Camogie captures Women’s Sunday title for Ireland

Sunday Special corner logo.jpg In three weeks, the Women’s Sunday will experience its first birthday! And instead of buying gifts for the Women’s Sunday, it will be giving presents to the players who helped make the tournament such a success. That makes it a birthday for the women of PokerStars, in a way.

For starters, there is a Flickr photo competition being held to find the best pictures of players celebrating the Women’s Sunday birthday. The top photos when the competition closes on March 18 will win Women’s Sunday seats worth $55 each, and the overall winner will receive a $215 ticket to the Sunday Million. But that’s not all! There will be more excitement announced in the coming weeks to celebrate, including a live web chat with some of the Team Pros and more giveaways. Stay tuned!

This week, the Women’s Sunday had a solid turnout, with registration revealing these numbers:

Total players: 263
Prize pool: $13,150.00
Paid finishers: 45

The diverse field included several professional players with the red spade logo next to their names. They each offered a $50 bounty, and someone was able to get the first one courtesy of Team PokerStars Pro Vicky Coren, who exited in the first hour of play. Team Pro Ana Marquez also got in on the action but exited in 99th place.

Team Pro Celina Lin started strong and claimed the chip lead in the second hour of the tournament. She tweeted about it, along with the rough beat she took after that:

YeeHa! Chip Leader in the Women’s Sunday. Fingers crossed @PokerStarsWomen OMG! I haven’t even finished my tweet just lost AA < 66 < JJ all in pre

That hit then led to Celina’s elimination in 63rd place.

Team Pokerstars Online’s Adrienne “talonchick” Rowsome was still going strong in the third hour, though, as she headed past the money bubble and hoped for a final table. But she ended her tournament in 35th place when her K-Q couldn’t beat A-T. Gluckskatze captured her $50 bounty, and Adrienne cashed out for $85.47.

Heading toward the end of the third hour, only two tables remained, and the field shrank further as WallterBish exited in 14th place, allaround in 13th, and rozdaly in 12th. The 11th place exit of PINK PANTER8 took the remaining players into hand-for-hand, and moments later, short-stacked A_FT_2004 pushed with [As][2h] against the [Jd][7d] of Camogie in a battle of the blinds. The board of [Tc][3c][4c][7c][Jh] gave Camogie two pair and eliminated A_FT_2004 in ninth place with $197.25.

Camogie and lulu.pk70 battle for the lead

The starting stacks at the final table were as follows:

Seat 1: kapzeke (65,087 in chips)
Seat 2: Ja707_CZ (126,258 in chips)
Seat 3: Iri$ka02 (106,105 in chips)
Seat 4: Glückskatze (48,682 in chips)
Seat 5: durrr085 (59,419 in chips)
Seat 6: lilo lil (17,514 in chips)
Seat 7: lulu.pk70 (157,475 in chips)
Seat 8: Camogie (161,105 in chips)
Seat 9: KiawahGolf68 (47,355 in chips)

It didn’t take long for big hands to develop, and one of those eliminated two players. It started with lilo lil moving all-in UTG. KiawahGolf68 and Ja707_CZ both called, but durrr085 reraised all-in from the big blind. KiawahGolf68 folded, but Ja707_CZ called and had both players covered.

Ja707_CZ: [Ah][Qs]
durrr085: [As][Jc]
lilo lil: [Ad][6d]

The board came [Kd][7s][Js][3s][Th], giving Ja707_CZ the straight to eliminate lilo lil in ninth place for $230.12 and durrr085 in eighth for $315.60. It also put Ja707_CZ in the chip lead.

The next big hand started with a raise from lulu.pk70 and call from KiawahGolf68. Kapzeke reraised all-in for nearly 30K with [3s][3c], which prompted a fold from lulu.pk70 but a call from KiawahGolf68 with [Jc][Tc]. The board of [6s][Jd][5c][6h][6d] gave KiawahGolf68 the full house and sent kapzeke packing in seventh place with $447.10.

Only four hands later, Gluckskatze pushed from the button with [Ac][Td], and original raiser KiawahGolf68 called with [Jd][Jh]. The board of [7c][4h][5h][2d][6c] changed nothing, and Gluckskatze had to depart in sixth place with $578.60.

Lulu.pk70 had become the short stack and stayed that way, even after doubling through Ja707_CZ. But it was KiawahGolf68 as the next player at risk. The hand started with a raised pot from small blind Camogie and big blind KiawahGolf68 to see a [3s][Js][9h] flop. A bet and call brought the [9d] on the turn, and Camogie bet out. KiawahGolf68 raised, and Camogie pushed all-in. KiawahGolf68 called for her tournament life with [As][6s], but the two pair of Camogie with [Kh][Jd] was ahead. The [Jh] on the river only made that into a full house and left KiawahGolf68 out in fifth with $749.55.

