£2,200 High Roller
Day 2 Completed
2018 888poker LIVE Festival London
£2,200 High Roller
Day: 2
Matas Cimbolas Wins the £2,200 High Roller in London (£42,505)
Level 22
: 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante
The 2018 888poker LIVE Festival London has determined a champion in the £2,200 High Roller and it was Lithuania's Matas Cimbolas, who eventually posed for the winner shots. Cimbolas came out on top of a 74-entry strong field, which consisted of 59 unique players and 15 re-entries. The guaranteed prize pool was nearly tripled and the top nine spots took home a portion of the £146,520 prize pool.
On the way to crowning a champion in the most expensive tournament of the festival in the heart of London, two deals were cut. One emerged on the money bubble with nine players remaining, and £2,000 were put aside to the 9th place finisher, which happened to be Martin Donoghue. Furthermore, no hand of heads-up was played, as Paul Hizer departed in third place and Cimbolas then shook hands with Tom Hall at 2.30 a.m. local time.
"It was like a home game, everybody knew everyone," Cimbolas said in the interview with PokerNews after the winner shots were taken care of, referring to the final table line up, and the relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Once Hizer had been eliminated in third place, Hall and Cimbolas agreed to ICM numbers.
The trophy was awarded to the chip leader at the time and that was Cimbolas, while Hall forfeited his chance to win another 888poker LIVE trophy, having won the £1,100 Main Event here at Aspers Casino in the previous year. Cimbolas just had another reason to celebrate as he got engaged two weeks ago, falling on his knees "right on the beach at the Bahamas" to ask the important question. His fiancé was on the rail to watch the poker action in London from nearby.
Final Result £2,200 High Roller
| Winner | Place | Country | Prize (in GBP) | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matas Cimbolas | Lithuania | £42,505* | $54,330 |
| 2 | Tom Hall | United Kingdom | £37,515* | $47,951 |
| 3 | Paul Hizer | United Kingdom | £20,000 | $25,560 |
| 4 | Pascal Pflock | Germany | £15,000 | $19,170 |
| 5 | Gerald Ringe | United Kingdom | £11,000 | $14,058 |
| 6 | Thomas Muehloecker | Austria | £8,000 | $10,224 |
| 7 | Christopher Kyriacou | United Kingdom | £6,500 | $8,307 |
| 8 | Carlos Sanchez Diaz | Spain | £4,000 | $5,114 |
| 9 | Martin Donoghue | United Kingdom | £2,000 | $2,557 |
*includes deal of the last two players
Action of the Day
Day 1 had wrapped up with 61 entries and another 13 players joined the action before the cards went back in the air for the final day. Among them were also the 888poker ambassadors Parker Talbot and Dominik Nitsche, the former busted only four minutes into Day 2 while Nitsche's run came to an end just before the unofficial final table was set.
Other early casualties included Jack Sinclair, Orpen Kisacikoglu, Michael Mizrachi, Martin Jacobson and Ludovic Geilich. Jacobson ended up second-best with ace-seven suited against the ace-king of Pascal Pflock. The rise of Matas Cimbolas started with four tables remaining when the Lithuanian had Ian Hunter and Philip Ward at risk. Hunter held pocket eights and Ward ace-queen suited, Cimbolas was miles ahead with pocket aces. Hunter spiked a set right in the window, but the case ace followed to give Cimbolas top set and the double knockout in dramatic fashion.
With 30 minute levels until the final table, the eliminations kept pouring in quickly and notables such as Manig Loeser, 888poker ambassador Chris Moorman, Conor Beresford, and Chris Da-Silva were left empty-handed without anything to show for. Martin Donoghue doubled into the lead when he flopped a full house against the trips of Vadim Cojocaru and Tom Hall doubled twice in quick succession, then sent Harry Lodge to the rail.
Jonathan Clark ran twice into pocket jacks to bow out and 888poker ambassador Dominik Nitsche made a move with eight-seven suited and a gutshot to bust against the ace-six of Thomas Muehloecker. Kalidou Sow got it in with queen-nine suited against the ace-nine of Gerald Ringe and the latter flopped top two pair to set up the unofficial final table.
Once the bubble deal was made, Tom Hall skyrocketed into the lead with pocket kings versus pocket tens. Martin Donoghue raised and called the three-bet by Hall, then check-shoved a nine-high flop to be left with crumbs. From there on, Hall remained at the top of the counts until the final three players remained and witnessed the departures of Donoghue, Carlos Sanchez Diaz, Christopher Kyriacou, Thomas Muehloecker, and Gerald Ringe.
