The Full Tilt Online Poker Series kicked off on Wednesday night with a bang. The first event of the FTOPS is typically the busiest, and this time around, the $216 buy-in no limit tournament attracted a whopping 5,776 players, ranking it among the largest FTOPS fields ever. Players are attracted to the cheap, no limit action that is a staple of the FTOPS. Team Full Tilt pro Allen Cunningham hosted this goliath of an online poker tournament; in the end, GARFIELD25 took down Event 1 of FTOPS IX, cashing for a healthy $199,398.62.
Here is a look at the top 10 finishers in Event 1. Each of them turned $216 into life-changing money:
1. GARFIELD25 – $199,398.62
2. dorinvandy – $120,781.10
3. daisybyrd – $77,669.76
4. Cryyss – $60,679.50
5. RiverJazz – $45,654.10
6. Mr_Bond222 – $34,096.10
7. acedel15 – $26,583.40
8. mpuskad3 – $20,226.50
9. monopolyguy845 – $15,025.40
10. apache22_2000 – $10,922.31
The top 738 players cashed and the 12 best earned at least $10,000. The highest cashing Full Tilt Poker pro was Steve Brecher, who landed in 111th. Brecher made the final table of the 2004 World Poker Tour Championship event at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, translating his success online to success in the live poker world. Jordan Morgan, another accomplished online poker pro and member of Team Full Tilt, finished in 252nd. For many of the top players, it was their first taste of a five-figure payday.
The field was larger than any tournament held in FTOPS VIII and the biggest since Event 8 of FTOPS VII, which drew 6,000 players. The strong starting contingent bodes well for the rest of the tournament series, which continues today with a pair of events. Event 2 is a $240 + $16 Pot Limit Omaha Eight or Better Knockout tournament, which is among the most unusual tournaments held online. Also on August 7th is a $200 + $16 no limit Hold’em 4 x Shootout Six-Max tournament. Event 2 comes with a $200K guarantee; Event 3 has a quarter million dollar prize pool on the line.
The FTOPS concludes on Sunday, August 17th, with a $535 Main Event. There are 25 events in total, with $15 million on the line in total. The Main Event alone sports a $2.5 million guaranteed prize pool. Event 22 is a Two Day, $2,620 buy-in tournament that is among the premier tournaments offered online. Because of the multi-day aspect, players will feel like they are in an actual WSOP event.
On average, two tournaments kick off daily. The winners of each will get a boost in the FTOPS leader board, which awards a custom avatar to its champion at the end of the series. Those who plays on Full Tilt Poker regularly know that the avatar is not only cause for bragging rights, but it’s also a reflection of a player’s identity.
We’ll have regular updates from the Full Tilt Online Poker Series.