PokerStars Sunday Million
The PokerStars site was having technical difficulties last night that prevented the Sunday Million tournament from being held at its regular time. PokerStars pushed the tournament's start time back an hour and, as a bonus (apology?) for the delay, added $100,000 to the prize pool. The tournament attracted 6,672 entrants, despite the delay, to build a prize pool of $1,434,400 with the added money.
Goleafsgoeh, a player who has been showing up quite frequently within the top 20 places in PokerStars tournaments recently, almost made the final table of this tournament last night. He eventually busted out in 12th place, earning $6,598.
The final table itself had its share of notoriety with Peter "#1PEN" Neff, a prominent Internet player. He sat at the table with $6.5 million in chips, which put him in sixth place. In first place was 5iveofaKind who had $11.8 million compared to admiral77 in second with $11 million. 10Ten_Deuce2 was the short stack with $3.3 million, but he was not the first player to go.
The first elimination hand was 15 minutes into the final table action. DeuceBuster pushed all in for $3 million and was called by admiral77 in the big blind (which was at $400,000). Admiral77 showed A
10 and was leading against DeuceBuster's K
Q. The board ran out 8
5 4 7 J, completely missing both players, and DeuceBuster was eliminated in ninth place ($8,893).
After 15 more minutes, Hist007 was history. He open-pushed all in preflop for $2.3 million and was called by 5iveofaKind in the big blind. Hist007 showed K
7 and was dominated by 5iveofaKind's pocket sevens. The board paired but otherwise missed both players and Hist007 was sent off on eighth place, for $14,344.
After more than doubling his short stack earlier in the final table action, 10Ten_Deuce2 was back down to just $3.5 million (with the big blind at $600,000). He pushed all in preflop from under the gun and was called by admiral77 on the button. Admiral77 turned over A 10 versus 10Ten_Deuce2's K J. The flop paired both players when it came A K 3, but admiral77 retained the lead. The turn and river were blanks and admiral77 raked in the pot to eliminate 10Ten_Deuce2 in seventh place ($23,668).
The blinds had become $400,000-$800,000 and #1PEN's $7.2 million stack was hurting. He pushed all in preflop from mid position and was called by admiral77, the current chip leader. Admiral77 showed pocket sevens against #1PEN's A 2. The board ran out K J 9 5 9 and admiral77's pocket sevens held up to eliminate #1PEN in sixth ($32,991). Admiral77's stack grew to almost $25 million after the hand to give him a very decent lead over 5iveofaKind's second-place stack of $13.7 million.
The final five players agreed to pause the tournament to discuss a deal. Within a few seconds of the pause, alcswab said he'd changed his mind and play resumed. Alcswab was eliminated very shortly thereafter when 5iveofaKind pushed all in preflop in the small blind and he called all in for his last $5.4 million. Alcswab showed A 4 and was ahead of 5iveofaKind's Q 8. The flop put the advantage squarely in 5iveofaKind's hands when it came Q J 2. The turn gave alcswab plenty of outs when it brought the 3. Alcswab could count on any diamond (there were seven left), ace, or 5 to give him a winning hand. He had a 30 percent chance to double up. The river, however, was the K and alcswab was eliminated in fifth ($46,044).
With alcswab now gone, the players again paused the tournament to discuss a deal. A by-the-chips chop with $30,000 remaining for the ultimate winner (per the PokerStars rules) was quickly agreed upon.
Here is what each player was guaranteed:
5iveofaKind – $123,346
admiral77 – $118,548
jintsrule56 – $90,985
OnlyHope – $88,383
Fifteen minutes after the deal was struck, two players were eliminated in rapid succession. In those 15 minutes, OnlyHope had managed to quadruple his stack and now sat in the chip lead with $42.5 million (with $66.7 million total in play). In the first of the two elimination hands, jintsrule56 raised to $2 million preflop, leaving himself with $6.9 million behind. OnlyHope reraised all in over the top and jintsrule56 called and showed pocket kings. OnlyHope held A 10 and needed to catch up. The flop gave him what he needed when it came A J 6, spiking him an ace for top pair. The turn was the 9 and the river the J and he took down the hand with his higher two pair. Jintsrule56 finished the tournament in fourth place.
