In a little under 2 hours time, the final day of the 2016 Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza €1,000,000 buy-in Big One For One Drop kicks off.
The prize pool of a whopping €24,888,892 is still to be divided, but just 6 players will take part in that. That means 2 unfortunate souls will go home empty-handed and a big bubble awaits when the players return at noon.
Leading the pack of recreational poker players is former poker pro and Matchbook CEO Andrew Pantling with almost 32 million in chips. The shortest stack still in it is Haralabos Voulgaris who'll bring 13 big blinds when play resumes.
Here's how the players rack up with a single minute left in level 150,000/300,000 before play moves to limits 200,000/400,000 with a 50,000-ante.
Seat
Player
Chips
Big Blinds
1
Brandon Steven
8,000,000
20
2
Rick Salomon
26,900,000
67
3
Andrew Pantling
31,775,000
79
4
James Bord
18,125,000
45
5
Haralabos Voulgaris
5,375,000
13
6
Anatoly Gurtovoy
16,775,000
42
7
Elton Tsang
23,550,000
59
8
Cary Katz
9,550,000
24
The first place prize is €11,111,111 ($12,189,918), the third biggest first-place prize in the history of poker after the 2012 Big One for One Drop (Antonio Esfandiari won $18,346,673) and 2014 Big One for One Drop (Dan Colman won $15,306,668). Min cashing this event is worth €1.5 million. Noteworthy is that chip leader Andrew Pantling needs to place 4th or better to make a profit, he's the sole player left in that reentered the event and thus is in for €2,000,000.
Hand #3: Right after Andrew Pantling lost that sizable hand to Elton Tsang, the two of them tangled again.
First to act, Pantling raised to 800,000. Action folded to Elton Tsang and he three-bet to 2.3 million. Action was back on Pantling soon enough and he four-bet to 8 million. Tsang asked how much Pantling was playing behind (about 17 million) and called.
With already over 16 million in the middle, the flop came .
Pantling bet 6.5 million and within two seconds, Tsang had moved all in.
Pantling sighed, tanked for about 30 seconds or so, and mucked.
Hand #8: Being one of the best sports bettors in the world, Haralabos Voulgaris would've known that the odds were stacked against him today. He came in as the short stack and would've been looking for a spot to get a double up and climb out of the basement.
Eight hands in, he found that spot. Action folded to him on the button and he moved all-in for around 11 big blinds. Just picking up the blinds and antes would've added almost 25% to his stack, but it would not be a raise and take as Anatoly Gurtovoy called from the small blind. When Elton Tsang folded from the big blind it was time for the showdown.
Voulgaris:
Gurtovoy:
Voulgaris had a 38.97% chance of surviving but the board didn't help him and he departed in eighth place. That all means that we're now on the bubble here in Monte Carlo. A €1,500,000 bubble.
Hand #73: Action folded around to Cary Katz in the small blind and he announced he's all in. Brandon Steven was the big blind. He checked his cards and called. "I didn't even look" Katz said, keeping his cards face down for the moment. Steven turned over , the Katz showed putting him in a good spot against Steven's hand.
The board ran out . Neither player connected, and Katz won with his big slick. Steven was all in for 2,400,000, and Katz just barely had him covered. Katz nearly doubled up, and Steven was eliminated on the bubble.
Each of the remaining six players is guaranteed a payout of at least €1,500,000.
Hand #75: Elton Tsang was the aggressor once more, as he opened to 1,300,000 from the hijack. Action folded to Andrew Pantling, who was the big blind, and he moved all-in for 3,325,000 total. Tsang asked for a count and then called.
Pantling:
Tsang:
The flop left Pantling drawing thin, the turn card gave him a straight draw, but he missed it on the river. So, Pantling is the first player out in the money, but he did have a re-buy meaning he needed a fourth place finish or higher to show a profit.
Hand #95: From first position, James Bord open raised to 1.5 million. On the button Elton Tsang three-bet to 4 million and small blind Cary Katz called all in for 2,125,000. Rick Salomon folded his big blind and action was back on Bord.
"Hold on a second" Bord told his masseuse who consequently halted her work and took a step back. Bord tanked for about a minute or two before he folded.
"I thought you were making a move." Katz said as he showed his hand.
Cary Katz:
Elton Tsang:
Katz had the best hand but all of that would change after the flop: .
