Malta's "Farrugia_1" Wins The $200,000 Tune Up
After over 12 hours of play, Event #97 - $160 XL Eclipse Tune Up, finally crowned a winner. "Farrugia_1" from Malta claimed the first-place prize of $41,175 after defeating "A.Merone" in heads-up play.
The event had 1,046 players register with 479 rebuys for a total of 1,525 total entries. They created a prize pool of $228,750 with 135 places getting paid. "mskesevart" from Russia finished on the bubble and was unable to break into the money.
After nearly 11 hours of play, the tournament dwindled down to nine players who made up the official final table. It took a while before "hateVAMOS" was eliminated in ninth place after losing with ace-eight against ace-jack. Not long after that, "eltxupacabra" finished in eighth place for $4,575. Also, "2good2beTru" busted before the break on the final table. He lost his last chips with king-jack suited against pocket sevens.
With six left, it was "A.Merone" who took control after eliminating "chaimitof" in a huge hand with pocket kings against ace-king. "PaTientZer0" was happy to get the pay jump and he finished in fifth place for $11,438.
After the elimination of "PaTientZer0", the tournament was over in just half an hour. "Farrugia_1" took control by busting "elektive" in a huge pot with a set of queens against two pair. "elektive" finished in fourth place for $16,470. Just a few hands later "Farrugia_1" busted "Venum1976" with a straight against two pair, which saw later mentioned finish in third place for $21,960.
The final heads-up just took two hands, before "Farrugia_1" won it all with pocket tens against ace-queen. He secured himself of the victory and the first prize of $41,775 while his fellow countryman finished in second place for $29,439.
| Place | Player | County | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farrugia_1 | Malta | $41,175 |
| 2 | A.Merone | Malta | $29,349 |
| 3 | Venum1976 | Czech Republic | $21,960 |
| 4 | elektive | Germany | $16,470 |
| 5 | PaTientZer0 | Russia | $11,438 |
| 6 | chaimitof | Colombia | $9,150 |
| 7 | 2good2beTru | Mexico | $6,863 |
| 8 | eltxupacabra | Czech Republic | $4,575 |
| 9 | hateVAMOS | Russia | $2,745 |