It’s time to take a gander at the weekend action at GGPoker as well as a snifter at the Stadium Series action over at PokerStars.
We begin at the grand racecourse of GGPoker, and all binoculars were on Stephen Chidwick, who won two events ($5k and $10k) and also finished runner-up in a $10k (those $10k events were Short-Deck events).
Chidwick wasn’t the only star sitting under the $10k parasols who bagged a brace, Isaac Haxton booked two wins in $10k Short Deck events to add to his considerable reputation at the highest stakes.
Seth Davies picked up a win and a second in $10k events, and Sam Greenwood earned a win, second and third. Sergi Reixach played the bridesmaid role with three runner-up finishes across the $10k Short Deck games.
Here are those results in full.
Sunday 19 July
High Rollers Blade PLO $5k
62-entrants
Results
Andras Nemeth – $91,508.28
Maximilian Lehmanski – $57,587.79
Andjelko Andrejevic – $43,568.06
Hun Wei Lee – $32,961.41
Ronny Kaiser – $24,936.96
Magibpsilo – $18,866.05
Jesus Cortes – $14,273.11
SpeedyDouble – $10,798.34
Bryns High Rollers $10k
11-entrants
Results
Jake Schindler – $69,355
Sergi Reixach – $37,345
High Rollers Short Deck $10k
22-entrants
Results
Isaac Haxton – $97,018.52*
Chi Zhang – $81,932.41*
Sam Greenwood – $34,449.07 *Indicates a heads-up deal.
High Rollers Short Deck $10k
18-entrants
Results
Sam Greenwood – $99,493.51*
Stephen Chidwick – $75,106.49* *Indicates a heads-up deal.
Monday 20 July
High Rollers Short Deck $10k
12-entrants
Results
Seth Davies – $75,660
Sam Greenwood – $40,740
High Rollers Short Deck $10k
11-entrants
Results
Isaac Haxton – $69,355
Sergi Reixach – $37,345
Tuesday 21 July
High Rollers Short Deck $10k
10-entrants
Results
Stephen Chidwick – $63,050
Sergi Reixach – $33,950
High Rollers Short Deck $10k
19-entrants
Results
Daniel Dvoress – $73,194.61*
Seth Davies – $81,353.92* *Indicates a heads-up deal
High Rollers Blade Prime $5k
31-entrants
Results
Stephen Chidwick – $47,979.90*
Pascal Lefrancois – $60,894.64*
Wiktor Malinowski – $25,471.
Steve O’Dwyer – $15,654.46 *Indicates a heads-up deal
Lex Veldhuis Wins a PokerStars Stadium Series Title
Triton commentator and broadcaster, Lex Veldhuis, reminded everyone of his silky skills at the poker table after taking down the 243-entrant $2,100 No Limit Hold’em event during the Stadium Series on PokerStars.
Final table incumbents moored their yachts, not parked bikes, to participate in this one. Mike ‘SirWatts’ Watson (2nd), Ivan ‘Negriin’ Luca (5th), Pablo ‘pabritz’ Brito Silva (6th), and Aliaksei “ale6ka” Boika (7th) squeezed into the elevator with he Twitch phenom. ‘MiracleQ’ finished ninth. In Aug he competed in a $1m Spin & Go, finishing second for $100k).
Veldhuis enchanted more than 26,000 people while bagging a personal-best $96,143.60, beating his previous best score of $91,695 after finishing runner-up to ‘GODofHU’ in a $2,100 No Limit Hold’em during the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) in September.
As Veldhuis inches closer to his first six-figure online score Triton may have to go looking for his replacement if he keeps this up.
In other Stadium Series results, the former PocketFives World #1, Michael ‘munchenHB’ Telker, took down the $530, $1m GTD No Limit Hold’em for $157,004. The former Super Tuesday winner, Alisson ‘heyalisson’ Piekazewicz conquered a field of 1,347 entrants in a $1,050 No Limit Hold’em event for $185,376 after cutting a deal with Luan ‘Pseduo Fruto’ Piekazewicz
The PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) is for poker players what Disneyland is for kids. Host one in the middle of a pandemic induced lockdown, and you’re talking levels of excitement and hype that not even a mouse called Mickey can create.
Seventy-nine events plan to squat on the computers of poker’s most pristine and pallor. Here are the high roller highlights as we eke over the halfway point in proceedings.
Few players are running hotter than Jorryt van Hoof.
‘TheCleaner11’ finished in the money (ITM) in ten Poker Masters Online events, earning $720,308 in gross profit, and he’s packed that run good into his man purse and taken it to PokerStars.
Van Hoof took down the 575-entrant $2,100 NLHE Thursday Thrill for $176,104.37.
