2018 WSOP Fantasy poker league..

[MintTrav]

Event 37: $1,500 No Limit Hold'em

Winner	Eric Baldwin
Runners	1330
Paid	200
Final Table	9

Player	Position	Points
JC Tran	12	1
Ryan Laplante	16	1
Chris Ferguson	109	1
Conor Beresford	135	1
Rainer Kempe	186	1

Selector	Points		Selector	Points
Joe	2		John 1	1
Tommy	2		John 2	1
Barrie 1	1		Karen	1
Barrie 2	1		Luca 2	1
Chris B	1		Nic 1	1
Del	1		Nic 2	1
English Tom 2	1		Paxo 1	1
Glenn 1	1		Paxo 2	1
Irish Tom 1	1		Simon L	1
Irish Tom 2	1		Stuart	1
Jake	1		Vince 1	1
Jo 1	1

If you've heard players talking about game theory and suchlike, and don't know what they're going on about, the winner has a message for you: “I think a lot of that advancement of strategy stuff can sometimes be taken too far and can sometimes seem intimidating to a recreational player. But there's always trends and strategies and there are always people talking like they are super smart. Don't be intimidated by something like that.”


Runner-up Ian Steinman in an awkward position heads-up

[MintTrav]

Event 38: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship

Winner	Yaniv Birman
Runners	89
Paid	13
Final Table	8

Player	Position	Points
Jesse Martin	2	18
Ben Yu	3	15
James Obst	6	8

Selector	Points		Selector	Points
Adam	23		Glenn 2	15
Barrie 1	23		Karen	15
Chris H 1	23		Nic 1	15
Chris H 2	23		Simon B	15
English Tom 1	23		Suzanne	15
Jake	23		Vince 1	15
Jo 1	23		Carl 1	8
Jo 2	23		Chris B	8
John 1	23		Chris K	8
John 2	23		Craig 1	8
Jordan	23		Craig 2	8
Paul	23		Debbie	8
Paxo 1	23		Luca 1	8
Simon L	23		Luca 2	8
Tommy	23		Rob	8
English Tom 2	18		Stephen 2	8
Aneurin	15		Vince 2	8
Glenn 1	15

Lots of points all round, with Yu and Obst being popular choices.



Ten-year-old Ben Yu is the youngest player ever to reach a WSOP final table

[MintTrav]

Event 39: $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Shootout

Winner	Preston Lee
Runners	908
Paid	100
Final Table	9

Player	Position	Points
Phil Hellmuth	17	1
Martin Jacobson	65	1
Connor Drinan	68	1
Rep Porter	91	1

Selector	Points		Selector	Points
Aneurin	2		John 1	1
Barrie 2	1		John 2	1
Brian	1		Jon	1
Carl 2	1		Luca 2	1
Chris B	1		Nic 1	1
Debbie	1		Paul	1
Del	1		Richard	1
English Tom 2	1		Rob	1
Gareth	1		Stephen 2	1
Irish Tom 2	1		Tommy	1
James 1	1		Vince 2	1

Our cashers all won their first-round shoot-out, but went out in the second round. Hellmuth has a higher finishing position due to finishing third on his second-round table. He had the lead three-way, but was unlucky to lose for stacks twice with AQ both times.

[MintTrav]

Event 40: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet

Winner	Scott Bohlman
Runners	205
Paid	31
Final Table	6

Player	Position	Points
Jeff Lisandro	7	1
Dario Sammartino	10	1
Barry Greenstein	11	1
John Hennigan	12	1
Shaun Deeb	13	1
Mike Matusow	17	1
Scott Clements	20	1
David "ODB" Baker	23	1
Brandon Shack-Harris	24	1
Randy Ohel	30	1
Chris Ferguson	31	1

Selector	Points		Selector	Points
Barrie 1	3		Derek	1
English Tom 2	3		Gareth	1
Paxo 1	3		Irish Tom 1	1
Adam	2		Irish Tom 2	1
Carl 2	2		James 1	1
Chris B	2		James 2	1
Craig 1	2		Jo 1	1
Del	2		Jo 2	1
Jake	2		Joe	1
Luca 1	2		John 1	1
Luca 2	2		John 2	1
Nathan	2		Jordan	1
Nic 1	2		Paxo 2	1
Rob	2		Simon B	1
Simon L	2		Stephen 2	1
Carl 1	1		Stuart	1
Chris H 2	1		Suzanne	1
Chris K	1		Tommy	1
Craig 2	1		Vince 1	1
Dave	1		Vince 2	1
Debbie	1

Another tournament that had a multitude of possible big impacts on our competition - all of which came to nothing as our players wilted under the pressure and, in an incredible sequence, all crashed out just before the final table.

