Sunday Warm-up: ShiFtYFiNGeR points straight to six figure win
Tonight’s champion will get the hold the title of $750,000 guaranteed Sunday Warm-up champion for nearly the entire month of September. If you read here regularly and play at PokerStars there may have been a few hints left about the upcoming celebration of online poker known as the $50,000,000 guaranteed WCOOP. Bracelets and stacks of cash to be won for the better part of September in place of our normal Sunday majors, so as a going away party 4,236 players showed up with their $215 buy-ins and 630 of them got a little slice of cash back. Among those cashing were Team PokerStars pro Pete De Korver ($381.24, 374th place) was he was the only Team PokerStars pro to break through to the cashier’s window.
In what seemed like a race to the final table, we went from 18 to 10 in just one level after a series of big pairs vs. big pairs confrontations took places and the players who covered took it down. Down to the final table bubble cautious play trickled in as hand-for-hand play was in effect as our final 10 on two tables played to the 65K/130K ante 13K level with nearly everyone still holding at least 20 big blinds. Raise-shove-fold took place over a dozen times as shorter stacked tollgate tried to shove over the top of Mexitexi’s min raise from UTG. Instead tollgate’s pocket deuces [2s][2c] got an insta-call from pocket kings [Kd][Ks]. A third duck failed to make an appearance on the [Qc] [Ts] [4d] [As] [4c] board and tollgate would barely miss out on a second Sunday Warm-up final table in 2010 after taking 4th for $45,965.50 back in July (final table write-up here).
Seat 1: melous (4253573 in chips)
Seat 2: citrusjim (4523381 in chips)
Seat 3: Erasmus Hurt (2953676 in chips)
Seat 4: lausfloh (5000588 in chips)
Seat 5: ShiFtYFiNGeR (2767664 in chips)
Seat 6: Don Pedro07 (2663006 in chips)
Seat 7: sabbsezero (8505227 in chips)
Seat 8: Mexitexi (5091109 in chips)
Seat 9: badgergav (6601776 in chips)
Spicy start
MexiTexi would draw first blood as the blinds moved up to 80K/160K ante 16K with a big double up against badgergav. Pocket kings for MexiTexi [Ks][Kd] and pocket jacks [Js] [Jc] for badgergav as both players would flop sets [Kc] [Jh] [5c] but the board decided to make things more interesting with the [6c] turn giving badgergav a shot at a flush. But, instead the [3d] fell and MexiTexi picked up the 6.4 million chip pot while knocking badgergav down to 4.4 million.
Erasmus puts the hurt on lausfloh
When it looked like we would not have an elimination during the 80K/160K ante 16K level Erasmus Hurt led off with a raise to 480K as short-stacked lausfloh had just a little over twice that amount and shoved for 1.07 million. Folded quickly back to Erasmus Hurt who called with pocket rockets [Ad][As]. lausfloh’s pocket treys [3d][3c] were in serious trouble and never recovered on the [9d] [6s] [Jc] [6d] [6h] board finishing the tournament in ninth place ($6,777.60).
The 100K/200K ante 20K level would swoosh by without our final table attendance falling any further. Shortly after the switch to the 125K/250K ante 25K level though, MexiTexi built even further on the table’s first double up and became the first player to hit eight digits holding a near four million chip lead on Don Pedro07 and six million on third place citrusjim.
High five time
Already saddled with the large lead, MexiTexi took a risk to make it even bigger. After min-raising while still in the 125K/250K ante 25K level with pocket fives [5d][5h], MexiTexi would call the shove of Erasmus Hurt holding [Ah][Kh]. Watch the results of the 5.5 million chip pot below:
RSS readers click through to see replay
Prior to this hand MexiTexi took down four pots in a row preflop with three-bets and raw aggression, this time quad fives would have to do on the [6d] [9c] [5s] [5c] [2d] board as Erasmus Hurt took home eight place money ($10,590.00).
Shifting into fifth gear
After a half-hour of stagnant action, the players suddenly came alive and three hands after Erasmus Hurt took leave, citrusjim would raise to 550K as Don Pedro07 made the call two chairs to his left and badgergav trying to get out of the chip cellar shoved for 1.9 million. citrusjim abandoned ship, but Don Pedro07 would make the call holding pocket eights [8s][8h]. Those eights were two pips above the sixes [6d][6h] in badgergav’s hand as the flop would bring an eight [7h] [Ad] [8d] nearly closing out badgergav’s night as the [Ks] on the turn formally brought badgergav’s night to a close in seventh place ($19,062.00).