Results
Jorryt ‘TheCleaner11’ van Hoof – $88,383.68 + $87,720.69 in bounties
Benny Glaser isn’t spending his severance check on the NLHE High Roller circuit, but you won’t find him too far away from a high limit mixed game event.
The UK pro, earned his fifth SCOOP title, after beating 122-entrants to win the $54,854 first prize in Event #6: $2,100 8-Game Mix. Glaser joins an esteemed group of quintet SCOOP winners that include Jussi Nevanlinna, Jason Mercier, Luke Schwartz and Rui Ferreira.
Ole ‘wizowizo’ Schemion stole his third SCOOP title from beneath the nose of Laszlo ‘omaha4rollz’ Bujtas. The German star took down Event #16: $2,100 PLO for $111,853.75. Both Schemion and Bujtas competed in the Poker Masters Online with mixed results.
Results
Ole ‘wizowizo’ Schemion – $111,853.75
Laszlo ‘omaha4rollz’ Bujtas – $82,910.03
boerni21 – $61,455.98
pkrbt – $45,553.47
goodeh99 – $33,765.84
munkkis – $25,028.52
Artur ‘mararthur1’ Martirosyan Wins Event #17: $10,300 NLHE High Roller
Only Linus Loeliger and the eventual winner, Alexandros Kolonias earned more gross profit during the Poker Masters Online than Artur Martirosyan with the Russian collecting $1.3m in prize money.
That amount just spilt over the $1.5m mark after Martirosyan conquered a tough final table in the $10,300 NLHE High Roller. Martirosyan defeated Fedor Holz, heads-up. Van Hoof collected another huge score, and online stars Rui Ferreira and Andras Nemeth also made the final tables.
Results
Artur ‘mararthur1’ Martirosyan – $271,790.44
Fedor ‘CrownUpGuy’ Holz – $210,580.76
Jorryt ‘TheCleaner11’ van Hoof – $163,156.10
allin2bluff – $126,411.92
vicenfish – $97,942.88
Rui ‘RuiNF’ Ferreira – $75,885.27
Grisha813 – $58,795.22
Andras ‘probirs’ Nemeth – $45,554.00
Matthew ‘MUSTAFABET’ Ashton Wins Event #19: $1,050 Limit Hold’em 6-Max
High stakes live cash game player, and former World Series of Poker (WSOP) Poker Players Championship (PPC) winner, Matthew Ashton, outlasted 109 thieves all out to steal the title in Event #19: $1,050 Limit Hold’em 6-Max. Ashton collected $24,729.17 after overcoming a final table that contained ‘bencb789.’
Ashton also made it to the final table of Event #25: $2,100 7-2 Triple Draw, but had to settle for fourth. Talal ‘raidalot’ Shakerchi won the event and $42,645.76 first prize. It’s Shakerchi’s fourth SCOOP title, including his 2016 SCOOP Main Event win.
Results
Talal ‘raidalot’ Shakerchi – $42,645.76
Naza114 – $31,878.36
Crazy Elior – $23,829.59
MUSTAFABET – $17,813.01
RaulGonzalez – $13,315.52
lb6121 – $9,953.57
Crisper – $7,440.47
Mustapha ‘lasagnaaammm’ Kanit Wins Event #24: $10,300 NLHE High Roller
Mustapha ‘lasagnaaammm’ Kanit collected his third big title of the previous three weeks, after adding Event #24: $10,300 NLHE High Roller to the two titles earned during the Poker Masters Online Series. It’s the Italian’s third career SCOOP title, including winning the 2015 Main Event.
Results
Mustapha ‘lasagnaaammm’ Kanit – $271,790.44
Sergei ‘Futti18’ Koliakov – $210,580.76
Luke ‘Bit2Easy’ Reeves – $163,156.10
Charlie ‘Epiphany77’ Carrel – $126,411.92
Teun ‘tinnoemulder’ Mulder – $97,942.88
Adrian ‘Amadi_017’ Mateos- $75,885.27
iamivar – $58,795.22
NeedBeat – $45,554.00
Joao ‘Naza114’ Viera – $36,095.28
Artur ‘mararthur1’ Martirosyan Wins Second SCOOP Title of the Series
Martirosyan earned his second SCOOP title of the series, taking down Event #29: $5,200 NLHE Midweek Freeze. The Russian defeated 143 entrants to claim the $157,426.77 first prize. Schemion picked up another big result, and the reigning Main Event champ, Gianluca ‘tankanza’ Speranze finished seventh.
Results
Artur ‘mararthur1’ Martirosyan – $157,426.77
pm_marke – $121,869.52
Ole ‘wizowizo’ Schemion – 94,343.47
Tomatee – $73,034.62
Consi11 – $56,538.67
xnrobix – $43,768.57
Tankanza – $33,882.82
22ehnutzz – $26,229.90
PokerStars continues to pollinate the high stakes online multi-table tournament (MTT) world after announcing plans to give their High Roller Series a spit wash in readiness for a March parade.