Katz needed some help but wouldn't get any. The on the turn and on the river were both definitions of blanks and Katz said his goodbyes.
The four remaining players are guaranteed €2.1 million from here on out.
From under-the-gun Anatoly Gurtovoy opened to 2,000,000, Elton Tsang called on the button and James Bord came along from the big blind. On the flop Gurtovoy bet 3,000,000, interestingly he did it using plaques, rather than chips, it was the first time we've seen the plaques used for a bet at this final table. After Tsang folded, Bord shoved for about 12,000,000 and Gurtovoy snap called with . He was ahead of Bord's and it stayed that way on the turn and river.
Bord shook hands with his opponent's who are all now guaranteed €3,000,000.
Hand #228: We've seen many an all-in shove go uncalled during three-handed play but this time we, and the spectators, did get a showdown.
Elton Tsang opened to 2,600,000 on the button, Rick Salomon moved all-in for 15,600,000, Anatoly Gurtovoy called the all-in and Tsang got out of the way.
Salomon:
Gurtovoy:
Salomon was in deep trouble as Gurtovoy had a dominating hand, however, it was domination rotation on the flop as Salomon vaulted into the lead. The turn was a rollercoaster of a card though as it put Gurtovoy back in the lead. A large crowd looked on as the dealer delivered the on the river and Salomon was eliminated in third place earning €3,000,000.
Hand #273: It's all over and it took a cooler to end it. Anatoly Gurtovoy opened to 3,200,000 and Elton Tsang made the call. The flop was checked through and the fell on the turn. Tsang checked, Gurtovoy bet 3,000,000 and Tsang wanted a look at Gurtovoy's stack. It looked to be about 14,000,000 in total and Tsang said. "I make it nine," and he raised it up to 9,000,000. Gurtovoy paused a few beats then moved all-in and Tsang snap called. The chip leader showed and Gurtovoy looked exasperated as he turned over for an inferior straight.
There was still the possibility of a chop but the river was the and Tsang improved to a flush to make sure of the victory. A large round of applause rang around the room for the Big One for One Drop champion.
After three fabulous days of action, the 2016 Monte-Carlo One Drop Extravaganza €1,000,000-buy-in Big One For One Drop has crowned a winner.
Tonight, Canadian born but Hong Kong based, Elton Tsang can say that he’s won the third biggest prize in poker history as he defeated a field of 28 entries (26 uniques, two reentries) to win a massive €11,111,111.
Such is the scale of the prize Tsang's won that he’s vaulted from outside the top 3,000 to 21st on the all-time money list.
He defeated a final table that included: Andrew Pantling, James Bord, Rick Salomon, Haralabos Voulgaris, Cary Katz, Brandon Steven and Anatoly Gurtovoy.
Final Table Results
Place
Player
Based
Prize
1
Elton Tsang
Hong Kong
€11,111,111
2
Anatoly Gurtovoy
Russia
€5,427,781
3
Rick Salomon
United States
€3,000,000
4
James Bord
United Kingdom
€2,100,000
5
Cary Katz
United States
€1,750,000
6
Andrew Pantling
Canada
€1,500,000
This was no ordinary tournament and the final table got the introduction it deserved. Guy Laliberté did not disappoint as the players were escorted to the tables to a crescendo of electric guitar riffs and the One Drop foundation frontman took to the microphone to perform the ceremonial ‘shuffle up and deal’ announcement.
We didn’t have to wait long for action. Just two hands in, Elton Tsang took the chip lead from Andrew Pantling and when the two clashed again on the next hand, with Tsang coming out on top, Pantling had lost two-thirds of his stack while Tsang now had a big chip lead. Looking back we can say that these were two of the most pivotal hands of the final table, we just didn’t know it yet. They're so pivotal because at this point Tsang’s stack was over 47,000,000. During the entirety of the final table, no other player would get their hands on a stack that big.
Coming into play as the short stack was Haralabos Voulgaris. The professional sports bettor needed to find a spot and eight hands in he found it. Unfortunately for ‘Bob’ this one didn’t go in his favor as his shove with a suited king was picked off by Anatoly Gurtovoy with ace-queen. Neither player connected with the board and it was bubble time with 7 players remaining and just 6 getting paid.