OnlyHope now had $52 million compared to 5iveofaKind in second with $11.9 million. Admiral77 was almost down to the felt with just $2.8 million in chips when the big blind was at $1 million. In his final hand, he was in the big blind and 5iveofaKind pushed all in from the small blind. Admiral77 called and showed A 2 and was ahead against 5iveofaKind's K 9. The flop came K Q 3, pairing 5iveofaKind's king to put him ahead. The turn was the 8 and the river the 4 and admiral77 was out in third place.
OnlyHope still had a monster chip lead when the heads-up match began. He had $53.1 million and 5iveofaKind had just $13.6 million. 5iveofaKind tightened that chip gap when he doubled up just two minutes into the match when his pocket deuces held up against OnlyHope's K-5. One minute after that, 5iveofaKind doubled up again when he pushed all in on a flop of 5-5-3. OnlyHope called and showed 4-3 for two pair and 5iveofaKind held 6-4 for an open-end straight draw with an overcard. A 6 came on the river to give him a better pair and take over the chip lead. After the two double-ups, 5iveofaKind had $48.2 million versus OnlyHope's $18.5 million.
OnlyHope chipped away at 5iveofaKind's stack for three minutes until he actually managed to regain a very slight chip lead before the final hand. OnlyHope raised to $4 million preflop and 5iveofaKind called. The flop came 7 3 3 and 5iveofaKind checked. OnlyHope pushed all in for $29.6 million and 5iveofaKind called with his last $29 million and showed 9 7 for two pair, sevens up. OnlyHope revealed A 6 and needed help. The turn was just that when it came the A to give him a better two pair. The river was the A to give OnlyHope an unneeded full house to win the hand and the tournament.
OnlyHope collected the additional $30,000 for his win in the tournament, to put his total winnings at $118,383. 5iveofaKind was the overall money-winner in the tournament with the $123,346 guaranteed to him through the deal.
The final results were:
*1) OnlyHope – $118,383
*2) 5iveofaKind – $123,346
*3) admiral77 – $118,548
*4) jintsrule56 – $90,985
5) alcswab – $46,044.24
6) Peter "#1PEN" Neff – $32,991.20
7) 10Ten_Deuce2 – $23,667.60
8) Hist007 – $14,344
9) DeuceBuster – $8,893.28
* Payout reflects a four-way by-the-chips chop with $30,000 left for the eventual winner, per the PokerStars rules.
Full Tilt $200,000 Guarantee
In a weird coincidence, the Full Tilt site was also having technical difficulties last night, just like PokerStars. Full Tilt also chose to hold its big Sunday tournament at a later time than normally scheduled, but the site took a different tactic than PokerStars. While PokerStars held the Sunday Million one hour later and added $100,000 to the prize pool out of pocket, Full Tilt held its tournament four hours late and reduced its guarantee from $400,000 to $200,000. The result was 851 entrants at Full Tilt, which meant the site had to buck up a $29,800 overlay.
When it was down to the final table, FERRARI73 held the chip lead with $649,000. Askeladden2 was in second with $515,000 and get_that was in third place with $377,000. Those three players would eventually also be the final three players remaining.
When three-way play began, FERRARI73 was back in the chip lead (after having lost it during the final table action) with $1.3 million. Get_that wasn't terribly far behind with $885,000 in his stack and askeladden2 was bringing up the rear with $369,000. Just one minute into three-way play, askeladden2 went down to the felt. FERRARI73 min-raised to $48,000 preflop in the small blind and askeladden2 pushed all in for $294,000 from the big blind. FERRARI73 called and showed pocket sevens and was well ahead against askeladden2's 6 5. The flop furthered his lead when it came 10 9 7 to give him a set of sevens (although askeladden2 did now have a gutshot-straight draw). The turn was the K and the river the 10 to give FERRARI73 a full house to eliminate askeladden2 in third place ($21,500).
