Online Poker Weekend – G0T T!LT? Makes Back-to-Back Final Tables

November 26, 2007

Steve Horton

Online Poker Weekend – G0T T!LT? Makes Back-to-Back Final Tables 0001

Some well-known faces popped up in the final tables of this week's major tournaments. G0T T!LT?, who went out in ninth last week in the PokerStars Sunday Million, made another impressive appearance this week. The Full Tilt $750,000 Guaranteed had two poker forum regulars, and thus many railbirds and a lot of 'sweat threads' on forum messageboards in their honor. These events stood in marked contrast to the recently concluded FTOPS, where recognizable screen names were somewhat hard to come by.

PokerStars Sunday Million

As mentioned above, G0T T!LT? was in the final table here last week, finishing ninth. This time around, his fortunes were considerably better. This week's $500+$30 variation of the Sunday Million attracted 2,704 players, giving them a $1,352,000 prize pool to work with. First place, assuming no split of the prize money, was $248,632.80.

Although numerous Poker Stars sponsored players entered the event, including Chris "money800" Moneymaker and Barry "barryg1" Greenstein, none of them were among the 414 players who cashed.

Prolific online player Chad "lilholdem954" Batista just missed the final table, going out in 12th.

The first player shown the door was DrEskilstuna, who went all in under the gun. G0T T!LT? called on the button and showed A♦9♣ to DrEskilstuna's 4♠4♣. The pair versus overcards saw a board of 2♣3♠A♠10♠K♥, and DrEskilstuna collected $10,816 for ninth.

Only two hands later, ElFook, in the small blind, had all his chips in over the top of ScAvvY06's standard raise. With only about 100,000, or one big bet to call, ScAvvY06 did indeed call and showed K♣7♣ to ElFook's A♦A♠. The board was K♦8♣4♠7♦10♥ and two pair cracked the aces. ElFook was out in eighth for $18,657.60.

Again, a standard raise, and again an over-the-top re-raise. This time, Tommy2tyme made the raise and turtlestar made the re-raise. G0T T!LT? moved all in to force Tommy2tyme out, and it worked. G0T T!LT? had A♦A♠ to turtlestar's Q♦Q♠. The board was 10♠9♠2♣2♠4♣ and turtlestar left in seventh for $29,473.60.

A theme began to form on the very next hand as ScAvvY06 standard-raised and poisson13 went all in over the top. ScAvvY06 called with 10♣9♦ and poisson13 had 8♦8♣. The beat was placed after the board came 7♥3♣4♣10♦A♥ and the tens sent poisson13 home in sixth for $41,912.

Many hands passed before we saw our next elimination. It came when Oly_B raised to 390,000 and ScAvvY06 called. The flop was 9♠A♦Q♣ and ScAvvY06 checked. Oly_B bet 390,000 again and ScAvvY06 check-raised to 780,000. Oly_B called and the turn was 2♦. ScAvvY06 bet 650,000 and Oly_B pushed. ScAvvY06 called, showing A♣4♠ to Oly_B's Q♦J♦. The river was 7♠ and not a diamond, so Oly_B was headed for the rail in fifth, for $55,432.

Next, ScAvvY06 raised to 480,000 preflop and HBHCR called. The flop was Q♦8♥K♦ and HBHCR checked. ScAvvY06 bet 480,000 and HBHCR check-raised to 1,120,000. ScAvvY06 called and the turn was 4♦. HBHCR bet 800,000 and ScAvvY06 called. The river was 4♣ and HBHCR bet 800,000 again. ScAvvY06 raised all in and HBHCR called, showing K♥7♥ for two pair. ScAvvY06 had A♥K♣ for two pair with a better kicker. HBHCR was out in fourth for $68,952.

The following hand occurred shortly after HBHCR's elimination, and got the tournament to heads up. In the small blind, G0T T!LT? raised to 480,000 and ScAvvY06 re-raised to 1,440,000 – about a third of his stack. G0T T!LT? then shoved with 4♥4♠, and ScAvvY06 called with Q♦10♥. The board was 4♦A♣Q♠A♠7♦ and the full house sent ScAvvY06 away in third, earning $83,688.80.