Freshly squeezed chips
After doubling up off MexiTexi, citrusjim was not done there as the blinds moved up to 150K/300K ante 30K, he would call melous’ small blind raise to 770K to see a [6c] [8s] [5s] flop. Immediately melous shoved for 3.3 million holding middle pair [Jd][6h], and after a little thought citrusjim would make the call holding top pair [Qs][8h]. [4d] on the turn opened up a possible split of the 8.4 million in the middle but the [As] on the river shipped the chip lead to citrusjim who now held over 15 million chips. melous’ going away present in sixth place was a healthy $27,534.00 perhaps some funds for a bracelet next week?
Shifting the chip stacks
Moving up to the 200K/400K ante 40K blind level sabbsezero was left with just 2.7 million chips and tried to make a play UTG by shoving with pocket sevens [7s][7h]. Folded around to ShiFtYFiNGeR in the small blind who held over 14 million, made the call with a suited [Ac][8c]. The sevens would get out-flopped then pummeled by the turned nut flush on the [3c] [Ad] [9c] [Kc] [9s] board. Left with nary a chip, sabbsezero finished in fifth place ($36,006.00).
At the hourly break with four left ShiFtYFiNGeR held the lead with Don Pedro07 about 2.5 million behind, here’s how they stacked up:
ShiFtYFiNGeR 15,258,303
Don Pedro07 12,770,944
MexiTexi 9,092,960
citrusjim 5,237,793
Are we playing Omaha tonight?
While the big hands normally regulated to the four-card variant. they continue to fall on this final table. Watch our former chip leader (MexiTexi) and current chip leader (ShiFtYFiNGeR) put their chips in preflop as someone hits quads yet again in this 19 million chip pot:
RSS readers click through to see replay
While MexiTexi profited from quads before, it was ShiFtYFiNGeR’s turn while having the preflop advantage of pocket tens [Th][Td] to MexiTexi’s pocket sevens [7d][7h] the lead was blown open with two tens hitting the flop as MexiTexi did manage to river a limp straight [Tc] [6c] [Ts] [9s] [8h] and finished the night in fourth place ($47,866.80).
Plucked from the money tree
Just four hands later was would have our heads-up battle. As the blinds stayed at 200K/400K ante 40K citrusjim tried to make a play for the blinds by shoving preflop from the small blind for 5.1 million holding [3s][Kh]. The chip leader ShiFtYFiNGeR however had plenty of tournament tokens to spare and a decent [As][8d] to make the call with creating a 10.5 million chip pot. Just like MexiTexi’s elimination, ShiFtYFiNGeR made short work of citrusjim by flopping trips [Ac] [Qd] [Ah] ShiFtYFiNGeR ended citrusjim’s night in third place ($69,894.00).
Don Pedro07 vs. ShiFtYFiNGeR
ShiFtYFiNGeR’s near three to one chip lead (30.3 million to 11.9 million) over Don Pedro07 looked huge but there was room to wiggle as the blinds were at 200K/400K ante 40K to start heads-up play. Don Pedro07 would itch closer to evening things up by doubling up on the 15th hand of heads-up play by winning a 14 million chip coinflip [4d][Ac] vs. ShiFtYFiNGeR’s pocket deuces [2h][2d] on a [4c] [3s] [4h] [3c] [Qd] board.
Four fours equal $132,910.50
After the double up, the chips would resemble a quick action ping-pong game going back and forth between the players as play moved on to 250K/500K ante 50K level. With Don Pedro07 holding 14.8 million he would call ShiFtYFiNGeR’s min raise in the big blind as the two saw a [4d] [3h] [4s] (eerily similar to the hand that doubled-up Don Pedro07 earlier) flop. Don Pedro07 lined up his 13.8 million chips shoved them into the middle holding [3d][5d]. A like last time two fours showed up on the flop, someone held the third one, as ShiFtYFiNGeR quickly called and turned up [5s] [4c]. [4h] on the turn gave us our third showing of quads at the final table, and gave ShiFtYFiNGeR $132,910.50 as this week’s Sunday Warm-up champion!
Be sure to check here at the PokerStarsBlog and PokerStars.tv next week for the up-to-date scoop on the WCOOP proceedings.
$750,000 Guarantee Sunday Warm-up Results (08-29-10)
1. ShiFtYFiNGeR (Melbourne) $132,910.50
2. Don Pedro07 (bucuresti) $98,698.80
3. citrusjim (london) $69,894.00
4. Mexitexi (Rotterdam) $47,866.80
5. sabbsezero (Las Vegas) $36,006.00
6. melous (palma mallorca) $27,534.00
7. badgergav (Essex) $19,062.00
8. Erasmus Hurt (Norwalk) $10,590.00
9. lausfloh (Neusiedl am See) $6,777.60
A “Pro” soars to a Sunday Warm-Up victory
The summer may be cooling down, but the Sunday Warm-up is still running very hot, $46,800 above the tourney’s $750K guarantee to be more exact. 3,984 runners ponied up the $215 entry fee to play in the Warm-up, among them more than a dozen PokerStars Team Pros. Five team pros managed to earn a payday, some squeaking in–Matthias De Meulder of team Belgium (582nd for $310.75) and Pat Pezzin of team Canada (483rd for $326.68)–and some going deep–Vadim Markushevski of team Russia (146th for $756.96), Dusty “Leatherass9″ Schmidt of team PokerStars Online (76th for $1,195.20) and Hungarian team pro Richard Toth (70th for $1,290.81). No team pros made it far enough to even have a sniff of the final table, but plenty of other top online pros made it deep enough to taste a Sunday Warm-up title.
NoMoor Man
Possibly the most well known player with 18 left was British pro Moorman1, an online player with more than $2.1 million in career tournament earnings. Moorman1 fought the good fight deep into the final table bubble, but ultimately was crippled down to a handful of big blinds with just twelve left, needing something big to happen in order to survive.
Predictably, Moorman1′s [Js] [5h] hand didn’t help the English pro move past 12th ($4,780.80), nor was GARFIELD25′s [As] [Ac] able to hold him up past 11th ($4,780.80) and [Kd] [Qh] turned out to be sour for Quadeart, who became our unfortunate final table bubble boy, talking home $4,780.80 for his tenth place efforts.
And with that, only nine remained. BrandanZ entered the final table–otherwise known as table 39 before we got down to nine–with 6,199,534 in chips, but was closely followed by alimali63 (6,177,180 in chips), mshabububu (5,935,539 in chips), 247cat (5,419,650 in chips) and YugiohPro (5 378,972 in chips). And at a little less than half the chips of the big stacks Spec4u (2314043 in chips) came to table 39 as the short stack. With blinds at 65k/130k and a 13k ante here is how the final nine looked:
Seat 1: BrandanZ (6199534 in chips)
Seat 2: Kocherov (3076533 in chips)
Seat 3: alimali63 (6177180 in chips)
Seat 4: Spec4u (2314043 in chips)
Seat 5: nazze84 (2540060 in chips)
Seat 6: 247cat (5419650 in chips)
Seat 7: YugiohPro (5378972 in chips)
Seat 8: I EyeDeA I (2798489 in chips)
Seat 9: mshabububu (5935539 in chips)
Getting Things Started Off Right
In just the second hand of final table play Kocherov raised to 320k in the hijack. Action folded around to 247cat in the big blind, who re-popped to 910k. Kocherov countered by moving all-in for his last 3 million and 247cat called. It was a classic flip, [Ac] [Kd] for Kocherov and [Jc] [Jd] for 247cat. The flop was interesting, falling [3c] [10s] [Qh], which gave Kocherov two more additional outs, the remaining jacks, which would consequentially give 247cat a set. The new outs quickly disappeared with the turn, however, pairing the board with the [10d]. Needing a king or ace to survive, Kocherov couldn’t get there on the river, the blank [8s] falling on the end, sending him home in ninth ($6,347.40).
Most of the time at major final tables the blinds and stack sizes dictate fast play. Most eliminations are quick deaths, resulting in either classic coin flips or major mistakes. However, sometimes players suffer the long drawn out exit, slowly losing all their chips before they are sent home. Such was the end of nazze84, who entered the final table as one of the short stakes and just couldn’t get anything going. After being bled down to around 700k in chips, nazze84 open shoved in the cut off and was called in the small blind by YugiohPro, who was wielding an over 9 million chip stack. nazze84 was in trouble, holding [Kh] [9s] versus YugiohPro’s [As] [Jh]. The flop was fairly neutral, [7d] [6d] [2s], but the [Jc] on the turn nearly locked the hand up for YugiohPro. Needing a king and a king only to live on nazze84 was put out of his misery with the [7s] on the river. nazze84 went out in eighth, $9,960 in his pocket for his Sunday work.
Sometimes It’s The Hand Before
It’s easy to say with just 275k left, 75k after pushing in his blind, mshabububu was forced to call an all-in bet from YugiohPro and was eliminated when his lowly [8c] [6h] failed to improve against YugiohPro’s [As] [Kd]. But that’s not the whole story. Sometime it really is the hand before the hand. In the hand before his death mshabububu open shoved all-in for about 2.8 million in first position. He was called at a small discount by Spec4u in the cut off. It was one of those dominated times for mshabububu, his [6d] [6h] nearly dead against the [8h] [8c] of Spec4u. The board ran out dry for mshabububu, [10h] [Jc] [7s] [Qs] [2d]. And just one hand later mshabububu got his [8c] [6h] swan song. mshabububu was eliminated in seventh, going home $17,928 richer.
