Category: My news, views and fun facts

State of enmity?

Glad of the break?

Who knows how the high stakes phenoms and shot takers felt when partypoker shoved a bookcase in front of the door leading to the Poker Masters Online Series, but who cares, it’s back, and anyone writing about poker these days is mighty glad about that.

Tom Waters’ butler has the results of a third of seven $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) events, and it was the predatory urges of Pauli Ayras that came out on top.

Ayras became the first player in the series to win two games, and his latest #1 finish saw him rise to the top of the Championship Leaderboard with five cashes and close to a million dollars in earnings.

Sam Greenwood finished runner-up, the second time that’s happened, and although he doesn’t feature in the Top 5 positions on the Championship Leaderboard, he sits third in gross profit with $677,625 amassed over the series.

Justin Bonomo finished in the money (ITM) for the fifth time, and the one-time leader, Andras Nemeth, did the same for the sixth time.

Results

  1. Pauli Ayras – $548,625
  2. Sam Greenwood – $375,375
  3. David Peters – $259,875
  4. Luuk Gieles – $173,250
  5. Matthew Wantman – $134,750
  6. George Wolff – $105,875
  7. Guillaume Nolet – $91,437
  8. Bartlomiej Ryszard Machon – $81,812
  9. Justin Bonomo – $77,000
  10. Andras Nemeth – $77,000

Steve O’Dwyer Wins Event #20: $10,300 NLHE 6-Max

Steve O’Dwyer topped the 86-entrant field in Event #20: $10,300 NLHE 6-Max. It’s a significant win for O’Dwyer who sees his all-time online multi-table tournament (MTT) winnings exceed $6m. The $269,013 that O’Dwyer binked is his second most substantial online score after winning the 2018 $25,000 POWERFEST No-Limit Hold’em event on partypoker for $896,610.

It was a good day for David Peters, who finished third in Event #19, and then came runner-up to O’Dwyer in this one – his first two ITM finishes of the series.

Jorryt Van Hoof moved into fourth place on the Championship Leaderboard after becoming the first player to finish ITM an impressive eight times in 20 events.

Here are the results.

Results

  1. Steve O’Dwyer – $269,013
  2. David Peters – $167,700
  3. Jake Schindler – $103,200
  4. Guiseppe Iadisernia – $75,250
  5. Jorryt Van Hoof – $53,750
  6. Dario Sammartino – $36,550
  7. Artur Martirosian – $27,950
  8. Ali Imsirovic – $27,950
  9. Eelis Parssinen – $27,950
  10. Adrian Mateos – $23,562
  11. Joni Jouhkimainen – $23,562
  12. Michael Addamo – $23,562

Championship Results

  1. Pauli Ayras – $943,117 (722 pts)
  2. Alexandros Kolonias – $591,034 (592)
  3. Artus Martirosian – $594,040 (590)
  4. Jorryt Van Hoof – $584,462 (585)
  5. Timothy Adams – $583,575 (584)

The corpses of small businesses litter the ring, but there is one still slugging it out, and that’s Poker Central.

Despite COVID-19 turning his live tournament business into dust motes, Cary Katz and his team dove into the lab and came out with a rapid-fire response. 

Katz partnered with partypoker to create the Poker Masters Online. With 18-games cut to ribbons, the results have been outstanding with $17.8m dished out to an average field size of 88-entrants, and given that buy-ins have ranged between $10,000 and $25,000 you know the high stakes brethren have not been sitting on their arse picking toe jam. 

In addition to moving his live empire online, Katz has hurried to provide his PokerGO subscribers with a reason to stop watching ‘The Tiger King’.

‘2020 Hindsight’ is the new PokerGO Original due to start Tuesday 21 April. 

The concept is a simple one.

Solve For Why founder, Matt Berkey, will guide viewers through the ins and outs of six of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event’s most celebrated episodes.

The series begins with the event that thrust Jonathan Duhamel into the limelight – the 2010 WSOP Main Event. 

Here is a look at the final standings of that event.

Results

  1. Jonathan Duhamel – $8,944,310
  2. John Racener – $5,454,955
  3. Joseph Cheong – $4,130,049
  4. Filippo Candio – $3,092,545
  5. Michael Mizrachi – $2,322,992
  6. John Dolan – $1,772,959
  7. Jason Senti – $1,356,720
  8. Matt Jarvis – $1,045,743
  9. Soi Nguyen – $811,823

Berkey’s Credentials

Berkey’s tongue won’t turn to stone in this one because he featured heavily in it. The Nevadan based star finished 43rd and will have picked up plenty of insight into the inner workings of the minds of these incredible players.

The appointment is no surprise. Berkey is Vegas-based, so he can waltz into the Poker Central Studios to get to work. Despite making his living playing high stakes live cash games, Berkey has earned $4.1m playing live tournaments. 

Amongst Berkey’s tournament highlights are a fifth-place finish in the 2016 Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) for $1.1m, a win in a $25,000 Aria High Roller, and bubbling the final table of the 2017 World Poker Tour (WPT) LAPC, and finishing third in the $1,111 Little One for One Drop at the WSOP, the same year.

Most critically, Berkey is a top-rated poker coach.

PokerGo costs $10 per month or $8.25 if you buy an annual pass for $99. If you get behind the paywall you can watch High Stakes Poker, Poker After Dark, and footage of various live tournaments (remember them).

Other PokerGO originals include The Big Blind, Pokerography, Stories From The Felt, Insiders, The Championship Run, Dead Money, The Super High Roller Club, Deep Issues and Poker Nights.

With church pews empty due to the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) for some, the poker table became the place to say their prayers, three of whom received answers.

The Poker Masters Online Series had a bumper Sunday on partypoker with three events falling like dominos, and the first to tumble in this omnibus is Event #16: $25,500 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE).

Heading into the weekend, the names ‘Jason Koon’ hadn’t graced the headlines during the Poker Masters Online Series, but he burst into song taking down the most substantial single payout of the series so far.

The charm and challenge of a $25,000 event attracted 72-entrants like hatboxes on Derby Day, and it was the partypoker ambassador who lasted longer than anyone to bank the $549,000 first prize.

Koon defeated Justin Bonomo, heads-up, and although the former All-Time Money List leader will be disappointed to finish as the bridesmaid for the second time during the series, he has now earned more de Niro’s than anyone in the tournament ($606,974), so he won’t be threading a needle through his eyeball just yet.

Other notables names in the money (ITM) included the first score for Dan Smith and a sixth score for Juan Pardo Dominguez.

Here are the results.

Results

  1. Jason Koon – $549,000
  2. Justin Bonomo – $369,000
  3. Steve O’Dwyer – $252,000
  4. Conor Beresford – $162,000
  5. Juan Pardo Dominguez – $126,000
  6. Dario Sammartino – $99,000
  7. Joni Jouhkimainen – $85,500
  8. Dan Smith – $81,000
  9. Ole Schemion – $76,500

Eelis Parssinen Wins Event #17: $10,300 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) 6-Max

Eelis Parssinen moved into the highest seam of the Championship Leaderboard after winning Event #17: $10,300 PLO 6-Max. The Finnish star has now finished in the Top 3 spots, on three separate occasions, suitable for a fourth-place berth overall.

Jorryt Van Hoof continued his impressive series with his seventh ITM finish, good for a sixth-place standing in the Championship Leaderboard.

Here are the results.

Results

  1. Eelis Parssinen – $287,781
  2. Bengt Sonnert – $179,400
  3. Aku Joentausta – $110,400
  4. Jorryt Van Hoof – $80,500
  5. Andreas Torbergsen – $57,500
  6. Tobias Ziegler – $39,100
  7. Andrew Moseley – $29,900
  8. Pedro Zagalo – $29,900
  9. Ferenc Deak – $29,900
  10. Carlo Van Ravenswoud – $25,206
  11. Niko Soininen – $25,206
  12. Joao Vieira – $25,206

Linus Loeliger Wins Event #18: $10,300 NLHE Six-Max

Linus Loeliger joined Koon in the ‘one-time’ club after taking down Event #18: $10,300 NLHE Six-Max. The prodigious talents of the Swiss star overcame the in-form Artur Martirosian, heads-up, to claim the $202,800 first prize.

The Russian moves into third place overall after finishing in the Top 3 spots three times in four ITM finishes. A hat tip to Chris Hunichen who recorded his sixth ITM finish, although he’s yet to find the luck needed to place higher than he has been.

