The tournament room in the Bonnington Hotel is filled with chatter as the remaining 165 players out of 191 entries have headed into their second 15-minute break of the day. Another six levels of one hour each remain before bagging and tagging, and all those that have already busted on Day 1b and yesterday's 1a can join the turbo heat 1c as of 9 p.m. local time.
The €2,200 High Roller bubble boy Janos Kurtosi found no fortune in the Main Event either and busted shortly before the end of level four, as did Daniel Stacey. All remaining chips of Stacey were already pulled into the middle and he was at risk with the 
, his opponent had him on the ropes with 
.
The board came 
and Stacey was sent to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
The second battle esports gamer versus Unibet Poker ambassador this time ran out in favor of the esports pro, as Scott McMillan was spotted raking in the chips while Fredrik Bergmann left the tournament area. The cards were all but rushed away, but Bergmann was kind enough to provide further details.
Bergmann had lost a big pot early on and then defended his big blind with a stack of 24 big blinds and 
. McMillan had raised to 900 in the cutoff and Bergmann flatted with 
, flopped top pair on 
and check-jammed only to be called by McMillan with 
for the superior kicker. There was no help on turn and river, and Bergmann was gone. He will likely not enter Day 1c and rather take a shot at the Side Events later on before enjoying the city of Dublin.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
32,000 | 7,000 |
|
Busted |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
70,000 | 47,000 |
|
65,000 | |
|
55,000 | |
|
50,000 | 7,000 |
|
36,000 | 3,000 |
|
32,000 | 2,000 |
|
32,000 | 2,000 |
|
|
31,000 | 2,000 |
|
30,000 | |
|
30,000 | |
|
27,000 | 10,000 |
|
26,000 | 2,000 |
|
|
25,000 | -5,000 |
|
|
23,000 | -7,000 |
|
21,000 | -24,000 |
|
18,000 | -10,500 |
Former Irish Open champion Patrick Clarke and UnibetPoker.fr ambassador Alexandre Reard were among the most recent casualties with 169 players out of 190 entries remaining. Reard had a difficult spell at the tables today, losing a big portion of his stack soon after sitting down, grinding it back up before losing another big pot.
Eventually, Reard took a flip with ace-king against pocket jacks and failed to get there.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
The first of the esports gamers has been eliminated on Day 1b and that happened to be Kelvin “Snutz” Nguyen - Kelvin Nguyen, who walked out of the tournament area.
"It was against Ian (Simpson)," Nguyen said on his way out and a look at his former table indeed confirmed a bigger stack for the Unibet Poker ambassador, who provided the necessary details.
Apostol Beg had raised first to act to 900 and Simpson three-bet to 2,800 from one seat over, which only Nguyen flat-called on the button. The flop brought 
and Simpson bet 4,000, Nguyen raised to 9,000 with few chips behind and the esports gamer called all in with 
.
Simpson tabled the 
and faded the flush draw and back door full house, as a king and a blank came on turn and river.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
68,000 | 20,000 |
|
55,000 | |
|
|
Busted |
Gunnar Wedde bet the 
river for 3,000 and David Lappin called to see Wedde muck his cards, Lappin flashed for the ace-high straight on the four-card flush board.
One table over, fellow Unibet Poker ambassador Ian Simpson is also doing quite well as he just took on Gareth Hamilton. Kelvin “Snutz” Nguyen and Hamilton limped and Simpson in the small blind raised to 2,400, only Hamilton called with the words "you always raise."
They checked down the 
flop and the 
turn, Simpson bet the river and Hamilton mucked.
"It was a good one," Simpson admitted and showed his 
before raking in the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
48,000 | 8,000 |
|
40,000 | 9,000 |
|
|
30,000 | -17,000 |
|
|
14,000 | -16,000 |
The €330 Unibet Deepstack Open champion Samuel Baneham was among the recent casualties and he was joined on the rail by 2017 London champion Gerret van Lancker and Jean Paul Zaffran, while Apostol Beg continues his rise towards the top of the leader board.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
55,000 | 12,000 |
|
|
45,000 | 15,000 |
|
30,000 | -500 |
|
24,000 | -2,000 |
|
18,000 | -27,000 |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
|
|
Busted | |
|
Busted |
The PokerNews team sat down with Unibet Poker ambassador Fredrik Bergmann in one of the tournament breaks to catch up with the former esports professional, who now studies, breaths and plays poker for a living. Right away, the Norwegian joked “I take this as my final step in the transformation to a poker player.”
