The Turbo Championship of Online Poker (TCOOP) is hogging most of the attention this week but for the SnG specialists here at PokerStars this is their monthly championship. The Battle of the Planets $50,000 triple shootout freeroll is only for those who claim a ticket during the weekly stakes battles along with weekly cash prizes. This month a SCOOP champ would square off against a GoldStar VIP heads-up for the title and the full $12,000.00 sitting up top. The SCOOP champ would take home the first monthly title of 2014 as Blackbeaty topped 89s AAo JQs for the win and $12,000.00.
After an hour and forty minutes of scattered SnG play the first round would come down to Table 58 where Art2404 and Templar85 battled it out for the final money spot and a spot in the second round. With the blinds up to 150/300 ante 25 Art2404 would shove from the button for 2,068 holding The Brunson 10♥ 2♣ as Templar85 covered and made the call with J♥ Q♥ . Both players would pair the flop and no more 10♣ Q♣ J♦ 7♦ 8♦ as Templar85 was blessed with the win and all 81 remaining players locked up at least $195.00
The second round would see whatthe252 and 89s AAo JQs quickly claim their seats at the final table thus making a minimum of $775.00 with a possible $12,000.00 made simply from their hard work at the SnG tables. Hard work got 123ME321 a long sought return to the Battle of the Planets triple shootout final table. The UK player made it here back in March of 2010, near the beginning of the promotion, collecting $3,350.00 in fourth place at the time.
The black stars of the Supernova Elite graced one of the final three heads-up matches left. L.A.Ruseman perhaps slowed down only a bit to opening six tables of $60 SnGs while heads-up with sihuynh. SCOOP 2012 Event #1-L champ Blackbeaty would claim one of those three seats in the 150/300 ante 25 level as Allin Akhbar and puffNfly headlined Table 4. Allin Akhbar’s pocket nines would put away puffNfly as the action turned to Table 1 to see who would be keeping their seat at the final table.
L.A.Ruseman and sihuynh would stretch their match until the 200/400 ante 50 level when both caught pocket pairs with only a 500 chip difference between them. All the funds would go in preflop as L.A.Ruseman flipped up pocket tens 10♦ 10♥ dominating the pocket eights 8♣ 8♦ of sihuynh. The 5♠K♦ 5♦ 7♠6♦ would send the Supernova Elite onward to the final table shown below:
Seat 1: L.A.Ruseman (1500 in chips)
Seat 2: osiileaz (1500 in chips)
Seat 3: Blackbeaty (1500 in chips)
Seat 4: Allin Akhbar (1500 in chips)
Seat 5: folliage8 (1500 in chips)
Seat 6: whatthe252 (1500 in chips)
Seat 7: The Cambist (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: 123ME321 (1500 in chips)
Seat 9: 89s AAo JQs (1500 in chips)
Allin Akhbar tried to rally the troops early for a nine-way split and nearly $4K a piece. But the rest of table stayed fairly mum to the chop tactics as everyone else enjoyed the 10/20 blinds and 1,500 starting chip stacks, settling in for the $12,000.00 contest.
Little chip movement highlighted a rather tight few levels as no player cracked the 2,000 chip level for a stretch of time. 89s AAo JQs and L.A.Ruseman seemed to be the most active throwing a few three-nets and four-bets out there pre-flop but no big pots over 700 chips.
Big hand finally comes
Towards end of the 25/50 level L.A.Ruseman would min-raise as Allin Akhbar made it 185 to go from the button. whatthe252 four-bet to 400 as L.A.Ruseman paused a bit before making it 1,120 while leaving 56 chips behind. whatthe252 put the Supernova Elite all-in while showing Aâ™ Kâ™ . No worries for L.A.Ruseman’s pocket aces A♣ A♥ until two spades hit the 10â™ 5♦ 4â™ flop. The turn 10♣ and 6♥ failed to fill the flush draw knocking whatthe252 down to 242 chips. Those markers would last for six hands before being shuttled off to Blackbeaty as whatthe252 took home $775.00 in ninth place.
Black widow
Two hands later Blackbeaty would get a more significant all-in hand. Still in the 25/50 blind level osiileaz raised to 125 from the cutoff and Blackbeaty made the call from the button to see a 3♦ J♦ 9♣ flop. osiileaz followed through with a 162 chip bet as Blackbeaty called again. 3♣ on the turn and osiileaz checked as Blackbeaty put out 200 chips. Check-raise all-in was the answer as Blackbeaty called with top pair J♥ A♠outflopping the pocket eights of osiileaz. The river 2♣ was not an eight and osiileaz claimed $1,200.00 in eighth place.
