A common theme runs through the spine of the 2019 Poker Masters – the winners are all players bang in form. No crow’s feet. No bloodshot. Every single winner has a twirl in the skirt cocksureness about them, and the latest is Sergi Reixach.
The Spaniard won Event #8: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em. 41-hunters entered the fray, and nobody could strip down a rifle quicker than Reixach. I don’t know how many bullets he loaded into the thing, but he never missed a shot.
It’s his third win of an incredible year that’s seen him earn $3,385,930 in gross annual revenue. Those two other wins are a 64-entrant €100,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona for €1,816,210, and a 22-entrant, £26,000 No-Limit Hold’em event at the British Poker Open for £253,000.
How did he win this one?
“I was very lucky.”
They all say that.
The Nutshell Action
Orpen Kisacikoglu began the final table with the chip lead, but Reixach took command with a double knockout right off the bat. Sean Winter opened to 160,000 with QsJh, Andras Nemeth moved all-in for 515,000 holding AdKh, Sergi Reixach called with pocket tens and exposed his hand leaving Winter with a decision for his remaining shrapnel. The call came, and Reixach dodged every ace, king, queen and jack in the deck to eliminate both players.
Reixach then set his sights on Sam Soverel.
The reigning British Poker Open (BPO) winner, moved all-in for eight big blinds and QTs and lost to Reixach’s K5o. Soverel left in the fourth place, but it was good enough to overtake Chance Kornuth at the top of the championship leaderboard.
Reixach maintained his sublime relationship with the Poker Gods after ousting Kisacikoglu in the third spot. The London-based Turkish star got it in good with JJ versus 88 only for the Spaniard to flop a set and river quads.
The heads-up match-up between Reixach and George Wolff lasted until Wolff flopped a pair of sixes on Qh7s6c holding 64hh, and he moved all-in over a Reixach bet, holding pocket aces.
It was Wolff’s third cash of the series, finishing seventh in the $10,000 8-Game, and third in the $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO). Only Kornuth and Soverel have more points in the race for the Poker Masters title with two events to go.
The Poker Gods have added another spice to the Poker Masters pot, and it tastes familiar. Sam Soverel, the king of the British Poker Open (BPO), and the reigning Poker Central Player of the Year sits within spitting distance of Chance Kornuth at the head of the Poker Masters Championship Leaderboard after winning Event #7: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO).
Soverel was the only apple remaining in an orchard that began with 34 of them dangling from cadaverous tree limbs. It’s his seventh live tournament victory of the year, and his second PLO title, after winning a 12-entrant $10,000 event at Aria in the summer.
The win in Event #7 is Soverel’s fourth cash of the series: fifth in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em, sixth in the $10,000 Short-Deck, and fourth in the $10,000 Big Bet Mix. Soverel’s $340,000 purse means he has now won $4,325,903 this year, his best effort since he left his gazebo to play live tournament poker, eight years ago.
Another Cracking Final Table
It wouldn’t be a Poker Masters Final Table without a host of players wiping away the dribble from the fountain of shit-hot poker knowledge.
Soverel had to beat Sean Winter, heads-up, to win the event. Like Soverel, Winter has enjoyed a spanking 2019, earning $3.29m. It’s his second cash of the series, after finishing ninth in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em, and his fourth runner-up finish of the year.
Another player who has had a fab year is George Wolff. Gross annual earnings of $760,513 are his best year to date (Only 29 ITM cashes). Wolff won the £10,500 PLO at the BPO and finished second in the £26,000 PLO at the same event. This is his second Poker Masters ITM finish after finishing seventh in the $10,000 8-Game. Wolff also finished runner-up to Luke Schwartz in the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in the summer.
Kahle Burns is another star who has gone supernova this year. The Australian cashed at the Poker Masters for the second time after finishing runner-up to Julien Martini in the $10,000 Big Bet Mix, and that’s good enough for a third-place spot in the leaderboard overall. Burns came into Las Vegas after winning two bracelets at the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE).
Anthony Zinno also made it a 1-2 cash in the Poker Masters PLO events after finishing ninth in the $10,000 version. Zinno also had a splendid WSOPE, finishing third in the €10,350 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event for €485,291. Zinno has won $1,523,812 this year, the second-largest annual haul of his illustrious career.
The Nutshell Action
The first contract that Soverel took out belonged to Zinno. The triple World Poker Tour (WPT) Main Event winner, opened with AKT7 (3 x spades), and Soverel defended the big blind with JT76 (2 x clubs). The dealer placed 689 (2 x spades) onto the flop to give both players a straight. Zinno had flush outs, and Soverel had outs to a higher straight, and it was the latter that struck gold when a seven hit Fourth Street.
The short-stacked Burns was the next player with time on his hands, and once again, Soverel was the man with the claws. Soverel opened with QT76, and Burns called with QJ43 (2 x clubs). The dealer planted AT5 (2x diamonds) onto the flop, Burns bet the pot, and Soverel called. The turn was a four, Burns moved all-in, and Soverel made the call. A second ace hit the river, and Soverel’s pair of tens was enough to send Burns home in the fourth place.
