Vanessa Kade's Act of Kindness Highlights Women's Winter Festival 50/50 Freezeout
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The Women’s Winter Festival, sponsored by PokerStars, at Hippadrome Casino, continued today with a first-of-its-kind event; the £220 50/50 NLH Freezout. This innovative poker format invited male and female duos to team up and compete in the same tournament, pioneering their stacks for their share of the prize pool but working together to win a special last-longer style side bet for the best-performing duo.
This high-energy one-day event saw 64 males and 64 females come together in pairs to create a final field size of 168 players, generating a prize pool of £32,256. The victor, walking away with the lion's share of these spoils, was Yon Jairo Suaterna of Colombia, who claimed the first-place prize of £7,556.
Suaterna joined today’s tournament alongside duo partner Rosemary Halbach. However, Halbach's 84th-place finish was somewhat eclipsed by her other half's dominating final-table performance, which led to his late-night victory.
£220 50/50 NLH Freezout Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yon Jairo Suaterna | Colombia | £7,556 |
| 2 | Gary Bluston | United Kingdom | £4,720 |
| 3 | Elliot Hackney | United Kingdom | £3,370 |
| 4 | Nitej Davda | United Kingdom | £2,590 |
| 5 | Jen-Yue Chiang | United States | £1,990 |
| 6 | Candice Nice | United Kingdom | £1,530 |
| 7 | Maria Lachana | United Kingdom | £1,250 |
| 8 | Esongkuo Elombi | United Kingdom | £1,040 |
| 9 | Kathleen Padovani | United Kingdom | £870 |
The Silver Pass Sweat
A sweat started to brew as the last standing duo would each receive a PokerStars Silver Pass worth $2,500. During Level 14, it was announced that only three pairs remained in contention for the last longer prize:
- Bernadette Daley and Christopher Taylor
- Sacha Tiotto-Smith and Matthew Durban
- Vanessa Kade and Elliot Hackney
Durban would first fall, exiting to the rail and leaving just two pairs remaining. The tension continued for six more levels, deep into the money. With the stacks shallowing and both remaining pairs tangling in all in confrontation, an explosive hand was imminent.
The last longer came to a head in an epic face-off that saw one member of each rival duo in an all-in and call confrontation for the Silver Pass; Bernadette Daley's pocket sixes had run into the pocket aces of Elliot Hackney. Despite Hackney’s cruel slow roll, the Poker Gods failed to reward Daley in an act of karma and she was sent to the rail. With this pot, both Kade and Hackney declared themselves as the last remaining duo, each getting their hands on the elusive $2,500 PokerStars Silver Pass.
An Act of Good Will
After both securing the Silver Pass, an act of friendly fire saw Hackney send his former partner to the rail.
Upon busting, Kade quietly approached Daley and offered to give away her $2,500 Silver Pass, in a gesture of goodwill. Daley, who still seemed in high spirits at her 12th-place finish, gladly accepted and the exchange was made.
Final Table Action
The final table was fast-paced with all nine players rarely reaching a flop without an all-in and call confrontation. Candice Nice, Maria Lachana and Kathleen Padovani comprised the last three remaining women, but Nice’s exit in sixth place ended the campaign for a female champion in the inaugural £220 50/50 NLH Freezout at the Women’s Winter Festival.
Silver Pass winner Hackney's run ended in third place for £3,370. With the addition of his package worth $2,500, Hackney was close to achieving first place money for his bronze medal performance.
A head-up battle that only lasted a matter of hands saw Gary Bluston sent to the rail in one last all-in and call confrontation, leaving Suaterna to claim the trophy, title and £7,556.
