It was quite the interesting day in online tournaments yesterday as some records were broken and new tournaments were broken in. The highlights of the day had to include the $216 $1,500,000 Guaranteed on FullTilt. A tournament which is sure to rival the Sunday Million on PokerStars is hopefully replacing the $750k in the same time slot. While FullTilt debuted this new event it was PokerStars which stole early headlines as its $11 buy-in “Sunday Storm” quickly rose to more than 110,000 entrants, smashing previous tournament entry records. The tournament was ultimately won by Russain “Uvelir888” who earned a whopping $210,531 for his efforts, quite the return on $11 indeed.
The bigger events were kicked off by the $215 Sunday Warm-Up. The $750,000 guaranteed major had been receiving more than 5,000 entrants lately but perhaps March Madness took a few players away as just 4,751 competitors woke up early enough to enter. With $950,200 in the pot and nearly $150,000 slated for the winner there was plenty to be had for the early risers. The final table had a few solid players including Ryan “gutshtallin” Welch who earned $21,379 for his 7th place finish. The Las Vegas based MTT professional is no stranger to success on PokerStars having won the Warm-Up back in 2008 for nearly $100,000. Welsh also nearly won the SCOOP 2-day Medium event last year before falling heads-up for $215,000! Overall he has won the Warm-Up, Brawl, $1k Monday, $300k on UB, $200k on FullTilt, and the $150k on PokerStars. Even with all his success he was unable to make a dent in the final table.
Heads-up play came down to “KingOfFilth” and Brandan “Brandanz” Zaucha. Zaucha nearly won this very event last year before falling in 3rd place for $90,000. He is a solid high-stakes grinder who has won the $55 re-buy and come close in the $109r and Wednesday Quarter Million. Brandanz certainly had the experience edge on KingOfFilth who had yet to record a five-figure score on PokerStars and after finishing in 2nd place still hadn’t! The tournament ended rather abruptly as Zaucha got all the money in the middle way out in front and saw his ATo hold against KTo.
Seat 7: BrandanZ (40314624 in chips)
Seat 8: KingOfFilth (7195376 in chips)
KingOfFilth: posts small blind 250000
BrandanZ: posts big blind 500000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
KingOfFilth: raises 6645376 to 7145376 and is all-in
BrandanZ: calls 6645376
*** FLOP *** [8h Qs 9d]
*** TURN *** [8h Qs 9d] [As]
*** RIVER *** [8h Qs 9d As] [Qd]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BrandanZ: shows [Ad Ts] (two pair, Aces and Queens)
KingOfFilth: shows [Tc Kh] (a pair of Queens)
BrandanZ collected 14390752 from pot
PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up $750k Guaranteed
4,751 Entrants; $950,200 prize pool
1. BrandanZ $149,069
2. KingOfFilth $110,698
3. Petit $78,391
4. ilona_iuby $53,686
5. fabsoul $40,383
6. Kaksnel $30,881
7. gutshtallin $21,379
8. swede554 $11,877
9. SavePluto9 $7,601
The Sunday Million also saw a slight dip in attendance. The tournament failed to surpass the $2,000,000 prize pool mark for the first time in a long while. The final table had its ups and downs as the last six players could not come to terms on a chip chop. This decision ultimately cost “chevy chasin” and “player9ball” the most as they busted in 6th and 5th place respectively. The final four players were then able to come to terms guaranteeing even the shortest of stacks nearly $125,000 in earnings. The two biggest stacks as the time of the chop, “69jocker69” and “AmazingErvin” stayed that way all the way down to heads-up play. AmazingErvin had a massive chip lead but soon found himself on the wrong end of lady luck by losing three straight all-in pots. First his KQ was cracked on the turn by Q8, then his flopped set of 8s lost to 69jocker69’s nut flush draw. Finally, his AK suited was no match for A2 as a deuce was in the door, sending him home in 2nd and handing 69jocker69 the title and the additional $30,000 set aside during the chop.
