Online Poker Weekend: 'Legato' Claims Stars Win; 'joskins' Takes Down FTOPS #2
This weekend saw players at two different online poker sites take down a score in excess of $100,000. The FTOPS series was off and running at Full Tilt, and Poker Stars managed to break its own player pool record for a Sunday tournament��
Poker Stars Sunday Million
Each week recently at Poker Stars has brought a new attendance or prize-pool record, and last night's event was no exception. A huge field found its way to the Sunday Million --- 6,740 players meant a $1,348,000 prize pool was created, with $188,720 the listed first-place money. 975 players cashed. 'BadcardsAA' arrived at the final table with the lead, owning nearly $17 million in chips, with 'holla@yoboy' the only other player over $10 million.
However, it was third-place 'Legato,' from Stockholm, who notched the first knockout at the final table. His A-J pockets staying well ahead of the smallest stack in play, GF_PLAYA, who gambled his last $2 million on A-6. A jack on the flop increased Legato's lead, and GF_PLAYA's help never arrived --- he exited in ninth. The next hand saw bubbaloo2 join GF_PLAYA at the rail, when bubbaloo2's pocket sevens fell to the K-4 of BadcardsAA after the board showed A-A-4-K-Q. Only two more hands elapsed before the field shrunk to six, this time when 'Brodawg's' pocket tens ran into Legato's jacks.
After a few more hands, the remaining players explored a possible deal, and after a bit of haggling managed to hammer out a six-way chop that ensured each of the survivors a payday of $47,000 or more, with $30,000 left to play for. And play they did. BadcardsAA ended 'ViP_MoDee's run when his A-Q triumphed over ViP_MoDee's A-T, but it took the full board of 8-J-A-T-K to fill the winning straight. BigAl1647, the shortest stack when the deal was struck, then knocked out 'Lem Motlow,' as BigAl1647's A-J caught a jack on the river to overtake Lem Motlow's A-Q. BadcardsAA finished off 'holla@yoboy' three hands later, with BadcardsAA's pocket deuces holding up over holla@yoboy's K-J when the board arrived 8-T-4-9-T.
BadcardsAA held a big margin at the start of three-handed play, but Legato won two huge pots to turn this one around. On the second one, Legato paired his queen (holding K-Q) on a 9-Q-9 flop, and induced BadcardsAA to make an all-in call after a five on the turn, with BadcardsAA holding only A-T. A four on the river meant BadcardsAA was the official third-place finisher. Legato finished off the run a dozen hands later, when all the chips went after a turn seven left the board showing A-Q-A-7; BigAl1647 made the push with pocket sixes, but Legato called and displayed A-T, for trip aces. Neither of the two remaining sixes arrived on the river, and Legato's win was in the books.
Final standings:
*1st ($132,143): Legato
*2nd ($46,817): BigAl1647
*3rd ($93,812): BadcardsAA
*4th ($59,548): holla@yoboy
*5th ($51,703): Lem Motlow
*6th ($68,228): ViP_MoDee
7th ($22,916): BroDawg
8th ($16,984.80): bubbaloo2
9th ($11,053.60): GF_PLAYA
* --- six-way deal to divide remaining prize money, with $30,000 to eventual winner
Full Tilt FTOPS Event #2 ($216 No-Limit Hold'em, $500,000 Guarantee)
FTOPS (Full Tilt Online Poker Series) Event #2 was on the slate for Sunday night, supplanting the normal Sunday night $350,000 Guarantee, which is on a two-week hiatus. 3,010 players entered this one, creating one of the largest Full Tilt prize funds ever at $602,000. This final table held eight players, as two others, 'MayorMcShipIT' and 'HammerLips,' were knocked out on the same final-table bubble hand; MayorMcShipIT started the hand with more chips and claimed ninth-place money.
Carnage marked the early stages of this event's final table. With the blinds at $25,000/$50,000, 'arsenal46' tried a steal, pushing all-in for about $500,000 with T-9, only to run into the pocket kings of 'set888s' on the button. arsenal46 caught a ten on the turn but no other help, and was out in eighth. Three hands later, 'SuburbanSpade' eliminated 'The Reaper4' from the big blind after two players limped pre-flop and SuburbanSpade's modest T-5 hit two pair when the flop came 10-8-5. The Reaper4, who had held Q-T and caught top pair, was already under $300,000 and headed for the rail when a king and seven completed the board. Two other short stacks battled shortly after, with the A-J of 'Squirrely1' outracing the tens of 'JazzyCFC,' courtesy of a river ace.
'Can You Tell' then almost pulled off his own big-blind double-through against set888s, his T-4 holdings catching two pair, on a flop of 4-J-T, and he was quickly all-in against set888s's K-T. This time, though an unlikely nine and queen completed the board, giving set888s a king-high straight and sending Can You Tell off in fifth. And SuburbanSpade then bowed out in fourth, his suited A-K dominating against set888s's K-Q, with the chips gong in pre-flop, but losing when the board brought two queens.
Only when three players remained --- 'joskins,' Squirrely1 and set888s --- did a more normal pace resume. The three players each took turns at the top of the board over the next 70 hands, and a bad beat finally broke the stalemate. joskins and set888s got their remaining chips in pre-flop, with joskins's A-Q trailing set888s's A-K. The board, though, arrived J-Q-9-5-A, making set888s the third-place finisher.
The end came eight hands later, with the blinds $60,000/$120,000, and joskins having built his margin to $7.2 million, versus Squirrely1's $1.8 million. From the small blind/button, Squirrely1 completed the small blind, joskins checked, and the flop came T-Q-Q. joskins bet $120,000 and Squirrely1 called. The turn produced another queen, joskins bet another $120,000, and Squirrely1 called again. joskins pushed all-in after a river eight, with Squirrely1 again making the call, and joskins showed T-6 for the queens-full-of-tens boat. Squirrely1 mucked his hand, and joskins claimed the FTOPS #2 victory.