The PokerStars High Roller Series runs between 23-30 March, contains 19-events, guarantees $6m in prize money, and offers buy-ins between $215 and $10,300.
Sailors in this one are looking for the treasure chest sitting at the end of the $5,200 buy-in, $1.5m GTD No-Limit Hold ’em (NLHE) Main Event. That bright and bubbly rainbow springs forth on Sunday 29 March at 13:00 (ET).
The $6m guarantee is $5m less, and the schedule 30% lighter than when Stars last ran a High Roller Series in December. You don’t need a spy to figure out that December numbers didn’t inspire confidence within the halls of PokerStars’ power.
The series coincides with the $215 buy-in, $12.5m GTD 14th Anniversary Sunday Million (March 22-24).
In December…
The last time PokerStars pulled this guitar out of the bag and strummed a melody was in December.
Andreas “daskalos20” Christoforou won the 106-entrant $10,300 NLHE 8-Max for $244,261.02, Alexandros “mexican222” Kolonias won the 115-entrant $10,300 NLHE 8-Max for $265,000.18, Michael “mczhang” Zhang won the 86-entrant $10,300 NLHE PKO for $239,804.59, Pascal “Pass_72” LeFrancois won the 69-entrant $10,300 PLO 6-Max for $186,237.66, and Artem “veeea” Vezhenkov won the 515-entrant $5,200 NLHE 8-Max Main Event for $457,344.17.
Kevin Rabichow to Represent Run It Once Poker
With Phil Galfond 100% focused on climbing out of the €900,000 hole dug by VeniVidi1993, the timing couldn’t be more perfect for his online poker site to announce their first sponsored pro – and that man is Kevin Rabichow.
Rabichow won’t need a translator to get into the Run It Once (RIO) spirit of things. He is an ‘Elite Coach’ on the RIO training site, and has been playing poker since 2005. He will exchange his formidable ‘KRab42’ pseudonym for the bog-standard sheet of glass ‘Kevin Rabichow,’ making him only the second player after Galfond to play with a unique avatar and real name.
Joe Stapleton released the news after Rabichow joined him in the commentary booth during Galfond’s clash with VeniVidi1993.
Credits to Neil Stoddart and PokerStars
The greatest marketers in the world know they have to treat different people differently.
How do you do that if you are PokerStars?
There is a man in a suit sitting on the crapper playing a Spin & Go, a grandmother in her seventies sits by the kitchen table, bacon & egg pie baking in the oven as she competes in a play money cash game, and the grinder sits behind cartons of used Pot Noodles multi-tabling 12-tables.
Different people.
Different reasons for playing.
The marketer needs to find the common thread that unites them all: emotion. People want what you make to change how they feel. The thing you create is merely a vehicle that drives you to the doorstep of belonging, joy, tension and a change in status. The PokerStars Player’s No-Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC) is that vehicle.
For the past 12-months, PokerStars has created a compelling storyline that has resonated with the poker community so loudly, brightly, and snugly that 719 people paid $25,000 to compete in a poker tournament. Include the 320 people that PokerStars gave a seat for nothing (at the cost of $9.6m), then you have a record 1,039 player field for a $25,000 event. The largest ever held in the history of our game.
For one crazy week in January, PokerStars made it possible for the media to ask the valet at the Atlantis if he was playing. Suddenly, everyone was potentially a high stakes poker player. It’s proof positive that if you invest time and effort in a long term marketing strategy, and deliver what you promise, then your customers will find a way to play.
Have they delivered?
Yes.
The feeling on the ground as Bruce Buffer grabbed the microphone and battered it like a rock star on Day 1 was incredible. The energy was incredible. It felt like being on the floor of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event for the very first time.
Credits to Neil Stoddart and PokerStars
Tension.
Anticipation.
Status.
It had everything.
Two days in, and there are 207 players left. The prizepool of $26,455,500 is the 18th largest ever, and the most significant outside of the WSOP Main Event and Big One for One Drop.
181 players receive a minimum of $25,450.
Players who make the final table pick up $509,000.
The top six finishers earn a minimum of a million dollars.
The winner emerges with $5,100,000.
Credits to Neil Stoddart and PokerStars
Here are those payouts. Final Table Payouts
1. $5,100,000*
2. $2,974,000
3. $2,168,000
4. $1,657,000
5. $1,304,000
6. $1,012,000
7. $746,000
8. $509,000
*Includes $1m added by PokerStars
Here are the top 10 chip counts. Top 10 Chip Counts
1. Farid Jattin – 921,000
2. Mustapha Kanit – 888,000
3. Griffin Benger – 885,000
4. Julien Martini – 832,000
5. Athanasios Polychronopoulos – 797,000
6. Samuel Tsehai – 750,000
7. Martins Adeniya – 748,000
8. Marc Perrault – 725,000
9. Ramin Hajiyev – 720,000
10. Alexandre De Zutter – 700,000
And that’s how you treat different people differently.
