Capping a week of potentially his best poker ever, Germany’s Steffen Sontheimer picked up his second victory of the 2017 Poker Masters, the $100,000 Main Event, and easily claimed the overall “Player of the Series” championship and the Purple Jacket that goes along with the title.
Three days of play saw the 36 entries whittled down to the final six, the only men (and the entirety of the Poker Masters was a sausage fest – no ladies took part in the series of tournaments) who would receive a payday from the $3.6 million prize pool. At the start of action on Wednesday it was another German, Fedor Holz, who led the final table with his 1.471 million in chips. Three more German players, Christian Christner (1.367 million), Sontheimer (1.354 million) and Stefan Schillhabel (1.218 million) provided a German wall against two States of America players, Justin Bonomo (1.05 million) and Seth Davies (740,000), who had their work cut out for them in breaking through the German blockade.
Essentially Sontheimer had the Purple Jacket sewn up from the start as any of the other five men needed to win the Main Event to knock him from his perch AND needed Sontheimer to finish down the table to slip past him. But there was still a great deal of money to divvy up, hence the early action was quite placid as the participants jousted amongst each other for position. How placid? It was almost five HOURS before the first elimination would take place.
On Hand 93, Schillhabel moved all in over the top of a Bonomo bet and Bonomo was up to the challenge. Schillhabel was ahead at the start with his A-3 over Bonomo’s K-Q off suit and his lead improved when a trey came on the flop. Schillhabel dodged paint on the turn but, when a K♣ slapped the river, the result completely flipped over to Bonomo and sent Schillhabel to the rail in sixth place.
Even with the Schillhabel chips, Bonomo was still in dire straits with his short stack. On Hand 122, he got his remaining chips to the center in a completely dominated position. Bonomo’s K-10 was in a terrible spot against Sontheimer’s A-10, but it got even worse when Christner joined the part with his Big Slick. Covered on both avenues, an eight-high flop hit nobody, keeping Christner in the lead and sending Bonomo to the rail in fifth place.
After Bonomo’s departure, the pace of play ramped up. Davies would head out the door in fourth place only two hands after Bonomo, taking a tough beat when his A-7 was outrun by Christner’s K-7 when a King appeared on the flop. Christner’s rush continued when, on Hand 126, he knocked off Holz in third place when his pocket sevens stood up against Holz’s Q-J on an intriguing yet uneventful A-10-2-8-5 board.
At this point, Sontheimer captured the overall series championship and the Purple Jacket. With his final challenger in Holz out of the running, Sontheimer would earn enough cash – the criteria for the Poker Masters Player of the Series battle – that Christner could not catch him. The best that Christner could do was finish in second place behind Sontheimer, with the other option being a fourth-place finish should Sontheimer win.
At the start of heads up play, Christner was in a dominating spot with his 4.91 million in chips. Sontheimer, sitting on 2.29 million as the action kicked off, tried to make some inroads in the first few hands, but Christner was able to pick off the Sontheimer bluffs to increase his lead. Sontheimer righted the ship on Hand 133, getting a big double up when his A-8 flopped an Ace and the turn gave him an eight for two pair against Christner’s pocket deuces. Soon after this double up, Sontheimer would seize control of the event.
On the very next hand, Christner tried to keep the pressure on his countryman with a raise to 115K while holding a meager 7♥ 3♥. Sontheimer called with a connector, 10-9 off suit, and got even stronger on a J-A-8 flop (open-ended straight draw). Sontheimer check-called a bet from Christner and caught gold on the 7♠ turn for the straight. Sontheimer checked, but Christner saw the straight potential and checked behind him. With a second seven on the turn, Sontheimer checked again and Christner felt good about his trips, firing a 320K bet. Finally, Sontheimer sprung to life, check-raising to 1.5 million, which sent Christner into the tank and his time extension buttons. After a moment, Christner made the call and winced when Sontheimer turned up the straight, shifting the chip lead from Christner to Sontheimer.
It would take another 33 hands, but Sontheimer would never let Christner back in the game. On Hand 167, Sontheimer made a raise off the button and Christner moved all in. Sontheimer nearly beat him into the pot, showing pocket Queens, as Christner meekly showed his pocket deuces for battle. The Jack-high board didn’t hit anyone, giving the pot, the Main Event championship, and the Purple Jacket to Sontheimer.
1. Steffen Sontheimer, $1,512,000
2. Christian Christner, $864,000
3. Fedor Holz, $504,000
4. Seth Davies, $324,000
5. Justin Bonomo, $216,000
6. Stefan Schillhabel, $180,000