Another double for lulu.pk70 came at the expense of Iri$ka02, but the latter doubled back through the former to reverse the action. Iri$ka02 then doubled again, this time through Camogie, and briefly took the chip lead.

When Ja707_CZ moved all-in preflop with [Ad][8s], original raiser Camogie called with [6h][6d], and that pair held up to the [3h][5c][Kh][Jc][2c] board. That sent Ja707_CZ out in fourth place with $1,084.87.

In the very next hand, lulu.pk70 doubled through Iri$ka02 in this hand to change everything:

RSS readers click through to see replay

Iri$ka02 risker her last 66,945 chips on the next hand with [Ac][2s], and Camogie was there with [Ad][2d]. What looked like a chop changed to a flush on the [Qh][Kd][7d][4s][5d] board. That flush eliminated Iri$ka02 in third place with $1,446.50.

Nearly even for heads-up play

Play between the last two players started with lulu.pk70 holding only a slight lead over Camogie:

Seat 7: lulu.pk70 (401,830 in chips)
Seat 8: Camogie (387,170 in chips)

And Camogie took a big pot on the first hand to garner the lead from her opponent. Camogie continued to grind, and several big hands gave her a more dominating lead. It was soon after that the two got involved in another significant hand. A reraised pot led them to see a [5c][8c][6h] flop. Camogie bet, lulu.pk70 raised all-in with [Ac][5d] for bottom pair, and Camogie called with [Kc][Kh] for the overpair. The [3h] turn and [Qd] river finished the hand, leaving lulu.pk70 out in second place with $1,906.75.

Camogie of Ireland won the tournament and $2,544.64. Congratulations!

Women’s Sunday Results for 03/04/12:

1st place: Camogie ($2,544.64)
2nd place: lulu.pk70 ($1,906.75)
3rd place: Iri$ka02 ($1,446.50)
4th place: Ja707_CZ ($1,084.87
5th place: KiawahGolf68 ($749.55)
6th place: Gluckskatze ($578.60)
7th place: kapzeke ($447.10)
8th place: durrr085 ($315.60)
9th place: lilo lil ($230.12)

There are many ways to get in on the Women’s Sunday action. Take a look at the home page for information on daily satellites. And join us on Facebook for news and monthly freerolls, and Twitter for the latest information. See you next week!

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Canada’s xAlyssaxx Marks the Spot with Jan. 8 Women’s Sunday Victory

Sunday Special corner logo.jpg The numbers are already climbing, and this is only the second Women’s Sunday of 2012. Call me Positive Patty (not really, please), but I believe that this tournament is going to regularly climb over 300 registrants as the weeks come and go. If that $10K guarantee is surpassed week after week, maybe the powers-that-be will consider another raise for the guarantee. Maybe?

As for today, many poker eyes were focused on the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas. With the best live updates and behind-the-scenes stories in the business, the PokerStars Blog is the place for all things PCA. For those of us unable to travel to the Caribbean this January, we’re living vicariously through those who are there.

Meanwhile, nearly 300 players came to the virtual tables of the Women’s Sunday. It’s hard to watch poker coverage without wanting to take part in some aspect of the game as well. Thus, this week’s numbers:

Total players: 293
Prize pool: $14,650.00
Paid finishers: 45

There were three Team PokerStars Pros in action today, each boasting of a $50 bounty for anyone who knocked them out of the tournament. The first to register was Friend of PokerStars Charlotte “Sjlot” Van Brabander, though she was also the first of the three to be eliminated.

Two other pros took their seats from the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. Team Online’s Adrienne “talonchick” Rowsome settled in for some online poker but ended up exiting just into the second hour in 149th place. Also in action from the PCA was Fatima Moreira de Melo, who didn’t make it further than 131st place.

That left the field wide open for those without PokerStars sponsorships. The field played down to the money bubble, which happened little more than 2 hours 15 minutes into the tournament. Spillemor was the unfortunate bubble player, out in 46th place, and kaprizulina was the first of the remaining players to cash for $87.90.

There were only two tables remaining at the three-hour mark, and it took little more than ten minutes to thin the field to one table. After Azja was eliminated in 11th place, short-stacked tamuchi pushed all-in for 23,920 from the small blind with [Jc][Th], and Kiri Dogue called from the big blind with [Kh][9h]. The board came [9d][Ad][4c][3d][7d], and the pair of nines eliminated tamuchi in tenth place with $219.75.

FinancialPOK makes another final table, seeks first win

Action at the final table began in Level 18, with blinds at 2,000/4,000 and a 500 ante. Players’ starting stacks were as follows:

Seat 1: Tilleh Mint (52,248 in chips)
Seat 2: k0ngit0 (52,045 in chips)
Seat 3: FinancialPOK (227,523 in chips)
Seat 4: xAlyssaxx (97,960 in chips)
Seat 5: Kiri Dogue (160,021 in chips)
Seat 6: pocketgirrrl (79,400 in chips)
Seat 7: 1time4meee (64,063 in chips)
Seat 8: Gaara240 (29,612 in chips)
Seat 9: MAMED 299 (116,128 in chips)

It didn’t take long for the shortest stack of the group to make her move. Gaara240 moved all-in with [Ac][5s], and original raiser 1time4meee called with [7s][7c]. The flop of [3c][4d][5d] gave Gaara240 a pair and straight draw, but the [4h] on the turn brought no help. The [7h] only improved 1time4meee to a full house and left Gaara240 out in ninth place with $256.37.

Tilleh Mint doubled through FinancialPOK to stay in action, and MAMED 299 slowly but surely climbed into first place to take the lead. Then, xAlyssaxx doubled through Kiri Dogue to jump into third place on the leaderboard, and k0ngit0 also doubled through Kiri Dogue. The latter got one back through xAlyssaxx but remained short.

Meanwhile, 1time4meee was ready to use her “one time” and moved all-in with [As][6s]. MAMED 299 reraised all-in with [Ad][Ah], and everyone else folded out of the way, though FinancialPOK showed [Ac][Jd] from the big blind as she folded. The pocket aces held up to the [8c][2c][Qh][Qd][Ts] board, and 1time4meee exited in eighth place with $351.60.

Kiri Dogue moved all-in again, this time with [4c][3c], and Tilleh Mint called from the big blind with [7d][7h]. The board came [9h][9s][Jh][Qd][6s], which eliminated Kiri Dogue in seventh place with $498.10.

K0ngi0 was the next player to push, and she did it from the button with [Ks][9d]. FinancialPOK called from the small blind with a dominating [Kc][Js], which held up with kickers in play to the [6s][5c][Ah][8c][2d] board. That left k0ngit0 out in sixth place with $644.60.

FinancialPOK was getting low on chips and made her move to double up or go home. She pushed from the big blind with [Ks][Jd], and original raiser MAMED 299 called with [Ac][Kh]. The ace played as the board came [4d][9h][5s][3d][9s], and FinancialPOK was deprived of a win today, finishing in fifth place with $835.05.

Tilleh Mint was also below the 100K mark and pushed all-in on the very next hand with [Qd][Jc]. Original raiser MAMED 299 called with [Ad][6d]. The dealer delivered a board of [2s][Td][3d][Kc][Ks], and the ace played for MAMED 299, leaving Tilleh Mint out in fourth place with $1,208.62.

Three-handed play saw xAlyssaxx double through MAMED 299 in this game-changing hand:

RSS readers click through to see replay

MAMED 299 doubled through pocketgirrrl to stay in action, and xAlyssaxx took a pot worth 243,600 chips from pocketgirrrl.

Two hands later, pocketgirrrl risked the rest of her chips with [Ac][9c] against the [8d][8s] of xAlyssaxx, but the board of [Kh][5d][8h][6s][Ks] provided a full house for xAlyssaxx. Pocketgirrrl departed in third place with $1,611.50.

MAMED 299 vs. xAlyssaxx

The two players began with these chip counts:

Seat 4: xAlyssaxx (694,872 in chips)
Seat 9: MAMED 299 (184,128 in chips)

MAMED 299 risked it all on the second hand and found this double-up opportunity:

RSS readers click through to see replay

But xAlyssaxx continued to play aggressively and reduced her opponent to less than 200K. MAMED 299 doubled again when her pocket sevens held up to the K-9 of xAlyssaxx, but the former lost ground again.

Finally, MAMED 299 pushed with [As][6s], and xAlyssaxx was along for the ride with [Ad][Tc]. The board came [Kh][4h][2h][5h][Kd], and MAMED 299 finished the tournament in second place with $2,124.25.

Canada’s xAlyssaxx won this week’s Women’s Sunday title and $2,834.89 in cash. Congrats!

Women’s Sunday Results for 01/08/12:

1st place: xAlyssaxx ($2,834.89)
2nd place: MAMED 299 ($2,124.25)
3rd place: pocketgirrrl ($1,611.50)
4th place: Tilleh Mint ($1,208.62)
5th place: FinancialPOK ($835.05)
6th place: k0ngi0 ($644.60)
7th place: Kiri Dogue ($498.10)
8th place: 1time4meee ($351.60)
9th place: Gaara240 ($256.37)

There are many ways to get in on the Women’s Sunday action. Take a look at the home page for information on daily satellites. And join us on Facebook for news and monthly freerolls, and Twitter for the latest information. See you next week!

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PokerStars 10th Anniversary: I’m playing the $10m Sunday Million!

On December 18th PokerStars will be holding an absolutely amazing event. For its 10th Anniversary, they will boost the Sunday Million guarantee to an incredible $10 Million prize pool. What this means is that there will most likely be 50,000+ players all paying just $200 for a chance to win $2 Million.

