Poker Premier League Winners
After several long days of preliminary action at the Aspers Casino near London, the latest PartyPoker Premier League champion was crowned late Saturday night. Dan Shak continued his incredible run in 2013 by topping the talented eight-handed final table to earn $450,000. Shak won a long heads-up battle against Sam Trickett, who collected $200,000 for his runner-up finish.
PartyPoker Premier League VI Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dan Shak | $450,000 |
| 2 | Sam Trickett | $200,000 |
| 3 | Antonio Esfandiari | $150,000 |
| 4 | Jonathan Duhamel | $125,000 |
| 5 | Daniel Cates | $100,000 |
| 6 | Tobias Reinkemeier | $70,000 |
| 7 | Jennifer Tilly | $60,000 |
| 8 | Talal Shakerchi | $45,000 |
Shak began the final table third in chips after earning 39 points in the four qualifying heats of Group B. Each finalist received 10,000 in chips for every point earned during the preliminary matches that took place earlier this week. Tobias Reinkemeier led Group B with 46 points and took the chip lead to the final table. He was followed closely by Group A leader Jonathan Duhamel, who sat down with 420,000 in chips.
Among the players who fell short of the final table were Daniel Negreanu, Tony G, Phil Hellmuth, Jason Mercier, Marvin Rettenmaier and Phil Laak.
Champions League; AFC Cup; South America; CONMEBOL Libertadores; CONMEBOL Sudamericana. U21 Premier League Division 1; Campionato Primavera 1; U19 Bundesliga.
Here's how the final table stacked up to begin:
| Place | Player | Chips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tobias Reinkemeier | 460,000 |
| 2 | Jonathan Duhamel | 420,000 |
| 3 | Dan Shak | 390,000 |
| 4 | Dan Cates | 340,000 |
| 5 | Talal Shakerchi | 280,000 |
| 6 | Sam Trickett | 270,000 |
| 7 | Antonio Esfandiari | 230,000 |
| 8 | Jennifer Tilly | 190,000 |
Talal Shakerchi was the first player to hit the rail despite building a big stack early at the final table. In the biggest hand of the day up until that point, Antonio Esfandiari was all in for 328,000 with the against Shakerchi's . The better hand held up, leaving Shakerchi with just three big blinds. On the next hand Shakerchi was dealt pocket kings, but was run down by Jennifer Tilly's . In addition to the $56,000 he earned during the preliminary heats (players received $2,000 for each point collected), Shakerchi was awarded $45,000 for his eighth-place finish.
Tilly wasn't able to put Shakerchi's chips to much use as she was the next player eliminated. After losing a crucial preflop confrontation against Trickett (losing to ), Tilly got her last 12,000 in with the against Duhamel's . The flop gave Tilly some hope with a flush draw, but the turn and river left her exiting the event with $60,000 (plus $38,000 earned during the preliminary heats).
Reinkemeier dominated Group B all week, but he couldn't get much going at the final table and eventually fell in sixth place. Reinkemeier, Dan Cates and Duhamel saw a flop of , and Cates let out for 25,000. Reinkemeier moved all in for 185,000, Duhamel cold called, and Cates decided to get out of the way. Reinkemeier tabled the for top pair, but was drawing nearly dead against Duhamel's for a straight. The turn and river weren't enough to save Reinkemeier, and he exited in sixth place with $70,000 (plus $92,000 earned during the preliminary heats).
Read everything you need to know about the Premier League since its inception in season 1992-93. Including season reviews, awards, kits, videos and photos. Visit the official website of the Premier League for more details. This website is operated by MT SecureTrade Limited ('us', 'our', 'we' or the 'Company'), a company incorporated under the laws of Malta with registration number C56545 and Party Poker Premier League Winners registered address at @GIGBeach Triq id-Dragunara, St. Julians, STJ 3148, Malta.
Cates avoided disaster in that hand, but he didn't last much longer. After Shak opened with a preflop raise, Cates moved all in with the , and Shak called with the . The man known as 'Jungleman' was in excellent position to double up until the flop gave Shak a set, leaving Cates in dire shape. The turn and river brought no help to the online cash-game superstar, and he hit the rail in fifth place for $100,000 (plus $68,000 earned during the preliminary heats).
