Online tournaments are in a bit of a holding pattern as the end of 2010 draws near. With the majority of online tournament series in the rear-view mirror there just is not a whole lot to get excited about on a weekly basis. Since the end of MiniFTOPS XVII and the 2010 WCOOP online majors have seen a small boost in traffic with this past weekend being the biggest yet. Tournaments like the Sunday500 on PokerStars and the $750,000 Guaranteed on FullTilt have had a bit of trouble reaching their guarantees but this past weekend all eight of our highlighted majors were able to go without overlay for the first time in a long while.
The day started off with the $750,000 guaranteed Sunday Warm-Up on PokerStars. Always a great way to gauge how each Sunday will go, the Warm-Up provides a nice baseline of attendance for the later starting events. This weekend we saw a strong Warm-Up field of nearly 4,800 players creating a massive $957,200 prize pool. As the 2nd biggest event of the day the Warm-Up tends to attract top flight competition and the final table proved just that. Sorel “zangbezan24” Mizzi, also known as “Imper1um”, had little trouble sifting through a tough field on his way to a Sunday Warm-Up victory. Mizzi is widely considered one of the best tournament players in the world and has amassed more than $4,000,000 in earning both live and online. Before yesterday his biggest score online came in this very event back in 2007 for $109,901. Back then the prize pool was nowhere near where it was today which proved to be worth an additional $40,000 to Mizzi as he earned $149,737 for his win on Sunday.
Seat 4: zangbezan24 (27000523 in chips)
Seat 9: John Mckoeur (20859477 in chips)
John Mckoeur: posts small blind 200000
zangbezan24: posts big blind 400000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
John Mckoeur: raises 400000 to 800000
zangbezan24: raises 1650000 to 2450000
John Mckoeur: calls 1650000
*** FLOP *** [Qh 4s Ks]
zangbezan24: bets 2730000
John Mckoeur: calls 2730000
*** TURN *** [Qh 4s Ks] [Ah]
zangbezan24: checks
John Mckoeur: checks
*** RIVER *** [Qh 4s Ks Ah] [4h]
zangbezan24: bets 21780523 and is all-in
John Mckoeur: calls 15639477 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (6141046) returned to zangbezan24
*** SHOW DOWN ***
zangbezan24: shows [2h 8h] (a flush, Ace high)
John Mckoeur: shows [8s Kh] (two pair, Kings and Fours)
zangbezan24 collected 41718954 from pot
PokerStars Sunday Warm-Up $750k Guaranteed
4,786 Entrants; $957,200 prize pool
1. zangbezan24 $149,737
2. John Mckoeur $111,514
3. Brendy88 $78,969
4. alainliam $54,082
5. OU THE NICK $40,681
6. mizarkshzark $31,109
7. Inf3rnal $21,537
8. innamon $11,965
9. clunged $7,658
The Sunday Million also had a strong final table with a handful of recognizable names including eventual champion “ramondemon77” who outlasted a field of more than 8,200 players early Monday morning. The $246,424 score was by far and away the biggest of his career on a resume that includes wins in both the Sunday Second Chance and $109 re-buy. Ramon also has final tabled both the Warm-Up and Sunday500 in the past taking 7th in both events. Joining him at the final table was “armen13” who also has a victory in the $109r and “BodogAri” who nearly won this very event last February before busting in 3rd place for $84,145. Ari was nowhere near as fortunate this time as he had to settle for 7th and a $32,856 payday. Below are the final table stacks, bust-out hands, and pay-outs:
Seat 1: armen13 (3159375 in chips)
Seat 2: ramondemon77 (16766761 in chips)
Seat 3: BodogAri (7346619 in chips)
Seat 4: ovalis (11133261 in chips)
Seat 5: Parias (21088295 in chips)
Seat 6: –AAKKQQ987- (4909075 in chips)
Seat 7: Kubitza (3942990 in chips)
Seat 8: ambitious207 (6716472 in chips)
Seat 9: 1chin chan (7077152 in chips)
Seat 1: armen13 (2849376 in chips)
Seat 2: ramondemon77 (18261759 in chips)
