It’s one thing to have 50% of the chips in play when the final table begins, but i’s a whole other thing to actually protect your stack and go wire-to-wire to win the tournament. In TCOOP Event #34, simon1471 held an obvious edge with nine to go, but never looked back and picked off four out of the last five players on his way to a sweet victory and a six-figure payday.

TCOOP Event #34 $215 NL Hold’em (Turbo, 2x-Chance) attracted 2,831 runners who added 1,079 re-buys, which boosted the prize pool to $782,000.00. The top 360 places paid out with $123,556.00 set aside to the eventual champion.

Team PokerStars Pros in the mix included Jonathan Duhamel, Vivian Im, Nacho Barbero, Liv Boeree, Max Lykov, Henrique Pinho, Vicky Coren, Johnny Lodden, Christian de León, and George Danzer. PokerStars Team Online grinding it out in this event included Mickey ‘mement_mori’ Petersen, Andre ‘acoimbra’ Coimbra and George ‘Jorj95’ Lind.

Notables who cashed included Jonathon Duhamel (185th place), mement_mori (199th place) and Vivian Im (325th place).

With ten to go, action went hand-for-hand. mikkemusman open-shoved with A♥ Q♠ and short-stacked Chojjasd called with K♦ 9♦ . The board ran out K♥ 6♠ 2♥ J♠ 10♠ . Chojjasd flopped a pair of Kings to take the lead, but mikkemusman rivered a Broadway straight to win the pot. With Chojjasd’s elimination, the final table of nine was set.

TCOOP Event #34 – Final Table Chip Counts:
Seat 1: jorginho88 (961,152)
Seat 2: salamandryko (1,519,574)
Seat 3: simon1471 (9,441,162)
Seat 4: NigDawG (1,271,245)
Seat 5: Aguskb (927,304)
Seat 6: cola26licht (967,248)
Seat 7: ArielBahia (1,249,375)
Seat 8: KingGorn (1,240,122)
Seat 9: mikkemusman (1,972,818)

The final table commenced during Level 44. Blinds were 70K/140K with a 1,750 ante. With almost 50% of the chips in play, simon1471 held a commanding lead with 9.4 million. Aguskb was the shortest with 941K.

NigDawG eliminated in 9th place

The final table did not stay nine-handed very long before the first player hit the road. NigDawG moved all-in for 893,745, ArielBahia re-shoved for 1,209,375, and everyone else got out of the way. Heads-up. NigDawG trailed with 2♦ 2♥ against ArielBahia’s J♠ J♣ . The board ran out K♠ 8♥ 4♣ 3♠ 5♣ . NigDawG failed to improve pocket deuces and ArielBahia’s Jacks held up. NigDawG became the first player to bust at the final table, and collected $6,647.00 for a ninth-place finish.

jorginho88 eliminated in 8th place

jorginho88 min-raised to 400,000, salamandryko re-raised all-in for 822,074, and jorginho88 called all-in for 3,652 more. jorginho88 was in trouble with A♠ 7♣ against salamandryko’s A♣ J♦ . The board ran out Q♦ 6♠ 5♥ 6♣ 10♣ . Neither player improved, but salamandryko won the pot with a pair of sixes and an Ace-Jack kicker. For eighth place, jorginho88 earned $11,339.00.

salamandryko eliminated in 7th place

salamandryko got crippled in a multi-way hand when A♦ J♦ lost to cola26licht’s J♣ 9♣ , after cola26licht flopped a straight. salamandryko busted on next hand. salamandryko called all-in for his last 63,104 with 10♠ 9♣ and was up against simon1471’s K♥ J♥ . The board finished up A♦ 7♠ 3♦ A♥ 6♠ . Neither player improved, but salamandryko was outkicked by simon1471. salamandryko finished the tournament in 7th place and received $19,159.00.

