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Tom “durrrr” Dwan was having a relatively lackluster year on the virtual felt until he logged on over the past seven days. Dwan won more than $740,000, according to HighstakesDB.

The New Jersey native is now up $1 million on 2013. He logs on from Macau, an area where some of the highest stake live games in the world run. Dwan is up untold millions there.

Recently Dwan and Dan “jungleman12” Cates restarted their defunct Durrrr Challenge. The two haven’t logged many hands since the restart, though.

In addition to Dwan, Gus Hansen put together a strong week. He won more than $340,000, which is a good sign for the Dane. He has been stuck in a downswing for months.

Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond and Kagome Kagome also had great weeks, each winning more than $500,000. Below is a look at the updated 2013 rankings:

Winners

Alexander “PostflopAction” Kostritsyn: $3.7 million
Viktor “Isildur1” Blom: $2.6 million
Phil “OMGClayAiken” Galfond: $2.3 million
Patrik “FinddaGrind” Antonius: $2.2 million
Ben “Bttech86” Tollerene: $1.7 million

Losers

Gus Hansen: -$2.4 million
Ben “Sauce1234” Sulsky: -$1.7 million
Phil “Polarizing” Ivey: -$1.6 million
patpatpanda: -$1.3 million
Scott “mastrblastr” Seiver: -$1.2 million



Online Poker: Tom Dwan Wins $700K This Week

US pro Joseph Cheong has won the Asian Poker Tour Manila Millions, after defeating a field of 18 players on his way to capturing the title, and collecting the HK $10.428m ($1,343,122) first-place prize.

The HK$1m buy-in ($130k) re-buy tournament atracted a small but talented array of pros to create a prize pool worth HK$24m ($3,100,000). Amongst those players competing in the high-roller event were the likes of Joe Hachem, Sam Trickett, Philipp Gruissem, David Steicke, Andrew Robl, David Benefield and Winfred Yu.

By the time the final table of seven had been reached, however, a further three players had to be eliminated before the money places were paid. The first player to go home empty handed was UK’s Thomas McDonald in 7th place, followed by Norway’s Tore Lukashaugen in 6th, before US pro David Benefield became the bubble-boy in 5th holding A-K to Peter Chan’s pocket queens.

With Benefields departure, the four remaining players; Joseph Cheong, Richard Yong, Peter Chan and Paul Phua had at least guaranteed themselves a minimum of HK$3.151m ($405,000) for their efforts. Paul Phua (4d-2d) then collected that sum after going all-in on Ad-8d-8c-7c board only to walk into the full-house of Joseph Cheong holding 8-7.

Joseph Cheong (Ks-2s) followed up by making a higher flush than Peter Chan (Qs-6s) on a 6s-7h-4s-5d-3s board to send the Canadian home in 3rd for ($531,040). One more hand was all it would then take before Malaysia’s Richard Yong found himself all-in holding A-K to Cheong’s A-10. Unfortunately for Yong, though, the board rolled out 10-9-3-2-4 to consign him to a runner-up finish worth us$843,379, while Joseph Cheong walked away with the $1,343,122 top prize. With his latest victory in the Phillipines, 2010 November Niner Cheong now takes his live career earnings to $7,981,768.

The final table payouts were as follows:

1. Joseph Cheong HKD $10.428m ($1,343,122)
2. Richard Yong HKD $6.548m ($843,379)
3. Peter Chan HKD $4.123m ($531,040)
4. Paul Phua HKD $3.151m ($405,847)





Joseph Cheong Wins $1.34m At Manilla Super High Roller Event

Pieter de Korver Wins EPT Berlin Grand FinalDutchman Pieter de Korver has just won the EPT Berlin Grand Final, after defeating a field of 911 players over four days to capture the title, and collect the €145,400 ($190,594) first place prize.

Over a live poker career stretching back almost five years, Pieter de Korver has made numerous final tables, with his most notable victory coming in 2009 at the €10k EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo, where he beat a 935 player field to claim the €2.3m ($3,024,167) top prize. Following his latest win in Germany, Pieter de Korver now takes his career earnings to $3,865,391.

The €1,100 buy-in event took place at the Grand Hyatt Berlin, and created a prize pool worth a huge €883,670 ($1,158,33). Amongst the notable names making the 112 player money bubble was George Clyde-Smith in 92nd (€2,000), Aaron Lim in 74th (€2,200),Paul Testud in 72nd (€2,500), Erich Kollmann in 51st (€2,800), Ismael Bojang in 44th (€3,200) and Team PokerStars Pro Max Lykov in 39th (€3,700).

