Poker News

ZeeJustin Battles To WSOPC Caesars Championship

After battling through a heads up match that lasted longer than the elimination of the previous eight players, Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo finally defeated Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi to become the latest champion of the World Series of Poker Circuit at Caesars Palace late last night.

Originally scheduled to finish today, the 187 player field that put up $5000 each started play on Monday and quickly set about eliminating players from the field. When action started on Wednesday, only sixteen players were remaining and it was decided that the remaining players would play on through, rather than wait until today to determine a champion. Consistent with the action of the previous days, the final table was decided in rapid fashion.

In roughly an hour and a half, positions sixteen through eleven were determined, with notables such as 2006 Irish Open runner up Ian Woodley (15th) and 2007 WSOP bracelet holder Robert Cheung (11th) taking home some profit from their stay at Caesars. As the players stepped to the felt for final table action, such notables as Bonomo, Mizrachi, 2009 WSOPC-Rincon champion Dwyte Pilgrim and poker legend Men “The Master” Nguyen were in contention. They were all following the up and coming Russian player Evgeny Serebryakov, who entered the final table with the chip lead.

Some expected play would slow down once the final table was determined, but they were surprised to see the action ratchet up even more. After Bert Fujisaki was dismissed in tenth place ($20,181), players took turns doubling each other up. Nguyen went from the bottom of the leader board to the middle of the pack and Bonomo and Mizrachi surged towards the top of the heap.

Serebryakov was the victim of much of this action as he was taken out of the tournament in ninth place after about two hours of play by Bonomo. On the very next hand, Nashaat Antonious fell at the hands of WSOPC ring bearer Jack Schanbacher. Even with the elimination, Schanbacher was unable to rally much further and finished in seventh at the hands of “ZeeJustin”. In roughly two and a half hours, the table was down to six-handed play.

Unbelievably at this point, play at the table moved up another gear as heads up action was determined within the next half hour of battle on the felt. Bonomo dismissed Pilgrim in sixth place, then Mizrachi blitzed through WSOP bracelet holder Matt Graham (fifth) and Jeremiah DeGreef (fourth). “The Master’s” run at the final table was finally ended by Bonomo and heads up action was determined.

As heads up play began, Bonomo held a slight 500K chip lead over Mizrachi and the two decided to divvy up most of the final table money. What was held back was the gold and diamond championship ring, some cash and the all-important seat at this year’s WSOP Championship Event.

The two battle-hardened professionals then proceeded to put on a show for the crowd gathered at the Caesars Palace poker room. Over the next four hours, the duo swapped the chip lead back and forth with each man almost down to the felt on several occasions. After three hours of play, Bonomo faced an all in from Mizrachi and made the call, only to find his cooled by “The Grinder’s” which doubled him up. “ZeeJustin” struck back moments later when his Ace out-kicked Mizrachi’s and the battle continued on.

Another hour later, Bonomo was finally able to put Mizrachi away. On a board, “The Grinder” pushed the remainder of his chips to the center and “ZeeJustin” made the call. Bonomo’s and top pair was ahead of Mizrachi’s bottom pair and, once the board ran with two more diamonds, Justin Bonomo hit an unnecessarily higher flush to capture the WSOPC championship at Caesars Palace.

In all, heads up action lasted a half hour longer than eliminations ten through three took. The final ten rounded out as such:

1. Justin “ZeeJustin” Bonomo                  $227,692
2. Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi         $143,512
3. Men “The Master” Nguyen                    $91,937
4. Jeremiah DeGreef                                     $71,756
5. Matthew Graham                                       $56,059
6. Dwyte Pilgrim                                             $44,848
7. Jack Schanbacher                                     $35,870
8. Nashaat  Antonious                                  $ 29,151
9. Evgeny Serebryakov                                $24,666
10. Bert Fujisaki                                              $20,181

There is one final stop left on the 2008-09 World Series of Poker Circuit. Players will have their final chance to win their way into the 2009 WSOP with the $5000 championship event of the Bayou Poker Classic at Harrah’s in New Orleans from May 8-20. It will all lead up to the start of the World Series at the end of May.

Team PKR Pros announced

The identities of the new Team PKR Professionals have finally been revealed. The lucky six are PKR.tv commentator and former Live TV News Bunny, Ashley Hames, GUKPT winner Andrew Teng, Norwegian Kai Danilo Paulsen who reached the 2008 Irish Open final table, PKR Live runner up Henrik Eklund and PKR.com community regulars Raymond O’Mahoney and James Sudworth.

