The lead at the start of the final table belonged solely to * WRL *, as several hundred million chips separated the chip leader from the pack. But Swarm255 took it in stride, doubling up early to jump into second place, albeit a distance one. The momentum stayed with Swarm255, though, and being on the winning side of several eliminations chipped away at the lead. Finally, going into heads-up, Swarm255 had a substantial lead, which eliminated * WRL * and provided an impressive MicroMillions 4 victory for Swarm255.
*****
The first day of MicroMillions 4 brought much excitement to the virtual tables of PokerStars. And Event 2 was only one of six on March 14 to usher in the 100-tournament series. Players of all bankrolls awaited the start of this series, and the micro buy-ins welcomed those who are sometimes left out of the larger series. MicroMillions truly opens the doors to everyone.
This was a massive event, one that offered No Limit Hold'em for only $1 - with rebuys, of course - and a $150K guarantee. The structure was a fast one, as the 3x-Turbo offered five-minute levels to give this one some very fast-paced action.
At the end of the 90-minute registration period, these incredible numbers were revealed for Event 2:
Players: 49,977
Rebuys: 197,909
Add-ons: 23,388
Guarantee: $150,000.00
Prize pool: $246,859.34
Paid players: 6,300
The prize pool broke through the guarantee by nearly $100K! I may be stating the obvious, but it bore repeating. It was a phenomenal turnout.
The money bubble burst only a couple hours into play, with PINGCHFC exiting in the unfortunate position of 6301st on said bubble. Zaster100 of Germany was the first player to cash for $12.34, and many (many, many) followed after that.
Only two members of the PokerStars Team made it into the money, both hailing from Team Online. Caio "Pessagno" Pessagno took home $27.15 for his 1714th place finish in the tournament, and Grzegorz "DaWarsaw" Mikielewicz (pictured here) ended his run a short time later in 1086th place.
The five-hour mark saw only 10 tables remaining, and players were departing quickly. Only five tables were left 30 minutes later. And as players crossed the six-hour mark, there were 18 of them remaining at two tables. About 15 minutes later, hand-for-hand play was in motion, which resulted in andrey.m.414 all-in with [Qs][Qh] against the [As][Tc] of * WRL *. The board was crushing for andrey.m.414 when it came [5s][Ad][Ac][Kc][5c], which left him out in tenth place with $728.23.
* WRL * must mean chip leader in Austrian
When the final table began, Level 66 was briefly upon them with blinds of 3M/6M and a 600K ante. The players' starting chip stacks were as follows:
Seat 1: Rickehyo (140,127,176 in chips)
Seat 2: Vlader666 (98,905,512 in chips)
Seat 3: grehan222 (76,827,106 in chips)
Seat 4: robenanja (29,831,560 in chips)
Seat 5: Swarm255 (157,902,271 in chips)
Seat 6: s1ru (69,999,506 in chips)
Seat 7: * WRL * (498,177,839 in chips)
Seat 8: Slevin2787 (133,557,104 in chips)
Seat 9: bylka1515 (239,969,926 in chips)
On the very first hand of the table, robenanja raised all-in from middle position with the shortest stack of chips. Bylka1515 called from the big blind holding [7d][7h], and robenanja showed [As][Js], and the race was on, but the board of [9h][2d][Td][8d][Tc] did nothing for the ace-high hand. Bylka1515 ended up with two pair and eliminated robenanja in ninth place with $975.09.
Vlader666 took a chance with this double-up attempt, and it worked to take some of bylka1515's chips:
The rise of Swarm255
Grehan222 doubled through Slevin2787, and the latter waited a bit but then doubled through * WRL *. And then, the thus-far quiet Swarm255 doubled through bylka1515 in a massive hand, good enough to put Swarm255 firmly in second place on the leaderboard:
A few hands later, bylka1515 pushed all-in with [Kh][Jc], and Swarm255 called from the big blind with [6c][6s]. The flop of [8s][6d][9s] turned the pair into a set, and though the [4d] on the turn didn't change anything, the [8d] on the river made it a full house for Swarm255. Bylka1515 exited in eighth place with $1,653.95.
