FTOPS XI Event #12, $1,000+60 NL Hold'em Second Chance: Steve 'Zugwat' Silverman Takes It

February 10 2009, Mickey Doft

Event #12 of the eleventh Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS XI) was a $1,000+60 no-limit hold'em "second chance" affair guaranteeing $1,500,000. The tournament allowed for one free rebuy per player if he or she were to bust in the first two hours. Out of 1,630 entrants, 972 used the rebuy option. In the end the prize pool was $1,630,000 and first place offered a whopping $350,450. Notable finishers falling shy of the final table included FTOPS specialist Halfrek in 10th ($13,610.50), BeepBeepImaJeep in 13th ($9,780), Jacob "quadducks" Spelman in 15th ($9,780), daisyxoxo in 21st ($5,379), Yevgeniy "bballer88" Timoshenko in 25th ($5,379) and Andrew "luckychewy" Lichtenberger in 36th ($4,564). There have been several impressive feats during FTOPS XI to this point, but one of the best thus far is that of Chris "The Universe112" Leveroni. He won Event #7 ($100+9 NLHE w/ rebuys) and came to the Event #12 final table as chip leader. The counts were as follows:

Chris "The Universe112" Leveroni – 3,419,801
Mike "SowersUNCC" Sowers – 2,033,579
Tzahi "tzahi2008" Dagan – 1,811,149
pwnosaurus – 1,810,970
Steve "Zugwat" Silverman – 1,410,969
Randomizer2 – 1,105,866
Andrew "Adgee" Jeffreys – 627,893
ali sani – 547,677
JohnnyM77 – 242,096

Exiting the final table on its first hand was JohnnyM77, with blinds and antes at 14,000/28,000/3,500. Andrew "Adgee" Jeffreys opened to 81,500 in middle position and JohnnyM77 went all in for 238,596 from the big blind with . Jeffreys called with and took down the pot when the board rolled out . JohnnyM77 took home $22,820 for the ninth-place showing. Busting in eighth position was ali sani, at 20,000/40,000/5,000. Action folded around to ali sani in the small blind who shoved for 310,279 with , but was called by Steve "Zugwat" Silverman, in the big blind, who held . The board came and ali sani exited in eighth place for $32,600. Randomizer2 departed a few hands later. Under the gun, Randomizer2 opened to 100,000 and Chris "The Universe112" Leveroni called in middle position. The flop came and Randomizer2 made a continuation bet of 125,000. Leveroni raised to 337,000 and Randomizer2 shoved for 1,353,032. Leveroni snap-called with and led Randomizer2's . The turn and river came as Randomizer2 was sent to the rail in seventh place for $45,640.

Andrew "Adgee" Jeffreys departed at 25,000/50,000/6,000. Action folded to Jeffreys in the small blind and he put in a raise to 211,999. Mike "SowersUNCC" Sowers re-raised all in with the bigger stack and Jeffreys called all in for 655,229 with . It led Sowers' , but the board ran out and Sowers straight felted Jeffreys in sixth place for $70,090. Tzahi "tzahi2008" Dagan was eliminated next. Steve "Zugwat" Silverman opened to 125,525 in the cutoff and Dagan re-raised all in from the small blind for 1,187,149. Silverman called with , but trailed Dagan's . The flop came down and Silverman took the lead with a set of kings. The hit the turn and gave Dagan a straight draw, but the river landed the and Dagan fell in fifth place for $97,800.

Chris "The Universe112" Leveroni busted late in the level. He raised to 127,000 in the cutoff and was called by pwnosaurus on the button and Mike Sowers in the small blind. The flop came and Sowers led out 249,038 with Leveroni being the lone caller. The turn was the and Sowers opted to check to Leveroni who bet 380,000. Sowers took a moment before raising to 1,100,000 and Leveroni quickly re-raised all in for 3,520,085. Sowers insta-called, tabled for two pair and needed to dodge a few outs as Leveroni held for an open-ended straight draw. The river was and Chris "The Universe112" Leveroni was out in fourth place for $130,400.

Succumbing in third was pwnosaurus, at 30,000/60,000/7,500. After doubling up Steve "Zugwat" Silverman a few hands earlier, pwnosaurus went all in from the small blind for 349,176 with and Mike Sowers called with . The board ran out and pwnosaurus was made extinct in third place for $164,630. The chip counts to begin heads-up play:

Mike "SowersUNCC" Sowers – 8,356,676
Steve "Zugwat" Silverman – 4,653,324

A massive $128,770 was the difference between first and second place as both players were in for a lengthy heads-up battle. Silverman closed the gap and then doubled up with against Sowers' to take nearly a 7:1 chip lead. Several hands later Sowers doubled with against Silverman's to get back to over three million. Silverman still had over 9.5 million, but the next hand brought them nearly even in chips with Sowers grabbing a slight lead. The blinds and antes were 40,000/80,000/10,000 and Silverman opened to 195,000. Sowers called and the flop came . Sowers led out 235,000 and Silverman bumped it up to 635,000. After a brief pause Sowers went all in for 3,135,000 and Silverman called with for middle pair and a flush draw. Sowers was caught bluffing with and it looked all but over for him when the hit the turn. Sowers needed to catch a non-heart seven or nine on the river and amazingly the landed to keep the battle going.

At 50,000/100,000/10,000, Mike Sowers had slowly built up a 3:1 chip lead before Steve Silverman doubled up, bringing them back to even again. Silverman had the button and limped in, but Sowers raised to 400,000. Silverman came along and the flop came . Sowers bet 500,000 and Silverman shoved for 2,727,100. Sowers tanked and eventually opted to call. He tabled and it turned out to be a great call as he was ahead of Silverman's . The turn was the and Sowers was one card away from the win, but the river was the and Silverman was back in the game.

The tournament finally came to an end at 60,000/120,000/15,000. Mike Sowers, now slightly trailing, raised to 300,000 and Steve Silverman shoved for 7,230,000 having Sowers covered. After requesting time, Sowers went with it and clicked the call button. His was up against Silverman's . The flop and turn came , giving Sowers plenty of outs, but the river was the . After nearly thirteen hours, Mike "SowersUNCC" Sowers bowed out as the runner-up, collecting $221,680. The winner of FTOPS Event #12 was Steve "Zugwat" Silverman, cashing $350,450 for his excellent effort.

Final Results:

1. Steve "Zugwat" Silverman - $350,450
2. Mike "SowersUNCC" Sowers - $221,680
3. pwnosaurus - $164,630
4. Chris "The Universe112" Leveroni - $130,400
5. Tzahi "tzahi2008" Dagan - $97,800
6. Andrew "Adgee" Jeffreys - $70,090
7. Randomizer2 - $45,640
8. ali sani - $32,600
9. JohnnyM77 - $22,820

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