Online Poker Weekend: 'Romanoff11', 'Claw1980' Big Winners
Eric 'Rizen' Lynch, one of the first recognizable screen names among major online poker pros, has proven that he's still got what it takes, making a Full Tilt final table just before Christmas. Daniel 'KidPoker' Negreanu also made a strong finish, possibly the highest in his short career on PokerStars. PartyPoker and PokerStars' big tournaments had no trouble flying past their guarantees, while unusually, Full Tilt paid out a small overlay.
PokerStars Sunday Million
It would be a great holiday for several online players on PokerStars, as 6,680 players created a $1,336,000 prize pool. This meant that first place would receive $192,116.80, and 900 places would be paid out.
PokerStars-sponsored pros fared very well in this event, especially if you happened to formerly play StarCraft professionally. Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospelier and Hevad 'RaiNKhAN' Khan both fit that bill, finishing in 573rd and 166th, respectively. Also cashing high were Steve "stevejpa" Paul-Ambrose in 115th and Daniel "KidPoker" Negreanu in 82nd.
First out at this event's final table was bark1976. He raised to 1,250,000 preflop and Romanoff11 called. The flop was 4♥K♣A♠, and bark1976 was all in immediately. Romanoff11 requested time and finally called with A♣3♠ to bark1976's J♠10♠. The turn and river were 5♥6♥ and bark1976 took $8,283.20 for ninth.
Next, andy914 raised to 625,000 and benmar went all in. andy914 called and flipped A♠10♦ to benmar's 5♥5♠. A race it was, and the board of 9♦7♦7♠8♦9♠ counterfeited benmar's fives. He was sent home in eighth for $13,360.
It would be 18 more minutes of play before the next bustout. Farcry open-shoved in the hijack and snider called with K♥Q♥ after using up a bunch of his time bank. Farcry had A♦10♦, but the board read Q♠J♣9♣9♦4♣. Farcry left in seventh for $22,044.
Again, another 18 minutes went by without anyone going out. In the hijack, Romanoff11 raised to 1,200,000 and TheSlyOldFox called. The flop was J♥2♦4♦. TheSlyOldFox checked. Romanoff11 bet 1,200,000 again. TheSlyOldFox check-raised all in, and Romanoff11 called. TheSlyOldFox had 9♣8♣ and Romanoff11 had 2♥2♠. The board was J♥2♦4♦9♦8♠ and TheSlyOldFox got $30,728 for sixth.
Bluffman9000 open-shoved under the gun and snider re-raised all in to isolate. Succeeding in this, snider took 3/4 of his stack back and flipped A♠K♠ to Bluffman9000's A♣9♥. The board was Q♥6♥Q♣7♣Q♦ and Bluffman9000 left in fifth for $42,885.60.
Another open-shove happened soon after, this time from andy914. snider did another isolation re-shove and succeeded again. snider turned over A♠A♥ to andy914's 2♥2♦. The board was 4♠4♦9♥5♠Q♠ and andy914 left in fourth for $56,112.
Despite eliminating back-to-back players, snider was next out. He raised to 1,800,000 in the small blind and Romanoff11 re-raised all in. littlepotato folded and snider showed A♠K♥ to Romanoff11's A♣4♥. The bad beat of the final table candidate #1 was this hand, as the board was 9♠8♣4♣J♦5♣, kicking out snider in third for $72,010.40.
Romanoff11 had a 2.7-to-1 lead going into heads up, and littlepotato's comeback attempt fell short. In the last hand, Romanoff11 raised to 2,400,000 and littlepotato re-raised all in. Romanoff11 called with K♠J♣ to littlepotato's 10♣9♣. The board was A♦8♣J♥4♣4♥ and littlepotato collected $100,066.40 for second. Romanoff11 took $192,116.80 and the PokerStars Sunday Million.
Final Standings:
1st: Romanoff11 — $192,116.80
2nd: littlepotato — $100,066.40
3rd: snider — $72,010.40
4th: andy914 — $56,112
5th: Bluffman9000 — $42,885.60
6th: TheSlyOldFox — $30,728
7th: Farcry — $22,044
8th: benmar — $13,360
9th: bark1976 — $8,283.20
Full Tilt $750,000 Guaranteed
Full Tilt Poker paid a small overlay to reach the guarantee this time around. With 3,695 players, Full Tilt added $11,000 to complete the $750,000 purse. The usual 522 places paid, with first receiving $132,787.50.
Most of the 21 Full Tilt "red" pros in this event crashed and burned early, but a few managed to bring in some money. Sigi Stockinger got 450th, Jens Voertmann got 410th, and Eddy Scharf placed 64th.
As mentioned above, this final table was notable for Eric 'Rizen' Lynch's appearance. Though he's been seen a lot at recent brick-and-mortar events, he hasn't left online behind by any means.
First out was Hoolbert. He got it all in with megjoey, with Hoolbert holding 9♥9♣ and megjoey having K♠Q♠. The board was K♥5♥6♣2♦A♠ and Hoolbert got $10,050 for ninth.
Then, in third position, megjoey went all in for 736,645. Rizen re-raised all in for 1,182,818 total, but got no other callers. Rizen had Q♦Q♠ to megjoey's 3♥3♦. The board was 5♥9♥8♣4♣6♥ and megjoey collected $13,500 for eighth.
