The eighteenth Mini Full Tilt Online Poker Series is slowly starting to wrap up and come to an end, but there are still a small number of events left to be played. Tournament players from all around the world are jumping at the chance to play for big guaranteed prize pools at little cost. Event 27 was played out yesterday, with makar0101 standing alone at the top of the field.
The Mini Full Tilt Online Poker Series, or MiniFTOPS as it is known, is a series of tournaments with small buy-ins and large guaranteed prize pools. The series always follows a short time after its associated FTOPS, and it offers all the same tournaments as the major series but at one tenth the buy-in. While the buy-ins are shrunk dramatically, the effect on the guaranteed prize pools is much less severe, making these events great tournaments to play for skilled players on a budget.
Event 27 was probably one of the quickest tournaments in the MiniFTOPS lineup, kicking off at 5pm on December 17th and coming to a close less than three hours later. While 3,415 players registered for the $52+$3 tournament, it was the knockout and super-turbo format, combined with the fact that players only received three hundred chips to start, that caused this tournament to play out so quickly. Each knockout was worth $12, and with stacks so short it was very possible for players to make their buy-in back with a bit of aggressive pay and some help from lady luck.
FTOPS events are always hosted by a prominent member of the Full Tilt family, and MiniFTOPS shares this tradition. Event 27 was hosted by James Bord, who has amassed over $1.5 Million in career tournament earnings in his short poker career. He is without question best known for his excellent performance at the World Series of Poker Europe this year, where he outlasted the entire field to become Main Event champion, earning a gold bracelet. He was not to repeat his performance on the virtual felt this time, being eliminated in 1010th place.
Fortunes were somewhat more favorable for makar0101 and 4nd1, who found themselves sitting across from each other at the final table, after a relatively short but brutal tournament. With 4nd1 having the chip lead, the two agreed upon a chop, and proceeded to play out the remainder of the tournament for a percentage of the prize pool set aside and the title, as Full Tilt requires. Although 4nd1 had the chip advantage at the time the deal was made, makar0101 was able to turn the tables and eventually become the victor. While makar0101 received the title and $21,360.04 for his win, the chop still favored 4nd1, who walked away with $23,444.76 for his eventual second place finish.
Time is fast running out to get in on your share of the MiniFTOPS prize pools, but if you hurry then you may still be in with a shot. It’s awesome to see this kind of a series which such a wide variety of formats and tournaments, and of course even more awesome that it can all be put on with such low buy-ins. Even if the buy-ins still seem a little bit out of your budget, Full Tilt has satellite tournaments running pretty much around the clock, meaning there’s no excuse for you to miss out on your share of all the cash up for grabs.