PKR Announces Pro Team

Joining the likes of the other major online poker rooms, next generation poker site PKR.com today announced the roster of its new “Team PKR Pro.” The six new members will represent PKR.com and act as brand ambassadors for the website.

“Team PKR Pro” will be exclusively sponsored by PKR and act as brand representatives at live events, as well as offering a variety of content for the PKR.com website and PKR TV. They will also be available to play on the PKR.com site in both cash games and specially organized bounty tournaments.

The inaugural members of the team include TV celebrity Ashley Hames (ashleyhames1), GUKPT winner Andrew Teng (PKR username “golfpro699”) and 2008 Irish Open finalist Kai Danilo Paulsen (kingkai84), along with PKR community members Raymond O’Mahoney (callmebabe), James Sudworth (James666) and PKR Live runner-up Henrik Eklund (pokey85).

“We’ve been following our initial ‘Team PKR Pro’ members for some time and are convinced that they all have the game and personality required to be genuinely world class poker players”, said PKR Marketing Director Simon Prodger. “They are also among the most recognized and respected players within the PKR community so are guaranteed to have over two and a half million people cheering them on every time they play.”

Here’s a closer look at each of the new members of “Team PKR Pro”:

Henrik “Pokey85” Eklund (Stockholm, Sweden) -- Eklund, 24, has been playing poker for four years. The Swede has been a regular at PKR’s nosebleed cash game tables since April 2007 and began to make a name for himself on the live tournament scene by taking second place at the inaugural PKR Live in November 2008 followed by a victory in the APT Manila Headhunter side event. Henrik’s ambition for 2009 (beyond winning the WSOP) is to make a final table of a major event.

Ashley “ashleyhames1” Hames (London, UK) -- Ashley Hames is a popular TV presenter and writer who is known for his series Sin Cities -- still Bravo’s highest rating show ever in the UK. Hames is also the PKR TV commentator. He began playing poker in 2008 and rates his poker highs as playing in the WSOP main event, reaching the final of Celebrity Poker Club and playing on the TV table at this year’s Irish Open.

Raymond “callmebabe” O’Mahoney (Dublin, Republic of Ireland) -- Like Eklund, O’Mahoney has been cutting his teeth at the highest cash games and tournaments since April 2007. His first major live cash came courtesy of the inaugural PKR Live $500 Main Event, where he finished fourth for $6,500. Ray’s goal is to win his home major, the Irish Open.

Kai “KingKai” Paulsen (Trondheim, Norway) -- The 25-year-old Norwegian has the finest live tournament record of any PKR regular with more than $322,000 in earnings. This includes two cashes at the WSOP (including an 18th place finish in Event #49 in 2007) and a fifth place finish at the 2008 Irish Open, where he earned $229,358. Kai’s aspirations include winning one of poker’s majors -- and preferably bring home a bracelet.

James “James666” Sudworth (Kent, UK) -- This 22 year old has been a familiar face at the PKR tables since November of 2006, playing some of the biggest cash games the site has to offer. Sudworth’s top poker accomplishment was a runner-up finish at the GUKPT in January 2009 for more than £40,000.

Andrew “golfpro699” Teng (London, UK) -- Teng has been a high-stakes pro across many online sites for the past two years. He made an impact on the live scene in 2008, first making a deep run in the WSOP Main Event (126th place) and then winning the Thanet leg of the GUKPT in October 2008 for £70,000.

PRK, founded in 2005, is an innovative online poker site that features real-time video game-like 3D graphics that has changed the way online poker is played.

Interview With Irish Open 2009 Champ Christer Johansson

Christer Johansson (pictured right), winner of the PaddyPowerPoker.com Irish Open 2009, is a veteran of the poker scene despite being only 38 years old. He has won a World Poker Tour title and made several European Poker Tour and World Series of Poker final tables, and his most recent victory...

Christer Johansson Wins Irish Open 2009

The €3,500 buy-in PaddyPowerPoker.com Irish Open 2009 was another fine example of how live poker in Europe remains resilient in the current economic climate with 701 players taking to the felt in Dublin over the weekend, beating last year's 668 and creating a prize pool of over €2.2...

Christer Johansson Captures 2009 Irish Open Championship

After three grueling days of battle through the second largest field in the history of the event, Sweden’s Christer Johansson defeated poker announcer and player Kara Scott to win the 2009 PaddyPowerPoker.com Irish Open on Monday evening.