Shak continued his onslaught by sending Duhamel home in fourth place. After losing a big pot with the to Trickett's , Duhamel lost a cooler to Shak for the rest of his stack. Duhamel raised to 40,000 preflop with the , and Shak defended his big blind with the . The flop was checked by both players, but the on the turn sparked fireworks. Shak bet 80,000, Duhamel moved all in, and Shak quickly called with his higher two pair. The on the river eliminated Duhamel with $125,000 in addition to the $84,000 he earned during the Group A qualifiers.
Esfandiari, who earned his seat to the final table by defeating defending champ Scott Seiver in the heads-up qualifying round, was the short stack heading into three-handed play. He wasn't able to gain any ground on the leaders and eventually became the third straight victim of Shak.
Shak opened to 40,000 with the , and Esfandiari moved all in for 324,000 with pocket nines. Shak went into the tank before deciding to call, only to find out that he was in bad shape. The flop kept Esfandiari in control, but Shak picked up some additional outs. The turn brought Esfandiari one step closer to a much-needed double, but the river gave Shak two pair and sent Esfandiari out the door with $150,000 (plus $46,000 earned during the week).
Shak entered heads-up play with a nearly 2-1 chip advantage over Trickett, but the Brit took the lead when he made a bigger flush against Shak. Trickett limped with the on the button, and Shak checked his option with the . The flop came , and Shak check-called a bet from Trickett, bringing the on the turn. Shak check-called again, and the hit the river. Shak checked for a third time and Trickett bet 240,000 into a pot of around 300,000. Shak called with his nine-high flush, but Trickett's nut flush took it down.
Shak battled back with the help of an unconventional play that left Trickett in the tank for several minutes. On a board of , Shak made a huge over-shove of 1,165,000 into a pot of 200,000. The bet was enough to cripple Trickett if he were to lose, and he spent the next 10 minutes deep in thought.
“This is the longest I’ve ever taken over any poker decision in my life,' Trickett said.
Trickett opted to call with the for two pair, but Shak had the for a rivered flush. Trickett was left with just 78,000, and he was eliminated on the very next hand, giving Shak the Premier League VI trophy and $450,000.
Shak added his name to impressive list of Premier League champions that includes Juha Helppi, Andy Black, J.C.Tran, David Benyamine and Seiver. With the win, Shak now has more than $1.4 million in tournament earnings already in 2013. He currently sits third in the Global Poker Index Player of the Year race, but his Premier League result will not count toward the standings.
Data and lead photo courtesy of the PartyPoker Blog.
Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us both Facebook and Google+!
Tags
Party PokerPremier League PokerSam TrickettJonathan DuhamelAntonio EsfandiariTobias ReinkemeierRelated Room
PartyPokerRelated Players
Tobias ReinkemeierAntonio EsfandiariJonathan DuhamelSam Trickett
| Tony Bloom | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Lizard |
| Born | Anthony Grant Bloom 20 March 1970 (age 50) Brighton, Sussex, England |
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | None |
| Money finish(es) | 11 |
| Highest ITM Main Event finish | 512th, 2006 |
| World Poker Tour | |
| Title(s) | None |
| Final table(s) | 1 |
| Money finish(es) | 2 |
| European Poker Tour | |
| Title(s) | None |
| Final table(s) | None |
| Money finish(es) | 1 |
Anthony Grant Bloom (born 20 March 1970 in Brighton, Sussex) is a British professional sports bettor, poker player, entrepreneur and owner/chairman of Premier Leaguefootball club Brighton & Hove Albion and Belgian First Division B team Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.
Poker and betting[edit]
Bloom has been a sports bettor and property investor, nicknamed The Lizard.
Bloom appeared in the Late Night Poker television series and also has a final table appearance on the World Poker Tour. He also made back-to-back final table appearances in the first two Poker Million events. His first major win came in January 2004 when he won the Australasian Poker Championship in Melbourne, collecting a first prize of around A$420,000 ($320,000, £180,000).[1]
Bloom won the £5,000 No LimitHold'emVC Poker Cup Final in London on 5 August 2005 and won the £200,000 ($351,401) first prize.
He also had a fourth-place finish in the 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions. He was a member of the winning British team in the Poker Nations Cup.
Poker Premier League Winners Results
As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $1,500,000. Bloom won A$600,000 for his second-place finish in the High Rollers Challenge, event 8 of the Australian Poker Millions tournament held in Melbourne in Jan 2009.
