Oct 3, 2008
If it’s the end of the month at PokerRoom, that can only mean one thing: someone is about to make a boatload of money from winning the Grand. PokerRoom’s biggest and boldest tournament offering wrapped up play for its September edition last Sunday, after 826 players slugged it on the first two starting days for a chance to move on to the final day of play on Sunday.

With more than $175,000 going to the winner (and $826,000 in total prize money to be handed out to the top 90 finishers), the 217 players that survived to Day 2 had plenty to play for. Zaki81 held the chip leader after an hour or play, and was still out in front when the second hour of play wrapped up.

At the 3 hour mark, Zaki81’s lead had grown, as he had twice as many chips as Agentu23, who was sitting in 2nd. Fast-forward to the five hour mark, and, you guessed it, Zaki81 was still very much large and in charge, but Team PokerRoom vet bigbalu63 had rocketed up to 2nd place.

It was only after 8 hours of tense, brutal play that a new leader emerged, with the cards finally turning against Zaki81. Here’s how the final nine players stacked up: 1. ru3318374 - 2,055,360
2. DonHansa11 - 1,100,381
3. 0EQUALIZER0 - 1,067,900
4. Aesop 48 - 977,047
5. vladan_ - 908,420
6. Zaki81 - 797,352
7. Fiinicks - 679,874
8. Loitsija - 346,182
9. felixystad84 - 327,484

After running over the field for much of the day, it was Zaki81 who’d ultimately finish 9th, collecting $16,520 for his efforts. Aesop 48 bowed out in 8th ($16,520), and vladan_ in 7th ($16,520). With that, the final table was finally set after nearly nine hours of grueling play:

Seat 1: ru3318374 ($3,014,950 in chips)
Seat 2: DonHansa11 ($1,167,554 in chips)
Seat 4: Loitsija ($642,364 in chips)
Seat 5: 0EQUALIZER0 ($1,427,900 in chips)
Seat 6: Fiinicks ($1,259,748 in chips)
Seat 7: felixystad84 ($747,484 in chips)

Loitsija would be the first to be bounced from the final table, and it came in pretty brutal fashion. Loitsija and felixystad84 got it all-in pre-flop, with Loitsija holding QQ and way ahead of felixystad84’s JJ.

Cue the ominous music, though, as felixystad84 turned a J for the two-outerto crack Loitsija’s pocket queens and send him to the rail in 6th ($24,780).

felixystad84 was the next to go, finishing 5th ($34,692) when his Ac Qd couldn’t outrace ru3318374’s pocket 3s, which held to eliminate felixystad84.

0EQUALIZER0 was the next to go, bowing out in 4th ($51,212) when he lost a battle of kickers versus DonHansa11. Both players flopped trips on a Qh Qs 6d flop, but DonHansa11 was well in the lead with Qc 9d versus 0EQUALIZER0’s Qd 3s. DonHansa11’s kicker eventually played, sending 0EQUALIZER0 to the rails.

Here were the stacks with just three players remaining:

Seat 1: ru3318374 ($2,399,344 in chips)
Seat 2: DonHansa11 ($4,020,908 in chips)
Seat 6: Fiinicks ($1,839,748 in chips)

Fiinicks would exit in 3rd ($72,688), once again done in by DonHansa11 and a better kicker. With both players limping in pre-flop, they saw a Ts 7s 3c flop. All of the money went in on the turn when the 5d hit, with Finicks holding Td 2h for top pair but DonHansa11 once again outkicking his opponent with Th 9d, which once again held up for him.

That gave DonHansa11 a hefty lead when heads-up play began:

Seat 1: ru3318374 ($2,059,344 in chips)
Seat 2: DonHansa11 ($6,200,656 in chips)

DonHansa11 had chipped his opponent down to about 1,000,000 chips when the final hand occurred, with all of the chips going into the middle pre-flop. ru3318374 looked prime to double-up and get back into it (or at least chop) with Ad 5h versus DonHansa11’s As 2s, but a flop of 2d Ks 8d turned the tables and left ru3318374 needing some serious help.

The 9d on the turn gave him a few more flush outs, but the Qh on the river sealed the victory for DonHansa11. ru3318374’s runner up finish was worth a hefty $107,380, with DonHansa11 taking down a truly whopping $175,938. Not a bad payday at all for someone who qualified for the Grand through a $6 satellite!

As always, congrats to all the winners and players who turned out for yet another successful edition of the Grand.

Latest comments for this news

• Discuss news in Pokah