The PaddyPowerPoker.com Irish Open, held this year at the City West Hotel in Dublin, is the longest running tournament on the European continent, with its inaugural event having played out in 1980, and is second only to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in longevity. This year’s event brought in 700 of the top poker players in the world, which made for the second largest field in the history of the tournament (2007 saw 706 runners come to the line).

Among those who entered the event was its defending champion, England’s Neil “Bad Beat” Channing, who was joined by former WSOP Main Event winners Dan Harrington and Jamie Gold. Noted cash game player Brian “sbrugby” Townsend represented the online world. Several Irishmen, including WSOP bracelet holder Ciaran O’Leary and “Mad” Marty Smyth, vied to bring the title back to the Emerald Isle. On the first day of play, however, it was an American who made the most noise.

Day One saw professional Phil “The Unabomber” Laak streak to the Top Ten of the leader board, but he had significant competition. Joining Phil among the leaders was European professional Julian Thew, but neither would be around when the final table started on Monday. The Day One leader, Bradley Verburg, and Andrew Pantling would make the final table after bursting out of the gates well, with Pantling holding the lead as final table play began:

Seat 1: Lee Brooke-Pearce — 998,000 chips
Seat 2: Andrew Pantling — 2,286,000 chips
Seat 3: Andrew Bradshaw — 351,000 chips
Seat 4: Kara Scott — 701,000 chips
Seat 5: William Kassouf — 569,000 chips
Seat 6: Bradley Verburg — 217,000 chips
Seat 7: Christer Johansson — 906,000 chips
Seat 8: Atanas Gueorguiev — 990,000 chips

With a plethora of chips among the players, it was expected that the final table would be a drawn-out affair. This wasn’t meant to be, however, as Bradshaw was eliminated in eighth place on the second hand when his A-Q couldn’t top Gueorguiev’s pocket Kings. Pantling eliminated Verburg in seventh a few hands later and, when Scott moved all-in and wasn’t called, there were three different all-in situations in the first ten hands of action.

Both Pantling and Gueorguiev continued to apply pressure to the final table, with Gueorguiev eliminating Kassouf in sixth and Pantling dispatching Brooke-Pearce in fifth. With four players remaining, the chips were evenly spread out and the action calmed down. With play subsiding, both Scott and Johansson began to climb up the leader board.

It took approximately an hour and a half before another member of the final table would be dismissed. After raising the pre-flop pot, Gueorguiev found himself re-raised by Pantling. Scott, who held a slight chip lead on the table, promptly moved a 500,000 chip bet to the center. Gueorguiev immediately popped the remainder of his stack into the pot and, after Pantling folded, faced the call from Scott. Gueorguiev’s pocket Kings were ahead of Scott’s A-Q, but a cruel Ace on the river stole the hand from Atanas and eliminated him in fourth place.

After administering the bad beat, Scott held nearly two-thirds of the chips in play. Known for her poker announcing across the European continent, Scott was attempting to become the fifth woman to win the Irish Open poker crown. After Johansson eliminated Pantling to reach heads-up play when he rivered a Queen against Pantling’s pocket sevens, Scott still held the chip lead, albeit by only 400,000 chips.

It only took 13 hands to determine a champion. Johansson, who had been steady throughout play at the final table, gradually began to impose his will against Scott until he built a solid lead. On the final hand, Scott raised the stakes to 140,000 and was flat-called by Johansson. After a J-7-K flop, the remainder of Scott’s chips found their way into the middle and Johansson called. When the cards were turned up, Johansson held the lead with K-3 for top pair against Scott’s J-9 for second pair. No saving card came on the turn or river and Johansson captured the 2009 Irish Open.

With the championship, Johansson, who previously had won a major title on the World Poker Tour at the inaugural Grand Prix de Paris, surpassed the $2 million mark in career earnings. Scott, who finished 104th last year in the WSOP Main Event, took home her best finish ever in a tournament and showed that her poker skills are just as prominent as her announcing duties.

The final table paid out as follows:

1st Place: Christer Johansson - €600,000
2nd Place: Kara Scott -  €312,600
3rd Place: Andrew Pantling -  €205,200
4th Place: Atanas Gueorguiev - €163,300
5th Place: Lee Brooke-Pearce - €130,600
6th Place: William Kassouf - €100,800
7th Place: Bradley Verburg - €74,600
8th Place: Andy Bradshaw -  €56,000

Christer Johansson wins 2009 Irish Open

After a heads up battle of just 1 hour and ten minutes Christer Johansson has defeated Kara Scott to win the Irish Open.

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