THMC Cape Town Million
Day 2 Completed
2025 THMC Cape Town Million
THMC Cape Town Million
Day: 2
Event Info
2025 THMC Cape Town Million
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
Buy-in
8,000 ZAR
Prize Pool
2,378,880 ZAR
Entries
354
Level
27
Blinds
30,000 / 60,000
Ante
60,000
Entries
46
Players Left
1
Players Left 1 / 354
Filter
Level 27
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
The third edition of the The Hendon Mob Championship Cape Town Million has crowned a winner and it was a South African affair on the final table with one exception. With previous field sizes of 210 and 299 entries, the third instalment of the ZAR 8,000 (USD 450) buy-in attracted a total of 354 entries across four starting days and 46 players earned a slice of the ZAR 2,378,880 (USD 137,975) prize pool at the GrandWest Casino by Sun International. The initial guarantee of ZAR 1.25 million was nearly doubled in the event held in cooperation with the SunBet Poker Tour.
After the elimination of French player Kevin Boyer, a trio of local players agreed to a deal and the baby run-good of Sean Bloom saw him lift the trophy as the chip leader after shaking hands with Alvin Pillay and Marko Nortje. In the inaugural edition back in 2023, Bloom finished in fourth place for ZAR 115,000 and was all smiles for the winner shots.
"It is always fantastic to win a poker tournament. I came fourth in this event two years ago so it is kind of nice to go a couple steps further than that. I have been fortunate enough to win a few Main Events and other tournaments along the way, but this is a fantastic event. The prize pool flew past the guarantee and swelled up pretty nicely, it is a handsome payday and nothing to complain about. It is a great event”, Bloom concluded in the victory interview with The Hendon Mob's very own Roland Boothby.
The travel plans may require some approval by his partner with a new born at home, but he certainly has penciled into his schedule more trips abroad for live poker action outside of South Africa. He takes home a package for The Hendon Mob Championship for 2026 on top of his cash winnings to further sweeten the victory.
For most of the final day, Nortje dominated the action with the largest chip stack and relentless aggression. However, that fired back on the final table when Bloom picked him off twice to become the overwhelming leader in three-handed play.
“I have played lots of pots with Marko over the years and I know what he is capable of. I try and inflate the pots against him when my hands are feeling quite nutted because I know he can kind of blast off with what he construes as a strong hand at the time. So I kind of tried to inflate the ace-ten as much as possible and make it more bluffy than it obviously was," the eventual champion summarised his double-up into the lead against Nortje.
Soon after, both clashed again when Nortje fired three barrels with a pair of fours and couldn't force out Bloom on a draw-heavy board.
"And the king-jack I just felt like I had the best hand and I thought about raising the turn, but then I thought obviously if he's got it I am drawing pretty thin. But when he went kind of hard on the river but didn't go all-in, it didn't make a fortune of sense to me and I thought I had the best hand,” the accomplished local poker pro explained.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (ZAR) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sean Bloom | South Africa | 350,000 | $20,300* |
| 2 | Alvin Pillay | South Africa | 305,000 | $17,690* |
| 3 | Marko Nortje | South Africa | 285,000 | $16,530* |
| 4 | Kevin Boyer | France | 167,000 | $9,686 |
| 5 | Prenesh Naidoo | South Africa | 123,000 | $7,134 |
| 6 | Dylan Barnard | South Africa | 94,000 | $5,452 |
| 7 | Jason De Villiers | South Africa | 78,000 | $4,524 |
| 8 | Kinesh Pather | South Africa | 62,000 | $3,596 |
| 9 | Sachin Naidoo | South Africa | 48,000 | $2,784 |
*Denotes three-way deal
Nortje had his fair share of fortune and well-timed aggression throughout the entire day, sending several players to the rail by applying maximum pressure. Among them was also the very experienced Kinesh Pather on the final table when his pocket kings were cracked by Nortje's ace-eight suited. Jason De Villiers made it all the way to seventh place despite being absent from the tables for more than four hours when he was called to a business meeting during the first break of the day.
It was an action-packed day not only because of Nortje's hyper-aggressive style but the 46 Day 1 survivors were culled down to nearly half by the time the first break started. Jedd Kossew only lasted three hands until his ace-queen ran into ace-king. Imran Bhojani bowed out against Cliton Taliwanth on the feature table and Jaryd Jardien followed suit in a three-way all-in on the outer tables against Pather.
Taliwanth's run ended on the final three tables when he lost a flip with ace-king against the pocket tens of Yoni Lipshitz. The latter was then crushed by the wrecking ball Nortje who jammed queen-jack suited into his pocket jacks and spiked a queen on the turn. Tanith Rothman was also among the several talented local players to run deep and carefully navigated a short stack to an 18th place.
One of the few players from abroad to reach the final two tables was Scotsman Dean Hutchison, who reached the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas two years ago in 2023. Hutchison came to South Africa upon recommendation from his buddy James Rann and ultimately bowed out in 13th place after a roller-coaster ride. Pillay dealt the final blow with tens versus eights, having picked up the same pocket pair four times on the outer tables.