Wolff left in third place after getting it in with trip tens on a TT6 flop, holding AQT9, only for Winter to call and turn a straight holding J987. The river was no help to Wolff, and we were heads-up for the title.
Winter began with a 2:1 chip lead, but Soverel fought back and took the lead. The final hand saw Soverel open with J964, and Winter called with AKT8. The flop was K66 to give Soverel trip sixes, and both players checked. The turn was a deuce; Winter bet 260,000, Soverel raised the pot to 1,070,000, and Winter moved all-in. The river didn’t help Winter, and Soverel was our champion.
ITM Results
Sam Soverel – $340,000
Sean Winter – $221,000
George Wolff – $136,000
Kahle Burns – $85,000
Anthony Zinno – $68,000
2019 Poker Masters Championship Standings
Chance Kornuth – 630 points
Sam Soverel – 570
Kahle Burns – 330
Kristen Bicknell – 300
Isaac Baron – 300
2019 Poker Central Player of the Year Standings
Sam Soverel – 2,580 points
Cary Katz – 2,000
Ali Imsirovic – 1,685
Stephen Chidwick – 1,580
Sean Winter – 1,090
I don’t know if Kristen Bicknell has a hoard of female acolytes feeding off her inspiration, but it sure feels good to write about a woman taking a sledgehammer to the highest echelons of poker.
Bicknell smashed Event #6: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em to bits, earning a career-high $408,000 in the process, taking down the Poker Masters new warlord, Chance Kornuth, in heads-up action.
Whereas Bicknell hogs the headlines, it’s Kornuth who is in the prime position to win the 2019 Poker Masters after finishing runner-up for the third event of the series giving him a big lead on the Championship Leaderboard.
The biggest buy-in event of the series attracted 51-entrants, and Bicknell entered the fray in fine fettle after finishing 5/1109 in the WPT Montreal Main Event. But she wasn’t the only player in the cult of outstanding performances.
The defending champion, Ali Imsirovic, made his second final table of the series (he finished fifth in the $10k PLO). Ralph Wong was also making his second appearance at a Poker Masters final table (he finished third in the $10k NLHE). Andras Nemeth has been one of the top high rollers both live and online in the past 18-months. And Ben Heath finished third in the recent £100,000 at Triton Million London for £1.35m and won his first bracelet in the summer claiming the $1.4m first prize in the $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller.
The Nutshell Action
Heath was the first player to take that not so magical carpet ride to the rail after running kings into the aces of Nemeth. Next Bicknell doubled through Kornuth: AT>J7 before Kornuth went on a killing spree. Wong went first when A9 came up against the dominating AJ, Nemeth’s A3 was no match for Kornuth’s pocket fives, and then the defending champion became a slug bathed in salt when J3cc beat K8o after Kornuth turned and rivered trip jacks.
Heads-Up
Bicknell – 3,470,000
Kornuth – 6,375,000
The pair traded blows for two-hours before Bicknell coolered Kornuth to take the title. The Global Poker Index (GPI) World #1 Female Player moved all-in with pocket eights, Kornuth called with pocket nines, but Bicknell rivered a straight to win her third title of 2019.
ITM Results
Kristen Bicknell – $408,000
Chance Kornuth – $267,500
Ali Imsirovic – $178,500
Andras Nemeth – $127,500
Ralph Wong – $102,000
Ben Heath – $76,500
David Stamm – $63,750
Elio Fox – $51,000
2019 Poker Masters Championship Standings
Chance Kornuth – 630 points
Kristen Bicknell – 300
Isaac Baron – 300
Ryan Laplante – 300
JulienMartini – 300
James Bond will tell you there is only one way to enjoy a Martini.
“Shaken, not stirred.”
A stark contrast to poker’s Martini {Julien}, because when you see him play, you get the impression that nothing can shake him.
In the summer of 2018, Martini was down to less than a big blind during his involvement in a $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8-or-Better event at the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
Unshaken, Martini doubled and doubled until he had enough chips for hope to stir. The Frenchman went on to win the 911-entrant event for $239,771, and yesterday, Deja Vu.
Martini is one of the most improved players on the live tournament circuit, in recent years. That or he’s one of the luckiest.
Check this out for progress.
2017: $76,984
2018: $905,502
2019: $3,496,705
“I came to the Poker Masters because even though I’m having an incredible year I didn’t have a single win and I really wanted one,” Martini told reporters after tying up loose ends in Event #5: $10,000 Big Bet Mix.
It’s the third win of his career, and all three have been different variants, showing his ability to understand all poker’s protocols. His two previous wins came in 2018, winning a 30-entrant $5,200 No-Limit Hold’em during the WPT Bellagio Elite Poker Championships, and the aforementioned bracelet win.
