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Some people need to know their limits.

Event #25 offered players three chances to get their short-handed fixed-limit Hold’em game on. The high version of the event featured a $ 2,100 buy-in and drew 131 entrants, obliterating the $ 75,000 guarantee by creating a $ 262,000 prize pool.

Jarcon86 came out on top and won $ 68,120.00. The even lasted just over 12 hours — a quarter of which was spent at the final table — and featured several big names. Team PokerStars Pro was represented by Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier and Theo Jorgensen. Team PokerStars Online was also in the field, with Randy “nanonoko” Lew and Richard “Tzen1″ Veenman representing the virtual red spade.

But only 18 players would cash this event and — of course — only six could make it to the…

Final table

Seat 1: OPTIMUS9RIME — 71,396
Seat 2: blanconegro — 110,594
Seat 3: StinkyToeFoo — 113,427
Seat 4: jama-dharma — 105,800
Seat 5: Jarcon86 — 113,459
Seat 6: Sasuke234 — 140,324

Stacks were fairly even when the final table started, but that couldn’t last forever. Half the players started to chip up and the other half slid.

No double SCOOP

jama-dharma was the only player remaining to own a SCOOP watch. jama-dharma won SCOOP #9-H ($ 2,100 Mixed Hold’em) back in 2010.

jama-dharma has skills in limit and even took the final table lead early on, chipping up to 145,000. Other players took notice:

Sasuke234: chip leader is limit pro
Sasuke234: we are all ***ed

But that’s when jama-dharma’s descent started. Limits were 2,500/5,000 and StinkyToeFoo raised from middle position. jama-dharma re-raised and StinkyToeFoo four-bet. jama-dharma called and the flop came [4d][10s][kh]. StinkyToeFoo bet and jama-dharma called, bringing a [jc] on the turn.

There was a round of checks and a [2h] on the river. StinkyToeFoo bet and jama-dharma called and mucked when StinkyToeFoo showed [ah][kd].

jama-dharma dropped to 126,050 and lost the lead to Sasuke234. jama-dharma then raised from the button and Sasuke234 called from the big blind, bringing an [ad][2d][as] flop. jama-dharma bet, Sasuke234 raised and jama-dharma called.

The turn was a [3c] and jama-dharma check-folded to Sasuke234′s bet. jama-dharma dipped below the six-figure and never crossed it again.

OPTIMUS9RIME was also losing a bit during this time:

 

RSS readers click through to playjama-dharma then dipped to 50,000 when blanconegro raised to 5,000 from the button. jama-dharma called from the big blind and the flop came [8c][4s][ks]. jama-dharma check-raised blanconegro and blanconegro called, bringing a [qh] on the turn.

jama-dharma led out, blanconegro called and the river was a [4d]. jama-dharma put out one last bet and blanconegro called, showing [jc][8d] and taking down the 40,000 pot. jama-dharma showed [jd][5d] and was left with 51,000.

jama-dharma then fell to Jarcon86.

Limits were up to 3,000/6,000 and Jarcon86 raised from under-the-gun. jama-dharma called from the big blind and the flop came [as][6c][10c]. Jarcon86 bet, jama-dharma raised and a [10h] came on the river when Jarcon86 called.

Jarcon86 called jama-dharma’s turn bet and the [qh] fell on the river. jama-dharma bet again and Jarcon86 raised to 12,000.

jama-dharma only had 5,300 behind and folded.

jama-dharma then folded his small blind and moved all-in for 3,800 on the button. Jarcon86 and Sasuke234 called from the blinds and checked down the [7d][8h][5h][7c][2s] board. Jarcon86 turned over [as][5c] and everyone else mucked.

jama-dharma became our first final table elimination and earned $ 11,790 for finishing 6th.

One more

Sasuke234 was still the chip leader with 230,000 and StinkyToeFoo was in second with about 190,000. The elimination put Jarcon86 in a close third with 176,000.

blanconegro and OPTIMUS9RIME on the other hand were hanging in with about 30,000 apiece. Limits went up to 4,000/8,000 and blanconegro managed to score a double up.

blanconegro raised to 8,000 from under-the-gun and Sasuke234 re-raised from the small blind. blanconegro four-bet and Sasuke234 called, bringing a [3h][8h][5c] flop. Sasuke234 bet and blanconegro called all-in. blanconegro had [ad][6s] and was up against Sasuke234′s [ah][5h].

Sasuke234 had a pair and a flush draw, but the turn was a [js] and the river brought a [6d] to give blanconegro the bigger pair. blanconegro doubled up through Sasuke234, but then gave it all back a few hands later.

blanconegro raised from the cutoff and Sasuke234 called from the big blind. The flop came [6c][5d][8s] and Sasuke234 check-raised blanconegro’s bet. blanconegro re-raised and Sasuke234 four-bet, bringing a call and a [9d] on the turn. Sasuke234 bet and blanconegro called all-in with 1,396.

Sasuke turned over [qs][8d] while blanconegro showed [ac][js] for his tournament life. blanconegro was eliminated in 5th place and earned $ 17,030.00.

A comeback

Jarcon86 dipped down to 65,000 with four players left and became the tournament shortstack. But that was before winning a massive pot:

 

RSS readers click through to playJarcon86 then won a bit more off OPTIMUS9RIME.

OPTIMUS9RIME raised from the button and Jarcon86 called from the big blind. The flop came [6h][9h][10h] and Jarcon86 check-called OPTIMUS9RIME’s bet. Both players checked when the [kh] came on the turn and Jarcon96 bet the [as] on the river. OPTIMUS9RIME called and mucked when Jarcon86 showed [jh][10c]. OPTIMUS9RIME was down to 46,000 and lost a few more small pots.

OPTIMUS9RIME’s last hand started when Jarcon86 raised from the button and OPTIMUS9RIME called from the big blind. There was a [jc][6h][ah] flop and OPTIMUS9RIME check-raised Jarcon86. Jarcon86 re-raised and OPTIMUS9RIME four-bet to 16,000.

