After 12 hours of poker in this week's Sunday Million, two tough competitors remained -- Damianos "damourinio" Aslanidis and Vladimir "vovtroy" Troyanovskiy. Playing from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Aslanidis already had over $1 million in tournament winnings on PokerStars. Meanwhile the Russian Troyanovskiy has many years' worth of big results on PokerStars as well, not to mention nearly $4.2 million in live tournament earnings.

It proved an engaging battle between the pair, but ultimately Aslanidis was the one coming away with the final hand to win this week's installment of online poker's most popular weekly $215 no-limit hold'em tournament. Both players would walk away with better than $150K scores, however, thanks a three-handed deal, with Aslanidis pocketing a cool $155,457.64 for the win.

A total of 6,105 players took part in this week's Milly, making a $1,221,000 prize pool that once more bested the $1 million guarantee.

It took a little over five hours for the money bubble to burst, and with 900 players left Canada's Howchman was sitting atop the leaderboard. Fast-forward another five hours and they were down to 18, with Howchman having fallen in 53rd for a $2,124.54 cash and jatekos22 of Hungary on top with more than 8.1 million.

thanibanani (18th), nnhheeoo (17th), and seeebeeek (16th) then each went out, earning $3,418.80 apiece. They were followed by Sibydom (15th), yummylemons (14th), and krokodil.by (13th) who picked up cashes of $5,128.20 each. Thegrandape (12th), treidei3 (11th), and Rusty Punchy (10th) then were successively felted, taking away $6,837.60 each for not quite making the final table.

With sydens of Brazil the new pace-setter with just under 15 million, the final table had begun.

Seat 1: Damianos "damourinio" Aslanidis (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) -- 5,167,698
Seat 2: sydens (Brazil) -- 14,949,999
Seat 3: Vladimir "vovtroy" Troyanovskiy (Russia) -- 2,111,622
Seat 4: KRab42 (Canada) -- 3,046,586
Seat 5: Pökergöt (Germany) -- 10,065,329
Seat 6: szaaadi (Poland) -- 2,782,353
Seat 7: jatekos22 (Hungary) -- 12,130,401
Seat 8: øøøøøøø (Czech Republic) -- 4,837,632
Seat 9: TheRocket08 (Canada) -- 5,958,380

On just the second hand of the final table, one of the short stacks, KRab42, open-pushed all in from middle position for just over 2.98 million (not quite 10 big blinds), then after jatekos22 reraised over the top from the button the blinds stepped aside. KRab42 had [As][7c] and jatekos22 [Ah][Qs], and both paired their kickers thanks to the [Qc][7d][Jd] flop. The turn was the [3c] and the river the [4h], and KRab42 was done in ninth.

About a half-hour later came the next final table knockout when jatekos22 raised a little more than 2x the big blind to 1.1 million from under the gun, Pökergöt reraised all in for about 5.64 million from the small blind, and jatekos22 called right away, showing [As][Kd] while Pökergöt had [9d][9c]. The [6s][2h][6d] flop was okay for Pökergöt, but the turn was the [Kh] to put jatekos22 in front. The [7s] completed the board, and Pökergöt was eliminated in eighth.

Several minutes after that two more eliminations came in successive hands. In the first the interestingly named øøøøøøø had lost a big all-in a couple of hands before to be knocked down under 100,000 (not even a small blind), and after putting those last chips in from UTG with [Kd][3h], Damianos "damourinio" Aslanidis pushed with [Jd][Jc], the others folded, and after the [9s][7c][Ad][Qd][As] board, øøøøøøø was knocked out in seventh.

Then on the very next hand, Vladimir "vovtroy" Troyanovskiy raised a little over 2x to 1.05 million from the cutoff, szaaadi shoved all in from the button for just under 3.35 million, and Troyanovskiy called in a flash. szaaadi had [Kd][Ts] but had run into Troyanovskiy's [Ad][Ah], and five cards later -- [6d][8h][4s][3c][8d] -- szaaadi's run was over in sixth.

Then just three hands after that TheRocket08 shoved from the cutoff for about 2.59 million (a little more than 5 BBs), damourinio reraise-pushed from the button, and the blinds folded. TheRocket08 had [Qs][9s] and needed help versus damourinio's [Ah][Ts], and the [7s][6s][4h] flop did provide a flush draw and some hope for TheRocket08. But the turn was the [6d] and river the [Td], and without having improved TheRocket08 was sent railward in fifth.

The remaining four moved into the next level where the blinds were 300K/600K with a 60K ante. Soon it was sydens open-pushing for almost 5.33 million from the small blind and Vladimir "vovtroy" Troyanovskiy calling from the next seat. sydens had [Kc][Jc] and a good hand versus Troyanovskiy's [Kh][8d], but the board came [2d][7c][Td][9s][Js] to give Troyanovskiy a straight, and sydens was felted in fourth.

Troyanovskiy had assumed a significant lead with three players left, having accumulated more than 37.7 million with Damianos "damourinio" Aslanidis next with just a touch less than 17 million even and jatekos22 third with about 6.34 million.

Troyanovskiy was still in front when the trio stopped the tournament and agreed to a three-way chop leaving $20K for the winner. Soon, however, Aslanidis would take the chip lead after first winning a big preflop all-in with [Ac][9s] versus Troyanovskiy's [Ad][Tc] when a nine came among the community cards, then winning a few more pots to push ahead.

Not long after that Troyanovskiy open-shoved from the small blind and jatekos22 called all in for about 7.36 million showing [Kh][6d] while Troyanovskiy had [Qd][9h]. The [6s][9d][2d] flop gave both players a pair, then the [9s] turn made trips for Troyanovskiy and made the [Jh] no matter as jatekos22 was out in third.

Damianos "damourinio" Aslanidis had the chip lead to begin heads-up play with 38,108,130 to Vladimir "vovtroy" Troyanovskiy's 22,941,870. Troyanovskiy would take the advantage, though, in a hand that saw all of the chips go in the middle after a queen-high flop, Aslanidis turn over queen-eight, and Troyanovskiy show he'd picked up pocket aces again.

Troyanovskiy would push the lead up further, then Aslanidis would grab it back again after winning a preflop all-in with king-six against Troyanovskiy's ace-five when the board brought both a king and a six.

Aslanidis would continue to maintain the lead as the pair pushed on a little past the tournament's 12-hour mark. Then with the blinds at 400K/800K, a hand arose that saw Aslanidis limp in from the button, Troyanovskiy check, and the flop come single-suited -- [9h][6h][Th].

Troyanovskiy led for 800,000, Aslanidis made it 2,528,998 to go, Troyanovskiy reraised to 6,555,555, and Aslanidis called. The turn then brought the [Jd] and an all-in shove for 18,122,519 from Troyanovskiy, and Aslanidis called again.

Troyanovskiy had [Ts][8h] for a pair of tens and a flush draw, but Aslanidis already had a flush with [4h][3h]. Another heart could still save Troyanovskiy, but the river was the [5s] and it was all over -- Aslanidis had won.

Congratulations to Damianos "damourinio" Aslanidis for besting more than 6,100 opponents to win this week's Sunday Million, and well done also Vladimir "vovtroy" Troyanovskiy and jatekos22 for making it to the three-way deal heads-up and also securing six-figure scores.

1/31/16 Sunday Million ($215 No-Limit Hold'em, $5M Gtd) results
Entrants:  6,105
Prize pool: $1,221,000
Places paid: 900

1. Damianos "damourinio" Aslanidis (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) $155,457.64*
2. Vladimir "vovtroy" Troyanovskiy (Russia) $152,777.59*
3. jatekos22 (Hungary) $112,52.37*
4. sydens (Brazil) $67,155.00
5. TheRocket08 (Canada) $51,282.00
6. szaaadi (Poland) $39,072.00
7. øøøøøøø (Czech Republic) $26,862.00
8. Pökergöt (Germany) $14,652.00
9. KRab42 (Canada) $9,462.75
* = denotes a three-way deal leaving $20,000 for the winner

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It's quite something to watch the final table of a turbo-fueled tournament with five-minute levels at which more than $1.4 million of prize money is still up for grabs and no final deal is being made. Such was the case for most of the 2016 Turbo Championship of Online Poker Main Event final table, a $700 buy-in tournament that saw no chop considered until they reached heads-up.