On the very next hand, grehan222 limped from the button. When s1ru raised all-in from the big blind for little more than 29 million chips, grehan222 called 19 million more with [6s][5s]. S1ru showed [Ac][Kh], but it was grehan222 who improved to a pair on the [Qh][3c][6c] flop. The [3h] and [Ts] finished the board to eliminate s1ru in seventh place with $2,426.62.
The next of the shorter stacks to move was Rickehyo, who pushed from the big blind with [Ah][4d]. Original button raiser * WRL * called with [Js][9h] and caught the better pair on the [4h][Qc][Jc] flop. The [2d] turn and [3s] river ended the hand, leaving Rickehyo out in sixth place with $3,493.05.
On the very next hand, grehan222 got involved with Swarm255, the latter of whom raised UTG, and grehan222 called from the big blind. The [2h][9c][Td] flop prompted a bet from Swarm255, and grehan222 responded with an all-in check-raise. Swarm255 called with [Ac][9s] for middle pair, and grehan222 showed [8h][7d] for the straight draw. But that straight never came on the [3s] turn or [4c] river, so grehan222 had to accept fifth place and the $5,233.41 that went with it.
A few hands later, Slevin2787 pushed with [Jh][9h], and Swarm255 called from the big blind with [5d][5c]. The board came [Ks][Kd][Qh][2d][4d], and that was enough to send Slevin2787 out in fourth place with $6,978.71.
Two hands later, short-stacked Vlader666 doubled through * WRL * with a flush over a straight, and the latter than took a pot worth 329.4K from Swarm255 to gain momentum. But Vlader666 doubled through * WRL * again, as shown here:
Presumably feeling good, Vlader666 pushed all-in for 445 million chips with [As][8h], but Swarm255 called with [Qc][Qs]. The queens held up to the [Kh][3c][5d][Tc][7c] board and sent Vlader666 out in third place with $8,738.82.
Swarm255 takes lead to heads-up
The final two players started their battle with these chip stacks:
Seat 5: Swarm255 (1,020,756,055 in chips)
Seat 7: * WRL * (424,541,945 in chips)
Five hands led them to a break, at which time the Austrian and German discussed a deal in German in the chat box. After several warnings to chat in English only, they did their best but still didn't select the "discuss a deal" button.
It didn't take long, though, for * WRL * to risk it all. After 13 hands, not much had changed in the chip counts. The heads-up players got involved in a reraised hand preflop to see the first three cards come [Qc][5d][5s]. * WRL * bet, Swarm255 raised, and * WRL * called. The [2h] on the turn brought a bet from Swarm255, and * WRL * check-called all-in with [Kd][9h]. Swarm255 showed [Qh][8c] for the flopped two pair, and they held up to the [Ts] on the river. * WRL * took second place and $13,367.43.
Swarm255 of Germany won Event 2 of the MicroMillions 4. Congratulations on the $18,537.03 score!
MicroMillions 4 Event #2 ($1+R NLHE, 3x-Turbo) Results:
Total players: 49,977 (197,909 rebuys, 23,388 add-ons)
Paid players: 6,300
1st place: Swarm255 (Germany) - $18,537.03
2nd place: * WRL * (Austria) - $13,367.43
3rd place: Vlader666 (Brazil) - $8,738.82
4th place: Slevin2787 (UK) - $6,978.71
5th place: grehan222 (Russia) - $5,233.41
6th place: Rickehyo (Australia) - $3,493.05
7th place: s1ru (Poland) - $2,426.62
8th place: bylka1515 (Russia) - $1,653.95
9th place: robenanja (Netherlands) - $975.09
There are many more tournaments remaining in the fourth edition of this series. For any and all information about MicroMillions, check out its main tournament page.
Jennifer Newell is a PokerStars freelance contributor.