Jarcon86 called and OPTIMUS9RIME moved all-in for 4,292 when the [5s] came on the turn. Jarcon86 called and showed [ks][qh] to OPTIMUS9RIME’s [as][8s]. Jarcon86 was in need of a 10 and the river complied with a [10d].

OPTIMUS9RIME was eliminated in 4th place, a finish worth $ 22,270.00.

Down to two

Sasuke234 was still in the lead with 300,000 when we got three-handed. Jarcon86 started third with 164,000 to StinkyToeFoo’s 187,000 but our eventual champion took a few bites out of StinkyToeFoo’s stack.

Sasuke234 raised from the button, StinkyToeFoo re-raised from the small blind and Jarcon86 four-bet from the big. Sasuke234 folded and StinkyToeFoo called, bringing a [9d][4h][4c] flop. StinkyToeFoo called Jarcon86′s flop bet but folded to Jarcon96′s bet on the [4d] turn.

Jarcon86 took second place with 190,000 and StinkyToeFoo dipped to 167,000.

Then Jarcon86 raised to 8,000 from the button and StinkyToeFoo called. The flop came [ac][6d][4c] and StinkyToeFoo check-raised. Jarcon86 called and the [3s] came on the turn. StinkyToeFoo bet, Jarcon86 raised and StinkyToeFoo called, bringing a [3c] on the river. Jarcon86 bet again and StinkyToeFoo folded, leaving himself with 119,000.

StinkyToeFoo then dipped below 100,000 and lost nearly half his stack to Sasuke234.

Sasuke234 raised from the small blind and StinkyToeFoo called, bringing a [7d][7h][8h] flop. Sasuke234 bet and then three-bet after StinkyToeFoo raised. A [5d] came on the turn after a call and Sasuke234 bet another 8,000. StinkyToeFoo raised and Sasuke234 called, bringing a [js] on the river.

Sasuke234 check-called StinkyToeFoo’s river bet and turned over [6d][8c] to beat StinkyToeFoo’s [10c][6s].

StinkyToeFoo was down to 57,000 and lost even more to Sasuke234:

 

RSS readers click through to playStinkyToeFoo was out the next hand.

StinkyToeFoo raised to 8,000 from the button and both blinds called. The flop came [jc][9s][6d] and Jarcon86 bet. Sasuke234 called, StinkyToeFoo called all-in and the [10s] came on the turn. Both players checked and the river was an [8c].

Sasuke234 bet, Jarcon86 folded and StinkyToeFoo showed a set with [8s][8d]. But the rivered set couldn’t beat Sasuke234′s rivered straight with [qc][jd].

StinkyToeFoo was out in third and won $ 45,850.00.

Heads-up

Sasuke234 started the heads-up match in the lead with 446,618 to Jarcon86′s 177,851.

It would be a long uphill battle for Jarcon86, but the Finnish player eventually made it. Sasuke234 held the lead for a large portion of the heads-up match and then players were even for the other part. Jarcon86 took the final lead when we hit 6,000/12,000 limits.

Jarcon86 raised from the button and Sasuke234 called, bringing an [ad][5d][qc] flop. Jarcon86 bet, Sasuke234 raised and Jarcon86 called, bringing a [6s] on the turn.

Sasuke234 bet again and Jarcon86 raised. Sasuke234 threw in a re-raise and Jarcon86 called, bringing a [qs] on the river. Sasuke234 check-called Jarcon86′s final bet and mucked when Jarcon86 showed [qh][5c].

Jarcon took the lead with 350,000 to Sasuke234′s 300,000. Jarcon86 then continued to hack away at Sasuke234′s stack, bringing him below 200,000:

 

RSS readers click through to playSasuke234 managed to get back beyond 200,000 for a bit, but Jarcon86 finally took Sasuke234 into the five digits.

Sasuke234 raised to 12,000 and Jarcon86 called, bringing an [as][7s][7d] flop. Jarcon86 check-raised and Sasuke234 called. The turn was a [3d] and Sasuke234 bet. Jarcon86 raised and Sasuke234 called, bringing a [jc] on the river.

Jarcon86 bet again and Sasuke234 mucked when Jarcon86 showed [8c][7h]. Sasuke234 was now down to 97,000.

The limits went up to 8,000/16,000 and it was all over a few minutes later. Sasuke234 raised from the button and Jarcon86 called. Sasuke234 bet the [4c][ks][9c] flop and Jarcon86 called, bringing a [4s] on the turn.

Sasuke234 bet again and Jarcon86 raised, Sasuke234 re-raised and Jarcon86 four-bet to 64,000. Sasuke234 called all-in and turned over [kd][3s] to Jarcon86′s [qh][4h]. The river was a [7d] and the tournament was over. Sasuke234 won $ 45,850 for the runner-up finish while Jarcon86 wins the watch and $ 68,120.00.

PokerStars 2013 SCOOP Event #25-H ($ 2,100 FLHE 6-Max) results:

Entrants: 131
Prize pool: $ 262,000
Places paid: 18

1. Jarcon86 (Finland) $ 68,120.00
2. Sasuke234 (Sweden) $ 45,850.00
3. StinkyToeFoo (Taiwan) $ 34,060.00
4. OPTIMUS9RIME (Germany) $ 22,270.00
5. blanconegro (Mexico) $ 17,030.00
6. jama-darma (Russia) $ 11,790.00

We’ve finished another SCOOP. There are still several more events including all three buy-ins of this year’s SCOOP Main Event. For satellites to that event and all remaining events — plus a leader board and results — check out the SCOOP homepage.

Dutchman Daniel Boender beat a field of 483 players to win €104,550 beating Iberian hopes of a home win. Boender was the only player at the final table who wasn’t Spanish or Portuguese while another Benelux player Team PokerStars Pro Matthias De Meulder snuck into the money with a 55th place finish for €1,976.

ESPT Valencia champ Daniel BoenderThe tournament took place at Casino Valencia from 3-7 April creating a Main Event prize pool of €463,680. If you fancy your Spanish comprehension then click through to our Spanish language report here.