That's when Switzerland's Dinesh "NastyMinder" Alt and KungKroon of Norway finally did strike a deal, and shortly thereafter Alt would be the one to claim the last hand and the title. Alt -- who has chopped a Sunday Million and won the ANZPT Sydney Main Event in 2013 -- took away a huge prize of $396,691.43 for the win.

Alt came close once before this series, taking runner-up in Event #11 ($215 NLHE Heads-Up), and with seven total cashes managed to finish sixth in the TCOOP Player of the Series race. Incidentally, it was the U.K.'s ouchbadbeat who with 16 total cashes was able to finish the last day atop the TCOOP series leaderboard.

Alt's first prize just barely exceeds -- by less than two hundred bucks -- what 2015 TCOOP Main Event champion Nikki_Hefner took away last year, thus setting a new record for biggest TCOOP Main Event cash in the four-year history of the series. Here's the story of how Alt managed to outlast this year's huge field to turn $700 into nearly $400K in just over five-and-a-half hours.

There were already more than 2,000 players in their seats by the time the first hands were dealt Sunday afternoon, and after two hours of late registration more than twice that many had joined the fun for a total of 4,077 entries. That meant a $2,711,205 prize pool (easily besting the $2M guarantee for the tournament) with the top 540 places paid.

At that point the field had already been cut in half, and after another dozen five-minute levels whizzed past the money bubble burst as Akash "funwheel" Majumdar of Thailand grabbed the chip lead as the first player to 1 million chips.

Majumdar continued to lead as the field was carved down further, then others rushed ahead as many other big stacks quickly got bigger. Meanwhile among those hitting the rail during that stretch was Team PokerStars Pro Online's Jorge "Baalim" Limon (346th, $1,355.60), with Team PokerStars Pros George Danzer (205th, $2,033.40) and Aditya "Adi Agarwal" Agarwal (163rd, $2,440.08) also taking away small parts of the prize pool.

With 100 left rookie1609x of Canada had taken over first position in the counts, but by the four-hour mark both rookie1609x (88th, $4,066.80) and Akash "funwheel" Majumdar (73rd, $4,337.92) had been sent to the rail.

As the tournament's fifth hour proceeded and they wound down to the last few tables, the U.K.'s RSRMCA began to pull away from the field, and with 30 left had moved up close to 10 million when no one else has as much as half that. A little while later they were down to 18, with IMFICKLE having briefly grabbed the top spot before marcasa edged into the chip lead with two tables left.

Event #24 ($82 PLO H/L, 6-Max) winner Raabinator93 (18th), liran2788 (17th), and funchstar7 (16th) were the next three knockouts, with each player earning $8,133.61.

eijseijs (15th), manyadecano (14th), and Oscar "MendaLerenda" Serradell (13th) were then eliminated, earning $12,200.42 apiece. For Serradell, the finish capped off an especially successful TCOOP that included a win in Event #36 ($82 NL Draw, Optional Re-Entry) and a runner-up finish in Event #19 ($215 NLHE).

malekfatte (12th), garompon (11th), and rasta25 (10th) then became the last three players eliminated before the final table, with those three each taking away $16,267.23 apiece. With KungKroon having moved up into the lead, the final table was underway.

Seat 1: anthonyff (United Kingdom) -- 9,047,944
Seat 2: Petr "Hurloon" Jaros (Czech Republic) -- 8,631,717
Seat 3: Dinesh "NastyMinder" Alt (Switzerland) -- 7,646,928
Seat 4: RSRMCA (United Kingdom) -- 8,072,527
Seat 5: IMFICKLE (Finland) -- 4,400,715
Seat 6: KungKroon (Sweden) -- 16,592,440
Seat 7: gringenkov (Brazil) -- 6,147,653
Seat 8: marcasa (Netherlands) -- 10,470,302
Seat 9: Makuherra (Finland) -- 10,529,774

Hurloon hits rail in ninth

With the blinds a whopping 500K/1M with a 125K ante, the idea of a chop was brought up immediately in the chat box as the final table began. But as noted above, not everyone was interested, and so the all-ins continued soon thereafter.

It was less than orbit before gringenkov open-shoved from early position and Petr "Hurloon" Jaros called all in from the cutoff for 1,934,064 (less than two big blinds). gringenkov had [Ac][Kd] and Jaros [8h][7h], and after the board came [Tc][6c][Jh][3d][3c], Jaros was out ninth.

RSRMCA run out in eighth

The blinds moved up to 600K/1.2M with a 150K ante, then RSRMCA shoved for 5,122,527 from the button and got called by KungKroon in the big blind.

RSRMCA was hoping [4s][4h] would hold against KungKroon's [As][Kc], and the [5h][Ac][4c] flop was promising for RSRMCA, making a set of fours versus KungKroon's top pair of aces. But the turn was the [Jc] and the river the [7c], completing a club flush for KungKroon and knocking RSRMCA out in eighth.

IMFICKLE finished in seventh

Just three hands after that, the blinds were already 700K/1.4M (with a 175K ante) when IMFICKLE shoved for 6,425,715 from middle position and Makuherra called from the big blind.

IMFICKLE turned over [Ac][4s] and needed to improve versus Makuherra's [9h][9s]. But the [Ks][9d][6c] flop gave Makuherra a set, the [Kd] turn a full house, and the pair-making [4h] river meant nothing for IMFICKLE who was out in seventh.

anthonyff sunk in sixth

The final six marched onward, with deal talk continuing to be suggested by some. But gringenkov -- a former Sunday Million winner who had chipped up over 27 million and into the chip lead -- typed "sry i dont deal" and so they continued to play it out.

Just like that the blinds were 800K/1.6M (with a 200K ante), and it was marcasa open-shoving from UTG for 2,393,496, anthonyff reraise-pushing for 5,497,944 from the cutoff, and gringenkov caling both from the big blind.

gringenkov: [Jc][9h]
anthonyff: [As][Qd]
marcasa: [Qh][3h]

The community cards came [2h][8c][8h], then [9c], then [Kh], missing anthonyff, giving gringenkov nines and eights, and making a heart flush for marcasa. gringenkov collected the side pot while marcasa survived, and anthonyff departed in sixth.

Makuherra makes it to fifth

The torrid pace continued with Makuherra soon open-pushing all in from the small blind for 8,980,489 (about 4.5 BBs) and Dinesh "NastyMinder" Alt calling from the big blind.

Makuherra had [Ad][5d] while Alt turned over [Jd][Js], and five cards later -- [4h][Ts][9h][Qh][7c] -- Makuherra's run ended in fifth.

marcasa moves on after finishing fourth

With four left, Alt brought up the deal topic again.

NastyMinder: still no deal guys?
marcasa: I checked
gringenkov: no, sry
NastyMinder: ok
NastyMinder: gl :)
gringenkov: glgl

It would only take three more hands for the field to be reduced by one more.

With the blinds an even 1M/2M (with a 250K ante), the table folded to marcasa who pushed in 6,930,488 over the small blind and Dinesh "NastyMinder" Alt called from the big blind. Alt had but [8d][3d] but was ahead of marcasa's [7c][3c], and after a [Qh][2h][6s][3s][Td] runout both had a small pair but the kickers played, and marcasa had been eliminated in fourth.

That matched marcasa's fourth-place finish in Event #34, another $700 buy-in NLHE event.

gringenkov grounded in third

Before long Alt was the one pushing out ahead with more than 45 million while both KungKroon and gringenkov hovered around 17-18 million. That's when gringenkov open-shoved a stack of 16,949,570 (not quite seven big blinds) from the button and got called by KungKroon from the big blind who had that barely covered.

gringenkov had [Ac][Qd] and the edge over Kungroon's [Ad][9s]. But the flop came [9c][Js][2h] to pair KungKroon's nine. The turn was the [2d] and river the [7d], and gringenkov was out in third for a cash of more than $223K.

