Poker in the News — Weekly Round-up for November 10, 2017

By Brian Cullingworth, Last updated Nov 13, 2017

First World Series Of Poker Bracelet For Niall Farrell

Scots poker pro wins WSOPE High Roller event and clinches a Triple Crown accolade to boot

Scots poker pro Niall Farrell has plenty to celebrate this weekend, having won Euro 745,287 and a WSOP bracelet in the Euro 25,000 buy-in High Roller at WSOPE at Kings Casino in Rozvadov, with the win qualifying him for a Triple Live Crown accolade after two previous major tourney victories in Malta and Punta Cana competitions.

113 entries were recorded for the No-Limit Hold’em High Roller competition, generating a prize pool worth $2.65 million, with former WSOP main event finalists Ryan Riess, Benjamin Pollak, Antoine Saout, and Sylvain Loosli all in the field and making the final table, which took five hours to produce a winner.

Other formidable players in the field included Stefan Schillhabel, Chris Ferguson, Phil Hellmuth, Mike Leah, Igor Kurganov, Rainer Kempe, Sam Trickett, Adrian Mateos, Ole Schemion, Patrik Antonius, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Bryn Kenney, Dietrich Fast, Liv Boeree, Sam Grafton, Phillip Gruissem, David Peters, Nick Petrangelo, Anthony Zinno, Davidi Kitai, Mustapha Kanit, and Pierre Neuville.

Of these only Schillhabel survived to the final table.

Farrell faced Ben Pollak in the heads up, which lasted just 13 hands before Farrell was able to eliminate a tough opponent, sending Pollak to the cashier for a runner up prize of Euro 460,622.

Other final table cashes included:

Claas Segebrecht – Euro 321,863
Ryan Reiss – Euro 230,071
Sylvain Loosli – Euro 168,323
Andre Leathem – Euro 126,113
Stefan Schillhabel – Euro 98,819
Antoine Saout – Euro 96,209

Dutch Pro Wins The Little One For One Drop Event At World Series Of Poker Europe

Albert Hoekendijk claims the main prize of Euro 170.784 and a WSOP winner’s bracelet after besting 867 entrants

Dutch poker pro Albert Hoekendijk became the latest winner at the World Series of Poker Europe in Rozvadov over the weekend, seizing victory in the Euro 1,111 buy-in Little One for One Drop event to score his first WSOP bracelet and the Euro main prize of Euro 170,784.

The event attracted a field of 868, and a percentage of the rake is destined for water charities in developing nations around the world.

Hoekendijk entered what turned out to be a long and hard fought, 133-hand heads up at a slight disadvantage to the more experienced Swiss pro Thomas Hofmann. However, over the following three hours the Dutch player showed both aggression and talent in first overtaking his opponent, and then driving his advantage to a win that tripled his career live tourney earnings, and sent the Swiss pro home with the runner up prize of Euro 105,532.

Other final table cashes included:

Johannes Toebe – Euro 74,055
Abdelhakim Zoufri – Euro 52,703
Oleh Haisiuk – Euro 38,046
Jonas Lauck – Euro 27,856
Serghei Lisiy – Euro 20,710
Artan Dedusha – Euro 15,632
Przemyslaw Klejnowski – Euro 11,966

Germany’s Dominic Nitsche Wins Euro 3.4 Million In One Drop High Roller Poker Event

27-year-old now one of Germany’s top poker aces

It’s been a profitable weekend for German poker pro Dominik Nitsche, who has soared to the top of Germany’s biggest poker earners after his Euro 3.4 million win in the Euro 111,111 buy-n One Drop High Roller event at the World Series of Poker Europe in Rozvadov, which carried a Euro 10 million guarantee.

Nitsche also took home his fourth WSOP winner’s bracelet, and boosted his career live tournament earnings to just over $1.1 million, after defeating a field of 132 entrants – 88 of them unique players.

The good turnout generated a prize pool just short of Euro 13 million, with the organisers at host Kings Casino pointing out that the number of registrations actually surpassed the 130 recorded the last time the event was offered in Las Vegas.

However, the most important number must surely be the almost Euro 1 million the competition raised for developing nation clean water charities with which the World Series of Poker has partnered; this brings the total amount generated for the charity by the One Drop competitions over recent years to more than $20 million.

This year’s list of top players in the event included Bryn Kenney, Eugene Katchalov, Nick Petrangelo, Koray Aldemir and Kenny Hallaert, who were all among the twenty players to cash, but did not make the final table.

Thomas Muehloecker held the chip lead when the final table formed, but Nitsche soon ousted him from that position and dominated the action, although at several points he was challenged by Mikita Badziakouski and Andreas Eiler.

It was Eiler who eliminated Badziakouski at third for Euro 1,521,312 to qualify as the heads up opponent facing Nitsche, entering the finale with a 41 million chip lead over the German.

Nitsche soon addressed the imbalance to take the lead, building it over the 56-hand stage to around 7 to 1 before busting Eiler, who cashed $2.5 million as runner-up.