Final table payouts
1 Daniel Boender, Netherlands, €104,550
2 Marciano Rodriguez Cortes, Spain, PokerStars Qualifier, €69,550
3 Javier De Vicente Miquel, Spain, PokerStars Qualifier, €42,890
4 Jose Javier Patiño Gonzalez, Spain, PokerStars Qualifier, €33,040
5 Renato Antonio da Silva Almeida, Portugal , €24,920
6 Ivan Carmona Oteiza, Spain, PokerStars Qualifier, €17,390
7 Jorge Andres Jimenez, Spain, €12,750
8 Enrique Lanzuela Fornas, Spain, €9,260

The Grand Final of the Premier League VI was the most intense poker match we’ve seen in a long time. This was the point the whole week of poker matches, heats and great plays was all about. And after some intense action on the table Kara Scott interviewed Daniel Shak who was triumphantly humble it has to be said. And Sam Trickett who finished runner up seemed unusually hard on himself or what do you think? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for Premier League VII

You can relive all the action by clicking on the links below:

Trickett leads; Esfandiari short

Reinkemeier leads, Duhamel gets lucky

Reinkemeier leads, but pack closes in

Tilly almost busts, Antonio at the double

Esfandiari leads; Shakerchi out

Tilly out in seventh

Reinkemeier out in sixth

Jungleman goes out in fifth

Down to final four

Duhamel done in fourth

Antonio ousted in third

Trickett claws his way back into contention

Trickett takes the lead

PartyPoker.com Premier League VI Final table result

1st. Dan Shak, $ 450,000
2nd. Sam Trickett, $ 200,000
3rd. Antonio Esfandiari, $ 150,000
4th. Jonathan Duhamel, $ 125,000
5th. Daniel “Jungleman” Cates, $ 100,000
6th. Tobias Reinkemeier, $ 70,000
7th. Jennifer Tilly, $ 60,000
8th. Talal Shakerchi, $ 45,000

Missed any of the Premier League VI?

If you missed any of the action from The PartyPoker.com Premier League VI you can look back at all the The PartyPoker.com Premier League VI coverage here. The big pots, the blowups the mocking of Hellmuth it’s all there.

Sam Trickett, former star of Team Titan, scored a huge triumph at the 2013 Aussie Millions when he won the $ 250,000 Challenge. Sam outlasted a very tough field of 18 high rollers to win top prize of $ 2,000,000 (AU$ ). Second place went to Tobias Reinkemeier who won $ 1,250,000 (AU$ ).

Two years ago, Sam finished 2nd in the same event, losing out to Erik Seidel. Sam won $ 1,400,000 (AU$ ) for his second place finish, which came days after he won the 2011 Aussie Millions $ 100,000 Challenge and a prize of $ 1,525,000 (AU$ ).

This year’s final table started with 7 players, but prize money was awarded only to the top four. Sam was not among the leaders when final table action began. Richard Yong busted in seventh place; Erik Seidel was eliminated in 6th place; and Winfred Yu was the next to go.

Igor Kurganov was the chipleader when the money stage was reached, but he would fall to Sam’s better flush.

As Poker News reported, “Kurganov turned a jack-high flush and was all-in for the biggest pot of the tournament. The German seemed confident, but that was washed away quickly when Trickett turned over his cards and showed a straight flush.”

Fabian Quoss was the next person eliminated, and again it was Sam who did the job. “Quoss ended up all in with seven-six suited and was up against Trickett’s ace-ten suited. No help came for Quoss, who took home AU$ 750,000, his biggest result to date,” Poker News reported.

Sam’s earlier success at the Aussie Millions in 2011 came while he was leader of Team Titan. His team partner, Marvin Rettenmaier, has also gone on to huge success after representing Titan Poker at the major poker tournaments around the world.

The final day of the 2013 TCOOP schedule kicked off with a $ 109 turbo event that drew 2,941 players. The final prize pool of just under $ 300,000 meant that first place was scheduled to receive just over $ 46,000. After a five-way chop that number dropped but for Fukuruku it was still a nice pay day taking home $ 29,446.32.

Having started the final table second in chips Fukuruku used that stack as well as one could but it wasn’t without a minor hiccup before reaching the deal. That minor hiccup only set Fukuruku back for one hand as he kicked right back the next hand getting a double and getting right back into the mix.

*********************************

With just under 2,941 entrants 378 players earned a cut of the prize pool, but not a single one was a Team PokerStars Pro or Team Online member. Of the eight that entered Vivian Im had the best finish coming in at 469th place.

By the time they reached the final table Tomatee was sitting at the top but only by a small margin over Fukuruku and martiniikid. Here is a look at how they were seated at the start of final table play.

Seat 1: magromauro (2,408,309 in chips)

Seat 2: Fukuruku (5,152,976 in chips)

Seat 3: T. P. RED 13 (1,932,902 in chips)

Seat 4: FIL HELMET (1,646,154 in chips)

Seat 5: martiniikid (4,058,332 in chips)

Seat 6: shadow_wins (2,098,874 in chips)

Seat 7: Tomatee (6,583,085 in chips)

Seat 8: rnoord (2,721,970 in chips)

Seat 9: LaurisL91 (2,807,398 in chips)

The first elimination came when T. P. RED 13 shoved all-in from the small blind with [Ad][Ks] getting called by FIL HELMET who held [Kh][Qd] in the big blind. The [Kc][Qh][4s] flop gave FIL HELMET two pair to pull ahead of T. P. RED 13′s single pair. With the [2s] turn and [5c] river T. P. RED 13 was unable to improve getting eliminated in ninth place collecting $ 2,499.85.

Two hands later brought the next elimination as magromauro was all-in pre flop holding [Kd][Jh] against FIL HELMET’s [Jd][Js]. The [Qs][5h][4s] [Ac][Ah] board delivered no assistance to magromauro who collected $ 4,264.45 for an eighth place finish.

