The most magnificent and monstrous online poker series ever held on 888Poker has ended with one of their own taking down the Main Event.
The $8m GTD Superstorm ended with the treasure reserved for the winner of the $320 buy-in, $1m GTD Main Event going the way of 888Poker Ambassador, Dominik Nitsche. The bearded beast from Edinburgh took down the 3,196-entrant field to capture the $121,146 first prize after the final four players had cut a deal.
The 480-event series came to an end after 567-players returned for a Day 2 that lasted less than eight hours. Nitsche had to put the work in, starting the day with seven big blinds. But it was a decent shift, with his $121,146 score ranking as his second-highest online score behind the $188,140 pocketed last year for finishing fifth in the $25,000 High Roller during the World Championships of Online Poker (WCOOP) on PokerStars.
Nitsche, who won the event on his 30th birthday, has earned more than $18.6m playing live tournaments, including four World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and a World Poker Tour (WPT) Main Event title, and has been an 888Poker ambassador since the summer of 2015.
Known for his powerhouse performance on the live felt, he has always held his own playing online in both tournaments and cash games. PocketFives shows him having more than $6.3m in online multi-table tournament (MTT) earnings.
Nitsche is the founder of the personal poker training app DTO Poker, and his team is currently working on a Super High Roller tier. Nitsche is no stranger to the scene collecting a series of results in the high stakes realm including more than $4m for taking down the €111,111 One Drop at the 2017 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE).
Final Table Results
Dominik Nitsche – $121,146*
GarbinaD – $112,609*
Artemka168 – $106,194*
MrMarley83 – $80,551*
Kistkutya23 – $45,000
DreamLikeMe – $30,000
Dulek_jason – $25,000
Eduardo Rocha – $20,000
Joolius – $15,000
*Indicates a four-way deal
Another round-up from the world of PokerStars and their Spring Championships of Online Poker (SCOOP), and Dominik ‘Bounatirou’ Nitsche has won his first-ever title.
The four-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, and World Poker Tour (WPT) Champions Club member, is now a SCOOP Champ after winning the 956-entrant Event #87: $530 No Limit Hold’em.
Nitsche has earned more than $5.8m playing online multi-table tournaments (MTTs) through more than 100 victories, and this ranks as his fourth most substantial score. His personal best remains the $188,139.58 earned for finishing 5/90 in a $25,000 No Limit Hold’em event during last year’s World Championships of Online Poker (WCOOP).
Known more for his live exploits, the ‘DTO Poker’ creator currently ranks number 2 in the German online poker rankings on PocketFives behind ‘nilsef.’
Here are the results.
Results
Dominik ‘Bounatirou’ Nitsche – $82,365.40
Geokarak – $58,712.90
tdr01 – $41,852.60
Easterdamn – $29,834.00
Sektor17 – $21,266.70
RUMUKULUS – $15,159.65
boerni21 – $10,806.35
PSMozak – $7,703.15
MarioKJ – $5,491.05
Patrick Leonard Wins Another One
Moving swiftly on from the German #2 to the World #3, and Patrick ‘pads1161’ Leonard has been handing out more black eyes than Iron Mike Tyson these past few weeks.
Less than a fortnight ago, Leonard bested a 117-entrant field to collect the $52,605.66 first prize in Event #53: $2,100 Pot Limit Omaha 6-Max, and over the weekend he collected his second title of the series, beating a 460-entrant field in Event #93: $215 No Limit Hold’em Turbo w Rebuys. Leonard earned $41,808.65 for the win. Andras ‘probirs’ Nemeth finished fourth.
Let’s not forget that sandwiched between those two titles came a $1.6m score on GGPoker.
Here are the results.
Patrick ‘pads1161’ Leonard – $41,808.65
julioassp – $30,124.96
88IG8OSS – $21,706.55
Andras ‘probirs’ Nemeth – $15,640.67
Nelisschuif7 – $11,269.87
mararthur1 – $8,120.51
MiracleQ – $5,851.24
TheLipoFund – $4,216.12
Picture the moment.
Your pocket sixes square up to AK. You stand on tippy-toes reaching over the table, trying to scare the deck into delivering an aceless, kingless flop, turn and river.
