After a two week run that has seen over one million dollars in cash handed out to its players, Ultimate Bet will wrap up the Third Annual Ultimate Bet Online Championships with a battle for the $1 Million Guaranteed Championship starting this Sunday.
The previous fortnight featured tournaments that have spanned the disciplines of poker. In addition to the main tournaments for the UBOC, Ultimate Bet also ran a “mini-tournament” schedule that players could compete in alongside the main draw for 10% of what the buy in was for the main attraction. From Pot Limit Omaha to a No Limit Heads Up tournament, online professionals and the UB Pro Team have been out in force for each event, with some notable finishes across the board.
In the Sniper Tournament (UB’s form of a bounty tournament) from Wednesday, UB professional Phil Hellmuth had plenty of fans railing him – or perhaps harassing him – as he drove deep into the tournament with a 31st place finish. Joining him in a deep run in the event was veteran online player and burgeoning pro Jon “PearlJammed” Turner, who finished twelfth in the tournament.
The H.O.R.S.E. tournament brought plenty of online and live pros and featured a final table appearance by 2008’s Online Player of the Year. None other than the sideline host of “The Best Damn Poker Show,” “Hollywood” Dave Stann, demonstrated that his poker skills have nearly reached the level of his blackjack abilities as he maneuvered his way to 16th place (one of his three cashes during the UBOC). 2007 World Series of Poker bracelet holder James “mig.com” Mackey finished off the tournament in eleventh place and last year’s OPOY, Alex “AKJHoosier1” Kamberis made the final table before finishing fifth.
In the Pot Limit Omaha event, Hellmuth’s team manager on “BDPS,” Mark “P0kerH0” Kroon showed his chops on the tables. He finished seventh in the PLO tournament and was also able to take down one of the “mini-tournament” events. Expect him to be a part of the activities this weekend on UB.
As the schedule runs up to the $1 Million Guaranteed tournament, there are other tournaments that will interest much of the online community. Friday features a $30K Guaranteed Six Handed Limit Hold’em event with a $120+$10 buy in and Saturday will have players participating in the $100+$9 No Limit rebuy tournament with a $100K guarantee. There are also two “mini-tournament” events running alongside this with $10+$1 buy ins (3K guaranteed for the Six Handed mini and $15K guaranteed for the Rebuy tournament).
Sunday at 5:30 Eastern Time, however, is going to be the big draw for the $1 Million Guaranteed Tournament. Last year’s champion, “Maria Nuccia,” will be hard pressed to repeat as champion with many top live pros and online jammers taking part in the game. If you are one of those who want to take a shot at one of the larger online prizes of the year, head to Ultimate Bet and, if you want to live vicariously through the coverage of the tournament, check the UB Blog for all the information.
