A new season meant a new challenge for one internet qualifier and eleven of the poker world’s elite – but who would emerge victorious from the PartyPoker.com Premier League Poker IV?
Heat 1: Unabomber Starts with a Bang
With Doyle Brunson pulling out of the Premier League line-up just days ahead kick-off, it was Texas Dolly’s replacement Phil Laak who got the season four campaign up and running with a commanding win in the first heat.
In spite of being a last-minute addition to the roster, the Unabomber proved that he was no mere understudy by powering to victory against reigning champion JC Tran heads-up to take on the early mantle of league leader.
Heading into one-on-one play with the defending champ holding an almost 4-to-1 chip lead, the heads-up affair was a brief encounter as Laak’s three-bet all-in holding K-7 was looked up by Tran’s A-5, with the bomber spiking a seven to secure the win.
Premier League Poker debutant Daniel Negreanu, meanwhile, got his campaign off to the worst possible start by crashing out after his flopped two-pair was coolered by Laak’s middle set, with “Kid Poker” picking up a fat zero in his first ever appearance.
Heat 2: Back-to-Laak Wins Extend Early Lead
Fortune smiled on Phil Laak once again in Premier League Poker’s second heat as the Unabomber made it back-to-back wins against Roland De Wolfe to extend his lead at the top of the table to a gaping 15 points.
Laak was indebted to the timely intervention of Lady Luck as, having struggled to see off De Wolfe in spite of his heads-up chip lead, an all-in pre-flop saw Laak’s pocket twos spike a set against the Brit’s pocket eights to gift him his second victory.
“We should really check these decks because some of these things just should not happen,” said a bemused but clearly delighted Laak following the win, adding, “I’m in a great position already and I’m determined to make this strong start count.”
With newcomer David Benyamine finishing third, Tran had to settle for fourth place and slipped further behind Laak in the standings, while the unfortunate Yevgeniy Timoshenko made some great lay-downs but was unable to avoid busting first.
Heat 3: Benyamine Battles Back to Close Gap
Despite the Frenchman being severely under the weather, David Benyamine climbed out of his sick bed to battle to victory against online qualifier Giovanni Safina heads-up and close the gap on league leader Phil Laak.
With the Unabomber out of action for Heat 3, the rest of the field had the chance to play catch-up, but while Benyamine fortuitously turned two-pair after getting his chips in behind to score a vital win, third-placed Roland De Wolfe was the first player out.
Though he had to settle for second, Safina was delighted to move up to fifth place in the league standings. “This is a dream,” said the amateur. “Just to be sat at the table with Negreanu and Benyamine is enough and without the bad beats I would’ve won!”
Among the other competitors, Phil Hellmuth scored his second sixth-place finish, Daniel Negreanu moved off the foot of the table with four points and Yevgeniy Timoshenko recorded a decent haul after finishing third.
Heat 4: Laak Hits Premier League Hat-Trick
Phil Laak’s incredible run in Premier League Poker continued in Heat 4 as he defeated David Benyamine heads-up in a top-of-the-table clash to maintain his 100% record in season four.
Unlike his previous two victories, this time Laak had to overturn a chip deficit in one-on-one play, but his heater continued as he doubled-up to assume the lead before flopping gin with K-10 on an A-10-10 board. With Benyamine holding A-K, the chips were destined to go in, and no miracle ace ensured Laak took his total to 48 points.
“How the hell did I do that?! These flops just keep coming!” exclaimed Laak after winning a heat that also saw third-placed JC Tran stumble to an early exit as both Giovanni Safina and Luke Schwartz continued to rise up the table with solid fourth and third place finishes respectively.
The result ensured that both Laak and Benyamine booked their place in the final, while the other four seats remained very much up for grabs.
Heat 5: Frazer Raises the Roof
Knowing that he needed to score big if he was to have any hope of progressing into the final, Ian “The Raiser” Frazer went one better and took down Heat 5 with a heads-up victory over Luke Schwartz.
The result provided a welcome fillip for both players’ league chances, but it was Frazer who had the most to smile about when his pocket kings successfully held up against Schwartz’s A-9 to hand him maximum points.
In a heat marked by Schwartz’s entertaining histrionics throughout, further point hauls were notched by Giovanni Safina in third and Daniel Negreanu in fourth to bolster their final table aspirations, while Phil Hellmuth’s chances were all-but ended by a disappointing seventh place finish after he ran A-Q into A-K.