As the dealer burns and turns you hear nothing but the delightful sounds of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, as each street produces a playing card that goes according to the movie script you have played over in your mind since the day you fell in love with the game.
And then, just like that, there are no more cards to come.
No more starving children, no need to fight with the rats with whiskers like fencing foils over the mouldy bread.
You’ve won Event #9: €100,000 No-Limit Hold’em King’s Super High Roller at the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) for €2,624,340. The trumpets blow a fanfare, the geese break V formation overhead to spell your name, and the photographer asks you to pose for a photograph your kids will one-day point to and say proudly, “That’s my Dad.”
That’s what happened to Martin Kabrhel this week.
Only, if you look at that winner’s photo, you can be pardoned for thinking he has just realised his Type 1 Diabetes has run amok, and underneath the poker table, someone is amputating both of his legs without anaesthetic.
Cheer up, Martin, it might never happen.
Although it did, didn’t it?
Kabrhel conquered a field of 95-entrants in the most substantial buy-in event at the 2018 WSOPE, 37 fewer than attended the 2017 event, which Dominik Nitsche took down to register his most significant prize to date. And talking of Nitsche, he was one of a handful of players who put in a decent shift.
The German star came close to defending his title, finishing fifth. Last year’s third-place finisher, Mikita Badziakouski finished fourth, and Michael Addamo continued his superb run of form, finishing eighth a few days shy of picking up the win in the €25k High Roller.
There was also a personal best for Julian Thomas (€1,116,308), a young man Nitsche told me is the next big German star in the making. Thomas exited in third at the hands of the man who seemingly has control of the high stakes jukebox, David Peters.
The American entered the heads-up phase with Kabrhel with a 3.5:1 chip lead, but the Czech star evened things up when his flush extracted value from Peters’ top pair, and then the duo got it in with the 66 v AK hand I went a little over the top with at the start of this thing.
According to the scribes at PokerNews, Peters’ runner-up position, and fourth seven-figure score of the year will likely see him replace Alex Foxen at the top of the Global Poker Index (GPI) World Rankings.
Kabrhel is unlikely ever to reach those dizzy heights, but he did overtake Martin Staszko at the top of the Czech All-Time Live Tournament Rankings after his win, and what I love about Kabrhel is his penchant to playing anything.
With most high rollers choosing to join the WSOPE fray at the bitter end. Kabrhel was there at the start of September when the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) hit town, winning both a €299 and a €550 buy-in event to take his total of WSOPC gold rings up to four.
When Kabrhel sits down to play poker in the King’s Casino, it feels like his front room. This time last year, he was winning his first gold bracelet after overcoming 325-entrants in the €1,100 No-Limit Hold’em Super Turbo Bounty event for €53,557.
Now he has two.
And if that’s not worth smiling about, I don’t know what is.
Final Table Results
Martin Kabrhel – €2,624,340
David Peters – €1,621,960
Julian Thomas – €1,116,308
Mikita Badziakouski – €789,612
Dominik Nitsche – €574,466
Jan Schwippert – €430,217
Adrian Mateos – €331,943
Michael Addamo – €264,110
Three other players were brewing the late night coffee in this one including the 2017 Super High Roller Bowl winner, Christoph Vogelsang (10th), the man who wins everything except this one, Steve O’Dwyer (13th), and the former Poker Masters Champion, Steffen Sontheimer (15th).
The skinny redhead burns; the scent of sulphur sends Puff the Magic Dragon flying through your nostrils, and before you know it a discarded match on a hike through the Californian hills leads to horse owners trotting them down a billowing freeway in a bid to save them from becoming toast.
Wildfire.
It spreads rapidly, given the right circumstances.
Short-Deck No-Limit Hold’em Poker, anyone?
Born in the private Asian cash games, and given centre stage at the Triton Poker Series events in Montenegro and Jeju, Short-Deck is fast becoming as cool as squid ink eyeballs.
PokerStars are about to add it to their lobby.
America’s Cardroom, the same.
And yesterday, for the first time since Homo Sapiens left Africa to look for a football to kick about, the game showed up in a Western live arena.
The 2018 Poker Masters is now four events old.
The latest, Event #4: $10,000 Short Deck Poker, gave players three bullets worth 100,000 each, and for most of them, a new concept to master.