Here are the results.

Results

  1. Linus Loeliger – $325,318
  2. Artur Martirosian – $202,800
  3. Darrell Goh – $124,800
  4. Niklas Astedt – $91,000
  5. Ole Schemion – $65,000
  6. Edwin Villalobo Amaya – $44,200
  7. Adrian Mateos – $33,800
  8. Chris Hunichen – $33,800
  9. Sergi Reixach – $33,800
  10. Aliaksandr Hirs – $28,493
  11. Luc Greenwood – $28,493
  12. Nick Petrangelo – $28,493

Poker Masters Online Championship Standings

  1. Alexandros Kolonias $591,034 (592 pts)
  2. Timothy Adams $583,575 (584)
  3. Artur Martirosian $566,090 (562)
  4. Eelis Parssinen $536,131 (537)
  5. Andras Nemeth $539,715 (535)

“Sports don’t build character; they reveal it.”

Whether the quote came from John Wooden or Heywood Hayle Broun is bye the bye, it’s a quote that cuts right to the core of humanity because ever since Homosapien’s held Mammoth bone hurling contests, sports has been an essential ingredient in a fulfilling life.

Yeah, some people don’t care much for sports, but far more see it as a religion, so when the organisers of some of the most emotionally charged events in the world amputate them from the schedule, you know that there’s a reason we’re all folding that one sheet to wipe our arse.

Ever since COVID-19 stopped being a Chinese problem, and became an everyone except the two cosmonauts and one astronaut living on the MIR Space Station problem, sporting events worldwide had been falling like Amazonian trees, with one exception. 

The World Series of Poker (WSOP).

The Mystery Ends

It’s the most hotly anticipated event in the poker calendar, and as the weekend ended, officials still kept their powder dry on the future of the 2020 fixture. 

The mystery ended on Monday afternoon.

PokerNews and other media outlets began reporting that Caesars Entertainment Corp., had postponed the 2020 series, with a Fall renewal the latest earmark. 

Here is the word from the chief.

“We are committed to running the World Series of Poker this year but need additional time to proceed on our traditional scale while prioritising guest and staff well-being,” said Ty Stewart, Executive Director of the World Series of Poker. “In the interim, official WSOP competitions are expected to be played online this summer, and we will soon announce details of an expanded series of tournaments to be played on WSOP.com and through partnership with international operators, which will allow players to chase WSOP glory from their homes.”

The WSOP Moves Online

The WSOP planned to handout more than 100 bracelets this summer, and while their goldsmith will be kept busy, he or she won’t be that busy. It’s not startling to learn that the 14 online bracelet events go head on WSOP.com for players residing in Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware, but it is interesting to note that WSOP plan to bed down with global online partners.

While the reporting doesn’t directly stipulate that the poker community will have the opportunity to win a WSOP bracelet playing online at one of WSOP.com’s competitors, you can now start to believe it’s more probable than possible. 

Who will be WSOP.com‘s partners?

Two immediate choices stand out.

888Poker is a longtime sponsor of the WSOP, and the only viable way to win a bracelet via the online satellite route outside of the USA – so maturing that marriage makes sense. 

The WSOP also entered into a relationship with GGPoker recently with a WSOP Circuit event going ahead on the burgeoning platform in May with 18 gold rings up for grabs – so that also seems like a logical choice. 

Outside of those two, partypoker has a relationship with WSOP.com and given the teams’ drive to do the right thing for the game; you could see those two agreeing on an interim arrangement to provide value for the community. 

PokerStars remains the outside bet.

It Had to Happen

With the number of COVID-19 cases approaching 2.5m, worldwide, with close to 165,000 deaths, and close to 760,000 cases and over 47,000 deaths in the USA alone – this decision had to happen.

The Olympics.

The European Championships.

Wimbledon.

None of the titans of the world of sport has stood up to this beast.

None of them. 

But it’s not all doom and gloom.

If you look on Eric Idle’s ‘bright side of life,’ at least when live poker does return to our itineraries we can bank on a spick and span set of chips and tables. It won’t last though. It’s not in our nature to be so thorough. If it were, we wouldn’t be hiding in our homes, praying for a vaccine. 

The ‘bright side of life,’ is that poker players are returning to the online game in their droves, and that must feel like eating James’ giant peach for those plying their trade in the online realm. 

