Full Tilt Online Poker Series Event #38 was a tournament not to be missed! With a $515+$20 buy-in, a $458,400 purse, and 1,146 players, fireworks were in store. The 1,146 players took to the tables to battle each other for a first prize of $103,140.
Pro Matt Sexton hosted the event. Sexton, though skilled in live play, specializes in online poker.
Red Pro Barney Boatman found a great deal of initial success at the table, climbing into the top 5 for almost a quarter of the tournament. With less than 60 players to go, however, his cards ran dry and he quickly dropped to 27th. Boatman rode the bottom half of the standings for the rest of the tournament. With blinds at 800/1600 and 16 players to remaining, Boatman was preyed upon, and ultimately finished in 16th, earning a respectable $2,108.64.
With 27 players remaining, Red Pro Julian Gardner shot up from near the bottom to 9th place. Gardner’s run continued into 6th place with four all-in bets in seven hands and took down the necessary pots to keep up with the blinds. Gardner’s rocketing ascent climaxed when AQ generated a double up, proudly sending Gardner to the final table in 3rd place.
The final table saw two immediate knockouts (theGrooouuuch and Lalapaloolala), with Mr_BigQueso and Hanamichi23 receiving hefty boosts to their chip count only 3 minutes into the final nine. Eliminations came thick and fast as in six quick hands, elsnoox187 was felted, Hanamichi23 hit the rail, and Antoshka left the building. The action was hot, and the cards merciless. In what felt like only moments, only four remained at the final table.
Julian Gardner, now in 4th place at less than half the big stack (Mr_BigQueso), sat poised. One AJ vs. KJ later and Julian Gardner found himself in first place with more than 100,000 chips! Gardner, who had been sitting at the bottom of the pack less than an hour before, defined the FTOPS Event #38 with this dramatic comeback.
Several hands later, the final four agreed to cut a deal. The players agreed to divide the winnings as follows:
Julian Gardner (1st): $63,755.59
xRIGAx (2nd): $61,971.91
Mr_BigQueso (3rd): $60,534.03
alexander_rus (4th): $57,446.34
After the deal, Alexander_rus made a comeback to win the remaining $10,933.33 left to play for, and claimed the title, concluding the action-packed Event #38.
The final table’s standings and payouts:
1. alexander_rus – $64,355.43
2. Mr_BigQueso – $63,443.12
3. xRIGAx – $63,087.06
4. Julian Gardner – $63,755.59
5. Antoshka – $28,650.00
6. Hanamichi23 – $20,628.00
7. elsnoox187 – $13,752.00
8. theGrooouuuch – $10,314.00
9. Lalapaloolala – $7,334.40