The event attracted 55 entrants, and there were six left at the end of Day 1.
Final Table Standings
Seat 1: Dominik Nitsche – 4,980,000
Seat 2: Ryan Tosoc – 3,025,000
Seat 3: Maurice Hawkins – 1,025,000
Seat 4: Cary Katz – 830,000
Seat 5: Isaac Haxton – 1,775,000
Seat 6: Andrew Robl – 4,865,000
I’m pulling my finger from my mouth and holding it in the air when I say only Cary Katz and Andrew Robl have experienced this format of poker.
Let’s take a look at the highlights.
The Run-In Hawkins Becomes a Contender.
Maurice Hawkins tripled up when all-in holding pocket kings against the QTdd of Ryan Tosoc, and the Tc9s of the chip leader Dominik Nitsche. The Cowboys managed to run through a five card town lined with Gattling guns without receiving a single shot, and Hawkins emerged the other end as a contender.
Dominik Nitsche Eliminated in 6th Place.
Oh boy, the beauty of Short-Deck.
Nitsche went from the chip leader to first to bust after clashing with Isaac Haxton in the following hand.
Nitsche moved all-in for 1,440,000, holding pocket jacks, and Haxton made the call with pocket tens. Unbeknown to the pair, Andrew Robl had folded a ten, leaving Haxton with a single out heading to the flop, but he didn’t need it. The dealer burned and turned the allotted number of cards, handing Haxton a straight, and we had a new chip leader, and only five players remaining. Nitsche earned $33,000 for his endeavours.
Hawkins Doubles
Hawkins looked down to see the rockets and raised to 800,000. Ryan Tosoc made the call holding T9ss. The dealer put the Td9d6h flop onto the felt to give Tosoc the lead with the two pair hand. Tosoc moved all-in, and Hawkins made the call and was at risk of finding something else to do. Then the dealer placed the 6c down on the fourth-street, giving Hawkins a stronger two pair hand, and the double up.
Cary Katz Eliminated in 5th Place.
Katz limped into the action holding KQhh. Sitting in the next pew was Haxton, who moved all-in, and Katz called what little he had left. Haxton turned over AdTc, and despite Katz taking the lead after flopping a second queen, Haxton turned an ace and rivered a ten to bust the man who brought the game to the ARIA from his recent trip to Jeju.
A Double Decker For Tosoc.
Tired of the taste of metal in his mouth, Tosoc reminded his tablemates that he was a force to be reckoned with after doubling up twice, firstly through Robl: AT>AQ, and then Haxton AJ>KQ.
Andrew Robl Eliminated in 4th Place.
Then we lost the most experienced Short-Deck proponent at the final table in Andrew Robl.
The first blow came when Robl saw a Kd8h6c flop with both him and Hawkins searching for a straight with Robl holding 9d7s, and Hawkins sitting behind T7cc. The turn card was the 9h filling Hawkins up, and both players checked. The river card was the, Ah, to give Robl a weaker straight (the ace plays like a five). Hawkins checked, Robl bet 900,000, Hawkins raised to 2,400,000, Robl called and looked as sick as a walnut left in bathwater overnight when he saw the nut hand.
That hand saw Robl drop to 400,000 in chips.
Robl would double against Haxton when his K7hh turned a boat against AT, and then his luck ran out when he moved all-in holding T9o and Tosoc also moved all-in holding QJo. The battle of the short stacks went the way of Tosoc who flopped trips and turned a full house to seal the deal. Robl walked away with $55,000.
Chip Counts
Maurice Hawkins – 7,840,000
Ryan Tosoc – 4,995,000
Isaac Haxton – 3,665,000
Haxton Doubles Through Tosoc.
Haxton limped into the hand holding pocket queens, and then called after Tosoc jammed AK. Broadway decided to shut down for five cards, and Haxton gathered up a chip stack capable of winning this thing.
Ryan Tosoc Eliminated in 3rd Place.
Tosoc moved all-in for 490,000 holding ATo, and Haxton made the call with AJo, and there were no flags of victory for Tosoc once the dealer had done his job.
We were heads-up.
Tosoc banked $77,000 for his troubles.
Heads-Up
Haxton won the first four hands to take a 2:1 chip lead.
Hawkins fought back like a tiger to take the lead.
