David Peters beats Brian Green, heads-up, to take the early lead in the 2018 Poker Masters, and bank $193,200 in the process.
Six more events must come before we reach our final lap.
The runners stare at the heels of David Peters and Brian Green; two men bang in form. Two months ago while the cynical cats were brutally butchering the beautiful birds, Peters was in Jeju for the Triton Poker Series, winning an HKD 500,000 (USD 64,000) buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event for HKD 8,775,000 (USD 1,118,484). Green, while not in the same prize pool ballpark, is also in the same rich vein of form, making the final table of the $2,500 buy-in NLHE WinStar River Poker Series Main Event, finishing ninth.
Let’s take a peek at how they ended up 1-2 in this thing.
To remind you, Event #1: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em attracted 69 Entrants, and Day 1 shed that down to the final six.
Final Table Seating
1. Brian Green – 880,000
2. Cord Garcia – 1,125,000
3. David Peters – 1,585,000
4. Rainer Kempe – 2,230,000
5. Brandon Adams – 2,385,000
6. Isaac Haxton – 410,000
The Route to the Title
Level 18: 15k/30/30k – Isaac Haxton Eliminated in 6th Place
Isaac Haxton was the first casualty.
The partypoker ambassador, who makes more final tables than Hugo Boss makes buttons, moved all-in over a Brandon Adams open for 11 big blinds, and the chip leader looked him up.
Adams: As2c
Haxton: AhJc
Haxton was in great shape to double up until a second deuce hit the flop, and a third hit the river, sending the man who has won more than $19m playing live tournaments to the cash desk to collect his $41,400 bounty.
Level 19: 20k/40k/40k – Cord Garcia Eliminated in 5th Place; Peters Takes The Chip Lead
David Peters raised from the small blind, Rainer Kempe put him all-in, and Peters made the call. Both had pocket pairs, with Peters’ jacks bettering the eights of his German opponent after the dealer had finished the hand.
Then we lost Cord Garcia.
The man who beat 22,374 players in the inaugural Colossus opened to 115,000 from the button and then called an all-in from David Peters in the small blind.
Peters: A2hh
Garcia: 8c8d
Once again, the eights made an appearance in the final act of someone’s story, and once again they ended up deader than a couple of snowmen living in a greenhouse after Peters turned the Broadway straight to eliminate his opponent in fifth place.
Level 20: 25k/50k/50k – Kempe & Adams Double Up
Kempe opened to 240,000, Adams moved all-in, and Kempe made the call. This time the eights were good, as they squared off against pocket fives. Kemp moved up to 1.1m, leaving the overnight chip leader with nine big blinds.
Adams then turned those nine big blinds into 18+ when he doubled through Peters. Adams opened to 320,000 from the cutoff, and then called an all-in from Peters in the small blind. Adams was ahead at showdown, holding Ad7c against the QThh of Peters. The former Global Poker Index (GPI) Player of the Year did flop a queen, but Adams rivered an ace to take the hand.
Level 21: 30k/60k/60k – Kempe Up & Down
The action folded to Kempe on the button, and he shipped it holding AcKd, and Green called holding pocket kings in the big blind. That cooler shrank Kempe’s stack to dust, but the German doubled up twice through the chip leader, Peters, to find himself right back in the game.
Level 22: 40k/80k/80k – Adams Eliminated in 4th Place; Kempe Leaves in 3rd
Adams moved all-in from the button for 320,000, and Peters called in the big blind. Adams’ ATdd beat the 9d6c of Peters in the ensuing race. But it was only a brief respite for Adams. A few hands later, Peters moved his freight train of a stack into the middle from the cutoff, and Adams called from the small blind.
Peters: QdJh
Adams: KcJd
Adams was ahead until the board ran out with four hearts to give Peters a flush sending the Day 1 Chip Leader to the cashier to collect his $69,000 payout.
And then Peters passed some of those chips to Kempe when the pair got it in with Peters ahead ATdd>KcJd only for Kempe to hit a Jack on the river. But once again Peters would gain revenge of the ‘forever’ sort.
Peters moved all-in from the small blind holding pocket twos, and Kempe called with the snowmen, only for the board to once again run out with a four-card flush to give Peters all of Kempe’s chips, and send the Poker Masters opening event into heads-up.
Heads-Up Chip Counts
Peters – 7,560,000 (76bb)
Green – 1,070,000 (10bb)
Level 23: 50k/100k/100k – Green Draws First Blood
Green was the first to draw blood.
Peters applied the pressure by moving all-in on the first hand of heads-up play, and Green made the call. Peters held Q2dd, and Green turned over KJcc. A Jack on the flop cementing his double up.
And then Green doubled once more.
The same action ensued with Peters holding Jd8h, and Green showing up with Ah9c for the winning hand.
And then we were all square.
Green moved all-in holding KQss, and Peters made the call holding QdJs. A King on the flop bringing Green on par with the once dominant chip leader.
Level 24: 60k/120k/120k – David Peters Wins Event #1 For $193,200
Green moved all-in from the button holding pocket eights, and Peters made the easiest call of his life holding pocket kings.
Game over.
Final Table Results
1. David Peters – $193,200 (300 points)
2. Brian Green – $138,000 (210 points)
3. Rainer Kempe – $89,700 (150 points)
4. Brandon Adams – $69,000 (120 points)
5. Cord Garcia – $55,200 (90 points)
6. Isaac Haxton – $41,400 (60 points)