It was a €1,500,000 bubble but you wouldn’t have known it as the action didn’t grind to a halt and there was zero stalling. Brandon Steven was the first player all-in and at risk of bubbling, he and Pantling both had ace-king but after the turn, Pantling was freerolling and any diamond would’ve burst the bubble. Steven survived and Cary Katz was the next player to face a sweat. He had dwindled to just under five big blinds by the time he took a stand with jack-ten. Again it was Pantling who was looking to play the role of executioner but Katz started, and finished, with the best hand to get a much needed double up.
With Katz as the clear short stack, it became almost a four-handed tournament as Pantling and Steven (the other short stacks) were handcuffed. Again Katz found a hand to get his stack in with, and again he held as his ace-king dodged the jack-nine suited of Elton Tsang.
By this point, Katz, Steven, and Pantling were all well and truly in the danger zone and by the time the blinds ticked up to 300,000/600,000 that triumvirate was all below starting stack. Something had to give and when two of the short stacks found hands, it did. Katz shoved all-in, Steven called and the former had a dominating hand with ace-king to the latters king-queen. Five blanks later and the bubble had burst; Brandon Steven was the last one to go home empty-handed.
Just a few minutes later, six came five. Andrew Pantling, who was the start of day chip leader, took his last stand with a suited king but didn’t get there against Tsang’s ace-high. Usually the first in the money finish opens the floodgates but not in this instance as another twenty hands occurred before Cary Katz was knocked out in fifth. In the hand in question James Bord opened, Elton Tsang three-bet with king-jack and Katz called all-in for less than the three-bet with ace-jack. Bord folded. A king on the flop was a dagger to Katz’s tournament hopes and neither the turn nor river saved him.
While Tsang was out of sight as the clear chip leader, James Bord, Rick Salomon and Gurtovoy were all bunched together in the 15-25 big blind range. This created a dynamic where Tsang could pick up a lot of pots, but all three had enough chips to three-bet shove to keep their stack buoyant. It was, though, inevitable that two of these stacks would clash at one point and so it proved. On an ace-high flop, Anatoly Gurtovoy and James Bord created a pot of around 30 million. Both had top pair but Gurtovoy’s kicker was better and Bord was kicked out in fourth earning €2,100,000.
With three left it was Tsang who was well in charge; he had almost 100,000,000 of the 140,000,000 chips in play. Salomon and Gurtovoy had to scrap and fight to survive. A period of play that was characterized by Tsang getting walks followed, Tsang raising to take the blinds and antes and others raising and getting shoved on.
This continued for almost 70 hands but then followed big action two hands in a row. First Salomon and Gurtovoy got it all-in pre-flop, but both held king-jack and the pot was chopped. The very next hand Gurtovoy three-bet shoved for 16.5 big blinds with king-nine and Tsang put him at risk with pocket sixes. A nine on the flop gave Gurtovoy the lead but Tsang picked up a straight draw. The turn and river were blanks though and Gurtovoy doubled.
That dent altered the landscape as now Salomon was the clear short stack and was down to around a dozen big blinds. For 30 or so hands his shoves went uncalled but then we got action. Rick Salomon three-bet shoved with queen-jack and Anatoly Gurtovoy called with ace-queen. A jack on the flop gave Salomon the lead but an ace turned and Gurtovoy held on the river. Rick Salomon made his exit in 3rd place, good for €3,000,000.
So to heads-up play we went with chip stacks looking like this at blinds of 600,000/1,200,000 ante 200,000:
It was nearly all over on just the third hand of heads-up play. On a nine-six-five raindbow flop all the chips went in. Gurtovoy had top pair-top kicker but Tsang had flopped top two pair. Running cards put a straight on the board and the pot was chopped. The momentum and the chip lead was with Tsang though and he continued to grind Gurtovoy down. Down to just six big blinds, Gurtovoy managed to get one double up but he wouldn’t get a second.
Not much later, Tsang and Gurtovoy got it all-in again. On the turn of a -board the last of his chips went in with for Gurtovoy making him a wheel. Unfortunately for him, Tsang had him beat with and the river didn’t save Gurtovoy this time. Tsang's fans, including Mustapaha Kanit who had been coaching him for 2 weeks, celebrated and a round of applause rang out.
Thank you to everyone for following our coverage of this extraordinary event. A reminder that we’ll be back at noon tomorrow to cover the €1,000,000 cash game and €100,000 freeze-out live from Monaco.