Online poker is supposed to be dead, and yet, because of Mother Nature’s dart throw into the bullseye, live tour operators are forced to connect to their online competitors to make things happen. If these alliances remain, and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t if online poker keeps putting on a show, and the community keeps showing up, then poker will come out the other end a lot stronger than before it went in. 

The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, once said that “quality is not an act, it’s a habit.”

Fellow Grecian, Alexandros Kolonias, made money in both Day 7 events to take the lead at the Poker Masters Online. Both were ‘acts’, but it’s Kolonias’s habits off the felt that’s the backbone for his most recent success.

Event #14: $10,300 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) attracted 114-entrants to the felt like discarded In-N-Out boxes to a conspiracy of ravens, and Mustapha Kanit roosted higher than any of them.

There are no weak spokes in Kanit’s online game.

Check this out.

The $279,300 that Kanit earned for his win is his ninth six-figure score, and only his third-highest rout.

The most significant amount of dosh wired to Kanit’s online account came in 2015 when he won the Spring Championships of Online Poker (SCOOP) Main Event [H] on PokerStars for $1,304,720 (Kanit also won the FTOPS Main Event on Full Tilt in the same year earning $239,400).

Kanit’s second most substantial score came one year earlier when he finished third in a $10,300 NLHE event at the World Championships of Online Poker (WCOOP) on PokerStars for $392,375.

In 2016, Kanit also won the PokerStars Sunday Million for $177,299.79.

The man is a monster.

Kolonias finished runner-up to become the second man to register six in the money (ITM) finishes alongside Timothy Adams (although the pair had more to say before the sun went down).

Other notable finishes include Artur Martirosian claiming his second top-three finish, Mike Watson cashing for the fifth time, Alex Foxen cashing for the fourth time, and the PocketFives World #1, Niklas Astedt, finishing ITM for the first time.

Here are the results.

Results

  1. Mustapha Kanit – $279,300
  2. Alexandros Kolonias – $199,500
  3. Artur Martirosian – $142,500
  4. Brunno Botteon De Albuquerque – $99,750
  5. Christoph Vogelsang – $74,100
  6. Edwin Villalobo Amaya – $57,000
  7. Simon Pedersen – $45,600
  8. Alex Foxen – $37,050
  9. Simon Higgins – $28,500
  10. Lucas Reeves – $28,500
  11. Jake Schindler – $28,500
  12. Christoper Malcolm Fraser – $28,500
  13. Mike Watson – $22,800
  14. Nick Petrangelo – $22,800
  15. Niklas Astedt – $22,800
  16. Kahle Burns – $22,800

Timothy Adams Wins Event #15: $10,300 NLHE 6-Max

Timothy Adams moved ominously into second place in the Poker Masters Online Championship Leaderboard after taking down Event #15: $10,300 NLHE 6-Max.

The event attracted 78-entrants with Adams ousting Joao Vieira, heads-up, to bank the $243,988 first prize. It’s Adams seventh cash of the series, equal with Kolonias, who finished seventh in this event. Jorryt Van Hoof sits sixth in the Championship race with six ITM finishes, and Alex Foxen and Juan Pardo Dominguez picked up their fifth cashes of the series.

Here are the results.

Results

  1. Timothy Adams – $243,988.68
  2. Joao Vieira – $152,100
  3. Dario Sammartino – $93,600
  4. Alex Foxen – $68,250
  5. Ben Heath – $58,750
  6. Ali Imsirovic – $33,150
  7. Alexandros Kolonias – $25,350
  8. Yahia Fahmy – $25,350
  9. Jorryt Van Hoof – $25,350
  10. Sami Kelopuro – $21,370
  11. Elias Talvitie – $21,370
  12. Juan Pardo Dominguez – $21,270

Championship Leaderboard

  1. Alexandros Kolonias – (592 pts)
  2. Timothy Adams – (584)
  3. Andras Nemeth – (535)
  4. Alex Foxen – (493)
  5. Luuk Gieles – (492)

When it comes to creative thought, the mighty Magyars have a rich history.

Erno Rubik created the Rubik Cube.

Imre Brody invented the Krypton Electric Bulb.

Laszlo Biro patented the biro.

