Dennder looked strong going into the final table with the lead. After losing it, dennder regained it rather quickly and stayed at or near the top of the leaderboard for much of the final table. Meanwhile, gorda877 was in trouble when the final table began but doubled through dennder to stay in it. That hand was more indicative of the future than we could have imagined. The two ended up in the final duel together, and gorda877 got aggressive when it counted. From a serious chip deficit going into heads-up, gorda877 accumulated the chips and grabbed the win. It was a hard-fought victory for gorda877.
*****
It was only the second day of the third running of MicroMillions, and more than a dozen tournaments were completed or in the process of finding winners. Though the series is moving along quickly, there are still many chances to get involved at any time of day, in any game a player might prefer. This was an event that took place on a Friday and offered stud players a $5K guarantee for their $3.30 buy-ins. And it was an exciting event from start to finish.
Speaking of the start, there was a 120-minute registration period, after which these numbers were final:
Players: 5,776
Guarantee: $5,000.00
Prize pool: $17,328.00
Paid players: 760
The money bubble burst at three hours and 45 minutes into the event, and n3ro14 was the unfortunate bubble player, out in 761st place. Took a Shot was the first player to cash, taking home $5.19 for 760th place.
At that point, there were no members of Team PokerStars in action, nor had they been for quite some time. The last one in the tournament was Team Online's Anders "Donald" Berg, who exited in 1788th place. The rest of the event and all of the payouts were left to players who could someday show up on that team roster.
The seven-hour mark showed only 12 players remaining, and the final table was near. Clarkman51 had a hold on the lead for a bit, but dennder and snkrs snuck up to the top of the leaderboard with only 10 players remaining. Askor316 climbed as well, but piranxa was one of the shorter stacks and lost it all to exit in ninth place with $86.64.
Dennder dominates but in danger quickly
The final table began in Level 39, with blinds of 200,000/400,000 and a 40,000 ante, along with these players' starting stacks:
Seat 1: Clarkman51 (3,990,265 in chips)
Seat 2: gorda877 (1,248,480 in chips)
Seat 3: askor316 (4,880,266 in chips)
Seat 4: snkrs (4,998,372 in chips)
Seat 5: dennder (7,785,596 in chips)
Seat 6: dvarss (562,180 in chips)
Seat 7: QcKimo (4,208,191 in chips)
Seat 8: pokerbossie1 (1,206,650 in chips)
There was action on the very first hand, as gorda877 doubled through dennder. And when askor316 took a pot worth 5.38 million chips from dennder, the latter lost control of the leaderboard. Dennder was nothing if not determined, though, and climbed back to first place fairly quickly.
A couple players found multiple double-up opportunities to stay in the game. Dvarss first doubled through QcKimo and then through askor316. Pokerbossie1 doubled through Clarkman51 twice.
No one wants to be the first to go
Play continued for 30 minutes before a player was eliminated. With four-figure scores awaiting the top finishers, there was some tight play for the first few rounds.
But then things sped up. QcKimo and askor316 got involved on a hand that saw QcKimo bet all-in on fifth street with [Ah][4h][Ks] showing and [Ts] [5s] behind. Askor316 called with [3h][9h][4d][6d][5h] and received [Kh][Kc] from the dealer. That was enough to beat QcKimo, who took [7d] [Td] for the pair of tens. QcKimo departed in eighth place with $121.29.
A few hands later, pokerbossie1 got involved again, all-in on third street against Clarkman51. Pokerbossie1 ended up with [3c][Jh][Kh][9h][Qh][Kd][7s] for the pair of kings, but Clarkman51 produced [Ks][Ad][Qc][7h][8c][As][4s] for aces. Pokerbossie1 left in seventh place with $216.60.
Dvarss continued the double-up roll, doing it through snkrs and then again through Clarkman51. Askor316 took a bit pot from snkrs, and the latter doubled thorugh dennder.
It wasn't enough for snkrs, though. Snkrs got involved with askor316 in another hand that found snkrs all-in on sixth street with a hand that completed with [8c][9h][Ah][7s][Js][6c][3s]. But askor316 had [2s][5s][Ks][5d][Kd][Td][6d] for two pair, and snkrs had to go in sixth place with $476.52.
