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Home / Uncategorized / SCOOP 2016: luk45zp with alligator blooded-victory in Event #39-M ($215 NL Omaha Hi/Lo)

“Let’s gamble.”

Poland’s luk45zp uttered those words heads-up when Belarus’ Oledjan offered to chop the money in Event #39-M $215 NL Omaha 8. Oledjan was running out of gas after a remarkable comeback three-handed in which Oledjan was super-short and on life support. Somehow, the Belarusian orchestrated a counter-revolution and redistribution of wealth to rise from the outhouse to the penthouse and knock out the former chip leader — Australia’s ZeGrimReaper in third place — who had imploded after a vast margin. Once it got heads-up, luk45zp sought to take advantage of a gassed Oledjan. Little did both players know they’d play for over 100 minutes in a grueling match that saw a revolving glass door of a chip lead. During the last half hour of heads-up play, the action intensified. The pots grew bigger. The swings were more massive. They weren’t playing small ball any more or waiting for the other to make a mistake. It was an all out blitzkrieg and thermonuclear war of total annihilation. Just when it appeared Oledjan was about to gain the upper hand, luk45zp swiftly counterattacked and landed the crushing coup de grace. Oledjan fell to the wayside in second place, and luk45zp picked up a SCOOP bracelet for Poland. The mantra “Let’s gamble!” paid off handsomely.

The medium version of SCOOP Event #39-M $215 NL Omaha Hi/Lo, 6-Max attracted 584 original runners and 442 re-entries for a total of 1,026 entries. The total prize pool was $205,200. The top 132 places paid out with $34,371.00 set aside for the champ.

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Only a 9th place finish for Fedor ‘CrownUpGy’ Holz
Day 1 of this two-day affair ended with only 45 players. The haunting image of Australia’s ZeGrimReaper loomed overhead with the biggest stack with 861K. With 18 to go on the final three tables, ZeGrimReaper was closing in on 2M and Fedor ‘CrownUpGuy’ Holz was lurking right in the middle of the pack with 600K.

CrownUpGuy busted just before the final table. CrownUpGuy had gotten it all-in with A♣ K♦ Q♥ 4♥ against rbkgutt’s Aâ™  Q♦ 3♦ 2♦ . Neither player had a qualifying low, so rbkgutt turned a flush to win the pot and Fefor ‘CrownUpGuy’ Holz was dunzo in ninth place.

Seven-handed last a couple of levels because the trio of shorties wouldn’t budge…they always managed to stave off an elimination when put to the test. Alas, one of the shorties finally cracked. Australia’s Try__An__Hit bubbled the final table in seventh place with Aces and A♦ A♥ K♣ 9â™  agianst luk45zp’s Aâ™  9♥ 3♥ 2â™  . Without a qualifying low, luk45zp flopped a nut flush and test was history.

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Throwback Thursday #TBT
SCOOP-39-M – Final Table Chip Counts:
Seat 1: aDrENalin710 (1,679,045)
Seat 2: Oledjan (808,044)
Seat 3: rbkgutt (2,271,619)
Seat 4: ZeGrimReaper (2,984,515)
Seat 5: luk45zp (1,860,925)
Seat 6: TJR43 (655,852)

The final table commenced during Level 33 with blinds at 12K/24K and a 3K ante. Australia’s ZeGrimReaper was the big stack with nearly 3M. Canada’s TJR43 was the shorty with 656K.

Russia’s aDrENalin710 won 2 WCOOPs in 2014 and a pair of SCOOPs in 2013. Could this be SCOOP #3?

Also, a trio of players had gone deep in SCOOPs, but fell short of the mark: ZeGrimReaper final tabled the first event and Try__An__Hit final tabled a 2010 SCOOP, and luk45zp final tabled a 2015 WCOOP, plus a 2013 SCOOP.