And on Day 6 of the Poker Masters Online Series, another Laszlo from that neck of the woods used his creativity to carve out a $272,141 paycheck.

Laszlo Bujtas won Event #12: $10,300 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) 6-Max, making him the second Hungarian to win an event after the current Championship leader, Andras Nemeth.

You can find Bujtas banishing bodies throughout online poker rooms around the world trading his wares under the monicker ‘omaha4rollz.’ Bujtas has earned $4.2m playing online multi-table tournaments (MTTs), and this is his sixth six-figure score and the most substantial of the lot.

Bujtas wasn’t the only Hungarian make money in this one.

Nemeth extended his lead with his fifth in the money (ITM) finish of the series. Many have both the ability and the form to catch Nemeth, including Jorryt Van Hoof whose fourth-place finish is his fifth cash overall.

Here are the results

Results

  1. Laszlo Bujtas – $272,141
  2. Ami Barer – $169,650
  3. Carlo Van Ravenswoud – $104,400
  4. Jorryt Van Hoof – $76,125
  5. Bengt Sonnert – $54,375
  6. Andreas Torbergsen – $36,975
  7. Ali Imsirovic – $28,275
  8. Adam Hendrix – $28,275
  9. George Wolff – $28,275
  10. Jean Carlos Rincon De La Hoz – $28,836
  11. Andras Nemeth – $23,836
  12. Christopher Frank – $23,836

Luuk Gieles Wins Event #13: $10,300 NLHE 6-Max

If there was any penance after Luuk Gieles’ runner-up finish to Kahle Burns in Event #10 it’s over as the Dutchman cleared the cobwebs in time to take down Event #13: $10,300 NLHE 6-Max.

Gieles beat Timothy Adams, heads-up, to claim the title, and that means the Canadian becomes the first player to add six ITM scalps to his belt buckle. It’s his first six-figure score of the campaign, and he becomes one of the early favourites for the title.

Joining Adams in the race to catch the coattails of Andras Nemeth at the top of the Championship Leaderboard, are Alexandros Kolonias (5th score), Mike Watson (fourth), and Alex Foxen (third). Not amongst that bunch, but making his first dent in a Poker Masters Online event is Steve O’Dwyer, who finished ninth.

Here are the results.

Results

  1. Luuk Gieles – $235,217
  2. Timothy Adams – $153,000
  3. Ludovich Geilich – $81,600
  4. Kahle Burns – $61,200
  5. Alex Foxen – $44,200
  6. Mike Watson – $30,600
  7. Lukas Matthias Nowakowski – $24,727
  8. Alexandros Kolonias – $24,727
  9. Steve O’Dwyer – $24,727

At the turn of the year, with the world watching China crumble under the weight of a treacherous virus we were glad would never reach our shores, the Australian Poker Hall of Fame thrust two players into the sunlight.

Kahle Burns made it into the Poker Hall of Fame, Michael Addamo, picked up the Young Achiever Award, and on Day 5 of the Poker Masters online this same concoction shone once again.

Burns posted his first in the money (ITM) finish taking the golden egg in Event #10: $10,300 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE). The event attracted another bumper field with 119-entrants vying for the $291,550 first prize that ended up in the Burns bank account.

It’s been an incredible start to 2020 for the man who ended 2019 with a record $4.3m earned playing live tournaments. Burns won the AUD 100,000 Challenge at the Aussie Millions and finished runner-up to Timothy Adams in the Super High Roller Bowl (SHRB) Australia for a combined haul of $2m.

Burns is also an ulcer to his online brethren.

In 2017, the Australian star won the Spring Championships of Online Poker (SCOOP) [M] Main Event on PokerStars for a whopping $787,312.19. Talking of SCOOP Main Event winners, Gianluca Speranza, the man who won back-to-back [H] Main Event titles in 2018 & 2019, featured in the results for the first time this series, as did Ben Heath.

Timothy Adams became the first player to rack up five ITM finishes, and surely, there’s a big score waiting around the corner for the double SHRB Champion.

Here are the results.