Seat 3: BodogAri (6771619 in chips)
Seat 4: ovalis (12413261 in chips)
Seat 5: Parias (21713295 in chips)
Seat 6: –AAKKQQ987- (4374076 in chips)
Seat 7: Kubitza (2862990 in chips)
Seat 8: ambitious207 (6391472 in chips)
Seat 9: 1chin chan (6502152 in chips)
Kubitza: posts small blind 125000
ambitious207: posts big blind 250000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
1chin chan: folds
armen13: folds
ramondemon77: folds
BodogAri: folds
ovalis: folds
Parias: raises 250000 to 500000
–AAKKQQ987-: folds
Kubitza: raises 2337990 to 2837990 and is all-in
ambitious207: folds
Parias: calls 2337990
*** FLOP *** [8h Qs Jh]
*** TURN *** [8h Qs Jh] [Ah]
*** RIVER *** [8h Qs Jh Ah] [8d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Kubitza: shows [4s 4h] (two pair, Eights and Fours)
Parias: shows [9c 9d] (two pair, Nines and Eights)
Parias collected 6150980 from pot
Seat 1: armen13 (2824376 in chips)
Seat 2: ramondemon77 (18236759 in chips)
Seat 3: BodogAri (6746619 in chips)
Seat 4: ovalis (12388261 in chips)
Seat 5: Parias (25001285 in chips)
Seat 6: –AAKKQQ987- (4349076 in chips)
Seat 8: ambitious207 (6116472 in chips)
Seat 9: 1chin chan (6477152 in chips)
1chin chan: posts small blind 125000
armen13: posts big blind 250000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
ramondemon77: folds
BodogAri: folds
ovalis: raises 406777 to 656777
Parias: folds
–AAKKQQ987-: calls 656777
ambitious207 is connected
ambitious207: folds
1chin chan: folds
armen13: folds
*** FLOP *** [2h 5d 4d]
ovalis: bets 11706484 and is all-in
–AAKKQQ987-: calls 3667299 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (8039185) returned to ovalis
*** TURN *** [2h 5d 4d] [4s]
*** RIVER *** [2h 5d 4d 4s] [5c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ovalis: shows [Ts Th] (two pair, Tens and Fives)
–AAKKQQ987-: shows [Ad Kd] (two pair, Fives and Fours)
ovalis collected 9223152 from pot
Seat 1: armen13 (2309376 in chips)
Seat 2: ramondemon77 (15981760 in chips)
Seat 3: BodogAri (330147 in chips)
Seat 4: ovalis (17532337 in chips)
Seat 5: Parias (24886285 in chips)
Seat 8: ambitious207 (14202943 in chips)
Seat 9: 1chin chan (6897152 in chips)
ovalis: posts small blind 150000
Parias: posts big blind 300000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
ambitious207: raises 325789 to 625789
1chin chan: folds
armen13: folds
ramondemon77: folds
BodogAri: calls 300147 and is all-in
ovalis: folds
Parias: folds
Uncalled bet (325642) returned to ambitious207
*** FLOP *** [8c 8d Js]
*** TURN *** [8c 8d Js] [Kd]
*** RIVER *** [8c 8d Js Kd] [3s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ambitious207: shows [Kc Ad] (two pair, Kings and Eights)
BodogAri: shows [9c Ac] (a pair of Eights)
ambitious207 collected 1260294 from pot
Seat 1: armen13 (2279376 in chips)
Seat 2: ramondemon77 (15951760 in chips)
Seat 4: ovalis (17352337 in chips)
Seat 5: Parias (24556285 in chips)
Seat 8: ambitious207 (15133090 in chips)
Seat 9: 1chin chan (6867152 in chips)
ambitious207: posts big blind 300000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
1chin chan: folds
armen13: raises 1949376 to 2249376 and is all-in
ramondemon77: calls 2249376
ovalis: calls 2249376
Parias: folds
ambitious207: folds
*** FLOP *** [9h Th 8s]
ramondemon77: bets 2100000
ovalis: folds
Uncalled bet (2100000) returned to ramondemon77
*** TURN *** [9h Th 8s] [Jc]
*** RIVER *** [9h Th 8s Jc] [2h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
armen13: shows [Ac Kd] (high card Ace)
ramondemon77: shows [Kc Ks] (a pair of Kings)
ramondemon77 collected 7378128 from pot
Seat 2: ramondemon77 (20792262 in chips)
Seat 4: ovalis (16298959 in chips)
Seat 5: Parias (21085382 in chips)
Seat 8: ambitious207 (14515091 in chips)
Seat 9: 1chin chan (9448306 in chips)
ovalis: posts small blind 200000
Parias: posts big blind 400000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
ambitious207: folds