The best way to approach such an event is probably to realize that you’re going to have to get through a ton of people and so taking risks too much from the beginning is probably not the best option. Survival is key in this tournament and looking for really good spots to pick up chips in, is ideal in comparison with random risk taking. Many people will probably be taking risks in the beginning thinking that 50,000 is just too many players to overcome and so they think that getting lucky and picking up a ton of chips early on is crucial to doing well, but I disagree and think you should certainly take advantage of people employing these strategies by playing good hands and trapping them in any way you could.

As this is really a one of a kind tournament that you may not see again for a very long time I think everyone who has the opportunity, should go out of their way to play this. If $200 is too much of a buy-in for you, PokerStars is running a multitude of satellites where you could win your buy-in for as little as $1 if not less or even Freeroll your way into it using other PokerStars promotions. I’m personally used to playing live tournaments where the buy-ins generally range from $5,000-$10,000 in main events and it’s very rare to see a 1st prize of $2,000,000 in those, so I definitely plan on going out of my way to make sure I’m able to play this tournament for only $200.

I wish everyone the best of luck and see you at the tables!

Follow Eugene on Twitter: @eugenkatchalov

Follow Eugene Katchalov on Facebook.

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ANZPT Canberra Day 2: Level 8 (blinds 400-800, ante 75)

06/12/2011 By: Filed in: 2011 | General | pokerstars | Pokerstarsblog | Team PokerStars Pro

Canberra is a city with a lot of culture. Some of the country’s finest museums and galleries are found in the nation’s capital. Those who appreciate artistic genius will be more that satisfied here. And they will probably also enjoy the work of art which is able to be created in the Casino Canberra this afternoon. They often say that No Limit Holdem is an art, and that will be on display today in its finest form as 76 players return to the felt for Day 2 of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Canberra Main Event.

The goal will be to reach the money, but we may not quite get that far today. It will be close, but the rate of eliminations in this tournament has been pretty slow, so if that continues, we may be in for a lengthy day.

2009 ANZPT Queensland Scott Kerr will enter with the biggest stack in the room, with Aussie poker legend Leo Boxell, Aussie Millions champ David Gorr, previous ANZPT Season 3 champs Octavian Voegele and Michael Kanaan and Team PokerStars Pro Tony Hachem all still in contention.

Cards will be in the air from 12:15pm so stay tuned!

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ANZPT Canberra Day 2: Level 8 (blinds 400-800, ante 75)

06/12/2011 By: Filed in: 2011 | General | pokerstars | Pokerstarsblog | Team PokerStars Pro

Canberra is a city with a lot of culture. Some of the country’s finest museums and galleries are found in the nation’s capital. Those who appreciate artistic genius will be more that satisfied here. And they will probably also enjoy the work of art which is able to be created in the Casino Canberra this afternoon. They often say that No Limit Holdem is an art, and that will be on display today in its finest form as 76 players return to the felt for Day 2 of the PokerStars.net ANZPT Canberra Main Event.

The goal will be to reach the money, but we may not quite get that far today. It will be close, but the rate of eliminations in this tournament has been pretty slow, so if that continues, we may be in for a lengthy day.

2009 ANZPT Queensland Scott Kerr will enter with the biggest stack in the room, with Aussie poker legend Leo Boxell, Aussie Millions champ David Gorr, previous ANZPT Season 3 champs Octavian Voegele and Michael Kanaan and Team PokerStars Pro Tony Hachem all still in contention.

Cards will be in the air from 12:15pm so stay tuned!

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ANZPT Canberra Day 1b: Level 7 (blinds 300-600, ante 50)

7:50pm: Day 1b, and Wally the Wombat, is in the bag

The clock has ticked down and the players have found some chatter after surviving day one action. It looks like we’ll have around 41 survivors including Team PokerStars Pro Tony Hachem who made it through the day with 18,150.

“He who survives, lives to fight another day,” laughed Hachem after a rough day at the office.

Luke Edwards, Billy Jordanou and Andrew Scarf have bagged up healthy stacks, while Michael Kanaan, Jarred Graham and David Gorr have all survived. However the end-of-day chip leader, once again, is the stalwart of Australian poker, Leo “The Mechanic” Boxell.

Late in the day, Boxell picked up a nice pot when he made a straight to better his opponent’s two pair, and will take 79,925 into battle tomorrow. There was a little controversy to end the day however, as Boxell was adamant that “Wally the Wombat” (his soft toy) should be allowed to be sealed in the bag. The floor staff weren’t convinced.

“He’s allowed in every other casino in Australian and New Zealand!” defended Boxell, “He’s the custodian of the chips!”

Eventually it was ruled that Wally could go in the bag, and with that, our day has come to an end. We’ll be back with a wrap of the day’s action and full chip counts of the field for you shortly.

7:30pm: Chevalier flushed

Danny Chevalier is the latest casualty from the ANZPT Canberra Main Event as he won’t be improving on his third place in the ANZ Player of the Year.

Manny Rodrigues opened to 1,700 before Chevalier moved all in for 7,900. However it was Khiem Nguyen that he had to worry about as he made the call to force a fold from Rodrigues. Chevalier showed [ad][th] but Nguyen had [kc][ks].

The flop of [ac][Qc][9c] put Chevalier into the lead and he stayed there through the [3s] turn, but the [jc] river gave Nguyen a flush for the knockout blow. Nguyen is up to 46,000.

7:20pm: Grujic gathers momentum

Oliver Grujic must’ve caught wind of Jesse McKenzie’s elimination as he’s been inspired to collect a nice pot from Aussie Millions champ David Gorr.

Gorr himself was on the short stack not long ago but managed to get himself up to around 30,000 prior to this hand. We caught the action on the flop of [9c][7h][jh] with Gorr check-calling for 2,300 from the small blind before both players checked the [9s] turn. On the [2h] river Gorr attempted a blocking bet of 1,000 but Grujic was having none of it as he raised to 5,800. Gorr thought for a few moments before making the call, but mucked when Gurjic showed [qh][th] for the rivered flush.

Gorr slips to 23,000 with Grujic up to 50,000 and looking strong.

7:15pm: McKenzie mauled

Jesse McKenzie has been bundled out of the tournament in unfortunate fashion. Facing a raise to 1,500 and a call, McKenzie squeezed all in for 7,300 holding pocket eights. The original raiser folded but the other player called with pocket sixes.

McKenzie was heading towards a double up but the [6][7][7][a][j] board gave his opponent the two-outer six to eliminate McKenzie from the tournament. The ANZ Player of the Year race is open once again with the remaining top five – Oliver Grujic, Danny Chevalier, Octavian Voegele and Leo Boxell all still alive in this tournament.

7:10pm: Rafferty ruled out

Tom Rafferty’s wild ride today has come to an end at the hands of Tony Hachem. Action folded around to Rafferty in the small blind and he moved all in for around 5,000 with [k][2] but Hachem made the call with [ad][3d]. An ace and a three on board gave Hachem two pair to take the pot and eliminate Rafferty. Hachem is back to 18,000.

7:00pm: Hachem hurting

Tony Hachem opened with a raise from under the gun to 1,700 and found a call from Omer Silajdzija in the small blind to see a [8h][7h][8s] flop. Silajdzija checked it over to Hachem who bet 3,200. Silajdzija made the call and the turn brought the [5d]. Both players checked before the river landed a co-ordinated [6d].

Silajdzija tossed out a single, blue 5,000-denomination chip but Hachem jumped out of the way as Silajdzija showed [9d][td] for a rivered straight.

Silajdzija is up to 55,000 with Hachem down to 9,000.

Tony Hachem struggles to get going in the nation’s capital

6:50pm: Play resumes

The players are back with the big screen saying that 51 players are still alive on Day 1b. Yesterday level seven was where we saw all the carnage, so we expect a few more fireworks again today.

Andrew Scarf is amongst the chip leaders with 65,000 while Team PokerStars Pro Tony Hachem battling on around 15,000.

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ANZPT Canberra Day 1b: Level 7 (blinds 300-600, ante 50)

7:50pm: Day 1b, and Wally the Wombat, is in the bag

The clock has ticked down and the players have found some chatter after surviving day one action. It looks like we’ll have around 41 survivors including Team PokerStars Pro Tony Hachem who made it through the day with 18,150.

“He who survives, lives to fight another day,” laughed Hachem after a rough day at the office.

Luke Edwards, Billy Jordanou and Andrew Scarf have bagged up healthy stacks, while Michael Kanaan, Jarred Graham and David Gorr have all survived. However the end-of-day chip leader, once again, is the stalwart of Australian poker, Leo “The Mechanic” Boxell.

Late in the day, Boxell picked up a nice pot when he made a straight to better his opponent’s two pair, and will take 79,925 into battle tomorrow. There was a little controversy to end the day however, as Boxell was adamant that “Wally the Wombat” (his soft toy) should be allowed to be sealed in the bag. The floor staff weren’t convinced.

“He’s allowed in every other casino in Australian and New Zealand!” defended Boxell, “He’s the custodian of the chips!”

Eventually it was ruled that Wally could go in the bag, and with that, our day has come to an end. We’ll be back with a wrap of the day’s action and full chip counts of the field for you shortly.

7:30pm: Chevalier flushed

Danny Chevalier is the latest casualty from the ANZPT Canberra Main Event as he won’t be improving on his third place in the ANZ Player of the Year.

Manny Rodrigues opened to 1,700 before Chevalier moved all in for 7,900. However it was Khiem Nguyen that he had to worry about as he made the call to force a fold from Rodrigues. Chevalier showed [ad][th] but Nguyen had [kc][ks].

The flop of [ac][Qc][9c] put Chevalier into the lead and he stayed there through the [3s] turn, but the [jc] river gave Nguyen a flush for the knockout blow. Nguyen is up to 46,000.