Then, BERBAH went all in, in the hijack. tedsfishfry re-raised all in on the button, and everyone else folded. BERBAH had Q♦Q♣ to tedsfishfry's K♦K♠. The board was 8♦9♠3♣7♥6♠ and BERBAH left in seventh for $17,250.
Several minutes later, energy99 went all in for not much more than one big blind – 136,628. boon8 called in the small blind, and rather than put in a tiny call, Rizen re-raised all in, in the big blind. boon8 thought better of it and folded. Rizen flipped K♠6♠ to energy99's A♥6♥. A beat was placed on a board of 9♠8♦9♣2♠A♠. The runner-runner flush left energy99 with $23,025 for sixth.
Ten minutes later, OoICEMANoO shoved in the cutoff and tedsfishfry called with A♠10♦. OoICEMANoO had 2♣2♦ and the board was 10♥4♣J♦9♣J♣. OoICEMANoO was iced in fifth for $31,050.
In the very next hand, Rizen went all in with Q♣J♣ and Claw1980 called with K♠7♦. The board was 3♦5♥A♦Q♦8♦ and Rizen was eliminated in fourth for $41,400.
Then, tedsfishfry shoved and boon8 called. tedsfishfry had A♥4♥ to boon8's A♦J♠. The board was 2♣5♥7♦6♣K♦ and tedsfishfry was out in third for $52,500.
boon8 held a 5-to-2 lead over Claw1980 as heads-up play started, but Claw1980 would come back over the next 16 minutes. In the last hand, Claw1980 limped in and boon8 checked. The flop was J♦4♣Q♦. boon8 bet 400,000 and Claw1980 called. The turn was 6♦. boon8 was all in and Claw1980 called time. He eventually called with K♦J♥. The river was 2♦ and boon8 collected $80,250 for second. Claw1980 won $132,787.50 and the Full Tilt $750,000 Guaranteed.
Final Standings:
1st: Claw1980 — $132,787.50
2nd: boon8 — $80,250
3rd: tedsfishfry — $52,500
4th: Rizen — $41,400
5th: OoICEMANoO — $31,050
6th: energy99 — $23,025
7th: BERBAH — $17,250
8th: megjoey — $13,500
9th: Hoolbert — $10,050
PartyPoker $300,000 Guaranteed
PartyPoker beat its guarantee again, with 1,563 players making for a $312,600 prize pool. First place was scheduled to pay out $62,520, with 200 places cashing.
First one out at this tourney's final table was freiberlin. lind159 raised to 120,000 and freiberlin raised to 120,040 all in. lind159 put in the extra 40 and turned over Q♠10♥ to freiberlin's K♣Q♦. The board was 4♣J♣5♦K♠9♥ and the rivered straight sent freiberlin home in tenth for $2,969.70.
Next, Kaspar19 raised to 125,000 and KARHOBBIT60 called. The flop was K♦2♠A♥ and KARHOBBIT60 bet 360,000. Kaspar19 raised to 410,061 all in. KARHOBBIT60 called, and showed A♠Q♠ to Kaspar19's A♣J♣. The turn and river were 7♣3♣ and the Q kicker played. Kaspar19 was out in ninth for $4,220.10.
In the very next hand, AliAllIn raised to 125,000 and bola144 re-raised all in for 231,276. AliAllIn called with 6♥6♣ to bola144's A♠Q♦. The board was 7♦6♠10♠A♥2♣ and bola144 left in eighth for $5,470.50.
Then, Litleearth2 shoved under the gun and AliAllIn called. Litleearth2 showed K♦J♠ and AliAllIn had A♠Q♠. The board was J♦3♠7♠9♠9♥ and Litleearth2 took $8,283.90 for seventh.
After that, lind159 shoved and bankebiller called. lind159 had A♥J♠ to bankebiller's 10♠10♣. The board was Q♦6♦7♥9♣5♥ and lind159 left in sixth for $10,784.70.
In the next hand, bankebiller raised to 120,000 and SwissSkier shoved for 122,332. bankebiller put in the little bit extra and showed K♦Q♥ to SwissSkier's J♥8♣. The board was 4♥K♠K♥10♠8♥ and SwissSkier left in fifth for $14,379.60.
Eighteen minutes of seesaw play later, PP_superuser shoved in the small blind and bankebiller called in the big blind. PP_superuser had A♠9♥ and bankebiller had A♣J♠. The board was Q♣Q♠4♥A♦6♥ and PP_superuser got $17,036.70 for fourth.
Then, AliAllIn raised to 230,000 and KARHOBBIT60 re-raised to 480,000. bankebiller three-betted it to 3,523,428 all in. KARHOBBIT60 called with Q♠K♣ to bankebiller's Q♣Q♦. The board was 8♣10♦6♥10♠A♥ and KARHOBBIT was out in third for $21,569.40.
The remaining two players played two hands and then made a deal by chip count after a bit of arguing. The tournament was at an end, and bankebiller took first for $52,589.66.
Final Standings:
* 1st: bankebiller $52,589.66
* 2nd: AliAllIn — $44,316.35
3rd: KARHOBBIT60 — $21,569.40
4th: PP_superuser — $17,036.70
5th: SwissSkier — $14,379,60
6th: lind159 — $10,784.70
7th: Litleearth2 — $8,283.90
8th: bola144 — $5,470.50
9th: Kaspar19 — $4,220.10
10th: freiberlin — $2,969.70
* Reflects the results of a two-way split
