Sometimes you find yourself a such a huge disadvantage that you really have nothing to lose. When it got down to heads-up, the Netherlands' sevewolf was outchipped 7 to 1 against big-stacked MrCojoness. The tremendous division in wealth did not faze sevewolf. Nothing to lose, right? Well, after winning a couple of vital hands to avoid elimination, sevewolf doubled up a couple of times and went from "the hunted" to "the hunter." After completing an impossible comeback to seize the chiplead, sevewolf dove in for the kill and knocked out MrCojoness, much to the dismay of a plethora of Brazilian railbirds cheering on their countryman. It was a truly stunning, yet remarkable victory as sevewolf won Event #12 $3.30 NL Big Antes.
Event #12 Big Antes attracted 29,583 runners who smashed the 40K guarantee. The prize pool rose to $88,749 and the top 3,960 places paid out with over $8,322.90 originally set aside to the eventual champion.
PokerStars Team Online Naoya 'nkeyno' Kihara busted out in 9,767th place and failed to advance to the money, but Team PokerStars Pro Marcin "Goral" Horecki actually cashed in Event #12. Short-stacked Goral got it all in with [9s][8s] against ukk69's [Kd][2d]. Goral could not improve his hand and he was eliminated in 3,486th place.
It took over 7.5 hours before Event #12 finally dwindled to under 100 players during level 39. With 99 to go, Panama's yayo8422 held the lead with almost 3.5 million. When the tournament reached its ninth hour, 18 players were left in the hunt for the MicroMillions III title, and Argentina's LeoFara took over the lead with 18 million.
With ten remaining and action hand-for-hand... MrCojoness opened to 2.1 million, tiny hawk called all-in for 1,157,320, and Maxxxpoker18 called 1.3 million from the big blind. Three players. The flop was [7c][2d][2h]. Maxxxpoker18 checked, MrCojoness bet 3.7 million, Maxxxpoker18 folded. MrCojoness won the side pot. Heads-up. MrCojoness tabled MrCojoness tabled [9h][9c] and was ahead of tiny hawk's [Ac][5s]. The turn was the [Qc] and the river was the [Kd]. MrCojoness dragged the pot with two pair, and tiny hawk unceremoniously bubbled off the final table in tenth place.
Event #12 - Final Table Chip Counts:
Seat 1: yayo8422 (13,406,069)
Seat 2: vadim100181 (10,071,722)
Seat 3: MrCojoness (23,223,492)
Seat 4: denis50rus (15,183,759)
Seat 5: LeoFara (19,002,676)
Seat 6: Whiskywinner (9,553,047)
Seat 7: sevewolf (31,994,522)
Seat 8: Maxxxpoker18 (16,632,469)
Seat 9: uncle_LU_2u (8,847,244)
The final table commenced in the middle of Level 52 with blinds at 400K/800K and a 160K ante. Leading the pack was sevewolf with stack that topped almost 32 million. The short stacked was uncle_LU_2u with 8.8 million.
yayo8422 eliminated in 9th place
On the seventh hand of the final table, yayo8422 took a wicked beat. Whiskywinner got it all-in preflop with [As][Qc] against yayo8422's [Ts][Th]. Yayo842 led all the way until the [Qd] fell on the river and crippled him. He'd meet his fate on the very next hand... yayo8422 shoved with any two cards and got the rest of his tiny stack in with [4c][2h] versus sevewolf's [3h][3c]. The board ran out [9s][6h][2d][Js][9c] and sevewolf's pocket treys held up. Panama's yayo8422 became the first player to get knocked out at the final table. For ninth place, he collected $432.20.
uncle_LU_2u eliminated in 8th place
It didn't take long before someone else bit the dust... denis50rus raised to 2 million, Whiskywinner called 2 million, uncle_LU_2u called from the big blind. The flop was [8c][5c][4h]... and uncle_LU_2u checked, denis50rus checked, Whiskywinner fired out 2 million, uncle_LU_2u check-raised all-in for 2,587,244, denis50rus bailed, and Whiskywinner called. Heads-up. Both players flipped over their cards and Whiskywinner was ahead with [Ah][3d] for Ace-high and a Wheel draw, while uncle_LU_2u trailed with [Qs][7s] and a gutshot. The turn was the [Kh] and the river was the [3s]. Whiskywinner won the pot with a pair of treys, while uncle_LU_2u whiffed on a straight draw. Canada's uncle_LU_2u busted out in eighth place, which paid out $734.84.
LeoFara eliminated in 7th place
How about a race to the death? MrCojoness opened to 3.25 million, LeoFara shoved for 10,502,676, and MrCojoness called. MrCojoness took [Ah][Qc] into battle against LeoFara's [Th][Tc]. On a flop of [Qd][8s][2c], LeoFara's heart sunk when MrCojoness took the lead with a pair of Queens. The turn was the [5s] and the river was the [As]. MrCojoness won the pot with two pair, while LeoFara hit the road. LeoFara was knocked out in in seventh place, which paid $1,080.07.
