TCOOP 2015: Team PokerStars Pro Theo Jorgensen takes down TCOOP High Roller (Event #47, $2,100 NLHE)

Theo Jorgensen is a man you want to have a beer with. He tells a fantastic story, whether he’s recounting an ill-advised bet or spinning a simple hand history into a brilliant cautionary tale. He took three bullets to the leg in a robbery only to make an EPT final table only three months later. Theo Jorgensen is a lot of things: WSOP bracelet winner, WPT champion, PLO cash game wizard, and a prop bettor so renowned in our community, he once led a PCA seminar on how to get the best of it in some truly ridiculous contests. Today, Jorgensen added TCOOP High Roller champion to his long list of accomplishments, defeating a treacherous final table to come away with a $193k score.

The TCOOP High Roller NLHE event drew 926 players, their $2,100 buy-ins combining to create a $1,852,000.00 prize pool. 117 places were paid with $333,360.00 set aside for first place.

Three and a half hours after cards went in the air, the field was down to ten players. With the blinds up to 50,000/100,000, the action folded around to ChaoRen160 in the small blind and he open-shoved for 1.03 million with Q♣6♥. Vicenfish woke up with J♥J♠ and called all-in from the big. ChaoRen160, however, caught running cards on the K♦5♥4♥3♠7♠ board to make a seven-high straight, ending vicenfish’s run on the final table bubble.

Final table chip counts

Seat 1: x_zola25 (1,137,789 in chips)
Seat 2: DaNuts90 (796,094 in chips)
Seat 3: Theo J (2,181,318 in chips)
Seat 4: jeff710 (259,099 in chips)
Seat 5: bigdog6391 (1,447,264 in chips)
Seat 6: Mr Magur0 (233,272 in chips)
Seat 7: ChaoRen160 (1,979,800 in chips)
Seat 8: XTheDecanoX (696,508 in chips)
Seat 9: engantil (528,856 in chips)

Five players made the final table with less than eight big blinds and two of them went head-to-head on the very first hand. Jeff710 open-shoved for 246,599 from UTG and Mr Magur0 called all-in for 220,722 from the cutoff. Jorgensen called as well from the big blind.

Theo J Q♣10♣
jeff710 A♦3♦
Mr Magur0 A♣J♥

Although MrMagur0 had the preflop lead, Jorgensen made trip tens on the 10♥10♠5♥ flop. However, jeff710 escaped elimination when he turned the 4♠ and rivered the 2♥ to make a wheel. Jeff710 raked in the 851,470 pot and Mr Magur0 hit the rail in ninth place.

Jorgensen fell out of the lead, but gained back some ground when his Q♦J♥ flopped a queen against engantil’s A♥10♥. Engantil went out in eighth place and jeff710 followed him out the door on the next hand when he moved in for his last 829,000 with A♠Q♣ and lost a race to Jorgensen’s J♥J♦. Three hands later ChaoRen160 made a small blind shove with 5♠6♦ and XTheDecanoX called off his last 164,000 with 4♠9♣. ChaoRen160 flopped a pair of sixes and they held up on the 10♥6♠4♣J♠Q♣ board, ending XTheDecanoX’s run in sixth place.

Shortly after XTheDecanoX’s elimination, x_zola25 asked his opponents how they felt about making a deal. Everyone responded that they were willing to look at numbers except Jorgensen, who quipped, “My name is Joe Camble and I came here to gamble.”

Barely were those words out of Jorgensen’s mouth when German Supernova Elite DaNuts90 moved in for 1.02 million from the small blind with K♥10♥. Jorgensen quickly called with A♦K♣ and was poised to notch another KO, but the J♦8♠3♣9♠7♣ board made DaNuts90 a jack-high straight and gave him new life with a 2.16 million stack.

Now the shortest stack among the five, Jorgensen renounced the name “Joe Camble” and was willing to discuss a deal. Here’s a look at the chip counts when the action paused:

bigdog6391 3,347,264
DaNuts90 2,109,376
x_zola25 1,379,195
ChaoRen160 1,251,308
Theo J 1,172,857

Final table host Andre Akkari provided ICM numbers as a starting point for negotiations.

HostGuillerM (Administrator): bigdog6391:$233,816.43
HostGuillerM (Administrator): DaNuts90:$204,439.22
HostGuillerM (Administrator): x_zola25:$177,850.47
HostGuillerM (Administrator): ChaoRen160:$172,031.65
HostGuillerM (Administrator): Theo J:$168,237.03
HostGuillerM (Administrator): Left To Play for place 1: $25,000.00

DaNuts90, x_zola25, and Jorgensen were willing to accept the ICM deal, but ChaoRen160 wasn’t too keen on having to leave $25,000 in play for the winner. As ChaoRen160 thought things over, chip leader bigdog6391 told his opponents he needed a $240k share in order to close the deal.

bigdog6391: i need 240k
bigdog6391: about 2k from each
bigdog6391: big cl, and my btn here

Jorgensen, ChaoRen160 and DaNuts90 made it abundantly clear they would not be giving up that $2k and were willing to restart play unless bigdog6391 reconsidered his demands. However, just as bigdog6391 capitulated, ChaoRen160 said he was unwilling to accept the ICM deal. ChaoRen160 pointed out that the required $25k set aside for first place favored the larger stacks.

