Pillay and Bitton Lead Final 12 Players in 2024 SunBet Poker Tour Time Square Main Event
The penultimate tournament day of the 2024 SunBet Poker Tour Time Square Main Event has whittled 71 Day 1 survivors to just 12 hopefuls, all hoping to secure the biggest possible slice of the ZAR5,266,800 ($281,989) prize pool at the Time Square Casino in Pretoria.
Once again, the newest live poker series in South Africa surpassed the guarantee of the marquee event at the same venue where the inaugural stop took place back in 2022. It is hosted in partnership between the Monster Jam Poker Tour (MJPT) and Sun International Group, which owns the entertainment property on the outskirts of the administrative capital. The 418-entry strong Main Event with a buy-in of ZAR15,000 (~$790) attracted mostly local players from all over the country and will determine a champion on Sunday, March 10, 2024.
After ten levels of frantic live poker action, the field was whittled down to one dozen contenders and all but one of the finalists represent South Africa. Cash game player Keegan Pillay leads the way with 2,790,000 while Roy Bitton (2,650,000) and David Ng from Mauritius (2,045,000) complete the overnight podium.
Also still in contention is Jarred Solomon, who sits in second place on the all-time money list of South Africa according to The Hendon Mob database. He finished Day 2 on a high note and bagged up 1,690,000 in chips, good enough for sixth place.
Chip Counts for the Final Day
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keegan Pillay | South Africa | 2,790,000 | 70 |
| 2 | Roy Bitton | South Africa | 2,650,000 | 66 |
| 3 | David Ng | Mauritius | 2,045,000 | 51 |
| 4 | SM | South Africa | 1,820,000 | 46 |
| 5 | Jarred Solomon | South Africa | 1,690,000 | 42 |
| 6 | Danny Dayani | South Africa | 1,290,000 | 32 |
| 7 | Sugen Singh | South Africa | 1,235,000 | 31 |
| 8 | Norman Cherry | South Africa | 1,200,000 | 30 |
| 9 | MAJ | South Africa | 905,000 | 23 |
| 10 | Gareth Kalil | South Africa | 580,000 | 15 |
| 11 | Gavin Sardini | South Africa | 555,000 | 14 |
| 12 | Edgar Antezana | South Africa | 320,000 | 8 |
Day 2 brought all survivors of the four starting tables back to their seats and nearly two dozen of them had to leave empty-handed, as only the top 53 spots were paid. Among the notable casualties before the money were Shannon Elizabeth, Joshua Liebenthal, Jacobus de Nysschen, and Tanith Rothman. High Roller champion Imran Bhojani became the bubble boy when his ace-jack suited ran into the pocket kings of Gareth Kalil.
Father and son duo Brett Toker and Ricky Toker both cashed, the latter winning the family last longer bragging rights with a 32nd place finish. Benjamin "Guppie" Lingenfelder was pursuing a deep run in honour of his father Bennie Lingenfelder, who passed away a few days ago on March 5. He started the day with the chip lead but tangled once too often with Bitton when he three-bet jammed ace-trey at the wrong time.
The very same outer table produced more frantic all-in showdowns in rapid succession with Day 1d chip leader Graham Savings and Samuel Tebege both heading to the payout desk a few minutes later. The final two tables were reached in the penultimate level of the night, after which Ronit Chamani as the last woman standing departed in 18th place.
Elai Mazor and Moon Khan were knocked out by Danny Dayani before the wild ride of Keegan Pillay culminated in a massive all-in showdown with Marko Nortje. Another two hopefuls bowed out in the final hands of the night to end the day in extraordinary fashion.
The final day will recommence at 11 a.m. local time with level 23, which features blinds of 20,000-40,000 and a big blind ante of 40,000. All levels will last 60 minutes each and the conclusion of the tournament is streamed on the Monster Jam Poker Tour YouTube and Twitch channels. The PokerNews live updates will adhere to the 30-minute security delay to not spoil any of the action.
Remaining Payouts
| Rank | Payout (in ZAR) | Payout (in USD) | Rank | Payout (in ZAR) | Payout (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,072,820 | $57,932 | 7 | 173,280 | $9,357 |
| 2 | 751,625 | $40,588 | 8 | 140,200 | $7,571 |
| 3 | 483,230 | $26,094 | 9 | 107,285 | $5,793 |
| 4 | 323,910 | $17,491 | 10 | 90,590 | $4,892 |
| 5 | 249,120 | $13,452 | 11 | 90,590 | $4,892 |
| 6 | 206,460 | $11,149 | 12 | 90,590 | $4,892 |