By the time the eight-seated final table had been reached, Russia’s Anatoly Filatov was the chip leader, with Pieter de Korver far behind in fifth place. Eventually, however, Pieter de Korver made it through to three-handed play at which point a deal way struck between Anatoly Filatov (€126,000), Pieter de Korver (€115,400) and Sebastian Gohr (€93,600) with a further €30,000 earmarked for the ultimate winner.

Pieter de Korver would then go on to face Sebastian Gohr heads-up with the final hand coming after Korver was dealt A-Q to his opponent’s Q-10. With both players all-in, the board subsequently rolled out J-4-6-2-2 to consign Germany’s Sebastian Gohr to a runner-up finish, while Pieter de Korver claimed the famous victory.

The final table payouts were as follows:

1. Pieter de Korver (Netherlands) €145,400
2. Sebastian Gohr (Germany) €93,600
3. Anatoly Filatov (Russia) €126,000
4. Jonas Garstick (Switzerland) €53,000
5. Esben Guenther (Norway) €41,000
6. Erik Scheidt (Germany) €31,000
7. Gokhan Onal (Germany) €23,000
8. Vladimir Geshkenbein (Russia) €16,870



Pieter de Korver Wins EPT Berlin Grand Final

Kevin Allen has won the Dusk till Dawn Monte Carlo, after defeating a field of 504 players over three days on his way to claiming the title, and collecting the £120,000 first place prize.

The £1,100 buy-in tournament attracted a whole slew of pros to the Nottingham club all vying for a chance to take down the half a million pound guaranteed Monte Carlo. Amongst the notable names cashing in at the event was Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott in 25th (£,3250), Colburn “Rastafish” Colburn in 20th (£3,250), IveyPoker Pro John Eames in 19th (£,3250), Tom Rutter in 18th (£4,250), Mitchell Johnson in 15th (£5,500) and Ben Jackson in 13th (£6,750).

By the time the final table of nine was reached, James Atkin was the chip leader on a 4.5m stack, followed by Rick Trigg on 3.6m and Kevin Allen on 2.6m. Also competing at the final table was Jamie Rutherford, Ben Jenkins, Emyr Lewis, Tim Chung and Lee Williamson with just 430k in chips.

Kevin Allen (K-Q) then proceeded to eliminate Joseph Cahill (K-9) in 9th for £10,000, with his next elimination coming during four-handed play also holding K-Q, but this time against the pocket fives of Jamie Rutherford. A king on the flop and turn then sealed Rutherford’s fate, who subsequently collected £30,000 for his deep run.

After Richard Trigg (K-J) dispatched James Atkin (5-5) to the rail in 3rd (£45,000), the heads-up phase of the competition got underway with Allen holding a chip advantage over his final opponent. Eventually their exciting battle came to an end with Trigg (A-K) calling Kevin Allen’s (10-9) all-in on 10-9-A-4-6 board only to see the bad news.

The final table payouts were as follows:

1st Kevin Allen £120,000
2nd Richard Trigg £70,000
3rd James Atkin £45,000
4th Rutherford £30,000
5th Jenkins £23,750
6th Lee Williamson £18,000
7th Emyr Wyn Lewis £15,000
8th Timothy Chung £12,000
9th Joseph Cahill £10,000





Kevin Allen Triumphs At DTD Monte Carlo

Last Monday night Blair Hinkle became the first player in WSOP Circuit history to win the same Main Event twice at Council Bluff’s Horseshoe Casino. Hinkle beat off 367 entrants to win the $1,675 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event and take home $121,177, his second WSOP gold ring and automatic entry into the WSOP National Championship.

Hinkle beat a field of players which included his older brother and WSOP gold bracelet champion Grant.

Late in Day 2 Grant and Blair kept coming up against each other regardless of table changes and re-draws. In the end Grant exited the tournament in 11th place.

The final table included two-time gold ring champion Mark Bonsack as well as players such as Sterling Savill, Lance Garcia and Brendan Waite. After a three hour heads-up battle Blair eventually defeated Waite to win the event.