You make them all feel the same.
My finger moves into my mouth with all the grace of a teenage lover; past the oily residue staining my lips, the remnants of a mandu-guk New Year’s Day slobfest, and out it comes, into the air.
I am not a statistician; I’m more of a gut feel man, and right now, other than telling me that I’ve overeaten fried food, it’s telling me that 2018 was the year when High Roller hoodies paralleled the jackets of four-star Generals.
Millions moved through the ranks.
Millions.
There were more personal bests in 2018 than at any other time in the history of this rich lineage of our beloved game.
All of which means, 2019 is going to have to be extra special if it’s going to keep the speeding fines coming in, and it’s beginning startlingly with three global venues hosting events carrying buy-ins of $25,000 plus, and we begin in The Bahamas.
The New Year begins with the event that places high rollers, and the working class into the same melting pot – the $25,000 buy-in PokerStars Player’s No-Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC).
PokerStars has invested more than $9.6m into this event, handing out 320, $30,000 Platinum Passes to a pocket of players for whom competing in a $25,000 buy-in event is as realistic as your funeral director going all Frankenstein on your arse and bringing your grandma back from the dead for a spot of Seven Card Stud.
And they haven’t finished yet.
The winner won’t only walk away with a mega-million first prize – PokerStars will hand that man, woman or Frankenstein an additional million bucks.
The event will be bigger than a Chinese atheist convention.
The whole thing takes place at The Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas Jan 6 – 10 as an expensive prelude to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA).
And these three bad boys each earned a freeroll into the event.
1. David Peters ($10.7m in 2018 earnings)
2. Mikita Badziakouski ($14.5m in 2018 earnings)
3. Stephen Chidwick ($10.1m in 2018 earnings)
The PCA officially gets underway on Sat 5 January with a $2,700 PSPC qualifier and ends on Wed 16 Jan.
There are five events for High Rollers on the card including two $100,000 events, a $50,000 and two $25,000 games.
The $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em takes place 9 Jan, the $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em PCA Super High Roller 10-12 Jan, a $100,000 No-Limit High Roller on 12 Jan, a $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em on 13 Jan and a second $25,000 event 14-16 Jan.
The $100,000 Super High Roller has been a permanent fixture in the poker calendar since 2011, and here is the current rogue’s gallery.
$100k SHR Winners
2011 – Eugene Katchalov (38-entrants) $1,500,000
2012 – Viktor Blom (40-entrants) $1,254,400
2013 – Scott Seiver (55-entrants) $2,003,480
2014 – Fabian Quoss (56-entrants) $1,629,940
2015 – Steve O’Dwyer (66-entrants) $1,872,580
2016 – Bryn Kenney (58-entrants) $1,687,800
2017 – Jason Koon (54-entrants) $1,650,300
2018 – Cary Katz (48-entrants) $1,492,340
After the barmy Bahamian blitz, it’s time for a 20-hour flight to Australia for the 2019 Aussie Millions. The Crown Casino, Melbourne, once again plays host, and there is an AUD 25,000 (USD 17,600) No-Limit Hold’em Challenge scheduled for January 25, and an AUD 50,000 (USD 35,000) No-Limit Hold’em Challenge on the card for Jan 27-28.
The Aussie Millions is the spiritual home of the high roller circuit with the AUD 100,000 Challenge* in situ since 2006, and the AUD 250,000 Challenge running from 2011 until its demise in 2016. The three most significant Aussie Millions winners are Phil Ivey ($7.9m), Erik Seidel ($4.8m) and Sam Trickett ($4m).
The Aussie Millions tournament organisers introduced the AUD 50,000 Challenge to replace the AUD 250,000 Challenge in 2016, where Mikita Badziakouski beat a measly 6-entrants to win the AUD 176,400 (USD 133,062) first prize. Last year, things worsened when Sam Greenwood beat a dire 4-entrant field in the same event before launching a Twitter tirade aimed at the German stable for refusing to get their hands dirty.
*The AUD 100,000 event takes place on Feb 1, hence its absence in this piece.
Japan High Roller Festival
There is one other $25,000+ buy-in event on the poker calendar according to Hendon Mob. The Japan High Roller Festival has a KRW 30,000,000 (USD 26,000) No-Limit Hold’em High Roller taking place 3 – 6 Jan, and as officials have banned live poker in Japan, the event takes place in the Paradise Casino, Incheon, South Korea. The Japan High Roller Festival debuted in the Paradise Casino back in 2017, but they have never held an event of this magnitude before.
2018 has been a fine vintage for Andras Nemeth. The Hungarian pro has been grinding for as long as I have been out of nappies, but something has clicked this year.
