Some of the best poker stories are those that include a fair amount of struggle. C.Darwin2 had more than a player’s fair share, as short-stacked play required comeback after comeback. But C.Darwin2 did it, fighting back against players like William Reynolds and Vincent van der Fluit to score a coveted Movado SCOOP champion’s watch and more than $38K in cash.

*****

In a week that was filled with 8-Game, Razz, and Triple Draw madness, some players were glad to see a simple Hold’em option on today’s schedule. It wasn’t the usual fare, though, as Event 34 was Limit Hold’em played at 6-max tables. Hold’em fans were in, and limit game fans were excited to challenge those who didn’t understand the strategies of LHE. And so, it began.

The medium buy-in for Event 34 offered a $530 chance at a SCOOP watch and title. Not a cheap one, by any means, but one that drew a sizeable crowd, as seen in these final numbers:

Players: 373
Guarantee: $75,000.00
Prize pool: $186,500.00
Paid players: 48

The bubble burst several hours into the tournament, and joeyspanne88 was the unfortunate player to finish in 49th place. Groganchoker was the first, then, to cash in the event, taking home $932.50 for 48th place.

There were a few members of Team PokerStars still in action at that point, though Team Online’s Randy “nanonoko” Lew exited rather quickly in 41st place for $1,025.75. As the action wound down to five tables, Team Pros Andre “aakkari” Akkari and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier were still in contention.

As the field thinned, ElkY was one of the casualties, out in 28th place for $1,305.50. And leading up to and after the seven-hour mark, others like EDWARDHOPPER, PearlJammer, and Exclusive followed him to the rail. With the later eliminations of Shhh00kem in tenth, gboro780 in ninth, and Mafews in eighth, hand-for-hand play kicked in.

While the lead-up to that point was quicker than expected, hand-for-hand went on for awhile. During that time, aakkari lost ground, first a big pot to Betudontbet, and second when SlickDickey doubled through him. Aakkari doubled back through SlickDickey. And it was SlickDickey who finally made the all-in move on a 5♦ J♣ K♥ against Vingtcent and Betudontbet. They checked the 10♣ turn and 4♥ river, and when Vingtcent showed 2♣ 2♥ , both other players mucked. SlickDickey left in seventh place with $4,289.50.

Bet on Betudontbet as chip leader

In Level 23, with blinds at 8,000/16,000, the final table began with these chip counts:

Seat 1: C. Darwin2 (190,818 in chips)
Seat 2: Betudontbet (752,371 in chips)
Seat 3: Altrum Altus (205,629 in chips)
Seat 4: Looptroop (420,681 in chips)
Seat 5: Vingtcent (224,373 in chips)
Seat 6: aakkari (71,128 in chips)

Aakkari chipped up a great deal in the first portion of the final table but ran into trouble when hands simply weren’t holding up as planned. He then got involved with Looptroop to see a raise flop of 4♥ 3♣ 2♥ . Aakkari bet, and Looptroop check-raised. The raises continued until betting was capped and aakkari was all-in with Q♣ J♦ . Looptroop showed A♠ 9♥ , the K♣ turn and 9♦ river completed the board with a pair of nines for Looptroop. Team PokerStars Pro Andre “aakkari” Akkari was the first to leave the final table, taking home $6,993.75 for sixth place.

Betudontbet lost ground from the start of the final table. It wasn’t one particular hand but a series of “runbad” that led to betudontbet being one of the shorter stacks at the table. Finally, Betudontbet and C.Darwin2 tangled preflop. After the 10♠ 8♣ 3♣ floop, C.Darwin2 bet, and Betudontbet called all-in with A♣ J♠ . C.Darwin2 showed A♥ 3♥ for bottom pair, and that stood up to the 7♠ and 4♠ cards that finished the board. David “Betudontbet”Emmons, 2012 TCOOP Main Event champion, exited in fifth place with $10,723.75.

Looptroop was the next player at risk, pushing all-in with A♥ 5♥ against the J♠ J♦ of Altrum Altus. The board came 4♦ 7♦ 6♥ 10♥ 5♦ and allowed the jacks to remain the best pair. Daniel “Looptroop” Larsson was eliminated in fourth place with $14,453.75.

C.Darwin2 attempts a comeback

The shortest of the three stacks made a move and gained ground with this double-up:

RSS readers click through to see replay

C.Darwin2 was short again and doubled through Altrum Altus to stay in action, again. It happened several times. And as three-handed play exceeded one hour, Vingtcent became the shortest of the three stacks for a time, while C.Darwin2 became the chip leader.

That situation ultimately led to a battle between C.Darwin2 and Altrum Altus. A raised flop of K♥ 3♥ 8♠ prompted a bet from Altrum Altus and check-raise from C.Darwin2. Altrum Altus called, and the 2♦ on the turn prompted a bet from C.Darwin2. Altrum Altus called all-in for 37,521 chips with A♣ 10♦ , but C.Darwin2 showed K♠ 8♥ for the flopped two pair. The A♦ on the river was too little, too late, and William “Altrum Altus” Reynolds had to accept another SCOOP third place, this one for $20,981.25.

The strong survive

The two remaining players started battle with these counts:

Seat 1: C. Darwin2 (1,550,044 in chips)
Seat 5: Vingtcent (314,956 in chips)

It didn’t take long for Vingtcent to make a move. It happened when the two got involved in a reraised flop of Q♠ 2♣ 6♦ . C.Darwin2 bet, Vingtcent raised, C.Darwin2 popped it up again, and Vingtcent called. The 7♦ on the turn prompted another bet from C.Darwin2, and Vingtcent raised all-in with 8♥ 6♥ . Middle pair wasn’t good enough for the Q♣ 10♣ of C.Darwin2, though. That top pair held up to the J♥ on the river and left Vincent “Vingtcent” van der Fluit, 2011 WCOOP winner, with a second place finish in this event for $27,975.00.

C. Darwin2 made a strong comeback to win the SCOOP title, along with $38,232.50 in cash. Congrats!

2012 SCOOP Event #34-M ($530 LHE 6-Max) Results:

Total players: 373
Paid players: 48

1st place: C.Darwin2 (Sweden) – $38,232.50
2nd place: Vingtcent (Netherlands) – $27,975.00
3rd place: Altrum Altus (Costa Rica) – $20,981.25
4th place: Looptroop (Sweden) – $14,453.75
5th place: Betudontbet (Mexico) – $10,723.75
6th place: Team PokerStars Pro Andre “aakkari” Akkari (Brazil) – $6,993.75

Looking for more SCOOP reporting? Visit our special SCOOP 2012 coverage section.

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