Results

  1. Kahle Burns – $291,550
  2. Luuk Gieles – $208,250
  3. Eelis Parssinen – $148,750
  4. Gianluca Speranza – $104,125
  5. Joao Vieira – $77,350
  6. Wiktor Malinowski – $59,500
  7. Edwin Villalobo Amaya – $47,600
  8. Vicent Bosca Ramon – $38,675
  9. Ian Engel – $29,750
  10. Giueseppe Iadisernia – $29,750
  11. Ben Heath – $29,750
  12. Thomas Meuhloecker – $29,750
  13. Timothy Adams – $23,800
  14. Karim Khayat – $23,800
  15. Mike Watson – $23,800
  16. Chris Hunichen – $23,800

Michael Addamo Wins Event #11: $10,300 NLHE 6-Max

Michael Addamo moved into the second place on the Championship Leaderboard after taking down Event #11: $10,300 NLHE 6-Max. The former World Championships of Online Poker (WCOOP) Sunday Million High Roller winner, defeated Poker Masters Online Championship hopeful, Chris Hunichen, heads-up, to claim the $294,037 first prize.

Hunichen joined Adams as the only two players to record five cashes. Jorryt Van Hoof, Alexandros Kolonias and Wiktor Malinowski picked up their fourth ITM finish.

Here are the results.

Results

  1. Michael Addamo – $294,037
  2. Chris Hunichen – $183,300
  3. Jorryt Van Hoof – $112,800
  4. Yahia Fahmy – $82,250
  5. Justin Bonomo – $58,750
  6. Aliaksandr Hirs – $39,950
  7. Jake Schindler – $30,550
  8. Lukas Matthias Nowakowski – $30,550
  9. Luuk Gieles – $30,550
  10. Wiktor Malinowski – $25,754
  11. Talal Shakerchi – $25,754
  12. Alexandros Kolonias – $25,754

Poker Masters Online Championship Standings

  1. Andras Nemeth – $515,879 (511pts)
  2. Michael Addamo – $444,037 (406)
  3. Pauli Ayras – $394,492 (393)
  4. Elias Talvitie – $572,250 (380)
  5. Alex Foxen – $351,277 (352 pts)

As the Hungarian nation continues to feel the pressure of Viktor Orbán’s ‘State of Danger,’ one of their most venerable citizens, Mr Andras Nemeth, is casting his own state of danger over the Poker Masters Online Series.

The 2020 Poker Masters Online Series has unlocked nine gates in a scheduled 30-event maze, and Nemeth has the championship lead after making his third and fourth final table amid an apple-cider sweet fifth day of action.

Nemeth, who won Event #5, finished second in Event #8: $10,300 NLHE, and fifth in Event #9: $10,300 NLHE to lead to take a 118-point lead into Day 5, with the wind at his back. It’s worth noting that the Hungarian star warmed up for this one by finishing runner-up in the Irish Open Main Event for €325,423.

partypoker ambassador, Joni Jouhkimainen, defeated Nemeth, heads-up, to take the title and $254,800 in Event #5: $10,300 NLHE, for his second in the money (ITM) finish of the series and he also came into this one in fine fettle after winning a couple of POWERFEST titles in March.

Outside of the top two, Juan Pardo Dominguez became the first player to make money in four events, Alex Foxen recorded his second cash, as did Elias Talvitie, who had now earned the most money with $572,250 banked in two games.

Here are the results in full.

Results

  1. Joni Jouhkimainen – $254,800
  2. Andras Nemeth – $182,000
  3. Sergi Reixach – $130,000
  4. Elias Talvitie – $91,000
  5. Juan Pardo Dominguez – $67,600
  6. Timothy Adams – $52,000
  7. Alex Foxen – $41,600
  8. Dario Sammartino – $33,800
  9. Chris Hunichen – $26,000
  10. Joao Vieira – $26,000
  11. Carlos Sanchez – $26,000
  12. Simon Pederson – $26,000
  13. Benjamin Rolle – $20,800
  14. Sami Kelopuro – $20,800
  15. Mike Watson – $20,800
  16. Rui Ferreira – $20,800

Pascal Lefrancois Wins Event #9: $10,300 NLHE

From a Finn to a French-Canadian, and the World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, Pascal Lefrancois, placed his stamp on the Poker Masters by taking down Event #9: $10,300 NLHE. LeFrancois likes peddling his wares in partypoker events. In 2018, he won the MILLIONS Grand Final in Barcelona for $2.1m.