A deal, then a short duel as NastyMinder KOs KungKroon

Dinesh "NastyMinder" Alt had a slight lead over KungKroon to start heads-up play, and after one hand they managed to pause the tournament at last for some deal talk with Alt sitting on 47,029,833 versus KungKroon's 34,510,167.

Numbers were produced -- $356,691.43 for Alt, $346,181.46 for KungKroon, and $40,000 set aside for which to play. The discussion that followed was a short one:

KungKroon: agreedio!
KungKroon: no use trying to get more, nasty ;)
KungKroon: this or we play for the lot
NastyMinder: I agree
KungKroon: I agree

Once play resumed, the heads-up match was short as well, lasting just eight hands total.

The last hand began with Alt up to just over 50 million and watching KungKroon shoving all in for 31,072,667 from the button. Alt called, and the players' hands were turned over:

NastyMinder: [Ah][Jh]
KungKroon: [Qs][5s]

The board came [Kd][2d][4c][8d][6h], hitting neither player's hand. KungKroon had come one spot shy of the win, while Alt had collected all of the chips to earn the extra $40K, the special TCOOP card capper, and a coveted Main Event title.

Congratulations to Dinesh "NastyMinder" Alt for outlasting more than 4,000 opponents to win this year's TCOOP Main Event and over $396K!

Kudos to KungKroon as well for surviving to make that heads-up deal and take away a nice $346K-plus prize.

TCOOP-49 ($700 NL Hold'em Main Event) results

Entrants: 4,077
Total prize pool: $2,711,205 

Places paid: 540

1. Dinesh "NastyMinder" Alt (Switzerland) $396,691.43*
2. KungKroon (Norway) $346,181.46*
3. gringenkov (Brazil) $223,674.41
4. marcasa (Netherlands) $155,894.28
5. Makuherra (Finland) $115,226.21
6. anthonyff (United Kingdom) $88,114.16
7. IMFICKLE (Finland) $61,002.11
8. RSRMCA (United Kingdom) $33,890.06
9. Petr "Hurloon" Jaros (Czech Republic) $21,689.64
*Reflects the results of a two-way deal that left $40,000 in play for the winner

Thanks for following our start-to-finish coverage of all 50 events of the 2016 Turbo Championship of Online Poker here on the PokerStars Blog. You can check results and other stats from the series on the TCOOP page as well.

There's a quote that's displayed prominently on Elliott Panyi's twitter page from UFC champion Conor McGregor that says: "Doubt is removed by action. If you're not working then that's where doubt comes in."

The 24-year-old professional poker player wasn't a UFC guy until he discovered McGregor, but he definitely shares a trait with him. He's also a work your socks off kind of guy and tonight that paid off handsomely as he won the UKIPT5 Series 3 and £16,590. "I'm playing seven days a week at the moment," he told us after his victory. In fact he was off to play in a cash game shortly after he'd posed for the winner's photo.

It'd be a disservice to Panyi's opponent's that victory was never in doubt but with 17 players left he picked up aces at the same time as opponents found kings and jacks. The result was a double knockout that left him with over 25% of the chips in play and a stack of 1,800,000. To give you some idea of how dominant that was, only two players - other than Panyi - would surpass that mark during the tournament.

By the time the final table was reached he had 2.3x the chips of his nearest rival and he only briefly lost the chip lead throughout the final table. When heads-up play began normal service had been resume as Panyi had an eight to one advantage over Azarya Levy.

His Israeli opponent had just a handful of big blinds and you sensed this wasn't going to be a marathon heads-up. The short stack had tried - unsuccessfully - to convince his opponent's this was his first live tournament so you knew he had some moves. But, although Levy scored one double up on the next occasion he was all in his [Jh][6c] lost out to Panyi's [Kd][4c].

When play began at noon there were 106 hopefuls all hoping to fill one of the top 47 places to secure a return on their investment. It took just over two hours to reach the bubble by which time Dominic Wells, Jeff Barron, Daniel Bland and Tim Wright, amongst others, had been sent home empty handed.

We had two all ins on different tables on the stone bubble. After Robbie O'Brien - who had been forced all in blind - survived it was time to see what would become of Shane D'Moirah. He was all-in on the turn of a [9s][Ad][7d][8h] board with [9c][8c] and in good shape against Jay Samani's [Ac][Th]. That is until the [Td] fell on the river. That left the 47 remaining players in the money.

That hand propelled Samani to the chip lead, a spot he'd hold until he lost a big pot to Samuel Hunt, who became the first player to cross the million chip mark. Samani then busted in 23rd and was followed out the door shortly afterwards by Chris Gordon, who finished 20th. It was a fine performance by the Team PokerStars LIVE at The Hippodrome Casino sponsored player. A standard lost race with [As][Td] against pocket eights his downfall.

The likes of Vincent Moses (19th), Day 1 chip leader Andrew King (18th) and Samuel Hunt (12th) all made deep runs but missed out on the final table. With just over 7,000,000 in play and a big blind of 50,000 by the time the final nine was reached this was never likely to be a drawn out war of attrition.

Nine were cut down to four in 80 minutes as Marco Erasmo (9th), Dean Perry (8th), Nicholas Case (7th), Michael Matar (6th) and Gerald Candy (5th) were sent packing. Panyi had almost half the chips in play at this point but with each pot causing a big swing the field began to close with William Funnell even overtaking Panyi briefly. Then the two of them played a huge pot.

It was total cooler with Panyi holding pocket queens to Funnell's [Ah][Qs] when both men had around 13 big blinds each. The pair held and when the stacks were counted down Panyi had Funnell covered by less than half a big blind. It was some performance by Funnell though as the youngster hadn't been over 15 big blinds at all on Day 2 until there were six players left.

A couple of hands later Panyi won a race to eliminate Kwokwah Man in third spot to take that huge chip lead to heads-up.

The rest is history.

UKIPT5 Series 3:
Buy-in: £250+£25
Entrants: 351:
Prize pool: £87,750
Places paid: 47

All photos are copyright of Mickey May

Going into the final day of the 2016 TCOOP, Team Online Naoya "nkeyno" Kihara from Japan cashed in seven other TCOOP events this year, with one final table appearance. Kihara had began the final day 24th overall on the leader board, but a TCOOP title had eluded him. Alas, he'd have to postpone a victory party once again. Naoya "nkeyno" Kihara advanced to the final table in Event #48 8-Game, but he busted in fourth place.

When the dust settled at the 8-Game final table, Switzerland's bambelbi3510 rallied to come from behind during heads-up to win Event #48.

On the final day of the 2016 TCOOP, 320 mixed-game specialists showed up to rumble in Event #48 $530 8-Game. The first-place payday was worth $33,600 and only the top 42 places were awarded a cut of the $160,000 prize pool, which surpassed the initial 100K Guarantee.

This 8-Game turbo-soaked affair featured three minute levels and was such an enticing attraction that it drew in the likes of Team PokerStars Pros Kosei Ichinose and Jason Mercier.

The money bubble popped in under 2 hours and 15 minutes during a round of PLO. When the bubble burst, nkeyno was in the Top 5 in chips and although Mercier and Ichinose were near the back of the pack, both secured themselves a min-cash. Ichinose and Mercier busted in consecutive places. On the last hand of hold'em, Ichinose lost a race with [7c][7h] against WRUUUUM' [As][Ts] and was knocked out in 31st place, which paid out $960.00. Jason Mercier attempted to triple up during a round of Omaha8, but he busted in 30th place and cashed for $1,120.00.

With two tables remaining and 12 to go, Russia's aramesko, who won TCOOP Event #33, seized the lead during a round of Razz with over 333K and nkeyno was 7th overall.

Action went hand-for-hand with seven remaining. During a round of Stud, bambelbi3510 had snagged the lead and nkeyno was the short stack. During a round of NL hold'em, MaTitheone failed to double up with [As][3c] against bambelbi3510's [Ac][8h] and Poland's MaTitheone bubbled off the final table in seventh place. The 8-Game final table was set and Naoya "nkeyno" Kihara made another TCOOP final table.

