£140 Main Event - Road to PSPC | Moneymaker's Road to PSPC 2020 - London

11-10-2019 11:06 UTC

The Moneymaker's Road to the PSPC Tour Will Play Down to a Winner Today

LisaY

The final table line up has been decided. Each of the nine remaining players are guaranteed at least £1,500, but they will undoubtedly have their sights on the £11,200 prize for first place, not to mention a highly sought-after Platinum Pass*. The 2020 edition of the PSPC will be held in Barcelona from August 20-24 at Casino Barcelona. With the Platinum Pass adding so much value to first place, the payout for second place has been adjusted to take some of the sting out of coming second.

That is something Justin Bateson knows about all too well after finishing runner up in London at the end of October. By the end of today, we will know whether or not Bateson has been able to convert his chip lead into a win.

The third and final day will kick off at 12pm here at Aspers Casino Stratford. Levels will increase to 40 minutes long and play will rewind to the start of Level 29 (50,000-100,000 100,000 big blind ante). PokerNews will be back here from 12:30pm, to stay in line with the 30-minute delay on the live stream. If previous days are anything to go by, the action will be fast and furious and something definitely not to be missed.

Final Table Overview

Seat	Name	Chips	Big Blinds
1	Gary Miller	3,960,000	39
2	Valdir Santos	3,155,000	31
3	Sinead Priestly	2,060,000	20
4	[Removed:148]	2,960,000	29
5	Dan Spataru	2,040,000	20
6	Duncan Mackie	3,555,000	35
7	Robert Buky	940,000	9
8	Justin Bateson	4,030,000	40
9	Rungarun Thongnonsung,	2,680,000	26

*Each Platinum Pass (worth approx. $30,000) includes:

Buy-in to the €22,500 PSPC 2020 event
Six nights’ hotel accommodation for two people in a 5* Barcelona Hotel
Airport transfers
Bespoke PSPC Merchandise
€1,250 to cover expenses
Platinum Pass winner experiences during the event

Tags: Justin Bateson

11-10-2019 13:19 UTC

Dan Spataru Eliminated in 9th Place (£1,500)

LisaY

Level 29 : 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante

Valdir Santos opened the action to 275,000 with . [Removed:148] flatted on the button and Dan Spataru squeezed 1,065,000 with in the small blind.

Santos got out of the way but Ahmed made the call. Spataru needed help to stay in the tournament but couldn't find it on the board and is the first to be eliminated from the final table.

Meanwhile Ahmed extends his chip lead with 65 big blinds in play.

Player	Chips	Progress
[Removed:148]	6,450,000 2,190,000	2,190,000
Valdir Cordeiro dos Santos	790,000 -1,590,000	-1,590,000
Dan Spataru	Busted

Tags: Dan Spataru Valdir Santos

11-10-2019 13:32 UTC

Robert Buky Eliminated in 8th Place (£1,900)

LisaY

Level 30 : 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante

Robert Buky was on the cutoff with and shipped all in. Justin Bateson called him with on the button.

With an ace on the flop, Bateson moved well into the lead. The turn sealed the deal, with the irrelevant.

Buky exits, whilst Bateson is closely contesting for the chip lead after winning the 2,350,000 pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Justin Bateson	6,010,000 1,700,000	1,700,000
Robert Buky	Busted

Tags: Justin Bateson Robert Buky

11-10-2019 13:59 UTC

Duncan Mackie Eliminated in 7th Place (£2,400)

LisaY

Level 30 : 60,000/120,000, 120,000 ante

Justin Bateson raised to 350,000 with under the gun and Duncan Mackie defended his big blind with .

On the flop, Mackie checked and Bateson quickly checked back with top two pair. On the turn, Mackie had improved to second pair and he moved all in for 2,100,000, which Bateson couldn't call quick enough.

Mackie sighed when he saw the bad news and the he didn't find one of his six outs on the river, sending him out the door.

Player	Chips	Progress
Justin Bateson	5,450,000 2,640,000	2,640,000
Duncan Mackie	Busted

Tags: Duncan Mackie Justin Bateson

11-10-2019 14:29 UTC

Sinead Priestley Eliminated in 6th Place (£3,000)

LisaY

Level 31 : 80,000/160,000, 160,000 ante

It has come to an end for Sinead Priestley. Starting the table in the bottom half of the chip counts, she has managed to ladder well until this point.

Unfortunately for her, she couldn't win the last flip with , which she shipped from under the gun. She was called by Rungarun Thongnonsung who held and the pair held through the board.

Player	Chips	Progress
Rungarun Thongnonsung	6,030,000 1,240,000	1,240,000
Sinead Priestley	Busted

Tags: Rungarun Thongnonsung Sinead Priestley

11-10-2019 14:36 UTC

Justin Bateson Eliminated in 5th Place (£3,700)

LisaY

Level 31 : 80,000/160,000, 160,000 ante

It is all over for Justin Bateson, with his second close attempt at taking a Platinum Pass coming to an end.

Valdir Santos opened on the cutoff to 365,000 and Justin Bateson three-bet all in to 1,685,000 with , which Santos snap-called].

One six had already been folded, so there were just two live outs for Bateson, neither of which were anywhere to be seen on the board and he finishes in a very respectable 5th place.

Player	Chips	Progress
Valdir Cordeiro dos Santos	6,000,000 3,320,000	3,320,000
Justin Bateson	Busted

Tags: Justin Bateson Valdir Santos

11-10-2019 14:43 UTC

Gary Miller Eliminated in 4th Place (£4,800)

LisaY

Level 31 : 80,000/160,000, 160,000 ante

Rungarun Thongnonsung opened 320,000 with and Gary Miller moved all in for 1,715,000 with on the button.

