Sunday Briefing: 'G0spRaf0' Wins GGMasters; Francisco Benitez Banks $167k
Table Of Contents
February 9th saw dozens of massive poker tournaments take place online at 888poker, GGPoker, and PokerStars and they created some huge prizes.
Nobody won more from a single tournament that Uruguay��s Francisco ��Tomatee�� Benitez who triumphed in a $5,200 Bounty Builder High Roller event at PokerStars for almost $168,000.
Bounty Builder Series 089: $5,200 NLHE 8-Max High Roller at PokerStars
| Date | February 9th |
| Buy-in | $5,200 |
| Guarantee | $500,000 |
| Entrants | 141 |
| Prize pool | $705,000 |
| ITM | 17 |
Some 141 players turned out for the $5,200 Bounty Builder Series 8-Max High Roller meaning the $500,000 guarantee was smashed out of the ballpark by $205,000. This results in first and second-place banking $65,634 plus any bounties they accumulated along the way.
Such high buy-in tournaments attract the biggest names in poker and this was the case in this tournament.
Double SCOOP Main Event champion Gianluca ��Tankanza�� Speranza reached the final table but his stay was short-lived, busting in eighth-place for a combined prize worth $15,453.
Speranza was joined on the rail by Finnish star Samuel ���urop�an�� Vousden who collected $29,049 thanks to winning more in bounties than eighth-place awarded.
��OYHEMAMUT��
and ��twirlpro�� headed for the showers with $30,727 and $39,385 extra in their PokerStars accounts, before ��a.urli�� lost their stack and headed home with $59,169.Any of the final three players would have made a worthy champion. ��elmerixx�� of Finland ran out of steam in third-place for a cool $67,407, setting up a one-on-one battle with Niklas ��Lena900�� Astedt and Francisco ��Tomatee�� Benitez.
It was Benitez who emerged victorious and he padded his bankroll with $167,606, almost $100,000 more than Astedt who scooped $71,571.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize | Bounty | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Francisco ��Tomatee�� Benitez | Uruguay | $65,634 | $101,972 | $167,606 |
| 2 | Niklas ��Lena900�� Astedt | Sweden | $65,634 | $5,937 | $71,571 |
| 3 | elmerixx | Finland | $44,341 | $23,066 | $67,407 |
| 4 | a.urli | Canada | $34,326 | $24,843 | $59,169 |
| 5 | twirlpro | Hungary | $26,573 | $12,812 | $39,385 |
| 6 | OYHEMAMUT | Uruguay | $20,571 | $10,156 | $30,727 |
| 7 | Samuel ���urop�an�� Vousden | Finland | $15,924 | $13,125 | $29,049 |
| 8 | Gianluca ��Tankanza�� Speranza | Austria | $12,328 | $3,125 | $15,453 |
$215 Sunday Million at PokerStars
| Date | February 9th |
| Buy-in | $109 |
| Guarantee | $1,000,000 |
| Entrants | 10,890 |
| Prize pool | $1,089,000 |
| ITM | 1,934 |
Swedish online poker legend ��eisenhower1�� confirmed his status as one of tournament poker��s greats by triumphing in this week��s Sunday Million.
Eisenhower1 fired two $109 bullets at this week��s massive event and it was a good job he did because it resulted in a $111,769 score. The Swede defeated Brazil��s ��EricBolis�� heads-up to bink the competition, leaving the Brazilian to secure the still welcomed $81,103 runner-up prize.
All but one of the finalists won five-figure prizes. Those big winners included a brace of British players. Andy ��Scouse_AA�� Aspinall banked $30,996 for his fifth-place exit while ��seegul65�� padded their bankroll with $58,586 after falling in third.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | eisenhower1 | Sweden | $111,769 |
| 2 | EricBolis | Brazil | $81,103 |
| 3 | seegul65 | United Kingdom | $58,856 |
| 4 | Fabio ��F1oba�� Pereira | Brazil | $42,712 |
| 5 | Andy ��Scouse_AA�� Aspinall | United Kingdom | $30,996 |
| 6 | Junior ��Melo Jr�� Melo | Brazil | $22,494 |
| 7 | pyszalekPoland | $16,324 | |
| 8 | suarez_BG | Russia | $11,846 |
| 9 | yehpoyi888 | Chile | $8,597 |
GG Masters $150, $300K Gtd at GGPoker
| Date | February 9th |
| Buy-in | $150 |
| Guarantee | $300,000 |
| Entrants | 2,064 |
| Prize pool | $300,000 |
| ITM | 346 |
The $300,000 guaranteed GG Masters saw this week��s title head to Croatia when ��G0spRaf0�� came out on top of a 2,064-strong field to get their hands on $39,962. That prize could have been more substantial but the Croatia struck a deal with Argentina��s ��Bullet-proof�� that saw the runner-up net $36,809.
Everyone who reached the nine-handed final table won almost $3,000 each for the $150 investment.
Israel��s ��kahe1�� and China��s ��tl9841�� were the first casualties of the final table, winning $2,988 and $4,191 respectively.
��whoyesdoor?�� and ��Felipe Ramos�� joined them in the role of spectator and won $5,880 and $8,249, the latter being the final player not to win five-figures from this tournament.
��JusstRelaxx�� scooped $11,572 after falling in fifth-place before the deepest-running British player ��Specknacken�� fell by the wayside in fourth-place and reeled in $16,234.