ChaoRen160: also the 1st price 25k doesnt benefit a shorstack obv..
ChaoRen160: it benefits u bigdog
ChaoRen160: lets play
ChaoRen160: the 25k first price tips it over for me

Intent on getting the deal done, DaNuts90 offered $4,400 from his share to ChaoRen160 to mitigate the risk. ChaoRen160 said that although he preferred to gamble, he would agree to take the deal. With all five players on board, the deal closed and cards went back in the air with $25,000 still at stake.

X_zola25 promptly doubled through bigdog6391, his pocket sevens holding up against A♦3♣. On the next deal, ChaoRen160 had his turn and doubled to 2.32 million when his A♣J♦ defeated bigdog6391’s J♣10♦. Down to 767,000, bigdog6391 open-shoved with A♥K♥ two hands later. X_zola25 called the extra 329,000 from the big blind with 8♠9♥ and flopped a nine, ending bigdog6391’s run. Despite his fifth-place finish, bigdog6391 took home the largest share of the prize pool at $233,816.43 thanks to the deal.

With the blinds up to 125,000/250,000, Jorgensen was down to 1.82 million and made a small blind shove with K♣8♣. ChaoRen160 called with a dominating K♦10♦, but Jorgensen caught a beautiful Q♣7♣5♣ flop to make a king-high flush. ChaoRen160 was left with 473,500 in chips and went out in fourth place on the next hand when his 4♠7♥ failed to improve against Jorgensen’s Q♦9♥.

When play turned three-handed, Jorgensen was on top with 4.55 million, x_zola25 held 3.55 million, and DaNuts90 was the short stack with 1.15 million. DaNuts90 got a reprieve when his A♣Q♣ held up against x_zola25’s J♦7♥ in a preflop all-in, but gave it all back only moments later when x_zola25’s pocket eights won the race against his A♣9♥.

Then, with all three stacks nearly even, DaNuts90 limped in for 300,000 and Jorgensen shoved for 2.95 million from the small blind. X_zola25 folded and DaNuts90 called, having Jorgensen slightly covered.

Theo J A♣7♣
DaNuts90 K♣K♦

Now, if you recall, Jorgensen lost more than half his chips five-handed when his A-K fell to DaNuts90’s K-T, the board providing running straight cards on the turn and river to do the deed. This time, DaNuts90 was on the receiving end of the bad beat, his set of kings snapped off when Jorgensen rivered a jack to make Broadway on the K♥Q♥10♦2♥J♦ board. Jorgensen raked in the 6.32 million pot, leaving DaNuts90 on 565,000.

On the next deal, Jorgensen opened for a min-raise to 600,000, x_zola25 shoved for 2.33 million and DaNuts90 called off his remaining 227,504 from the big blind.

Theo J Q♦10♦
x_zola25 A♣J♠
DaNuts90 K♦6♦

Once again, the river dealt the deciding blow. X_zola25 kept the lead on the 8♣7♦3♦ flop, but his hopes faded as Jorgensen turned the Q♥ to make a pair of queens. The K♠ river, however, snatched away the double KO from Jorgensen as DaNuts90 made top pair and tripled to 1.7 million. For third place, x_zola25 earned $177,850.47.

Heads-up chip counts

Seat 2: DaNuts90 (1,695,012 in chips)
Seat 3: Theo J (7,564,988 in chips)

“That was my title,” DaNuts90 wrote as he moved in for the rest of his chips with A♣7♠ on the button.

Jorgensen called with A♥6♦ in the big blind and was unfortunately dominated. The 9♠3♦2♣ flop didn’t improve his hand, but the 5♥ turn cracked the door open with a gutshot straight draw. It would take a river four to end this heads-up match right here… and that’s exactly what Jorgensen got. The 4♣ descended from heaven and Jorgensen locked up the extra $25k and his first ‘COOP title.

Congratulations to our very own Team PokerStars Pro Theo Jorgensen on his TCOOP victory! He banked $193,237.03 for the win, while runner-up DaNuts90 earned $200,039.22.

TCOOP-47: $2,100 NLHE (Turbo, High Roller)
Entrants: 926
Prizepool:$1,852,000.00
Places paid: 117

1. Team PokerStars Pro Theo Jorgensen (Denmark) $193,237.03*
2. DaNuts90 (Germany) $200,039.22*
3. x_zola25 (Denmark) $177,850.47*
4. ChaoRen160 (Sweden) $176,431.65*
5. bigdog6391 (Thailand) $233,816.43*
6. Thiago “XTheDecanoX” Nishijima (Brazil)
7. Jeff “jeff710” Hakim (Lebanon) $56,300.80
8. engantil (Germany) $37,966.00
9. Mr Magur0 (Australia) $23,150.00

*= reflects the results of a five-way deal that left $25,000 in play for the winner

Kristin Bihr is a freelance contributor to the PokerStars Blog.