After a few hands that involved a pre flop raise and everyone else folding rnoord moved all-in from the small blind and was called by LauriL91 in the big blind. LaurisL91 held the lead in this battle of the blinds with [Kh][9d] over rnoord’s [Qh][5c]. The [Kc][Th][2h] flop only extended that lead leaving rnoord looking for runner-runner to stave off elimination. The [8c] turn ended things sending rnoord out in seventh place collecting $ 6,911.35.

In another battle of the blinds shadow_wins called an all-in shove of martiniikid from the big blind. With martiniikid having shadow_wins’ covered in chips shadow_wins was looking for the [Ad][8d] he was holding to hold against martiniikid’s [Qs][8s]. The [Qc][Td][4s] flop changed everything and now shadow_wins was looking for some assistance. The [8h] turn gave shadow_wins a few extra outs but none of them came on the river as a [5s] was dealt. For a sixth place finish shadow_wins collected $ 9,852.35.

The remaining players started to see who was interested in looking at the numbers for a chop after the elimination of shadow_wins. It took them a few hands to decide to take a look at the numbers and then a couple more before the tournament was paused.

In the last two hands played as the remaining five players tried to get the tournament paused the chips continued to move around, but only between two players. LaurisL91 and Fukuruku first got all-in pre flop with LaurisL91 all-in holding [Ac][Kd] against Fukuruku’s [As][9h] in a battle between the blinds. The board ran out [8c][7s][2c] [7h] [Jh] giving LaurisL91 the double. The next hand, which only happened because a player accidentally un-checked the deal box, but it allowed Fukuruku a chance to get some chips back. Once again LaurisL91 was holding [As][Kh] while Fukuruku held [7h][7c]. The only difference this time was that fukuruku was the player all-in. The [Ad][Jh][7s] flop hit both players but it was the set of sevens keeping fukuruku in the lead. The [9s] turn and [5d] river didn’t improve LaurisL91′s hand giving Fukuruku the pot and evening out the stacks amongst the players.

After a short delay waiting on an administrator to come in to give the numbers the players debated on what kind of chop they wanted, seeing the numbers for both a chip chop and ICM. They finally agreed on going with the chip chop and play resumed. Here is a look at the numbers:

FIL HELMET: $ 28,796.26

LaurisL91: $ 28,230.50

Fukuruku: $ 26,946.32

Tomatee: $ 26,131.25

martiniikid: $ 23,267.76

Left To Play for place 1: $ 2,500.00

A few hands after reaching the deal FIL HELMET moved all-in from the button over the top of a min-raise from Fukuruku. Fukuruku called showing [8h][8d] while FIL HELMET held [Qc][8c]. The board ran out [Ah][Kh][6d] [Ac] [5h] eliminating FIL HELMET in fifth place collecting $ 28,796.26 thanks to the above deal.

Two hands later saw a three way pot that had martiniikid and LaurisL91 all-in against Tomatee. Tomatee’s [7s][7c] was ahead to start followed by LaurisL91′s [Ah][Qc] and martiniikid’s [9c][8h]. After the [9d][8d][3c] flop martiniikid moved into the lead with two pair. The [Th] turn and [4h] river changed nothing meaning that martiniikid wins the main pot, Tomatee takes the side pot, and LaurisL91 was eliminated in fourth place collecting $ 28,230.50.

The next hand got things down to heads-up when martiniikid and Tomatee once again mixed things up. It was Tomatee who was ahead to start the hand holding [Jd][Jc] against martiniikid’s [Kh][9d]. The [Ad][Kc][7d] flop gave martiniikid a pair of kings to pul ahead of Tomatee’s pair of jacks. The [2d] turn and [Qs] was of no assistance to Tomatee who collected $ 26,131.25 for third place.

Only four-million chips separated the final two when heads-up play began with martiniikid holding the lead and the blinds at 200,000/400,000/50,000. The pair only saw one flop before the final hand but in that time Fukuruku took the lead over. The final hand started with martiniikid min-raising from the small blind, Fukuruku called and the pair saw an [As][7d][5s] flop. Fukuruku checked, martiniikid bet 577,656, and Fukuruku called. The [8h] turn brought a 1,472,959 chip bet from Fukuruku, martiniikid shoved all-in and Fukuruku called showing [8c][5h] for two pair (eights and fives) against martiniikid’s [Ac][9c] for a pair of aces. The [4c] river meant nothing to either players hand bringing an end to the tournament. For second place martiniikid collects $ 23,267.76 while Fukuruku collected $ 29,446.32.

 

RSS readers click through to see replay.
Congrats to Fukuruku on your TCOOP win.
TCOOP Event #45 ($ 109 NLHE Turbo) Results (reflects a 5-way deal):

Entrants: 2,941

Prize Pool: $ 294,100.00

Paid Players: 378

1st place: Fukuruku (Ukraine) – $ 29,446.32*

2nd place: martiniikid (Netherlands) – $ 23.267.76*

3rd place: Tomatee (Urugay) – $ 26,131.25*

4th place: LaurisL91 (Lithuania) – $ 28.230.50*

5th place: FIL HELMET (New Zealand) – $ 28,796.26*

6th place: shadow_wins (Australia) – $ 9,852.35

7th place: moord (Netherlands) – $ 6.911.35

8th place: magromauro (Brazil) – $ 4,264.45

9th place: T. P. RED 13 (Czech Republic) – $ 2,499.85

*indicates a deal

The second installment of TCOOP is coming to an end. Head over to the TCOOP information page to see who sits atop of the series leader board.

Mike Matusow defeated Phil Hellmuth in one-on-one competition to capture the 2013 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship, staged this weekend at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Matusow won $ 750,000 while Hellmuth’s runner-up position awarded him $ 300,000.

The National Heads-Up Poker Championship (NHPC) is an annual, invitation only, poker tournament with a $ 20,000 buy-in, and it is produced and televised by the NBC television network. The championship, which sees 64 of the best poker players compete in a single elimination tournament modeled after college basketball championships, launched in 2005 and took place every year, with the exception of 2012.

“You gotta go for it, baby! I told you it was my time!” exclaimed Matusow, after hitting a flush to defeat Hellmuth in the final hand.