TCOOP 2016 - Event #48 Final Table Chip Counts:
Seat 1: jutrack (195,742)
Seat 2: Sputnick_PT (263,531)
Seat 3: PokerStars Team Online Naoya "nkeyno" Kihara (100,422)
Seat 4: zzwwzzwwzz (209,454)
Seat 5: aramesko (256,098)
Seat 6: bambelbi3510 (574,753)

The final table kicked off during a round of PLO at Level 56 with blinds at 6,250/12,500. With six to go, Team Online Naoya "nkeyno" Kihara was the shortstack and bambelbi3510 sat atop the big stack with approximately 575K.

Russia's aramesko shipped TCOOP Event #33 Razz three days earlier, plus the Russian made final tables in both 2014 SCOOP and 2014 WCOOP. Germany's Julian "jutrack" Track made at least two WCOOP final tables, but was seeking his first-career COOP title.

Talk about a great coincidence: jutrack and aramesko also made the same 2014 WCOOP O8 final table together...neither won though!

PET SOUNDS: zzwwzzwwzz eliminated in 6th place

The final table played five levels before we saw the first elimination. During a round of Razz, short-stacked zzwwzzwwzz was knocked out by aramesko. zzwwzzwwzz's J-9-7-5-3 low with [5c][Jc][9s][Ks][9d][7s][3c] lost to aramesko's 9-6-5-4-A low and [5d][6s][4s][Qh][Ad][Kc][9h]. China's zzwwzzwwzz became the first player to bust at the final table. Sixth place paid out $6,400.00.

I JUST WASN'T MADE FOR THESE TIMES: aramesko eliminated in 5th place

During a round of Stud, aramesko bowed out. Betting was capped on third street and aramesko was all-in for 41,727 against Sputnick_PT. At showdown...

Sputnick_PT: [Jd][As][Jh][2s][5h][6h][Jc]
aramesko: [7s][7d][4s][3d][9c][Ad][9s]

Sputnick_PT won with trip Jacks versus two pair. Russia's aramesko was dunzo in fifth place, which paid out $9,600.00. TCOOP Event #33 champion, aramesko, missed out on winning a second TCOOP title.

SLOOP JOHN B: PokerStars Team Online Naoya "nkeyno" Kihara eliminated in 4th place

During a round of Stud Hi/Lo, nkeyno hit the virtual rail. nkeyno was all-in on 4th street with (X-X)/[Ah][7s] against bambelbi3510. By seventh street...

nkeyno: [Qs][5h][Ah][7s][Tc][4s][5s]
bambelbi3510: [Ac][6h][4h][Jh][8h][7c][2h]

At showdown, nkeyno could only muster up a pair of fives and bambelbi3510 scooped with a Jack-high flush and a 7-6-5-4-2-A low. Without a qualifying low, Team Online Naoya "nkeyno" Kihara busted in fourth place, which paid out $12,800.00.

With three remaining, bambelbi3510 (669K) held a slight lead over Sputnick_PT (645K). And jutrack (284K) was the shorty by default.

I KNOW THERE'S AN ANSWER: jutrack eliminated in 3rd place

Germany's jutrack was the next player to bust. It happened during a round of NLH. Classic race. jutrack bombed it all-in for 351,242 with [Ad][Kc] and bambelbi3510 called with [7c][7d]. The board ran out [Jd][Tc][3s][2c][2d]. bambelbi3510's pocket sevens held up to win the pot with two pair. Although jutrack flopped a Broadway gutshot draw, jutrack whiffed on the river. Germany's Julian "jutrack" Track went busto in third place, which paid out $18,400.00.

HEADS-UP: Sputnick_PT (United Kingdom) vs. bambelbi3510 (Switzerland)
Seat 2: Sputnick_PT (616,911)
Seat 6: bambelbi3510 (983,089)

With two to go, bambelbi3510 held a small lead...but it wouldn't last long. On the fourth hand of heads-up during a round of NL hold'em, Sputnick_PT doubled up by snapping off bambelbi3510's [Qh][Qs] by flopping a set of tens with [Tc][Ts]. Sputnick_PT won a 1.3M pot and bambelbi3510 was down to under 300K.

During Triple Draw, bambelbi3510 mounted a comeback and nearly pulled even after winning a clutch hand with 7-6-4-3-2 versus Sputnick_PT's 10-7-6-5-4. That hand sparked off a rush of 11 wins inside of 13 hands that thrust bambelbi3510 into the winner's circle.

WOULDN'T IT BE NICE: Sputnick_PT eliminated in second place; bambelbi3510 binks Event #48

bambelbi3510 won the last six hands to bink TCOOP Event #48. During a round of Limit Hold'em, short-stacked Sputnick_PT was all-in for 155,288. Sputnick_PT made a valiant final stand with [Ad][Kh] against bambelbi3510's [Tc][8s]. However, bambelbi3510 flopped a pair and turned two pair. Sputnick_PT's Big Slick never improved on a board of [Td][6d][4h][8c][5d] and was knocked out in second place.

For a cosmic runner-up performance, the U.K.'s Sputnick_PT took home $24,480.00.

Congrats to Switzerland's bambelbi3510 for winning TCOOP Event #48. First place paid out $33,600.00.

TCOOP-48 ($530 8-Game Turbo) results
Entrants: 320
Total prize pool: $160,000.00
Places paid: 42

1. bambelbi3510 (Switzerland) $33,600.00
2. Sputnick_PT (United Kingdom) $24,480.00
3. Julian "jutrack" Track (Germany) $18,400.00
4. PokerStars Team Online Naoya "nkeyno" Kihara (Japan) $12,800.00
5. aramesko (Russia) $9,600.00
6. zzwwzzwwzz (China) $6,400.00

The starting 50,000 chip stacks of TCOOP 2016 Event #46's Hold'em Ultra-Deep may imply a tournament capable of lasting a winter night in Reykjavik. But, instead it would barely outlast the sunshine there as the 3,364 player field ponied up $215 a piece for shot at winning a major tournament in a fraction of the time thanks to the five minute blind changes. Sick Pastorr's sizable chiplead at the final table would run through cubanirris heads-up to claim the TCOOP title and $105,630.29.

Midway through the third hour on the money bubble, ten players anxiously awaited their fate during hand-for-hand play. Seven would get $356.58 for their troubles the other three would get ready for the Main Event starting up in two hours. Uruguay's Francisco "Tomatee" Benitez with final tables in all three -COOP tournament series would officially end as the bubble boy finishing in 433rd place.

15 minutes before the fifth hour of play the final two tables came out as Simon "ministerborg" Ravnsbaek already owns a SCOOP title (2012, Event #21-H) and was looking for a second TCOOP after claiming his first two years ago (2014, Event #38). But, the cards did not go his way today after picking up jacks and running into JJ@mess' aces to earn $2,186.60 in 16th place.

Shyam "g's zee" Srinivasan was also trying to notch another -COOP victory (WCOOP 2014, Event #52). Heavenwalker's [Ac][Jc] would be too much for Srinivasan's [Qc][Ks] on the [5d] [3h] [9c] [2s] [2h] board to finish in 14th place ($3,195.80).

Players would get five minutes to sweat out hand-for-hand play and the possible difference between $4,205.00 and a potential six-figure payday. First hand back FoNZ87 and 1mates1 both found pocket pairs and shoved preflop. 1mates1 started the hand with more chips and a bigger pair as FoNZ87's pocket fours could not defeat the sevens ending the tournament in tenth place and starting up the final table below:

Seat 1: panda_zhang9 (13855334 in chips)
Seat 2: 1mates1 (23010150 in chips)
Seat 3: Senterpied (9431310 in chips)
Seat 4: JJ@mess (21571442 in chips)
Seat 5: heavenwalker (8670808 in chips)
Seat 6: V.bl0m (18456034 in chips)
Seat 7: cubanirris (7671052 in chips)
Seat 8: guitarpiano (12256225 in chips)
Seat 9: Sick Pastorr (53277645 in chips)

Sick Pastorr came in with the most chips but JJ@mess would make the first move. On the final table's second hand with the blinds up to 600K/1.2M ante 150K Senterpied, who was the runner-up of Event #46 final table in 2012 earning $94K, would need some help getting to heads-up play. Shoving 9.1 million with [Ac][Qd], Senterpied would run into JJ@mess' big slick [Kd][Ah]. No reversal on the [4h] [Jc] [7h] [As] [8h] board would send Senterpied away in ninth place ($5,382.40).

