Event 8 was our second PLO Event in the Playground Poker Spring Classic, this time in its 5-card variation. 51 players joined the Event, 14 of which opted to re-enter when they ran out of chips, for a total of 65 entries. Players battled hard, with the whole deck out.

Ivan Driard, the winner of our previous PLO Event (last Tuesday), got 6th place, claiming the best PLO combined results in this series, while Ben Menache, another local cash player, placed in 5th.

The Heads-up match was an all-Simon affair. Simon Pin-Disle is an experienced local player, and his crushing chip lead, along with his poker skills, were going to make things really hard for Simon Assouline. In just a few hands time, Pin-Disle had the best him.

Simon ”Mr. Poisson” Pin-Disle won the first all-in hand of the match, and with it the tournament.

Congratulations!

The $300 + $30 PL 5-Card Omaha Champion: Simon Pin-Disle – $8,065.00

Runner-up: Simon Assouline – $4,000.00

Last hand of play:

Tonight’s Bounty tournament was our last high-buy-in Event in the Playground Poker Spring Classic. 156 Bounties were on the tables, and all but one were relinquished.

The Event went on for almost 15 hours straight, involving stamina in the game. It started at 11h00, and by 1h30, Mitchael Ferguson had outlasted every other player.

The final table was an interesting game, and lasted almost 3 hours. Players enjoyed an average stack ranging from 15 to 25 big blinds, which made it possible for the better stacked to play with decent depth.

Since Stoffmaker announced pretty early that he was not going to consider a deal, the final table unfolded without any deal talk, in the pure form of tournament poker. Without protesting, players went about their game, seemingly happy with the situation. Many finalists took turn at the top, including Sreyleap Prom, who was chip leader for the longest time. When she lost a huge pot with a busted flush draw, she left in 5th place.

Harley Stoffmaker also took the lead for a while, and made it to the heads-up match, which did not last very long. He and Ferguson battled small pots for about 15 minutes, until Stoffmaker finally managed to get it in with a dominating hand.

He placed a minimal raise from the button, and when Ferguson announced all-in, he called instantly, and could only hope that his queens would hold. Unfortunately for him, fate had it otherwise.

Ferguson flopped trips, and was incidentally crowed Champion of the $500 + $100 + $500 NL Hold’em 50/50 Bounty.

Congratulations!

Our $500 + $100 + $500 NL Hold’em 50/50 Bounty Champion: Mitchael Ferguson – $17,800.00

Runner-up: Harley Stoffmaker – $13,480.00

Last hand of play:

Event 6 was a one-day tournament that attracted 251 players. Although it was a very nice field for a one-night tournament, the number is not surprising as the 8-max structure has been a player’s favorite for a long time. The field was populated with local players that were eagerly waiting for an affordable event to jump in, as well as some high profile players who wanted to digest their Main Event experience by playing a casual tournament, and there were some interesting face offs.

26 players received prizes tonight, and the first 7 were modified according to slightly adjusted ICM numbers, which are reflected in their published payouts. As usual for Trophy Events, there had to be 2% of the prize pool ($1,500.00) left up top for the winner. After the deal, play accelerated considerably. Finalists were dropping, sometimes 2 at a time, until Christopher Savov was left alone, the happy winner of Event #6.

The 8-max Champion: Christopher Savov – $9,715.00 and the Champion’s Trophy

Runner-up: Yohann Wagner – $8,901.00

Last hand of play: