipsing the 50 million chip mark. Finally, as fratzl continued to fall, he pushed all-in preflop for 20,047,654 after a twirlpro raise. twirlpro decided to call with pocket kings, and fratzl showed Ac-Qd. The flop of 2c-Qh-Jc brought some hope for fratzl, and the 5c on the turn gave him four cards to the flush. But the Kh on the river brought a set for twirlpro, and fratzl was eliminated in second place with a $132,176.52 prize.
And twirlpro became the latest Sunday Million champion! The first prize awarded twirlpro was $196,024.50, and the tournament was in the books. Congratulations!
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We may be in the middle of PokerStars' World Record Week, but this weekend was where the biggest action happened. In just the span of one day, we saw the world's biggest ever poker tournament, the biggest ever Sunday Million, the biggest ever Sunday Warm-Up, and more than $12 million in real cash tournament prizes awarded to PokersStars players.
On a weekend laden with free money getting tossed into the ring, why not join PokerStars' biggest monthly freeroll? For 5,000 FPPs you receive a seat for a shot at a prize pool worth $1 million and a $100,000 first place prize. Tonight's $1 Million Turbo Takedown featured 9,532 players that "bought-in" or worked the satellite circuit to reach the final nine shown below:
What better way to end a successful year (or slide back into the black) with a nice four to five-figure score from a freeroll? PokerStars rewards its players in many ways, but for the serious SnG players the biggest perk is a free entry into the Battle of the Planets race each month. Even if you were not one of the lucky nine to make it to the final table today, there are weekly prizes to be won regardless of the size of your bankroll. From the $1-$2.99 buy-in Mercury division to the high-rolling $300+ buy-in Jupiter division, size doesn't matter for the below final nine as they played for bulk of the $50,000 month-end triple shootout freeroll.
A whopping 3,837 players took to the field for the last Sunday Warm-up before Christmas in 2008, and 585 of those players found at least $383.70 in their stocking by the end of the day. As the stores began to close on the east coast for shoppers, the final nine players gathered for their shot at the big money, including an impressive $99,762.00 for first place. 
Six days of preliminary events. Thousands of entrants. And many, many blog posts spread all over the internet chronicling from a myriad of viewpoints the highlights (and lowlights) of the players' efforts. Then came the finale, the main event of the World Blogger Championship of Online Poker. 
So, you've dallied. It happens. We all get busy around the holidays. What with all the gift shopping, yuletide cheer, and family vacations, we can all be forgiven for not winning our Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure seat yet.
If you don't have the $650 to drop into the satellites directly, that's no problem. PokerStars is constantly running feeder satellites to the big qualifiers. Just click on Events and PCA in the PokerStars tournament lobby to find the right price for your bankroll. You could soon enter the ranks of previous PCA winners Gus Hansen, John Gale, Steve Paul-Ambrose, Ryan Daut, and Team PokerStars Pro 
The Shark was feeling a bit peckish. Then again, Team PokerStars Pro 
Say anything you want about 
Only a few more opportunities to claim a Sunday Million victory in the 2008 calendar year brought another stellar field to the PokerStars tables on December 14th. No amount of holiday shopping or family obligations could keep poker players away from the most popular weekly tournament in online poker.
When you think of poker in Italy - and on the boisterous EPT these days you rarely have the opportunity not to - you probably think of the Team PokerStars Pro duo Dario Minieri and Luca Pagano, with notable mentions to Max Pescatori and Dario Alioto. But as from this evening, and the second-longest final table in the tour's history, there's another contender proudly draped in Il Tricolore and drowning in chips. His name is Salvatore Bonavena and he is the latest EPT Prague champion, €774,000 richer.
J.C. Alvarado was down below 8,000 in chips and knew the blinds would be going up to 500/1,000/100 in level 9. And so it was an open shove that folded all the way to former PokerStars Brazilian blogger Maria "maridu" Mayrinck. 
Dustin Mele had a pretty cool year. The guy went just about everywhere in the world and played in the biggest tournaments around for exactly zero dollars out of his bankroll. How? He won the 2008 PokersStars Passport. From there, he took PokerStars' cash and jet-setted around the world as a poker celebrity.
PokerStars is headed to Russia, and now you can go along for the rise.
It’s that time of year again. The time when all bloggers get to take a break and play some poker. That’s because the PokerStars WBCOOP is back. In case you didn’t already know, the World Blogger Championship of Online Poker is the tournament series that gives bloggers from all over the world the chance to win big and claim the championship title.
