Poker in the News — Weekly Round-up for April 13, 2018

By Brian Cullingworth, Last updated Apr 13, 2018

German Ace Wins Euro 700,000 On Partypoker Super High Roller

All-German finale for Party Poker Live Millions Super High Roller

German poker ace Andreas Eiler is Euro 700,000 richer this week after taking down the Euro 25,000 buy-in PartyPoker Live Millions Super High Roller in Barcelona.

In an all-German heads up Eiler clashed with countryman Rainier Kempe, using a significant chip lead to dismiss Kempe within a half hour of intense action and sending the German pro home with the runner up prize of Euro 450,000.

PartyPoker will be well pleased with the response to the event; there were 88 entries, generating a prize pool comfortably in excess of the guarantee at Euro 2,134,000.

The field featured a slew of top players that included David Peters, Erik Seidel, Byron Kaverman, Adrian Mateos, Kristen Bicknell, fast-rising Alex Fioxen and Pardo Dominguez.

Other final table cashes included:

Erik Seidel Euro 300,000
Adrian Mateos Euro 204,000
Juan Pardo Dominguez Euro 150,000
Byron Kaverman Euro 120,000
Alex Foxen Euro 90,000
Kristen Bicknell Euro 60,000
Orpen Kisacikoglu Euro 60,000

Pokerstars And Partypoker Compete In May

Players benefit from competing tournaments by the two operators

Up-and-coming PartyPoker and market leader PokerStars go head to head next month, offering competing tournaments with total guarantees of $100 million.

Rivals PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) and PartyPoker Powerfest products are both scheduled for the 6 – 20 May time slot, with the former offering guarantees up $10 million over last year at $65 million across Low Medium and High events, along with five of its $30,000 Platinum Passes.

Last year’s SCOOP generated prize pools totalling $93 million, well over the $55 million in guarantees that PokerStars invested, and this year is expected to produce similar levels of interest among poker players.

Answering the challenge, Party Poker has confirmed that it will be boosting the guarantees to $40 million in its second Powerfest series this year, covering 366 games with 17 million dollar championship competitions.

The schedule has yet to be published, but will include a wide range of poker genres and buy-ins.

The respective websites have more detail.

Poker Ace Greenwood Scores Another Million Dollar Plus Pay Day

Poker pro follows up a $1.3 million Caribbean Poker Party run with $1,235,000 win at PartyPoker’s Live Millions Grand Final

Canadian poker pro Sam Greenwood has scored another massive pay day – his second this year – by taking down the PartyPoker Live Millions Grand Final High Roller in Barcelona, earning $1,235,000 (Euro 1 million). Earlier this year Greenwood won $1.3 million in the Caribbean Poker Party.

The Euro 51,000 buy-in Grand Final High Roller attracted 57 entries and generated a prize pool of Euro 2,764,500. Notable names among the talented field included Sergio Aido, Patrik Antonius, Keith Tilston, Jean-Noel Thorel, Joao Simao and Matthias Eibinger.

Greenwood was among the shorter stacks on the seven-man final table, but a remarkable run of multiple double ups and skilful playing saw him face Spanish pro Sergio Aido in the heads up.

Greenwood played a relatively cautious game against a tough opponent, but managed to stay ahead and increase his lead to finally achieve victory, sending the Spaniard home with a runner-up prize worth Euro 600,000.

Watch this space – Greenwood said that after an overnight break he has set his sights on the Euro 100,000 buy-in Super High Roller!

Other final table cashes included:

Patrik Antonius Euro 400,000
Keith Tilston Euro 284,500
Jean-Noel Thorel Euro 210,000
Joao Simao Euro 160,000
Matthias Eibinger Euro 110,000

Partypoker To Host High Roller Poker Event In The Bahamas

Operator to invest $10 million in in a $25,000 buy-in Millions World tournament

The increasingly aggressive and competitive PartyPoker has announced that it is to invest $10 million in a prize pool for a $25,000 buy-in World Millions High Roller event during the popular Caribbean Poker Party (CPP), scheduled for November this year in the Bahamas.

The event will be held in the same broad timeframe as the special Caribbean $25,000 buy-in PokerStars Players’ Championships, with PartyPoker’s Millions World taking place on November 9-12 and the PSPC launching less than two months later.

PartyPoker Live president John Duthie commented this week:

“There are many coveted titles in poker, from the EPT and WPT Grand Final titles, to WSOP and WSOPE Main Event and Players Championship bracelets, and not forgetting our own MILLIONS Grand Final crown.

“However, a $10,000,000 guaranteed, $25.5K buy-in tournament is just as important as any of those. We can’t wait to hand the trophy over to our first winner in November. Let’s hope it’s one of the 100+ online qualifiers partypoker will be sending, as that would be quite some story.”

PartyPoker’;s Caribbean Poker Party is in its third year and will take place at the new Baha Mar Resort…just a few miles away from the Atlantis, venue for PokerStars’s Players’ Championships which will have a similar multi-million dollar prize pool.

Like the rival PSPC, packages for the partypoker Millions World valued at $32,500 will be available through satellites, leaderboards and promotions yet to be announced.

In broadly related news, PartyPoker has also announced its new PartyPoker Live $$$ promotion, which allows players on the PP website site to use funds earned from satellites in other PartyPoker live events for buy-ins or travel and expenses.

The company describes the promo thus: “PPL$$$ has been created with players in mind to give players the ultimate in flexibility when it comes to buying into any partypoker LIVE event.

“This new currency gives players the opportunity to play in some of the biggest branded events in global poker, including Millions, sponsored World Series of Poker (WSOP) festivals and the ever-popular Grand Prix tournaments.”

Second Barcelona High Roller Event Won By Belgian Poker Pro

Euro 700,000 prize will come in handy for dad-to-be Davidi Kitai

Belgian poker pro Davidi Kitai scored a useful dad-to-be prize of Euro 700,000 this week at the second Euro 25,500 buy-in PartyPoker Live Millions High Roller event in Barcelona, besting a field of 90 that generated a prize pool of Euro 2,182,500 and included top players like Steve O’Dwyer, Justin Bonomo, Ryan Riess, Manig Loeser and Adrian Mateos.

Spanish pro and internet poker ace Juan Pardo Dominguez (25) held the chip lead when the final table formed; the young Spaniard dominated much of the action through to the heads up, where he held a 7 to 1 chip lead over Kitai.

The Belgian quickly evened things up with several double ups to take the lead and finally vanquish a disappointed Dominguez, who’s consolation prize was Euro 450,000.

Other final table cashes included:

Kamal Bejjani Euro 325,000
Adrian Mateos Euro 215,000
Manig Loeser Euro 162,500
Ryan Riess Euro120,000
Jake Schindler Euro 90,000
Justin Bonomo Euro 60,000
Steve O’Dwyer Euro 60,000

UK Poker Pro Wins Partypoker Live Millions Grand Final Open

Euro 250,000 pay day for Ludovic Geilich

Scots online and live tournament poker pro Ludovic Geilich scored one of his biggest pay days yet this week in taking down the PartyPoker Live Millions Grand Final Open in Barcelona, besting a field of 1,716 to claim the main prize of Euro 250,000.

The Euro 1,100 buy-in competition attracted a number of notable names, including Maria Ho, Martin Jacobson, Anatoly Filatov, Richard Dubini, Darryl Fish and Andrew Hulme, all of whom were among the 207 players who cashed.

Geilich’s opponent in the heads up was WSOP-bracelet holder Joey Weissman from the USA, but the Scot prevailed, sending Weissman to the cashier and a Euro 155,000 second placing prize.

Indian Entrepreneur Launches New Online Poker League

Raj Kundra says the team format in the Online Team Poker League will create exciting and competitive poker

Serial Indian entrepreneur Raj Kundra has announced the formation of a new team-based online poker league titled the Online Team Poker League, revealing ambitions to expand the concept into a World Online Team Poker League with championship events held annually.

The OTPL will begin in July this year, Kundra revealed in a statement, with a second season planned for early 2019.

Kundra envisages a million dollar prize for the winning eight teams, with 30 teams from across India initially competing. The team that emerges as champion will then represent India against teams from other nations, with Kundra claiming to have held discussions with interested parties in the US, Britain, Israel, Spain and ireland on possible futiure interactions.

Kundra is already running the Match Indian Poker League, and its positioning relative to his latest project is not yet clear. The OTPL will also presumably face competition from Alex Dreyfus’ Global Player League, which has announced an Indian version, although tournament details have not yet been unveiled.

More European Player Pool Sharing Licenses Awarded

French PartyPoker and PMU the latest to be authorised to join Spanish-French player pools

French online gambling regulator ARJEL has announced two more shared player pool licensees, authorising B.E.S. SAS and Pari-Mutuel Urbain (PMU) to offer their services to the shared online poker player pool agreed by France, Spain, Italy and Portugal, although the latter two nations have yet to implement the agreement fully (see previous InfoPowa reports).

B.E.S. SAS is the French subsidiary of Bwin in the GVC group, and its licence opens the door to the group’s burgeoning online operation PartyPoker.

PMU is the well-known French horse race and sports betting group, which operates the Poker.pmu.fr operation.

GVC, through Bwin and PartyPoker is already licensed in Spain, an achievement that PMU has yet to secure.

They join PokerStars, Kindred Group and Betclic Everest group on the shared player pool project, with Winamax expected to join soon.

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