With six remaining, sevewolf held almost 59 million, while MrCojoness moved into second with 32.6 million. Vadim100181 brought up the rear as the shorty with 7 million.
vadim100181 eliminated in 6th place
Short-stacked vadim100181 made a valiant final stand when he open-shoved for 7,323,444. MrCojoness called and tried to pick him off with [Ks][Qh]. Although vadim100181 led with [Ah][Tc], the flop was [Kh][9s][4h] and MrCojoness took the lead with a pair of Kings. The turn was the [8c] and the river was the [8s]. MrCojoness won the hand with two pair -- Kings and eights. Russia's vadim100181 exited in sixth place, which paid out $1,555.76.
Maxxxpoker18 eliminated in 5th place
Maxxxpoker18 did not waste any time and moved all-in for 8,072,469. MrCojoness re-shoved for 38,845,853, and everyone else bailed. Heads-up. Maxxxpoker18 trailed with [Qs][Ts] against MrCojoness's [3h][3c], yet hoping to win the race. The flop was [Kc][7h][5c]. The turn was the [4h] and the river was the [4s]. MrCojoness's pocket trey's held up, while Maxxxpoker18 failed to improve. For fifth place, the Czech Republic's Maxxxpoker18 took home $2,333.21.
denis50rus eliminated in 4th place
The final four didn't play four handed for very long before someone stuck first blood.... denis50rus opened with a min-raise to 2.8 million, Whiskywinner bumped it up to 4.2 million, and denis50rus called. The flop was [9d][7h][5c]. Denis50rus checked-called a 4.2 million bet from Whiskywinner. The turn was the [9s]. Denis50rus fired out 2.8 million, Whiskywinner shoved for 35,300,758, and denis50rus called all-in for 6,330,072. Whiskywinner was ahead with [Td][Th] with two pair, while denis50rus trailed with [Ah][5s] and a smaller two pair. The river was the [3h] and Whiskywinner won the pot. Russia's denis50rus earned $3,110.65 for fourth place.
Whiskywinner eliminated in 3rd place
With three remaining... they final three kept up the rapid pace. MrCojoness min-raised to 3.2 million and Whiskywinner called from the big blind. The flop was [Kh][Jc][Th]. MrCojoness bet 3.2 million, Whiskywinner raised to 9.6 million, MrCojoness re-raised to 22.4 million, and Whiskywinner called. The turn was the [Tc]. As expected, both players bombed it all-in and MrCojoness had Whiskywinner covered. MrCojoness led with [Kd][Jd] for two pair, while Whiskywinner tabled [Js][9d] for a smaller two pair and a gutshot. The river card was an innocuous deuce and MrCojoness dragged the pot. Whiskywinner whiffed on a straight draw and got knocked out in third place, which paid $3,888.98.
HEADS-UP: sevewolf (Netherlands) vs. MrCojoness (Brazil)
Seat 3: MrCojoness (129,364,152)
Seat 7: sevewolf (18,550,848)
MrCojoness held an overwhelming lead and had the most vocal railbirds as a slew of fellow Brazilians peppered the chat box with the obligatory "Vamooooo!"
The obvious disadvantage did not deter sevewolf one bit. Sevewolf chipped away at the lead and then avoided an elimination by winning a decisive hand, in which he doubled up with [Ad][Jc] against MrCojoness's [As][7d]. That crucial hand rocketed sevewolf into the lead by 11 million (79 million to 68 million).
With the stacks somewhat equalized, action was paused while the two discussed a deal. The numbers were crunched and both players agreed to chop it up. MrCojoness locked up $6,600 and sevewolf got $6,779.08. Meanwhile, they left $800 on the table for the eventual victor.
MrCojoness eliminated in 2nd place; sevewolf wins Event #13 Big Antes
A raising war broke out preflop. MrCojoness four-bet shoved for his last 44,691,608 and sevewolf called. MrCojoness led with [Ac][8c] against sevewolf's [Ks][9s]. The flop was [Kd][8d][7c] and sevewolf took the lead. The turn was the [9c] and sevewolf improved to two pair, but MrCojoness picked up a nut flush draw. The river was the [2d]. MrCojoness whiffed on his draw and busted out in second place. Yes, sevewolf dodged a bullet and faded a flush draw to win the pot and the entire tournament.
For a runner-up performance MrCojoness earned $6,600. Congrats to sevewolf for winning MicroMillions III Event #12 $3.30 Big Antes! First place paid out $7,579.08 on a mere $3.30 investment.
MicroMillions III - Event #12 $3.30 NL Big Antes - Final Table Results:
Entrants: 29,583
Prize Pool: $88,749
Payouts: 3,960
1. sevewolf (Netherlands) - $7,579.08 **
2. MrCojoness (Brazil) - $6,600.00 **
3. Whiskywinner (United Kingdom) - $3,888.98
4. denis50rus (Russia) - $3,110.65
5. Maxxxpoker18 (Czech Republic) - $2,333.21
6. vadim100181 (Russia) - $1,555.76
7. LeoFara (Argentina) - $1,080.07
8. uncle_LU_2u (Canada) - $734.84
9. yayo8422 (Panama) - $432.20
** Denotes a deal was struck between the final two players
For more information like the full tournament schedule and the leader board, visit the MicroMillions home page.
Pauly McGuire is a freelance contributor to the PokerStars Blog.