Four-handed play lasted for quite some time and it was Pascal Pflock that had to settle for 4th place. Pflock doubled Paul Hizer with king-jack versus pocket fours and the very same hand haunted the German soon after when he couldn't beat the ace-queen of Hizer. Cimbolas scored a crucial double with five-four suited against Hall, who only held ace-four and the nutflush blocker. Hall was left short after that hand and jammed king-five into the pocket jacks of fellow short stack Hizer. A king on the turn sent Hizer out in 3rd and the ICM deal ended the tournament minutes later.
While the £2,200 High Roller has already determined a champion, the highlight of the festival just kicked off. Day 1a of the £1,100 Main Event attracted a field of 97 entries and 23 players survived the first of five starting days. The PokerNews team will be on the floor to provide all the action until the end.
Deal Discussions and a Champion!
Level 22
: 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante
Tom Hall and Matas Cimbolas had their stacks counted and looked into ICM numbers, which they agreed to pretty swiftly. Hall, who already won an 888poker LIVE trophy for taking down the £1,100 Main Event here at Aspers Casino in 2017, was behind in chips and left the victory and trophy to Cimbolas.
Hall takes home £37,515 and Cimbolas gets £42,505 for his efforts, along with the trophy and upcoming winner pictures.
A recap of today's action is to follow!
Paul Hizer Eliminated in 3rd Place (£20,000)
Level 22
: 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante
Tom Hall and Paul Hizer lost a few chips and were nearly identical when Hall jammed the small blind and Hizer snap-called the big blind.
Paul Hizer: 
Tom Hall: 
The board came 
and Hall turned the king to improve. The stacks were counted and Hall had 1,355,000, which covered Hizer by not even a full big blind. Hizer finished in third place and takes home £20,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
4,640,000 | 40,000 |
|
2,785,000 | 1,235,000 |
|
Busted |
Cimbolas Doubles Into the Lead
Level 22
: 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante
Matas Cimbolas bet the 
flop for 80,000 out of the small blind and Tom Hall called in the big blind. On the 
turn, Cimbolas bet 330,000 and Hall used his last time bank before raising to 690,000, Cimbolas called. On the river, Cimbolas checked and Hall moved all in.
Cimbolas had 1,230,000 behind and used one of his time banks before making the call. Hall was caught bluffing with the nut flush blocker, holding 
, and Cimbolas held 
for a flush to double into the lead.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,600,000 | 2,400,000 |
|
|
1,550,000 | -2,350,000 |
|
|
1,500,000 | 70,000 |
Wheel for Hall
Level 22
: 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante
Paul Hizer raised the button and was called by Tom Hall called in the big blind. On a flop of 
, Hall checked and called a bet worth 140,000 by Hizer. The 
turn went check, check, and Hall bet the river for 440,000. Hizer tossed in a single chip for a call and Hall announced a straight, turned over 
.
Hizer shook his head and Chris Da-Silva walked over to check out what was happening. Hizer shrugged, pointed at Hall and said "Tom."
"What do you expect, it is Tom," Da-Silva replied with a grin and walked back to his seat in the £1,100 Main Event.
Just like that, Hall pulled back into a comfortable lead.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,900,000 | 900,000 |
|
|
1,430,000 | -770,000 |
Hall Loses Some to Cimbolas and Hizer
Level 22
: 40,000/80,000, 80,000 ante
Tom Hall remains the chip leader, however, Paul Hizer and Matas Cimbolas are not too far behind by now and even in chips.
Hall lost a pot to Hizer when he bet the 
flop for 80,000 and check-folded the turn to a bet of 180,000.
The next hand brought a button raise to 160,000 by Hall and Cimbolas three-bet to 480,000 in the big blind. Hall folded once more and the pot was shipped to Cimbolas.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,000,000 | -500,000 |
|
|
2,200,000 | 300,000 |
|
|
2,200,000 |
Level: 22
Blinds: 40,000/80,000
Ante: 80,000
Cimbolas Doubles; Folds to Jam After
Level 21
: 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Matas Cimbolas three-bet shoved for 1,230,000 with 
and took a flip against the 
of Paul Hizer. The board came 
and Cimbolas remained in the lead with his pocket pair.
Hizer then defended his big blind against the button raise of Cimbolas and check-shoved the 
flop. Cimbolas had invested a 155,000 continuation bet, asked for a count and folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,200,000 | 925,000 |
|
|
1,900,000 | -1,000,000 |
Pascal Pflock Eliminated in 4th Place (£15,000)
Level 21
: 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Pascal Pflock moved all in for fewer than 20 big blinds in the cutoff and Paul Hizer reshoved on the button.
"Aces?" Pflock asked and Hizer shook his head, then showed the 
. Pflock had a sheepish grin on his face when he revealed the , as he had doubled Hizer not long ago with king-jack.
Pflock took the lead on the 
flop, and Hizer picked up a gutshot on the 
turn. The river was the 
and that sent Pflock to the rail in 4th place for £15,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,900,000 | 1,200,000 |
|
Busted |