The fourth to ninth places at the final table enjoyed cashes ranging from $1,282,561 down to Charlie Carrel’s $345,303.

Next year the Big One for One Drop competition will return to WSOP Las Vegas with a buy-in of $1 million.

Americas Cardroom To Invest $12 Million In Tournament Series

Million dollar guarantees on 12 weekly poker tourneys announced

Starting Sunday January 7 next year, Americas Cardroom on the Winning Poker Network will be offering 12 one million dollar guaranteed MT tournaments, a significant $12 million investment by the operator.

Publicity material from the operator claims that the Sunday tournaments constitute the largest available to action-starved US players, with buy-ins of $265 and prizes that compete with other major international competitions from top operators.

In related news, the organisers of the Battle of Malta main event currently running on the Mediterranean island report that at 2,000 entrants this year’s event is the biggest yet, with buy-ins doubling the guaranteed Euro 1 million prize pool. The winner will take home Euro 200,000.

World Poker Tour And 888poker Partner Up

Leading poker operators join hands to offer players international WPT Deep Stacks satellite opportunities

Major poker operators World Poker Tour (WPT) and 888Poker announced Monday that they are to team up in order to offer international online satellite competitions that offer players opportunities to win seats in WPT Deep Stacks tourneys across the planet.

888Poker spokesmen said that the partnership is an element in a strategy to make poker more accessible to all players. The company will be offering online satellites for a wide range of buy-ins that will suit most wallets, starting with opportunities to win places in the Euro 1,500 buy-in WPT Deep Stacks Berlin, where a guaranteed prize pool of Euro 500,000 has been set.

Making its satellites more attractive, 888Poker is also offering sign-up incentives to bring in new players.

Chris Ferguson Declared 2017 World Series Of Poker Player Of The Year

Controversial professional remains silent on the Full Tilt debacle

Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, the poker professional and businessman who besmirched his reputation in the Full Tilt Poker debacle in 2011 and remains silent on the issue, has only recently reappeared at live poker tables, yet his skills have propelled him to the Player of Year, according to a Twitter announcement by WSOP on Monday.

His ascendency to the top of the POY leader board was earned through a series of cashes in major tourneys this year. These culminated in six at the WSOPE series in Rozvadov, Czech Republic, where he also earned his sixth winner’s bracelet (see previous InfoPowa reports).

In all he accumulated 1,178.53 POY points in an impressive string of finishes.

The elimination in the Rozvadov main event this week of nearest rival John Racener clinched the top spot for Ferguson, prompting the WSOP tweet.

Ferguson wins an entry into the $10,000 buy-in WSOP Main Event next year for his achievement, along with the publicity of having his image displayed prominently on large banners at next year’s Las Vegas WSOP venue, the Rio Hotel and Casino.

Struggling Israeli Farmer Wins Battle Of Malta Main Event

“I think that Daniel Negreanu entered my body and played for me,” says winner in only his second live tournament

Israeli farm manager Nadav Lipszyc by his own admission travelled to Malta with hardly any cash in his pocket to take up a seat in the main event of the Battle of Malta he had won in his first live tournament satellite .

A few days later he has Euro 200,000 in winner’s prize money, having bested 2,073 other hopefuls – many of them top international players – in his first major live tournament.

Trying to explain the inexplicable, Lipszyc said:

“I think that Daniel Negreanu entered my body and played for me!” And he revealed that he has never read a book on poker and does not study the game, although he does play at low stakes on internet sites and relies on his instincts at the table.

“You might not believe it but this is the first live event I’ve ever played except for the satellite. I’ve never known what I was really good at. I think I know it now,” he told media reporters.

In the heads up Lipszyc faced fellow Israeli Yaron Borenstein. The at that point penniless farmer started heads up action with a massive 42 million vs. 8 million advantage over his last opponent.

Despite Borenstein achieving a double up early on it was a brief affair. Borenstein’s runner up prize was Euro 132,000.

Hedge Fund Manager Shak Takes Down The World Series Of Poker Europe High Roller

Dan Shak scores over Euro 210,000

US hedge fund manager and poker ace Dan Shak has claimed the honours and Euro 210,112 in prize money after besting a field of 20 other players in the Euro 25,000 buy-in World Series of Poker Europe High Roller competition in Rozvadov, Czech Republic.

The event pulled in many top international players, including Mikita Badziakouski, Steffen Sontheimer, Bryn Kenney, Max Altergott, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Dominik Nitsche, Timothy Adams, Martin Jacobson, Ole Schemion and Ivan Luka.

In the heads up Shak and Mikita Badziakouski faced off with Shak holding the advantage and it took him just three hands to see off Badziakouski, sending him to the exit and a Euro 129,860 runner-up pay day.

Shak’s Euro 210,112 reward brings his career live tournament cash record to over $9 million.

Other final table cashes included US pro Bryn Kenney (Euro 85,238) and Germany’s Steffen Sontheimer (Euro 67,555).

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