PokerStars Sunday Million
The monthly $500 buy-in version of the PokerStars Sunday Million tournament had 2,880 entrants last night, generating a prize pool of $1,440,000.
There were still a few familiar faces left once the 2,880 players were pared down to nine. MattSuspect, a prominent Internet player, sat at the table with an initial chip count of $2.7 million, which put him in sixth place. AmichaiKK, who had finished in second place in the Sunday Million tournament earlier this month on April 8, made his second Sunday Million final table last night and entered the table as the shortest stack with $1.6 million. AUSSIE_JASE was the chip leader with $6.1 million and dazzy2004 was in second place with $4.5 million.
True to his stack, amichaiKK was the first player eliminated. He open-pushed all in preflop from the small blind and was called by MattSuspect in the big blind. AmichaiKK showed pocket sevens and was well behind against MattSuspect's dominating pocket eights. The board paired but did not otherwise improve either player, and amichaiKK was out the door in ninth place ($11,520).
The very next hand brought yet another elimination. Azzel had become dangerously short-stacked with just $890,000 when the big blind was $130,000. He open-pushed all in from mid-position preflop and MattSuspect reraised to $1.6 million, folding the remaining players. MattSuspect revealed pocket tens and was in a virtual coin-flip situation versus Azzel's Q
J
. The board completely missed both players, and Azzel collected $19,872 for his eighth-place finish.
In the next elimination hand, AUSSIE_JASE raised to $390,000 preflop and Dogg11 reraised all in for $1.9 million. AUSSIE_JASE called and turned over pocket aces and Dogg11 was in almost the worst shape possible with his A 5. The board ran out 9 6 4
J 4, pairing but otherwise missing both players, and AUSSIE_JASE raked in the pot to eliminate Dogg11 in seventh place ($31,392).
Just one minute and two hands later, gunning4you raised to $390,000 preflop and Luie Sojo reraised all in for $2.2 million. Gunning4you called and flipped up A J and was in a race against Luie Sojo's pocket eights. The flop came A 7 4, improving gunning4you to top pair to take over the lead in the hand. The turn and river were running fives, not enough to keep Luie Sojo alive, and he was eliminated in sixth place. Luie Sojo took home $44,640 for his finish.
Dubner was the next to go when he pushed all in preflop for $3 million against a raise to $390,000 from MattSuspect. MattSuspect called and revealed A Q against Dubner's pocket nines for yet another coin-flip situation. The board came 10 8
6 Q 2 and MattSuspect spiked a queen on the turn to take down the pot and bust Dubner in fifth place ($59,040).
Before the next elimination hand, a big three-way preflop all-in hand took place. AUSSIE_JASE made a standard raise, gunning4you pushed all in as the table's short stack, MattSuspect reraised all in over the top as the table's chip leader, and AUSSIE_JASE called all in. All three players held pocket pairs: MattSuspect held pocket tens, AUSSIE_JASE held pocket queens, and gunning4you was in the lead with pocket kings (dazzy2004, who folded preflop, claimed to have held pocket fives in the hand). The board bricked out and gunning4you tripled up. AUSSIE_JASE won the small side pot of $906,000, which now comprised his entire stack.
AUSSIE_JASE pushed all in in the very next hand and was called by gunning4you, who showed A 5. AUSSIE_JASE held Q 4 and was behind. The board ran out K 10 7 6 9 and gunning4you won the pot with just ace high. AUSSIE_JASE pocketed $73,440 for fourth place.
MattSuspect held a small chip lead at the start of three-way play with $13.7 million compared to gunning4you in second with $11.7 million and dazzy2004 in third with $3.5 million. Dazzy2004 had to make a move soon, considering the big blind was at $200,000. He finally dug in his heels three minutes later.
MattSuspect raised to $600,000 preflop and dazzy2004 reraised to $2 million. MattSuspect called and the flop came 8 3 3. MattSuspect checked and dazzy2004 pushed all in for his remaining $1.3 million. MattSuspect called and turned over pocket aces and dazzy2004's A 4 was almost drawing dead. Dazzy2004 had just a 2 percent chance to survive. The turn was the Q and the river the K and dazzy2004 was out in third place, earning $89,136.
The two remaining players then paused the tournament to discuss a possible chop. A by-the-chips chop was eventually agreed upon with $30,000 remaining for the ultimate winner of the tournament, per the PokerStars chopping rules. MattSuspect was guaranteed $193,637 and gunning4you was guaranteed $175,818. MattSuspect had about 70 percent more chips than gunning4you when heads-up play began, and he furthered this lead before the final hand.
Gunning4you raised to $750,000 preflop, with the big blind now at $250,000, and MattSuspect reraised to $2.25 million. Gunning4you pushed all in over the top for $8.8 million and MattSuspect called and showed pocket jacks. Gunning4you showed pocket nines and was well behind. The board came 8 5 3 8 K, pairing but otherwise improving neither player, and MattSuspect took down the last pot of the tournament. He earned the extra $30,000 to put his total winnings at $223,637.
