Main Event Day 1b | 2018 Winamax Poker Open Dublin

09-20-2018 23:41 UTC

Winamax Poker Open Dublin High Roller Winner Jaksland Through to Main Event Day 2

Will Shillibier

Level 19 : 2,500/5,000, 5,000 ante

Just 53 players advanced after Day 1b of the Winamax Poker Open Dublin Main Event. 244 players entered today, combined with the 183 from yesterday, meaning the tournament is on pace for a record field if previous final starting flights are anything to go by.

Several big names are through to Day 2 including High Roller winner Peter Jaksland who bagged up 200,000.

"I played at a lot of tables today," said Jaksland. "There were a lot of good players and I played with a lot of them."

Jaksland took down the Winamax Poker Open Dublin €1,500 High Roller yesterday, and after three days of consecutive poker he is perhaps looking to have a day off.

"I think I'm going to take it easy tomorrow, take the day off and maybe go and find a concert or something to watch.

Meanwhile Winamax Team Pros Davidi Kitai (267,500), Pierre Calamusa (221,000), Guillaume Diaz (175,000) andLeo Margets (178,000) also bagged up heading into Day 2 on Saturday.

"Twenty minutes ago I had 7,000 which was 1.7 big blinds!" said Margets shortly after bagging. "I just I think I have played enough [6-max] tournaments that I know my ranges. I think it's important that people are not used to playing 6-Max tournaments, so it's all about adjusting to other people's ranges."

The big stack from Day 1b is Christophe Gil, bagging up an impressive 673,000. Joining him in Day 2 are Mike D'Inca (314,000), French YouTuber Pierre Aymeric (199,000) as well as Damien Le Goff (56,000) and Jason Tompkins (317,500) who both cashed the High Roller.

Join PokerNews tomorrow for the final starting flight of the Winamax Poker Open Dublin, which kicks off from midday. For the last couple of years there have been in excess of 600 entries on the final flight, so it's certainly one to watch!

Tags: Christophe Gil Damien Le Goff Davidi Kitai Guillaume Diaz Jason Tompkins Leo Margets Mike D'inca Peter Jaksland Pierre Aymeric Pierre Calamusa

09-20-2018 23:02 UTC

Winamax Team Pro Gaelle Baumann and Kevin Noblat Win 2018 Winamax Beer Pong Open Dublin

Will Shillibier

Level 18 : 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante

Winamax Team Pro Gaelle Bauman and Kevin Noblat have won the Winamax Beer Pong Open here in Dublin after a classic final which went nearly all the way. The Winamax Team Pro becomes the second in a row to win the tournament after Pierre Calamusa won back in May in Marrakech at the Winamax SISMIX.

The pair topped a field of 97 total pairs to take home the trophies and winner's t-shirts. Many people including fellow Winamax Team Pros Sylvain Loosli and Romain Lewis have likened the event to the week's "Second Main Event" and Baumann said she was overjoyed to win the tournament.

"It's perhaps even better than the Main Event because it's here in Dublin!" said Baumann. "You know, with people drinking and having fun. It's funny because when I'm playing beer pong I'm just so focussed it's like I can't lose. Even more so than in poker. And winning with my [Kevin] is something you always want so it's nice, it's really nice."

"We had six months training(!)" said Harper jokingly. "For me, this is my Main Event because I'm covering the proper Main Event. This is the only moment all week where I can win."

The home favourites, as they clearly were, got off to the worst possible start after their opponents eliminated three cups in a row, but after Baumann and Harper both landed their balls in the same cup, it was all square at seven cups each.

The pair traded shots until the scores were level at 5-5 before a pivotal moment. Harper's shots was deflected and bounced once before landing in the cup. Under the rules this meant that two cups were eliminated and although their opponents remonstrated with the referee, they took a two cup lead.

Baumann had been clinical all match when shooting first, and she struck again, bringing the pair to within one cup of victory, but their opponents struck back to make it a 4-2 game.

Harper then struck to put them one cup away from victory, but both opponents struck in the same turn to eliminate two cups, and retain their throw.

However, these throws would come to nothing and Harper stepped up to eliminate the final cup and seal victory for the pair.

09-20-2018 20:59 UTC

Kitai's River Raise Gets the Job Done

Will Shillibier

Level 15 : 1,200/2,500, 2,500 ante

On a board of Davidi Kitai was facing a bet of 5,000 into a pot of around 20,000. Kitai then raised to 40,000 and after some thought, his opponent called.

Kitai turned over and his opponent mucked, allowing the Winamax Team Pro to take down the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
Davidi Kitai	100,000	100,000

Tags: Davidi Kitai

09-20-2018 20:50 UTC

Former Champ and Winamax Team Pro Calamusa Doubles Up

Will Shillibier

Level 15 : 1,200/2,500, 2,500 ante

Pierre Calamusa opened from the cutoff and the big blind called.

The flop came and the big blind check-called 2,500. The turn was the and again the big blind check-called 15,000.

The river was the and the big blind checked for the third time. Calamusa then moved all in for 48,000 and his opponent called.

Calamusa showed for a rivered straight, and his opponent was forced to turn over for a pair of kings. The defending champion moved up over 100,000 in chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Pierre Calamusa	140,000	140,000

Tags: Pierre Calamusa

09-20-2018 20:33 UTC

Catching up with 2017 Winamax Poker Open Dublin Runner-up Sonny Franco

Will Shillibier

Level 14 : 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Yesterday Sonny Franco made it through to Day 2, but we spotted him chilling in the tournament room and we grabbed him for quick catch-up.

"I'm happy to be back here," he said. "I'm obviously trying to do better than last year, so it's going to be hard. But I'm going to try.

"Yesterday I made it through Day 1 with 20 big blinds, so it's going to be hard. But I'm just hanging out; it's still fun to be here. It's nice."

With a deep run under his belt, he must have good memories of the Winamax Poker Open here in Dublin

"It's a very special tournament. There's lots of drinking and lots of fun around. It's not like a professional tournament where it's all serious. But obviosuly if you can play, you play to win."

And with two days off, what has he been doing with himself?

"Relax!" he said with a smile. "Try to visit Dublin, spend time in the leisure room here and just hang out with friends and enjoy the moment."

Tags: Sonny Franco

09-20-2018 19:42 UTC

Winamax Team Pros Diaz and Lewis Out of Beer Pong Open in First Round

Will Shillibier

Level 13 : 800/1,600, 1,600 ante

Guillaume Diaz will have to focus back on the Main Event

Arriving at the table - a custom beer pong tournament table no less - we saw that Winamax Team Pros Romain Lewis and Guillaume Diaz were in dire straits.

They were losing by a score of three to nine, meaning that their opponents had eliminated seven cups to the Team Pros' one.

Diaz and Lewis needed a comeback, and it looked like they were going to get it. A Diaz looping shot was met by the bounce shot of Lewis, which was batted away by their opponents when the pair looked assured of a double elimination.

The Winamax Beer Pong Open has an extensive list of rules, too long to list here, but the key takeaway is this. If both players get the ball in the same cup, then they eliminate three cups. And that's exactly what they did. Lewis left the table in apparent disgust as Diaz shook hands with his opponents.

"We didn't get any balls; we got totally f*cked. He made 100% of their shots. We had a little bit of a warm-up; we were good, but it didn't walk out."

It was a strange interview; you never normally get to interview poker players after they've lost, let alone after they've lost a beer pong tournament.

"Both of us are to blame. The responsibility is for both of us. To prepare for Winamax SISMIX we need to get a proper table like this and practice."

At this point Lewis rejoined the conversation.

"We were thinking about his Main Event," he said pointing to Diaz. "The Main Event is a big tournament and he's got a lot of chips. If he can't win the beer pong he has to win the Main Event.

"You can't fault anyone here [for this loss]. We just played against the Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe of beer pong. Unknown to is - there's nothing we could do about this!"

Tags: Guillaume Diaz Romain Lewis

09-20-2018 18:30 UTC

Winamax Team Pros Lewis and Lopes Eliminated

Will Shillibier

Level 12 : 700/1,400, 1,400 ante

Romain Lewis's seat was noticeably empty (nothing to do with the Beer Pong Tournament starting imminently we assume), and at Bruno Lopes's table his opponent had checked a board to him and Lopes had moved all in for around 30,000.

His opponent called and Lopes flipped open for a flush draw. His opponent was ahead with for a pair and open-ended straight draw, rendering Lopes's ace moot. The river was the and Lopes was eliminated.

Player	Chips	Progress
Bruno Lopes	Busted
Romain Lewis	Busted

Tags: Romain Lewis Bruno Lopes

09-20-2018 17:43 UTC

Catching Up With Winamax Team Pro Romain Lewis

Will Shillibier

Level 11 : 600/1,200, 1,200 ante

According to Romain Lewis, he's now into either his third or fourth year of the Winamax Poker Open and each year is as good as the next.

"You get to see a lot of the same faces and the same smiles around the place which is good. I played the High Roller a bunch of times; contributed to the prize pool a little bit too much in my opinion.

"I didn't get to cash that one so I've started in the Main Event today."

Later today sees the Winamax Beer Pong Open which is increasingly being referred to as the "Second Main Event." Lewis and fellow Winamax Team Pro Guillaume Diaz will be out for glory in that one.