Four months after winning the $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller in the PokerStars World Championships of Online Poker (WCOOP) for a career-best score of $576,087, he has just gone one better.
Nemeth topped a field of 95 entrants to win the €25,000 Single-Day High Roller at the PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona for a career-high €605,600, after beating the in-form Wai Leong Chan in a short heads-up match.
You have to go way back to 2009 for Nemeth’s previous best score, when he finished fourth in a €6,200 buy-in event at the Master Classics of Poker in Amsterdam, although he did secure a €108,250 payday for finishing 2/737 in a €1k event in this casino back in 2013.
Chan came into EPT Barcelona in fine fettle.
He cashed in four Triton Poker Series events in Montenegro and Jeju including placing runner-up to Mikita Badziakouski in the Jeju Main Event earning $3.5m. A few days later he finished third in the Triton Poker Series High Roller as part of partypoker MILLIONS Russia for another $472,315. Chan might not be filling up his trophy cabinet, but his bank balance is swelling.
Let’s see how these two got to the end zone.
Level 3: 1000/1500/1500
The Finnish star, Juha Helppi, was the first player to bust.
No details.
Just a name, and an empty chair.
Michael Dyer, James Chen, Moam Makavy, and Dario Sammartino joined Helppi in the ‘should I buy back in’ club.
Helppi did buy back in.
Level 4: 1000/2000/2000
Romain Lewis, Igor Yarovshevskyy, Dominykas Karmazinas, and Byron Kaverman lost every single one of their chips.
Level 5: 1000/2500/2500
Bryn Kenney, Oleh Olekotskyi and Kazuhiko Yotsushika left a table without anything in their rack.
The Barcelona and Spain star Gerard Pique bought-in.
Kenney lost his second and final bullet. Sylvain Loosli, Pavlo Kolinkovskyi, Behzad Ahadpour, Sergio Aido, and Nick Petrangelo lost their first.
Level 6: 1500/3000/3000
Pique lost a life in a hand against Louis Nyberg AJ<AK.
Jean-Noel Thorel took the chip lead after eliminating Luc Greenwood. The pair got it in on the turn with both holding top pair; only Thorel’s had the mightiest kick. Greenwood rebought.
Level 7: 2000/4000/4000
Alex Komaromi, Ramin Hajiyev, Jean Ferreira and Jacob Reffeldt Rasmussen all busted. Sergio Aido lost his second bullet.
Mikita Badziakouski sent Chan Wei Leong to the rail when the pair got it in 33>AK. Badziakouski beat Leong heads-up to win the $5.2m first prize in the Triton Poker Series Main Event Jeju recently.
Stephen Chidwick and Luc Greenwood left the tournament area after losing their second bullets.
Level 8: 2500/5000/5000
Kristina Holst, Sam Greenwood and Matt Moss all left. Aaron Been doubled through Dan Smith KK>AQ. Badziakouski ate every single one of Pauli Ayras’ chips QQ>86o.
Ivan Luca, Juha Helppi, Nick Petrangelo and Henrik Hecklen all busted in this level.
Level 9: 3000/6000/6000
Igor Yaroshevskyy eliminated Mark Teltscher when his AQ rivered an ace against pocket fives, all-in, pre-flop.
Level 10: 4000/8000/8000
The souls of Timothy Adams, Patrik Antonius, Pauli Ayras, Tsugunari Toma, Dan Shak and Jan-Mikael Kesänen extinguished in this level.
Been took care of Daniel Negreanu when his AK beat the crap out of A3 all-in, pre-flop for all the marbles.
Chin Wei Lim’s AK beat the QQ of Nyberg to send the Swede back whence he came.
Level 11: 5000/10000/10000
Taylor Black, Ryan Riess, Linus Loeliger, Ivan Leow, Michael Soyza, Fabrice Maltez, Alberto Lapena, and Shyngis Satubayev were left twiddling their thumbs in this level.
The prize pool is confirmed:
13 players receive a minimum €45,620.
Here are the top five positions:
€605,600
€420,800
€278,280
€217,820
€175,600
Neither Jack Salter, Farid Jattin, Yaroshevskyy or Loosli would get a sniff.
Level 12: 6000/12000/12000
23 players remained.
Orpen Kisacikoglu is the first to go.
Andras Nemeth leads.
Level 13: 8000/16000/16000
Dan Smith eliminated Lucas Reeves when his AQ beat A8 all-in, pre-flop. Joao Vieira also busted in this level. Vladimir Troyanovskiy eliminated the in-form Alex Foxen QQ>QJo. And Seth Davies took out the €100k Super High Roller winner, Badziakouski A9>QJ to take the chip lead.