1chin chan: raises 530000 to 930000
ramondemon77: folds
ovalis: folds
Parias: calls 530000
*** FLOP *** [5d Kh 4d]
Parias: checks
1chin chan: bets 1200000
Parias: raises 1463775 to 2663775
1chin chan: raises 5814531 to 8478306 and is all-in
Parias: calls 5814531
*** TURN *** [5d Kh 4d] [Td]
*** RIVER *** [5d Kh 4d Td] [2h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Parias: shows [5c 5s] (three of a kind, Fives)
1chin chan: shows [Qd Kc] (a pair of Kings)
Parias collected 19216612 from pot
Seat 2: ramondemon77 (41399449 in chips)
Seat 4: ovalis (12241801 in chips)
Seat 5: Parias (20695610 in chips)
Seat 8: ambitious207 (7803140 in chips)
ovalis: posts small blind 300000
Parias: posts big blind 600000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
ambitious207: raises 7143140 to 7743140 and is all-in
ramondemon77: raises 33596309 to 41339449 and is all-in
ovalis: folds
Parias: folds
Uncalled bet (33596309) returned to ramondemon77
*** FLOP *** [Ad 5h 4d]
*** TURN *** [Ad 5h 4d] [6d]
*** RIVER *** [Ad 5h 4d 6d] [5c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ambitious207: shows [Jc Kc] (a pair of Fives)
ramondemon77: shows [Qs Ac] (two pair, Aces and Fives)
ramondemon77 collected 16626280 from pot
Seat 2: ramondemon77 (51716926 in chips)
Seat 4: ovalis (9180914 in chips)
Seat 5: Parias (21242160 in chips)
ramondemon77: posts small blind 300000
ovalis: posts big blind 600000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Parias: folds
ramondemon77: raises 699999 to 1299999
ovalis: raises 7820915 to 9120914 and is all-in
ramondemon77: calls 7820915
*** FLOP *** [6d 6c 2h]
*** TURN *** [6d 6c 2h] [Kh]
*** RIVER *** [6d 6c 2h Kh] [5s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ramondemon77: shows [Ah Ks] (two pair, Kings and Sixes)
ovalis: shows [Qh As] (a pair of Sixes)
ramondemon77 collected 18421828 from pot
Seat 2: ramondemon77 (59487230 in chips)
Seat 5: Parias (22652770 in chips)
Parias: posts small blind 400000
ramondemon77: posts big blind 800000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Parias: raises 800000 to 1600000
ramondemon77: raises 2400000 to 4000000
Parias: raises 18572770 to 22572770 and is all-in
ramondemon77: calls 18572770
*** FLOP *** [3h Th Jh]
*** TURN *** [3h Th Jh] [7c]
*** RIVER *** [3h Th Jh 7c] [Kd]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
ramondemon77: shows [Ah 8h] (a flush, Ace high)
Parias: shows [6h 6s] (a pair of Sixes)
ramondemon77 collected 45305540 from pot
PokerStars Sunday Million $1.5M Guaranteed
8,214 Entrants; $1,642,800 prize pool
1. ramondemon77 $246,424
2. Parias $180,708
3. ovalis $123,210
4. ambitious207 $82,797
5. 1chin chan $65,712
6. armen13 $49,284
7. BodogAri $32,856
8. –AAKKQQ987- $18,892
9. Kubitza $12,732
The Sunday $500k Guaranteed continues to have one of the strongest fields of the week to go along with one of the biggest first place prizes. This week was no exception as over 1,000 players ponied up the $500+$30 entry fee creating a $513,500 prize pool and $88,630 first place check. One of the biggest names in poker was on hand at the final table but busted quickly. Joe Cada, last year’s World Series of Poker Main Event Champion fell in 8th place for just over $10,000, or a WSOP ME buy-in. Mer “peachymer” Brit finished 3rd in the Sunday500 for $48,783. The well-known highstakes MTT professional has had many close calls over the years in big events including a 2nd in the 2007 WCOOP $320 NL Championship for $98,946 and a 9th place finish in the WCOOP Main Event last year. Taking home the title early Monday morning was “tRaMp$d0PrAy” who actually has a handful of scores bigger than the $88,630 paycheck he earned. With a FTOPS, UBOC, and Sunday Brawl title on his resume tRaMp$d0PrAy has to be considered a top-100 online tournament professional. His FTOPS win came in event 23 earlier this year in which he took home a massive $192,288 first place prize .