Matusow, an American professional poker player with the nickname of “The Mouth” due to his reputation for trash talking while playing, has won three World Series of Poker bracelets in his career. Hellmuth has a record 13 World Series of Poker bracelets, two of which he won in 2012 including the Main Event of the 2012 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE).

Scott Seiver finished in 3rd place in the 2013 NHPC, winning $ 100,000, as did 4th place finisher Joe Serock. The field included some of the best known names in the poker world, including Phil Ivey, Barry Greenstein, Antonio Esfandiari, Vanessa Rousso, Jonathan Duhamel, Greg Raymer, Michael Mizrachi, Phil Laak, Mario Ho, Elky Grospellier, Chris Moneymaker, Erik Seidel, Tom Dwan, Doyle Brunson, Huck Seed, Liv Boeree, and Jason Mercier.

Last week Daniel Negreanu announced that he was withdrawing from the Heads-Up event due to prior commitments to his friends.

Previous winners of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship have been:

2011 = Erik Seidel

2010 = Annie Duke

2009 = Huck Seed

2008 = Chris Ferguson

2007 = Paul Wasicka

2006 = Ted Forrest

2005 = Phil Hellmuth

EPT Barcelona last night won the coveted Best Tournament of the Year category at the European Poker Awards. When you look back at the event it comes as little surprise that the event took the silverware given its record breaking figures; the largest tournament to ever take place in Spain kicked off the festival with the ESPT Main Event and its 1,037-strong field.

The EPT Main Event, which trumped the ESPT with its 1,082 players and €5,247,700 prize pool, created a fantastic three-handed showdown between the calm Mikal Pobal and the increasingly aggressive Finnish duo of Joni Jouhkimainen and high stakes legend Ilari Sahamies. Pobal ended up on top to win €1,007,550 and the EPT Barcelona, Season 9 title.

Mikal Pobal, winner of the EPT Barcelona Main EventAnd those weren’t the only events. Among the 51 tournaments that were held was an enormous €50,000 Super High Roller event which was won by Dan Smith, one of the outstanding performers on the tournament circuit last year. You can see all the tournament results by clicking through to the PokerStars Blog EPT Barcelona results page. For full live coverage of the EPT Barcelona Main Event click through to the PokerStars Blog.

European Poker Award winners
European Player of the Year: Marvin Rettenmaier
Internet Player of the Year: Jens Kyllönen
Poker Personality of the Year: Kara Scott
Rookie of the Year: Ole Schemion
Best Tournament Performance: Davidi Kitai
Europe’s Leading Lady: Lucille Cailly
Best Tournament of the Year: EPT Barcelona
Poker Staff Person of the Year: Simon Trumper
Lifetime Achievement Award: Gus Hansen

You’ve probably seen some big $ 1/2 no-limit hold’em games, but chances are you’ve never seen one as big as the one that marked PokerStars’ 90 billionth hand. When the big PokerStars cashier machine stopped spinning, that one hand of six-max NLHE paid out $ 229,630.

Leave it to PokerStars player “m1sspiggy” to hog the lion’s share of it, too. When all the cards were on the table, m1sspiggy’s [4c][7c] had made two pair. The pot itself was worth $ 1,200. The doubled bonus prize for winning PokerStars 90 billionth hand? It totaled $ 66,380.

The all-in fest of the 90 billionth handPokerStars players had been anticipating this moment for a week. As you probably know, we’re all keeping track of PokerStars’ Road to 100 Billion, a long and winding journey that will soon end in PokerStars’ 100 billionth hand.

In the run-up to the 90 billionth, PokerStars threw a million-dollar party. Every million hands, PokerStars had been giving out money to winners of special milestone deals. In total, players won more than $ 1,150,000 in bonus money. It happened almost every hour for a week, but the big one came today.

The 90 billionth hand hit at the $ 1/2 NLHE table “Ornamenta.” The players could barely type their shock. One wrote “sick.” Another wrote “wow.” Another wrote “Let’s limp.”

There would be no limping. None at all, as you can see for yourself in the video below.

When it was all said and done, the two pair was good for the pot, the prize, and the bonus. Here’s who got paid what:

Milestone Hand: #90000000000
m1sspiggy — $ 66,380.00
Balázska87 — $ 36,370.00
carambaWOW — $ 14,770.00
guss23778 –$ 48,130.00
Kud3 — $ 32,190.00
SHUR43 –$ 31,790.00

Total: $ 229,630.00

Now, the 90 billionth party is done, but, unlike most parties, you don’t have to go home. In fact, you should stay right here. If the math holds, PokerStars will likely deal its 95 billiionth hand sometime in February, and then will reach the end of the Road to 100 Billion sometime in May.

For now, though, congratulations to m1sspiggy for winning PokerStars’ 90 billionth hand.

A couple of weeks ago, Ludovic Lacay’s Facebook friends were subject to a polite request. “Until new notice poker is going terrible,” Lacay wrote on his status update. “Please stop asking ” The smiley face could not disguise the fact that here was a poker player running bad.

But those friends should now expect “new notice” from Lacay, and might decide that today is the right time to post a message on his wall along the lines of: “How’s the poker going, Ludo?”

The 27-year-old from Tolouse, France, is EPT9 Sanremo champion and the best part of €750,000 richer. See how he likes the question now.

“It feels pretty good,” Lacay said. “It’s the accomplishment, getting there and beating all the players. When you start a tournament you aim for the first place but you never expect it. Here I am, it’s amazing.”

Ludovic Lacay, EPT Sanremo champion 

Lacay has been a fixture on the European Poker Tour since season four, building a reputation as one of the most feared and respected competitors, playing the tough, aggressive game of which champions are made. But until today a major title had eluded him. Now he is in the vaunted company of EPT champions, and probably among the favourites to be the first to win two.

“The first year I played on the EPT circuit I thought Ludovic Lacay was the best player I played against,” tweeted Kevin MacPhee moments after the end of play. “Very happy to see him join the club.”