7:20pm: Grujic gathers momentum

Oliver Grujic must’ve caught wind of Jesse McKenzie’s elimination as he’s been inspired to collect a nice pot from Aussie Millions champ David Gorr.

Gorr himself was on the short stack not long ago but managed to get himself up to around 30,000 prior to this hand. We caught the action on the flop of [9c][7h][jh] with Gorr check-calling for 2,300 from the small blind before both players checked the [9s] turn. On the [2h] river Gorr attempted a blocking bet of 1,000 but Grujic was having none of it as he raised to 5,800. Gorr thought for a few moments before making the call, but mucked when Gurjic showed [qh][th] for the rivered flush.

Gorr slips to 23,000 with Grujic up to 50,000 and looking strong.

7:15pm: McKenzie mauled

Jesse McKenzie has been bundled out of the tournament in unfortunate fashion. Facing a raise to 1,500 and a call, McKenzie squeezed all in for 7,300 holding pocket eights. The original raiser folded but the other player called with pocket sixes.

McKenzie was heading towards a double up but the [6][7][7][a][j] board gave his opponent the two-outer six to eliminate McKenzie from the tournament. The ANZ Player of the Year race is open once again with the remaining top five – Oliver Grujic, Danny Chevalier, Octavian Voegele and Leo Boxell all still alive in this tournament.

7:10pm: Rafferty ruled out

Tom Rafferty’s wild ride today has come to an end at the hands of Tony Hachem. Action folded around to Rafferty in the small blind and he moved all in for around 5,000 with [k][2] but Hachem made the call with [ad][3d]. An ace and a three on board gave Hachem two pair to take the pot and eliminate Rafferty. Hachem is back to 18,000.

7:00pm: Hachem hurting

Tony Hachem opened with a raise from under the gun to 1,700 and found a call from Omer Silajdzija in the small blind to see a [8h][7h][8s] flop. Silajdzija checked it over to Hachem who bet 3,200. Silajdzija made the call and the turn brought the [5d]. Both players checked before the river landed a co-ordinated [6d].

Silajdzija tossed out a single, blue 5,000-denomination chip but Hachem jumped out of the way as Silajdzija showed [9d][td] for a rivered straight.

Silajdzija is up to 55,000 with Hachem down to 9,000.

Tony Hachem struggles to get going in the nation’s capital

6:50pm: Play resumes

The players are back with the big screen saying that 51 players are still alive on Day 1b. Yesterday level seven was where we saw all the carnage, so we expect a few more fireworks again today.

Andrew Scarf is amongst the chip leaders with 65,000 while Team PokerStars Pro Tony Hachem battling on around 15,000.

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MPC Red Dragon Main Event Day 2: Level 14 (blinds 1,500-3,000, ante 400)

2:40pm: Play resumes

The players are back with nine tables in action as we start to get close to the money stage of the tournament. The top 50 players will be paid today with a minimum cash worth HK$20,100.

Korea’s Baek Seung Heon jumped to the top of the leaderboard late in that last level although there are several players who are quickly accumulating big stacks, with South African Conrad Coetzer, Australia’s Jessica Shi-ling Ngu and Hong Kong’s Justin Chan all looking threatening.

It looks like we’ve lost our PokerStars Team Online Pro Yu-Reng Peng, however PokerStars Team Asia Pro Celian Lin is still alive but she’s looking for a double up with a stack of about 38,000.

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MPC Red Dragon Main Event Day 1b: Levels 10 – 11 (blinds 800-1,600, ante 200)

9:40pm: That’s it! Day 1b is in the books!

The final hands have been dealt and the players are currently scribbling their names on their bags, hopefully alongside a healthy chip count. Around 80 players have made it through and they will return to the action tomorrow for Day 2 of the Red Dragon Main Event.

Leading the way today is likely to be Victor Chong with Charles Chua close behind. Also surviving the day was APPT Cebu champion Young-shin Im who made it through with an average stack.

We’ll be back shortly with a wrap of the day’s action and confirmation of the chip counts for the entire field.

9:30pm: Suzuki stumbles late

Japanese player Takuya Suzuki was threatening for the chip lead a few minutes ago but a solid call by Hungarian Gabor Pateri has left Suzuki back in the pack as the day comes to a close.

We caught the action on a flop of [5h][7s][2c] when Suzuki bet out 4,500 before Pateri raised to 17,000. Suzuki moved all in and Pateri was sent into the tank for a big decision for his tournament. He eventually made the call with [ts][td] as Suzuki was trailing with [9h][9d].

The turn was the [ah] and river the [8s] to double Pateri up to over 85,000 with Suzuki back down to around 75,000.