Seat 3: tRaMp$d0PrAy (8784149 in chips)
Seat 7: OBVAMENTS (1485851 in chips)
tRaMp$d0PrAy: posts small blind 40000
OBVAMENTS: posts big blind 80000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
tRaMp$d0PrAy: raises 80000 to 160000
OBVAMENTS: raises 1317851 to 1477851 and is all-in
tRaMp$d0PrAy: calls 1317851
*** FLOP *** [Jd 7c Tc]
*** TURN *** [Jd 7c Tc] [7s]
*** RIVER *** [Jd 7c Tc 7s] [6s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
OBVAMENTS: shows [9s Kd] (a pair of Sevens)
tRaMp$d0PrAy: shows [Qs Ad] (a pair of Sevens – Ace kicker)
tRaMp$d0PrAy collected 2971702 from pot
PokerStars Sunday $500k Guaranteed
1,027 Entrants; $513,500 prize pool
1. tRaMp$d0PrAy $88,630
2. OBVAMENTS $64,188
3. PeachyMer $48,783
4. B_Davis5 $35,740
5. Snaggs11 $25,418
6. kcbluffing $20,283
7. sindy2 $15,148
8. jcada99 $10,013
9. term_ $5,649
Much like the Sunday500, the $215 re-buy’s larger entry fee tends to attract only the best tournament and cash game players in the world. Sorel Mizzi, fresh off his Sunday Warm-Up win, took 4th place in the $215r yesterday for $14,508. He was sandwiched on the leaderboard by a handful of great players including “Dr_Olson”, “$30k”, and “Dana Gordon”. Dana Gordon eventually outlasted “danita332789” for the title and a $35,647 payday. The big cash barely cracked his top-5 scores on PokerStars which includes a massive $76,176 win in the $109r in July. His other big score came in the Second Chance last year for $50,516. 5th place finisher “Dr_Olson” is much more well known for his cash game prowess on PokerStars high-stakes Fixed Limit Hold’em tables where he is quickly approaching the $1,000,000 mark in career earnings. If the screen name “$30k” seems familiar it is because last week he final tabled the $500k before busting in 7th place.
Seat 2: danita332789 (427472 in chips)
Seat 4: Dana Gordon (917028 in chips)
danita332789: posts small blind 6000
Dana Gordon: posts big blind 12000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
danita332789: raises 12444 to 24444
Dana Gordon: calls 12444
*** FLOP *** [6d Ks 7h]
Dana Gordon: checks
danita332789: bets 25000
Dana Gordon: calls 25000
*** TURN *** [6d Ks 7h] [7s]
Dana Gordon: checks
danita332789: bets 376828 and is all-in
Dana Gordon: calls 376828
*** RIVER *** [6d Ks 7h 7s] [8s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Dana Gordon: shows [Kh 2h] (two pair, Kings and Sevens)
danita332789: shows [Qd 9d] (a pair of Sevens)
Dana Gordon collected 854944 from pot
PokerStars Sunday $215r $150k Guaranteed
233 Entrants; $165,800 prize pool
1. Dana Gordon $35,647
2. danita332789 $25,699
3. $30k $19,482
4. zangbezan24 $14,508
5. Dr_Olson $9,948
6. WatchOutFish $8,290
7. EZz_GAME $6,632
8. Stammdogg $4,974
9. niccc $3,316
Finishing off a strong day of online events on PokerStars was the $250,000 guaranteed Sunday Second Chance. The day’s latest starting event tends to finish just before the $500k and $215r due to its faster structure and smaller starting stacks. Taking home the title this week was “ThEcLaiMEer” who was able to defeat “Fbonacci” heads-up for what amounted to a $14,000 heads-up SNG. The $51,420 score was a bit of payback for a 2nd place finish in this very event just two months ago. Runner-up Fbonacci now understands how it feels to come up just short in a Sunday major but he has felt great success on PokerStars before having won the $109r last April for $67,763.