Lovely foliage
One minute before the hourly break and a bump in the blinds to 100/200 folliage8 would open shove for 2,970 in the small blind hoping to take it down with 5♣ Q♣ . Instead The Cambist woke up with A♥ J♠and made the call for 870 chips. The lovely lady of spades would sit in the middle of the 2♥ 10♦ Q♠6♦ 8♣ board to ship the 1,940 chip pot to folliage8 as The Cambist would be asked to sit out in seventh place ($1,700.00).
Set overkill
Watch below as 89s AAo JQs takes on L.A.Ruseman all-in preflop for a 2,054 chip pot leaving one player to claim $2,200.00 in sixth place:
Right after the blinds moved up to 75/150, 89s AAo JQs tried to bully the big blind with a shove for 1,405. L.A.Ruseman, now shortstacked, made the call all-in for 877 holding Q♥ K♣ . The face cards needed to outflip pocket fours 4♥ 4â™ , and instead watched the sailboats catch a third one on the river 7♥ 9â™ Jâ™ 2â™ 4♦ ending L.A.Ruseman’s night in sixth place ($2,200.00).
It’s a trap!
The rail may have known something Allin Akhbar did not, pleading with the shortstack not to steal the blinds. With the blinds still at 75/150 chip leader Blackbeaty would min-raise from the cutoff as Allin Akhbar shoved for 1,331 chips from the button. Holding Aâ™ Kâ™ 123ME321 was happy to re-shove for 3,293 chips. Blackbeaty got out of the way as Allin Akhbar showed the dominated A♦ 5♦ . Both players would pair their ace on the flop, but 123ME321 locked up the hand with two pair on the turn Q♣ 4♣ A♥ K♥ 9♥ ending Allin Akhbar’s run in fifth place ($2,735.00).
Trimming the foliage
As the blinds moved up to 100/200 a three-way all-in saw 89s AAo JQs with a shot to knockout two players. Instead 123ME321 and folliage8 got some chips back and four-handed play moved on. A few hands later Blackbeaty would min-raise from the cutoff as folliage8 shoved for 2,358 chips. Folded back to the chip leader holding A♦ Q♠and making the call as folliage8 turned up A♥ 10♥ . The ten hit a little too late for folliage8 as the queen on the door Q♣ 4♥ K♦ 3♠10♠knocked out folliage8 in fourth place ($3,350.00).
An improvement for 123ME321
Well it was not the redemption win that 123ME321 was shooting for, but third place was improvement over the last trip to this special final table. With the blinds still at 100/200 89s AAo JQs would min-raise from the button as 123ME321 made it 1,884 out of the big blind holding pocket eights 8♠8♦ . 89s AAo JQs was happy to show pocket nines 9♣ 9♥ as the J♠4♦ K♣ 6♥ Q♣ board sent 123ME321 off in third place ($4,500.00).
SCOOP champ wins it
Even through most of heads-up play, the big hand came with Blackbeaty shoving with Q♥ A♦ into the pocket tens 10♥ 10♠of 89s AAo JQs. An ace on the J♣ 8♥ A♥ 3♣ K♠flop would ship 11,874 chips to Blackbeaty. Two hands later they would square off for the rest of them. Check out the January Battle of the Planets winning hand below:
Pocket kings K♥ K♠would put this title to bed for Blackbeaty as 89s AAo JQs 9♠Q♣ could not catch any of the A♦ J♦ 10♦ A♣ J♣ board to name Blackbeaty the January Battle of the Planets triple shootout champ earning $12,000.00!
Battle of the Planets Triple Shootout freeroll results (01-26-14):
Players entered: 545
Places paid: 81
Prizepool: $50,000.00 (freeroll)
1. Blackbeaty (Germany) $12,000.00
2. 89s AAo JQs (Russia) $7,500.00
3. 123ME321 (United Kingdom) $4,500.00
4. folliage8 (United Kingdom) $3,350.00
5. Allin Akhbar (Dominican Republic) $2,735.00
6. L.A.Ruseman (Mexico) $2,200.00
7. The Cambist (Germany) $1,700.00
8. osiileaz (Argentina) $1,200.00
9. whatthe252 (Canada) $775.00
David Aydt is a freelance contributor
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