9:20pm: Six more hands

It seems that play has slowed up considerably over the last twenty minutes or so, with not a lot of action to report. Interestingly the big stacks are starting to eye each other off and ask tournament staff about the size of the biggest stack from yesterday. It looks like Victor Chong and Charles Chua are going to battle it out for the chip lead as we enter the final level of the day.

We’ll be playing six more hands on each table before we call it a day.

9:00pm: The Lo-down

We spotted Jordon Lo making a hasty retreat to the exit a few minutes ago, after what was clearly his elimination from the tournament. After taking a walk to cool off, Lo returned to the poker room and stopped by our desk to recall the details of his bustout.

After calling a preflop raise to 3,000 in position with [j][t], Lo caught middle pair on a [q][j][2] flop. Lo called one street for 5,000 and then was happy to commit the rest of his chips when he picked up two pair on the [t] turn card. Unfortunately his opponent held [a][k] for the straight and Lo couldn’t fill up on the river.

8:50pm: Predictions come true

As Andrew Scott predicted only moments ago, he has just become tangled in a pot with Lee Chin Feng. Scott had opened to 3,000 and Feng called to see a [5h][8h][7h] flop. Scott bet 4,000 and Feng called as the [2c] hit the turn.

Scott bet another 6,000 but Feng doubled that to make it 12,000. Scott called and the river was the [ks]. Both players checked it down with Scott showing [ac][jh] for ace-high but Feng had a pair with his [ah][8d]. Scott slips to 60,000 as Feng climbs to 120,000.

Andrew Scott and Lee Chin Feng get to know each other at the Macau Poker Cup

8:40pm: Play resumes

The players are back with around 100 players still alive on Day 1b. Charles Chua and Victor Chong are our likely chip leaders with around 115,000 apiece. Andrew Scott just stopped by to let us know he’s up to 87,000 and expecting some fireworks in the last session with tablemate Lee Chin Feng to his direct left who apparently is both tilted and loaded with a stack of around 100,000.

We’ve seen some incredible action so far this afternoon, what awaits over the final one and a half levels?

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UKIPT Cork: Day 2, level 18 & 19 updates (blinds 4,000-8,000, ante 500)

12.15am: End of the level
Players are now on a 15 minute break. — NW

12.12am: McGleenon out in 23rd (€1,400)
Overnight chip leader Barry McGleenon is out in 23rd after getting it all-in with [ah][qh] to Alan Brereton’ black jacks. No paint on the board and McGleenon is out for €1,400. — RD

12.10am: Topkins eliminated in 24th (€1,400)
Jason Tompkins just busted the main event with [Kd][Jd] to Amby Travers [Kc][Qc], it’s been a remarkable festival for Tompkins who also cashed in the six-max tournament and the Poker Triathlon. — NW

12.09am: Lucky turn for Travers
Amby Travers just caught a huge turn card to save his tournament after getting 195,000 in on a [9s][4s][kc] flop with [ah][qd]. His opponent, Sam Razavi I believe, held [kh][qs] for top pair. Travers was drawing super thin, just three outs, and promptly caught an ace on the turn. Razavi didn’t look happy. Travers up to 450,000. — RD

11.55pm: Razavi eliminates Southcott
From middle position Sam Razavi opened to 20,500 and then from the button Mark Southcott moved all-in for around 100,000 with pocket fours. The flop of [2][J][Q] sent Razavi into the lead and the [5c][9h] turn and river kept him there. With that elimination we’re down to three tables. — NW

11.48pm: Power doubles, O’Brien falls
Micheal O’Brien has busted to Andrew Sweeney with pocket twos to pocket kings but John Power caught Broadway after getting it in with [kd][js] to Sam Razavi’s [ad][ts]. Power still short. — RD

11.30pm: Vamplew vanquished
Team Quidditch will not be adding to their UKIPT trophy total as David Vamplew has just been eliminated by Adam Jaguscik. The action was started by Sam Macdonald who raised to 17,500 in early position, Vamplew then moved all-in from the button for 111,000 total, with Jaguscik making the call from the big blind and Macdonald folding. On their backs:

Vamplew: [Ad][10c]
Jaguscik: [10h][10s]

The flop of [Qc][Kh][7c] gave Vamplew some additional outs, but he missed them all on the [3h] turn and [8h] river. — NW

EPT London champ David Vamplew is out

LEVEL UP: BLINDS 4,000-8,000, ante 500

11.20pm: Duncan doubles through Sweeney
Ali Duncan has doubled through Andrew Sweeney with queens through tens. He’s still short and will have to keep doubling if he’s to have a crack at the final table. — RD

11.10pm: Fitzgerald doubles through Dowling
Chris Dowling appears to be involved in most of the big pots right now and he just doubled up Dara Fitzgerald. I missed the action before the all-in and call but there was 38,000 in the pot pre-flop and the flop had come down [7s][Jd][6d], Fitzegerald had then managed to get his remaining 98,000 in holding [Kd][Js] whilst Dowling had called with pocket queens. He [7d] fell on the turn and then the [Jc] on the river saw Fitzgerald catch one of his few outs to stay alive. — NW

11pm: Mulsow busts countryman Weiss to break a million
Martin Mulsow has just bust Mathias Weiss in the biggest pot of the tournament so far. Mulsow had three-bet squeezed out of the small blind to 39,000 and only one player, Weiss, had paid the extra fee to see the flop.