Lex Veldhuis added his congratulations too: “Omg I can’t believe Ludovic Lacay won EPT Sanremo. So happy for him, but seriously how did people let that happen . Nice win ~”

Lacay accepts the adulation of the masses 

Lacay beat Jason Lavallee in a relatively brief heads up battle. Lavallee, from Quebec, Canada, was the narrow chip leader coming into today’s final, which took place in the elegant theatre of Casino Sanremo, on the Italian Riviera.

Lavallee identified the Frenchman as the main threat at the final, predicting with exceptional accuracy that he expected either himself or Lacay to be crowned champion. The two of them were the last under the studio lights until Lacay’s [qc][10h] beat Lavallee’s [8c][6c] to bring the house down and this festival to a close.

A Lacay’s eye view of Jason Lavallee 

They got it all in after Lavallee had flopped a flush draw and Lacay top two pair. By the end of the hand, Lacay had a full house and his maiden title.

“In the heads up I hit every board,” Lacay said. “He really had no chance. But I’m really happy.”

Final table players convene (l-r): Micah Raskin, Angelo Recchia, Jason Lavallee, Artem Litvinov, Ismael Bojang, Jason Tompkins, Adrian Piasecki, Ludovic Lacay 

The excellence of the EPT structure had seemed at one point set to keep us here until sunrise. It took more than three and a half hours until the first player bust from the final table: Ismael Bojang losing a race to Lavallee.

Ismael Bojang: first to depart 

But as the day wore on and the blinds increased, the chips gradually started to fly. Poland’s hopes were shattered when Adrian Piasecki pushed [ac][9c] into Lacay’s [ad][kc] and got no help. It was then the end of the road for Micah Raskin, who managed to flop trip eights when Angelo Recchia had top pair of jacks, but then looked in horror when another jack rivered to give Recchia a bigger full house.

Jason Tompkins had been on the receiving end of a couple of tough beats as well, flopping top set against Artem Litvinov but losing to a flush, then moving all in with pocket fives and running into the same opponent’s queens. Litvinov eventually finished off Tompkins when the Russian’s kings held against Tompkins’ rag ace. Ireland remains in search of its first EPT champion.

Jason Tompkins: Ireland’s hopes faded in fifth 

By this point, the Italian poker community had probably dared to dream. Their man Recchia, the least known of the final table players, had come to the final table with a relatively short stack. But now he was in the last four, and with a pretty healthy pile of chips in front of him.

However Lacay seemed to have singled him out for particular unwanted attention, winning three big pots to snuff out Italian dreams. The last of those was a set up: Lavallee opened (as he had been doing a lot) Recchia shoved for three million with [ac][7c]. But then Lacay was sitting behind him with pocket jacks, shoved all in himself, and the pair held up.

Italy is still seeking the successor to Salvatore Bonavena as EPT champion.

Litvinov was next to depart, but not before he had entertained the crowd a bit more with his unique playing style and, in particular, his celebration. After doubling up through Tompkins earlier on, Litvinov had strode to the front of the stage, gave his girlfriend a high five, and then performed a full roundhouse kick on an invisible opponent, followed by some shadow boxing.

Artem Litvinov, clad in lucky shirt 

He has been wearing his “lucky shirt” since day one, a torn and frayed number that could probably stand up and walk by itself after never having been peeled off his body for a week. But now it is at rest, sent there after Litvinov couldn’t hit a monster draw on a low, connected board. Lacay’s pair of sixes held up.

That brought us to the heads up battle, under the dramatic lighting of the theatre. And after the two players agreed a deal – €644,910 to Lacay, €538,089 to Lavallee, with €100,000 and a Slyde watch still to play for – it seemed unlikely to last long.

The heads up players negotiate a deal 

Sure enough, it was only about 40 minutes until Lacay was fulfilling what many, including Lavallee, had considered his destiny.

The full results from today’s EPT9 Sanremo final table are as follows.

1 – Ludovic Lacay, France, €744,910*

2 – Jason Lavallee, Canada, €538,089*

3 – Artem Litvinov, Russia, €283,000

4 – Angelo Recchia, Italy, €225,000

5 – Jason Tompkins, Ireland, €171,000

6 – Micah Raskin, USA, €132,000

7 – Adrian Piasecki, Poland, €96,000

8 – Ismael Bojang, Germany, €65,450

*denotes two-way deal

Click through to the High Roller page for news of Benny Spindler’s victory there. And relive our coverage from the main event with any of the links below. We went Back to the Future, Sanremo style; we looked at Ludovic Lacay’s place in the prospering Gallic poker scene. We allowed Liv Boeree and Jason Mercier reminisce about their wins here, then looked back fondly on the fastest EPT final table of all time. And we went to the bathroom with Joe Stapleton and James Hartigan.

There were also a whole host of side events.

That’s the end of that for Sanremo for another year. Last word from Ludovic Lacay: “It was an amazing tournament. I tried to stay focused, I did my best.”

Can’t ask for more than that. Goodnight.

The EPT champion’s trophy. It’s Ludovic Lacay’s now

Four cards. Two players. Nine rounds of heads-up poker. Such was the equation offered players in Event #60, a two-day heads-up pot-limit Omaha tournament helping to round out the final weekend of events for the 2012 World Championship of Online Poker at PokerStars.

Once registration closed and play began on Saturday, a few more significant numbers emerged. The $ 700 buy-in event had sported a $ 100K guarantee, but the whopping field of 418 entrants meant the $ 280,060 prize pool would nearly triple that amount. A total of 64 places paid in this one, meaning one had to make it through the first three rounds to cash. And a cool $ 70,015 first prize awaited the player winning the final heads-up match on Sunday (barring any deal).

Day 1: 418 to 16

The first day of play saw five rounds of heads-up matches play out, thus reducing the field from 418 players to 256 to 128 to 64 to 32 to 16.

A number of Team PokerStars Pros entered this one, with five making it through the first couple of matches to the Round of 128, i.e., the money bubble.