Martini had a decent showing at the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) finishing fifth in the €25,500 Mixed Games Championship, and seventh in the €10,300 WSOPE Main Event. The bulk of his earnings came in January, finishing runner-up to Ramón Colillas in the $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC) for $2,974,000.
The Final Table
The final table attracted a host of assassins looking to give someone a good pistol-whipping.
Kahle Burns is having the best tournament year of his life. The Australian won two bracelets in the WSOPE (€2,500 Short Deck, and €25,500 No-Limit Hold’em), made two final tables in Triton Million London (£25,500 & £50,000 No-Limit Hold’em), finished runner-up to Anuj Agarwal in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Max Championships at the WSOP, and won an Aussie Millions side event.
Van Hoof was making his fourth final table since August, including a fourth-place finish in Event #3: $10,000 Short-Deck, an event that Erik Seidel also finished ITM.
Sam Soverel is the 2018 Poker Central Player of the Year, and the odds-on favourite to win it in 2019, Yuri Martins won his first bracelet in the summer, and Stephen Chidwick is the Global Poker Index (GPI) World #1.
The Nutshell Action
The ‘official’ final table began after Erik Seidel and Yuri Martins Dzivielevski departed in 8th and 7th respectively. Chidwick held 65% of the chips in play, but started disastrously, losing double-ups quicker than the flap of a hummingbird’s wing.
Burns eliminated Pedro Bromfman in the sixth position during a hand of No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw. Then Soverel sent Chidwick to the library to find a book on how to deal with crushing disappointment after his AQ beat J9s when all-in pre-flop in a hand of No-Limit Hold’em.
Soverel took command of the final table after eliminating the World #1, but it wasn’t long before he had Chidwick’s IV drip hanging out of his vein. 2-7 Single Draw was the game, and Soverel failed to hit when drawing to an 8-6 low, against the J-8 low of Burns.
Burns voluminous chip stack continued to grow as we entered three-handed play, leaving Martini and Van Hoof to fight it out for the right to face the Australian, heads-up, for the title.
Then came the critical hand.
Van Hoof moved all-in with a 10-7 draw, Martini moved all-in with J-8, and Burns called with J-8. Burns stood pat. Van Hoof drew two cards to draw to a 7-5-4. Martini drew one card to an 8-7 and got there to knock Van Hoof out and double through Burns.
Heads-up action lasted an hour before Martini was able to tell the valet to get his Aston Martin out of the garage. The final hand saw the pair clash with Martini holding A8, and Burns K3, in a hand of No-Limit Hold’em. Burns check-called a small bet on a T54 flop before the action checked through to the river after a jack and deuce turned up. Burns moved all-in for 3m (double the pot), and Martini called with ace-high for the win.
ITM Results
Julien Martini – $166,400
Kahle Burns – $109,200
Jorryt van Hoof – $72,800
Sam Soverel – $52,000
Stephen Chidwick – $41,600
Pedro Bromfman – $31,200
Yuri Martins Dzivielevski – $26,000
Erik Seidel – $20,800
2019 Poker Masters Championship Standings
Chance Kornuth – 420 points
Isaac Baron – 300
Ryan Laplante – 300
JulienMartini – 300
Jared Bleznick – 300
“If I have the chance to play for ninth, I play for ninth.” – Shaun Deeb.
As the World Series of Poker (WSOP) headed to Rozvadov to erect the finishing line for the Player of the Year (POY) race, Paul Volpe released a tweet criticising the organisers for not rewarding the winner, and wondering, because of this, why on earth anyone would bother entering the race.
If you had any doubt that the WSOP POY means much more than material wealth, a complete balls-up from the WSOP has removed those stains Dyson-like.
Daniel Negreanu went into the final event of the 2019 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE), the €550 No-Limit Hold’em: The Colossus, knowing that should the points totals remain status quo he would win an unprecedented third WSOP.
Two people could catch Negreanu: Robert Campbell and Shaun Deeb.
Negreanu exited in 195th place.
Campbell fell in 148th place, failing to earn enough points to make a difference, his dream was over.
That left Deeb as the only person who could beat Negreanu. Deeb was also attempting to create history in becoming the first player to defend his POY title. Deeb went deep, and when I say deep, I mean deep. In a field of 2,738-entrants, Deeb made it to the final day sitting 3/11 in chips and needing a fifth-place finish or higher to be victorious.
Given his prowess, experience and skill, you wouldn’t have betted against Deeb taking it down, but it didn’t happen. Deeb busted in 11th place, at the hands of the eventual winner, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, and Negreanu celebrated becoming the first player to win three WSOP POY titles.
While there is no cash prize for WSOP POY, poker is my passion.
The title is the achievement and acknowledgment of a lot of hard work, long grueling days against top competition.
On November 8, after speaking to the three players involved, the WSOP released a statement on Twitter declaring that they had made a mistake in the POY calculations. Robert Campbell was the winner, not Daniel Negreanu.
We've been made aware of an error on the 2019 POY leaderboard. After verifying results and points, Rob Campbell (@SonicJaxx2019) is the 2019 POY.
We'd like to apologize for this error, and offer our sincere congratulations to Rob!
The mistake happened during the summer when the person responsible for WSOP POY data entry incorrectly awarded points to Negreanu, and 14 other players for cashing in Event #68: $1,000 Online No-Limit Hold’em Championship, an event that Negreanu didn’t cash in.
Russian journalist, Alexander Elenskiy noted the error and assumed the WSOP would fix it. Elenskiy then forgot about the misdemeanour until he had to reconcile WSOP ITM finishes for a WSOP Fantasy Freeroll competition, and realised the WSOP had still not fixed the mistake.
Elenskiy notified the WSOP, they removed 213.1 POY points from Negreanu’s total, and he fell below Campbell and Deeb, landing in third place.
The New 2019 WSOP POY Top Three
Robert Campbell – 3,961.31
Shaun Deeb – 3,917.32
Daniel Negreanu – 3,861.76
The Pain
Mistakes happen, and the WSOP will learn from this – they have to – because given the prestige of this award the error is embarrassing. Coverage of the WSOPE centred on the professional (and often, personal) rivalry between these three players. There were likely side bets. Campbell wanted to win it for the first time, Negreanu wanted to be the first player to win it three times, and Deeb wanted to be the first player to defend it.
So who feels the most pain?
If anyone is a winner, it’s Campbell. The Australian will see his mugshot hanging from the rafters each time he visits the WSOP. No matter what happens from this point onwards, Campbell is part of WSOP history. But his victory is stained. He will always be the player who won by default, even though he won it fair and square. Most crucially, the mistake robbed him of the only reason these three went tooth and nail for this thing – the feeling of winning it.
The claim to the title would have felt off to Campbell. Negreanu, on the other hand, should have suffered, right? He thought he had won it. He celebrated on his VLOG, on social media, and I assume he clanked a few flutes with his wife.
And now it’s taken away from him in a phone call.
But Negreanu doesn’t feel the pain.
In a text conversation with me, Negreanu typed:
“Honestly it didn’t phase me when I got the news there was an error,” typed Negreanu. “That surprised me. I know my younger self would have been very angry, and some may say justifiably so. In the end, I focus on the journey, and that journey was a success. I went to Rozvadov with the goal of leaving with the most points knowing what I knew at the time, and I did that. I take pride in that, and I’m genuinely happy for Robert Campbell, who is very deserving of the award.”
So Campbell has the chicken dinner, Negreanu believes his journey has been successful regardless of the title.
So it’s all good?
Not at all.
Rewind
Let’s go back to the final day of the Colossus.
Deeb sits third, with eleven players left. A conversation with WSOP officials confirms that Deeb needs to finish fifth or higher to retain his title. It transpires that had the error been rectified in Las Vegas, Deeb would have had to finish ninth to become the 2019 WSOP POY.
Would that have changed Deeb’s strategy?
Would Deeb have made history?
Once the WSOP released their tweet, acknowledging their mistake. Joey Ingram went into full detective mode to see if he could find evidence that Negreanu knew of the error in advance. As part of his investigation, he invited Deeb onto his show, and Deeb was not a happy bunny.
“I lost it twice in my eyes, and that is fucking brutal to me,” said Deeb. “I am worn out, physically exhausted. I left my wife and kids to play for this POY. I lost a lot of money in Europe. I was playing for a particular position, and I am the one who takes the brunt of this mistake.”
During the conversation with Ingram, Deeb wouldn’t rule out that Negreanu knew about the error ahead of the WSOPE, and suggested that he should be ostracised should a smoking gun be found.
A furious and exhausted Deeb acknowledged that all three players would have approached things differently had the WSOP fixed the error ahead of the WSOPE. He even suggested that Negreanu might not have made the trip to Rozvadov given the size of the gap after the removal of 213.1 points.
“If the three of us knew the exact score the entire time, I think it’s over 60% that I would have been the winner,” said Deeb. “I get screwed the most. I spent three and a half month away from my family because I wanted to get back-to-back, and it feels like a waste of time. The goalposts were moved on me.”
Deeb even took the allegations that Negreanu may have known about the error even further.
Two things Its amazing Daniel wouldn’t bet on me with poy cuz he was afraid I would cheat when he’s the one caught trying to cheat. Second the only acceptable move from @WSOP is co poy with me and @SonicJaxx2019
In that same text conversation, I asked Negreanu to comment on Deeb’s claims that he knew ahead of the WSOPE about the data entry error. Negreanu called the claims ‘baseless.’
“It’s asinine, and completely out of line to suggest I knew the totals were off. Kevmath didn’t even know. I posted screenshots of the results to thousands on my VLOG, yet nobody knew. The WSOP didn’t know. My competitors didn’t know, and yet, somehow, I did. I think the accusations are disgusting.”
It matters, folks.
The WSOP POY matters.
It’s not about the money.
It’s about emotion.
You saw how positive emotions could create a compelling sports narrative that has thousands of people hooked, and now you’re seeing the flip side of human behaviour, and it’s not as pretty.
Poker Masters
The 2019 Poker Masters continues to power on like steam bursting from the spout of an angry kettle. Four events are now unclogged pores, with Jared Bleznick taking down the latest: Event #4: $10,000 8-Game.
It’s the first time that Bleznick has won a live tournament; understandable given his orders have always been to imprison and torture cash game players both online and live.
He doesn’t even play poker for a living anymore.
He doesn’t need it.
The victory was Bleznick’s 29th ITM finish of his career, with 24 of those coming at the World Series of Poker (the WSOP banned Bleznick in 2016 for unruly behaviour, until Phil Hellmuth’s support added the coagulant needed for a reversal to occur).
The $153,000 that Bleznick picked up for this win is his fourth-largest win to date, with his previous best remaining the $526,625 secured after finishing runner-up to Daniel Alaei in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) event at the 2013 WSOP.
Tournaments may not be his ‘thing’, but Bleznick had three close shaves at the WSOP this summer finishing 3/1216 in the $600 Online PLO event for $59,163, 3/467 in the $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw for $58,343, and 10/218 in the $2,500 Mixed Big Bet for $9,234.
Let’s check out the final table in this one.
The Final Table
As one would expect in these Poker Master brawls, the final table contained more magic than a Harry Potter movie.
Nick Schulman won his third WSOP bracelet in the summer, defeating 193-entrants to win the $463,670 first prize in the $10,000 PLO Hi-Lo 8-or-Better Championship, and also finished third in the $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller for $1.725m.
Cary Katz is one of the most in-form players in the world, winning the Super High Roller Bowl London for £2.1m as well as making a swathe of final table appearances in the biggest games across the globe.
Brandon Adams won his first WSOP bracelet in the summer while also grabbing a fourth and fifth in the $50,000 and $100,000 High Rollers at the same series. Adams also won Poker Master titles in 2017 & 2018.
George Wolff is coming off the back of a cracking performance at the British Poker Open winning a £10,000 and finishing second in a £25,000 (both Pot-Limit Omaha events).
Mike Gorodinsky is a former WSOP Player of the Year.
The Nutshell Action
Event #4 attracted 45-entrants, and the killing inside those veins only lasted for a single day.
Bleznick took a big chip lead into the final, but it was Schulman who was first to put on his dancing shoes and turn the table into his own private ballroom.
He ripped the howl out of Wolff in a hand of 2-7 Triple Draw that saw Schulman’s 8-5 catch up to Wolff’s 9-6. Then Adams was next to hit the rail, and once again 2-7 Triple Draw was the kick to the groin, with Schulman’s 8-7 beating Adams’ 9-8.
Gorodinsky gave Schulman a rest, when he dunked Jake Abdalla into a vat of brine after making a 7-6 low in another hand of 2-7 Triple Draw, only to follow Abdalla out of the door marked ‘Exit’ after his 97cc lost to the A9 of Bleznick in a hand of No-Limit Hold’em.
Cary Katz would face Bleznick for the title, after ‘Harrington10’ eliminated Schulman in a hand of Stud 8, before getting his mitts on the title after removing Katz in a hand of PLO.
Here are the ITM results.
ITM Results
Jared Bleznick- $153,000
Cary Katz – $99,000
Nick Schulman – $67,500
Mike Gorodinsky – $45,000
Jake Abdalla – $36,000
Brandon Adams – $27,000
George Wolff – $22,500
2019 Poker Masters Championship Standings
Chance Kornuth – 420 points
Isaac Baron – 300
Ryan Laplante – 300
Jared Bleznick – 300
Jonathan Depa – 300
Image by Poker Masters
The machine still beeps ever so faintly. The frightening sound of the flatline is preparing to enter the stage. Jonathan Depa is putting on a surgical Short-Deck display sending shockwaves through the Aria. Even the old grannies playing the slot machines feel the bass rattle in their mothballed caverns.
In times gone by, Depa and tournaments went together like chalk and cheese, but this year, he’s more like blackboard and chalk or crackers and cheese. In March, Depa beat 41-entrants to win the $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller at partypoker MILLIONS South American for $400,000. He followed that up with three ITM finishes in Short-Deck events at the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE).
Depa finished 7/111 in the €25,500 Short-Deck High Roller for €88,861, he won the 27-entrant €50,000 Short-Deck High Roller for €641,250 (beating Phil Ivey, heads-up, no less), and ended the series with a 24/179 finish in the €2,500 Short-Deck for a min-cash.
“I don’t really play that many tournaments,” Depa told the Poker Central crew after his most recent win. “To win two tournaments in two weeks is pretty awesome, and it’s always nice when you’re just basically winning every all in.”
Depa became handcuffed to the title from the off in Event #3: $10,000 Short-Deck, beating 37-entrants over two days play.
The final six featured a glittering array of stars.
Sam Soverel is the defending Poker Central Player of the Year, and big favourite to defend that title. Soverel is having a cracking year, dominating the British Poker Open, and finishing fifth in the opening $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em event in this series.
Ben Yu finished fifth in this game during the US Poker Open in February.
Alex Foxen has won close to $4m this year, including the $20,000 No-Limit High Roller in last month’s WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble, and is still the Global Poker Index (GPI) World #2.
Jorryt Van Hoof finished third in the WPT High Roller that Foxen won, and also made the final table of a chunky €25k at the European Poker Tour (EPT) in Barcelona recently.
Erik Seidel.
I won’t insult your intelligence by writing anything about the man, but know this, it was his first ITM finish in a Short-Deck event, and you get the feeling it won’t be long before he has the game tattooed to his prefrontal cortex.
The Nutshell Action
Final Table Seat Draw
Seat 1: Jorryt van Hoof – 1,425,000
Seat 2: Sam Soverel – 1,265,000
Seat 3: Ben Yu – 1,745,000
Seat 4: Alex Foxen – 1,285,000
Seat 5: Jonathan Depa – 3,305,000
Seat 6: Erik Seidel – 2,065,000
The first player eliminated from the final table was the Poker Central Player of the Year. Jorryt Van Hoof limped under the gun, holding KQs, and called when Sam Soverel moved all-in holding QTo, and the better hand held.
Ben Yu busted next when his JTo lost to Jonathan Depa’s superior AKs. Yu did flop the lead, but Depa regained it on the turn. Erik Seidel doubled with aces v van Hoof’s kings. Then the Dutchman ran AQs into the pocket kings of Alex Foxen to exit in fourth.
Seidel headed for a cup of tea and a cold bath after running K9o ran into the AQs of Foxen. Seidel took the lead on the flop, but Foxen hit runner-runner flush to hand the Poker Hall of Famer his first Short-Deck cash two places short of the most brilliant of debuts.
Depa beat Foxen, heads-up, with the final hand seeing QJ beat J9.
“I definitely don’t have it all figured out, that’s for sure,” Depa told Poker Central. “I’m learning just like everybody else’s. I have a lot of PLO experience, and the two games have tons of similarities. So that’s probably why I picked it up pretty quickly. I really like it because it sort of has the best elements of No-Limit Hold’em and PLO combined, which makes it a really enjoyable game for me.”
Cue the flatline.
ITM Finishes
Jonathan Depa – $133,200
Alex Foxen – $88,800
Erik Seidel – $59,200
Jorryt van Hoof – $37,000
Ben Yu – $29,600
Sam Soverel – $22,200
Poker Masters Leaderboard
Chance Kornuth – 420 points
Isaac Baron – 300
Ryan Laplante – 300
Jonathan Depa – 300
Thai Ha -210
Alex Foxen – 210
The game of poker is like a series of labyrinths. One minute you’re peeking through the keyhole, and next, you’re running through the calculations as booby traps detonate all around you.
Deafening.
Disorientating.
Debilitating.
If you work effectively and efficiently and sprinkle some run good, there’s every chance you’ll find your way to the treasure; your moment of glory, and then it’s time to head into the catacombs once more.
Ryan Laplante is bent over, hands on knees, and a big smile etched all over his face.
He’s just found his way through.
Laplante took down the 62-entrant Event #2: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) at the 2019 Poker Masters for $186,000, his second most significant score to date. When Poker Central’s host, Maria Ho, asked him for his secret, Laplante pointed to the Game Theory Optimal (GTO) work he’s been applying on his online training site (LearnProPoker), and the aid of the Poker Gods.
The win pushes, Laplante’s lifetime tournament career earnings to $2,381,807. It’s his sixth victory, and half of them have been in PLO events. In 2016, Laplante won the 2,483-entrant $565 PLO event at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) for a personal best $190,328. In the same year, he won a 113-entrant PLO event for $36,172 during the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic in Las Vegas.
Laplante cashed 11 times at the WSOP in the summer including finishing 3/2477 in a $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em event and also appeared in the $25,000 PLO event, finishing 29/278. The $601,235 earned in 2019 is his best annual haul since he started racking up scores like spores back in 2011.
The Final Table Picture
For the second consecutive tournament, the Day 2 chip leader would go on to win the event. Laplante went wire-to-wire, refusing to let go of a chip lead that materialised after moving from ‘dust to heaps’ before you could say ‘miracle.’
Chance Kornuth finished runner-up to Isaac Baron in Event #1: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em, and he had once again found his way to the top table. Thai Ha finished eighth in Event #1 and was the runner-up to Siamak Tooran in the €25,500 No-Limit Hold’emHigh Roller at the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) event – another radioactive pro.
Tim McDermott finished runner-up to Scott Clements in the $1,500 Dealers Choice 6-Handed event in the WSOP this summer, and then you had the defending champion. Ali Imsirovic has earned a personal best $3.8m this year, including a runner-up finish to Cary Katz in the £250,000 Super High Roller Bowl, London for $1.1m.
