By Frank Op de Woerd
Sunday has traditionally been the biggest day in online poker. Yesterday’s day of action on partypoker was no exception to that rule, with gigantic buy-ins, hundreds of thousands in guarantees, and the biggest names in poker competing.
Poker couple Kristen Bicknell and Alex Foxen both have big days today, as they made the final table in the weekend’s most significant events. Here’s our recap of last night’s play and a look ahead of tonight’s action.
Main $5,200 WPT Big Game ($1M GTD)
A hefty buy-in of $5,200 guaranteed some of the biggest names in poker would sign up for the WPT Big Game. With $1,000,000 guaranteed, a spectacle was ensured. The action would only be halted when the field of 197 would be down to nine players, and a grind it was. After several hours of play, though, the nine players to make it to Day 2 have emerged with Juan Pardo Domínguez leading the charge.
Playing from Malta, Ivan Gabrieli bubbled the event, coming in 25th, where 24 were paid. Jack Sinclair was the first to sneak into the money, getting $12,500 for his 24th-place finish. Dimitar Danchev and Pavel Plesuv followed Sinclair out the door, busting in 23rd and 22nd. The alliteration streak was broken by Aliaksei Boika (21st). Jack La Frenais from the UK was the last player busting on Day 1, going out in tenth place for $21,000.
Luc Greenwood
The names of the nine remaining players will ring a bell for even the most casual of poker fans. Juan Pardo Domínguez (46 million) leads before Nick Yunis (30 million) and partypoker’s Kristen Bicknell (26 million). Luc Greenwood, Stuart Guite, Jake Schindler, Artur Martirosian, João Ferreira Caetano, and Yuri Dzivielevski make up the rest of the table.
The action resumes tonight at 7 pm (BST) with blinds of 250,000 and 500,000 and a running ante of 62,500.
Mini $530 WPT Big Game ($300K GTD)
Twenty-eight players from a field of 663 remain in the WPT Big Game Mini. Having all bought in for $530, the prize pool is humongous, and the first-place prize a big score for the lucky winner tonight. They’re already guaranteed $1,819.44.
Belgium’s Kenny Hallaert leads with an impressive stack of 48,107,260, forty-eight times what he started the day with. He’s followed by Greek Grinder Georgios Zisimopoulos (40,665,736) playing from Malta. Brazilians player Victor Eduardo Teixeira (38,983,367) sits in third.
Yuri Dzivielevski will have at least two tables to play when play resumes at 7 pm (BST). He’s on the last table in the $5,200 edition and brings a mid-tier stack to the $530 version. The 19,532,818 stack he gathered in the $530 Mini WPT Big Game, lands him in 13th place going in.
Anatoly Filatov (28 million), Jack Sinclair (17 million), Chance Kornuth (16 million), and Daniel Wilson (9 million) are just some of the familiar names still in contention.
Micro $55 WPT Big Game ($100K GTD)
The $100,000 guarantee was easily met in the Micro edition, with 2,327 entries into the event. After 28 levels of 15 minutes each, the tournament is down to 69 players. They’re guaranteed $227.12 when the cards and chips start flying again tonight at 7 pm (BST).
Dzmitry Siamenchanka will be the short stack going in, starting in sixty-ninth position with 1,762,137 in chips. With blinds of 400,000 and 800,000 to start, he’ll need to find a double soon as he has just two big blinds to start.
On the other end of the spectrum, Curtis Knight from Canada finds himself with 112,556,328, the equivalent of 140 big blinds. Knight is followed by Vladimir Petrov (76,099,470) and Vinícius Costa (64,406,712).
Event #02: $3,200 Omaha Championship ($1M GTD)
With Day 1A already wrapped up, last night, Day 1B got underway. The likes of Benny Glaser, Paresh Doshi, and Joshua Mccully had already secured their spot on Day 2, but a new legion of chip-hungry players signed up for their shot.
Jonathan Depa
After eighteen levels, high roller Jonathan Depa leads with 1.8 million in chips. He’s followed by Chance Kornuth (1.5 million) and Mike Leah (1.2 million).
From Day 1A, 31 remain from a field of 158. Day 1B saw 30 from 184 progress, making for a combined field of 61 on Day 2.
When the tournament resumes at 7 pm (BST) tonight, the average stack will be a little over 560,000. The event is seven away from the money, with 54 players securing a payout of $5,130 at the minimum. For the winner, $196,969 is set aside from the total prize pool of $1,026,000. The first level of play will be 6,000/12,000 with a 1,500 ante.
Event #02: Mini $320 Omaha Championship ($300K GTD)
Day 1B of the Mini version of the event saw 466 entries compete. The top 3 of Day 1B also make up the overall Top 3 after both Day 1’s. Pasi Laihinen (2,270,444), Toby Joyce (1,901,207), and Raphael Schreiner (1,780,455) all made more than Day 1A’s chip leader Andrea Salvatore (1,758,230).
With both starting days now done, just 114 remain. It’s going to be an exciting bubble as only 96 players will be in the money. Joshua Hoesel (16,527) and Jaimy Staples (93,533) find themselves in the immediate danger zone with the action starting with blinds at 6,000 and 12,000 (ante 1,500).
