Welcome back to the ARIA Resort & Casino, and the inaugural Poker Masters for Day 2 of Event #5: $100,000 No-Limit Hold'em.
Monday saw the kick-off to the Poker Masters finale as 35 players all put up the $100,000 buy-in to be part of this prestigious event. It wouldn't just be the expected million dollar plus first prize on offer that had players licking their lips, but also the chance of topping the Poker Masters leaderboard to capture the Poker Masters Purple Jacket. Germany's Steffen Sontheimer was leading all players heading into the finale with $1,221,000 in winnings from his three cashes and one win over the first week. However, depending on results, a win in the $100,000 buy-in event could seal the deal for any player in their quest for claiming the Poker Masters Purple Jacket.
As players fell to the rail throughout the day, eventually it would be just 14 players remaining once play was halted early for the night, and although there is word that one player was going to take advantage of late registration, due to the halt in play, he would not be allowed to take his seat until the start of level eleven; the true start for Day 2.
Sontheimer is still alive in this tournament with the fourth highest chip stack of 696,500, however it would be inaugural Super High Roller Bowl Champion Brian Rast bagging the chip lead at night's end with 959,000. Two players that were in the seven figures club for a good chunk of play were Justin Bonomo and Daniel Negreanu; and they both ended play with 780,500 and 745,500 respectively. Also in contention, and placed the highest on the winnings leaderboard include German's Fedor Holz (662,500) and Stefan Schillhabel (539,000), while Jake Schindler (507,000) and Dan Smith (476,500) still have a puncher's chance.
Today is expected to see the tournament play down until a final table of nine, and with the prize pool and payouts expected to be released once cards hit the air, it is expected that the final six players will be in-the-money with a first prize of $1,512,000 will be announced if that late registrant does indeed take his seat (taking the field size to 36 means 6 places will be paid with a 42% first prize as stated by ARIA in their Poker Masters payouts and structure sheet).
The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be providing continuous live updates from the tournament floor once play begins at 2:00 p.m. (PDT). Once the PokerGO live stream begins, our updates will coincide with the live stream, and will not include any spoilers for those watching along on PokerGO. So stay tuned right here to PokerNews.com for updates from Event #5 as we play down to the final table before crowning a champion and the Poker Masters Purple Jacket recipient on Wednesday.
Heading into Day 2, here are how the Poker Masters Purple Jacket rankings sit.
Not only does Steffen Sontheimer remain in today's field with a chip stack that is good for fourth place overall, but seven of his closest rivals have all been eliminated. This leaves fellow German Fedor Holz his nearest competitor with a winnings gap of $671,000 between the two.
Although it is more then likely that the winner of Event #5 will claim top spot in the race for the Poker Masters Purple Jacket, the way the tournament has fallen so far means that something as small as a min-cash may be enough for Sontheimer to lock up the Purple Jacket.
However, it truly is still anyone's race as first-event players such as Seth Davies and Bryon Kaverman mathematically have a chance to win the Poker Masters Purple Jacket.
As the tournament progresses today, we will continue to update the standings, however it won't be until the final table is reached later today that exact calculations can be made to see which players need which results to stake their claim at the inaugural Poker Masters Purple Jacket.
Rank
Overall Rank
Player
Country
Wins
Cashes
Events Played
Winnings
1
1
Steffen Sontheimer
Germany
1
3
5
$1,221,000
2
8
Fedor Holz
Germany
1
5
$550,000
3
9
Jake Schindler
USA
2
5
$409,500
4
10
Stefan Schillhabel
Germany
1
5
$306,000
5
14
Phil Hellmuth
USA
1
5
$200,000
6
15
Dan Smith
USA
1
5
$192,000
7
17
Justin Bonomo
USA
1
5
$175,500
8
18
Christian Christner
Germany
1
5
$175,000
9
21
Daniel Negreanu
Canada
1
5
$102,000
10
22
Dan Shak
USA
1
3
$100,000
11
26
Stephen Chidwick
UK
5
$0
12
27
Ben Tollerene
USA
5
$0
13
28
Brian Rast
USA
3
$0
14
29
Seth Davies
USA
1
$0
15
30
Byron Kaverman*
USA
1
$0
*We have been told Byron Kaverman was going to buy-in late on Day 1 and then enter at the start of level eleven.
Dan Smith raised to 12,000 from the hijack with and Steffen Sontheimer called on the button with . Holz also called from the big blind with and the flop induced some action.
It was checked around to Sontheimer who bet 14,500, Holz folded, and Smith raised to 55,000. Sontheimer called and the hit the turn.
Smith checked and Sontheimer fired 51,000 with two pair. Smith moved all-in for 355,000 and Sontheimer couldn't fold his two pair and flush draw. The river was the and Smith was eliminated at the hands of Sontheimer who took over the chip lead.
Brian Rast raised to 12,000 on the button with and Phil Hellmuth pushed all-in for 27,500 with . Rast called and the cards were turned over.
The flop came and Rast made a pair of queens to put Hellmuth on the ropes. The on the turn gave Rast two pair and Hellmuth was drawing dead to the on the river.
Hellmuth saw his run at The Poker Masters come to an end while Rast moved over one million chips.
Byron Kaverman jumped into play at the start of Level 10, and while he gathered some chips right away, he wouldn't survive through Level 11.
