SCOOP 10K PLO. Talk about a prestige tournament and not one of those fetishized gimmick events. The premier PLO players in the world swarmed to this high-balling, highfalutin, High Roller affair. At stake? $1.6 million in prize money and $386K for first place. This PLO High Roller wasn’t a sentimental event that attracted attention seekers or dead-money scensters. Everyone knew what they were getting into by buying a ticket to this whirlwind ride, more akin to swimming with famished sharks than clutching a flimsy safety rail on a rickety rollercoaster.
This High Roller final table featured a pair of lethal players from Finland, including Sami ‘Lrslzk’ Kelopuro and XD89lol<3. This crafty narrative played out: could Justin ‘ZeeJustin’ Bonomo hold off both Finns to win a second SCOOP title this week? Although ZeeJustin picked off Lrslzk in fourth place and XD89lol<3 in third place, ZeeJustin lost a heads-up match against psjebemvas. Ognjen ‘psjebemvas’ Å ekularac, who previously won a side event at the EPT9 London, came-from-behind to win his second SCOOP title.
2017 SCOOP Event #40-H $10,300 PLO High Roller 6-Max attracted 119 original runners. They fired 42 extra bullets for a total number of 161 entries. The total prize pool of $1.6 million easily tripled the $500K Guarantee. Only the top 24 places paid out with $386,400 set aside to the champion.
The money bubble burst at the tail end of Level 18 during the closing moments of Day 1. Day 1 ended with 23 players and everyone in the money. ZeeJustin bagged up the most virtual chips with 277K, followed by Lrslzk’s 272K.
On Day 2 with 12 remaining on the final two tables, ZeeJustin passed the 500K mark. Meanwhile, Pass_72 joined the chase pack with joiso, Lrslzk, and Isildur1. With eight left in the hunt, ZeeJustin accumulated 800K, or nearly twice as much as the Russians leading the peloton. Alexey ‘LuckyGump’ Makarov, who won a WCOOP in 2012 and a SCOOP back in 2010, busted in eighth place.
With seven remaining and both tables playing 3-handed or 4-handed, psjebemvas challenged ZeeJustin for the lead. Isildur1 bubbled off the final table in seventh place when his Aces got snapped off by Kings. Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom’s A♥ A♦ Q♥ 2♥ never improved, while psjebemvas turned a flush with K♣ Kâ™ 7♦ 4â™ to win the pot. The 6-max final table was set.
PLO 10K High Roller – Final Table Chip Counts:
Seat 1: ZeeJustin (1,130,994)
Seat 2: XD89lol_3 (227,067)
Seat 3: Pass_72 (113,924)
Seat 4: joiso (422,478)
Seat 5: Lrslzk (175,696)
Seat 6: psjebemvas (1,149,841)
The final table commenced during Level 24 with blinds at 5K/10K. psjebemvas and ZeeJustin were neck-and-neck for the lead with 1.1M, while Pass_72 and Lrslzk battled for the basement with tiny stacks.
The pro-heavy final table featured a couple of players from Finland. Sami ‘Lrslzk’ Kelopuro won a 2014 WCOOP and 2 SCOOPs including the 2011 Main Event for a $504K score. XD89lol<3 went deep but never won a SCOOP.
American exile Justin ‘ZeeJustin’ Bonomo won a 2012 WCOOP in Razz. He shipped a SCOOP only four days earlier in Event #25-H 8-Game, while playing from Canada. Other notables at the final table included… Russian pro Alex ‘joiso’ Kostritsyn, who won a WCOOP in 2010…. Pascal ‘Pass_72’ Lefrancois, who most recently was a runner-up in Event #17-H... and former SCOOP winner Serbia’s Ognjen ‘psjebemvas’ Å ekularac, who took down his first title in 2014.
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FELL ON BLACK DAYS: Pass_72 eliminated in 6th place
Eight hands. The first liquidation went quick, during the second orbit. Shorty Pass_72 bombed it all-in for 88,924 with K♣ Q♣ Qâ™ 3♦ . psjebemvas and ZeeJustin both called. psjebemvas bailed on the flop. At showdown, ZeeJustin dragged the pot with K♥ K♦ 9â™ 4♦ and two pair — Kings and Jacks. Pass_72’s inferior two pair were no good. Pascal ‘Pass_72’ Lefrancois became the first casualty at the final table. He took home $724,50.00 for sixth place.
