The second running of the made for streaming (on PokerGO) event Poker Masters is off and running, with one tournament already in the books and a second tournament at its final table. This is just the start, however, as a week of high stakes tournament poker action awaits poker fans.
David Peters Takes First $10,000 Tournament over Brian Green
69 entries were registered for the first event on the 2018 Poker Masters schedule, a $10,000 No Limit Texas Hold’em tournament. That number was significant because, over the entirety of the schedule in 2017, no tournament was close to that figure. It bodes well for the other six events on the 2018 schedule and should result in some great action for the viewers.
Coming to the final table, Brandon Adams was the chip leader (2.385 million) but, to be expected of these high buy-in tournaments, there wasn’t a weak seat in the house. Former Super High Roller Bowl champion Rainer Kempe (2.23 million) was right behind Adams, with David Peters (1.585 million), Cord Garcia (1.125 million), Brian Green (880,000) and Isaac Haxton (410,000) rounding out the final table. With these stacks, even the short stacked Haxton (with 20 big blinds) still had some play in the game.
Haxton found a spot to push early, but it didn’t work out for him. Adams would call an all-in from Haxton and be behind, Adams’ A-2 against Haxton’s A-J, but a 7-6-2 flop changed the statistics in favor of Adams. A second deuce on the turn sealed the deal for Adams and sent Haxton to the rail in sixth place as the “rich got richer” and Adams extended his lead.
Peters made his move to the title by doubling up through Kempe. Peters’ pocket Jacks was facing a four-bet all in from Kempe but, in this instance, Peters’ call was the correct one because Kempe made the move with pocket eights. No help came for the German champion and, in one swing, Peters became a contender with the double up to 2.84 million chips.
This seemed to light a fire under Peters as he knocked off Garcia in fifth and chopped a massive chunk of chips from Adams to rocket over the six million chip mark. Peters would take down Adams in fourth and Kempe in third to reach heads up action against Green with nearly an 8:1 lead. Although he had a massive lead, it would take almost 45 minutes for Peters to dispatch Green from the tournament, Peters’ pocket Kings holding up over Green’s pocket eights, for Peters to grab the first championship on the 2018 Poker Masters schedule.
1. David Peters, $193,200
2. Brian Green, $138,000
3. Rainer Kempe, $89,700
4. Brandon Adams, $69,000
5. Cord Garcia, $55,200
6. Isaac Haxton, $41,400
Six Tournaments Left on the Schedule
Peters has taken the early lead in the battle for the Purple Jacket that is given to the overall champion of the Poker Masters, but there’s still six more tournaments to go with the “price of poker” going up each step. Today, a $25,000 No Limit Texas Hold’em tournament is playing its final table, featuring Jared Jaffee, Daniel Negreanu and Brandon Adams, who is making his second final table.
The next five tournaments will offer some events that should test the High Rollers. A $25,000 Pot Limit Omaha tournament starts today, which should draw in several European pros who are well-versed in the game. On Monday, Short Deck Poker – playing Texas Hold’em with the deuces through fives removed from the deck – takes center stage with a $10,000 event. Tuesday will mark the start of a $25,000 No Limit Texas Hold’em event and, if that isn’t high enough stakes for the players, a $50,000 event will open play on Wednesday. The 2018 Poker Masters will wrap up on Thursday, with the start of the $100,000 Main Event.