Pascal LeFrancois sent Fan Zhang to the rail when his pocket sixes won a race against AK. The outstanding Matthias Eibinger found aces to crush Sam Greenwood’s 97ss on a Ks7c6s flop. The turn and river bricked, and Greenwood was out.
Kaverman doubled through Been AT>A7.
Thorel moved into the chip lead after eliminating Murad Akhunov AK>QQ, after flopping a king.
Level 15: 10000/25000/25000
Hand for hand action on the bubble.
Eibinger busted Been 99>ATo, and we were on the stone cold bubble.
Level 16: 15000/30000/30000
Eibinger put a smile on everyone’s face when he took out Juan Pardo Dominguez in a brutal beat A8cc>AA. The Austrian hitting runner-runner clubs to break the Spaniard’s heart, and send everyone into the money.
Level 17: 20000/40000/40000
Nemeth took out Davies AK>KQ. Salman Behbehani and his A7o couldn’t beat the pocket fives of Eibinger or the KTcc of Chan, all-in, pre-flop. And Nemeth took another scalp when his pocket fives bested the KQs of LeFrancois.
Michel Dattani doubled through Nemeth AQ>AJ.
Nemeth got some of those back after busting Dan Smith Q6>A2 after Troyanovskiy had taken most of his chips AA>22.
We had our final table.
Level 18: 250000/50000/50000 The Final Table
Matthias Eibinger – 2,150,000
Andras Nemeth – 1,950,000
Chin Wei Lim – 1,050,000
Wai Leong Chan – 825,000
Jean-Noel Thorel – 825,000
Vladimir Troyanovskiy – 820,000
Michel Dattani – 800,000
Sean Winter – 650,000
Byron Kaverman – 470,000
Kaverman hit runner-runner straight cards for his KT to beat the AK of Lim. Thorel ousted Winter 88>KQs. And Lim’s pocket fours were far better than Troyanovskiy’s pocket threes.
Level 19: 30000/60000/60000
Eibinger eliminated Dattani in seventh place when his 86h beat A9o, after turning a straight. Kaverman sent Thorel to the cash desk in sixth when his A7 beat K5 and the American grabbed more chips when he doubled through Chan AJ>K5s.
Level 20: 40000/80000/80000
Nemeth doubled through Chan KJs>22 after rivering a king.
Level 21: 50000/100000/100000
Nemeth’s pocket kings were too strong for the A6dd of Lim.
Kaverman did it again, this time doubling through Eibinger K5s>JTs, but Chan left him crippled when 88 beat AQ, leaving Kaverman with 105,000.
Level 22 60000/120000/120000
Kaverman was all-in whether he liked it or not and his QT couldn’t beat Chan’s A8hh. Kaverman left with €217,820, and a fourth-place finish on his resume.
And then Chan picked up some much-needed chips for his heads-up battle with Nemeth after eliminating Eibinger AQ>JT. The Austrian has had a sterling series making the final table in the four most significant events.
Heads-Up Chip Counts
Nemeth: 6,100,000
Chan: 3,400,000
Chan pulled level through a series of pots before Nemeth ended his revival in brutal circumstances. The pair got it in with Nemeth holding A2o, and Chan holding the rockets, only for the Hungarian to river a wheel to cement his victory.
Final Table Results
Andras Nemeth – €605,600
Wai Leong Chan – €420,800
Matthias Eibinger – €278,280
Byron Kaverman – €217,820
Chin Wei Lim – €175,600
Jean-Noel Thorel – €136,860
Michel Dattani – €108,350
Vladimir Troyanovskiy – €84,400
Sean Winter – €63,900
The PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona slapped a €100,000 buy-in Super High Roller on the card for the first time, and when it came down to form, there was one man everyone had to beat.
Justin Bonomo is the hottest player in the world right now. But when Bonomo doesn’t turn up for work, that mantle becomes the responsibility of Mikita Badziakouski.
The Belarusian star came into this event after winning back-to-back Triton Poker Series Main Events in Montenegro and Jeju. Add a fourth-place finish in the Super High Roller Bowl to that collection, as well as a series of other sterling results, and you’re looking at an annual haul of $12,411,966 – only Bonomo has won more ($24,945,435). Badziakouski’s form would have seen him top the live yearly tournament earnings charts in three of the past four years.
Could anyone stop him?
The headline is a bit of a giveaway.
Let’s see how he took it down. Day 1
44 entrants participated in eight levels of 60-minutes, at the end of the day 28 remained with Badziakouski bagging up 402,000 chips, good enough for 80 big blinds.
Top Ten Chip Counts
Ahadpur Khangah – 1,155,000
Pascal LeFrancois – 647,000
David Peters – 638,000
Seth Davies – 622,000
Timothy Adams – 587,000
Jan-Eric Schwippert – 545,000
Patrik Antonius – 517,000
Jean-Hoel Thorel – 496,000
Bryn Kenney – 494,000
Benjamin Pollak – 469,000
Day 2
Ten people took advantage of the late registration, making the final field size, 54. The prize pool was €5,239,080.
