Stadium Series Freezeout Weekly Final - High: $530 NLHE [8-Max], $1M Gtd
Day 3 Completed
2020 PokerStars Stadium Series
Stadium Series Freezeout Weekly Final - High: $530 NLHE [8-Max], $1M Gtd
Day: 3
Level 46
: 800,000/1,600,000, 200,000 ante
On a final day that lasted a little over three hours, Michael "munchenHB" Telker showed why he ranks among the all-time greats in the digital poker arena. Telker, who relocated from Michigan to Costa Rica in order to continue his online poker career, started the final as the chip leader and ended with all the chips and first-place prize of $157,004.
Besides a brief lull in the middle, there was rarely any doubt whether the American transplant would claim the victory in the first PokerStars Stadium Series Freezeout Weekly Final - High, this one coming at a price tag of $530. He outlasted a field of 2,101 players, together creating a total prize pool of $1,050,500.
It was the second victory of the week for the former Sunday Million winner after kicking off PokerStars' brand-new series in proper fashion, taking down heat 2-H on Monday last week for $80,080. As part of the millions in prizes PokerStars is adding to this series, Telker received a free entry to this final and nearly doubled his cash from Monday in the process.
Telker, who has already won over $7M lifetime on PokerStars under his "munchenHB" alias according to PocketFives, eliminated his final three opponents one-by-one and ultimately coolered Eli "Timunim" Fagundes heads-up to end the tournament just two hands into the match.
Final Table Results PokerStars Stadium Series Weekly Final #1 - High
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael "munchenHB" Telker | United States | $157,004 |
| 2 | Eli "Timunim" Fagundes | Brazil | $111,917 |
| 3 | "Boootsy" | Canada | $79,778 |
| 4 | Patrick "Nelepo10" Ulysséa | Brazil | $56,869 |
| 5 | Xiaoxiao "W.Leung" Niao | Finland | $40,538 |
| 6 | Paulius "D3cor" Vaitiekunas | Lithuania | $28,897 |
| 7 | deadfizh | Finland | $20,599 |
| 8 | fpfeifer97 | Brazil | $14,683 |
| 9 | Manuel "fellatiado" Ruivo | Portugal | $10,467 |
Telker Eliminates Ruvio in First Hand
Coming in with the chip lead, Telker was the odds-on favorite to start the day. However, he still had to navigate his field through a series of quality opponents, including Patrick "Nelepo10" Ulysséa, Xiaoxiao "W.Leung" Niao, Paulius "D3cor" Vaitiekunas, and Manuel "fellatiado" Ruivo.
A brutal setup took care of one of them, Ruivo, right off the bat. On the very first hand of the final table, Ruvio ran ace-king into Telker's aces to see his deep run come to a screeching halt just like that.
Quickly, two more players dropped in fpfeifer97 and deadfizh, leaving just six players once the dust of the opening salvo had settled. Vaitiekunas was next to go, running pocket tens into Ulysséa's jacks with handed the chip lead to the latter. Niao then lost the classic race with ace-king to Fagundes' pocket queens to leave the field with four.
With Ulysséa in the lead, it was Telker who had slipped back a bit to 40 big blinds, but two five-bet shoves got through to add piles to his stack uncontested. The Michigander never looked back and won several smaller smaller pots to slowly grind back to the lead.
Dominating the End Stage
Ulysséa was next to go after getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar, trying a ballsy play with king-high but unable to force out Telker's kings. Ramping up the aggression, the American kept collecting small pots and both his remaining opponents dwindled down to the 20 big blind range.
After the blinds went up, the tournament was over in just three hands. First, it was Canadian "Boootsy" who departed, shoving pocket eights into Telker's king-queen with the latter catching two kings.
In the second hand of heads-up, with Telker holding five-four of spades on a king-six-trey flop with two clubs, a deuce rolled off on the turn to improve him to the mortal nuts. The ten of clubs came on the river; the remaining chips went in and Fagundes snapped it off with deuces, only to see he had been set-up by the digital deck. The Brazilian received $111,917 as a consolation prize for finishing runner-up.
That's it for live coverage of the first of four PokerStars Stadium Series Weekly Freezeout Finals! Make sure to check back to PokerNews next Sunday as the second final gets underway.
Level 46
: 800,000/1,600,000, 200,000 ante
Two hands after "Boootsy"'s departure, Eli "Timunim" Fagundes raised to 3,200,000 and Michael "munchenHB" Telker called. The 
flop saw both players check.
On the 
turn, Telker bet 6,800,000 and Fagundes called. The river was the 
and Telker bet enough to put Fagundes all in, who called with lightning speed with 
for a set of deuces.
However, the turn ultimately turned out to be the disaster card for him, as Telker showed 
for the turned straight to win the first Stadium Series Weekly Freezeout High on the spot.
