£140 Main Event - Road to PSPC
Day 2 Completed
Moneymaker's Road to PSPC 2020 - Newcastle
£140 Main Event - Road to PSPC
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
Moneymaker's Road to PSPC 2020 - Newcastle
Buy-in
£140
Entries
436
Level
30
Blinds
60,000 / 120,000
Ante
120,000
Entries
83
Players Left
1
Daniel Stancer Wins Moneymaker's Road to PSPC Tour Newcastle, £7,989 and Platinum Pass
Level 30
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
Daniel Stancer, a 32 year old live cash game pro, has won the £140 Moneymaker Road to the PSPC Tour Newcastle Main Event, £7,989 and a Platinum Pass to the PokerStars Players No Limit Championship in Barcelona after besting a total field of 436. He started Day 2 as the overall chip leader; in the end none of the 82 other survivors from four hotly contested starting flights could stop him accumulating every chip in the tournament, which paid out a total of £52,320.
Runner up Ali Ahmed almost single-handedly eliminated most of the final table opposition, taking home nearly the same cash as Stancer - £7,586 – while a total of 71 players left Aspers Casino with prize money in their pockets. The twin top prizes evened out what is still a huge jump for first: the added Platinum Pass, worth €26,000, includes entry to the PSPC, six nights’ five-star accommodation, €1,250 in expenses and special Platinum Pass winner experiences throughout the event. As Chris Moneymaker said as he presented Stancer with his Pass: “You’re going to come hang out with us! See you in Barcelona in August.”
Moneymaker, who cashed in this leg of his tour (50th for £267) as well as at last week’s stop in London at Le Meridien (14th for £588), will be heading to Milton Keynes for the next leg of the Road to the PSPC. His journey from online satellite qualifier to WSOP Champion inspired this tour which gives grassroots players a chance at the same kind of life-changing opportunity for an affordable buy-in.
A dozen returning players had to leave the tournament without prize money; the bubble, however, burst in record time and the pace of play continued somewhere between rapid and breakneck for the entire day. Making the money, but finishing shy of a final table appearance were the likes of Fraser MacIntyre (68th for £204), online qualifier – and winner of a Platinum Pass Experience seat next week – Joss Murdoch (58th for £240) and prior Platinum Pass winner Nikolay Ponomarev (11th for £732).
The final table went from ten-handed play to setting up for a winner’s photo in just two and a half hours of non-stop action. After Kyle Soakell ran jacks into aces early on to bust in 10th (£732), the chips were distributed very unequally, with over half the chips in play divided between the top three stacks (Ahmed, Liam McMurray and Jed Turnbull). The former then went on a steamroll of shorter stacks, first busting Paul Herbertson in 9th (£994), then letting Stancer take out Ryan Kilbey (8th for £1,308) before taking the scalps of Chun Lu and Thomas Peggs in quick succession.
Kilbey had been active at the start of the final table but had not found a double up spot and lost his final race (deuces vs. king-queen suited); Lu found his own king-queen no good against Ahmed’s ace-ten and collected £1,648 for 7th place. Peggs, too, ran out of wiggle room chip-wise and jammed ten big blinds with ace-ten offsuit only to run into ace-queen.
After the final table’s first break, Stancer cracked Turnbull’s kings with ace-six straight away in a hand on which his eventual victory pivoted. Turnbull bust in 5th (£2,459), and a very short-stacked Konstantinos Patsourakis laddered up to finish 4th (£3,275). Liam McMurray just missed out on one of the joint top cash prizes when he lost a tens vs. ace-king flip to Stancer, but £4,473 is still a healthy return on his £140 investment.
Heads up saw a strange mixture of quick-fire small ball pots and huge bluffs (made by Ahmed), but in the end Stancer had his opponent all in with a 4:1 chip lead, flipping pocket threes against queen-jack suited. A lack of board overcards, and it was all over, Ahmed picking up £7,586 while Stancer won £7,989 and the trip of a lifetime to Barcelona.
Final Table results:
| Place | Player | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Stancer | £7,989 and Platinum Pass | |
| 2 | Ali Ahmed | £7,586 | |
| 3 | Liam McMurray | £4,473 | |
| 4 | Konstantinos Patsourakis | £3,275 | |
| 5 | Jed Turnbull | £2,459 | |
| 6 | Thomas Peggs | £1,988 | |
| 7 | Chun Lu | £1,648 | |
| 8 | Ryan Kilbey | £1,308 | |
| 9 | Paul Herbertson | £994 | |
| 10 | Kyle Soakell | £732 |
Of his win, Stancer said, “It’s not really hit home yet, to be honest, but it feels fantastic.” Since leaving his job in IT support two years ago to focus on live cash games, he has not dabbled in tournaments regularly. “I pretty much came [to Newcastle] for the Platinum Pass,” he admitted, adding, “I’m going to try to get some tourney practise in – the PSPC is the biggest I’ve ever played. Got a bit of work to do, probably.”