The Poker Brat nevertheless took his exit in good humour by cycling a few laps of the studio on Tony G’s bike before hitting the rail, with the PartyPoker ambassador following him into the saddle two places later in fifth.
Heat 6: Kid Poker Scores Last-Gasp Win
In a truly breathless final heat that saw the league’s bottom five all in contention, countless points permutations meant that strategy was the name of the game as players battled to secure their Premier League survival.
Ultimately it was the tactical mind of Daniel Negreanu that prevailed as he defeated Phil Hellmuth heads-up to secure the win that would see him safely into the play-offs, while his opponent just missed out on account of other results.
Despite their being so much at stake, a jovial air was leant to proceedings by Roland De Wolfe who, having visited a local fancy dress shop before filming, proceeded to dress up his tablemates as Darth Vader, Austin Powers and Kermit the Frog.
His relaxed approach paid dividends as a third place finish saw De Wolfe bag a play-off spot, while – knowing that he only had to hang in to secure automatic qualification – Luke Schwartz finished fourth to lock-up third place in the final table.
Having won each of his last three tournaments, league leader Phil Laak was brought back down to earth with a bang as he was knocked out first, but even that blip couldn’t stop the Unabomber from starting the final table with the biggest chip stack.
Final League Standings
Q Phil Laak - 48
Q David Benyamine - 38
Q Luke Schwartz - 29
Q Giovanni Safina - 29
P Daniel Negreanu - 26
P Ian Frazer - 26
P Roland De Wolfe - 22
P JC Tran - 20
R Phil Hellmuth - 19
R Yevgeniy Timoshenko - 16
R Vanessa Rousso - 16
R Tony G - 11
Key: (Q) Qualified; (P) Play-Off Spot; (R) Relegated
Final Table
With the two heads-up play-off matches resulting in safe passage to the final for Daniel Negreanu and Roland De Wolfe, it was an all-star cast that lined up alongside Giovanni Safina on his fairytale final table.
The online qualifier began play joint-third in chips with Luke Schwartz after the six finalists’ league tallies were translated into their starting stacks, meaning that Phil Laak kicked off proceedings as the overwhelming leader.
However, the Unabomber’s sensational run in this season’s Premier League Poker came to an abrupt end after several levels on play when he raised pre-flop with 10-10 only for David Benyamine to promptly ship his stack into the middle.
Tanking for some time before making the call – Negreanu telling Laak he, “should lose for taking so long” – he found himself racing against the Frenchman’s A-K, but an ace on the turn spelt the end and he disappointingly hit the rail in sixth place.
After Laak’s elimination, the bust-outs came thick and fast with Roland De Wolfe’s A-J falling to Negreanu’s pocket sevens when the Canadian spiked a set – and Kid Poker himself busted in fourth after losing out to Benyamine’s flopped top two-pair.
That meant that Safina’s remarkable run in the tournament had already secured over $150,000 for the Italian lawyer – and it could have been even more had his shove with A-9 not been called by Luke Schwartz’s K-3, which spiked a pair to put him out.
With Schwartz now holding the chip-lead going into heads-up play, it looked like it was going to be the Londoner’s day, but after Benyamine quickly doubled up with K-10 against his K-7 and then assumed the chip lead with a straight a few hands later, what was already an enthralling encounter had turned on its head once more.
The final hand came when Benyamine’s check-raise on a 5-3-Q flop saw Schwartz move all-in, with the Frenchman pausing to think a moment with Q-8 before making the call. Schwartz tabled Q-2 for the same pair with a worse kicker; and a 7 on the turn and 6 on the river ensured that Benyamine captured his first Premier League.
“It feels really good winning a title; I’m still not used to doing it!” admitted the Paris-born poker player on collecting his trophy and $400,000 winners’ cheque, while the vanquished Schwartz vowed that he’d return to avenge his runner-up spot in the next season of Premier League Poker. Only time will tell if remains true to his word.
Final Payouts
David Benyamine – $476,000 (38 points)*
Luke Schwartz – $258,000 (29 points)
Giovanni Safina – $158,000 (29 points)
Daniel Negreanu – $132,000 (26 points)
Roland De Wolfe – $114,000 (22 points)
Phil Laak – $146,000 (48 points)
Ian Frazer – $52,000 (26 points)
JC Tran – $40,000 (20 points)
Phil Hellmuth – $38,000 (19 points)
Yevgeniy Timoshenko –$32,000 (16 points)
Vanessa Rousso – $32,000 (16 points)
Tony G – $22,000 (11 points)
*$2,000 awarded for every league point accumulated. |