Fagundes had to settle for second place worth a six-figure payday of $111,917, while the spoils of the victory go to Michael Telker who wins $157,004!
A recap of the day is to follow.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
210,100,000
30,820,462
|
30,820,462 |
|
||
|
Busted | |
Level 46
: 800,000/1,600,000, 200,000 ante
In the small blind, "Boootsy" open-shoved his final 18,194,278 and Michael "munchenHB" Telker called from the big blind.
"Boootsy": 
Michael "munchenHB" Telker: 
The flop was 
for Telker to take a commanding lead in the hand. Neither the 
turn nor 
river brought salvation for the Canadian, who had to depart in third winning $79,778.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
179,279,538
20,844,278
|
20,844,278 |
|
|
||
|
|
30,820,462
2,525,000
|
2,525,000 |
|
|
Busted | |
Level: 46
Blinds: 800,000/1,600,000
Ante: 200,000
Level 45
: 700,000/1,400,000, 175,000 ante
Eli "Timunim" Fagundes raised to 2,800,000 on the button and Michael "munchenHB" Telker called from the big blind. The flop was 
and Telker checked. Fagundes bet 1,842,750, Telker check-raised to 7,098,000 and Fagundes called.
Telker showed no signs of slowing down on the 
turn and fired a shell worth 12,600,000, which got called by Fagundes.
The river completed running hearts with the 
and Telker moved all in. Fagundes, holding a little under 30M behind, opted to fold and was left with twenty big blinds.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
158,435,260
23,373,000
|
23,373,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
28,295,462
-20,923,000
|
-20,923,000 |
|
23,369,278
-2,450,000
|
-2,450,000 |
Level 45
: 700,000/1,400,000, 175,000 ante
There's an even faster way to get into the $5,200 Stadium Series Freezeout Grand Final and that's through the Stadium Series Fast Track. The Fast Track provides a unique opportunity to qualify for just $1 through a series of four steps.
Progress through the steps to win a Stadium Series Grand Final ticket. You can buy-in at any step but Grand Final tickets will always be awarded at step 4.
- Step 1: $1 Sit & Go Tournament (12 players)
- Step 2: $11 Sit & Go Tournament (21 players)
- Step 3: $109 MTT Tournament
- Step 4: $1,050 MTT Tournament
Click here for more information about the PokerStars Stadium Series
In total, $1,000,000 in seats to the $5,200 Main Event will be handed out through the Fast Track. Don't miss out on special freerolls that award tickets straight into the Fast Track for free!
Once a player has qualified for the Main Event through the Fast Track they'll be prevented from playing future Fast Track events, making sure as many players get a shot at them as possible.
Level 45
: 700,000/1,400,000, 175,000 ante
The players are on their third 5-minute break of the day. In a blind-on-blind hand, "Boootsy" raise-folded the small blind and now has fewer than 20 big blinds.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
135,062,260
25,243,750
|
25,243,750 |
|
|
||
|
|
49,218,462
-10,718,750
|
-10,718,750 |
|
|
25,819,278
-14,525,000
|
-14,525,000 |
Level 45
: 700,000/1,400,000, 175,000 ante
Eli "Timunim" Fagundes raised to 2,800,000 on the button and Michael "munchenHB" Telker defended. The flop was 
and Fagundes bet 1,680,000, called by Telker. The 
turn prompted checks from both players.
The river brought a check from Telker. Fagundes bet 2,324,000, but Telker had a plan as he check-raised to 9,100,000. Fagundes, however, three-bet shoved all in for 26,564,712 and Telker gave it up.
In the subsequent hand, "Boootsy" raised the button and Fagundes defended. On a 
flop, Fagundes check-called 3,412,500 from "Boootsy".
The virtual dealer burned and turned the where Fagundes checked. "Boootsy" bet 6,825,000, Fagundes check-raised to 16,520,000 and won the hand on the spot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
109,818,510
-13,755,000
|
-13,755,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
59,937,212
29,592,500
|
29,592,500 |
|
|
40,344,278
-15,837,500
|
-15,837,500 |
Level 45
: 700,000/1,400,000, 175,000 ante
"Boootsy" raised to 2,800,000 in the small blind and Michael "munchenHB" Telker called. The flop was 
and "Boootsy" bet 3,062,500, which Telker called.
On the 
turn, "Boootsy" fired again for 6,125,000 and Telker called again, before both players checked the on the river.
"Boootsy" couldn't muster up more than 
and Telker took it with 
.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
123,573,510
9,362,500
|
9,362,500 |
|
|
||
|
|
56,181,778
-7,612,500
|
-7,612,500 |
|
|
30,344,712
-1,750,000
|
-1,750,000 |