PartyPoker Premier League VI: Daniel “Jungleman” Cates Wins Again

March 22, 2013

Pamela Maldonado

Daniel “Jungleman” Cates has done it again. The fourth and final heat of Group A of the Party Poker Premier League VI ended on Thursday, and Cates once again claimed victory by defeating Jonathan Duhamel heads up for 16 points and an additional $32,000. The victory was Cates' second of Premier League VI after he won the second heat earlier this week. Cates finished second overall in Group A, eight points behind Duhamel. Both players earned automatic seats to the final table along with Sam Trickett, who took third in the final heat.

Group A Heat 4 results

Place	Player	Points	Prize*
1	Daniel Cates	16	$32,000
2	Jonathan Duhamel	11	$22,000
3	Sam Trickett	8	$16,000
4	Scott Seiver	6	$12,000
5	Antonio Esfandiari	4	$8,000
6	Phil Hellmuth	3	$6,000
7	Marvin Rettenmaier	2	$4,000
8	Daniel Negreanu	0	$0

*Each player receives $2,000 for every point earned during the event

The table dynamic for the final heat changed because all the players knew how many points they needed in order to advance to the final table. For some, the fourth heat was less about playing poker and more about strategy to stay in the game.

In just the second level of the heat, Negreanu was eliminated in eighth place, leaving him no chance of qualifying for the final. According to the PartyPoker blog, Negreanu acted completely out of character after he busted, throwing his chips across the table where some even spilled onto the floor.

In Negrenau's exit hand, Cates opened to 12,000 with the K♦J♦ and was called by Negreanu (A♠Q♦), Antonio Esfandiari (9♠9♠), Trickett (5♦4♦) and Scott Seiver (K♣8♣). Duhamel then shoved for 250,000 with the 7♣4♣, and Negreanu was the only player to call. The A♥6♥4♠ flop gave Negreanu the lead with top pair, but Duhamel also paired his four. The K♦ landed on the turn to ease Negreanu’s nerves, but the 4♥ on the river improved Duhamel’s hand to trips, sending Negreanu into a frenzy.

Marvin Rettenmaier also had a tough time after he ran a set into a bigger set and then was eliminated after he ran pocket fours into Seiver’s pocket aces. He picked up just two points to tie Negreanu for last place on the overall leaderboard.

Phil Hellmuth busted the final heat in sixth after losing two key hands. In the first, Trickett moved all in with pocket sevens, and Hellmuth snap-called with the A♠K♦. The 7♦ on the turn left Hellmuth lagging with just a handful of big blinds left. After that, he saw his remaining chips in the middle with the A♣J♦ against Duhamel’s J♠10♣. The 10♠ on the flop was all Duhamel needed to send Hellmuth to the rail.

Esfandiari was the next to go after Duhamel knocked him out with a pair of aces. Esfandiari’s elimination in fifth place was significant for a few reasons. First, it meant that he will be forced to compete for a final table seat in the playoffs. Second, Seiver was guaranteed to make the playoffs, meaning Hellmuth was officially out of the Premier League.

Seiver, who was all smiles after seeing both Esfandiari and Hellmuth bust before he did, went out in fourth place for six points. Cates raised to 24,000 on the button with the A♣J♦, and Seiver shoved for 270,000 with the A♦7♣. Cates called, and both flopped the ace, but Cates’ hand was the better of the two, leaving Seiver to fight in a playoff match against Esfandiari on Friday night.

Trickett left with a third-place finish that guaranteed the Brit a second consecutive appearance in the Premier League final. He'll take a stack of 260,000 to the final table.

Duhamel made an amazing call to double up during heads-up action, but ultimately Cates earned his second heat win of this year’s Premier League. In his final hand, Duhamel shoved all in with pocket sixes, and Cates called with pocket tens. The tens held up, giving Cates the win and an additional $32,000. He’ll enter the final table with 340,000 in chips. Duhamel will have 420,000.