Here were the payouts:
Payouts
€1,650,300
€1,191,900
€759,680
€576,300
€445,300
€340,550
€274,050
Level 10, with blinds at 4,000/8,000/8,000, and a critical hand for Badziakouski.
Badziakouski opened to 21,000, Adams three-bet to 69,000 and Badziakouski called. The flop was Ts6h2c; Adams bet 38,000, Badziaouski raised to 100,000, Adams moved all-in, and Badziakouski called for his tournament life. The Belarusian showed ATcc for top pair, and backdoor flush draw, but Adam was ahead with pocket queens. The As landed on the turn to give Badziakouski two pairs, and after a blank river he doubled up to 780,000.
By the time we reached the final three tables, Badziakouski was third in chips.
Top Five Chip Counts
Ahadpur Khangah – 1,819,000
Matthias Eibinger – 1,200,000
Mikita Badziakouski – 960,000
David Peters – 940,000
Daniel Negreanu – 685,000
With blinds at 8,000/16,000/16,000, Badziakouski took care of Pascal LeFrancois. Le Francois opened to 36,000 on the button, Badziakouski three-bet to 140,000 from the small blind, and LeFrancois called. The flop was 8d5h2d, Badziakouski made an 80,000 c-bet, LeFrancois moved all-in, and Badziakouski called.
Badziakouski: KhKd
LeFrancois: Kc5c
Badziakouski was light years ahead, and another king on the turn sealed the deal. Badziakouski moved up to 1,550,000 to solidify his #3 spot behind Matthias Eibinger (the new runaway chip leader), and Khangah.
The next player to feel the power of Badziakouski’s hands was Christoph Vogelsang. The former Super High Roller Bowl winner opened to 44,000 (with blinds at 10k/20k/20k), Badziakouski three-bet to 135,000, and Vogelsang made the call.
Flop: 5h3s2s
Both players checked.
Turn: 7s
Vogelsang bet 120,000; Badziakouski called.
River: 9s
With four spades on the board, Vogelsang checked his option, and Badziakouski put him all-in. The German star made the call and left the building after Badziakouski’s pocket aces (with the ace of spades) beat the pocket tens (ten of spades) of Vogelsang.
At the dinner break, Badziakouski had moved into the second spot.
Top Five Counts
Matthias Eibinger – 2,580,000
Mikita Badziakouski – 2,300,000
Bryn Kenney – 1,200,000
Daniel Negreanu – 1,040,000
Cary Katz – 910,000
Timothy Adams eliminated Daniel Negreanu, Ahadpur Khanga took care of Adrian Mateos and Bryn Kenney, and we had a final table.
Nine players remained.
Only seven would win any money.
Final Table Chip Counts
Matthias Eibinger – 3,040,000
Mikita Badziakouski – 2,570,000
Ahadpur Khangah – 2,105,000
Cary Katz – 1,425,000
Timothy Adams – 1,245,000
Rui Neves Ferreira – 1,020,000
Benjamin Pollak- 765,000
Jean Ferreira – 720,000
Byron Kaverman – 610,000
Day 3
The first player to exit was Cary Katz, and it was a brutal way to go. The Poker Central founder got it in with pocket queens against the KTcc of Matthias Eibinger. The ultra dry flop of Qs6c2h gave Katz an incredible opportunity to double up, only for the Austrian to hit runner-runner clubs to eliminate Katz with a flush.
The elimination of Katz led to the bubble, and the last player to leave with nothing was Byron Kaverman. Once again Eibinger played the role of Albert Pierrepoint, tightening the noose around the American’s neck with 87o>A8dd, and letting the trap door go when a seven hit the turn to give Eibinger the win.
Jean Ferreira earned €275,050 for a seventh-place finish after running AJo into the pocket kings of Khangah all-in, pre-flop. Badziakouski doubled up through the chip leader, Eibinger, when his pocket tens won a flip against the AQ of the Austrian. And Rui Neves Ferreira became the second Ferreira to leave the final table when his pocket queens lost out to the KQ of Khangah after the Iranian flopped the second cowboy.
The former November Niner, Benjamin Pollak, took €445,300 for a fifth-place finish when Eibinger sent him packing 86cc>AJo after flopping an eight and rivering a six in an all-in, pre-flop encounter. Timothy Adams banked €576,300 after losing a flip 88<KQ to Eibinger. And we reached heads-up play after Badziakouski’s AQ found an ace on the flop to eliminate Eibinger who was holding pocket tens.
Khangah finished sixth in the 2016 €50,000 Super High Roller in this very building, and also finished seventh in the €111,111 One Drop High Roller at the 2017 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE), but he is no match for the silky skills of the Belarusian.