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STAND!: rbkgutt eliminated in 6th place

This particular final six felt each other up for a while before they decided it was time for a rumpus. They small-balled for nearly two full levels before we saw the first bustout. Instead of one of the small stacks busting, one of the medium stacks jousted with the big dog. rbkgutt opened and 80,000 and ZeGrimReaper defended his big blind. On a flop of K♠ 5♠ 4♦ , rbkgutt bet 93,840, and ZeGrimReaper called. The turn was an action-inducing J♠ . rbkgutt checked, ZeGrimReaper fired out 188,888, rbkgutt check-raised all-in for 794,348 and ZeGrimReaper called.

rbkgutt: A♦ A♠ 5♦ 2♥
ZeGrimReaper: A♥ 8♠ 7♠ 3♠

ZeGrimReaper was ahead with a flush. Ouch. Aces flushed out in almost a 2M pot. The river was the 5♥ . Without a qualifying low, rbkgutt lost with backdoor trip fives against ZeGrimReaper’s King-high flush. Norway’s rbkgutt became the first player to exit the final table. Sixth place paid out $6,156.00.

SING A SIMPLE SONG: TJR43 eliminated in 5th place

Short-stacked TJR43 couldn’t fend off a siege of the castle. This hand actually went all the way to the river before someone shoved. ZeGrimReaper opened to 80,888 and TJR43 called. The flop was 8♥ 5♦ 4♥ . TJR43 check-called an 88,888 bet. The turn was the 10â™  . TJR43 check-called a bet of 108,888. The 9♣ fell on the river. TJR43 checked, ZeGrimReaper shoved for 5,090,266, and TJR43 called all-in for 289,732.

ZeGrimReaper: A♣ A♥ 4♦ 2♠
TJR43: A♦ 7♥ 5♣ 3♦

At showdown, ZeGrimReaper scooped with a pair of Aces and a 8-5-4-2-A low, which edged out TJR43’s pair of fives and 8-5-4-3-A low. TJR43 busted in fifth place, which paid out $9,234.00.

With four to go, ZeGrimReaper was closing in on 6M, followed by aDrENalin710 and luk45zp with 1.6M each, and Oledjan was the shorty with 1M.

YOU CAN MAKE IT IF YOU TRY: aDrENalin710 eliminated in 4th place

Aces for Aces. Fight for the death. aDrENalin710 instigated the ruckus with a bet of 80,000, luk45zp bombed it all-in for 1,890,905, and aDrENalin710 called all-in for 1,643,504.

luk45zp: A♠ A♣ 7♣ 4♥
aDrENalin710: A♦ A♥ 10♠ 3♦

The board ran out Q♣ 8â™  3♣ 4♣ J♥ . Aces vs. Aces, but the flush won. luk45zp scooped with an Ace-high club flush and a low of 8-7-4-3-A. Yup, Aces held up against aDrENalin710’s pair of Aces and no qualifying low. Russia’s aDrENalin710 was knocked out in fourth place, which paid out $13,338.00. Two-time SCOOP champ and 4-time COOP winner aDrENalin710 will have to wait another day for a fifth overall COOP title.

With three to go, Oledjan was in trouble with 648K. ZeGrimReaper sat atop the big stack with nearly 6M, and luk45zp chipped up to 3.6M.

DEAL? NO

With three to go, action was paused for a lengthy time to discuss a deal. ZeGrimReaper’s lead dwindled to 4M but Oledjan rallied all the way to second with 3.3M and luk45zp was last by default with 2.8M. Any deal had to leave, $1,000 on the table for the champ. The ICM numbers were floated: ZeGrimReaper ($27,328.71), Oledjan ($26,088.26), luk45zp ($25,098.02). And tha’s when all mayhem broke loose. ZeGrimReaper asked for $29K and luk45zp wanted $27K. Oledjan was kind enough to offer up $500 but luk45zp refused to take anything less than second place.

“That is not reasonable,” said ZeGrimreaper. The Reaper counter-offered to take $750 from each player. Oledjan said yes, but luk45zp didn’t want to give up any money and instead wanted an additional $500 from Oledjan.

“Okay, we play. luk does not negotiate,” said ZeGrimreaper.