In what would ultimately be his last hand, Kaverman three-bet to 53,000 from the small blind after Fedor Holz had opened for 14,000 under the gun. Holz just called and then called a bet of 32,000 on the flop.
Both players proceeded to check the turn, and then Kaverman checked the river. Holz responded by moving all in and Kaverman burned through all three of his time extensions before calling off his remaining 160,000.
Holz rolled over the , and Kaverman mucked. Since it was an all-in hand, the dealer was obligated to show his cards, which were the .
From the cutoff, Fedor Holz opened with a raise and both Justin Bonomo and Brian Rast called from the button and big blind respectively.
The flop landed and Holz fired out a continuation-bet of 24,000 as Bonomo folded, and Rast check-called.
The turn landed the , and following a check from Rast, Holz bet 29,000. Rast tossed in five 25,000-denomination chips amounting to a raise of 125,000, and Holz made the call as the river landed the .
Rast cut out a bet of 260,000, and after using his second time extension button, Holz pushed all in. Rast quickly folded and dropped to 470,000, while Holz motored his stack up to 1.2 million; good enough to contend for the chip lead with Steffen Sontheimer.
Daniel Negreanu doesn’t need much of an introduction; after all, he sits atop poker’s all-time money list with $34,333,814 in live tournament earnings.
When it comes to the Poker Masters, Negreanu had high hopes of capturing The Poker Masters Purple Jacket™. He even bet more than 20 players $50,000 each in a must-win prop, meaning if any of them wins the most he’ll lose is $50K, but if he wins he’ll claim an addition $1,000,000+.
Negreanu will have to win this event if he’s going to do it, and at the same time hope the likes of Fedor Holz and Steffen Sontheimer don’t do too well. That’s because Negreanu managed just one cash in the preliminary events, finishing eighth in Event #1: $50,000 NLHE for $102,000.
If Negreanu were to win, the $1,512,000 prize would mark the third-biggest of his career behind the $8,288,001 he received for finishing runner-up in the 2014 Big One for One Drop, and the $1,770,218 he got for winning the 2004 World Poker Tour Five Diamond World Poker Classic.
However, he does have four other seven-figure scores on his poker résumé including $1,119,610 for finishing fourth in the 2014 Aussie Millions $250,000 Challenge, $1,117,400 for winning the 2004 WPT Borgata Poker Open, and $1,087,160 for winning the 2013 WSOP APAC Main Event.
Christian Christner raised to 18,000 from the button with and Daniel Negreanu shipped all-in for 189,000 with in the big blind. Christner made the call and the cards were face up.
"Ace-seven-three rainbow," Negreanu was cheering for. However, the flop came and Christner flopped a pair of queens. The turn was the and the river brought the as Negreanu was sent packing prior to the final table.
With Negreanu's elimination, his Poker Masters journey comes to an end and so does the chance of winning over $1,000,000 in side bets. Negreanu had side bets with 23 other players to win The Poker Masters Purple Jacket for $50,000 a piece and will still be on the hook for one of those bets should Justin Bonomo, Seth Davies, or Stephen Chidwick not win the title.
Jake Schindler opened to 20,000 from under the gun and Stephen Chidwick three-bet to 55,000 from the button. The action returned to Schindler, and he moved all in for nearly 550,000 and Chidwick called all in for 303,000.
Chidwick:
Schindler:
With Chidwick at-risk and needing to improve, the flop changed little, but it would be the on the turn that would thrust him into the lead.
The river landed the and Chidwick doubled through to 626,000 as Schindler dropped to 242,000 in chips.
Justin Bonomo opened the button to 16,000 and Brian Rast called in the big blind as the flop landed and Rast checked.
Bonomo bet out 32,000 and Rast called before checking the on the turn. Bonomo fired out again; this time for 70,000, and Rast made the call as the river landed the .
Rast checked and Bonomo pushed out a stack of 25,000-denomination chips amounting to a bet of 500,000.
Rast called for his final 242,000 and tabled his for a flush as Bonomo revealed his for a Broadway straight. Rast is now sitting on 732,000 as Bonomo dropped to 450,000 in chips.
and Steffen Sontheimer called on the button with 
. Holz also called from the big blind with 
and the 
flop induced some action.
hit the turn.
and Smith was eliminated at the hands of Sontheimer who took over the chip lead.
and Phil Hellmuth pushed all-in for 27,500 with 
and Rast made a pair of queens to put Hellmuth on the ropes. The 
on the turn gave Rast two pair and Hellmuth was drawing dead to the 
flop. 
turn, and then Kaverman checked the 
river. Holz responded by moving all in and Kaverman burned through all three of his time extensions before calling off his remaining 160,000.
and Holz fired out a continuation-bet of 24,000 as Bonomo folded, and Rast check-called.
, and following a check from Rast, Holz bet 29,000. Rast tossed in five 25,000-denomination chips amounting to a raise of 125,000, and Holz made the call as the river landed the 
.
and Daniel Negreanu shipped all-in for 189,000 with 
in the big blind. Christner made the call and the cards were face up.
and Christner flopped a pair of queens. The turn was the 
as Negreanu was sent packing prior to the final table.
flop changed little, but it would be the 
.
