American football may have taken center stage with tonight's Super Bowl and those $2.9 million for 30 seconds commercials, but online it was the Team PokerStars Pros taking the spotlight, trying to take home a Sunday Major. Tonight's $750,000 guarantee Sunday Warm-up found 4,710 players who managed to peel their eyes away from the Steelers, Packers, and the many prop bets on whether or which company would air the first commercial, and attempt to take down the $147,780.96 first place prize.
Four Team PokerStars Pros found themselves in the last 1% of the field as Pieter De Korver, Marcin "Goral" Horecki, Liv Boeree, and Daniel "KidPoker" Negreanu were looking to a huge online score to their various live accomplishments. Down to four tables Liv and Marcin got cozy on Table 228 as Daniel and Peter would tangle on Table 300 as the final table was right around the corner after the Black Eyes Peas left the stage during the Super Bowl halftime show.
De Korver was staring at the chip lead with 31 left after finding pocket aces in a three-way all-in against nikolai1986 holding pocket eights, and Supernova Marwetz holding 89o. But the board came down with a straight for Marwetz knocking De Korver down to fumes. Pieter would get some decent gas mileage out to those 66,000 chips with blinds at 30K/60K ante 6K and win his next two consecutive all-ins to get back to over 500K. Three hands later he would retrieve another stack of chips from Marwetz after flipping [As][Jd] vs. Marwetz's pocket fours [4h][4d] and finding a life saving jack on the river [5c] [8s] [6s] [3h] [Jc] to go over a million chips from 66K in just five hands. No, chip-and-chair story however as DNA2RNA would look up Pieter's push from the small blind several hands later with [Ad][Qc]. De Korver was looking good with pocket kings [Ks][Kc] until an ace found its way to the flop [5d] [2h] [As] [Jh] [7s] ending Pieter's night in 24th place ($2,345.58).
Daniel's exit was shortly behind just five hands later with the blinds still at 30K/60K ante 6K after flipping preflop with big stacked Cod Meharly. Pocket sevens [7d][7c] would survive the flop [6h] [Qs] [Kc] for Negreanu against Cod Meharly's [As][Ts]. But the turn hit the gutshot broadway draw [Js] leaving Daniel drawing dead and earning $2,345.58 in 22nd place.
2010 SCOOP Event #13-high and 2007 WCOOP Event champ James "mig.com" Mackey was busy taking down the adjacent table from the two Team PokerStars pros Horecki and Boeree eliminating BLAABAR in 12th place, and after Martwetz shipped his chips to vmnielsen, Mackey would set the final table. With blinds at 80K/160K ante 16K Immm0rtal would shove from the button for 1.1 million as Mackey in the small blind would snap call holding aces [As][Ac]. [Jc][Qs] had an uphill battle and found its first step with a queen on the flop [7c] [6d] [Qc] after the pair though, the second step was never taken as [Ts] on the turn and [2s] river ended Immm0rtal's night in tenth place ($5,652.00) setting up the final table below:
Seat 1: Liv Boeree (4934920 in chips)
Seat 2: DNA2RNA (3671677 in chips)
Seat 3: Aduobe4 (7071757 in chips)
Seat 4: Cod Meharly (6839491 in chips)
Seat 5: vmnielsen (4766508 in chips)
Seat 6: James "mig.com" Mackey (9320760 in chips)
Seat 7: RasA86 (2523124 in chips)
Seat 8: Bjoerni89 (3804035 in chips)
Seat 9: Marcin "Goral" Horecki (4167728 in chips)
Did you order aces again Mr. Mackey?
As the blinds moved up to 100K/200K ante 20K mig.com would min raise from the cutoff as RasA86 took this as weakness and shove for 3.7 million on the button. The blinds folded, Mackey did not and snap called with aces [Ah][Ad]. RasA86 could only produce [9d][Kd] and got a little sweat with the [7h] [Td] [Qh] flop finding four outs. The [6s] was not one of them, and neither was the [3d] finishing RasA86's night in ninth place ($7,536.00).
Team PokerStars pro Marcin Horecki eliminated in 8th place
Watch below as the Polish pro ends up on the short end of a three-way all in with Bjoerni89 and Cod Meharly:
Bjoerni89: [Ah][Ac]
Cod Meharly: [Js][Jc]
Marcin "Goral" Horecki: [Ad][Qh]
An all-low board [2s] [4s] [6c] [8s] [3c] would ship the 16.6 million chip pot to Supernova Bjoerni89 and by rule of chip position Horecki finished in 8th place ($11,775.00) and Cod Meharly who also final tabled Event #8-High at the 2010 SCOOP tournament finished seventh ($21,195.00).