Bloom fell short of the million pound grand prize in the Poker Million IX event held in London on 10 December 2010. He finished second behind Gus Hansen.[2]
Entrepreneur[edit]
Bloom is believed to have accumulated wealth through developing online gambling and gaming websites, and through property and start-up investments.[3][4]
Football chairman[edit]
Since 2009, Bloom has been the chairman of Brighton & Hove Albion, who are currently a Premier League club, having gained promotion in the 2016–17 season after 34 years out of the top flight of English football.
He succeeded Dick Knight after securing a 75% shareholding in the club and investing £93 million in the development of the club's new ground, Falmer Stadium.[5][6] Since the stadium has been built, it has received numerous extensions in spectator capacity and has received funding to ensure that it is 'Premier League ready' by installing floodlights, amongst other minor features.
Upon taking over the club, Bloom declared his love of the game, 'I've been a football fan and a gambler since the age of about seven or eight. My interest in both developed at the same time.'[7] Bloom is a longtime fan of Brighton[8] and his family has had a long association with the club: his uncle Ray is a director and his grandfather, Harry, was vice-chairman during the 1970s.[9]
On becoming chairman, Bloom appointed former Uruguay international Gus Poyet as manager, and together they led the team to promotion from Football League One as champions in 2011, the season before Brighton moved into their new home - the Falmer Stadium. Poyet left the club in 2013 after losing in a play-off semi-final to Crystal Palace. In June 2013, Bloom appointed Óscar García as the new head coach of the club; Garcia resigned after losing a second successive play-off semi-final to Derby County and left the club in May 2014. The next manager was former Liverpool player Sami Hyypiä, who only lasted a few months in the managerial role after a poor start to the 2014–15 season left Brighton in the relegation zone. Chris Hughton became manager towards the end of 2014, and the club have been successful since.
Hughton steered Albion to safety in their 2014–15 campaign, and then guided the club to a 3rd-place position in the Championship in the following season, missing out on promotion to Middlesbrough on goal difference. The club would be defeated in the play-off semi final, for the third time in four years, this time to Sheffield Wednesday.
Brighton went one step further in the 2016–17 season under Hughton's management and Bloom's ownership, finishing 2nd in the Championship and gaining promotion to the Premier League for the first time in the club's history. Bloom backed Hughton in the following transfer window, breaking several record transfer fees to improve the squad, readying Brighton's first Premier League season. On 13 May 2019, immediately after the end of the season, with the club ending at the 17th position and thus securing its top-tier status for the coming season, Bloom released a statement to the effect that 'it was time for a change' and sacked Hughton, replacing him with Championship's Swansea coach Graham Potter.[10]
In 2018, Bloom completed the takeover of Belgian second division club Union SG.[11]
Personal life, and other ventures[edit]
Bloom is Jewish, and has contributed significantly to the development of a synagogue project in Hove. He stepped in with the Brighton and Hove Hebrew Congregation suffering financial problems, and the funding for the development will come from his Bloom Foundation, of which he is the chairman.[12]
References[edit]
- ^Tony Bloom's Player Profile and HistoryArchived 2 March 2010 at the Wayback MachinePokerpages. Retrieved 1 May 2010
- ^Hendon Mob DatabaseThe Hendon Mob. Retrieved 26 May 2011
- ^https://www.businessinsider.com/tony-bloom-biography-2017-4
- ^https://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/4387975.how-bloom-hit-the-jackpot/
- ^Stadium Funding SecuredArchived 22 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Seagulls World, 18 May 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2009
- ^Prediction for 09-10 SeasonSquarefootball, 21 February 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2009
- ^TONY IS BLOOM-ING GOODNOTW, 16 May 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2009
- ^Szczepanik, Nick (22 May 2009). ''I'm no Abramovich' says new Brighton chairman'. Times Online. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- ^Szczepanik, Nick (19 May 2009). 'Brighton secure £93m investment'. Times Online. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- ^'Brighton: Chris Hughton surprised and disappointed by sacking'. BBC. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
- ^https://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/16239606.done-deal-albion-chairman-tony-bloom-completes-takeover-of-belgian-club-saint-gilloise/
- ^'Albion owner finances new synagogue project'. The Argus. 28 October 2017.