Without a deal in place, action resumed 17 minutes after it was paused.

EVERYDAY PEOPLE: ZeGrimreaper eliminated in 3rd place

ZeGrimreaper sealed his own tomb. After the deal negotiations collapsed, ZeGrimreaper coughed up the lead to Oledjan. with in a few minutes, ZeGrimReaper had gone from the big stack to out in third. Oledjan limped 30,000, ZeGrimReaper bumped it up to 178,888, Oledjan shoved for 4,506,653 and ZeGrimReaper called all-in for 2,086,147.

Oledjan: A♣ K♥ 5♠ 2♥
ZeGrimReaper: A♠ A♦ 9♣ 7♦

Yeah, Aces cracked when the board ran out K♦ Q♦ 8♥ Kâ™  Q♣ and without a qualifying low Oledjan won the pot with trip Kings. ZeGrimReaper’s two pair — Aces up — were no good. ZeGrimReaper busted in third place, which paid out $19,494.00. Shrewed negoatiating paid off for the final two.

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HEADS-UP: Oledjan (Belarus) vs. luk45zp (Poland)
Seat 2: Oledjan (6,794,188)
Seat 5: luk45zp (3,465,812)

Oledjan had opened up a 2-1 edge. Could Poland rally for the win? Or will Belarus ship the bracelet?

Oledjan lost a pot early and offered up a chance for an even deal with a slight lead. luk45zp said, “Let’s gamble.”

DEAL 2.0? YES!

After an hour or so of rigorous play, Oledjan led 5.6M to 4.6M. They decided to discuss a chop. They originally had to leave $1,000 on the table for the champ, but they agreed to an even money deal in which Oledjan would lock up $29,000 and luk45zp would get $29,000, and instead they would play out for $2,021.00. A light twist, but at least the negotiations went quick.

I WANT TO TAKE YOU HIGHER: Oledjan eliminated in 2nd place; luk45zp wins SCOOP bracelet!

Even with a deal, heads-up lasted over 100 minutes. The lead changed times too many times to count during the first half of heads-up play which was passive considering the rugged nature of the second half of their bout post-deal. The pots increased significantly and the swings widened dramatically. Both players were attempting haymakers with every swing.

The cliff notes on the final stretch went like this: luk45zp took an early lead with a scoop, Oledjan rallied back with a 5.4M pot with trip eights, luk45zp counterattacked with a big win in an 8M pot with a Queen-high straight to beat trip fives. At that point, Oledjan was on the ropes and nearly out of gas. Twenty hands later, luk45zp delivered the decisive blow.

On the final hand… luk45zp led 9M to 1.1M. luk45zp opened to 7.2M and Oledjan called all-in for 1,00,5738.

Oledjan: 10♥ 6♥ 4♠ 2♥
luk45zp: K♣ 7♥ 7♣ 3♥

The board ran out J♦ 10♦ 3â™  K♦ 6♦ . Oledjan lost with two pair (tens an sixes) against luk45zp’s stronger two pair — Kings and treys.

For a gutsy and gritty runner-up performance, Belarus’ Oledjan took home $29,000.00.

Congrats to Poland’s luk45zp for finally breaking through to the winner’s circle. First place paid out $31,021.00 plus a champion’s watch courtesy of Movado.

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SCOOP-39-M ($215 NL Omaha Hi/Lo [6-Max]) results
Entrants: 1,026 (584 entries, 442 re-entries)
Total prize pool: $205,200
Places paid: 132

1. luk45zp (Poland) $31,021.00 *
2. Oledjan (Belarus) $29,000.00 *
3. ZeGrimReaper (Australia) $19,494.00
4. aDrENalin710 (Russia) $13,338.00
5. TJR43 (Canada) $9,234.00
6. rbkgutt (Norway) $6,156.00

* Denotes a deal between the final two players

Head over to the SCOOP homepage for a schedule of remaining events and find out who is in contention for Player of the Series.


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Pauly McGuire is the author of “Lost Vegas” and a freelance contributor to PokerStars Blog.

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