The tournament lured 78-entrants onto the virtual event, and Justin Bonomo pushed Lefrancois the hardest. The one-time All-Time Money Earner finished second for $152,100. Lefrancois collected $243,988 for the win, his third six-figure online score, and his most meaty. In December, Lefrancois won a 69-entrant $10,300 High Roller on PokerStars for $186,237, and in 2008 he won the Sunday Warm-Up on Stars for $101,250.

Joining Juan Pardo Dominguez in the four score record books are Nemeth, Pauli Ayras and Timothy Adams.

Here are the results.

Results

  1. Pascal Lefrancois – $243,988
  2. Justin Bonomo – $152,100
  3. Kristen Bicknell – $93,600
  4. Fedor Holz – $68,250
  5. Andras Nemeth – $48,750
  6. Dario Sammartino – $33,150
  7. Ioannis Angelou-Konstas – $25,350
  8. Jake Schindler – $25,350
  9. Timothy Adams – $25,350
  10. Alexandros Kolonias – $21,370
  11. Ian Engel – $21,370
  12. Pauli Ayras – $21,370

Poker Masters Online Championship Standings

  1. Andras Nemeth – $515,879 (511pts)
  2. Pauli Ayras – $394,492 (393)
  3. Elias Talvitie – $572,250 (380)
  4. Alex Foxen – $351,277 (352 pts)
  5. Sergi Rexiach $480,865 (347)

Finland’s Tritium Automotive is on the verge of launching its first electric supercar. Only the drive and the battery is fixed in the sleek looking speedster, meaning owners can customise the entire thing, and you have to think that some of those owners might well be online poker phenoms.

If you weren’t aware that Finland is a hotbed of high stakes online poker talent, then the 2020 Poker Masters Online is going to stick a big fat exclamation mark at the end of that secret.

At the end of Day 3 of the communion between Poker Central and partypoker, 11 Finnish players have contributed to 13 in the money (ITM) finishes – supercars indeed.

In pole position is Pauli Ayras.

The man who won the €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) High Roller at the inaugural Patrik Antonius Poker Challenge a year ago this month, took down Event #6: $10,300 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) for $303,422.

By the end of Day 3, Ayras had made money in three successive events, taking $373,122 from the Poker Masters tables, and leads the Championship Leaderboard by 63-points going into Day 4.

The event pulled in 97-entrants, almost double the field size of the first PLO event. $970,000 entered the kitty, and Jens Lakemeier pushed Ayras closest at the chequered flag.

Jorryt van Hoof and Ole Schemion also finished ITM for the second time.

Results

  1. Pauli Ayras – $303,422
  2. Jens Lakemeier – $189,150
  3. Ami Barer – $116,400
  4. Jorryt van Hoof – $84,875
  5. Samuli Sipila – $60,625
  6. Ole Schemion – $41,225
  7. Lauri Varonen – $31,525
  8. Pacsal Lefrancois – $31,525
  9. George Wolff – $31,525
  10. Jens Kyllonen – $26,567
  11. Aku Joentausta – $26,576
  12. Marius Kennelly – $26,576.06

Alexander Kolonias Wins Event #7: $10,300 NLHE

Event #7: $10,300 NLHE saw 86 miscreants and magicians managing their mice in an $860,000-yard line dash, and the winner came from good stock.

Alexander Kolonias added Poker Masters glory to the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) Main Event title he won in the Autumn. George Wolff pushed Kolonias the hardest, finishing second. Wolff finished sixth in the 2019 Poker Masters, and the poker world noticed his fantastic 2019 performances short-listing him for the Global Poker Awards Breakout Player of the Year (Robert Campbell snagged it).

As previously spouted, Ayras made his third successive cash to lead overall, and Van Hoof and Juan Pardo Dominguez also registered their third cash of the series.

Kolonias squeezes into the #3 spot in the Championship Leaderboard.