High-five for a five-way deal
The final five players decided to pause the tournament to discuss a potential deal. They requested ICM numbers, which were provided. All players immediately accepted the deal with the caveat that $100 be set aside for the winner. The payouts were noted as follows:
Seat 1: Clarkman51 (2,399,475 in chips) = $1,255.08
Seat 2: gorda877 (5,781,960 in chips) = $1,644.48
Seat 3: askor316 (10,691,221 in chips) = $1,946.55
Seat 5: dennder (6,612,464 in chips) = $1,709.25
Seat 6: dvarss (3,394,880 in chips) = $1,399.35
Play resumed, and Clarkman51 was determined to double-up or go home on the first hand. Betting was apped between Clarkman51 and dvarss on third street, and Clarkman51 pushed all-in on fourth with [Jd][Th][Ts][9s]. Dvarss called with [4d][As][Ad][2c], and the aces held up with [7h][9d][3c] added to the mix. Clarkman51 only drew [3s][Kh][6c] and accepted fifth place with $1,255.08.
Dennder took a pot worth 8.32 million from gorda877 to regain dominance, and short-stacked gorda877 then doubled through askor316 to stay alive. On the very next hand, gorda877 doubled through dennder.
Askor316 needed a double as well and tried it against dennder. After betting was capped on fourth street, askor316 moved all-in on fifth, and dennder called. Askor316 ended up with [Ah][Kh][Jh][Jd][2h][9s][9c] for two pair, but dennder had a flush with [AD][9d][8d][2d][3h][6d][Ts]. Askor316 was eliminated in fourth place with $1,946.55.
Two hands later, dvarss doubled through dennder and did it again two hands later. Gorda877 suffered during three-handed play but doubled through dvarss to regain some chips.
Dvarss engaged with dennder and betting was capped on third street. Dvarss pushed on the next street, and dennder called, ending up with [Kh][Kd][Ad][3s][5c][2h][8s] for the pair of kings. That easily beat the [9c][9d][Jc][Qh][8c][6d][3d] and pair of nines of dvarss, who exited in third place with $1,399.35.
Dennder with strong lead again
Going into heads-up play, dennder had a dominating lead over gorda877, even better than the lead enjoyed at the beginning of the final table. The chip counts were:
Seat 2: gorda877 (5,625,680 in chips)
Seat 5: dennder (23,254,320 in chips)
But gorda877 came on strong. Gorda877 took an 8.2 million-chip pot on the second hand and kept improving. Soon, a pot worth 15.84 million went to gorda877, which left dennder with less than 5 million chips.
Three hands later, the two got involved in another big hand. With [6s] showing for gorda877 and [8s] for dennder, gorda877 bet, dennder raised, and gorda877 called. The [9h] on fourth street prompted dennder to bet, and gorda877 turned up [Qd] and check-called. gorda877 received the [As] on fifth street, and dennder had [6h], and the action was check, bet, and call. Dennder raised all-in on sixth, gorda877 called, and their final hands were:
dennder: [2s][2h][8s][9h][6h][Jh][Td]
gorda877: [3h][3s][6s][Qd][Qs][Qh][4c]
Gorda877's two pair trumped the pocket deuces of dennder. After finishing in third place in a MicroMillions event earlier this year, dennder had to accept second place and $1,709.25 for this one.
Gorda877 claimed the MicroMillions III title and $1,744.48 for the victory. Congrats!
MicroMillions III Event 13 ($3.30 Stud) Results (reflects deal):
Total players: 5,776
Paid players: 760
1st place: gorda877 (Ukraine) - $1,744.48*
2nd place: dennder (Germany) - $1,709.25*
3rd place: dvarss (Latvia) - $1,399.35*
4th place: askor316 (Estonia) - $1,946.55*
5th place: Clarkman51 (UK) - $1,255.08*
6th place: snkrs (Russia) - $476.52
7th place: pokerbossie1 (Belgium) - $216.60
8th place: QcKimo (Canada) - $121.29
*denotes five-way deal with $100 set aside for winner
For any and all information about MicroMillions, including the current leaderboard and satellites for upcoming events, check out its main tournament page.
Jennifer Newell is a PokerStars freelance contributor.