It is amazing that no-one has selected Ryan Hughes, who was runner-up in this. The first player ever to win two Stud 8 bracelets cashed sixteen times last year, including two 5th places, two 7ths and a 10th, one of the 7ths coming in this event. This is only his third cash so far this time round (he was 7th in #35), but there will be more. Here's a tip - pick Ryan Hughes next year.


Ryan Hughes

[MintTrav]

Event 41: $1,500 Limit Hold'em

Winner	Robert Nehorayan
Runners	596
Paid	90
Final Table	9

Player	Position	Points
Jonathan Tamayo	43	1

Selector	Points
Aneurin	1

Nye makes an assault on the leadership table.

All the high limit games are played in LA or Vegas and, unsurprisingly, the final four were all from SoCal/Vegas/Arizona.


Bellagio Limit Pro Terri Gutierrez used her magic to finish fourth

[TheHitDogAF]

Just for John - obligatory Kate Huong photo from #46 $2500 Mixed Hi/Lo

[MintTrav]

Event 42: $25,000 Pot Limit Omaha 8-Handed High Roller

Winner	Shaun Deeb
Runners	230
Paid	35
Final Table	8

Player	Position	Points
Shaun Deeb	1	25
Ben Yu	2	18
Jason Koon	5	10
Jason Mercier	12	1
Robert Mizrachi	15	1
Mike Leah	25	1
Erik Seidel	26	1
Tom Marchese	29	1
Adam Owen	30	1
Paul Volpe	32	1

Selector	Points		Selector	Points
Jo 2	45		Tommy	19
Vince 1	45		John 1	18
Adam	44		John 2	18
Barrie 1	44		Karen	18
Chris H 2	44		Suzanne	18
Jordan	44		Brian	11
Paxo 1	44		Carl 1	4
Simon L	44		Stephen 2	4
Nathan	36		James 1	3
Glenn 2	30		Barrie 2	2
Chris K	28		Dave	2
Carl 2	27		Gareth	2
Debbie	26		James 2	2
Derek	26		Paxo 2	2
English Tom 2	26		Richard	2
Vince 2	26		Rob	2
Chris H 1	21		Stephen 1	2
Paul	21		Chris B	1
Nic 1	20		Craig 1	1
Simon B	20		Craig 2	1
Aneurin	19		Del	1
English Tom 1	19		Irish Tom 2	1
Glenn 1	19		Joe	1
Jake	19		Luca 1	1
Jo 1	19		Stuart	1

Wowsers! That's shaken things up! Eight selectors scored 44 or 45 points, plus lots of other high scores, while Craig got just one point. That's going to close the race right up.

This was the second time that Deeb and Yu got heads-up against each other and Deeb managed to reverse last year's outcome. It's a given that a $25k tournament will have a super-strong field and final table - Scotty Nguyen was third and last year's winner, James Calderaro, was fourth.


See this bracelet? You punks better not forget that I won this thing last time.

[MintTrav]

Just for John - obligatory Kate Huong photo from #46 $2500 Mixed Hi/Lo

Thanks Vince. Appreciated!

[MintTrav]

Craig still has a lead on the peloton, but it has been more than halved. With so many people so tightly packed at the front of the pack, it is inevitable that some will hit another big result. If I was Craig, I would be worried now.

Scores After 42 Events (excl #6 & #11)

Selector	Points		Selector	Points
Craig 1	210		Nic 1	122
Vince 1	187		Carl 1	120
Barrie 1	175		Stuart	119
Adam	171		Luca 2	118
Nathan	171		Suzanne	116
Paxo 1	171		Rob	109
Chris H 2	166		John 1	107
Glenn 1	165		Stephen 2	107
Jordan	164		Joe	106
English Tom 2	160		Stephen 1	106
Carl 2	159		Aneurin	104
Debbie	159		Chris B	99
Jake	157		Barrie 2	96
Paul	155		John 2	95
Jo 2	154		Brian	91
Chris K	149		Richard	88
Simon L	145		James 2	86
Luca 1	144		Justin	85
Simon B	142		Gareth	84
English Tom 1	139		Karen	83
Tommy	139		James 1	82
Derek	138		Nic 2	77
Jo 1	137		Craig 2	73
Del	134		Dave	70
Chris H 1	131		Paxo 2	70
Jon	131		Irish Tom 2	64
Vince 2	128		Irish Tom 1	44
Glenn 2	127

All the details are here:  APAT WSOP


Thanks to Vince for noting some omissions. Also to Jo and Chucky for previous pick-ups.

[Zozzy]

Craig still has a lead on the peloton, but it has been more than halved. With so many people so tightly packed at the front of the pack, it is inevitable that some will hit another big result. If I was Craig, I would be worried now.