Group A Overall Results

Place	Player	Points
1	Jonathan Duhamel	42
2	Daniel Cates	34
3	Sam Trickett	27
4	Antonio Esfandiari	23
5	**Scott Seiver	21
6	**Phil Hellmuth	21
7	Marvin Rettenmaier	16
7	Daniel Negreanu	16

**The highest individual finish determines the tiebreaker across the four heats. Seiver finished second in Heat 3, and Hellmuth's best finish was third place, also in Heat 3.

Each point a player received during the four heats is worth 10,000 in chips at the final table. Group B will complete Heat 4 on Friday, and the Premier League will continue with the heads-up matches between Esfandiari and Seiver and the fourth and fifth spot of Group B.

Group B's third heat wrapped up Thursday afternoon with Talal Shakerchi taking down the win for 16 points. Shakerchi defeated Tobias Reinkemeier to move into third overall going into the final heat. Reinkenmeier jumped into the overall lead with his runner-up finish.

Group B Heat 3 Results

Place	Player	Points	Prize
1	Talal Shakerchi	16	$32,000
2	Tobias Reinkemeier	11	$22,000
3	Dan Shak	8	$16,000
4	Tony G	6	$12,000
5	Jason Mercier	4	$8,000
6	Igor Kurganov	3	$6,000
7	Jennifer Tilly	2	$4,000
8	Phil Laak	0	$0

Shakerchi led early in the match after taking a chunk of Jennifer Tilly’s chips, but really extended his lead after eliminating Phil Laak in eighth place in the second level. In a four-way pot preflop, it was Shakerchi and Laak who got their money in on the flop. Laak had top two pair, and Shakerchi had bottom pair, but the river gave Shakerchi trip sevens, sending Laak to the rail with little chance to advance to the final table.

After taking a hit in level two, Tilly busted in seventh place, her worst result in Premier League VI. In Heat 1 she took third place, and in Heat 2 she took fourth, leaving her with 16 points going into Heat 4.

Things really began to heat up in Level 6 as Igor Kurganov and Jason Mercier were sent to the rail. First, Kurganov three-bet shoved with the K♦J♣ and failed to improve against Shakerchi's A♣K♣, sending Kurganov out in sixth place. Just a few hands later, Mercier shoved all in from the small blind with the J♦4♣. Unfortunately for him, Dan Shak woke up with pocket queens. The ladies held up on the 3♦9♠K♠A♣6♣ board to send Mercier out in fifth with four points. With only 10 points going into the last heat, his chances of making the final table are slim.

Tony G tied Mercier with 10 points overall after busting in fourth place and picking up six points. Shakerchi shoved for 362,000 with the 10♥9♣, and Tony G snap called with pocket threes. The 9♥10♣8♠ flop gave Shakerchi the lead, and the Q♠ turn and 6♣ river left Tony G in dire need of a big finish on Friday.

“It’s been a bad week. I’ve been playing bad and running really bad,” Tony G said as he left the stage.

The Shakerchi show continued when he busted Shak in third place. With 35 points across the first three heats, Shak is nearly guaranteed to make the eight-handed final table.

Reinkemeier held a slight edge over Shakerchi going into heads-up play, but it was the amateur who walked away with the 16 points and $32,000 prize. In a key hand, Reinkemeier raised with the K♦Q♦, and Shakerchi called from the big blind with the 4♠3♥. On the A♥10♥2♣ flop, Shakerchi check-raised Reinkemeier, who called. The 5♣ on the turn completed Shakerchi’s straight, and he bet 210,000. Reinkemeier called. The 10♠ on the river did nothing to improve Reinkemeier’s hand, but he still called Shakerchi’s 340,000-chip bet, giving Shakerchi the lead.

A short while later, both stacks were in the middle with Reinkemeier as the player at risk. Reinkemeier held pocket sixes against Shakerchi’s J♣10♥. The board ran out 4♠3♣J♥5♦K♠, giving the victory to Shakerchi and boosting his point total to 26.

While Reinkemeier leads the group overall, the only question is how big his stack will be going into the final. Each point equates to 10,000 chips in the final.

Group B Overall Standings After Heat 3