However, just one of those five would make it through to the cash, as Bryn “BrynKenney” Kenney knocked out Raymond Wu, floebbi beat Jason Mercier, Gakn29 eliminated Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, and David “MrDawwe” Sonelin defeated Vivian Im.

Of the Team PokerStars Pros, only Lex “L. Veldhuis” Veldhuis was able to reach the Round of 64 and the money, knocking out MRmagoo086 to advance.

Round of 64

Those making it this far were each guaranteed paydays of $ 1,120.24, although all were eyeing that $ 70K-plus first prize awaiting the winner.

After battling with Rodrigo “caprioli” Caprioli for a little over half an hour, Veldhuis would land one of the 32 spots in the next round. The pair were nearly even when an all-in situation arose in which caprioli had flopped a made straight plus a flush draw while Veldhuis had draws to a better straight and a better flush. As it happened, the turn and river ended up giving Veldhuis a full house, and Caprioli hit the rail.

Caprioli was joined by a number of other familiar names of players who saw their Event #60 runs end in the Round of 64, including David “Mrdawwe” Sonelin, Bryn “BrynKenney” Kenney, Jason “jdtjpoker” Wheeler, James “croll103″ Carroll, Stephen “stevie444″ Chidwick, Dani “supernova9″ Stern, Eric “jakz101″ Crain, and Ami “UhhMee” Barer.

Meanwhile, here are the 32 players who survived to play one more heads-up match on Saturday: Lex “L. Veldhuis” Veldhuis, Kressty, Ronny “1-ronny3” Kaiser, Cashcid Linc, Mefisto6661, 0Raid0, Asul, bad? huh!, osten, Murzilka_rus, The_SeS, GlidGrisen, egor1987, Ravenswood13, TryToExploit, mxny, heißtercamp, d-mon-d, lozzz, PoDoX, Le Dolce, Joe “ender555” Ebanks, Danya Kop, yeffshin, skattefar, ANIMAL5050, Gakn29, TheFish77, jellycz, jedimaster82, MiPwnYa, and p1ngp0ngpr0.

Round of 32

The next round was less fortunate for Veldhuis who failed to survive in his match versus ANIMAL5050. After swiftly whittling Veldhuis from the starting stack of 7,500 down to less than 3,000, Veldhuis was soon felted in a hand in which both players made flushes but ANIMAL5050′s was better. Like others falling in the Round of 32, Veldhuis earned $ 2,240.48 for his finish.

Team PokerStars Pro Lex VeldhuisIt would take about an hour-and-a-half for all of the Round of 32 matches to finish, and with that — almost 10 hours after the event had begun — the 16 who had survived rested to finish things on Sunday.

Here are the results of all 16 of those matches: ANIMAL5050 def. Team PokerStars Pro Lex “L. Veldhuis” Veldhuis; Mefisto6661 def. Cashcid Linc; Asul def. 0Rad0; bad? huh! def. osten; The_SeS def. Murzilka_rus; yeffshin def. skattefar; d-mon-d def. lozzz; Le Dolce def. PoDox; Gakn29 def. TheFish77; jedimaster82 def. jellycz; Danya Kop def. Joe “ender555″ Ebanks; egor1987 def. GlidGrisen; mxny def. heißtercamp; p1ndp0ngpro0 def. MiPwnYa; TryToExploit def. Ravenswood13; and Kressty def. Ronny “1-ronny3″ Kaiser.

Day 2: 16 to 1

Round of 16

Play resumed at 11:00 ET on Sunday with the Round of 16 matches. As with every round, players saw their starting stacks again reset to 7,500 chips, with play proceeding through 15-minute levels. Losers in this round would see $ 3,360.72 added to their PokerStars accounts, while the winners would be guaranteed cashes of at least $ 8,961.92.

egor1987 took less than five minutes to knock out The_SeS and move onto the quarterfinals. jedimaster82 would then claim the next spot after taking care of p1ngp0ngpr0 before they’d finished the first 15-minute level.

Over the next 15 minutes, Gakn29 eliminated ANIMAL5050 and Mefisto6661 knocked out Kressty to grab the next two quarterfinal spots. Then the start of Level 4 saw Danya Kop overcome yeffshin and TryToExploit felt mxny.

Meanwhile Le Dolce and d-mon-d nearly made it to the one-hour break in their match. But Le Dolce had slipped just below 4,000 chips to d-mon-d’s 11,000-plus when a hand arose in which both players checked the turn with the board showing [Kc][Td][Kh][Th] and the pot still a modest 1,400.

The river then brought the [5d] and a series of bets that saw Le Dolce all in with [Kd][Qc][Jh][3h] (trip kings) but no good versus d-mon-d’s [Ks][8h][6c][5s] (kings full of fives). Le Dolce was out, while d-mon-d had moved to the Round of 8.

That left just the match between bad? huh! and Asul to play out, with the pair making it past the one-hour mark with nearly even stacks. They’d battle for another 20 minutes after that before Asul finally chipped bad? huh! down to a short stack that the latter would ultimately commit on a [8s][6c][2h] flop holding [Kh][Jh][6s][4s] (a pair of sixes with some backdoor draws). Asul held [Ks][Kd][Qc][2d] (kings), and when the [5d] turn and [Ad] river improved neither player’s hand, Asul had grabbed the final quarterfinal spot.

Quarterfinals

Here were the matchups for the quarterfinals:

Mefisto6661 (Russia) vs. Asul (Romania)
egor1987 (Gemany) vs. TryToExploit (Poland)
d-mon-d (Norway) vs. Danya Kop (Russia)
Gakn29 (Canada) vs. jedimaster82 (Sweden)

All four matches saw players beginning cautiously, and it took nearly half an hour before anyone built a significant lead.

Eventually Mefisto6661 began chipping away at Asul, moving up over 12,000 while Asul dipped below 3,000. They were approaching the end of Level 2 when Asul was finally all in on the turn with the board showing [5h][4d][8h][8d]. Asul had [Ah][Ks][9c][4h] for a heart flush draw while Mefisto6661 had [Kc][Jc][Jh][8s] for trip eights. The river was the [9d], and Mefisto6661 had grabbed the first semifinal spot.

