Online Poker Weekend: 'BIGbossM', 'kvnok88' Big Winners
Healthy turnouts marked the biggest online events on the first Sunday in December, with the biggest tourneys on PokerStars, Full Tilt and PartyPoker each clearing their pre-event guarantees. As is normally the case, the biggest prize of the weekend was the nearly $200,000 up for grabs at Stars, which was claimed by 'BIGbossM' after a late comeback. The other six-figure winner on the night was 'kvnok88', who survived crazed action at to come out on top at Full Tilt.
PokerStars Sunday Million
The Sunday Million at PokerStars drew its typical overflowing crowd, with 6,881 runners generating a healthy $1,376,200 purse. 1,080 players cashed and the top eight spots were guaranteed five-digit paydays, with first place scheduled at $194,044.20. 'Tired Loser' led the way to this final, narrowly ahead of 'WestMenlo92' and 'Nikish25'.
WestMenlo92 delivered the first knockout here, bouncing 'luckyuli' in ninth. luckuli's K♣K♥ proved unlucky indeed against westmenlo92's Q♣Q♥, exiting on a cruel turn as the board played out 9♥6♦7♥Q♠9♣. A short-stacked 'Deltoid1' departed soon after, his K♥J♠ no good against Tired Loser's K♠Q♠ on a board of K♦10♦2♠Q♥3♥. The field narrowed to six when 'the_duces' hit the virtual rail, his push with 10♦10♠ finding a caller in Nikish25, whose A♠K♥ won the race when the board brought 3♦J♠4♠K♦9♥.
'LK_Sniper' was up and down at the final table, but was down and out for good in the sixth spot. On his last hand, he got his chips in pre-flop with 10♠10♣ against Tired Loser's Q♦Q♥, and Tired Loser picked up a huge 17-million pot when the board brought 7♥4♦4♣A♠6♠. 'Thomas_Tr.' hung on as the short stack through much of the middle stretches but then bowed out in fifth, when his A♠Q♣ couldn't hold up against WestMenlo92's K♠J♠, the board bringing 10♥9♣J♣3♥6♦ for the knockout.
Several dozen hands elapsed before the next occurred, this time when Nikish25, reduced to short-stack status, tried to steal with 5♦4♣. WestMenlo92 made the call with A♣8♦, which looked unlucky when the 5♣10♥3♠ flop put Nikish25 ahead. However, WestMenlo92 caught his own piece of the board when the A♠ showed on the turn, and claimed the pot and knockout when the Q♠ river missed both players.
WestMenlo92 held a big lead during three-handed play, only to see BIGbossM win a race with pocket tens against his A-J to take over the lead. The player left behind was Tired Loser, who exited in third on a tough beat, getting all of his chips in with Q♦Q♠ against BIGbossM's J♥J♠ but seeing the board crush his title hopes as it offered J♣4♠7♣9♥6♣.
WestMenlo92 chipped back up to near even, but declined BIGbossM's offer of an even split. Perhaps karma was in play, for BIGbossM won the next challenged pot and moved farther ahead in the next few hands. The end came when WestMenlo92 made a pre-flop, re-raise push with A♠7♥, but found BIGbossM making the easy call with J♦J♠. The 7♠6♠4♦ flop gave WestMenlo92 added hope, but nothing more, as the 3♦ turn and 8♥ river blanked out, putting the wraps on BIGbossM's come-from-behind victory.
Final Results:
1. BIGbossM — $194,044.20
2. WexstMenlo92 — $97,710.20
3. Tired Loser — $68,810
4. Nikish25 — $55,048
5. Thomas_Tr. — $41,286
6. LK_Sniper — $30,276.40
7. the_duces — $21,331.10
8. Deltoid1 — $12,385.80
9. luckyuli — $8,119.58
Full Tilt $750,000 Guarantee
Another sizeable turnout marked the $750,000 Guarantee at Full Tilt, where 4,026 entrants generated a total prize pool of $805,200. The top 585 players cashed, with five-digit winnings or every play at the final table and a first-place prize of $142,190 up for grabs. kvnok88 had the inside track on that as the final table began, leading the way with over $2.7 million in chips, and he indeed pulled off the win after a wild ride to the title.
This final table got off to a crazed start, with four of the nine players exiting in the first nine hands, including one each on the first three. First to exit was 'kailash', whose K♠K♦ was cracked by 'lleall's 8♦8♥ when the board arrived 9♣9♦8♣2♦4♦. The next hand saw 'Cloven Hoove' hoof it off in eighth, his last hand mucked after 'AABROKER' rivered the nut flush, starting with A♠9♠ as the board rolled out 5♠5♣2♦Q♠8♠. The chips went in on the river and the field was quickly seven.
And then six... as 'poltergeist's J♣10♣ fell to 'basherman's 8♥8♦. The chips went in pre-flop, but likely would have anyway after the flop came 8♠9♥4♦, and when the turn and river brought the J♠ and K♣, a third of the final table had departed. Following one hand without a knockout, Hand #5 brought Elimination #4. This time 'jaybass' hit the virtual rail after pushing with K♣10♣; 'Dyzalot' called with A♣Q♦ and claimed the pot when the board offered 3♥6♠J♥2♥Q♠.