Two hands later panda_zhang9 would double through guitarpiano as both picked up pocket pairs and panda_zhang9's tens would reign over guitarpiano's sevens. On the next hand guitarpiano could barely afford the ante while dropping 175K all-in from the button. Sick Pastorr raised to 3.5 million to shutout panda_zhang9 from taking the rest of guitarpiano's chips. While guitarpiano held a slight lead preflop [2s][As], Sick Pastorr's [8d][Td] would find a flush [2d] [3d] [Kd] [4d] [6s] ending guitarpiano's gig in eighth place ($8,746.40).

Five minutes later with the blinds moving to 800K/1.6M ante 200K Sick Pastorr decided to push the chiplead by open shoving 55.7 million from the small blind. Holding a couple of face cards [Jd][Qh] panda_zhang9 decided to make a go at it and called all-in for 10.9 million. Sick Pastorr's [Ad][9h] would find an ace in the door [Ac] [Th] [3c] [5d] [8s] sending panda_zhang9 out the door in seventh place ($15,474.40).

Sick Pastorr's chip lead would grow to new heights three minutes later with this double knockout. After the chipleader shoved from the button, both 1mates1 and JJ@mess called from the blinds. SCOOP 2014 Event #21-M champ JJ@mess has had a big success at -COOP tournaments with a couple SCOOP and WCOOP final tables, but the first TCOOP final table would end before picking up the winner's share as [Ad][Td] could not keep with 1mates1's pocket sevens [7c][7s] nor Sick Pastorr's [5c][4d] which rivered two pair [9s] [5s] [6h] [Js] [4c] ending 1mates1's tournament in sixth place ($22,202.40) and JJ@mess in fifth ($28,930.40).

Things would calm down a bit (for a turbo tournament) as the blinds moved up to 1.25M/2.5M ante 312.5K Sick Pastorr still holding a commanding lead shoved for 114.5 million as V.bl0m made the call from the button holding [Qd][Ah]. Once again Sick Pastorr's ability to take risks with the overpowering chip stack worked as [9s][Ts] found on a pair on the river [7h] [7c] [6h] [Jc] [Tc] to eliminate V.bl0m in fourth place ($38,686.00).

Shortly afterwards the threesome would try to work out a chop deal. But, Sick Pastorr's stack and needs were too much for cubanirris and heavenwalker so play continued without a deal after the ten-minute chat.

Second hand back from the chop talks heavenwalker was not going to sit around and shoved 15.1 million from the button with [3h][Ks]. But, Sick Pastorr was waiting in the big blind with an ace [6d][As] that would become two pair [2h] [Jh] [Ad] [6c] [4d]. Not a bad consolation prize for heavenwalker (who also has past WCOOP and SCOOP final tables) earning $55,855.85 in third place.

Not really a fair fight heads-up as Sick Pastorr held a 150.9 million to 17.2 million chiplead. Cubanirris did what had to be done and shoved the first three hands as Sick Pastorr could afford to be a little patient. On the fourth hand with the blinds moving up to 1.5M/3M ante 375K Sick Pastorr turned into the aggressor and shoved as cubanirris found a decent hand [Js][Kc] and made the call. Unfortunately, Sick Pastorr turned up pocket queens [Qh][Qs] and promptly walked through the [2d] [Ac] [7h] [Ad] [7s] board unscathed coming the other side as the TCOOP 2016 Event #46 champion winning $105,630.29!

TCOOP-46 ($215 NL Hold'em, Turbo, Ultra-Deep) results

Entrants: 3,364
Total prize pool: $672,800.00
Places paid: 432

1. Sick Pastorr (Poland) $105,630.29
2. cubanirris (Mexico) $78,717.60
3. heavenwalker (Hungary) $55,855.85
4. V.bl0m (Malta) $38,686.00
5. JJ@mess (Czech Republic) $28,930.40
6. 1mates1 (Slovakia) $22,202.40
7. panda_zhang9 (China) $15,474.40
8. guitarpiano (Peru) $8,746.40
9. Senterpied (United Kingdom) $5,382.40

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Today is the last chance for players to earn a title in the 2016 Turbo Championship of Online Poker and the first event was a fun $109 buy-in No Limit Hold'em game. A nice little tournament to kick of a bigger than normal Sunday schedule. There were several successful players running deep but it was Large Coffee picking up his first major tournament victory.

Event 45 provided players with a single rebuy option if they lost their stack or they could fire it right out of the gates. Those still around 75-minutes later when registration closed could add-on to their stack for another $100. The tournament drew 1,194 players and they hit rebuy 710 times during the registration period, another 513 shots went towards add-ons and the tournament missed the $250,000 by a nudge.

Even with the added chips in play, the tournament quickly played down into the money and closed in on the final table after four hours of grinding. The average stack rarely jumped over ten big blinds so players were wasting no time mixing it up.

The tournament paused for a top-of-the-hour break and they hit the final table on the first hand after they returned to action. Recent TCOOP champ MikeyGG3 did the hard work when his [8d][3d] flopped an open-ended straight draw and got there on the turn against loksin to send him out in 9th place. The final table was set with a few players looking for more glory.

MikeyGG3 picked up his first COOP title last Saturday in the $33 Saturday Speedway Special Edition. utvekklo2 earned a WCOOP title in 2012, a series where he reached two final tables.

irishkajungl was another TCOOP winner at the final table and his 2015 title came in a rebuy event as well. Frederik "Fred_Brink" Jensen had the best results among the last eight competitors. He holds WCOOP and Sunday Million titles though neither were responsible for his best cash. Jensen earned a cool $200,000 in a heads up deal during the huge 2015 WCOOP $10,000 8-Game Championship.

Seat 1: irishkajungl (635,050 in chips)
Seat 2: Fred_Brink (887,108 in chips)
Seat 3: Large Coffee (2,743,415 in chips)
Seat 4: MikeyGG3 (1,859,182 in chips)
Seat 5: shogunAA (1,039,244 in chips)
Seat 6: utvekklo2 (1,456,341 in chips)
Seat 7: MaTitheone (1,925,829 in chips)
Seat 8: LeoRai (1,538,831 in chips)

Blinds: 60K/120K with 15K Ante

irishkajungl misses second title, eliminated in 8th

The gathering of eight took their time feeling each other out at the start of the final table, no one getting pushy in the first orbit until irishkajungl put in his short stack with a big(ish) Ace.

He open-shoved for less than 230,000 with [ah][td] and utvekklo2 called in the big blind with [kc][6d]. irishkajungl was in line for a needed double until utvekklo2 hit the [7d][7s][6s] flop. He still had his over cards for the comeback but blanked the [jh] turn and saw utvekklo2 hit the overkill [6c] river to go out first at the final table.

utvekklo2 follows irishkajungl out the door

That was a big hand for utvekklo2 but it only moved him up one spot on the payout ladder. The seven remaining players battled back and forth over four orbits, with MikeyGG3 and Jensen catching doubles, until Large Coffee was dealt a big one.

The drawn out play caused all stacks to hit the danger zone before Large Coffee moved all-in from early position and utvekklo2 called on the button with a barely smaller stack. utvekklo2's call came with [ah][kd] which would be a great hand if not for the [ad][as] of Large Coffee. utvekklo2 couldn't find a sweat as the board ran [9s][7d][4s][3s][6h] to send him out in 7th place for $5,000.

Large Coffee gets two

There was another long gap in action as they pushed chips around the table for another 20 hands with Large Coffee picking up a bunch of smaller pots. Then things went sideways in a hurry.

Six players at the table and three of them put in their entire stack, shogunAA shoved from under the gun and LeoRai follwed suit next to act. Because running good and playing well seem to work, Large Coffee shipped in his chip leading stack from the small blind with [ah][qd].

