This Week in Poker: Poker Tournament News Jan. 10-16Get All of Your Tournament Poker News on Fifth Street Each Workweek |
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Check out CardPlayer.com every Friday for a weekly wrap-up of the news from the live poker tournament trail.
Card Player Player of the Year Update
1: Poorya Nazari (pictured at right) — 3,000
2: Anthony Gregg — 2,500
3: Benjamin Spindler — 2,000
4: Alexandre Gomes — 1,500
5: Peter Eastgate — 1,296
6: Pieter Tielen — 1,250
7: Florian Langmann — 1,080
8: Dustin Dirksen — 1,000
9: Hevad Khan — 960
9: Jordan Smith — 960
9: Jose Barbero — 960
POY Movement
The Festival of Poker at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure staged three events that have set the early Card Player Player of the Year standings for 2009. First and foremost, the $10,000 European Poker Tour main event broke multiple records and accounted for the top four spots on the leader board. Canadian Poorya Nazari won 3,000 points to go along with the $3 million he added to his bankroll by beating 1,346 other players in the main event, and he should enjoy the top spot on the leader board for a few months. In addition to the largest cash prize in the history of the PCA, the 3,000 POY points represents a top mark, as well. Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier was awarded 2,400 points for winning the 2008 PCA — this year’s top prize represents an increase of 600 points, making it one of the most important POY events of the year. American Anthony Gregg holds 2,500 points for his runner-up finish in the main event, third-place finisher Benny Spindler from Germany holds 2,000 points, and Team PokerStars pro Alexandre Gomes was awarded 1,500 points for finishing in fourth place at the largest poker tournament ever hosted outside of the United States.
Fifth place is where things get interesting. While the $10,000 main event played down in the Bahamas, side events were a popular attraction, as well. The $5,000 no-limit hold’em event attracted 273 players, and one of them happened to be 2008 World Champion Peter Eastgate, who also happened to win the event to take home $343,000. Eastgate received 1,296 points, and he currently claims fifth place in the standings. Eastgate finished in eighth place in the 2008 race; and he is already in the running for another strong performance. Florian Langmann finished runner-up to Eastgate, and he was awarded 1,080 points, which puts him in seventh place. Another notable in the top 10 is Team PokerStars pro Hevad “Rain” Khan, who won the $2,000 no-limit hold’em preliminary event to take home 960 points and $200,000, which currently ties him for ninth place.
This Week in Poker
Card Player Live Coverage Event – European Poker Tour PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
The final eight players at the 2009 European Poker Tour PokerStars Caribbean Adventure returned to the Imperial Ballroom at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas to play for the 10th-largest poker tournament top prize in history today. The massive field of 1,347 players made this event the largest ever hosted outside of the United States, and it also created a top prize worth $3 million. The final eight had accomplished much to make it this far, and even though they were each guaranteed to walk away with at least $214,000 — the stakes and tension couldn't be higher.
The early going was rough on the Americans and poker professionals at the final table. Kevin Saul (eighth), Dan Heimiller (seventh), Dustin Dirksen (sixth), Pieter Tielen (fifth), and Team PokerStars pro Alexandre Gomes (fourth) fell during the first three hours, leaving a big oppurtunity for a new face to emerge in the world of poker, and Benny Spindler held almost twice the amount of both his opponents combined when three-handed play began.
The three-handed battle proved to be the major stretch at the final table, lasting five hours. The final three players continued trading chips as players doubled up, and action was slow otherwise. Spindler eventually fell in third place, and Canadian Poorya Nazari took an almost 2-1 lead into the heads-up match against American Anthony Gregg. In the end, it was Nazari who won the $3 million after a heads-up battle that lasted only four hands.
Full Final-Table Recap
Full Payout List
Card Player Live Coverage Event — Aussie Millions $100,500 AUD No-Limit Hold'em Challenge
Day 1 of the Aussie Millions $100,000 AUD No-Limit Hold'em Challenge begins on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 2:15 p.m. at the Crowne Casino in Melbourne, Australia, as part of the Aussie Millions Poker Championship. Thanks to the fact that AEDT is 19 hours ahead of Pacific Time, you can start following all of the action on CardPlayer.com at 8:15 p.m. PST. The very best professionals in poker are expected to make this tournament field the toughest of the year, and live updates, chip counts, and photos will be provided every step of the way so you don’t miss any of the action.
Players will begin with 100,000 in chips, and action before the flop is pot-limit. Action after the flop is no-limit. Blinds will begin at 500-500, and the levels will be 60 minutes long. The rules also stipulate that players have 30 seconds to act on their hands, and they will be given a small number of time extension buttons to extend their decision time by 30 seconds when they are needed.
Here is a look at the schedule for the event:
Saturday, Jan. 17: Day 1 — play down to the final table (begins at 2:15 p.m. AEDT 8:15 p.m. PST the preceding day).
Sunday, Jan. 18: Final table (begins at 4 p.m. AEDT 10 p.m. PST the preceding day).
World Poker Tour Southern Poker Championships
As of press time, the Southern Poker Championships was down to the final 18 players, thanks for a long day 2. With only 27 players set to get paid, the returning field of 175 knew they would be in for a long day, but nobody could have anticipated the 16-hour marathon that ensued. Play began at noon and didn't wrap up until just after 4:00 a.m. local time.
Since then the field has lost an additional nine players and notables Hevad Khan, Vanessa Rousso, Florian Langmann, Tony Cousineau, Mohsin Charania and Justin Phillips are all still in the hunt for the $1,025,500 first-place prize. You can catch a recap of all the action at the end of each tournament day here on CardPlayer.com.
Author's Note: Julio Rodriguez contirbuted to this report.
Selected Tournament Results:
PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Event No. 4 ($5,000 no-limit hold’em):
Buy-in: $5,000
Number of Entries: 273
Total Prize Pool: $1,271,100
First-Place Prize: $343,000
Places Paid: 27
Final-Table Results:
1: Peter Eastgate — $200,000
2: Florian Langmann — $110,300
3: Antonie Berube — $79,000
4: Tyler Hamade — $55,100
5: Terrence Chan — $42,650
6: Jakob Karlsson — $34,700
7: Bruce Yamron — $26,800
8: Justin Bonomo — $19,000
9: Jan Von Halle — $15,000
Looking Ahead
Card Player Live Coverage Event — Aussie Millions Main Event
Event Schedule
Card Player Live Coverage Event — European Poker Tour Deauville
Event Schedule
L.A. Poker Classic
Event Schedule
Borgata Winter Open
Event Schedule
Latin American Poker Tour Vina del Mar, Chile
Event Schedule
Euro Finals of Poker
Event Schedule
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