Khangah would need the luck to be on his side, and it stayed in the deck.
Badziakouski won a succession of pots to take a commanding chip lead before busting his opponent after both players flopped top pair. The money went in on the turn after Badziakouski turned his weaker top pair hand into two pairs.
It was an excellent run for the Iranian, but he was up against one of the hottest poker players in the world.
Here are the final table results.
Final Table Results
Mikita Badziakouski – €1,650,300
Ahadpur Khangah – €1,191,900
Matthias Eibinger – €759,680
Timothy Adams – €576,300
Benjamin Pollak – €445,300
Rui Ferreira – €340,550
Jean-Christophe Ferreira – €275,050
“Are you going to be in Manila for Triton in December?” I asked Badziakouski after his win.
“I guess I have to be now,” said a calm as you like Badziakouski.
That’s not good news for anyone else heading that way.
I always hated September as a kid.
The return to school.
Seriously, the eight-week summer holiday was better than Christmas, Dungeons and Dragons, and Bros rolled into one.
If only online poker existed back then.
I would have loved September.
PokerStars’ World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) owns September, and as you would expect, this year, the plan is to make it better than your mother’s macaroni cheese.
Up to 15 tournaments, daily.
Six Platinum Passes await.
Three tiered buy-ins, alas SCOOP, for the first time (Main Event exempt with a $55 buy-in $1m GTD and $5,200 buy-in $10m GTD only).
It’s an online poker player’s wet dream, and for the duration, you can bet your favourite seashells that our high rolling darlings will be locking themselves in a bedroom crammed with Renton comedown goodies.
The glory of winning a WCOOP event, not to mention a sum of money that will make you miss your specimen bottle, means players of notable ilk invest an incredible amount of time in this tournament series.
When WCOOP began, 17-years ago, there were nine events and $730,000 in guaranteed prize money. September’s meat grinder contains 61 events, 182 tournaments, and over $116m in guarantees.
Two of those 182 tournaments will curry favour with the high rollers:
Sep 5, 13:00 (ET) – $1m GTD $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Max
Sep 12, 13:00 (ET) – $2m GTD $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em
The History of WCOOP High Rollers
There have been seven events in WCOOP’s history that have carried a buy-in of $25,000 or more.
The first, a $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em event, happened a decade ago and ran for three successive years. Steven “stevesbets” Jacobs defeated 64 entrants, including Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier in the final to take the $560,000 first prize in the first. Jonathan “Iftarii” Jaffe beat 36 entrants, including Allan “Sifosis” Baekke to take the $315,000 first prize in the second one. And Phil “RaiseOnce” Ivey beat 31 entrants, including Rachid Ben “SkaiWalkurrr” Cherif, heads-up, to take the $348,750 first prize in the third and final year.
Stars removed $25k+ buy-in events for the next four years until they broke the world record for an online buy-in, hosting a $51,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em 8-Max Super High Roller in 2015. 46-entrants created a $2.3m prize pool and Ben “Ben86” Tollerene defeated Jose “Cejakas14” Angel Latorre, heads-up, to claim the $616,518 first prize after cutting a three-way deal that included the back-to-back Triton Poker Series Main Event star Mikita “fish2013” Badziakouski.
The following year that $51,000 buy-in looked positively peanuts as Stars pulled out all the stops to host a $102,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em 8-Max Super High Roller. The event attracted 28 entrants, and bencb789 beat Fedor “CrownUpGuy” Holz in heads-up action to take the $1,172,361 first prize after the pair cut a deal that saw Holz also bank a million bucks.
And then, last year, for the first time, PokerStars held a $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller. Pedro ‘Zagalo87’ Zagalo from Spain topped a field of 71 entrants (52 entries, 17 re-entries) to win the PLO 6-Max version for $419,038.62 after cutting a three-way deal with Venividi1993 ($325,649.51) and Ravenswood13 ($339,240.95). And Nick “caecilius’ Petrangelo won the 149 entrants (120 entries, 29 re-entries) NLHE version banking $624,676.53 after a three-way deal with Bryn “BrynKenney” Kenney ($559,694,73), and bartek901 ($636,113.64).
PokerStars’ World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) takes place 2nd – 17th September.
PokerStars Partner With Hugo Boss
From a PokerStars product for the High Rollers to a clothing line for the High Rollers.
PokerStars will roll out a pop-up Stars merchandise store during the European Poker Tour’s return to Barcelona this week, and to overcome the average Joe’s aversion to wearing all manner of clothes emblazoned with the Red Spade, the online poker room has partnered with the German clothing line Hugo Boss to produce a range of co-branded products.
The store is open from August 21 – September 2, and players can purchase products using cash or card. The products will also be available through the online Stars Store, which will also launch during EPT Barcelona.