For almost a decade, the Norwegian was involved in online gaming and has spent the past two years to focus on poker, be it on the live circuit or on the virtual felt. But how and when exactly did it all start? Let's scroll back and take a closer look. Back in 2006, Bergmann started playing video games and things really kicked off a few years later.
“Three years later I was approached by one of the biggest streaming organizations called Dignitas, a UK based one, and ever since then I traveled around the world and played professionally on the circuit. I actually won the World Championship, which I am really proud of.”
The trophy shelf of the Norwegian, who turned 28 years old today, boasts one World Championship title in TrackMania, an E-games bronze medal and six national championship titles. However, while esports still plays a role in the life of Bergmann, it is poker that has taken over the top spot some two years ago.
“That's when I discovered poker and instantly fell in love with it,” Bergmann said with a big smile on the face before continuing as follows.
“So I was watching Twitch one day and they had this tournament called the esports SNG, which was basically an SNG between nine esport gamers and I was pretty intrigued by it and wanted to find out if I have a chance to play.”
Bergmann contacted Unibet and also met with the former head of poker at his first-ever live event in the Unibet UK tour in Nottingham, but it took another year before the Norwegian was in fact invited to experience the Unibet Open Copenhagen. From there on out, Bergmann received an invite for said esports SNG at the 2017 Unibet Open Bucharest festival and won it for €5,000 to record his second-ever cash on the live poker circuit.
The esports Battle Royale has taken place for the 11th time in Dublin and Bergmann watched the action from nearby. Having participated in and played against his fellow online gamers, the Norwegian has crossed paths at the poker tables with Scott “Sco” McMillan and Sophia “Djarii” White.
“Their skill level in poker is not the highest yet, but that's cool and also challenging at the same time. I would think for someone that has never played poker before and the first time is the esports SNG, it is a very good icebreaker and makes it much easier for them to play the Main Event after. For me, it was actually the first time on the feature table, so in that sense it made it easier for me to play on the feature table after. The best thing was the atmosphere, for sure.”
The popular online games have become a stronghold in the streaming services with big championships now drawing millions of viewers and mindboggling prizes up for grabs for the very best. All that sounds very familiar to poker and both have a lot in common in terms of the very competitive nature, and the willingness to consistently work on the own skills and experience.
“Yes, for sure, I see a lot of similarities and that has also made it easier for me to switch over to poker. Specifically the decision making and handling of the pressure, you have to be able to keep your nerves under control when you are bluffing, for example. It is the same in esports, when you make a big decision there, you cannot be affected by the environment and such.”
Most of the other esports streamers that take part in the Unibet Open aren't as interested in poker, but can certainly see the thrilling aspects of it according to Bergmann. Scott “Sco” McMillan has been very consistent in the SNG format, however, the Brit is such a big name in the esports scene that it may take a while for him to consider poker as a top priority.
“Him and Alan, and the others, I can see that they have the potential. If they want to play more, hit me up and I can teach you a few things!”
Bergmann himself has received his fair share of lessons from the other Unibet Poker ambassadors such as David Lappin, Ian Simpson, Dara O'Kearney and Daiva Byrne, and admitted that he has a very good relationship with them.
“They have been very friendly and welcoming to me since I joined, since I was kind of a hybrid and a little bit out of place. They have been very helpful, whenever I had a tricky spot I could talk to them, which I really appreciate.”
So far, Bergmann has recorded a dozen cashes at the live poker tables for $40,000 and that's definitely a sign of things to come with hopes of a deep run during the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas and other big events all over the world in sight and mind. Other former esports gamers such as Lex Veldhuis and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier have shown what is possible, and it wouldn't be much of a surprise to see the Norwegian follow into their footsteps.
“I want to try it for as long as possible, as I enjoy it. I travel a lot, which I enjoy a lot. Maybe at one point I will become tired of traveling, but for now I just want to live life to the fullest and see places I have never been to. My goal is always to become the best version of myself in whatever I do.”
Make sure to check out the PokerNews live updates here in Dublin to follow Unibet Poker ambassador Fredrik Bergmann in his pursuit of the ultimate poker dream.
Level: 4
Blinds: 200/400
Ante: 50