The next few hands saw several more contested pots but no knockouts, until Hand #21, when basherman exited in fifth. basherman had been trimmed down to short-stack status, and mixed it up with 9♥2♥ from the big blind against kvnok88's barely-more-than-minimum raise from the button. basherman found a flush draw when the flop came 6♥3♠10♥, and picked up a few extra outs when the 7♦ showed on the turn. The chips went in, and kvnok88 opened his Q♠Q♦, when the river 9♣ gave basherman a useless pair.
The four remaining players parried for dozens of hands, until AABROKER caught a bad one-two to depart. First, he lost a race with A-9 against kvnok's pocket fours, moving ahead on the 3♠5♥A♦ flop, but losing when, after a 3♣ turn, the 2♥ river gave kvnok88 the wheel. Two hands later, AABROKER got the last of his chips in with A♣J♥ against Dyzalot's 9♠8♣, but saw the 10♠2♣Q♥4♥J♣ board mean another rivered straight for his opponent... and the end of his night.
The knockout started a closing rush of eliminations almost as fast as the table's start. Two hands later, in a battle of the blinds, Dyzalot pushed all in on a re-raise bluff after a 5♦4♣9♠ flop, holding only J♥10♥. kvnok88, though, in the small blind, had flopped two pair holding 5♥4♥ and dodged Dyzalot's thin chances when the J♣ and Q♣ completed the board.
The hand put kvnok88 well ahead of lleall entering heads-up play, and the matchup ended only three hands later. The chips went in before the flop with both players having pocket pairs, but lleall's 5♥5♦ was in need of help against kvnok88's Q♦Q♠. The 4♣2♠8♠K♦10♠ board brought none of the needed relief, and kvnok's wild win was complete.
Final Results:
1. kvnok88 — $142,190.27
2. lleall — $86,075.88
3. Dyzalot — $56,364
4. AABROKER — $44,286
5. basherman — $33,254.76
6. jaybass — $24,639.12
7. poltergeist — $18,519.60
8. Cloven Hoove — $14,493.60
9. kailash — $10,789.68
PartyPoker $300,000 Guaranteed
1,583 players were on hand for yesterday's $300,000K at PartyPoker, readily clearing the event's guarantee, and generating a total prize pool of $316,600. A see-saw final table ensued before the final four survivors quickly agreed to a chip-count deal.
'HOTEL_' was the leader as this tourney's final table gathered, having amassed over 1.65 million chips; 'schoolbookbr' was the only other player over a million. Despite that, HOTEL_ almost became the first one out after losing a huge clash with 'Sunkman,' who moved over two million with the pot. Only a suckout with A-6 against 'ddaylee's A-9 kept HOTEL_ in the hunt, followed soon by a triple-up with an A-K that caught and moved HOTEL_ back to about his starting stack.
First to fall here was 'ddaylee,' on fumes after the beat to HOTEL_, who pushed his few remaining chips with A♣J♦ and saw 'SuperTiltiana' move in with Q♠Q♥. The board ran out 6♥7♠5♥10♠8♥ and the field was thinned by one. SuperTiltiana fell next, but was joined on the rail by 'Jagugr' in a double knockout hand, courtesy of 'schoolbkbr'. The chips went in pre-flop, with schoolbookbr's A♥A♠ ahead of SuperTiltiana's J♥J♠ and Jagugr's 9♠9♥. No suckouts arrived, as the 6♠3♣10♦7♣5♣ board left the starting hands' order unchanged.
'Turin_Petr' was next to fall, exiting in seventh when his 4♦4♣ ran up against 'kenn121's 9♦9♠ and the board arrived 6♦K♦2♦6♣K♥. He was soon followed by 'wyn58', whose stack was whittled away throughout and whose last stand with Q♠2♦ went nowhere against the A♦2♣ of Sunkman, the board bringing 10♠A♠8♦10♥6♦. Then kenn121 had his J♥J♠ hold up against 'tr0uts's A♣K♠ in a 2.8-million chip pot, the biggest of the event. When the board came 10♠2♣9♣7♦2♥, kenn121 had the lead and the field was trimmed to four.
The four remaining players hadn't shown earlier interest in a deal, but once it was proposed, the chip chop was agreed upon in mere moments, with kenn121 collecting $44,034.61 for the official win.
Final Results:
*1. kenn121 — $44,034.61
*2. Sunkman — $32,887.31
*3. schoolbookbr — $32,868.68
*4. HOTEL_ — $27,455.53
5. tr0uts — $14,564
6. wyn58 — $10,923
7. Turin_Petr — $8,390
8. Jagugr — $5,541
9. SuperTiltiana — $4,274
10. ddaylee — $3,008
* — four-way deal for remaining prize money