"The WPO is just the sort of place where people go to mix holidays and poker," said Lewis. "It's that resort feeling; you come back to the same hotel, the same bar and the same games. You laugh, you have a drink, you play games until the early hours, and then you're going to have fun and you're going to come back!"

Another thing that makes it attractive is the 6-Max format.

"Everyone sees the 6-Max tournaments as opportunities to play more hands. We're all bunched close together around the table and that close-knit atmosphere makes everyone aggressive, not just the amateurs.

"Every pot is a three-bet pot it seems. There's a four-bet every two orbits or so, so it's pretty crazy out there. I think I have to play value if you want to go far in this tournament. But sometimes, you know, you have those cards and you're in those pots...and it just gets a little bit too aggressive!"

Tags: Guillaume Diaz Romain Lewis

09-20-2018 16:06 UTC

D'Inca's Kings Hold to Eliminate a Player

Will Shillibier

Level 9 : 400/800, 800 ante

On the feature table, Mike D'Inca had called his opponent's all in and was ahead with against his opponent's

The flop came with no help to the all-in player. The turn gave him a gutshot and although the river gave him a set, it completed a straight for D'Inca who sent his opponent to the rail.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mike D'Inca	100,000	56,000

Tags: Mike D'inca

09-20-2018 14:11 UTC

Head of Communications Mathieu Porri Explains the Winamax Poker Open's Unique Branding

Will Shillibier

Level 6 : 250/500, 500 ante

From the moment you walk in the front door of the City West hotel you are bombarded with branding. But it's not enough to make your head spin. Rather, it subtly sucks you in and makes you feel part of the tournament in a way that's not often achieved by other festivals. This is all down to Winamax Head of Communications Mathieu Porri, who we sat down and spoke to.

"Five years ago we started working with an illustrator called Sattu Rodrigues," he explained. "So the first time we had this 'What happens in Dublin, stays in Dublin' imagine as a way to represent all the parties happening around the poker.

"He has a really cool cartoon way of representing people and we thought it was very cool. So the next year we made a new illustration, only this time we wanted to have him draw people. So we gave him a lot of pictures of players and he incorporated them into the branding."

"Other tournament operators have a large approach with dedicated brands and very "classic" approach to poker branding. So we need to put something new and fun forward. Our approach is more through the community and online players. All our ideas are about whether it's good for the community, is it good for players and is it fun.

"It's very big here so you have to put illustrations up to make it our own. The idea here is as much to have good times with players you know from online. If it's not fun it's not Winamax. You have to put some creativity on certain aspects of the festival to work on the image. People see poker like it's a finished discipline, so we need to put somethign new in to make them enjoy the moment and the week."

Last year the Winamax Poker Open moved to a new venue, and a new XXXXXL branding was set up with Rodrigues' illustrations at the heart of it.

So what percentage of the Winamax Poker Open is poker, and what percentage is fun?"

"In Dublin, it's always 100% poker, 100% fun," said Porri. "What other tournament do you have a leisure room with pool and darts and all sorts of little games.

"Tonight you will have 200-300 drunk people playing beer pong, and I'm sure among them there will be a mix of professional players like the Winamax Team Pros and other grinders, semi-professional players like businessmen and also a lot of qualifiers."

Porri recognises that to some pros a €500 buy-in tournament is more or less a "free-roll" compared to other tournaments they're entering.

"But each year they still come back!" he said with a smile. "That's the spirit of this tournament. Here you have pros sitting next to players who come in costumes. Maybe there's a group of five and only one or two will play the Main Event. The rest will all be here playing the turbos and the smaller side events. That's what it's all about."

It's clear therefore that this kind of tournament is not capable of being branded in a normal way. Hence the unique style of branding that adorns the walls of the City West hotel.

"It's clear that this approach when it comes to fun away from the tables means people have to enjoy the ambience at a Winamax tournament. The graphics need to totally be in line with that, so the cartoon approach to representing people shows the fun."

Which brings us to this year's illustrations, depicting the event as some kind of poker therapy retreat for all the players and Team Pros.

"The idea this year was that one week a year, you have all these French players have a little vacation or a home away from home. We thought 'What can we say about this week?'' And the idea was therapy. Old people go away for a week to a hotel to do health treatments and relax.

"That's sort of what this week is about. It's a getaway. Yes, you might make some money, but to a lot of people it's more about having fun."

If you look carefully at the hotel, the Winamax Team Pros are featured, so have a closer look!

"The problem going forward," said Porri, "Is that every year it's the same graphical style so you need to put your own spin on it each year."

Is that a problem then?

"It's difficult...but that's my job!"

Photo courtesy of Caroline Darcourt - Illustrations courtesy of Sattu Rodrigues