G0T T!LT? was ahead 2.17 to 1 versus Tommy2tyme as heads-up play began, and they would trade the lead several times over the next half hour. In the last hand, Tommy2tyme limped and G0T T!LT? checked. The flop was K♣4♠2♥ and both players checked. The turn was 5♦ and G0T T!LT? checked. Tommy2tyme bet 400,000 – about the size of the pot. G0T T!LT? raised to 1,200,000. Tommy2tyme called and the river was 7♥. G0T T!LT? bet 2,200,000 and Tommy2tyme raised all in. G0T T!LT? called, flipping over 4♥4♣ to Tommy2tyme's 7♣5♣. The set beat two pair, and Tommy2tyme left in second for $126,412. First place and the Sunday Million belonged to G0T T!LT?, who won $248,632.80.

Final Standings:

1st (G0T T!LT?): $248,632.80

2nd (Tommy2tyme): $126,412

3rd (ScAvvY06): $83,688.80

4th (HBHCR): $68,952

5th (Oly_B): $55,432

6th (poisson13): $41,912

7th (turtlestar): $29,473.60

8th (ElFook): $18,657.60

9th (DrEskilstuna): $10,816

Full Tilt $750,000 Guaranteed

Full Tilt's surge from the FTOPS rode on into the following weekend, as this event hit 4,025 players. The prize pool was $805,000 and first place would pay out $142,154.95. As usual, 585 places were paid out.

Once in awhile, a final table comes along where two or more of the players know each other well. That was the case here, as popular forum denizens Luke "IWEARGOGGLES" Staudenmaier and Serge "Adar" Ravitch, better known as Adanthar, faced off here. Both post frequently on poker forum 2+2, at which Adanthar is a moderator. Time would tell if a sick beat would force Adanthar to drop a "ban hammer" on IWEARGOGGLES, to use forum parlance.

Among Full Tilt "red" pros, Scott Clements and Aaron Bartley continued their nice run of cashes with 496th and 377th, respectively. Ben Roberts got 201st. Chip Jett and Matt Sexton squeaked in at 525th and 515th. Michael Craig and Keith Sexton finished high at 179th and 126th, Stuart Paterson got 366th, and two "red" pros hit the top 100: Chris Ferguson in 85th and Paul Sexton in 57th.

After Tim_Rantasha busted in ninth, earning $10,787, Egarim shoved in middle position. tschueg called time and eventually called with K♥Q♥ to Egarim's A♠10♣. The board came J♥6♠K♠8♣4♠ and Egarim was out in eighth for $14,490.

Then, IWEARGOGGLES shoved in the small blind and ELIA called in the big blind. IWEARGOGGLES had J♥10♠ and ELIA had A♣K♣. The board was K♠3♥4♣9♠Q♦ and the runner-runner straight sent ELIA away in seventh, for $18,515.

Next, Adar shoved in early position with A♥K♠ and tschueg called with K♣Q♦. The board was A♦2♣3♥K♥A♠ and aces full was more than enough to cripple tscheug. He would go out three hands later, when tscheug's 3♦3♠ ran into Adar's A♠J♠ on a board of 9♣J♣Q♠10♣4♦. tscheug finished in sixth, earning $24,633.

After that, boltsva shoved under the gun and Adar re-raised to isolate. It worked, and Adar showed K♦K♣ to boltsva's A♦6♠. The board was 4♣J♥J♦10♥4♦ and boltsva was out in fifth, taking home $33,246.50..

Then, MotherBucker shoved on the button and ActionAaron called in the big blind. MotherBucker showed A♣10♥ and ActionAaron A♦9♦. The dominated hand stayed that way, as the board was Q♦2♠6♥2♦4♣. ActionAaron got action when he didn't want it, and collected $44,275 for fourth.

A few hands later, Adar went all in for 1,362,303 with blinds at 80,000/160,000 with a 20,000 ante. IWEARGOGGLES called, flipping over A♥10♥ to Adar's 8♣7♦. The board came K♦4♣J♥Q♠Q♣ and Serge "Adar" Ravitch left in third for $56,350.

Entering heads up, IWEARGOGGLES had a 2.7 to 1 lead over MotherBucker. MotherBucker would claw back to a big lead, but IWEARGOGGLES eventually retook the lead. Holding a 2 to 1 lead in the last hand, IWEARGOGGLES called MotherBucker's all in. IWEARGOGGLES showed Q♥Q♦ to MotherBucker's A♥3♣. The board was 8♠6♠8♣J♥3♦ and MotherBucker took second for $86,054.50. The Full Tilt $750,000 Guaranteed winner was Luke "IWEARGOGGLES" Staudenmaier, who earned $142,154.95 for his efforts.