Not long after that Danya Kop joined Mefisto6661 in the semis by defeating d-mon-d. Down to 3,550, d-mon-d got it all in before the flop with [Kd][Qc][Jh][10h] against Danya Kop’s [Ac][Ks][Jd][3c]. The board rolled out [Ah][8s][5c][4s][2c] giving a straight and the win to Danya Kop.

Meanwhile the other two matches remained close until a big hand arose between Gakn29 and jedimaster82. Nearly even to start the hand, the pair got all of jedimaster82′s chips in on the turn with the board showing [8d][3h][9s][As]. jedimaster82 had [Ad][9d][5s][2s] for two pair while Gakn29 had [Qs][Js][Td][9c] for a big wrap draw.

The river then brought another ace to give jedimaster82 a full house and nearly all of the chips, and it would only take one more hand for Gakn29 to lose the rest and jedimaster82 to move on.

The lone remaining match continued, with TryToExploit enjoying a slight lead over egor1987 as they pushed through the one-hour mark. They’d fight for another hour with TryToExploit mostly maintaining the advantage throughout.

Then egor1987 grabbed a big pot as the third hour began, picking off a TryToExploit river bluff by calling with a non-nut straight to seize the advantage. Before long TryToExploit was all in on the turn with the board showing all spades — [8s][As][Ks][Ts] — and TryToExploit holding [Kh][Jc][8d][5c] for two pair. egor1987 had [Jd][7s][4s][2d] for the flush, and when the river brought the [3h] egor1987 had won and it was on to the next round.

Semifinals

The final four was set. On Table 1, it was egor1987 versus Mefisto6661, while over on Table 2 Danya Kop took on jedimaster82. Each player was now guaranteed at least $ 19,604.20, but winning one more match meant earning either the $ 36,407.80 for runner-up or $ 70,015 for first.

The match on Table 2 swiftly became one-sided as Danya Kop quickly scored several pots, including a 6,000-plus chip one to grab a large lead.

Then on just the 12th hand of the match jedimaster82 raised 2x to 100 and Danya Kop called. The flop came [8d][Ad][7c]. Danya Kop checked, jedimaster82 continued for 120, Danya Kop check-raised to 560, jedimaster82 made it 1,880 to go, Danya Kop reraised again to 5,840, and jedimaster82 called with the 1,145 left behind.

Danya Kop: [Th][8s][8h][6h] — set of eights, gutshot draw to straight
jedimaster82: [Ac][Kc][5d][3d] — pair of aces, flush draw

The turn was the [Jh] and river the [Qh], and just five minutes after it had started, Danya Kop had won the first semifinal match.

RSS readers click through to see replayIt wasn’t long after Danya Kop moved on that Mefisto6661 pushed out to a big advantage on Table 1, chipping up over 13,000 while egor1987 slipped down to less than 2,000.

They had just started Level 2 (blinds 30/60) when Mefisto6661 raised to 120 from the button and egor1987 called. Both checked the [2d][Td][3h] flop. The turn then brought the [4s]. egor1987 bet 180, Mefisto6661 raised to 780, egor1987 pushed all in for 1,452 total, and Mefisto6661 called.

egor1987 had [Ah][Kd][5s][5h] for a wheel while Mefisto6661 showed [Qh][Jh][6h][5d] for a better six-high straight. The river [As] was no matter, and after another quick semifinal match Mefisto6661 had secured the second spot in the finals.

RSS readers click through to see replayFinals

Just two players remained, both from Russia — Danya Kop and Mefisto6661.

Having survived eight rounds, the finalists were both ready to talk about a deal as soon as their match began. After a quick discussion, they agreed to chop up the remaining prize pool, leaving $ 2,000 and the WCOOP bracelet for which to play, and soon the 417th and final match of Event #60 was underway.

The pair remained roughly even through the middle of Level 2, then Mefisto6661 gradually chipped out in front. Soon a hand arose in which a flop brought Danya Kop a six-high nut straight and Mefisto6661 a set of deuces. Neither would improve by the river, but betting on all three post-flop streets saw Danya Kop all in and doubling up to more than 10,000 while Mefisto6661 slipped below 5,000.

Then came a hand in which Mefisto6661 opened for 150 from the button, Danya Kop made it 450 to go, Mefisto6661 reraised again to 1,350, and Danya Kop called. The flop came [2c][Tc][7h]. Danya Kop checked, Mefisto6661 bet all-in for 2,451, and Danya Kop called.

Danya Kop showed [Ac][Qc][7d][6d] for the ace-high flush draw and a pair of sevens. Meanwhile, Mefisto6661 turned over [Ad][Kc][Jc][5d] for a lesser flush draw. The turn was the [4h] and river the [8c]. Both had made their flushes, but Danya Kop‘s was best and another WCOOP bracelet had been won.

RSS readers click through to see replayCongratulations to Danya Kop for surviving nine rounds’ worth of heads-up play to win the WCOOP bracelet. And kudos as well to Mefisto6661 who after the deal also earns a handsome $ 50K-plus score in Event #60.

WCOOP Event #60 ($ 700 Pot-Limit Omaha, Heads-Up) Results (*reflects two-way deal):
Champion: Danya Kop (Russia) — $ 54,211.40*
Runner-up: Mefisto6661 (Russia) — $ 52,211.40*
3rd (tie): egor1987 (Gemany) — $ 19,604.20
3rd (tie): jedimaster82 (Sweden) — $ 19,604.20
5th (tie): TryToExploit (Poland) — $ 8,961.92
5th (tie): Gakn29 (Canada) — $ 8,961.92
5th (tie): d-mon-d (Norway) — $ 8,961.92
5th (tie): Asul (Romania) — $ 8,961.92

Entrants: 418
Places paid: 64

For comprehensive results on all 65 events of the 2012 World Championship of Online Poker, check out the the WCOOP site. And there’s still time to check out the WCOOP Radio show, too, for more WCOOP-related fun.