Bombs would drop.
Clouds of dust would turn Portobello.
Here’s how it all began.
Final Table Seat Draw
Seat 1: Chance Kornuth – 545,000
Seat 2: John Riordan – 990,000
Seat 3: Thai Ha – 1,730,000
Seat 4: Ryan Laplante – 2,540,000
Seat 5: Ali Imsirovic – 1,595,000
Seat 6: Tim McDermott – 410,000
The Nutshell Action
Laplante would flick an elastic band into the face of four of the five finalists with enough force to send them crashing into the rail. The one-piece of meat he left for someone else to devour came in the shape of Tim McDermott. The short-stack doubled-up to create a glimmer of hope before the KsKh6s2h of John Riordan crushed AhQh9c5h when all-in pre-flop,
Ali Imsirovic’s tattooist had to put his ‘Back-to-Back’ art piece on the back burner after seeing his aces slammed into the earth by the nut flush of Laplante. Then Riordan exited stage left when AcJs4s3d lost to Th8s6s2d on Qd9d3c8cJd. The money went in on the flop, and Laplante rivered a straight.
The impressive Thai Ha wasn’t laughing when his tournament life lost consciousness in the third position. The Vietnamese pro got it in good with 9s8s7c2c on Th9d6d for the straight, only for Laplante’s KsKd7d6h to hit the 4d on the turn for a flush.
The heads-up play didn’t last too long, and when it did, a cooler hogged the limelight.
Kornuth held QhQd6c3s, and Laplante held TsTh9c8s as the dealer planted a nuclear explosion on the flop (Tc3c3h). The pair got it in, and Kornuth couldn’t find that last remaining trey, settling for his second consecutive runner-up finish, and the top spot on the overall leaderboard.
Laplante was the man.
“Being able to play against these people, just even being able to compete, not even cashing, and then winning it is just absolutely absurd,” said Laplante after his win. “Obviously, I thought it was possible when I signed up, but when you’re playing against players of this calibre, and you pull through, it makes me feel very fortunate and very lucky.”
No rest for the wicked.
Back into the labyrinth you go, Ryan.
ITM Results
Ryan Laplante – $186,000
Chance Kornuth – $124,000
Thai Ha – $86,000
John Riordan – $62,000
Ali Imsirovic – $49,600
Tim McDermott – $37,200
Damjan Radanov – $31,000
Brent Roberts – $24,800
Anthony Zinno – $18,600
Poker Masters Standings
Chance Kornuth – 420 points
Isaac Baron – 300
Ryan Laplante – 300
Thai Ha – 210
Ralph Wong – 150
We give a plastic crow the arduous task of flying the mermaid over the extraction point, and then dropping her into the eggcup without the enemy hearing a pin drop. The mermaid will then climb teabox hill, and rescue the princess while humming the theme tune to Frozen.
“Let her go.”
But it will be a difficult task, as the enemy is unlike anything the extraction team has seen before. We’re talking about the beast who orchestrated the My Little Pony massacre; the bathtub dockyard explosions, and imprisoned the princess against her will.
I am, of course, talking about the evil plastic sheep from Mattel: Baron Von Baa Baa!
Moving swiftly on from one massacre created by a Baron to another, and Isaac Baron has beaten a field of 97-entrants to win the opening event at the Poker Masters.
Event #1: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em took place at the PokerGO Studios at the Aria in Las Vegas, a cardroom Baron called the ’nicest’ he has ever visited.
The win is Baron’s fifth of his career, and his second of 2019 after winning his first bracelet at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), after topping a field of 1,832-entrants to claim the $407,739 first prize in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed event.
Due to a lack of live reporting, the nutshell action is more ant ball-sack in nature, but before you complain, consider the terrible circumstances the princess has been facing in the past 24-hours, and consider yourself grateful you only have these first world problems.
Baron came into the final table after 19 Day 1, levels, and the former online poker genius wasn’t exaggerating when he called his trajectory to the top of Event #1 ’straight’ and his ride ‘smooth.’
Two people stood out at the final table.
Scott Blumstein is a former WSOP Main Event Champion, and Sam Soverel is the reigning Poker Central Player of the Year, and the odds-on favourite to defend his crown in 2019.
Final Table Seat Draw
Seat 1: Chance Kornuth – 455,000
Seat 2: Tha Ha – 655,000
Seat 3: Jeremy Ausmus – 1,995,000
Seat 4: Isaac Baron – 3,055,000
Seat 5: Dan Shak – 480,000
Seat 6: Ralph Wong – 1,770,000
Seat 7: Scott Blumstein – 765,000
Seat 8: Sam Soverel – 630,000
The Ant Ball-Sack Action
Poker Central scribe, Remko Rinkema, called the eliminations of Thai Ha (8th), Dan Shak (7th), and Scott Blumstein (6th) ‘quick’.
Then it became the Isaac Baron Show.
The man known online as ‘westmenloAA’ eliminated Soverel in the fifth spot when pocket aces melted pocket eights. Next, he took out Jeremy Ausmus in a blind v blind battle when Q9 outkicked Q7.
Baron took a massive chip lead into heads-up with Chance Kornuth after eliminating Ralph Wong in the third-place when J6 beat K9, and the heads-up action lasted one hand when 53cc spiked a three to beat A9o.
The win puts Baron in the lead for the $100,000 first prize, the title of 2019 Poker Master and the Purple Jacket. One impediment could be his lack of Short-Deck experience. Apart from that, Baron is going for it.
“I highly doubt I’ll play the Short Deck because I’ve never played that game before, but to me, at this point, I’m committed to these events with the top prize and the jacket to play for,” said Baron. “I’m a big golf fan, and The Masters is my favourite sporting event of the year. While the money will always come first, I love the accolades and accomplishments and having something more to play for at the Poker Masters.”
Will the evil Baron von Isaac also conquer Event #2.
Not if the mermaid and plastic crow have anything to do with it.
“Patience, young grasshopper.”
I don’t know who once said that to a cherubic young Daniel Negreanu bursting at the seams to become the world’s greatest poker player, but wherever he or she is, in this world, or the next, there is a smile on their face, today.
The Poker Hall of Famer has once again underlined his legacy in this game with an impressive outing at the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) to become the 2019 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Player of the Year (POY).
Negreanu becomes the only player to win three WSOP POY titles and the first to claim the POY title without winning a bracelet. Kid Poker became the first to win the POY when it first established back in 2004, and he became the first player to win it twice in 2013.
I think this one will be extra special.
Coming into the ten-event WSOPE, Negreanu trailed both Robert Campbell and Shaun Deeb in the pecking order, but unleashed a wave of pestilence that sent both to Hades’ front door after cashing in seven of them.
Here were the scores on the doors coming into the series finale.
WSOP POY Top 10 Coming In
Robert Campbell – 3,418.78
Shaun Deeb – 3,280.13
Daniel Negreanu – 3,166.24
Dan Zack – 3,126.13
Philip Hui – 2,881.67
Jason Gooch – 2,643.72
Joseph Cheong – 2,595.54
David ‘ODB’ Baker – 2,480.06
Chris Ferguson – 2,476.96
Anthony Zinno – 2,443.22
How The Win Unfurled.
Campbell started well with a 48th place finish in Event #2, and a 50th place finish in Event #3. Defending champion Deeb also cashed in Event #2 (18th) and took the lead after finishing 13th in Event #7. Campbell retook the lead after making the final table of the €25,500 No-Limit Hold’em event, finishing 8th. Deeb pulled some points back after finishing 26th in Event #9 before Negreanu made his move.
Negreanu, who had already cashed 59th in Event #2, took the lead after four consecutive cashes: 16th in Event #6, 10th in Event #8, 37th in Event #9, and 6th in Event #10. The lead widened after Negreanu cashed in Event #11 in 20th position.
All three combatants knew that a decent showing in the WSOPE Main Event would be crucial to proceedings, only for the trio to hit the rail prematurely. That allowed Anthony Zinno to put together a late charge. Zinno came into Rozvadov in 10th place, but a 16th in Event #2, 11th in Event #8, and a 3rd in the Main Event put him in with a shot as the final event: Event #15: €550 Colossus No-Limit Hold’em burned a hole in the horizon.
Zinno did cash in the Colossus, but his 256th-place finish was only good enough for a fourth-place finish. Negreanu’s run ended in 195th, leaving Campbell and Deeb knowing a deep run would be enough to eclipse Negreanu’s final score of 4,074.88 points.
Campbell’s tournament ended in 149th place, leaving the defending champion, Deeb, as the only player capable of stopping Negreanu from making history while at the same time making history (nobody had ever successfully defended a WSOP POY crown).
Players kept hitting the rail hard.
The number of tables kept dwindling until there were two left.
Deeb was still in contention.
A fifth-place finish or higher was the goal, and then with blinds at 125k/250k/250k, Deeb limped into the pot from the small blind holding Jh9d, and Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier checked his option in the big blind.
The dealer fiddled with the deck, emerging with a QcTc9s flop; Deeb led for 250,000, Grospellier raised to 800,000, and Deeb called. The turn card was the Td; Deeb checked, Grospellier made it 1,775,000, Deeb moved all-in for 3,050,000, and ElkY called. Deeb had a pair and a straight draw, but ElkY had flopped a straight, and it held on the river to stop Deeb’s defiant stampede in 11th position, an incredible performance given there were 2,738-entrants in the event.
Negreanu cashed seven times at the WSOPE to add to the 17 cashes he made in the summer. Of his 24 cashes (a record for a POY winner), Negreanu made five final without adding to the six bracelets hanging around his posh Las Vegas gaff.
Not that he cared.
While there is no cash prize for WSOP POY, poker is my passion.
The title is the achievement and acknowledgment of a lot of hard work, long grueling days against top competition.