Boeree makes good on her win
After squeezing AQo by the pocket kings of Bjoerni89 for a 10 million chip pot, Boeree put those acquired chips to good use as the blinds moved up to 125K/250K ante 25K. Liv would lead off the betting with a raise to 585,000 from UTG + 1 as vmnielsen shoved for 2.8 million total from the small blind. Boeree covered easily and made the call holding pocket sixes [6c][6h]. A small, suited ace [Ah][4h] for vmnielsen looking for some hearts and failed to find any on the [9c] [5d] [5c] [4s] [3c] board shipping the 6.1 million chip pot to the EPT San Remo champ and finishing vmnielsen's night in sixth place ($30,615.00).
Aces not needed this time, mig.com shoots down another victim
Big run by James Mackey tonight and thanks to a fortunate card on the flop below, it would continue as the chip leader:
Mackey would find himself dominated with the blinds at 150K/300K ante 30K after a series of raises left DNA2RNA all in holding [Kd][Ad]. mig.com was behind with [As][Jd] in this 11.7 million chip pot but no worries, a jack on the flop [6c] [Jh] [8s] [9s] [4c] sent Mackey's stack up to 22 million and sent DNA2RNA untwisted in fifth place ($40,035.00).
Weapons of (poker) mass destruction
Five hands later Mackey was determined to eliminate every player at the final table after shoving over the top of Bjoerni89's cutoff min raise. Holding pocket sevens [7d][7h] and just five million chips with blinds at 150K/300K ante 30K Bjoerni89 would make the call. Only to see mig.com's pocket jacks [Jc][Js] well ahead and the afterburners were set when a jack hit the [Qh] [Jh] [Kd] [6s] [4h] board shipping another 11.4 million chips to Mackey and leave another victim in his wake. The Supernova VIP Bjoerni89 would take home $53,223.00 in fourth place.
Liv knows how to rock
The heavy metal-loving British pro showed Mr. Mackey he is not the only player at this table after staring down a shove from Aduobe4 for 6.9 million and holding [Td][Ad] Liv would make the call. And a good call it was as Aduobe4 flipped up the dominated [9h][Ac]. Both would catch an ace on the turn [3h] [5d] [Ks] [Ah] [Js] but Liv's ten kicker played and collected the 15.7 million chip pot after saying farewell to Aduobe4 in third place ($77,715.00).
Pro vs. Pro
SCOOP, WCOOP, and WSOP Champion James Mackey in one corner holding 28.4 million chips. European Poker Tour champ Liv Boeree in the other corner holding 18.6 million chips and ready for battle as the blinds would start at 150K/300K ante 30K and quickly move up to 200K/400K ante 40K as the Green Bay Packers finished up their champions interviews, we are looking to crown one here.
Not your average heads-up match
Usually heads-up play in the Sunday Warm-up is a quick affair. A quick flip for the remaining chips and $10,000 after the money chop is the norm.
Not tonight. As Boeree and Mackey past the 40 minute mark of their battle and as the blinds moved up to 300K/600K ante Mackey would enjoy his largest lead of the battle at 33 million to Boeree's 13 million and neither player giving a single chip. Five minutes later Liv would double thru Mackey for a 26.2 million chip pot holding [9d][Qs] and catching a nine on the door [9c] [Ah] [2c] [Ad] [5c] to best Mackey's [Kd][Jc].
Team PokerStars pro Arnaud "frenchkiss" Mattern sums it up well: "sick"
The heads-up match would push past an hour and even with the below 30 big blind stacks at 400K/800K ante 80K, both continued to play on with several fellow Team Pros looking on. The two players finally decided to take things preflop with Mackey holding 18 million to Liv's 28 million chips they would get all of them in preflop.
mig.com: [Ad][6c]
Liv Boeree: [7c][7s]
The ace would fail to appear on the [5s] [Qh] [9s] [5c] [Qc] board and Team PokerStars pro Liv Boeree takes down the Sunday Warm-up for $147,780.96!
$750,000 Guarantee Sunday Warm-up results (02-06-11)
1. Team PokerStars Pro Liv Boeree (Kent) $147,780.96
2. James "mig.com" Mackey $109,743.00
3. Aduobe4 (Waghäusel) $77,715.00
4. Bjoerni89 (Hann. Münden) $53,223.00
5. DNA2RNA (Tempe) $40,035.00
6. vmnielsen (kbh) $30,615.00
7. Cod Meharly (essex) $21,195.00
8. Team PokerStars Pro Marcin "Goral" Horecki (Warsaw) $11,775.00
9. RasA86 (Copenhagen) $7,536.00