The minimum payout if $891.60, gradually increasing till a cheque of $50,182.50 is written out to the winner. Like it’s bigger brother, the Mini tournament resumes at 7 pm (BST) tonight.
Event #02: Micro $33 Omaha Championship ($100K GTD)
Niko Müller from Germany collected the biggest stack on Day 1B of the Micro edition of the second Championship event. He also took the overall lead into Day 2, surpassing Day 1A’s chip leader. Müller brings 3,178,660 in chips to Day 2; 265 big blinds.
From a field of 1,112 entries, 144 survived the first eighteen levels. They are joined by the 121 that survived Day 1A. That makes for a combined field of 265 at the start of Day 2. Thirty-seven players will fall before the money-stage is reached as there’s just a payout reserved for 228 players in this event.
The min-cash is $133.30. For the winner, there’s $14,072.90 reserved. Day 2 starts at 7 pm (BST).
High Roller: $10,300 7-Max ($1M GTD)
Another day, another $10,300 buy-in event in the WPT Online Championships. This time, it was the 7-Max High Roller enticing players with a supreme structure. With No-Limit Hold’em the name of the game, 97 entries were collected into the event. After 23 levels of play, just seven remain.
The event is well into the money with fourteen spots paid. 2018 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS UK winner Ioannis Angelou-Konstas bubbled the event. Isaac Haxton was the first in the money, collecting $24,000 for his 14th place-finish.
Christoph Vogelsang busted in 8th for $35,000 and was the last player to do so on Day 1. The remaining seven packed their chips and will resume tonight at 7 pm (BST).
Niko Koop
Alex Foxen is the short stack going in with 256,113 in chips. Given that the blinds start at 17,500 and 35,000, he still has some wiggle room to make a comeback. Rui Ferreira (451,725), Ivan Luca (549,082), and Francois Billard (1,088,892) have even more chips to start with when the 25-minute level gets underway. Niko Koop from Germany leads with a stack of 3,212,308. He’s followed by Hugh Drummond (2,186,190) and Scott Margereson (1,955,690).
The top 7 are guaranteed $42,000. The winner gets $253,250 unless a deal is struck.
Main $2,100 7-Max Weekender ($1M GTD)
In the midst of $3,200 and $10,300 buy-in events, the $2,100 Weekender might not immediately stand out. But make no mistake, with a million guaranteed and a great 2-day structure, this event should not be overlooked.
Sergi Reixach
Last night, Day 1B of the event got underway, with 312 entries collected. The 38 survivors join the 19 that survived Day 1A to combine to a field of 57. Spanish high roller Sergi Reixach did best on 1B busting players left and right and gathering 2,515,434 in chips. He’s followed by Luc Greenwood, who turned 100,000 into 1,970,626 on Day 1B. Completing the Top 3 is Day 1A’s chip leader Tom Hall with 1,764,359 in chips.
Day 2 gets underway at 7 pm (BST) tonight, with blinds starting at 12,500 and 25,000 (ante 3,200). The event is three eliminations away from being in the money with $5,000 reserved for 54 through 49. The winner awaits a payday of $191,877.50.
Mini $215 7-Max Weekender ($500K GTD)
The difference between Day 1A’s Ben Farrell’s chip leading stack of 2,709,367 and Day 1B’s Granit Shabani’s chip leading stack of 2,709,431 is just 64 chips. They are neck and neck when Day 2 of the Mini gets underway at 7 pm (BST) tonight.
Day 1A’s 103 survivors (from a field of 910 entries) join Day 1B’s 166 (from 1,476 entries). The notoriously unlucky Dutchman Barrie Pietersz is the shortest stack going in, starting with a measly 107,183 in chips.
David Yan (1,769,588), Elliot Smith (1,763,658), Ondřej Vinklárek (1,526,632), and James Collopy (1,118,650), Claas Segebrecht (976,818), and Stefan Huber (639,696) are just some of the familiar names you can look out for on Day 2.
The top 252 awaits a payout starting at $604. The champion will walk away with $67,532.
Micro $22 7-Max Weekender ($100K GTD)
A 100,000 starting stack, starting blinds of 500 and 1,000, and 12-minute levels. And a guaranteed prize pool of $100,000 for an investment of $22 What’s not to like? A total of 2,358 entries agreed; the Mini edition of the Weekender was off to a flying start.
After almost five hours of play, just 270 survived the first day. They will return to action at 7 pm (BST) tonight, looking to secure a payout. They’re joined by Day 1A’s 179 survivors (from 1,578 entries). That makes for 449 players remaining with 444 spots paid.
Luana Stadykoski (72,096) and Julio Cesar Vilarim (80,392) from Brazil are the two short stacks going in. Together with Malta’s Valdo Gamito (95,712), they’re the only three to start Day 2 with fewer chips than they started the tournament with.
The Top 5 in chips at the start of Day 2 all qualified on Day 1B. Carmichael Palm (3,373,140), Athanasios Tavlas (2,878,757), Evan Oliveira Maia (2,858,928), Jozsef Hrencsjar (2,778,404) and Daniel Yerin (2,640,788) all collected more than Day 1A’s chip leader Mark Mounsey (2,628,264).
Tonight’s Schedule
