One of the newest games to hit the PokerStars lobby, Pot-Limit 5-Card Omaha is exactly like regular PLO, but with the bonus of an additional hole card. Hand values increase, redraws are vital, and the nuts, or something very close to them is most often the winning hand. This isn’t a game for the faint of heart and no one at this final table understood pressure more than brianm15. A Sunday Warm-Up champion who once made back-to-back Sunday Million final tables, brianm15 lost out on a SCOOP title last year in the $2,100 NLHE event, but took home over $211k for his runner-up finish. Tonight, brianm15 did one better and nabbed himself a SCOOP watch along with over $42,000.

658 adventurous SCOOPers gave Big O a whirl, their 1,155 rebuys and 499 add-ons resulting in a $231,200 prize pool. 84 places were paid with first place set to earn $42,772.00. Ten Red Spades joined the field, among them Nacho Barbero, Lex Veldhus, Eugene Katchalov, Marcel Luske and George Danzer, but when it came to making the money, they were all shut out.

With seven players remaining, brianm15 held a substantial chip lead with more than double the chips of his closest competitor. He padded that lead even further by delivering a one-out blow to cluelessiam on a A♦ 6♠ 9♠ 9♣ 8♠ board, the river making him a nine-high straight flush vs. cluessiam’s full house. Left with 182,000, cluelessiam got the rest of his chips in on a Q♦ 10♦ 3♦ 4♥ board vs. brianm15. Cluelessiam turned up K♣ Q♣ Q♠ 6♥ 4♦ for a set of queens, while brianm15 revealed J♦ 9♦ 9♥ 5♠ 2♠ for a flopped queen-high flush. Cluelessiam didn’t boat up on the river, the A♥ falling to end his run on the final table bubble.

Final table chip counts

Seat 1: EdoTK (204,968 in chips)
Seat 2: AceQuad (523,525 in chips)
Seat 3: NoTime2WaZT (967,566 in chips)
Seat 4: Andollini (619,774 in chips)
Seat 5: isinm2006 (991,151 in chips)
Seat 6: brianm15 (4,627,016 in chips)

Andollini eliminated in sixth place

Andollini couldn’t seem to get any traction at the final table. Down to 244,000 with the blinds up to 10,000/20,000, Andollini opened for 70,000 from UTG. NoTime2WaZTcalled from the big blind and they saw a K♥ J♠ 3♠ flop. NoTime2WaZT led out for 100,000 and Andollini called. NoTime2WaZT bet another 100,000 on the Q♣ turn and Andollini called all-in, revealing A♠ A♣ 9♦ 7♣ 2♠ for a pair of aces and the nut flush draw. NoTime2WaZT had already made Broadway with A♦ K♣ 10♣ 9♣ 4♦ . Andollini needed a river spade to survive, but got the 2♥ instead, and departed in sixth place.

brianm15 delivers a one-two punch

AceQuad was the next to fall. After brianm15 opened for 70,000, AceQuad three-bet shoved for 196,025 and brianm15 called.

AceQuad A♣ A♥ 8♠ 6♣ 3♣
brianm15 Q♥ J♦ 6♠ 5♣ 4♦

AceQuad made aces up on the 10♠ 5♠ 5♥ flop, but the 3♠ on the turn gave brianm15 a straight draw. He filled it on the river with the 2♠ and AceQuad was out in fifth, earning $11,560.00 for his run.

Two hands later, EdoTK put his last 110,000 in before the flop, his A♦ A♠ 7♣ 6♥ 5♥ up against brianm15’s K♦ K♣ J♥ 10♥ 10♠ . Although EdoTK made top set on the A♥ 9♠ 4♥ flop, brianm15 turned a flush with the 8♥ . EdoTK needed to pair the board on the river, but saw the Q♦ fall instead to send him home in fourth place.