FERRARI73 had now furthered his lead to $1.7 million versus get_that's $867,000 at the start of the heads-up match. Get_that continuously chipped away at FERRARI73's stack until the two players' stacks were almost identical. In the hand that would all but decide the tournament, get_that ($1.2 million) raised to $60,000 preflop and FERRARI73 ($1.3 million) called. The flop came J 10 9 and FERRARI73 checked. Get_that bet $67,000 and FERRARI73 check-raised up to $216,000. Get_that reraised all in and FERRARI73 called and showed J 9 for two pair. Get_that was behind with pocket kings. The turn was the 10, pairing the board and counterfeiting FERRARI73's two pair. The river was a blank and get_that took down the pot with two pair, kings up. The hand left FERRARI73 crippled with just $104,000 in his stack.
After giving each other walks in the next two hands, the two players played their final hand. FERRARI73 pushed all in preflop and get_that called and showed A 10. FERRARI73 was behind with the 9 6 as the board ran out K 10 9 Q 10. FERRARI73 had two pair, nines and tens, but get_that had trip tens to take down the pot and eliminate FERRARI73 in second place ($29,000). Get_that earned $45,000 for his first-place finish in the event.
The final results were:
1) get_that – $45,000
2) FERRARI73 – $29,000
3) askelladen2 – $21,500
4) neilz_ – $16,500
5) pkgrant – $12,500
6) Claw1980 – $9,000
7) BergyBunch – $6,000
8) rmonkeypoker – $4,500
9) RollTide1992 – $3,200
UltimateBet $200,000 Guarantee
The UltimateBet $200,000-guaranteed tournament avoided an overlay last night for just the second time since its inception. The tournament barely eked out an overlay-free run when 1,001 entrants bought in, generating a $200,200 prize pool. The first time the tournament avoided an overlay was on Jan. 14, 2007, when it had 1,006 entrants.
The chip leader at the start of the final table was hemipwered05, who had $606,000 in his stack. He was followed by LuckyDutch in second with $378,000 in chips. Lawdork1980, a player who took down the Bodog $100,000-guaranteed tournament for $25,850 on Jan. 14, 2007 (the same day as the aforementioned UltimateBet tournament), was also at the final table. He sat with $109,000 in his stack, which put him in ninth place, just ahead of the short-stacked player.
LuckyDutch won just one hand at the entire final table (he picked up the blinds after a button-raise) and, after being blinded down to less than 10 times the big blind, lost an all-in hand and was eventually eliminated in seventh ($6,406). Sliknik3 was the chip leader at that point with $558,000 and lawdork1980 had brought himself up to $420,000, which put him in third place.
Lawdork eventually busted in fourth place ($13,013) when he pushed all in preflop with A-4 and ran into hemipwered05's suited big slick. The board completely missed both players and it was down to three-way play. Hemipwered05 had the chip lead with $1.4 million versus sliknik3 in second with $768,000 and Goldwatch in third with $351,000.
During three-way play, sliknik3 managed to double up once through hemipwered05 to give sliknik3 a slight chip lead. Hemipwered05 snagged a decent amount of chips back from sliknik3 to put himself back in the front before the next elimination hand.
Goldwatch had been pushing all in frequently due to his short stack. He pushed in again from the button, this time for $359,000, and was called by hemipwered05. Hemipwered05 showed A Q and was dominating Goldwatch's A 2. The board bricked out and Goldwatch's 2 kicker didn't play and he was eliminated in third place ($17,818).
Hemipwered05 had barely less than a 2-1 chip advantage over sliknik3 with $1.6 million compared to sliknik3's $868,000. The heads-up match lasted just two more hands.