He was flipping against LeoRai's [5d][5h] and dominating shogunAA's [qc][jh] before he popped the [qs][7h][2h] flop. The fives were in trouble and shogunAA wasn't that much better from a statistical standpoint. The two short stacks had five outs combined after the [3s] turn and both were eliminated courtesy of the [2d] river.

shogunAA had the smallest of the two and picked up $12,500 for 5th place while LeoRai put $18,525 in his virtual pocket.

MikeyGG3 knocked down, then out in 3rd

Seat 2: Fred_Brink (1,318,803 in chips)
Seat 3: Large Coffee (8,737,571 in chips)
Seat 4: MikeyGG3 (2,028,626 in chips)

Blinds: 150K/300K with 37.5K Ante

The double knockout gave Large Coffee a huge lead as they went into three-handed action. He held more than 72% of the chips in play to leave his opponents at a sizable disadvantage. MikeyG33 tried to move himself closer but sent all but a small blind stack to Jensen with [8h][7h] going down to [kc][9c].

As the button, he wasn't forced to put the micro-stack in play on the next hand but there was no sense wasting any time. Jensen didn't limp his small blind behind and Large Coffee was given a big blind rebate to see his [6d][2h] against MikeyGG3's [6s][5c]. There were a lot of possible outcomes for those two hands but Large Coffee stayed hot to hit the [jc][td][2d] flop. The [as] turn and [kh] were blanks to deny MikeyGG3 a second TCOOP title this series.

Large Coffee earns TCOOP title in Event 45

Seat 2: Fred_Brink (2,487,606 in chips)
Seat 3: Large Coffee (9,597,394 in chips)

Blinds: 150K/300K with 37.5K Ante

Jensen had a lot of work ahead of him if he wanted another major victory and almost found what he needed. He put his chips in good with [9h][9d] against Large Coffee's [kd][2d] only to see a king hit the [ks][ts][8s] flop. Jensen's tournament was (temporarily) saved as the board ran flush-friendly [3s][2s] to chop up the pot.

It was a short reprieve and he was at risk two hands later, once again with the better starting hand. His [ah][js] needed to dodge the [9d][7d] of Large Coffee but the bad news came right on the [7s][7h][6h] flop. Trip sevens for Large Coffee left Jensen drawing very thin then drawing dead after the [4s] turn.

Large Coffee ran hot when he needed and it was a well earned victory. Jensen was denied his second COOP title but he picked up $32,500 for a consolation prize. Large Coffee earned $45,000 for his efforts and can now call himself a TCOOP champion.

TCOOP-45 ($109 NL Hold'em, 8-Max, Turbo, 1R1A) results
Entrants: 1,194 (710 Rebuys, 513 Add-Ons)
Total prize pool: $250,000
Places paid: 152

1. Large Coffee (United Kingdom) $45,000.00
2. Frederik "Fred_Brink" Jensen (Denmark) $32,500.00
3. MikeyGG3 (Canada) $25,000.00
4. LeoRai (Kazakhstan) $18,525.00
5. shogunAA (Finland) $12,500.00
6. MaTitheone (Poland) $7,500.00
7. utvekklo2 (Sweden) $5,000.00
8. irishkajungl (Russia) $3,125.00

"An amazing feeling!"

They were the words of our new Aussie Millions champion Ari Engel.

"I'm kind of speechless."

His supporters on the rail cheered and applauded as Engel was awarded his Aussie Millions gold bracelet and $1,600,000!

Engel overcame Tony Dunst is an epic heads up clash that saw the chips pushed back and forward for over four hours.

In the final hand it was an overbet river jam that got the job done. The hand began with Dunst raising on the button to 325,000 holding [ac][4c] and Engel three-betting to 925,000 with [js][7c] from the big blind.

Dunst made the call and the flop landed [ts][4d][2h]. Engel continued for 825,000 and Dunst made the call to see the dealer turn the [jc].

Engel barrelled again, this time for 1,650,000, and Dunst made a quick call before the [9d] arrived on the river. That was when Engel emptied the clip with an overbet jam to cover Dunst's last 6,100,000.

"Wow" Dunst said to himself after a couple minutes in the tank. He ultimately committed to a call with just a pair of fours but saw he'd been bested when Engel tabled his top pair.

Before Engel went head to head with Dunst he had to navigate his way through a tough final table. Initially seven handed, it would take around four and a half hours for the other five to fall.

First to go was John Apostolidis. He got a jam through with pocket jacks in the very first hand but was eliminated shortly after by Samantha Abernathy. The two were flipping after getting the money in preflop, with Apostolidis holding [ah][kc] and his opponent holding [qs][qh]. Apostolidis couldn't improve on the [5d][jd][8c][4h][7c] run out and found the exit.

Sixth place went to Kitty Kuo after she ended up on the wrong side of a coinflip. Kuo was all in preflop with [as][jd] against Ari Engel's [9h][9d] but she couldn't find any help as the board came down [7s][4d][qc][qs][6c]. She went home with $270,000.

Dylan Honeyman was out in fifth in a brutal fashion. While he was flipping preflop holding [jh][js] against Tony Dunst's [ad][kd] Honeyman flopped top set when the [th][jd][3c] appeared. The [kc] turned and just needing to fade a queen to stay alive, Honeyman couldn't do it as the [qs] rolled off.

Next out the door was the last Australian in the field Alex Lynskey. He'd been nursing a short stack for a while and eventually ran [ah][7h] into Engel's [ac][ad]. Lynskey couldn't catch a miracle on the [6c][qs][5d][2s][7s] run out and he left us in fourth place.

Then it was time up for Samantha Abernathy. She too had been on the short stack and moved in with [th][8d] from the small blind. Engel woke up with [ah][9d] and made the call. The [9c][ac][jd] flop gave Engel top two pair but Abernathy was still live with an open ended straight draw. It wouldn't complete however as the [jh] and [8s] completed the board. Abernathy scored $625,000 for the best result of any female player in Aussie Millions history.

2016 Aussie Millions Main Event Final Table Results
1st: Tony Dunst (USA) -
2nd: Ari Engel (Canada) -
3rd: Samantha Abernathy (USA) - $625,000
4th: Alex Lynskey (Australia) - $445,000
5th: Dylan Honeyman (Australia) - $340,000
6th: Kitty Kuo (Taiwan) - $270,000
7th: John Apostolidis (Australia) - $210,000

Full payout list

Congratulations to Ari!

He overcame a field of 732 to take home $1,600,000 and etch his name in poker history.

Congratulations also go to the team at Crown Poker and the Asia Pacific Poker Tour for hosting another prestigious and hugely successful tournament.

That's all for the Main Event but the Aussie Millions series hasn't wrapped up just yet. Our coverage will continue Monday from 2:30pm local time for the exciting conclusion of the LK Boutique $250,000 Challenge. We hope you can join us then!

106 players remain, 47 get paid. You can see the current chip counts right here.

11:50am: The Series is about to get serious
The prelims are over, this is the real thing. Sure the 106 players who've made it to Day 2 can give themselves a pat on the back for outlasting the 245 players who've been eliminated but that's about it. 59 of those who're back today will suffer the same fate, that is they'll leave empty handed.

For the other 47 they'll have some financial reward for their efforts, a minimum of £480, rising all the way to £16,590 should they be the last man or woman sitting. You can see the You can see the entire payout structure here.

The man who's sitting in pole position right now is Andrew King. He won a 160,000 chip pot on the final hand of Day 1B to finish on 201,600. He was the only player to break the 200,000 chip mark, but others who'll be back today include: Sam Orledge (170,900), Chris Gordon (148,000) Elliot Panyi (139,300) and Daiva Barauskaite (78,700).

Cards are in the air at noon.

Fancy playing a UKIPT? There are always plenty of online satellites, click here to get an account.