In the last five years Hinkle has won two gold ring championships, a WSOP gold bracelet and over $1.2 million in career earnings. He now has a place in the National Championship, a $1 million season-ending freeroll which is set aside for the top players who have had success at each of the Circuit’s 20 stops.





Blair Hinkle wins WSOP Circuit Event for Second Time - Online Casino Archives

The final table bubble was grueling but the opposite could be said about the actual final table of the Season 9 European Poker Tour Berlin Main Event. Daniel Pidun destroyed his opponents and took home the title after just six hours of play. There were not many big blinds in play during the final table, and Pidun utilized his stack to the fullest after picking up a bunch of chips at the start. Eventually, nobody could stop the German, who finished ninth in this event two years ago and 17th last year.

Final Table Results
Place Player Prize
1 Daniel Pidun €880,000
2 Robert Haigh €531,000
3 Lasse Frost €325,000
4 Pascal Vos €255,000
5 Alexander Helbig €202,200
6 Roman Herold €155,000
7 Julian Thomas €110,000
8 Roman Korenev €77,000


Read more: Daniel Pidun Wins European Poker Tour Berlin Main Event for ?880,000 | PokerNews

Canada’s Griffin ‘Flush_Entity’ Benger has won the EPT Berlin High Roller, after defeating a field of 107 players on his way to capturing the title, and collecting the €429,000 ($562,343) first place prize.

With his latest victory in the German capital, the 28 year old now takes his live career earnings to $825,482, to go with the the $4,375,103 he has won playing online. Talking about what the title means to him, the recent Ivey Poker recruit said: “I dream of being on a big final table. I wake up in cold sweats thinking about it, literally…I came into the day third of seven and anything but first just wasn’t OK for me. I just had to win and things went my way.”

The €10k re-buy high roller event took place at Grand Hyatt Berlin, and attracted a whole slew of pros all vying for a slice of the €1,372,000 ($1,798,448) prize pool. The final table then saw a tough line-up, which included the likes of Team PokerStars Pro Max Lykov, WSOP APAC bracelet winner Aaron Lim, WSOP bracelet winner Scott Seiver, and of course, Griffin Benger.

Aaron Lim (K-J) then proceeded to eliminate a short-stacked Martin Kabrhel (A-2) in 5th for €82,300, before Griffin Benger (A-9) did likewise to Max Lykov (A-5) in 4th (€102,900). Benger (A-J) followed up by dispatching Philippe Ktorza (K-J) to the rail in 3rd (€144,000) to take a massive chip advantage into the heads-up phase of the competition against Lim.

Under pressure from the start, Lim eventually, Lim felt compelled to shove his short-stack holding K-2, and after Griffin Benger called with Q-J, the board rolled out Q-10-A-K to make Benger the straight and hand him the title.

The final table payouts were as follows:

1 – Griffin Benger €429,000
2 – Aaron Lim €240,100
3 – Philippe Ktorza €144,000
4 – Max Lykov €102,900
5 – Martin Kabrhel €82,300
6 – Joni Jouhkimainen €68,600
7 – James Mitchell €54,900
8 – Scott Seiver €41,200


Canada's 'Flush_Entity' Wins EPT High Roller For $562,343

That would be nice to win that money

After just six levels of play on Day 3, the final table of the 2013 Pokerstars-net APPT Cebu Main Event is set with Jim Collopy leading the way at the Waterfront Airport Casino and Hotel. Collopy, a highly-regarded online player, is well positioned to win the top prize of PHP 3,948,000 ($96,646) and claim his second major live title of the year after winning his first World Series of Poker bracelet in Australia last month.

Day 3 began with 25 players, and the money bubble was looming as only the top 20 finishers would secure a payday. The action was conservative from the get-go and it took more than three hours to burst the money bubble. Ivan Tan received the unfortunate honor of bubble boy after he moved in with {J-Diamonds}{J-Spades}and was called by Milan Gurung who had {A-Clubs}{Q-Diamonds}. The {Q-Clubs} would come on the river to send Tan to the rail.

Although there was a slight stall in action at several points, there were times when eliminations occurred in a flurry. Among those who fell just shy of the final table were Christian Friedrich (20th), Ying Zhao (18th), Lingling Teng (16th), Daniel Francis (13th), Kevin Zhang (12th), Milan Gurung (11th) and Andrei Kaigorodtcev (10th).