The final results were:
*1) MattSuspect – $223,637
*2) gunning4you – $175,818
3) dazzy2004 – $89,136
4) AUSSIE_JASE – $73,440
5) Dubner – $59,040
6) Luie Sojo – $44,640
7) Dogg11 – $31,392
8) Azzel – $19,872
9) amichaiKK – $11,520
* Payout reflects a two-way by-the-chips chop with $30,000 remaining for the eventual winner, per the PokerStars chopping rules.
Full Tilt $400,000 Guarantee
A three-way preflop all in turns into a three-way chop.
The Full Tilt $400,000 guarantee lured 2,334 entrants this Sunday, down just six entrants from last Sunday's 2,340. The prize pool for the tournament came to $466,800 with a first-place prize of $81,634.
Toppsett was first place in chips when the final table began, with $1.7 million. His next-closest competitor was flip123077 with $1.2 million. Toppsett also had particularly tough competition at his table with top-ranked Internet pros bballer88 (more widely known by his nickname "atimos") and Hixx. Bballer88 initially sat at the table in fourth place with $841,000 while Hixx was in seventh place with $494,000.
It was a full 40 minutes before the first player was eliminated from the table, and once the first player had been eliminated, the pace didn't quicken by much. Hixx eventually busted in sixth place ($14,938) when he pushed all in from the small blind preflop for $478,000 against a raise to $150,000 from toppsett. Toppsett called and showed 8 5 while Hixx held the lead with A 10. The board ran out A J 4 6 K, toying with Hixx by furthering his lead on the flop, only to complete a flush for toppsett on the river.
Bballer88 left the table just before three-way play. MathForPoker raised to $180,000 preflop, with the big blind at $60,000, and bballer88 reraised all in for $625,000. MathForPoker called and showed pocket fives and was a slight favorite versus bballer88's A 4. The board ran out 8 4 2 9 5, giving MathForPoker an unneeded set of fives on the river to take bballer88 out in fourth place. Bballer88 made $27,448 for his finish.
Toppsett had the chip lead with three players remaining with $2.9 million. Flip123077 was in second place with $2.1 million, and MathForPoker was in third with just under $2 million. Flip123077 dropped into third place before his final hand.
Flip123077 limped from the small blind, with the big blind still at $60,000, and toppsett pushed all in for $2.7 million. Flip123077 called all in for $1.8 million and showed A 5 and was in very bad shape against toppsett's A 8. The board ran out A 10 4 6 K, giving toppsett an unnecessary flush on the turn to eliminate flip123077 in third place ($34,403).
It was now heads up, and toppsett had $4.6 million compared to MathForPoker's $2.4 million. After five minutes, MathForPoker was down to $1.4 million. He limped in the small blind and toppsett pushed all in over the top. MathForPoker called and showed K Q and was dominating toppsett's K 4. The board ran out 8 8 5 Q A and MathForPoker's king kicker saved the day to double him up. MathForPoker doubled up again shortly thereafter when his pocket nines held up against toppsett's K-Q. MathForPoker was now in the lead with $5.1 million versus toppsett's $1.9 million.
The final hand was just two minutes later. Toppsett limped for $40,000 preflop and MathForPoker checked. The flop came 10 7 4 and MathForPoker checked. Toppsett bet $180,000 and MathForPoker called. The turn was the Q and MathForPoker again checked. Toppsett pushed all in for his remaining $1.9 million and MathForPoker called and showed Q 10 for top two pair. Toppsett revealed 10 9 for just a pair of tens and was behind. The river was a blank, the K, and toppsett was eliminated in second place, earning $52,561. MathForPoker raked in the final pot to win the tournament and cash out for $81,634.
The final results were:
1) MathForPoker – $81,634.46
2) toppsett – $52,561.68
3) flip123077 – $34,403.16
4) bballer88 – $27,447.84
5) SMIKAS – $20,772.60
6) Hixx – $14,937.60
7) ChipnaChrrrr – $10,969.80
8) BIgFIshie118 – $8,589.12
9) UntiltDotCom – $6,535.20
UltimateBet $200,000 Guarantee
The UltimateBet $200,000-guaranteed tournament had 934 entrants last night, down from the 979 entrants the tournament had last weekend. As usual, there were not enough entrants to cover the guarantee on buy-ins alone, and UltimateBet had to come out of pocket for $13,200 to match the posted guarantee.
Loeppenthin had $569,000 in chips when the final table began, which put him in the chip lead. Wachovia was in second place with $366,000. Both players survived until just three players remained, along with POPMONSTER. When three-way play began, Loeppenthin was again the chip leader (after having lost his lead several times over the course of the final table) with $884,000. POPMONSTER was in second place with $799,000 and Wachovia was in third with $652,000.
Loeppenthin was severely crippled when he pushed all in on a flop of K K 2 and was called by POPMONSTER. Loeppenthin showed pocket fives for two pair with the kings on the board and POPMONSTER one-upped him when he showed pocket sixes. The sixes held up and POPMONSTER doubled up to $949,000, leaving Loeppenthin in trouble with $177,000. Loeppenthin got down to just $81,000 before making an amazing comeback and building his stack back up to $723,000.