Of his final table experience, Stancer said that the plan was to "get all the chips - I wasn't bothered about the pay jumps." He had made Day 2 on his second bullet (his first seat was won via UK Poker Room) and had spent the day off after his qualifiying flight playing in cash games that he described as being better than those in his hometown of Hull.
Stancer was railed on the final by a few enthusiastic friends, part of a group of ten who are now planning a holiday in August.
“It was all his idea to come here,” they said. “We just changed the name of our group chat from ‘Newcastle’ to ‘Barcelona.’”
Daniel Stancer Crowned Champion at Moneymaker Tour Newcastle
Level 30
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
Chris Moneymaker is back in the building, reminding Daniel Stancer what he's won along with his cash prize, while his railing mates attempt to get him to down a beer in one.
"You're going to come and hang out with us, see you in Barcelona in August!"
We'll find out how he feels about this after the winner's photos; a recap of the final day will follow.
Ali Ahmed Eliminated in 2nd Place (£7,586)
Level 30
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
It all came down to an all-in preflop race. Ali Ahmed raised to 250,000 on the button and Daniel Stancer simply set him in. Ahmed considered his now dwindling stack for a while, then made the call, turning over 
, flipping vs. Stancer's 
. Not only did the board bring no card higher than a six, it made a straight for Stancer: 
. Ahmed wins almost the same amount of cash as the Newcastle champion, just missing out on the Platinum Pass.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
13 | -10,699,987 |
|
Busted |
Stancer Chipping Away
Level 30
: 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante
Daniel Stancer has started to pull away, stack-wise, in Level 30. His most recent pot saw the standard open to 250,000 on the button from Ali Ahmed, called by Stancer. Both players checked the 
flop, then Stancer check-called a bet of 350,000 on the 
turn. The river brought the 
and another check-call from Stancer - this time for 650,000. Ahmed had flopped a pair of queens (his hand 
) but Stancer's turned pair of kings (
) was good for the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
10,700,000 | 1,900,000 |
|
|
2,400,000 | -1,900,000 |
Level: 30
Blinds: 60,000/120,000
Ante: 120,000
Ahmed Bet-Mucks the River
Level 29
: 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
In a strange hand, Daniel Stancer has taken the chip lead after calling a river bluff from Ali Ahmed. Preflop, Ahmed opened his button (225,000) then called when Stancer three-bet to 700,000. Both players checked the 
flop. Stancer led out for 500,000 on the turn, called by Ahmed. On the river, Stancer checked and Ahmed made another deep reach, betting 1,500,000. Stancer made the call and Ahmed tapped the table and snap-mucked his hand. Stancer was not made to show down his own winning hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
8,800,000 | 2,600,000 |
|
|
4,300,000 | -2,600,000 |
First Four-Bet (and It's a Bluff)
Level 29
: 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Ali Ahmed opened his button for 225,000. Daniel Stancer three-bet to 700,000. Back to Ahmed, who sat quietly for a few seconds before reaching for a full stack of black 100,000 value chips. He four-bet to 2,225,000 and Stancer passed fairly fast. Ahmed showed him 
.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,900,000 | |
|
|
6,200,000 |
Final Two Players Fans of High Speed Small Ball
Level 29
: 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Heads up is playing hands at a fair clip with few showdowns; neither player is setting foot anywhere near a time bank and it seems that they want to get the most out of playing deeper (and even) stacked. Chip-wise they're neck and neck, Ali Ahmed having won a few back after being paid 400,000 on the river of a board standing 
. He showed down 
and Daniel Stancer mucked.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,900,000 | 1,000,000 |
|
|
6,200,000 | -1,000,000 |
First Decent Pot to Stancer
Level 29
: 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
After a couple of walks, and small flop continuation-bet wins (one apiece), a pot of over a million brewed between the final two players. Daniel Stancer raised to 200,000 on the button and Ali Ahmed called. Ahmed check-raised Stancer's bet of 150,000 on the 
flop to the tune of 450,000; Stancer called. Both players checked the turn. Ahmed led out for 750,000 on the 
river, and Stancer quickly threw in one chip signifying a call.
"King high," announced Ahmed; Stancer won the pot with second pair: 
.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,200,000 | 1,400,000 |
|
|
5,900,000 | -1,400,000 |