2013 APPT Cebu Main Event Final Table
Seat Player Chips
1 Jae Kyung Sim 371,000
2 Bawod Hyunshik Yun 528,000
3 Anthony Wright 412,000
4 Michael Allmordt 34,000
5 Daniel Spence 450,000
6 Magnus Karlsson 221,000
7 Jim Collopy 605,000
8 Andrew Nguyen 316,000
9 Timo Kohijoki 148,000

After coming into the day trailing Daniel Spence, Collopy went on an all-out attack, eliminating players seemingly at will. He took out Francis with a rivered straight, and then out-kicked Zhang when both players moved all in preflop holding and ace. He took out his third player in a row when he out-flopped Gurung holding {Q-Hearts}{J-Hearts}, when he was up against {A-Diamonds}{10-Clubs}. He quickly moved up to 750,000 in chips, which towered over his nearest rival, before ending the day with 605,000.

Bawod Hyunshik (528,000), Spence (450,000) and Anthony Wright (412,000) are Collopy's closest rivals entering the final table, and Jae Kyung Sim (371,000) and Andrew Nguyen (316,000) will also be in contention when the final nine battle it out for the following payouts.
Place Payout (PHP) Payout (USD)
1 PHP 3,948,000 $96,646
2 PHP 2,538,000 $62,130
3 PHP 1,480,000 $36,230
4 PHP 1,128,000 $27,613
5 PHP 917,000 $22,448
6 PHP 705,000 $17,258
7 PHP 564,000 $13,807
8 PHP 458,000 $11,212
9 PHP 352,920 $8,639


Read more: 2013 PokerStars-net APPT Cebu Day 3: Jim Collopy Leads Final Table | PokerNews

After four days of solid action, Korea’s Jae Kyung Sim has won the Asia-Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Cebu Main Event to capture the title, and collect the PHP3.948m (US$96,646) first place prize.

By the time the tournament reached its final table of nine, Jim Collopy was out in front as the chip leader, with Jae Kyung Sim lying in fifth place. Jae Kyung Sim then proceeded to eliminate six of his eight opponents on his way to winning the Phillipines based event.

First to leave the arena was Andrew Nguyen in 9th (US$8,639), after running his A-Q into the A-K of Sim; followed by Michael Allmrodt in 8th ($11,212), whose K-6 foundered against Sim’s Q-J.

Continuing his steamroll of the final table, Sim (A-10) took care of Timo Kohijoki (J-10) in 7th ($13,807); before then picking up the pocket rockets to dispatch Bawod Hyunshik Yun (A-K) to the rail in 6th for $17,258. Two hours later, he was joined on the side lines by Daniel Spence in 5th ($22,448) and then start of day chip leader Jim Collopy in 4th ($27,613), to usher in three-handed play,

Anthony Wright with pocket sixes then lost a pre-flop all-in against Sim (A-K) to bow out in 3rd for $36,230, and as the heads-up phase of the competition got underway Jae Kyung Sim held a 2.548m chip adantage over Magnus Karlsson on just 537k.

Three hands later, and it was all over with both Sim (8-6) and Karlsson (10-6) all-in on a 4-7-5 flop with the turn and river proving no help to the Swede. Karlsson subsequently picked-up $62,130 for his impressive run in the tournament, while Jae Kyung Sim was crowned the Asia-Pacific Poker Tour Cebu Main Event champion.

The final table payouts were as follows:

1st: Jae Kyung Sim – $96,646
2nd: Magnus Karlsson – $62,130
3rd: Anthony Wright – $36,230
4th: Jim Collopy – $27,613
5th: Daniel Spence – $22,448
6th: Bawod Hyunshik Yun – $17,258
7th: Timo Kohijoki – $13,807
8th: Michael Allmrodt – $11,212
9th: Andrew Nguyen – $8,639


Jae Kyung Sim Wins 2013 APPT Cebu

With the European Poker Tour Grand FInale underway in Monaco, the EPT announced the schedule for its 10th anniversary season.

The 2013-2014 tour runs from August through May, kicking off in Barcelona on August 28. All the familiar spots remain on the tour, though some of the dates have been flip-flopped.

This year’s EPT London has been moved up to October, switching dates with EPT Sanremo, which will run in April 2014. The event in Berlin is slated for March, after having run in April as the last stop before this year’s Grand Finale.