Then Haxton doubled up.
Hawkins limped into the pot holding pocket queens, and then called after Haxton moved all-in holding AJo. A second ace appeared on the turn smelling all fresh and fancy, and Haxton took a big lead.
Then it was Hawkins’ time to double up, after the pair both turned a straight in a limped pot, only for Haxton to find himself staring up at a loftier hand.
And then it was over.
Hawkins looked down to see 97dd and moved all-in. Haxton peeled back the top of his cards, saw an ace and a queen, and thought, ‘What the hell.’ The dealer planted the Ad8h8c onto the flop, improving Haxton’s lead, but giving Hawkins a straight draw. The Kc reduced Hawkins’ odds. The Qh gave him zero odds. It was all over. Ike Haxton was our champion.
Final Table Results
Isaac Haxton – $176,000 (300)
Maurice Hawkins – $115,500 (210)
Ryan Tosoc – $77,000 (150)
Andrew Robl – $55,000 (120)
Cary Katz – $44,000 (90)
Dominik Nitsche – $33,000 (60)
Only 18 people in poker’s history have won more live tournament dollars than the $19,313,033 that has passed through Ike Haxton’s bank accounts, and yet, despite making more final tables than an Ikea table maker, this victory was only the fifth of his illustrious career.
It was also the first time he has ever played Short Deck.
Let’s hope this success gives him the confidence to try the more significant buy-in events on future Triton Poker Series events.
Here is the current state of affairs with three tournaments remaining.
Poker Masters Leaderboard
– Brandon Adams – 510 points
– Isaac Haxton – 480
– David Peters – 300
– Keith Lehr – 300
– Jared Jaffee – 210
– Jonathan Depa – 210
– Brian Green – 210
– Cary Katz – 210
– Maurice Hawkins – 210
Sam Trickett is among the top pros sitting pretty after Day One of the Triton SHR Series Main Event. Others have had to rebuy. The Paul Phua Poker team reports
Day One of the Triton Super High Roller Series Montenegro Main Event has just gone, and what a day it was! Some of the biggest names in poker were among the 47 (including re-entries) so far who have stumped up the HK$1m (US$128k) entry fee, making for some exciting poker tournament action and some very difficult tables.
At one point Paul Phua found himself seated in the most unfortunate position of all: with the young internet legend Timofey “Trueteller” Kuznetsov to his left, and veteran five-time WSOP bracelet winner John Juanda to the left of that! Perhaps it’s not surprising that Paul Phua was knocked out twice during the day. Undaunted, he has bought in a third and final time for Day Two! Top pros who suffered an early knock-out, and then bought in again, include Steve O’Dwyer, Wai Kin Yong and David Peters. Even the recent Triton SHR Series 6-Max Montenegro champion, Fedor Holz, busted out and rebought. And despite the tournament experience born of two bracelets and more than 33 cashes at the WSOP, Dominik Nitsche was forced to buy in three times just as Paul Phua was.
Qiang Wang, the million-chip man
There is just one million-chip man going into Day Two: Qiang Wang. Top pros with significantly bigger stacks than the 250k they began with include Mikita Badziakouski (825k), Sam Trickett (715k) and Steffen Sontheimer (600k). Montenegrin local hero Predrag Lekovic, who came third in the Triton SHR Series 6-Max warm-up event, is sitting in tenth place with 357k. Lekovic busted Timofey “Trueteller” Kuznetsoz out of the tournament on the very last hand of the day!
Registration remains open until the beginning of Day Two. The big question is, will Tom Dwan make a last-minute appearance? Or is he too caught up in the exciting side action of high-stakes cash games at the Maestral Resort and Casino?
Interviews for the Paul Phua Poker School
Once the tournament broke up for the night, the Paul Phua Poker team filmed even more video interviews with the top pros. We’re really excited by the great strategy advice they have given us, as well as their insights into the life of a professional high-stakes poker player. We can’t wait to get all the footage edited so we can share it with you in the Paul Phua Poker School.
In the meantime, follow @PaulPhuaPoker on Twitter for updates on the Triton SHR Series Main Event.
No one can tell the future, least of all in poker. But there is one thing we can say for sure: with some of the world’s top poker pros competing, it’s going to be a thriller.