Clock runs out on NoTime2WaZT

On the very next deal, brianm15 opened for a min-raise to 40,000 and isinm2006 called from the big blind. Both players checked the J♦ 10♥ 9♣ flop and when the Q♥ came on the turn, isinm2006 check-called another 40,000. The river fell the 10♣ and isinm2006 checked a third time. Brianm15 bet 170,000, isinim2006 raised to 680,000 and brianm15 looked him up. Isinm2006 turned over K♦ Q♦ Q♠ 6♥ 6♦ for the nut boat and raked in the 1.53 million pot, increasing his stack to 1.55 million.

At this point, brianm15 continued to hold a dominating chip lead with 4.42 million while NoTime2WaZT and isinm2006 held 1.8 and 1.7 million respectively. However, NoTime2WaZT took a huge blow when brianm15 turned sixes full, leaving him on only 153,000.

On the next hand, NoTime2WaZT three-bet shoved for his last 152,806 and both isinm2006 and brianm15 called. Isinm2006 check-folded to brianm15’s 100,000 bet on the K♥ Q♣ 6♠ flop and the cards went on their backs.

NoTime2WaZT A♥ J♦ 8♥ 5♦ 2♥ (gutshot straight draw)
brianm15 K♣ J♠ 6♥ 4♣ 4♦ (two pair, kings and sixes)

Brianm15’s two pair held up, the turn and river falling the 3♦ and the 3♠ to end NoTime2WaZT’s run in third place.

Heads-up chip counts

Seat 5: isinm2006 (1,550,112 in chips)
Seat 6: brianm15 (6,383,888 in chips)

It took over ninety minutes before brianm15 and isinm2006 settled their heads-up match. With the blinds only 12,500/25,000, short stack isinim2006 had a very comfortable 62 big blinds and took his time picking apart brianm15’s stack. Holding A♦ K♣ 7♥ 4♣ 4♦ , isinm2006 called brianm15’s 2.65 million four-bet on a 10♣ 4♥ 2♣ flop. Isinm2006’s set of fours and king-high flush draw was up against A♠ 10♦ 9♣ 8♣ 3♥ for top pair and a smaller flush draw. The K♠ on the turn didn’t help brianm15 and Isinm2006 made his flush on the river, the Q♣ falling to send the 3.47 million pot his way.

Isinm2006 won back-to-back pots to take his stack up to 5.95 million, leaving brianm15 on less than 2 million. However, brianm15 doubled back up when he got the rest of his chips in on a 10♦ 7♦ 3♥ 5♠ board, his Q♦ 6♦ 4♣ 4♥ 3♣ having turned a seven-high straight. Isinm2006’s set of threes did not improve and brianm15 doubled to 4.32 million.

Brianm15 and isinm2006 wrested the chip lead back and forth several times over the next hour. Isinm2006 crossed the 6 million mark only to have brianm15 double back up with a flush over flush. Isinm2006 ground his way back to a small chip lead with 4.31 million to brinam15’s 3.61 million, but brianm15 went on a mega-rush, winning eleven straight pots to chip up to 5.7 million.

After riding such a dominant chip lead at the final table only to see it slip away time and again heads-up, brianm15 finally closed out this match. Isinm2006 raised all-in on a J♠ 6♥ 2♠ flop and brianm15 called. Although isinm2006 turned an ace-high flush, brianm15 rivered quad sixes and locked up the win.

Congratulations to brianm15 on a long-awaited SCOOP title. He banked $42,772 for the win while runner-up isinm2006 earned $31,905.60.

PokerStars 2013 SCOOP Event #19-M ($109+R PL5-Card Omaha [6-Max]) results

Players: 658
Rebuys: 1,155
Add-ons: 499
Prizepool: $231,200
Places paid: 84

1. brianm15 (Costa Rica) $42,772.00
2. isinm2006 (Israel) $31,905.60
3. NoTime2WaZT (Norway) $23,698.00
4. EdoTK (Sweden) $16,184.00
5. AceQuad (Mexico) $11,560.00
6. Andollini (Norway) $6,936.00

Kristin Bihr is a freelance contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

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