Aguskb eliminated in 6th place

Short-stacked Aguskb bombed it all-in for 1,108,256 and simon1471 called. Aguskb made a final stand with A♣ 3♥ against simon1471’s Q♠ 9♥ . The board ran out J♦ 10♦ 6♥ 8♣ 2♠ . Aguskb failed to improve. simon1471 turned a straight and won the pot. Aguskb was knocked out in sixth place, which paid out $26,979.00.

With five remaining, simon1471 chipped up to 14.3 million, while ArielBahia was on life support with 209K.

ArielBahia eliminated in 5th place

There would be three consecutive knockouts. The first hand invovled super-shorty ArielBahia, who got it all-in for 334,450 with A♣ 5♦ against simon1471’s K♥ 8♦ . The board ran out 9♥ 8♣ 3♦ J♣ 10♦ . simon1471 flopped a pair of eights, which held up. ArielBahia failed to improve hit the road in fifth place, which paid out $34,799.00.

KingGorn eliminated in 4th place

Fireworks ensued on the next hand. Short-stacked KingGorn bombed it all-in for 566,302 and simon1471 called. KingGorn made a final stand with A♠ 5♠ against simon1471’s 8♣ 4♣ . The board ran out K♣ 10♠ 2♠ 5♦ 8♦ . simon1471 rivered a pair of eights to win the pot. KingGorn busted out in fourth place, which paid out $45,747.00.

cola26licht eliminated in 3rd place

On the very next hand… simon1471 opened to 2.7 million, cola26licht called all-in for 254,940, and mikkemusman called all-in for 1,304,386. Three-way.

mikkemusman: K♥ 7♠
simon1471: A♥ 4♦
cola26licht: A♦ J♣

cola26licht was ahead, but the board ran out K♠ Q♥ 7♥ 2♣ 8♣ . mikkemusman flopped two pair to win the main pot and the side pot. cola26licht was knocked out in third place, which paid out $66,470.00.

HEADS-UP: mikkemusman (Norway) vs. simon1471 (United Kingdom)
Seat 3: simon1471 (15,823,788)
Seat 9: mikkemusman (3,726,212)

With two to go, simon1471 held well over a 4-1 edge.

DEAL? NO

Action was paused to discuss a deal. They had to leave $8,000 on the table to the eventual winner. The ICM numbers were floated: simon1471 ($110,825.87) and mikkemusman ($97,530.07). simon1471 shot down the deal and wanted $112,000. mikkemusman rejected the counter offer. Without a deal in place, play resumed.

mikkemusman eliminated in 2nd place; simon1471 wins TCOOP Event #34!

Heads-up lasted nine hands. On the final hand, mikkemusman opened to 2,263,712 and was all-in with A♣ 4♦ and simon1471 called with Q♠ J♦ . simon1471 was behind but the board ran out J♠ 10♦ 6♠ 8♥ 4♣ . mikkemusman rivered a pair of fours, but simon1471 flopped a pair of Jacks to win the pot.

Norway’s mikkemusman busted in second place, which paid out $92,799.94.

Congrats to simon1471 for winning TCOOP Event #34 and earning $123,556.00 for first place.

Watch the final hand in the replayer:

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TCOOP-34: $215 NL Hold’em (Turbo, 2x-Chance)
Entrants: 2,831 (1,079 re-buys)
Prize pool: $782,000.00
Places paid: 360

1. simon1471 (United Kingdom) $123,556.00
2. mikkemusman (Norway) $92,799.94
3. cola26licht (Netherlands) $55,470.00
4. KingGorn (Kenya) $45,747.00
5. ArielBahia (Brazil) $34,799.00
6. Aguskb (Macao) $26,979.00
7. salamandryko (Peru) $19,159.00
8. jorginho88 (Portugal) $11,339.00
9. NigDawG (United Kingdom) $6,647.00

Visit the TCOOP main page to find out who is on top of the Leader Board, and view a list of remaining events.

Pauly McGuire is an author and freelance contributor to PokerStars Blog.

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