“Players at the EPT will see that we have made a deliberate decision to focus on stability,” EPT President Edgar Stuchly said in a statement. “During a successful Season 9 where we decided to host fewer and bigger events incorporating the national tours, we listened to an enormous amount of player feedback who valued less time spent travelling, and more time spent playing. Since the Sanremo tournament will be held immediately before the EPT Grand Final in April, it will mean players can spend the whole month of April on the beautiful Riviera.”

The new season includes €10,000/£10,000 High Roller events at Barcelona, London, Prague, Deauville, Berlin and Sanremo, plus €50,000/£50,000 events in Barcelona and London. The PCA and Grand Final will both host a $25,000/€25,000 High Roller and $100,000/€100,000 Super High Roller.

Online satellites for Season 10 start May 15.

Though details about the preliminary events have yet to be released, each stop on the tour has a €5,300 main event, with the exception of the €10,300 2014 PCA main event in the Bahamas and the €10,600 main event for next year’s grand finale in Monaco.

The events are typically streamed live on the EPTlive Webcasts via PokerStars.tv, though the airing dates for Season 10 have yet to be released. That schedule is expected to be posted on europeanpokertour-com/tv-




EPT Schedule for 2013/2014 Announced | Pokerfuse Online Poker News

Nicola Sasso has won the Italian Poker Tour Sanremo Grand Final, after defeating a field of 428 players on his way to capturing the title, and collecting the €185,000 first place prize.

By the time the €2,200 buy-in tournament reached its final table of eight, Nicola Sasso was the chip leader, followed close behind by US pro and Team Ivey member David Peters.

Domenico Benvenuto (A-A) then looked good to double-up against Nicola Sasso (A-K), but after the board rolled out 3-K-J-J-K, he found himself consigned to the rail in 7th for €24,900. David Peters (A-Q) subsequently took care of Jeremie Sarda (A-J) in 5th (€41,500), before Nicola Sasso (6-6) hit a set on a 9-6-7-5-7 board to eliminate Russian Valeri Savov (K-9) in 4th for €62,000.

Continuing his assault on the final table, Nicola Sasso (K-Q) then knocked-out former professional football player Alessandro Monticciolo (K-J) in 3rd (€83,000), to go heads-up against USA’s David Peters. Despite Sasso having two million more in chips at the start of heads-up, the two players decided to set aside €155,000 each and play for the remaining €30,000. Eventually, the final hand saw Sasso (A-10) and Peters (A-2) all-in pre-flop, with a 10 on the flop sealing the deal for Nicola Sasso.

The final table payouts were as follows:

1: Nicola Sasso — €185,000
2: David Peters — €155,000
3: Alessandro Monticciolo — €83,000
4: Valeri Savov — €62,000
5: Jeremie Sarda — €41,500
6: David Taborsky — €33,200
7: Domenico Benvenuto — €24,900
8: Daniele Scatragli — €16,600

Commenting on what proved to be a highly successful poker tournament series, tournament director Marco Cambiaso, said: “The numbers have rewarded us. The big influx of poker players have enjoyed the diversified gambling and tournaments on offer. Many have already confirmed their presence at the IPT in July.”



Nicola Sasso Wins Italian Poker Tour San Remo For

The last tournament Jason Mercier won was the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic $100k High Roller Event in December, 2011, for $709,767. Now the Team PokerStars Pro has just broken his 15 month cold streak, after taking down the EPT Monaco €2,150 Open-Face Chinese Poker event for €48,000 ($62,860).

The 26 year old Florida pro only entered the tournament after flying in last minute by helicopter to play. Mercier then joined a tough 52 player field which included such notable pros as Shaun Deeb, David Benyamine, Luke Schwartz and Scott Seiver.

Mercier subsequently progressed all the way to the final table , where he managed to overcome Joseph Cheong (6th for €6,800), Alex Kravchencko (5th for €9,300) and Victor Ramdin in 4th (€12,700), before eventually defeating Russian Yakov Onuchin heads-up, to claim the title.

Commenting later on his victory, Jason Mercier told PokerListings; “It definitely wasn’t easy, very tough final table, the points got really high and I ran very good in the end. Both of the Russian guys that I played against played very well and you know it was tough final and I was just happy that was able to win. You know you get tired of playing Hold’em or Omaha over, over and over and it’s really nice to have different tournaments and OFC is a new fad in poker so it’s fun to be able to play it also.”