Seat 3: ThEcLaiMEer (2522560 in chips)
Seat 5: Fbonacci (1743440 in chips)
ThEcLaiMEer: posts small blind 30000
Fbonacci: posts big blind 60000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
ThEcLaiMEer: raises 80000 to 140000
Fbonacci: raises 170100 to 310100
ThEcLaiMEer: raises 2206460 to 2516560 and is all-in
Fbonacci: calls 1427340 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (779120) returned to ThEcLaiMEer
*** FLOP *** [8c Jd 3c]
*** TURN *** [8c Jd 3c] [Jh]
*** RIVER *** [8c Jd 3c Jh] [3h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Fbonacci: shows [Qs Ks] (two pair, Jacks and Threes)
ThEcLaiMEer: shows [Kh Ac] (two pair, Jacks and Threes – Ace kicker)
ThEcLaiMEer collected 3486880 from pot
PokerStars Sunday Second Chance $250k Guaranteed
1,422 Entrants; $284,400 prize pool
1. ThEcLaiMEer $51,420
2. Fbonacci $37,256
3. princeharibo $28,440
4. weeminer $21,330
5. BluffMeFFS $14,931
6. muddog aces $12,087
7. goleafsgo41 $9,243
8. dave798111 $6,399
9. p3rc4 $3,982
While not as big as PokerStars, FullTilt still managed a big weekend of online events including the $400k Brawl, $750k Guaranteed, and $200k Mulligan. The Brawl is a unique even in that a portion of the $240+$16 entry fee goes to the knock out pool which awards a player $40 every time he/she eliminates a fellow opponent. One familiar name making a deep run in the brawl this week was FlopTurnRiver’s very own Chris “maxxscam” Back who finished in 3rd place for $52,516. Back is one of the best young tournament professionals in the world and has been on quite a nice run as of late.
Getting through such a strong field was a great accomplishment. Amongst the 2,707 players on hand were nearly 40 FullTilt sponsored professionals including Vitaly Lunkin, Andrew “luckychewy” Lichtenberger, and Scott Clements. Former WSOP Main Event champion Carlos Mortensen made a deep run but still failed to crack the top-100 after busting in 149th place. Eventual champion “timkrank” took home more than $109,000 for his victory which appears to be the biggest of his career. In the past he had won many strong events including the $200k re-buy and the Wednesday Quarter Million on PokerStars.
FullTilt Sunday Brawl $400k Guaranteed
2,707 Entrants; $541,400 prize pool
1. timkrank $109,904
2. officehound $70,923
3. maxxscam $52,516
4. OSK $39,522
5. ciccioffa $27,611
6. sonicdeep $18,408
7. cobra1978 $12,452
8. JWeb777 $8,662
9. stato_1 $6,497
The Sunday $750k on FullTilt finally found enough entrants to reach it’s guarantee for the first time in a long while. With more than 3,800 players on hand the tournament still failed to surpass the Warm-Up on PokerStars for #2 status but did end up with a nice $767,800 prize pool. With more than 40 FullTilt professionals on hand there was a great chance to see a red pro make a final table run. Unfortunately even with the likes of David Pham, Chip Jett, and Allen Cunningham on hand the deepest run a professional could make was Brandon Adams who busted in 120th place.
The final table was also a bit of a letdown as once play became three-handed a chip chop was quickly agreed upon. With nothing left to play for the tournament ended quickly giving “EatMyBluff8” the win and a $100,973 payday. Runner-up Luis “Machinguer” Cruz earned $90,373 which rates as the second biggest score of his career behind a $225,000 victory in the Sunday Million last July. The high-stakes professional is no stranger to close calls in big events as he has multiple top-5 finishes in the $109r on PokerStars as well.
FullTilt Sunday $750k Guaranteed
3,839 Entrants; $767,800 prize pool
*3-way chop
1. EatMyBluff8 $100,973
2. Machinguer $90,373
3. Blazed3x1 $80,494
4. MrCaramba $42,383
5. poker bondsman $31,787
6. deniel-lottoman $23,571
7. hvepsen $17,659
8. MichGur $13,820
9. 6yoKid $10,289
The final event of the day on FullTilt, the $200,000 Mulligan, teased with a quarter-million dollar prize pool before falling just short. However, with over $54,000 up for grabs for the winner there was still plenty excitement surrounding the day’s latest starting major event. A bunch of well known professionals were on hand including Lee Watkinson who made the money in 115th place. Joining Watkinson inside the top-135 was Maxi Mueller who was the lone professional to top-100 a major event on FullTilt yesterday. The Mulligan final table had a few familiar faces including 5th place finisher “ComeOnPhish1” who took home a little more than $15,000 for his efforts. Eventual champion “Aleks Gutcu” earned the biggest payday of his career on FullTilt with what was just the 2nd five-figure score on his resume.
FullTilt Sunday Mulligan $200k Guaranteed
1,231 Entrants; $246,200 prize pool
1. Aleks Gutcu $54,164
2. Mikos78 $34,468
3. UCF98 $24,928
4. canofcorn22 $20,004
5. ComeOnPhish1 $15,092
6. binderK $11,079
7. DNA2RNA $7,140
8. ScrillaGorila $5,170
9. ikszoorn $3,693