Mulsow checked the [qd][3d][8s] board over to Weiss who pushed out 100,000 in one large blue stack. Mulsow, an excitable young German said urgently: “How much do you have? I need to know.”

The answer was 270,000 and Mulsow quickly announced that he was all-in. Weiss, looking a little awestruck, made the call. The Weiss had 366,000 in total, which pushed the pot up to some 850,000.

Mulsow: [kh][qh] for top pair
Weiss: [td][9d] for flush and straight draws

“It’s a big pot,” said Mulsow with an extra expletive thrown in for good measure that I’ve since removed for those with more sensitive dispositions. Indeed it was a big ‘un, and a blank turn and river would see Mulsow push way through the million mark, up to 1,300,000 – a huge chip lead at this point. The turn gave Mulsow two-pair with the [kc], but did little to change the outs. Weiss was left looking for a diamond or a jack. Neither arrived, a harmless [7h] falling to the river.

Martin Mulsow has a huge chip stack now

“Jesus,” said Mulsow rocking back in his chair, “That was the biggest pot of the tournament, right?” Yes, Mulsow now very much the man to catch.

“Keep the cameras out of my face,” he said with a smile as PokerStars Blog photographer Neil Stoddart snapped away trying to catch the German’s wide trademark grin. — RD

10.55pm: Dowling makes a nice call
Big stack Chris Dowling and David Vamplew just played an interesting blind on blind pot. From the small Dowling raised to 13,500 and Vamplew made the call from the big. The flop was [2s][7s][9h] and Dowling check-called a bet of 17,000.

To the turn which was the [4s] check from Dowling, second barrel of 38,500 from Vamplew, dwell call from Dowling. The [5c] completed the board and Dowling checked again to Vamplew who emptied the clip, betting 93,500. This caused Dowling to stand up and puff out his cheeks, after a few minutes Dowling made the call, Vamplew showed [Kd][8d] for king high, Dowling [7h][3c] for a gutsy and correct call. — NW

10.50pm: Flynn continues to rake them in
The Jamie Flynn juggernaut continues to gather pace with the Irishman cracking Paul Lecky’s pocket kings with a flopped [Qd][9d] two pair.

Also eliminated recently were Susan Lehane and Richy Landy. We have 30 players remaining across the last four tables. — NW

10.40pm: Exits since the break
We’ve lost a few players since the break including Patrick Stephens and Paul Nash. The latter has now cashed in all four UKIPT events this season and there’s a strong possibility he’ll sit atop the UKIPT leaderboard after this event. — NW

10.30pm: In like Flynn
Jamie Flynn just added to his burgeoning chip stack by eliminating Herman Campmans. The latter was all-in for 115,000 pre-flop with [Ac][Kc] against Flynn’s [Ad][4c]. The [6d][4s][10h] flop vaulted Flynn from worst to first and he stayed there on the [10s] turn and [7h] river. Flynn now has around 850,000.– NW

10.25pm: Bedi busts, Flynn huge
Rupinder Bedi has just busted adding a fifth cash to his UKIPT career. He’d been flying high with the chip lead earlier today but ran queens into the kings of Peter Burnett and then got his remaining 200,000 in drawing very thin against Jamie Flynn.

It all went in on the [ac][6s][2s] flop with Bedi’s [ks][qs] in dire straits against Flynn’s [as][5s].

“I’ll take an off-suit queen,” said Bedi optimistically. No runner-runner and Bedi leaves with €1,100 in his pocket. Jamie Flynn now up to 750,000. — RD

Jamie Flynn

10.20pm: Last few exits
Here’s the last five exits, if you want to see all of those to have troubled the cashier thus far then click here.

40th: Christian Jackson, United Kingdom,€1,100
41st: Gavin O’Rourke, Ireland, €1,100
42nd: Sam Clery, Ireland, PokerStars qualifier, €1,100
43rd: Patrick Carroll, Ireland, €1,100
44th: Dariusz Jedrzejczyk, Poland, PokerStars player, €1,100
45th: Stephen Neeson, Ireland, €1,100

10.10pm: Five tables left
As we come back into level 18 we find ourselves with 39 players left, one UKIPT winner (Jamie Burland), one EPT winner (David Vamplew) and an average chip stack of 231,000. Play set to recommence shortly. — RD

It feels like Guinness o’clock to us

PokerStars Blog reporting team in Cork (in order of what they’d give for a pint of Guinness right now): Rick Dacey (left arm) and Nick Wright (Dacey’s right arm). Photos by Neil Stoddart (Nick Wright).

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