Even with the FullTilt Mini Online Poker Series nearing an end there are still a handful of big events left. The appropriately named miniature version of the FullTilt Online Poker Series has hosted 31 events so far and with just three remaining on Sunday the race for a big score is coming to a close. Event #31 which began and ended Saturday on FullTilt saw a big smaller than expected field compete in the $150,000 guaranteed event. With just 3,443 entrants on hand FullTilt had to dig into their pockets and pull out more than $12,000 in overlay. Those seeing a $52+3 buy-in event and more than 3,000 players might be puzzled as to why there was only a $150,000 prize pool.  A closer examination shows Event #31 was a Knock-Out style tournament paying $12 to each player every time he/she eliminated a fellow competitor. With just $40 of the $52 buy-in going to the prize pool the 3,443 players only created a $137,720 pot.

The tournament was hosted by FullTilt sponsored professional Monte Kouz who is an old school poker player dating back to before the online boom. His $132,000 score in the Queen Poker Classic in 1995 still rates as his best cash to date.  Kouz was joined by 20 other FullTilt professionals including David “The Dragon” Pham, WSOP bracelet winner Scott Fischman, and high-stakes grinder Steve Yea.  A handful of professionals were able to sneak into the money but none could muster a big run. Yea (291st place) was joined by Yongsuk Chang (271st) and Jono Karamalikis (258th) in the money but all settled for small scores.  The Super Turbo format probably hurt the professional player as the luck-factor increases greatly with the blinds escalating so quickly.

The final table came and went in a hurry. With the blinds skyrocketing and stacks becoming very short the final four players decided on a chip chop which broke up the remaining $74,000 prize pool.  The player with the most chips at the time of the chop was “Selinantis” who took down the 2nd $20,000+ score his career on FullTilt. The small-stakes grinder proved why the MiniFTOPS series is great for those who enjoy playing lower buy-in events. His other $20,000 score came in the $200k Double Deuce this past June which saw him take down a field of 9,083 for the win.  Runner-up “Pero1990” was another great example of a player hitting a big score in MiniFTOPS XVII. His $20,663 cash ranks as the best of his career by nearly $15,000! The final two members of the chip-chop group “Your Player ID” and “LamaBeast” also shipped the biggest scores of their career.

Congratulations goes to Selinantis and all 378 players who made the money in MiniFTOPS XVII Event #31!

FullTilt MiniFTOPS Event #31 $150k Guaranteed
3,443 Entrants; $150,000 prize pool
*4-way chop

1. selinantis $21,056
2. Pero1990 $20,663
3. Your Player ID $14,223
4. LamaBeast $17,096
5. pptmin69h13m200 $7,200
6. zerlenga $4,800
7. MattyMatticus $3,142
8. lobofenris $2,100
9. ali sani $1,500