Russia��s ��LUCKYFISH567�� exited in third for $22,775 before G0spRaf0 beat Bullet-proof heads-up to bink the tournament and claim plenty of points towards the yearly GG Masters Player of the Year leaderboard.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G0spRaf0 | Croatia | $39,962* |
| 2 | Bullet-proof | Argentina | $36,809* |
| 3 | LUCKYFISH567 | Russia | $22,775 |
| 4 | Specknacken | United Kingdom | $16,234 |
| 5 | JusstRelaxx | Uruguay | $11,572 |
| 6 | Felipe Ramos | Brazil | $8,249 |
| 7 | whoyesdoor? | Brazil | $5,880 |
| 8 | tl9841 | China | $4,191 |
| 9 | kahe1 | Israel | $2,988 |
*reflects a heads-up deal
Phased: High Rollers $250 at GGPoker
| Date | February 9th |
| Buy-in | $250 |
| Guarantee | $250,000 |
| Entrants | 1,208 |
| Prize pool | $277,840 |
| ITM | 170 |
Phased tournaments, or multi-day, tournaments are increasing in popularity and it��s easy to see why when a $250 buy-in tournament creates a $277,840 prize pool.
The top five finishers in the Phased: High Rollers $250 at GGPoker secured prizes in excess of $12,000 and shared a cool $127,850 between them.
Estonian pro ��EestiSuperStaar�� locked up the lion��s share of the juicy prize pool, namely $43,907, after becoming the last player standing. The Estonian defeated China��s ��Huaicheng�� in a ferocious one-on-one encounter to resign the runner-up to a $31,863 addition to their bankroll.
The other trio who won a five-figure prize were Germany��s ��Eye0fAfrica�� ($12,177), fourth-place finisher ��Y0UWILLLOSE�� of the United Kingdom ($16,780), and third-place finisher ��HONEYDETECTED�� ($23,123) also of the UK.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EestiSuperStaar | Estonia | $43,907 |
| 2 | Huaicheng | China | $31,863 |
| 3 | HONEYDETECTED | United Kingdom | $23,123 |
| 4 | Y0UWILLLOSE | United Kingdom | $16,780 |
| 5 | Eye0fAfrica | Germany | $12,177 |
| 6 | tellinense | Germany | $8,837 |
| 7 | BeautyRat | Russia | $6,413 |
| 8 | AAlataKK | Malta | $4,654 |
| 9 | FuTimReilly | Netherlands | $3,377 |
$20,000 Whale at 888poker
| Date | February 9th |
| Buy-in | $320 |
| Guarantee | $20,000 |
| Entrants | 67 |
| Prize pool | $20,100 |
| ITM | 7 |
Over to 888poker now where the Sunday Whale sneaked into its $20,000 guarantee by $100. Only the top seven finishers saw a return on their $320 investment due to the compact 67-strong field.
��xFink_Ploydx��, ��carmen.1957��, and ��M9yM9so�� all busted in succession before Finnish pro ��wellyxx�� saw their tournament end in fourth-place for a $2,010 score.
888poker pro Dominik ��888Dominik�� Nitsche busted in third-place for $3,015 which set up a heads-up clash between Preben ��prebzzz�� Stokkan and ��Timmys3��. The latter became the tournament��s champion to get their hands on $7,035, leaving Stokkan to bank $4,522.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Timmys3 | United Kingdom | $7,035 |
| 2 | Preben ��prebzzz�� Stokkan | United Kingdom | $4,522 |
| 3 | Dominik ��888Dominik�� Nitsche | United Kingdom | $3,015 |
| 4 | wellyxx | Finland | $2,010 |
| 5 | M9yM9so | Russia | $1,507 |
| 6 | carmen.1957 | United Kingdom | $1,105 |
| 7 | xFink_Ploydx | Canada | $904 |
$20,000 Sunday Challenge at 888poker
| Date | February 2nd |
| Buy-in | $109 |
| Guarantee | $20,000 |
| Entrants | 210 |
| Prize pool | $21,000 |
| ITM | 27 |
This week��s $20,000 Sunday Challenge saw its guarantee hit as 888poker continues to enjoy a change in fortunes.
Those finishing in the top six places saw a four-figure return on their $109 buy-in.
Russian duo ��M9yM9so�� and ��89rhino89�� secured payouts of $1,050 and $1,260 before Peruvian grinder ��Yoshiaki97�� crashed and burned in fourth spot for $1,837 Third-place and $2,467 went to Malta��s ��wh4tishat3��, which left 888poker regular ��Fukuruku�� and ��Maracuyasour�� of Sweden to fight for the largest prize.
It was the Swede who came out on top, turning their $109 into $4,515. The tournament��s bridesmaid banked $3,255.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maracuyasour | Sweden | $4,515 |
| 2 | Fukuruku | Ukraine | $3,255 |
| 3 | wh4ishat3 | Malta | $2,467 |
| 4 | Yoshiaki97 | Peru | $1,837 |
| 5 | 89rhino89 | Russia$1,260 | |
| 6 | M9yM9so | Russia | $1,050 |
| 7 | SloanWall | Kazakhstan$840 | |
| 8 | LEO_DYNAMITE | Brazil | $630 |
| 9 | Jesusisback | $420 |
Unfortunately, there are no partypoker tournaments to report on in this week��s Sunday Briefing. The site was plagued with connection problems that resulted in dozens of tournaments being cancelled, including the partypoker MILLION that, ironically, hit its $1 million guarantee for the first time since its launch several months ago.
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