SUPERUNKNOWN: Lrslzk eliminated in 5th place
Lrslzk made a final stand with K♣ Q♥ J♣ 10♣ , but he lost with two pair against ZeeJustin’s turned boat with A♣ K♥ 7♣ 3♦ . Sami ‘Lrslzk’ Kelopuro busted in fifth place, which paid out $104,650.00. ZeeJustin chiped up to 1.7M, or more than half the chips in play.
BLACK HOLE SUN: joiso eliminated in 4th place
joiso got it all-in on the flop of 8â™ 6♣ 2â™ , with middle pair and a flush draw. joiso’s Aâ™ 9♦ 6♥ 3â™ wiffed on the flush. ZeeJustin won the pot with a higher two pair. Alexander ‘joiso’ Kostritsyn busted in fourth place, which paid out $136,850.00. With three to go, ZeeJustin closed in on 2M.
SPOONMAN: XD89lol<3 eliminated in 3rd place
For the tail end of Level 25, XD89lol<3 was that cockroach in Justin Bonomo’s kitchen that will not die no matter how many times he stepped on it and crushed and crunched and twisted. XD89lol<3 survived numerous assassination attempts and exterminations. ZeeJustin couldn’t put away the indestructible Finn.
As soon as the blinds were up and action moved onto Level 26, ZeeJustin finally landed the coup de grace. Crushing blow too. He snapped off Aces with Q♥ 9â™ 9♥ 7♥ against XD89lol<3’s A♣ A♥ 8â™ 5♥ . ZeeJustin flopped a set and rivered a boat on a board of K♥ 9♦ 6♦ 8♣ 6♣ . Finland’s XD89lol<3 was knocked out in third place, which paid out $201250.00.
HEADS-UP: ZeeJustin (Canada) vs. psjebemvas (Serbia)
Seat 1: ZeeJustin (2,451,725)
Seat 6: psjebemvas (768,275)
With two to go, psjebemvas trailed 3-1. Could he derail ZeeJustin and mount a comeback? Or would psjebemvas be road kill on ZeeJustin’s relentless march toward the finish line?
Ognjen ‘psjebemvas’ Å ekularac wins 2nd SCOOP
KICKSTAND: ZeeJustin eliminated in 2nd place; psjebemvas wins SCOOP PLO High Roller
Early into their bout, psjebemvas doubled up to win a 1.4M pot with a King-high diamond flush versus ZeeJustin’s Jack-high. ZeeJustin slipped to $1.8M, but he’d lose the lead outright shortly after. psjebemvas went on the offensive and chipped up to a 3-1 edge. ZeeJustin counterattacked and got the lead down to approximately 2-1.
That’s when psjebemvas landed a knockout blow. All the money went in on the flop of K♥ 9♥ 5♣ . psjebemvas bet the pot for 252,000, ZeeJustin bombed it all-in for 856,050 and psjebemvas tank-called.
psjebemvas: A♦ A♥ Q♠10♥
ZeeJustin: Q♣ J♥ 5♦ 3♥
ZeeJustin trailed with bottom pair, plus a flush draw and a gutter. psjebemvas led with Aces, plus he had a nut flush draw. The turn was the K♣ and the river was the 2♦ . psjebemvas whiffed on a flush draw, but won the pot with two pair — Aces and Kings. ZeeJustin’s smaller two pair were no good. He busted out in second place and earned a runner-up payday worth $266,455.00.
Congrats to Event #40-H champion psjebemvas, who took home a first-place score worth $386,400.00. This marked a second SCOOP title for Ognjen ‘psjebemvas’ Å ekularac.
SCOOP-40-H ($10,300 PLO [6-Max, High Roller]) results
Total entries: 161 (119 entries; 42 re-entries)
Prize pool: $1,610,000
Places paid: 24
1. Ognjen ‘psjebemvas’ Å ekularac (Serbia) $386,400.00
2. Justin ‘ZeeJustin’ Bonomo (Canada) $266,455.00
3. XD89lol<3 (Finland)
4. Alexander ‘joiso’ Kostritsyn (Russia) $136,850.00
5. Sami ‘Lrslzk’ Kelopuro (Finland) $104,650.00
6. Pascal ‘Pass_72’ Lefrancois (Canada) $72,450.0
Visit the SCOOP home page for schedule of remaining events. Plus, find out who was in contention Player of the Series.
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Pauly McGuire is a freelance contributor to PokerStars. Final table recap album of the day: “Superunknown” by Soundgarden.
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