PokerStars Blog Reporting Team at UKIPT Series: Nick Wright. Photos by Mickey May

This weekend, everyone's favorite Saturday night turbo, the Saturday Speedway, came with a $250,000 guarantee as the 2016 TCOOP sped into its final 24 hours. Following a flurry of early eliminations, the final five were clustered rather closely together in terms of stack size and sensibly made a five-way ICM chop to mitigate the massive (and rapidly rising) blinds. Although they were the two shortest stacks going into the deal negotiations, 4Bullè&Pupè9 and mrswoodwork hit their stride once cards went back in the air and took out the fifth, fourth, and third place finishers to get heads-up. Mrswoodwork started heads-up play at a 2 to 1 disadvantage, but following a clever river check-shove, she got back on top. It looked like 4Bullè&Pupè9 might pull out a comeback when he got the rest of his chips in with pocket eights vs. mrswoodwork's pocket threes, but a three on the flop locked up victory for mrswoodwork, as she captured her first TCOOP title and over $27k.

3,287 players turned out for this special edition of the Saturday Speedway. 414 places were paid with first place set to earn $39,375.00.

The blinds were up to 90,000/180,000 with ten players remaining when the action folded around to C.Dariwin2. He raised to 450,000, TakeOverCz shoved for 1.35 million from the small blind and C. Darwin2 called all-in. C. Darwin2's [Qd][9d] was up against [Ks][Td], but the [Kc][Jd][8s] flop made TakeOverCz top pair. C. Darwin2 needed running cards or a ten to make a straight, but the turn and river fell the [7c] and the [5c], sending him to the rail one spot short of the final table.

Final table chip counts

Seat 1: Outeiri (1,805,724 in chips)
Seat 2: monar31 (1,950,606 in chips)
Seat 3: marksfive (740,062 in chips)
Seat 4: 4Bullè&Pupè9 (2,171,497 in chips)
Seat 5: Scrunter101 (2,342,634 in chips)
Seat 6: mrswoodwork (3,070,901 in chips)
Seat 7: TakeOverCz (2,150,122 in chips)
Seat 8: DARKYMAK (171,278 in chips)
Seat 9: CyrusSaissor (2,032,176 in chips)

On the second hand of the final table, TakeOverCz open-shoved for 2.54 million from UTG+1, DARKYMAK called off his last 135,278 and Scrunter101 called all-in for 2.12 million from the big blind.

TakeOverCz [4c][4h]
DARKYMAK [Th][Tc]
Scrunter101 [Qd][Qh]

Scrunter101's queens flopped top set on the [Qc][8c][2d][3s][Js] board and he took down the 5 million pot. TakeOverCz was left with only 240,000 in chips and DARKYMAK hit the rail in ninth place. TakeOverCz managed to double up on the next hand when his [Ad][6h] caught a six on the flop vs. mrswoodwork's [Ah][9c], but he busted in eighth place on the following deal when his [Qh][Js] couldn't stand up to mrswoodwork's [Ah][Ts].

Two hands later the blinds were up to 105,000/210,000 and marksfive open-shoved for 533,000 from UTG with [Ac][2h]. Monar31 called the additional 323,000 from the big blind with [3h][5h]. Fortunately for monar31, he paired up on the [Qd][6h][3s] flop. Although marksfive caught a deuce on the turn, the river blanked out with the [Ks] and makrsfive ended his run in seventh place. Later in the same level, SCOOP champion Outeiri found [Ah][Kh] and moved in for 1.29 million from UTG. CyrusSaissor called with [8s][8c] in the big blind and they were off to the races. This time, the pocket pair prevailed on the [9d][6c][3s][Jc][2d] board and Outeiri went out in sixth place.

Shortly after play turned five-handed, the remaining players all agreed to pause the action and discuss a potential deal. Here's how they stacked up at the time:

CyrusSaissor 4,123,900
monar31 3,799,336
Scrunter101 3,362,390
mrswoodwork 3,344,877
4Bullè&Pupè9 1,804,497

With little fanfare, the players agreed to an ICM deal that awarded them shares ranging from $18k to nearly $24k. With $5k still on the table for the winner, cards went back in the air.

4Bullè&Pupè9 had been relatively quiet until he found [Kc][8c] and open-shoved from UTG. Mrswoodwork called with [Qd][Jd]. 4Bullè&Pupè9's king-high prevailed on the [Ah][7s][3d][2c][5c] board and he doubled to 4.11 million. Mrswoodwork slipped to less than 2 million, but picked up [Qs][Qc] only a few hands later. Monar31 opened for 1.12 million, Scrunter101 shoved for 3.92 million and mrswoodwork snap-called her remaining 1 million. Monar31 got out of the way and much to mrswoodwork's dismay, Scrunter101 turned over [Kc][Kd]. However, mrswoodwork got the miracle she needed on the [Qd][9h][5s] flop and picked up top set. Scrunter101 didn't get any help from the [6h] turn or the [Jh] river and mrswoodwork nearly quadrupled to 3.83 million.

A few hands later, 4Bullè&Pupè9 open-shoved for 5.33 million from the cutoff and Scrunter101 called all-in for 1.55 million on the button. Scrunter101 was in great shape with [Ts][Th] going up against [Kd][7d]. Scrunter101's tens held up through the turn on the [Jc][5h][4c][Ac] board, but the [Kc] spiked on the river to make 4Bullè&Pupè9 a pair of kings. Scrunter101 was suddenly on the rail in fifth place.

Two hands later, mrswoodwork opened for 960,000 from the cutoff and monar31 shoved for 2.25 million from the small blind with [Ad][8h]. Mrswoodwork called with [Kh][Jd] and hit an open-ended straight draw on the [Qh][Tc][8c] flop. The [9h] turn made mrswoodwork a king-high straight and the [As] river improved her to Broadway, ending monar31's run in fourth place.

On the next deal 4Bullè&Pupè9 made it 678,400 to go on the button with [Ks][Jc] and CyrusSaissor shoved for 3.33 million from the big blind. 4Bullè&Pupè9 called and CyrusSaissor revealed [Ah][Jh]. 4Bullè&Pupè9 caught another boffo flop when it came down [Kd][9s][6d], making him a pair of kings. CyrusSaissor was unable to catch up and went out in third place.

Heads-up chip counts

Seat 4: 4Bullè&Pupè9 (10,698,904 in chips)
Seat 6: mrswoodwork (5,736,096 in chips)

The two short stacks when the five-handed deal was made ended up duking it out for the title and the extra $5,000. Mrswoodwork closed the gap between their chip counts on the second hand heads-up when she picked up a 4.44 million pot. After both players checked the [Qh][Jc][Js] flop, mrswoodwork check-called 4Bullè&Pupè9's 497,280 bet when the [Jh] turned and checked again when the [6d] rivered. 4Bullè&Pupè9 bet 1,052,352, mrswoodwork raised all-in for 4.37 million and 4Bullè&Pupè9 gave up his hand.

Mrswoodwork was up to 7.76 million after that hand and ground her way into the chip lead with 9.8 million. Then, with the blinds up to 180,000/360,000, 4Bullè&Pupè9 opened for 720,000 and mrswoodwork three-bet to 2,232,000. 4Bullè&Pupè9 shoved and mrswoodwork called.

4Bullè&Pupè9 [8d][8h]
mrswoodwork [3d][3c]

Things were looking grim for mrswoodwork... until the flop came down a glorious [Ad][Tc][3h], giving her a set of threes. 4Bullè&Pupè9 needed to catch an eight to survive, but saw the [6s] and the [6d] fall instead, as mrswoodwork clinched her first TCOOP title.

Congratulations to mrswoodwork on a brilliant come-from-behind victory! She banked $27,343.99 for the win, while runner-up 4Bullè&Pupè9 earned $18,043.56.