Dead Eyed
Running short at about 3.3 million in chips, I EyeDeA I moved all-in in first position and was called by alimali63 in the cut off. I EyeDeA I flipped over [Kh] [10c], which was crushed by alimali63′s [Ah] [Ks]. The flop was a disaster for I EyeDeA I, falling [7d] [6s] [As] and pairing alimali63′s ace. The ace on the flop forced I EyeDeA I to make runner-runner something in order to survive. The [Jc] gave I EyeDeA I four outs to a Broadway straight. No dice for I EyeDeA I, however, another jack fell on the river and sent him home in sixth, good for $25,895.
Five For Five
Five handed, interestingly enough, lasted just five hands. On the button Spec4u moved all-in for 2.6 million chips. The all-in was called by YugiohPro in the big blind. Spec4u was far behind, his [Ah] [Qs] crushed by YugiohPro’s [Ac] [Kh]. The board was fairly bland, [5c] [8s] [Jd] on the flop, [7d] on the turn and, finally, the [8h], sealing Spec4u’s fate in fifth ($33,864).
No More Lives
Just nine hands after Spec4u’s elimination, 247cat raised to 750k on the button. YugiohPro moved all-in in the small blind and, after action folded around back to him, 247cat called off his last 3.5 million chips. It was another classic flip, 247cat gambling with [Ad] [Jd] against YugiohPro’s [7d] [7s]. The race was almost ended on the flop, [3s] [8d] [7h], giving YugiohPro middle set. However, the [10s] on the turn gave 247cat four outs to a straight to survive. A blank [2s] came on the river, though, sending 247cat home in fourth ($45,816).
Even Steven
Following Spec4u’s elimination in fourth the stacks were pretty even.
Seat 1: BrandanZ (10981215 in chips)
Seat 3: alimali63 (15571702 in chips)
Seat 7: YugiohPro (13287083 in chips)
The stacks got closer and closer and soon, perhaps inevitably, the deal discussions began. After some brief discussions a utopian decision of almost an even split was arrived at, $90k for both alimali63 and BrandanZ with YugiohPro getting the leftovers at $94,060.64. Of course, $10k was left on the table for the eventual winner.
The Triumvirate Broken
47 hands after Spec4u’s elimination, the longest time between elimination hands thus far, the final three became the final two. With just 4 million left, BrandanZ moved all-in in the small blind only to be called by alimali63 in the big blind. BrandanZ was caught with [Kh] [8h] against alimali63′s [As] [Jh]. BrandanZ wasn’t dead, even after a [7h] [6d] [3d] flop, he could still catch a king or eight or some sort of runner-runner to catch up. Sure enough, the [6h] gave BrandanZ a flush draw. The [4c] fell on the river, a blank to Brandanz, and eliminated BrandanZ in third place ($90,000).
Pro’s Pro
Even with his elimination of BrandanZ, alimali63 was still far behind YugiohPro–11 million in chips to about 29 million–as heads-up play began. Just 14 hands into heads-up play, YugiohPro finished the match. With blinds 150k/300k and a 30k ante, alimali63 called the big blind on the button and YugiohPro checked. After a flop of [6d] [Qc] [8h], YugiohPro bet 300k. alimali63 min-raised to 600k and YugiohPro called. The [3h] came on the turn and YugiohPro checked to the bettor. alimali63 continued his aggression, betting out and YugiohPro flat called again. The [Jh] fell and, after a YugiohPro check, alimali63 moved his last 5.3 million. YugiohPro called and flipped up [10h] [9s] for queen high straight. alimali63 was second best, his [8d] [2d] being no match for YugiohPro’s straight. alimali63 was sent home in second, good for $90k. YugiohPro takes home the extra for $104,060.64.
$750,000 Guarantee Sunday Warm-up Results (08-22-10)
*Indicates a three-way deal
1. YugiohPro (St. Louis) *$104,060.64
2. alimali63 (Istanbul) *$90,000.00
3. BrandanZ (Tempe) *$90,000.00
4. 247cat (Moscow) $45,816.00
5. Spec4u (Okttiabrskiy) $33,864.00
6. I EyeDeA I (Naperville) $25,896.00
7. mshabububu (Berlin) $17,928.00
8. nazze84 (Flen) $9,960.00
9. Kocherov (Novosibirsk) $6,374.40