BAY 101 SHOOTING STAR
MARCH 8-12
Bounties, bustouts and breakdowns were the stories that came out of the Bay 101 Shooting Star event last month.
Tournament director Matt Savage has made this event one of the most entertaining stops on the circuit, introducing a number of quirky features to the structure. Indeed, as well as providing a refreshing break from the norm this tournament gives players the chance to profit from the demise of some of the game’s greats.
Amongst the 333 players that lined the tables on Day 1, 17 specially selected “shooting stars” were sheepishly adjusting the targets on their backs and preparing for a rocky ride. Amongst those who carried a $5,000 bounty were famous faces such as T.J. Cloutier, Gus Hansen and Phil Hellmuth. The bonuses didn’t stop there though as a further $10K was on offer for the provisional chip leader after each day.
The action was frenetic from the start as amateur players were prepared to do whatever it took to relieve the bounties of their chips and claim their rewards. First of the “shooting stars” to hit the rail was tournament veteran T.J. Cloutier who’s pocket queens couldn’t find their way past the AJ of Wade Griffith. It wasn’t just the old guys that had a price on their head; many of the game’s finest young upstarts were finding the going tough on Day 1 as they found themselves in the amateurs’ crosshairs. Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Jason Mercier and “ElkY” all had their chances of success cut short just a few hours after the start of play. At the conclusion of both starting days it was Eugene Katchalov that held the chip lead and collected the first $10K bonus of the event. Despite the excitement of Day 1 the best was yet to come in the shape of Phil Hellmuth.
The poker brat has won more WSOP bracelets than anybody else in history but on the World Poker Tour he is but a mere virgin, bare and undecorated with no titles to his name. This black mark on the pristine record of Hellmuth looked as though it might change though as he found himself riding high throughout Day 2. Indeed, he topped the leaderboard at the end of the day closely followed by former WPT champions Nick Shulman and Farzad Jaka.
Despite the early start and each table being played 6-handed the pace was relatively slow on Day 3. The deep stacks and slow structure implemented by Matt Savage ensured that remaining 27 players had ample chance to demonstrate their skills on route to the final. Eliminations were inevitable though and after coming agonisingly close to making his first WPT final table since Season III, “Miami” John Cernuto eventually crashed out in 11th place for $29,300. The clock seemed to stop after Cernuto’s exit as it took another five and half hours for the next player to bust. With the twilight hours in full swing, David Forster was finally felted before Scotty Nguyen (9th) and Brian Rast (8th) both joined him at the cashier’s desk. As the clock struck 2am the final table was set along with Phil Hellmuth’s chance to claim his first WPT title.
Phil’s chip stack was enough to see him start the finale in second place but, despite his best efforts, that elusive title was to remain a grey area on his otherwise glittering resume. The excellent structure ensured things didn’t descend into a shovefest from the off, however, it took just 41 hands for Phil Hellmuth to be brought to his knees, quite literally. Following a 20,000 bet pre-flop, Hellmuth found himself 4-betting Any Seth’s raise and eventually calling off the remainder of his stack with Qd Qc. The stage was set for the perfect Hellmuth blow-up as Andy Seth’s Ac Jc looked destined to outdraw his pocket queens and send the poker brat into meltdown. The flop and turn ran out Kd 6s 5s 10h, meaning Hellmuth only needed to dodge one bullet to stay alive. Bang: an ace on the river came out of nowhere, shooting down Hellmuth’s title hops and leaving him literally paralysed on the casino floor. After finally being persuaded to leave the stage a more composed Hellmuth returned ten minutes later accept his applause and congratulate his opponent.
With the biggest threat at the table gone the players were now free to exercise some aggression, something which saw Matt Keikoan and Hasan Habib fall in fifth and sixth respectively. The pace slowed a little before Dan O’Brien faded into the shadows just after midnight, when his Jd-2d couldn’t overturn Andy Seth’s pocket sevens. At the start of the heads-up battle it was Mclean Karr that held the advantage but that was soon overturned when he had to concede a large pot on the river. The roles were soon reversed again though and when the final chips went in it was Karr’s 8c 8d that was miles ahead of 4c 4s. An uneventful board of Ks, 10s, 3d, Ac, Ah sent the stacks Karr’s way as well as a cheque for $878,500. Seth’s second place earned him $525,000, plus an extra $20,000 in bounty money.
FINAL TABLE PAYOUTS
1st Mclean Karr — $878,500
2nd Andy Seth — $521,500
3rd Dan O’Brien — $292,800
4th Hasan Habib — $234,300
5th Matt Keikoan — $175,700
|