Below are the final table stacks, bust-out hands, and chop-adjusted pay-outs:
Seat 1: Jysky11 (17000923 in chips)
Seat 2: guldkasse (8682998 in chips)
Seat 3: 69jocker69 (10061229 in chips)
Seat 4: Exan13 (6509097 in chips)
Seat 5: player9ball (9640674 in chips)
Seat 6: Cares37 (5684576 in chips)
Seat 7: AmazingErvin (12349605 in chips)
Seat 8: chevy chasin (13116914 in chips)
Seat 9: Kragg111 (9833984 in chips)
Seat 1: Jysky11 (10300923 in chips)
Seat 2: guldkasse (6672998 in chips)
Seat 3: 69jocker69 (11011229 in chips)
Seat 4: Exan13 (5567097 in chips)
Seat 5: player9ball (11635674 in chips)
Seat 6: Cares37 (9889576 in chips)
Seat 7: AmazingErvin (10289605 in chips)
Seat 8: chevy chasin (16548914 in chips)
Seat 9: Kragg111 (10963984 in chips)
Cares37: posts small blind 250000
AmazingErvin: posts big blind 500000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
chevy chasin: folds
Kragg111: raises 500000 to 1000000
Jysky11: folds
guldkasse: raises 5622998 to 6622998 and is all-in
69jocker69: folds
Exan13: folds
player9ball: folds
Cares37: folds
AmazingErvin: folds
Kragg111: calls 5622998
*** FLOP *** [8d 8s 7c]
*** TURN *** [8d 8s 7c] [3s]
*** RIVER *** [8d 8s 7c 3s] [Ah]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Kragg111: shows [Ad Qd] (two pair, Aces and Eights)
guldkasse: shows [Jh Jc] (two pair, Jacks and Eights)
Kragg111 collected 14445996 from pot
Seat 1: Jysky11 (10450923 in chips)
Seat 3: 69jocker69 (15161229 in chips)
Seat 4: Exan13 (6467097 in chips)
Seat 5: player9ball (12535674 in chips)
Seat 6: Cares37 (5639576 in chips)
Seat 7: AmazingErvin (9289605 in chips)
Seat 8: chevy chasin (15548914 in chips)
Seat 9: Kragg111 (17786982 in chips)
69jocker69: posts small blind 250000
Exan13: posts big blind 500000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
player9ball: folds
Cares37: raises 5089576 to 5589576 and is all-in
AmazingErvin: raises 3650029 to 9239605 and is all-in
chevy chasin: folds
Kragg111: folds
Jysky11: folds
69jocker69: folds
Exan13: folds
Uncalled bet (3650029) returned to AmazingErvin
*** FLOP *** [Kc 6s 3h]
*** TURN *** [Kc 6s 3h] [Th]
*** RIVER *** [Kc 6s 3h Th] [9h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Cares37: shows [Ac 9c] (a pair of Nines)
AmazingErvin: shows [Ts Tc] (three of a kind, Tens)
AmazingErvin collected 12329152 from pot
Seat 1: Jysky11 (10400923 in chips)
Seat 3: 69jocker69 (14861229 in chips)
Seat 4: Exan13 (5917097 in chips)
Seat 5: player9ball (12485674 in chips)
Seat 7: AmazingErvin (15979181 in chips)
Seat 8: chevy chasin (15498914 in chips)
Seat 9: Kragg111 (17736982 in chips)
Exan13: posts small blind 250000
player9ball: posts big blind 500000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
AmazingErvin: folds
chevy chasin: raises 500000 to 1000000
Kragg111: folds
Jysky11: folds
69jocker69: folds
Exan13: raises 4867097 to 5867097 and is all-in
player9ball: folds
chevy chasin: calls 4867097
*** FLOP *** [3h 9s 4h]
*** TURN *** [3h 9s 4h] [Qd]
*** RIVER *** [3h 9s 4h Qd] [6s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Exan13: shows [Kh Ah] (high card Ace)
chevy chasin: shows [Ad Qh] (a pair of Queens)
chevy chasin collected 12584194 from pot
Seat 1: Jysky11 (15361846 in chips)
Seat 3: 69jocker69 (30597458 in chips)
Seat 5: player9ball (12835674 in chips)
Seat 7: AmazingErvin (20389181 in chips)
Seat 8: chevy chasin (3133859 in chips)
