Laplante and Martini Among Winners in First Half of Poker Masters
High-stakes poker players have gathered in Las Vegas again to play a tournament series hosted by Poker Central. This time they are playing in the Poker Masters, ten tournaments that with buy-ins of $10K to $100K and seven-figure prize pools.
The last round of high-stakes tournaments of this nature took place at Aspers Casino in London. The inaugural British Poker Open offered 10 tournaments, which were followed by the first-ever Super High Roller Bowl London.
Back in Las Vegas and in the comfort of the PokerGO Studio, players gathered to compete for the Purple Jacket in the Poker Masters.
Action kicked off on November 4, and the first five events were completed last weekend. These were the results, based on information provided by Poker Central.
(Note: None of the reporting reveals how many of the total entries were unique players versus reentries. Also, there were no written live updates of the final table, as people were encouraged to watch the final table broadcast on PokerGO. This requires a subscription.)
Event 1: $10K NLHE
There were 97 entries in the tournament, one that required a $10K buy-in and offered double reentries through the first nine levels of play. The resulting prize pool was $970K to be paid out to the top 14 finishers.
Day 1 saw J.J. Feregrino out on the money bubble and Stephen Chidwick as the first to cash for $19,400. He was followed by Randall Emmett, Alex Foxen, Joseph Orsino, Antonios Roungeris, and Sean Winter in ninth place for $29,100.
Isaac Baron has a significant chip lead going into the final day and took it all the way to heads-up, where he won the tournament in one hand.
1st place: Isaac Baron ($223,100)
2nd place: Chance Kornuth ($164,900)
3rd place: Ralph Wong ($116,400)
4th place: Jeremy Ausmus ($97,000)
5th place: Sam Soverel ($77,600)
6th place: Scott Blumstein ($58,200)
7th place: Dan Shak ($48,500)
8th place: Thai Ha ($38,800)
From the big stack to the winner's circle. @RemkoRinkema on how Isaac Baron went wire-to-wire against a stacked final table. #PokerMastershttps://t.co/u1gJuurrLG
— PokerGO Tour (@PokerGOTour) November 6, 2019
Event 2: $10K PLO
Again with double reentry allowed through the first nine levels, this event’s registration closed with 62 entries. It was enough to put the prize pool at $620K and ultimately pay the final nine players.
As Day 1 moved into later levels toward the money, it was Manig Loeser who bubbled by busting in tenth place. Play then continued with a few competitors out in the money – Anthony Zinno in ninth place for $18,600 and Brent Roberts in eighth for $24,800.
The final table of seven continued play until Damjan Radanov busted in seventh place, and then play stopped with Ryan Laplante in the chip lead. On Day 2, Laplante maintained his lead and won after a short heads-up match.
1st place: Ryan Laplante ($186,000)
2nd place: Chance Kornuth ($124,000)
3rd place: Thai Ha ($86,000)
4th place: John Riordan ($62,000)
5th place: Ali Imsirovic ($49,600)
6th place: Tim McDermott ($37,200)
7th place: Damjan Radanov ($31,000)
That was incredible.
Thank you all for the support!!!
📷 @drew_amato pic.twitter.com/mnx6IQEUsr
— Ryan Laplante🏳️🌈 (@Protentialmn) November 7, 2019
Event 3: $10K Short Deck NLHE
With double reentries allowed again, this tournament only delivered 37 entries in total. That prize pool of $370K was then split for the top six finishers. At the very end of the night, Todd Ivens exited on the money and final table bubble.
The players returned on Day 2 with Jonathan Depa in the chip lead. After Erik Seidel busted in third, Depa beat Alex Foxen heads-up to take the title.
1st place: Jonathan Depa ($133,200)
2nd place: Alex Foxen ($88,800)
3rd place: Erik Seidel ($59,200)
4th place: Jorryt van Hoof ($37,000)
5th place: Ben Yu ($29,600)
6th place: Sam Soverel ($22,200)
Another week, another Short Deck win for @JonathanDepa, while @WAFoxen moved into Purple Jacket contention. #PokerMastershttps://t.co/t58cv1C5CZ
— PokerGO Tour (@PokerGOTour) November 8, 2019
Event 4: $10K 8-Game Mix
The double reentry took the game through nine levels before the final numbers were revealed. It showed 45 entries, a $450K prize pool, and payouts for the top seven players.
Day 1 ended when Eli Elezra busted in eighth place. That left Jared Bleznick to take a massive chip lead into Day 2, and he ended up winning in a final hand of PLO.
1st place: Jared Bleznick ($153,000)
2nd place: Cary Katz ($99,000)
3rd place: Nick Schulman ($67,500)
4th place: Mike Gorodinsky ($45,000)
5th place: Jake Abdalla ($36,000)
6th place: Brandon Adams ($27,000)
7th place: George Wolff ($22,500)
Jared Bleznick (@harrington25) won the 2019 Poker Masters Event 4: $10,000 8-Game for $153,000 (45 entries), which also happened to be his first major live poker tournament victory.https://t.co/qRW7dt1ZjX pic.twitter.com/8vKYjWXIvd
— Chad Holloway (@ChadAHolloway) November 10, 2019
Event 5: $10K Big Bet Mix (NLHE, PLO, D27NL)
After a nine-level registration period and double reentry options, the board showed 52 entries. The resulting $520K prize pool planned to pay eight players.
Day 1 saw the money bubble burst when Sean Perry exited, and Erik Seidel was the first to cash for $20,800 for his eighth-place finish. Yuri Dzivielevski busted in seventh to end the night.
Day 2 started the final table with Stephen Chidwick dominating, but several players doubled through him and he busted early. Ultimately, Julien Martini outlasted his opponents to claim victory.
1st place: Julien Martini ($166,400)
2nd place: Kahle Burns ($109,200)
3rd place: Jorryt van Hoof ($72,800)
4th place: Sam Soverel ($52,000)
5th place: Stephen Chidwick ($41,600)
6th place: Pedro Bromfman ($31,200)
7th place: Yuri Dzivielevski ($26,000)
8th place: Erik Seidel ($20,800)
Biiiiiim!!!
Ma bonne étoile 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/Pu9xpWurSa— Julien MARTINI (@JulienJRMARTINI) November 10, 2019
