The_Hoff_Man Wins 888poker ChampionChip Games Main Event ($26,202)
Table Of Contents
The 888poker ChampionChip Games came to a thrilling conclusion on September 6 when the United Kingdom's "The_Hoff_Man" staged an impressive comeback to win the $60 buy-in Main Event for $26,202. "The_Hoff_Man" sat down at the nine-handed final table with the second-fewest chips, but managed to turn around their flagging fortunes despite sitting down with only 12.5 big blinds in their arsenal.
The victory was the third by a player sporting the Union Jack flag next to their alias, which proved enough to secure third place in the overall medal table.
Event #24 – Main Event ChampionChip Games
The ChampionChip Main Event saw 3,386 888poker players exchange $60 for the chance to become the low-stakes festival's champion. Those entrants created a $212,850 prize pool, smashing the advertised $200,000 guarantee.
It took several Day 1s and an action-packed Day 2 to whittle the bumper crowd to the final table. The finalists too to the felt at 7:00 p.m. BST on September 6 under the watchful eyes of the 888poker Twitch team.
| Place | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | bowladay | New Zealand | 7,694,528 | 38.5 |
| 2 | bybababy | Canada | 6,099,847 | 30.5 |
| 3 | Zlodei228 | Andorra | 4,565,627 | 22.8 |
| 4 | excimiii | 4,349,428 | 21.7 | |
| 5 | ChePushila77 | Mexico | 4,274,313 | 21.4 |
| 6 | Orcafalke | Germany | 3,696,552 | 18.5 |
| 7 | birineu | Brazil | 3,531,445 | 17.7 |
| 8 | The_Hoff_Man | United Kingdom | 2,491,490 | 12.5 |
| 9 | manel9595 | Brazil | 1,996,770 | 10 |
"excimiii" was the first pf the finalists to find themselves with empty space where their chips once stood. "The_Hoff_Man," who has quickly built their 12.5 big blinds to a 36 big blind stack, min-raised in middle position with pocket jacks, and "excimiii" defended their big blind with ace-deuce of clubs. The flop fell five-five-four with two clubs, and it was obvious the chips were going into the middle. "excimiii" check-raised all-in for 12 big blinds once "The_Hoff_Man" took a stab at the pot, and they called the shove. A jack on the turn gave "The_Hoff_Man" a full house, and "excimiii" headed for the rail when the river was not a straight flush completing three of clubs.
Brazil's "manel9595" saw their stack dwindle to less than seven big blinds, and made an all-in bet from under the gun with ace-queen only for "Orcafalke" to wake up in the next seat along with a pair of kings in the hole. "Orcafalke" reshoved, and the kings held on a ten-high board.
Another Brazilian, "birineu" was the next player heading for the showers. They only had four big blinds when they made a move with king-ten, and "The_Hoff_Man" looked them up from the big blind with pocket nines. A ten on the flop looked to have doubled the stack of "birineu" but a nine on the turn left them drawing dead.
The final six became five with the demise of New Zealand's "bowladay," who banked an impressive $5,001 for their 60 investment. The New Zealander lost all but one big blind when they lost with pocket queens against the ace-king of "Zlodei228" and crashed out two hands later.
Canada's "bybababy" was the next eliminated player, their short stack going into the middle with pocket nines against the ace-jack of the now seemingly unstoppable "The_Hoff_Man." The nines remained true up to the river, which is where the jack of spades landed to reduce the player count by one.
The last four-figure prize, $9,556, went to Mexico's "ChePushila77," who called off their last five big blinds with ace-eight in the big blind after "The_Hoff_Man" shoved on them from the small blind. "The_Hoff_Man" flipped over seven-five of clubs, spiked a five on the flop, and busted "ChePushila77."
Heads-up was set when Germany's "Orcafalke" lost their chips to "The_Hoff_Man." "Orcafalke" three-bet all-in for only six big blinds with king-queen, and "The_Hoff_Man" put in the calling chips with ace-five. An ace on the flop was more than enough to remove "Orcafalke" from the tournament; they walked away with $13,366 after satelliting into the ChampionChip Games Main Event.
"The_Hoff_Man" went into the heads-up clash against "Zlodei228" holding a commanding lead of almost three-to-one yet it still took 30-minutes to crown the Main Event's champion. The final hand saw "Zlodei228," another satellite winner, shove for a shade over 11 big blinds, and "The_Hoff_Man" call with the superior ace-jack. The five community cards ran out with two kings, and the jack kicker of "The_Hoff_Man" played.
"Zlodei228" banked an $18,709 runner-up prize, leaving "The_Hoff_Man" to collect the $26,202 top payout.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The_Hoff_Man | United Kingdom | $26,202 |
| 2 | Zlodei228 | Andorra | $18,709 |
| 3 | Orcafalke | Germany | $13,366 |
| 4 | ChePushila77 | Mexico | $9,556 |
| 5 | bybababy | Canada | $6,875 |
| 6 | bowladay | New Zealand | $5,001 |
| 7 | birineu | Brazil | $3,661 |
| 8 | manel9595 | Brazil | $2,681 |
| 9 | excimiii | $1,979 |
Event #22 – Mini Main Event ChampionChip Games
Germany's "joehighfritz" took down Event #22 of the ChampionChip Games, the $16.50 buy-in Mini Main Event. Some 1,434 players created a $21,510 prize pool, and "joehighfritz" got their hands on $3,414 of that princely sum.
The top four finishers secured payouts of more than $1,000 for their $16.50 investment. Fourth-place finisher "Falouss333" collected $1,241, with "Izabela01" of Romania padding their bankroll with $1,688. The runner-up, "WGBrunelli" of Brazil, reeled in a $2,297 score.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | joehighfritz | Germany | $3,143 |
| 2 | WGBrunelli | Brazil | $2,297 |
| 3 | Izabela01 | Romania | $1,688 |
| 4 | Falouss333 | Turkey | $1,241 |
| 5 | dankretli | Brazil | $918 |
| 6 | bledj3 | Sweden | $684 |
| 7 | Persuiter09 | United Kingdom | $514 |
| 8 | asdE3131234s | Ukraine | $389 |
| 9 | Tema_Dem | Ukraine | $296 |
Event #23 – Micro Main Event ChampionChip Games
The Micro Main Event saw 1,883 players fight it out for a share of the $15,000 prize pool, a huge pot considering the tournament only cost $5.50 to enter. The top three finishers walked away with four figure prizes for their efforts.
Paraguay's "GusanitoMac" scooped a $1,111 prize for their third place finish, with "altuntaw" of Canada getting their hands on $1,512 when they fell at the final hurdle. The champion and recipient of a cool $2,071 was Brazil's "ErikyDani" who netted Brazil's ninth victory of the ChampionChip games.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ErikyDani | Brazil | $2,071 |
| 2 | altuntaw | Canada | $1,512 |
| 3 | GusanitoMac | Paraguay | $1,111 |
| 4 | ssudunagunta | United Kingdom | $823 |
| 5 | vanjialin | Canada | $609 |
| 6 | DanielZgranu | Canada | $454 |
| 7 | Earnshaw | Brazil | $340 |
| 8 | CelticGhirlX | United Kingdom | $258 |
| 9 | Dennisshow | Brazil | $196 |
Event #25 – Closing Ceremony ChampionChip Games
The 25th and final event of the ChampionChip Games was the Closing Ceremony, a $22 buy-in event that attracted 829 players to 888poker, who fought it out for the lion's share of the $16,580 prize pool.
Brazilian players have dominated the series, so it was quite fitting that the top three finishers all hailed from the South American country. "123456788888" finished in third for $1,447, which left "marcolajr95" heads-up against "lbarrossa." The one-on-one battle when the was of "marcolajr95", and they won the $2,707 top prize, leaving the second-place finisher to add $1,973 to their lifetime winnings.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | marcolajr95 | Brazil | $2,707 |
| 2 | lbarrossa | Brazil | $1,973 |
| 3 | 123456788888 | Brazil | $1,447 |
| 4 | Marv0310 | Ukraine | $1,064 |
| 5 | RenoJackson | Brazil | $787 |
| 6 | OzymandiAAs | Brazil | $583 |
| 7 | Mostafa.E14 | Albania | $434 |
| 8 | millygun | Northern Ireland | $323 |
| 9 | WGBrunelli | Brazil | $245 |
Final ChampionChip Medal Table
| Country | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 10 | 4 | 4 | 18 |
| Ukraine | 3 | 2 | 6 | 11 |
| United Kingdom | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Belarus | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Germany | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Sweden | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Mexico | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Albania | 1 | 1 | ||
| Thailand | 1 | 1 | ||
| Romania | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Estonia | 1 | 1 | ||
| Finland | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Denmark | 2 | 2 | ||
| Canada | 2 | 2 | ||
| Andorra | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Malta | 1 | 1 | ||
| Armenia | 1 | 1 | ||
| Ireland | 1 | 1 | ||
| Argentina | 1 | 1 | ||
| Cyprus | 1 | 1 | ||
| Paraguay | 1 | 1 |