Loeppenthin then got into another big hand. He raised to $60,000 in the small blind, with the big blind at $24,000, and Wachovia reraised to $209,000 in the big blind. Loeppenthin pushed all in over the top and Wachovia called, having him covered by just $51,000. Wachovia showed A 7 and was in bad shape versus Loeppenthin's pocket queens. The board ran out 10 7 2 K A and Wachovia rivered an ace to take Loeppenthin out of the tournament in third place. Loeppenthin earned $18,000 for his finish.
It was now heads up, and Wachovia held the chip lead, as the result of the last hand, with $1.5 million compared to POPMONSTER's $836,000. The heads-up match was a relatively lengthy 20 minutes, and the chip lead switched hands a few times in the interval. POPMONSTER forged and held the chip lead for the last stretch of heads-up play before the final hand.
Wachovia raised to $96,000 preflop and POPMONSTER called. The flop came K 9 2 and POPMONSTER checked. Wachovia bet $198,000, leaving himself with $206,000, and POPMONSTER pushed all in over the top. Wachovia called and showed pocket threes and was well behind against POPMONSTER's pocket aces. The turn and river were the Q and the 6 and Wachovia was eliminated in second place ($26,500). POPMONSTER earned a $45,000 payday for his first-place finish in the tournament.
The final results were:
1) POPMONSTER – $45,000
2) Wachovia – $26,500
3) Loeppenthin – $18,000
4) J0hnyRingo – $13,100
5) ve6ticata – $10,500
6) srated23 – $8,500
7) Stamdogg3 – $6,500
8) imawwinbaby – $4,500
9) eisenhower1 – $3,400
10) al_333 – $2,000
Bodog $100,000 Guarantee
The Bodog $100,000-guaranteed tournament had 810 entrants this weekend, up very slightly from last Sunday's 791. Attendance at the tournament seems to be quite volatile, as the tournament had 927 entrants two weeks ago and had been in the mid- to low-700s over the span of several weeks previous to that. Bodog provided a $19,000 overlay for the tournament.
TheNogre came to the table with a hefty chip lead with $695,000 in chips compared to notable Internet pro Mario "PwnasaurusX" Silvestri in second with $257,000. Also at the table was Cletus, a regular at the Bodog $100,000-guaranteed final table. Cletus has made the final table of the event four times (including this finish) since late December, 2006, with his best finish being second place ($15,000) on December 24, 2006.
Cletus eventually finished in eighth place ($2,400) last night when he pushed his severely short stack all in from the cutoff seat with J 5. TheNogre called in the big blind and showed 6 5. The board ran out K 3 2 A 4, rivering both players a straight, but giving TheNogre a one-better six-high straight.
PwnasaurusX made an earlier-than-expected exit when he got all of his chips in the middle during an aggressive preflop. Addrock open-bet $200,000 on the button, with the big blind at $20,000. PwnasaurusX reraised all in for $325,000 and addrock called, leaving himself $94,000, and showed A K. PwnasaurusX held pocket nines and a slight lead. The board ran out Q 6 2 4 A, rivering top pair for addrock to best PwnasaurusX's pocket nines and eliminate him in fifth place, earning $5,400.
PwnasaurusX's elimination put addrock in the chip lead with $764,000 and bumped TheNogre down to second place with $613,000. By the time it got down to three-handed play, TheNogre was in third place, now behind zabadguy, as well. TheNogre played his final hand less than five minutes into three-way play.
Zabadguy raised to $110,000 preflop, with the big blind at $30,000, and TheNogre pushed all in over the top from the big blind for $539,000. Zabadguy called, leaving himself with $203,000, and showed A J and wasn't looking too good against TheNogre's pocket queens. The flop put an end to the anticipation when it came A K 4, giving zabadguy top pair for the lead. The turn and river were blanks and TheNogre was eliminated in third place ($9,000).
Zabadguy now had $1.3 million in the chip lead versus addrock with $722,000. The heads-up match lasted almost 15 minutes, over which time both players held the chip lead at one point. The pivotal hand was one in which zabadguy pushed all in with pocket deuces and addrock called with pocket aces. The aces held up and addrock doubled up to $1.6 million. Zabadguy never regained his footing before the final hand.
Addrock raised to $128,000 in the small blind, with the big blind at $40,000, and zabadguy pushed all in over the top for $377,000. Addrock called and showed K 10 and wasn't too terribly far behind zabadguy's A 9. The flop came 10 7 4, giving addrock top pair to take the lead in the hand. The turn was the 7 and the river the 4 and addrock took down the pot to eliminate zabadguy in second place ($14,000). Addrock pocketed $25,000 for winning the event.
The final results were:
1) addrock – $25,000
2) zabadguy – $14,000
3) TheNogre – $9,000
4) hugedog – $6,500
5) Mario "PwnasaurusX" Silvestri – $5,400
6) kristiban – $4,400
7) Iwsmith – $3,400
8) Cletus – $2,400
9) Spiderweb98 – $1,550
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