[MintTrav]

Event 44: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship

Winner	Nicholas Seiken
Runners	109
Paid	17
Final Table	6

Player	Position	Points
Randy Ohel	2	18
Matt Glantz	5	10
Calvin Anderson	12	1
Mike Matusow	14	1

Selector	Points
Craig 2	28
Craig 1	18
Adam	1
Luca 1	1

You can't keep a good man down. No sooner did it seem like the pack was closing than Craig put in another burst and extended his lead again.

Another loaded final table, but it was won by the only amateur.

[MintTrav]

Event 45: $1,000 Big Blind Antes No Limit Hold'em

Winner	Mario Prats Garcia
Runners	1712
Paid	257
Final Table	9

Player	Position	Points
Jonathan Tamayo	10	1
Joseph Cheong	19	1
Esther Taylor-Brady	21	1
Conor Beresford	32	1
Kristen Bicknell	175	1
Chris Moorman	181	1
Barry Greenstein	209	1
Kenny Hallaert	251	1

Selector	Points		Selector	Points
Simon L	2		Joe	1
Adam	1		John 2	1
Aneurin	1		Jon	1
Brian	1		Karen	1
Dave	1		Nic 1	1
Debbie	1		Nic 2	1
English Tom 2	1		Paxo 2	1
Gareth	1		Suzanne	1
Irish Tom 1	1		Tommy	1
Irish Tom 2	1

A win for Spain this time. Prats was heads-up for a bracelet last year, but ended up second, so was extra pleased and relieved to get back to heads-up again and win this time. No big scores in this on for us. Jon Tomato again came close to doing the job for Nye, but just missed the final table. One player who did get to that table was former Main Event runner-up Martin Staszko, who must have been dreaming of being runner-up again, but it wasn't to be, with him dropping in eighth place. Fellow November-Niner Pierre Neuville also cashed, not for the first time this year.

[MintTrav]

Event 43: $2,500 No Limit Hold'em

Winner	Timur Margolin
Runners	1248
Paid	188
Final Table	9

Player	Position	Points
Ismael Bojang	2	18
Chris Ferguson	4	12
Ryan Laplante	6	8
David Peters	20	1
Michael Addamo	77	1
Maurice Hawkins	79	1
Jeff Gross	88	1
Nick Schulman	178	1

Selector	Points		Selector	Points
Luca 2	31		Irish Tom 1	12
Jake	30		Irish Tom 2	12
Jo 1	30		Joe	12
Barrie 2	27		John 1	12
Carl 2	18		Nic 1	12
English Tom 1	18		Paxo 1	12
James 2	18		Simon L	12
Jo 2	18		Tommy	12
Jordan	18		Glenn 1	8
Simon B	18		Paxo 2	8
Stephen 1	18		Aneurin	1
Stuart	14		Brian	1
Del	13		Carl 1	1
John 2	13		Chris K	1
Barrie 1	12		Craig 1	1
Chris B	12		Dave	1
English Tom 2	12		Justin	1

I scoffed at Ismael Bojang a while ago for his many deep runs without getting over the line, but he has made me eat my words here. He has made the top 20 on 21 occasions (27 including WSOP Asia & Europe) and the final table 10 times (14 with Asia/Eur), but has never previously finished higher than 4th. Well he showed me and topped all that with a career-defining second place in this. With over 1,200 entrants, you can't get better than that.

His heads-up opponent had his own monkey on his back, having finished 2nd in this very event in 2015. Someone's O had to go. The two of them gave up playing poker and started lobbing the lot in pre-flop and the 10m/5m lead flipped both ways a couple of times until Margolin sucked out two hands in a row, his QJ and KQ beating Bojang's AK and A2.

Ferguson was 4th and Ryan "I'm Gay" Laplante was 6th.



Bojang wins the prize for best card protectors




Ryan Laplante - He's gay, you know

[MintTrav]

Event 46: $2,500 Mixed Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better

Winner	David Brookshire
Runners	402
Paid	61
Final Table	8

Player	Position	Points
Eddie Blumenthal	12	1
Dzmitry Urbanovich	27	1
Scott Clements	33	1
Ian Johns	38	1
Robert Mizrachi	45	1

Selector	Points		Selector	Points
Stephen 2	3		John 1	1
Carl 1	1		Nathan	1
Chris B	1		Paxo 2	1
Chris K	1		Rob	1
Gareth	1		Stuart	1

Hani Awad owns this event. He was second in it in 2015, won it in 2016 and he reached the final table again, notching up 6th place this time.

It was another heavy final table, five of whom were already bracelet-winners. When he got to three-handed, Brookshire was facing two players, Brendan Taylor and Daniel Ospina, who both had 1st and 2nd place results previously, plus a bunch of other top-five finishes, with Ospina going for his second bracelet of this Series. Brookshire won out, though, coming through in his first final table. Fourth place went to Mexico's Ian Shaw who, apparently, used to be an international cricket player.



Hani Awad - King of Mixed Hi/Lo

[MintTrav]

Master of disguise Brendan Taylor