Valdir Santos looked down to see pocket and took his time before moving all in over the top. Neither [Removed:148] or Thongnonsung wanted to play any more and Miller was drawing to three outs.

There was a jack on the , which was a fantastic flop for Santos and he improved from set to full house on the turn. The river made no difference to the outcome and all of a sudden, the tournament is down to the last three players.

Player	Chips	Progress
Valdir Cordeiro dos Santos	8,050,000 2,050,000	2,050,000
Gary Miller	Busted

Tags: Gary Miller Valdir Santos

11-10-2019 16:05 UTC

Rungarun Thongnonsung Eliminated in 3rd Place (£7,240)

LisaY

Level 33 : 150,000/250,000, 250,000 ante

Heads up has been decided and it all came down to a pot worth more than 80% of the chips in play.

It began after [Removed:148] opened to 750,000 in the small blind and Rungarun Thongnonsung defended her big blind.

[Removed:148]:
Rungarun Thongnonsung:

Both players flopped a straight draw on the board. Ahmed had the open-ended and king-high, whilst Thongnonsung had a gutshot with ten-high.

Ahmed continued for 1,100,000 and Thongnonsung moved all in for 8,500,000 million. Once again Ahmed was in a tournament-defining spot with no time-bank cards available. He didn't let that dissuade him from making the huge call though.

The turn was a and the river the , giving Ahmed the winning hand with king-high and signalling the end for Thongnonsung.

Player	Chips	Progress
[Removed:148]	20,145,000 9,975,000	9,975,000
Rungarun Thongnonsung	Busted

Tags: Rungarun Thongnonsung

11-10-2019 18:33 UTC

Valdir Cordeiro dos Santos Takes Down Moneymaker’s Road to the PSPC London to Become Latest Platinum Pass Winner

LisaY

Level 34 : 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante

There were some big personalities at the final table and Valdir Cordeiro dos Santos seemed quiet in comparison. He remained cool and calm throughout the four and a half hours of play at Aspers Casino Stratford, which likely had a lot to do with his victory over his fellow competitors. He takes home the title, the trophy, £11,200 in prize money, plus a coveted Platinum Pass to the PSPC next year, handed over to him by none other than Chris Moneymaker himself.

Rewinding back to the start and in keeping with how much of the tournament played out this week, there was no shortage of excitement, with double-ups and eliminations aplenty. Dan Spataru was the first player to fall. Spataru wasn’t the shortest player at the table at the start but a few losses (most notably the one in which he folded pocket-kings preflop) saw his hopes dashed and he exited in 9th place for £1,500.

Next out was Robert Buky, just a few hands later. Buky put the last of his chips in the middle with king-nine in late position but failed to get there after Justin Bateson called behind with ace-ten. He won £1,900 for 8th place.

Bateson was responsible for the next elimination too, taking out Duncan Mackie in 7th for £2,400. Bateson had flopped top two pair and checked it back, giving Mackie the chance to catch up. Mackie improved to second pair and a gutshot on the turn and moved all in, which Bateson snap-called and held through to the river.

Next out was Sinead Priestley, who had played a steady game that enabled her to ladder to 6th place for £3,000. She shipped from under the gun with ten-nine suited but failed to win the flip against Rungarun Thongnonsung’s pocket-sixes.

Bateson hit the rail just minutes later, leaving him short once again in his campaign to take home a Platinum Pass. Bateson memorably finished runner-up in the previous London leg of the tour and will have to console himself with another deep run result, worth £3,700.

Then there were four, and Gary Miller was the next casualty. Despite a strong start (he began close second in chips), the cards didn’t go Miller’s way in the middle part of the day. In the end, he was toppled after he three-bet all in with ace-nine and ran into Cordeiro dos Santos’ pocket-jacks behind. He netted £4,800 for his efforts.

The aggression increased when there three left and this led to Thongnonsung’s departure. She made a huge all-in bet on the flop with a gutshot and ten-high and, incredibly, Ahmed found the correct call with an open-ended straight draw and king-high.

That left two and the huge clash in the previous hand left Cordeiro dos Santos with 5:1 chip deficit. He didn’t let that get to him, finding a double in the first hand and then chipping away to take the lead away from Ahmed. The last hand involved both players hitting a flush on the river, with Cordeiro dos Santos holding a queen-high spade against Ahmed’s ten-high one and netting the Brazilian the win. It was a great run for Ahmed that sees him go home £11,200 better off.

Final Table Results

Place	Player	Prize
1	Valdir Cordeiro dos Santos	£11,200 and a Platinum Pass
2	[Removed:148]	£11,200
3	Rungarun Thongnonsung	£7,240
4	Gary Miller	£4,800
5	Justin Bateson	£3,700
6	Sinead Priestley	£3,000
7	Duncan Mackie	£2,400
8	Robert Buky	£1,900
9	Dan Spataru	£1,500

Winner's Reaction

Cordeiro dos Santo later told PokerNews that he had felt confident throughout, explaining: "I'm very happy. With three people left, I called my nephew and said, 'I am going to win.'"

"I was happy to play him heads up because he is aggressive. I wait for his big bets. When I doubled heads up I'm 100 percent I will win."

When asked about the PSPC 2020 in Barcelona in August, he had only one thing to say: "I will try to win again."

Tags: Chris Moneymaker Dan Spataru Duncan Mackie Gary Miller Justin Bateson Robert Buky Rungarun Thongnonsung Sinead Priestley Valdir Cordeiro dos Santos