Seat 9: Kragg111 (10561982 in chips)
Jysky11: posts small blind 300000
69jocker69: posts big blind 600000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
player9ball: folds
AmazingErvin: raises 600000 to 1200000
chevy chasin: raises 1873859 to 3073859 and is all-in
Kragg111: folds
Jysky11: folds
69jocker69: folds
AmazingErvin: calls 1873859
*** FLOP *** [4s Tc 5d]
*** TURN *** [4s Tc 5d] [8h]
*** RIVER *** [4s Tc 5d 8h] [9h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
AmazingErvin: shows [Qc Qd] (a pair of Queens)
chevy chasin: shows [7c 7d] (a pair of Sevens)
AmazingErvin collected 7407718 from pot
Seat 1: Jysky11 (13693971 in chips)
Seat 3: 69jocker69 (29229583 in chips)
Seat 5: player9ball (8735674 in chips)
Seat 7: AmazingErvin (28758790 in chips)
Seat 9: Kragg111 (12461982 in chips)
Kragg111: posts small blind 400000
Jysky11: posts big blind 800000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
69jocker69: folds
player9ball: raises 7855674 to 8655674 and is all-in
AmazingErvin: raises 7855674 to 16511348
Kragg111: folds
Jysky11: folds
Uncalled bet (7855674) returned to AmazingErvin
*** FLOP *** [3s 8s 5c]
*** TURN *** [3s 8s 5c] [4c]
*** RIVER *** [3s 8s 5c 4c] [Ac]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
player9ball: shows [Qs Jh] (high card Ace)
AmazingErvin: shows [As Kc] (a pair of Aces)
AmazingErvin collected 18911348 from pot
Seat 1: Jysky11 (4593971 in chips)
Seat 3: 69jocker69 (34509583 in chips)
Seat 7: AmazingErvin (36954464 in chips)
Seat 9: Kragg111 (16821982 in chips)
69jocker69: posts small blind 500000
AmazingErvin: posts big blind 1000000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Kragg111: folds
Jysky11: raises 3493971 to 4493971 and is all-in
69jocker69: folds
AmazingErvin: calls 3493971
*** FLOP *** [3h 9s 4d]
*** TURN *** [3h 9s 4d] [2c]
*** RIVER *** [3h 9s 4d 2c] [3c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
AmazingErvin: shows [5d Ac] (a straight, Ace to Five)
Jysky11: shows [Ah 2h] (two pair, Threes and Deuces)
AmazingErvin collected 9887942 from pot
Seat 3: 69jocker69 (21395233 in chips)
Seat 7: AmazingErvin (45940803 in chips)
Seat 9: Kragg111 (25543964 in chips)
69jocker69: posts small blind 500000
AmazingErvin: posts big blind 1000000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Kragg111: raises 1000000 to 2000000
69jocker69: calls 1500000
AmazingErvin: raises 3234565 to 5234565
Kragg111: raises 20209399 to 25443964 and is all-in
69jocker69: folds
AmazingErvin: calls 20209399
*** FLOP *** [Ts 7s 3d]
*** TURN *** [Ts 7s 3d] [Th]
*** RIVER *** [Ts 7s 3d Th] [5c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
AmazingErvin: shows [As Ah] (two pair, Aces and Tens)
Kragg111: shows [Qc Ac] (a pair of Tens)
AmazingErvin collected 53187928 from pot
Seat 3: 69jocker69 (68180932 in chips)
Seat 7: AmazingErvin (24699068 in chips)
69jocker69: posts the ante 100000
AmazingErvin: posts the ante 100000
69jocker69: posts small blind 500000
AmazingErvin: posts big blind 1000000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
69jocker69: raises 1000000 to 2000000
AmazingErvin: raises 22599068 to 24599068 and is all-in
69jocker69: calls 22599068
*** FLOP *** [6d 2d Qs]
*** TURN *** [6d 2d Qs] [7h]
*** RIVER *** [6d 2d Qs 7h] [6c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
AmazingErvin: shows [Ah Kh] (a pair of Sixes)
69jocker69: shows [2c As] (two pair, Sixes and Deuces)