Final standings:
1st ($107,788.10): joskins
2nd ($65,618): Squirrely1
3rd ($42,742): set888s
4th ($33,411): SuburbanSpade
5th ($24,983): Can You Tell
6th ($18,481.40): JazzyCFC
7th ($13,846): The Reaper4
8th ($10,836): arsenal46
^9th ($8,066.80): MayorMcShipIT
^ --- did not make final table
Ultimate Bet $200,000 Guaranteed
946 entrants paid $215 each for their chance at a big cash at Ultimate Bet, and with UB's standard guarantee in play, 100 players cashed and first prize paid $45,000. The ten survivors to the final table were led by 'PLAY-2-WIN,' at about $450,000 in chips, with the other nine players tightly bunched a short margin behind. The combination of tight standings and a couple of key suckouts meant that 68 hands elapsed before any players were eliminated. Finally, 'Papa Bull XL' knocked out 'Nine to Five' on a hand where Papa Bull XL started behind, with Q-8 to Nine to Five's jacks, but caught the needed two on the turn. Not long after, 'MavFish' won a battle of short stacks over 'phat_cat' when MavFish's pocket tens stayed ahead of phat_cat's Q-J, and then Papa Bull XL scored a cheap knockout, pairing a hole-card seven to send '321654' out in eighth.
The next knockout occurred in a classic race. MavFish, holding A-K, caught an ace on the flop to bounce 'nederen_dk,' who had moved all-in with pocket queens. However, A-K wasn't charmed, as '-noonan-' then lost a race with it to PLAY-2-WIN, whose tens survived when the board offered 7-2-Q-2-4. Nor was the flurry of knockouts over, as a short-stacked 'Your_Wack,' who had survived a couple of all-in hands earlier, finally fell when his K-9 was dominated by Papa Bull XL's A-9 and no other help arrived. PLAY-2-WIN, who despite having the early lead had been unable to pad his margin, then also found A-K a loser on the very next hand, running it head-on into njm3111's aces. That pot was worth more than $1 million, and put njm3111 well into the lead.
Papa Bull XL's deep run ended in third place when he and njm3111 got all the chips into the pot after a 6-K-9 flop. Papa Bull XL showed K-J, but njm3111 showed pocket nines for the set, and although a king on the turn offered outs, none of them arrived, and a river jack meant that heads-up play was at hand. At this juncture, njm3111 had nearly $1.85 million in chips, MavFish, barely $500,000, and the end came only eight hands later. On the final hand, MavFish tried a re-raise push after an 8-7-2 flop, while holding 7-6 for a middle pair he thought was good. However, njm3111 had another big overpair, this time kings. A nine on the turn created an open-ended straight draw for MavFish, but a king dropped on the river, giving njm3111 three kings and a $45,000 win.
Final standings:
1st ($45,000): njm3111
2nd ($26,500): MavFish
3rd ($18,000): Papa Bull XL
4th ($13,100): PLAY-2-WIN
5th ($10,500): Your_Wack
6th ($8,500): -noonan-
7th ($6,500): nederen_dk
8th ($4,500): 321654
9th ($3,400): phat_cat
10th ($2,000): Nine to Five
Party Poker $200,000 Guaranteed
942 players made it to Party Poker's Sunday $200,000 Guarantee, so the standard payout numbers were in place, including the scheduled $47,000 first-place prize. Canada's 'eric5678' led a tightly-packed group of ten to the final table, then watched as Sweden's 'Telefonkiosk' doubled through with a set of jacks to jump into the lead. Soon after, a couple of the shortest stacks dropped away, with eric5678 sending 'RH1961' out in tenth, then repeating the trick, behind pocket aces, to eliminate 'karakel' in ninth. The knockouts pushed eric5678 over $1 million chips and back into a narrow, short-lived lead, before Telefonkiosk took down several medium-sized pots to open up a million-chip lead.
'Nematoda' then filled an ace-high straight to knock 'Svenaldo' out in eighth, and then 'Chubagabra' and his pocket tens ran afoul of the pocket aces held by 'marcus85,' resulting in a trip to the rail in seventh. Soon after, 'thewomp1' changed the tourney's complexion, doubling through Telefonkiosk behind pocket kings, for a $1.4 million pot and the lead. Nematoda soon followed Chubagabra, exiting in sixth when his K-Q trailed marcus85's A-K, and another ace arrived on the flop. Then 'skenna,' who started as one of the leaders before slipping back, delivered back-to-back hits to marcus85; the second one saw marcus85 exit in fifth after his A-Q ran into skenna's queens and the board offered 4-J-7-9-K.
The four-way battle extended through several lead changes before Telefonkiosk became the next to fall, forced in behind pocket threes for his last chips, following several tough hands. When eric5678 paired his hold ace on the flop, Telefonkiosk's night was through. The three remaining players than parried for a few hands, with thewomp1 pulling out to a slight lead, before they decided to accept a three-way chop based on chip counts.
Final standings:
**1st ($35,896.84): thewomp1
**2nd ($27,228.88): eric5678
**3rd ($24,870.30): skenna
4th ($12,000): Telefonkiosk
5th ($10,000): marcus85
6th ($8,000): Nematoda
7th ($6,000): Chubagabra
8th ($4,000): Svenaldo
9th ($3,000): karakel
10th ($2,200): RH1961
** --- three-way deal to divide remaining prize money