Final Standings:

1st (Luke "IWEARGOGGLES" Staudenmaier): $142,154.95

2nd (MotherBucker): $86,054.50

3rd (Serge "Adar" Ravitch): $56,350

4th (ActionAaron): $44,275

5th (boltsva): $33,246.50

6th (tschueg): $24,633

7th (ELIA): $18,515

8th (Egarim): $14,490

9th (Tim_Rantasha): $10,787

PartyPoker $300,000 Guaranteed

As has been the trend for the past several weeks, Party Poker

did not need to pay an overlay. There were 1,611 players this time around, and the prize pool was $322,200. First place out of 200 cashes would receive $64,440.

Thirteen minutes into the event, Sem_Deus shoved for 245,402, drgnslayer2 called, and pete47eleven raised to 346,704, also all in. drgnslayer2 called the extra pocket change, showing 6♠6♦. Sem_Deus had 8♠8♥. pete47eleven had A♣Q♣. The board was 10♠4♠2♦2♣7♣, and after the carnage, pete47eleven was eliminated in tenth, earning $3,060.90.

Nine minutes later, mendieta19 shoved under the gun. Sem_Deus called with Q♦Q♣ to mendieta19's 10♣10♠. The board was A♦4♣K♥7♣7♦. The queens held up and mendieta19 left in ninth for $4,349.70.

After five more minutes of action, PeeGee999 went all in on the button. Pahvi called in the big blind, showing A♣J♥ to PeeGee999's Q♠6♠. The board came K♠A♦Q♥10♦2♣ and PeeGee999 was out in eighth for $5,638.50.

Then, Sem_Deus was all in, in middle position. Pahvi called with 4♦4♥, and Sem_Deus had A♣Q♣. The board started promising for Sem_Deus, but finished ugly: Q♠2♠J♥8♥4♣. Sem_Deus was gone in seventh for $8,538.30.

Though possessing the chip lead with six to go, drgnslayer2 would go out next after being crippled by MOLYKA. In the key hand, drgnslayer2 shoved on a board of 10♣7♣5♥6♦A♥, holding K♥J♥, and MOLYKA called with Q♥Q♣. drgnslayer2 went out on the next hand: Pahvi made a 2x raise, MOLYKA called and drgnslayer2 called all in. The flop was 6♠2♠4♣. The side pot checked. The turn was J♣. The sides checked. The river was 7♦ and the sides checked a final time. Only Pahvi showed, winning with A♥10♦, ace high. Drgnslayer2 left in sixth for $11,115.90.

Next, vasily777111 raised 3x under the gun and MOLYKA called. The flop was K♠2♥10♠. MOLYKA checked and vasily777111 bet 400,000. MOLYKA called. The turn was 3♥. MOLYKA bet 480,000 and vasily777111 called all in, flipping over J♣J♦. MOLYKA had 3♦3♣ and the river was 3♠. The quads took out vasily777111 in fifth, for $14,821.20.

The nice bustout wasn't enough to save MOLYKA from going out next. Twelve minutes later, MOLYKA raised 2x and Pahvi re-raised all in. MOLYKA called with A♥K♥ and Pahvi had 6♥6♦. No help for big slick on a board of 4♣8♠J♦J♣9♥, and MOLYKA got $17,559.90 for fourth.

Once again, the chip leader would lose it all and eventually bust. This time, psykotow shoved under the gun and wmarjo re-raised to isolate. Pahvi folded and wmarjo took most of his stack back, turning over A♦K♦ to psykotow's J♥3♦. The board was 9♠A♠3♣Q♥6♥ and psykotow was out in third for $22,231.80.

Pahvi refused to talk deal the entire event, and the decision turned out in his favor. Though the final two players were virtually tied going into heads up, 20 minutes of action would see Pahvi prevail. In the last hand, Pahvi limped and wmarjo checked. The flop was J♥7♥K♣. Both players checked. The turn was K♥. Pahvi checked and wmarjo bet 300,000. Pahvi called. The river was 6♣. wmarjo shoved with J♦9♠ and Pahvi called with K♦9♦. Trip kings was enough to leave wmarjo second-place prize money of $35,442, and Pahvi won the Party Poker $300,000 Guaranteed and $64,440.