The final table was a rather short-lived and very intense affair, heavily influenced by the sheer aggression of chip leader Nortje. However, the 25 year old could not make it all the way to victory when Bloom had his number twice and settled for a three-handed deal.
The Hendon Mob Championship has one further stop scheduled in 2025, which is imminent in a few days from now at the Genting Casino Stratford in London, United Kingdom. The PokerNews live reporting team will remain in Cape Town to provide live updates from the upcoming Joe-Boy Rahme MonsterStaK Main Event from November 27 to 30, 2025 in honour of the popular local pro who recently passed away.
Level 27
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
During the break, the final three players once again discussed a deal and this time came to an agreement. Sean Bloom as the run-away chip leader claimed the trophy and top prize of ZAR 350,000 while Alvin Pillay and Marko Nortje received a small boost compared to the regular payouts.
No further hand was played and Bloom took the winner pictures with K♦J♦ as the winning hand. These exact holdings won a bigger pot off Nortje who fired three barrels into Bloom's nut flush draw that paired up the king on the river. Below are the deal numbers.
| Rank | Winner | Country | Prize (in ZAR) | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sean Bloom | South Africa | 350,000 | $20,300 |
| 2 | Alvin Pillay | South Africa | 305,000 | $17,690 |
| 3 | Marko Nortje | South Africa | 285,000 | $16,530 |
A recap of today's action will be posted shortly.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
10,590,000
4,290,000
|
4,290,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
|
Busted | |
Level 27
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
The remainder of the level brought no further massive chip changes and Sean Bloom remained the run-away favourite to win the tournament. The final three players headed into a 10-minute break.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,300,000
300,000
|
300,000 |
|
|
3,400,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
|
1,100,000 | |
|
|
||
Level 27
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Marko Nortje raised to 120,000 with the K♦8♠ on the button and folded when Alvin Pillay three-bet J♣7♠ in the small blind.
Two hands later, Sean Bloom jammed the flop against Pillay and forced out his opponent while the final three players were still discussing any possible deal.
Bloom then opened to 140,000 with the 10♣8♥ and Pillay called in the big blind with the 7♣5♥. On the A♦J♦6♠ flop, Pillay check-called for 105,000 and led the 4♠ turn for 225,000 with his up and down straight draw to win the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,600,000
400,000
|
400,000 |
|
|
3,200,000
700,000
|
700,000 |
|
|
1,100,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
||
Level 27
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
There was a brief break after the elimination of Kevin Boyer in fourth place as the three players from South Africa inquired to look into deal numbers but couldn't agree on the figures. With Marko Nortje now suddenly the short stack, the momentum certainly shifted a lot but play continued without any deal in play.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,000,000
900,000
|
900,000 |
|
|
2,500,000
550,000
|
550,000 |
|
|
1,200,000
90,000
|
90,000 |
|
|
||
Level 27
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Alvin Pillay raised to 130,000 and Sean Bloom called in the small blind with the Q♣8♣. Kevin Boyer then jammed from the big blind for 645,000 and Pillay went all-in over the top, Bloom folded.
Kevin Boyer: A♥7♦ 
Alvin Pillay: A♦K♥
The superior kicker of Pillay remained ahead all the way on the A♣Q♠5♦2♦3♥ runout and Boyer had to settle for fourth place worth ZAR 167,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
7,900,000
700,000
|
700,000 |
|
|
1,950,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 27
: Blinds 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Marko Nortje raised to 130,000 with the 4♥2♥ and Sean Bloom called in the small blind holding the K♦J♦, Kevin Boyer came along in the big blind with the J♣7♦. On the A♦4♠3♦ flop, the action checked to Nortje and he bet 175,000. Only Bloom called and checked again the Q♠ on the turn.
Nortje was undeterred and fired a larger second barrel for 525,000 to pick up a call by Bloom once more. That led them to the [s] river on which Bloom checked. Nortje loaded up a third barrel for 1,200,000 to send his fellow South African into a world of pain. Bloom used a time bank and called before vaulting out of his chair briefly.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
8,600,000
2,300,000
|
2,300,000 |
|
|
1,700,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
|
1,110,000
1,090,000
|
1,090,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
585,000
340,000
|
340,000 |
Level: 27
Blinds: 30,000/60,000
Ante: 60,000
Level 26
: Blinds 25,000/50,000, 50,000 ante
Marko Nortje made it 125,000 to go withj the A♠3♣ and Sean Bloom called with the A♣10♦ to see both players flop an ace on A♦10♣2♦. Bloom led for 95,000 and Nortje raised to 305,000 to get a call by Bloom with the top two pair. On the K♠ turn, Bloom bet 350,000 only for Nortje to push all-in.
Bloom reluctantly called and was way out in front with his aces and tens. Nortje needed a king to chop but the 8♠ river secured a massive double for Bloom worth 2,660,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,300,000
2,800,000
|
2,800,000 |
|
|
2,200,000
3,100,000
|
3,100,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,900,000
400,000
|
400,000 |
|
|
925,000
175,000
|
175,000 |