In the final hand, hemipwered05 ($1.6 million) raised to $75,000 preflop, with the big blind at $30,000, and sliknik3 ($847,000) called. The flop came A 10 8 and sliknik3 checked. Hemipwered05 bet $65,000 and sliknik3 check-raised to $351,000 after some thought. Hemipwered05 eventually called and the turn was the 10. Sliknik3 took quite some time before finally betting $200,000, and hemipwered05 took an even longer time before calling the bet. The river was the 7 and sliknik3 pushed all in for his remaining $221,000. Hemipwered05 quickly called and showed pocket eights for a full house, eights full of tens. Sliknik3 held 10 9 for trip tens, not enough to stay alive, and he was eliminated in second for $25,786.
Hemipwered05 raked in $44,044 for his win in the event. (The winner of this event typically receives $45,000, but the tournament fell into a different payout distribution bracket because of the 1,001 players, which ultimately meant that first place earned a smaller prize.)
The final results were:
1) hemipwered05 – $44,044
2) sliknik3 – $25,785.76
3) Goldwatch – $17,817.80
4) lawdork1980 – $13,013
5) highrollin07 – $10,510.50
6) Avril23 – $8,408.40
7) LuckyDutch – $6,406.40
8) BOB_11 – $4,504.50
9) Vulcher – $3,403.40
10) bart1111 – $2,002
Bodog $100,000 Guarantee
The Bodog $100,000-guaranteed tournament had low attendance again this Sunday when just 882 entrants bought in to the event. While those numbers were higher than those of the weekend before (828), they still meant that Bodog had to come out of pocket for an $11,800 overlay.
Capsocool, a player who made the final table of this tournament twice in a row in the past two weeks (including a win last weekend), almost made it for a third time in a row last night. He ultimately finished in 15th place ($1,000). He's won $35,000 in just 15 days at the Bodog $100,000-guaranteed tournament alone.
When the final nine players were set, DannyOhBoy held the chip lead with $484,000 and timosy was in second with $409,000. Timosy snagged a decent-sized chip lead early in the $700,000s in chips and held the lead until four-way play.
Among the last four players, it became a tight race between timosy, the_kid11, and RIPlayer2008 with each of the three having stacks in the $600,000s. Timosy proceeded to eliminate DannyOhBoy, the previous chip leader and current short stack, when his pocket eights held up against DannyOhBoy's Q-7. The elimination but timosy into a slight chip lead at the start of three-way play.
Just two hands later, timosy took out RIPlayer2008. Timosy raised to $80,000 on the button, with the big blind at $30,000, and RIPlayer2008 pushed all in from the big blind for $583,000. Timosy quickly called and showed A K versus RIPlayer2008's 10 9. The flop put RIPlayer2008 in the lead when it came Q 10 5 to give him a pair of tens, but the turn was the A, giving the lead back to timosy. The J came on the river to give timosy an unneeded Broadway straight to eliminate RIPlayer2008 in third place ($9,000).
Timosy furthered his lead with the hand and now sat with a healthy $1.5 million stack. Timosy had just over a 2-1 advantage against the_kid11's $706,000 stack. The_kid11 lost $100,000 in the 5 minutes before the final hand.
In the final hand, timosy limped preflop for $30,000 and the_kid11 raised to $90,000. Timosy called and the flop came 9 8 2. The_kid11 checked and timosy bet $150,000. The_kid11 check-raised all in for $511,000 and timosy called and showed Q 9 for top pair. The_kid11 showed A K for two overcards and the nut-flush draw. The turn was the 7 and the river the 5, improving neither player, and timosy took down the pot to eliminate the_kid11 in second place ($14,000). Timosy cashed in for $25,000 for his first-place finish in the tournament.
The final results were:
1) timosy – $25,000
2) the_kid11 – $14,000
3) RIPlayer2008 – $9,000
4) DannyOhBoy – $6,500
5) eej33 – $5,400
6) RiverRun007 – $4,400
7) muckanut – $3,400
8) RuSsBuSteR – $2,400
9) CAnSive – $1,550
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