There were 149 players in the $200 + $20 NL Hold’em Freeze in the TonyBet Power Weekend, and it took about 10 hours to play down to a champion. It didn’t take long for several players to grow “industrial-sized” stacks – there were players with 3 times the average before the first break of the night. Eliminations came at a constant pace throughout the night, and then as the money bubble and the final table approached, deals were made to keep up the steady pace of the tourney.
The first agreement reached was to offer a bubble save prize of $220. $100 was taken from the 1st place prize money and $80 and $40 from 2nd and 3rd respectively. Then, with 5 players remaining the players agreed to an event chop of $4,000 each, reserving $1,286 for the eventual winner. Two players were eliminated in the following hand, and once the 3rd place player was eliminated.
When heads-up play began, Jacques Blais had a huge 2.3M to 770K advantage, but after just a few hands the players were even. A further deal was made to keep $400 each of the remaining $1,286, leaving an additional $486 for the champion – which ended up being Jacques Blais!
Champion: Jacques Blais, $4,886
2nd place: Carlo Nini, $4,400
Final hand of the tournament:
