There’s one thing we know for sure as the best poker players in the world converge on the ARIA Resort & Casino to do their coconuts in the second iteration of the Poker Masters.
We won’t have a repeat champion.
Last year, Steffen Sontheimer won the inaugural event, prompting Daniel Negreanu to call him the best No-Limit Hold’em tournament player in the world, only this time around, Sontheimer is choosing to stay on European soil.
Who needs two purple jackets, right?
Sontheimer won his first purple jacket after making four of the five final tables, winning two, and accruing $2,733,000 in prize money, including winning the $100,000 Main Event.
Things have changed slightly.
There are now seven events.
Pot-Limit Omaha and Short_deck are on the menu.
Here is the schedule
Event #1: $10,500 No-Limit Hold’em
Event #2: $26,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Event #3: $26,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
Event #4: $10,500 No-Limit Hold’em Short-Deck
Event #5: $26,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Event #6: $52,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Event #7: $100,300 No-Limit Hold’em
The scoring system has changed. Instead of the player with the most money won earning the title, there will be a point system.
Here is it:
Points System
1 – 300 (Prelims) and 350 (Main Event)
2 – 210+245
3 – 150+175
4. – 120+140
5. – 90+105
6+. – 60+70
The first event is a two-day $10,500 No-Limit Hold’em event. Each player received 125,000 in chips and was permitted two re-entries. The plan for Day 1 was to play down to a final table of six, and this is how that happened.
Level 3: 1k/1.5k/1.5k
Maurice Hawkins and Igor Kurganov got it in on a Kd6c2d7c board. The PokerStars Team Pro held Ac5c for the flush-draw, but Hawkins was ahead with Qd6d for the flush draw and the pair of sixes. The river was the 3h, and Kurganov lost his first life.
Andrew Lichtenberger fell short after losing an encounter JJAK flip.
Level 14: 6k/12k/12k
Berg eliminated Daniel Negreanu after the pair got it in pre-flop with Negreanu way behind with AK versus AA, and the deck remained in favour of Berg proceeding in the tournament.
Level 15: 8k/15k/15k
Schindler lost his last life when all-in, pre-flop holding pocket nines against the AK of Green. An ace and a king on the flop doing the damage. Hutter and Berg also exited in this level.
Nines were no good for Schindler, and they were no good for Emmett either. Kempe found pocket queens at the same time Emmett made a stand with nines, and neither flop, turn or river helped him escape death.
Level 16: 10k/20k/20k
We were down to the final two tables.
Top 10 Chip Counts
1. Matthias Eibinger – 1,270,000
2. Cord Garcia – 1,215,000
3. Brandon Adams – 1,180,000
4. Rainer Kempe – 890,000
5. Isaac Haxton – 880,000
6. David Peters – 740,000
7. Ali Imsirovic – 715,000
8. Brian Green – 575,000
9. Cary Katz – 470,000
10. David Eldridge – 330,000
Sam Soverel was the first to bust when his pocket sixes ran into the pocket tens of David Peters in a fight to the death, and his exit signified hand for hand bubble action.
Level 17: 15k/25k/25k
Tom Marchese opened to 75,000 in midfield, Brandon Adams three-bet in the next pew to 150,000, Eibinger called in the big blind as did Marchese (who was all-in).
Flop: JcTs8s
Eibinger bet 175,000; Adams called.
Turn: 5s
Eibinger moved all-in, and Adams called.
On your backs.
Marchese tabled Ad8h for the third pair, Eibinger had pocket queens for the overpair, but Adams had flopped a set with pocket tens. The 3d hit the river, and Adams took the chip lead, eliminated two dangerous opponents, and everyone would finish in the money, except Marchese.
Level 18: 15k/30/30k
Cord Garcia opened to 60,000 from the first position, and both Peters and Catz called in the blinds. The flop was an all spade J53, Peters checked to Katz who bet his final 175,000, and only Peters called. Katz showed AsTc for the nut flush draw, and Peters was well behind with Ac9s only for a nine to pop up on the river to send Catz packing.
Next to go was Imsirovic, and Kempe was the man in the library holding the candlestick. The pair got it in pre-flop with Kempe well behind A8hh>A9cc, only for the German to turn an eight.
And then we had our final table after the elimination of David Eldridge.
Peters opened the button to 70,000, Kempe called in the small blind, and Eldridge did likewise in the large. The dealer thumped Tc5d2h onto the flop, and the action checked to Peters who bet 80,000. Kempe made the call, but Eldridge check-raised all-in for 290,000; Peters folded, and Kempe called. Eldridge showed T4dd for top pair and backdoor flush draw, but Kempe had him beaten with QdTs for a higher top pair. It stayed that way, and play drew to a close with the chip counts looking a little something like this:
1. Brandon Adams – 2,385,000
2. Rainer Kempe – 2,230,000
3. David Peters – 1,585,000
4. Cord Garcia – 1,125,000
5. Brian Green – 880,000
6. Isaac Haxton – 410,000
Play resumes on Saturday, 2 pm (Local Time) with all the action live on PokerGo.