TCOOP-44 $82 NLHE [Turbo, Saturday Speedway SE]) results
Entrants: 3,287
Total prize pool: $250,000.00
Places paid: 414

1. mrswoodwork (Canada) $27,343.99*
2. 4Bullè&Pupè9 (Malta) $18,043.56*
3. CyrusSaissor (Canada) $23,924.68*
4. monar31 (Russia) $23,304.59*
5. Scrunter101 (Canada) $22,383.18*
6. Outeiri (Germany) $8,375.00
7. marksfive (United Kingdom) $5,875.00
8. TakeOverCz (Czech Republic) $3,380.00
9. DARKYMAK (South Africa) $2,125.00

*= reflects the results of a five-way deal that left $5,000 in play for the winner

Once this tournament was down to its final four players, Sr.Rouquinho was determined to finish it with at least $30,000 to show for his efforts. Second in chips as deal negotiations began, Sr.Rouquinho could have walked with a bit over $28k, his three opponents having agreed to an ICM chop, but decided to play hardball instead once he saw how... motivated the others were to close the deal, especially mendozoQ. With no volunteers coming forth to make up the difference, SrRouquinho gave the table two minutes to come up with the extra $2k, otherwise he was happy to continue playing. No one gave in and play resumed, with holdout mandozoQ the first to bust. From there it took less than five minutes for Sr.Rouquinho to put the rest of the table away, and he emerged with his first TCOOP title and over $41k.

The 2016 TCOOP's third and final NLHE Zoom event drew 3,536 players. 450 players earned a share of the $265,200.00 prize pool, with $41,638.31 set aside for the champion.

A little over two hours and fifteen minutes after the close of late registration, the tournament was down to its final ten players. With the blinds up to 30,000/60,000, -BigChri$- opened for 133,333 on the button and mindgamer shoved for his remaining 692,399 with [As][Jh]. -BigChri$- called with [8d][8c] and they were off to the races. -BigChri$-'s pocket pair held up on the [9c][9s][6s][Kh][4c] board and mindgamer hit the rail one spot short of the final table.

Final table chip counts

Seat 1: InsaneShark (1,630,160 in chips)
Seat 2: Sr.Rouquinho (1,331,624 in chips)
Seat 3: oChris77o (1,396,627 in chips)
Seat 4: spydhysa (941,070 in chips)
Seat 5: -BigChri$- (3,148,877 in chips)
Seat 6: zinkAA (1,837,765 in chips)
Seat 7: WrestUA (4,071,193 in chips)
Seat 8: mendozoQ (1,814,512 in chips)
Seat 9: patasss (,1508,172 in chips)

The final table lost its first player on the fifth hand when the action folded around to spydhysa in the small blind. He open-shoved with [As][Qh] and -BigChri$- called with pocket sixes in the big blind. Once again, the pair held up for -BigChri$-. and spydhysa was eliminated in ninth place. However, -BigChri$-'s luck turned over the course of the next few levels. First, he doubled up InsaneShark when his [Ad][Qc] fell to [Ac][Kh]. Then he did the same for patasss with nearly the same hand, [Ah][Qh] vs. patasss's [Ad][Kh]. -BigChri$- was left with 527,000 after that hand and put the rest of his chips in with [6s][6d]. Unfortunately for -BigChri$-, he ran into WrestUA's [Qs][Qc] and went out in eighth place.

Two hands later, oChris77o open-shoved for his last 4.5 big blinds and mendozoQ reshoved from the small blind with [8c][8h]. oChris77o's [Qs][Ts] did not improve and he hit the rail in seventh place.

The blinds rose to 100,000/200,000 and with the action folded to him in the small blind, zinkAA moved in for 1.52 million with [Qs][3c]. WrestUA called with [Kh][9s] in the big, but zinkAA hit two pair on the flop when it came own [Qc][6h][3s]. The [As] turn and the [8h] river were no help to WrestUA, and zinkAA doubled to 3.2 million. Left with 195,000, WrestUA busted in sixth place on the next hand when his [Qh][3h] fell to patasss's [As][Qd]. ZinkAA didn't get much traction following that double-up and ultimately open shoved for 1.68 million from UTG with [Kd][8c]. Patasss called with [Ah][Qd] and flopped an ace, ending zinkAA's run in fifth place, and ascending to the chip lead with 6.46 million.

A few hands later, the final four agreed to pause the action and discuss a potential deal. Here's how they stacked up at the time:

patasss 7,292,665
Sr. Rouquinho 5,170,700
mendozoQ 3,250,589
InsaneShark 1,966,046

MendozoQ requested ICM numbers and when patasss asked that chip chop numbers also be calcluated, mendozoQ laughed in his face... well, as much as that can be accomplished through a chat box.

patasss: and chip chop numbers. please
mendozoQ: lol
mendozoQ: patass r u serious? )
patasss: yes
mendozoQ: nice joke bro)
mendozoQ: ha

InsaneShark and mendozoQ were quick to agree to the ICM numbers, which awarded patasss $30,374, Sr.Rouquinho $28,122, mendozoQ $24,874, and InsaneShark $21,555. However, Sr.Rouquinho made it clear that he wasn't cutting a deal that awarded him anything less than $30k.

Sr.Rouquinho: i need 30k
Sr.Rouquinho: if you can make it we have a deal . other way we play
mendozoQ: no way im better that that

Chip leader patasss, who initially wanted at least $31k, was willing to come down to his $30,374 ICM share, but Sr.Rouquinho remained the lone holdout. With negotiations at a standstill, Sr.Rouquinho issued an ultimatum.

Sr.Rouquinho: 2 minutes for one or some of you to give the 1.8k. In 2 mins we restart

Still, no one was willing to give up so much as a penny, and cards went back in the air.

Patasss quickly lost the chip lead to Sr.Rouquinho in a hand that went to showdown. Patasss opened for 520,000 and Sr.Rouquinho called with [As][3c] in the big blind. Sr.Rouquinho made top and bottom pair on the [Ac][7c][3h] flop and checked over to patasss, who checked behind. The turn was the [9d] and Sr.Rouquinho bet 645,000. Patasss called. The river was the [7d] and Sr.Rouquinho checked, hoping to induce a bet from patasss. Instead, patasss just checked behind and Sr.Rouquinho raked in the 2.58 million pot with aces and sevens.

MendozoQ gave up the vast majority of his stack to InsaneShark, when he shoved for 2.37 million on the button with [Qc][Jc]. MendozoQ called with [Kh][Tc] in the big blind and held up through the turn, but InsaneShark spiked a river jack to take down the pot. MendozoQ was left with less than one big blind and was eliminated in fourth place on the next hand.

When three-handed play commenced, Sr.Rouquinho held the chip lead with 7.8 million, patasss was second with 5.1 million and InsaneShark was the short stack with 4.7 million. With the blinds up to 200,000/400,000, patasss open-shoved for 4.77 million on the button with [Qs][Jc] and Sr.Rouquinho called with [Ad][Th] in the big blind. Sr.Rouquinho flopped a ten and turned an ace, ending patasss's run in third place. This was patasss's second final table of the 2016 TCOOP. He previously finished in eighth place in Event #8 ($82 NLHE Big Antes).

Heads-up chip counts

Seat 1: InsaneShark (3,028,192 in chips)
Seat 2: Sr.Rouquinho (14,651,808 in chips)

It only took three hands for Sr.Rouquinho to finish off InsaneShark. After two exchanges of the blinds, InsaneShark moved in for 2.27 million and Sr.Rouquinho called.

InsaneShark [Ah][Jc]
Sr.Rouquinho [9s][Ts]

InsaneShark's ace-high held up on the [Kd][5s][3s] flop, but Sr.Rouquinho picked up a flush draw. The [Th] turn paired Sr.Rouquinho's ten and the [5c] river locked up his TCOOP crown.

Congratulations to Sr.Rouquinho on joining the ranks of TCOOP champions! He banked $41,638.31 for the win, while runner-up InsaneShark earned $31,028.40.

TCOOP-42 $82 NLHE [Turbo, Zoom]) results
Entrants:
Total prize pool:
Places paid:

1. Sr.Rouquinho (Czech Republic) $41,638.31
2. InsaneShark (United Kingdom) $31,028.40
3. patasss (Uruguay) $22,011.60
4. mendozoQ (Russia) $15,249.00
5. zinkAA (Russia) $11,353.21
6. WrestUA (Ukraine) $8,619.00
7. oChris77o (United Kingdom $5,967.00
8. -BigChri$- (Norway) $3,315.00
9. spydhysa (Norway) $2,121.60