Results

  1. Alexander Kolonias – $269,013
  2. George Wolff – $167,700
  3. Ali Imsirovic – $103,200
  4. Mustapha Kanit – $75,250
  5. Michael Addamo – $53,750
  6. Pauli Ayras – $36,550
  7. Juan Pardo Dominguez – $27,950
  8. Ian Engel – $27,950
  9. Nick Petrangelo – $27,950
  10. Elio Fox – $23,562
  11. Timothy Adams – $23,562
  12. Jorryt van Hoof – $23,562

Poker Masters Online Championship Standings

  1. Pauli Ayras – $373,122 (373)
  2. Alex Foxen – $309,677 (310 pts)
  3. Alexander Kolonias – $294,513 (295)
  4. Elias Talvitie – $481,250 (289)
  5. Andras Nemeth – $285,129 (280)

It was a case of pistols at noon and 1 pm on Day 2 of the event that’s currently occupying the minds of the high stakes brethren and those taking a shot.

The 2020 Poker Masters Online, created by Poker Central, and hosted by partypoker, has blazed through two more events with its riding crop in hand and a healthy turnout to boot.

Event #4: $10,300 No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) enticed 102 players to the virtual baize, making it the most substantial field size of the opening quartet. The $1,020,000 in prize money is the second-largest loot behind the $1,375,000 raised in Event #1 (a $25,000 event).

The heads-up battle for the title saw Mike Watson with a dagger strapped to his thigh, and Sam Greenwood holding the pepper spray. Of the Canadians, Watson was making his first in the money (ITM) finish of the series. It was Greenwood’s second.

Watson chopped down the Greenwood to take the title, but a runner-up finish keeps the twin in the Poker Masters Championship Standing Top 5.

The win moves Watson’s all-time online tournament earnings to within a nostril hair of $5m, and it’s his second most significant score trailing the $280,238.52 Watson banked for winning the $10,300 Eight-Game Championship at the 2016 World Championships of Online Poker (WCOOP) at PokerStars.

Here are the ITM results.

Results

  1. Mike Watson – $249,900
  2. Sam Greenwood – $178,500
  3. Jorryt van Hoof – $127,500
  4. Orpen Kisacikoglu – $89,250
  5. Wiktor Malinowski – $66,300
  6. Karim Khayat – $51,000
  7. Patrick Leonard – $40,800
  8. Pauli Ayras – $33,150
  9. Zachary Clark – $25,500
  10. Darrell Goh – $25,500
  11. Alexander Kolonias – $25,500
  12. Matthias Eibinger – $25,500
  13. Andras Nemeth – $20,400
  14. Vicent Bosca Ramon – $20,400
  15. Simo Mattsson – $20,400
  16. Simon Pedersen – $20,400

Andras Nemeth Wins Event #5: $10,300 NLHE

The second event of the day (see above) attracted 83-entrants like toddlers in wellies to a puddle and raised $830,000 in prize money.

Orpen Kisacikoglu made money for the second successive time, finishing runner-up to the eventual winner, Andras Nemeth. Kisacikoglu ends the day fifth in the Poker Masters Championship Leaderboard.

To have a Poker Masters Online without a few results from Nemeth is unfathomable. He is a former PocketFives World #1, and in the past few years has been picking up six-figure scores both online and live with the speed and grace of one of Fagin’s pickpockets.

Nemeth collected $259,629 for the win and will have added incentive to don the Purple Jacket after coming so close to Australian Poker Open glory, losing out to Stephen Chidwick in the final stages of the series earlier in the year.

Here are the results in full.

Results

  1. Andras Nemeth – $259,629
  2. Orpen Kisacikoglu – $161,850
  3. Eelis Parssinen – $99,600
  4. Fedor Holz – $72,625
  5. Dan Shak – $51,875
  6. Sami Kelopuro – $35,275
  7. Christoph Vogelsang – $26,975
  8. Carlos Sanchez – $26,975
  9. Joni Jouhkimainen – $26,975
  10. Sergi Reixach – $27,740
  11. Artur Martirosian – $27,740
  12. Ian Engel – $27,740

The Global Poker Index (GPI) World #1, Alex Foxen, didn’t make money in either event, but still tops the leaderboard thanks to his victory in Event #3. Nemeth, Greenwood and Kisacikoglu make their presence felt in the top five, and Elias Talvitie holds onto his #2 berth after winning the opening event.

Poker Masters Online Championship Standings

  1. Alex Foxen – $309,677 (310 pts)
  2. Elias Talvitie – $481,250 (289)
  3. Andras Nemeth – $285,129 (280)
  4. Sam Greenwood – $302,250 (253)
  5. Orpen Kisacikoglu – $251,100 (251)