69jocker69 collected 49398136 from pot
PokerStars Sunday Million $1.5M Guaranteed
9,288 Entrants; $1,857,600 prize pool
*4-way chop
1. 69jocker69 $220,630
2. AmazingErvin $216,183
3. Kragg111 $129,788
4. Jysky11 $124,893
5. player9ball $74,304
6. chevy chasin $55,728
7. Exan13 $37,152
8. Cares37 $20,433
9. guldkasse $13,003
The Sunday $500k continues to roll on, each week sneaking past its $500,000 guarantee by the slimmest of margins. This week was no exception as 1,062 of the world’s best online tournament grinders entered the $500+$30 event. One of the biggest names on hand was Viktor “Isildur1” Blom who tilted away his big stack while losing his heads-up challenge against fellow PokerStars professional Daniel Negreanu. As one might expect from such a bigger buy-in event, the final table was stacked with well known players including “mement_mori” and “OBVAMENTS” who were both pulling double duty at other major final tables. Unfortunately neither fared very well at either final tables as they busted in the bottom half of their respective fields.
The final trio was quite the ensemble as it included Steve “gboro780” Gross, Grayson “gray31” Ramage, and Karl “discomonky” Fenton. All three are highly ranked online professionals including Gross and Ramage who are both inside the top-25. Gross ultimately bowed out in 3rd place for a pedestrian $50,445 by his standards. Heads-up play took much longer as Ramage and Fenton battled it out for more than a $25,000 difference between first and second. The title and $91,650 eventually went to Fenton who earned the biggest score of his online career in the process. Ramage had to settle for 2nd place and a $66,375 check when his Ace-Queen suited was unable to out race Fenton’s Pocket Eights.
Seat 2: discomonky (7637987 in chips)
Seat 6: gray31 (2982013 in chips)
discomonky: posts small blind 50000
gray31: posts big blind 100000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
discomonky: raises 100000 to 200000
gray31: raises 256789 to 456789
discomonky: raises 7171198 to 7627987 and is all-in
gray31: calls 2515224 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (4655974) returned to discomonky
*** FLOP *** [4h 2s 2d]
*** TURN *** [4h 2s 2d] [7d]
*** RIVER *** [4h 2s 2d 7d] [Jd]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
gray31: shows [Qh Ah] (a pair of Deuces)
discomonky: shows [8d 8s] (two pair, Eights and Deuces)
discomonky collected 5964026 from pot
PokerStars Sunday $500k Guaranteed
1,062 Entrants; $531,000 prize pool
1. discomonky $91,650
2. gray31 $66,375
3. gboro780 $50,445
4. jvbizz $36,957
5. OBVAMENTS $26,284
6. mement_mori $20,974
7. Emilohlsson $15,664
8. oncommand $10,354
9. hitthehole $5,841
Another event which is always good for a solid final table is the $200 re-buy on PokerStars. The highest re-buy event of the day saw more than 250 players re-buy and add-on enough to create a nice $175,800 prize pool with more than $36,000 slated for the winner. The final table was highlighted by poker superstars Kevin “BeL0WaB0Ve” Saul, a high-stakes professional who has earned millions both live and online. Saul has more than $3,000,000 in cashes alone on PokerStars including a victory in the $2,100 SCOOP re-buy last year for nearly $240,000. Saul was unable to gain much traction at this re-buy final table as he busted quite early in 8th place for $4,395.
With the best player at the final table out of the picture, it was time for a few other high stakes pros to shine. Between Jeremiah “Believer82” Vinsant and “antesvante” there was plenty of horsepower on hand to pick up Saul’s slack. Antesvante was able to make it all the way down to heads-up play before being ousted by “dcg30” who has had major re-buy success before winning the $215r WCOOP championship last year for $123,628. In a clash of the titans he was able to outrun antesvante when his King-Jack offsuit flopped top pair against Ace-Queen.
Seat 2: antesvante (631898 in chips)
Seat 4: dcg30 (1341102 in chips)
antesvante: posts the ante 2000
dcg30: posts the ante 2000
dcg30: posts small blind 10000
antesvante: posts big blind 20000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
dcg30: raises 20000 to 40000
antesvante: raises 62645 to 102645
dcg30: raises 1236457 to 1339102 and is all-in
antesvante: calls 527253 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (709204) returned to dcg30
*** FLOP *** [5c 9s Js]
*** TURN *** [5c 9s Js] [3c]
*** RIVER *** [5c 9s Js 3c] [4c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
antesvante: shows [Ad Qs] (high card Ace)
dcg30: shows [Kc Jh] (a pair of Jacks)
dcg30 collected 1263796 from pot
PokerStars Sunday $215r $150k Guaranteed
255 Entrants; $175,800 prize pool
1. dcg30 $36,039
2. antesvante $26,370
3. wywrotX $19,865
4. Believer82 $14,943
5. OBVAMENTS $10,372
6. Little Kraut $7,911
7. isuckoutonu $6,153
8. BeL0WaB0Ve $4,395
9. shinbunshi $3,076
While the Million, $215r, and $500k final tables were just getting going, the day’s latest starting major that was coming to an end. The $250,000 guaranteed Sunday Second Chance saw more than 1,500 players enter the $215 buy-in event. With more than $300,000 in the prize pool there was more than just one second chance offered up to those involved. It was quite obvious who the fan favorite was at the final table. Anytime a player enters the final table with the PokerStars Logo on their name you know the rail will be pulling for them. This was the case for PokerStars Team Member “Anh Van Nguyen”, a Vietnamese poker professional who won the Fiesta al Lago $1K NL Championship in 2004 for $147,780. Nguyen played great at the final table and took down “mistakooll” during heads-up play for the title. The $56,304 score helped keep him out of the red on PokerStars and added to an impressive resume which includes more than 10 five-figure scores.
Seat 2: mistakooll (938319 in chips)
Seat 7: A Van Nguyen (3753681 in chips)
mistakooll: posts the ante 8000
mistakooll: posts big blind 80000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
A Van Nguyen: raises 80000 to 160000
mistakooll: raises 770319 to 930319 and is all-in
A Van Nguyen: calls 770319
*** FLOP *** [Kh 5s 7h]
*** TURN *** [Kh 5s 7h] [9d]
*** RIVER *** [Kh 5s 7h 9d] [Kc]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
mistakooll: shows [2s As] (a pair of Kings)
A Van Nguyen: shows [Ad Qc] (a pair of Kings – Ace+Queen kicker)
A Van Nguyen collected 1876638 from pot
PokerStars Sunday Second Chance $250k Guaranteed
1,564 Entrants; $312,800 prize pool
1. A Van Nguyen $56,304
2. mistakooll $40,664
3. snoopzzz $31,280
4. Miksta $23,460
5. dannysek $16,422
6. BoyArgentina $13,294
7. sketch1967 $10,166
8. IONA06 $7,038
9. specht1988 $4,379
FullTilt also had a strong day on online tournaments highlighted by the bolstered $1,500,000 guarantee which ended up being the day’s biggest tournament! This is the first time in a while that FullTilt ran the biggest major of the day that was not an FTOPS event. Starting things off on the right foot was the $240+$16 Sunday Brawl. The high stakes “Knock Out” event pays $40 to a player every time he/she eliminates an opponent. The money can add up quickly for those making deep runs as the chip leader will typically bust 10+ players on their way to the final table.