With his win at the Open-Face Chinese Poker tournament in Monaco, Mercier now takes his live career earnings to $8,228,390, making him 31st overall on poker’s ‘All Time Money List.’ Mercier cashed in at his first tournament back in 2008 and every year since managed to win seven figure scores until last year when he won just $523,587.

“I can honestly say that 2012 was pretty brutal for me. It was my first losing year as a professional poker player,” wrote Mercier in a PokerStars blog.

This year, Mercier has set himself the goal of reaching at least $1 million in tournament cashes, and now has $117,432 to his credit. The top pro may have a way to go before he reaches his lofty target, but with the World Series of Poker starting on May 29th, he will have plenty of opportunities to add to his tally.





Jason Mercier Wins EPT Monaco Event #2 For $62k

According to tracking data from HighstakesDB, Ben Sulsky won more than $1.3 million from Viktor Blom over the past 24 hours or so, in one of the most epic matches of the year.

Blom reportedly got off to a quick start in their session, winning $300,000. However, Sulsky quickly turned things around across the four tables, and within a few hours was up more than $1 million. The pair were playing nosebleed stakes of $400-$800 pot-limit Omaha.

Sulsky’s lead didn’t hold, as within 1,000 hands Blom had put things back to about even. Then Sulsky went on a huge heater, bringing his profits for the match back over $1 million.

When it was all said and done, Sulsky finished up $1.37 million.

According to HighstakesDB, there were 130 six-figure pots in the ferocious session, with the largest being a $400,000 cooler where Sulsky flopped top set against Blom’s bottom set on a pretty dry flop of KHeart Suit 10Diamond Suit 3Spade Suit. All the money went in right then.

Blom’s horrific day came just a day after he won $1 million.

Sulsky was one of the biggest losers on the year until crushing the Swede. The New Hampshire native was the biggest winner in the online poker world in 2012.


High-Stakes Online Poker: Ben Sulsky Crushes Viktor Blom For $1.37M: HSDB

The European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final in Monaco always provides a spectacular end to the series, but this year entries are down 20%.

Just 531 players registered compared to last year’s 665. The event’s popularity hit a peak in 2009 with 935 players and slumped, not unexpectedly, post Black Friday.

But even against the background of a European debt crisis, the fall in numbers this year is harder to explain.

The event has been heavily promoted on PokerStars, which owns the EPT through its parent The Rational Group, and the usual celebrity players are there, including Phil Ivey, Phil Helmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Gus Hansen as well as current Global Poker Index (GPI) leader, Marvin “MadMarvin” Guido Rettenmaier.

Internet phenoms are also well represented, with Randy “Nanonoko” Lew, Sorel ”Imperium1” Mizzi, Bertrand “Elky” Grosspellier and many other big names present.

Freddy Deeb is currently leading the event and Daniel Negreanu is in 9th place with 198 players remaining. Even on the reduced turnout, first place in the €10,600 Main Event pays over €1.2m.

High state taxes for online poker in France, Italy and Spain appear to be responsible for a shift away from cash games and towards tournaments in the state regulated markets. Online tournament entries have been growing in these countries, and this enthusiasm might have provided grounds for an optimistic estimate of live entries for signature events like the EPT Monte Carlo.

If this event is part of a trend, it does not bode well for other major live extravaganzas such as the International Stadiums Poker Tour (ISPT) Wembley event which kicks off at the end of this month. The ISPT has been revived after UK casino Dusk Till Dawn took over the management, but even their superb marketing skills and trusted reputation may not be sufficient to beat a market trend.



Low Turnout for Monte Carlo EPT Grand Final | Pokerfuse Online Poker News

Amir Babakhani has won the 2013 World Poker Tour Canadian Spring Championship, after defeating a field of 735 players over five days to capture the title, and collect the $442,248 first place prize.

As the final table of six got underway, Amir Babakhani was the chip leader with roughly 30% of the chips in play, followed by Barry Kruger, Jason Duval, Tao Liang, Jonathan Bardier and Martin Leblanc.

Babakhani then proceeded to steamroll his opponents at the final table, starting with Jonathan Bardier in 6th ($81,767), whose A-J pre-flop shove foundered against the A-Q of Babakhani with a Q subsequently rolling out on the flop. Babakhani (A-Q) followed up by doing likewise to Martin Leblanc (A-6) in 5th for $102,251.

Next, Jason Duval entered the fray (A-9) by calling Bobby Liang’s (A-2) all-in pre-flop reraise, and after the cards produced an 8-4-3-Q-K board, Bobby Liang found himself confined to the rail in 4th for $136,700.

With three players remaining, Babakhani (A-4) called Duval’s (Qs-9s) re-raise all-in, and despite the J-10-3s-Js board keeping Duval’s hopes well and truly alive, the 3h on the river swiftly put an end to his tournament dreams, and so he exited in 3rd for $199,029.

As the heads-up phase of the competition got underway, Babakhani held a 2.5 to 1 chip advantage over Kruger. An hour later, however, Barry Kruger must have felt himself unlucky to have gotten his chips all-in on a 5-5-3-2 board holding 5-4, only to see his opponent had 8-5. The Q on the river changed nothing, and so Barry Kruger finished the runner-up for $272,555, while Amir Babakhani was crowned the champion.

The final table payouts were as follows:

1st: Amir Babakhani - $442,248
2nd: Barry Kruger - $272,555
3rd: Jason Duval - $199,029
4th: Bobby Liang - $136,700
5th: Martin Leblanc - $102,251
6th: Jonathan Bardier - $81,767





Amir Babakhani Wins WPT Canadian Spring Championship

May is probably the most exciting month of the year for poker players. In addition to the World Series of Poker, which starts at the end of the month, the European Poker Tour hosts its annual Grand Final in Monaco, and PokerStars launches the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP).

The 2013 edition of the SCOOP kicked off on Sunday with the first two events of a 44-event festival. Each event features three buy-in levels — low, medium and high — which means a 132 tournaments will be taking place from May 12 through 26. Sunday's events had more than $4.5 million in guarantees and attracted more than 67,000 players. No results are in yet from the first day of the series, because the tournaments were two-day affairs, but the first winners will be crowned on Monday.

Alongside the start of the SCOOP, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker still held their usual busy schedule of Sunday Majors. Several top pros had success, including Calvin "cal42688" Anderson, Gordon "holla@yoboy" Vayo, Jordan "JWPRODIGY" Westmoreland, Steve "betrthanphil" Tripp, and Eric "blizair" Blair, who won the Full Tilt Poker Sunday Brawl.

Here's a look at the results from the Sunday major tournaments:
Full Tilt $350K Guarantee ($350K Guaranteed)

Buy-in Entrants Prize Pool
$200+15 1,813 $362,600
Place Player Prize
1 Eric "blizair" Blair $63,724*
2 daaaaaaaaang7 $52,924*
3 azzabentonaces $33,721
4 Peacefulme07 $25,382
5 efterklok $18,855
6 Gavin "gavb31" Ball $13,778
7 StrungOut1 $9,790
8 Rocky2810 $6,889
9 fede le grand $4,713


Read more: The Sunday Briefing: 2013 Spring Championship of Online Poker Begins at PokerStars | PokerNews

Steve O’Dwyer has won the 2013 EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo, after defeating a field of 531 players over five days on his way to capturing the title, and collecting the €1,224,000 ($1,588,997) first place prize.

With his latest victory at the €10,600 Main Event at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel, the 31 year old Las Vegas pro now takes his live tournament earnings to an impressive $4,840,796. Commenting later on his biggest win to date, O’Dwyer confided: “I ran like God…I’m really proud of my Irish heritage and I’m really glad you let me put the tricolour up there on the graphic.”

As the star-studded final table of eight got underway on Sunday, Steve O’Dwyer was the chip leader on a 4.45m stack, followed by Andrew Pantling (4.18m) and Jake Cody (1.633m). Also vying for the lion’s share of the €5.31m ($6,975,747) prize pool was Daniel Negreanu, Johnny Lodden, Noah Schwartz, Jason Mercier and Grant Levy.

After Andrew Pantling eliminated Grant Levy in 8th (€103,000), he did likewise to Jason Mercier in 7th (€137,000), who then tweeted; “jammed QTo over loddens c/o open ran into andrews AQs in the bb. #ontothenextone …busted 10k turbo.”

Daniel Negreau (A-A) then scored a double elimination against Noah Schwartz and Jake Cody, before being dealt 4-4 and being sent to the rail himself in 4th (€467,000) courtesy of Johnny Lodden A-Q.

However, Lodden’s celebrations were short lived and after Steve O’Dwyer sent the Norweigan to the rail in 3rd (€467,00), the heads-up phase of the competition got underway with Pantling holding a slight chip lead over O’Dwyer.

Eventually, the defining hand was played with Pantling (Ks-5s) and O’Dwyer (10-8) all-in on a Js-8s-8-4s board. Unfortunately for Pantling the river produced an 8 and so he had to content himself with a runner-up finish worth €842,000, while Steve O’Dwyer was crowned the champion.

The final table payouts were as follows:

1. Steve O’Dwyer €1,224,000
2. Andrew Pantling €842,000
3. Johnny Lodden €467,000
4. Daniel Negreau €321,000
5. Jake Cody €251,000
6. Noah Schwartz €189,000
7. Jason Mercier €137,000
8. Grant Levy €103,000



Steve O'Dwyer Wins EPT Monte Carlo For $1.58m

Steven Silverman has won the EPT Monte Carlo High Roller, after defeating a field of 121 entrants plus 37 re-buys on his way to capturing the title, and collecting the €775,400 ($1,016,745) first place prize. With his latest win at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel, the US pro now takes his live career earnings to $1,980,653, to go with the $1,137,644 he has won playing online under the screen name Zugwat.

As the €25,000 High Roller event played down to its final table, Vanessa Selbst (A-J) eliminated both Victor Sbrissa (K-K) and Kyle Cheong (K-J) on an A-10-3-5-6 board to lead the seven remaining finalists.

Steven Silverman (A-Q) subsequently dispatched Igor Kurganov (A-10) to the rail in 7th (€154,700), before doing likewise to Toby Lewis in 5th for €232,400.

After some discussion, the four players remaining, however, failed to agree a deal, which worked out poorly for Vanessa Selbst as she was next to hit the rail in 4th for €290,300, while the remaining players then agreed to receive €760,000 apiece and leave €15,400 for the eventual winner.

Soon after, Tony Gregg (K-K) took care of Fadar Kamar (A-7) in 3rd to get the heads-up underway against Silverman. The brief battle subsequently came to a conclusion with Silverman (A-J) and Gregg (2-2) all-in preflop only for the board to run out 6-5-3-J-J, thus handing Steven Silverman the EPT title.

The final table payouts were as follows:

1 Steven Silverman €775,400*
2 Tony Gregg €760,000*
3 Fadar Kamar €760,000*
4 Vanessa Selbst €290,300
5 Toby Lewis €232,400
6 Chris Moore €193,500
7 Igor Kurganov €154,700
8 Victor Sbrissa €116,100





Silverman Wins EPT Monte Carlo High Roller For $1 Million

Last weekend, Talal Shakerchi lost a staggering £850,000 playing poker at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel in Monaco, but whereas losing that amount of money would be enough to induce feelings of nausea in most, to the hedge-fund tycoon it was just the price you sometimes pay for your hobby.

You see, the UK tycoon is believed to have a personal wealth of £100 million and manages around £3 billion worth of assets under his own hedge fund, Meditor. The 49-year-old Shakerchi also took up playing high stakes poker five years ago and says he feels fortunate to be able to learn from competing against the very best players in the world.

Shakerchi certainly needed all the poker know-how he could acquire when the philanthropist played in the $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop event, which raised $10 million for the charitable One Drop foundation. Shakerchi may not have cashed in at that event, but he has certainly had his fair share of successes since his first live cash in 2010 and now boasts $1,639,904 in live winnings. Shakerchi’s list of accolades include
victory in 2010 at the €10k EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo 6 Max Turbo High Roller for €223,000, and another 1st place finish in 2012 at the £10k EPT/UKIPT High Roller London for £436,330.

Commenting on his evolution as a poker player, Shakerchi said: “Occasionally, if I see a play I don’t understand from a player I respect, then I ask them what their reasoning was. Learning that way gave me the confidence to play in the toughest tournaments without feeling completely out of my depth. After a while you realise that some of the best known names aren’t as strong as their image, whereas there are a number of relatively less known players who are much tougher opponents.”

At his latest tournament in Monaco, Talal Shakerchi may have lost his €500,000 buy-in within the first two hours of play, but as a commentator noted at the time: “Talal seems very unlucky and running very bad – can’t seem to win a hand.”

Shakerchi obviously took all the vagaries of the game in his stride and after exiting the table was heard to say; “Goodbye, see you guys tomorrow.”




Poker Hobbyist Shakerchi Incurs £850k Losses In Monaco