The Brawl drew a big crowd including more than 30 FullTilt sponsored professionals like Vitaly Lunkin, Mike “Timex” McDonald, Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger, and Allen Cunningham. Unfortunately for the railbirds none of the FTP contingent was able to crack the top-100, but do not worry, this is not the last we have heard from them today. The final table had a handful of well known players including Mickey “mement_mori” who busted in 9th, Cyriel “supa4real” Dohmen who fell in 8th, and David “Gaucho2121” Paredes who earned $27,958 for his 5th place finish. While those seasoned professionals were unable to hit a big score the same could not be said for “DarkHorse19” who earned the title and a $111,284 payday. The six-figure sum was the second on his career and comes in just behind a $113,250 cash for winning the $1K Monday nearly a year ago.
FullTilt Sunday Brawl $400k Guaranteed
2,741 Entrants; $548,200 prize pool
1. DarkHorse19 $111,284
2. alphalogos $71,814
3. SirayAlAziz $53,175
4. cyb9r $40,018
5. gaucho2121 $27,958
6. CYTHEREAFAN $18,638
7. Bhanks11 $12,608
8. Supa4real $8,771
9. Mement_mori $6,578
FullTilt rocked the boat a bit this weekend by running a $1,500,000 guarantee major much like PokerStars. For years now Stars has been the big dog on the street but it seems FTP has finally had enough. Coming off a strong FTOPS XIX and even stronger MiniFTOPS XIX, perhaps FullTilt thinks now is the time to unseat PokerStars as the world’s #1 online poker site. The $1.5M Guaranteed was a special multi-entry tournament which allows players to enter up to 6 times. If players happen to have more entries than the number of tables left, their stacks are combined and play moves on. It is quite an interesting brand of tournament poker and one that takes some of the variance out for volume players.
The bigger guarantee brought all sorts of FullTilt professionals out for the event including David Pham, Isaac Baron, and John Racener who had 6 entries, one of which made it to the final table. His deep run was short lived as he busted rather quickly in 8th place for $32,429. The rest of the final table took some time to whittle down but in the end the championship came down to “youngdrew28” and “Cal42688” who decided with so much money on the line a chip chop was best. The two left $7,500 and TLB Points on the table and still had a solid heads-up battle before Cal42688 finally took down the title when his Pocket Fives held up against Jack-Ten off suit.
FullTilt Sunday $1.5M Guaranteed
11,339 Entrants; $2,267,800 prize pool
1. Cal42688 $303,950
2. youngdrew28 $285,677
3. birs320 $167,817
4. Godbey62 $120,646
5. Boston3Party $88,444
6. Thibavol $63,498
7. bearw8 $45,356
8. John Racener $32,429
9. Rickyroodido $22,927
With the $1,500,000 Guarantee garnering most of the attention late Sunday afternoon the Mulligan took a slight hit attendance wise. Still, the $200,000 guaranteed event gained just enough entrants to cover for any overlay as 1,076 players paid the $216 entry fee. Amongst those on hand were 20 FullTilt Red Pros including Jon Turner, Matt Jarvis, and David Chiu who made a deep run all the way to the final table and eventually heads-up play. Chiu is best known for winning the $25,000 Five Star World Poker Classic back in 2008 for a whopping $3,389,140. He also has a few WSOP bracelets to his name including wins in the $2k Hold’em and $5k Omaha Hi/Lo. Interestingly enough the $30,666 he earned for finishing 2nd here would have barely covered that $25,000 entry into the Five Star Classic. Still, I’m sure David wanted to win each event the same but it was not meant to be early Sunday morning as “foxypham” was able to outlast the well known professional for the title. The $48,420 score was the second biggest of foyxpham’s career and the best since last December when he/she won $77,285 in the $200k, a $150 re-buy event.
FullTilt Sunday Mulligan $200k Guaranteed
1,076 Entrants; $215,200 prize pool
1. foxypham $48,420
2. David Chiu $30,666
3. All In At 420 $22,703
4. longhorn1888 $17,754
5. stanman420 $13,450
6. Zeber86 $9,684
7. Doc Sands $6,456
8. SonnyBlack87 $4,842
9. DaHussstla $3,443