Monday, February 12, 2018 11:34 PM Local Time
Swedish grinder scores first live victory on holiday in South Florida
South Florida is one of the most popular leisure destinations in the US. That appeal extends across the ocean, too. Holiday-seeking Europeans are frequently among the patrons roaming the halls of casinos and card rooms in the region.
Last season, a handful of Lithuanian players came to Florida and took the Palm Beach Kennel Club event by storm. They were on vacation and stumbled across a major tournament series, which is easy enough to do in this state. They were in attendance for the duration, littering the results with deep runs. One of them won a ring.
The venue and the flag have changed this time around, but the story is following a similar script.
Alfred Karlsson flew to Florida with his friends from Sweden, seeking some fun in the sun amid the Scandinavian winter. He’ll leave with a suitcase full of money and a WSOP Circuit ring.
The Swede outlasted a field of 1,766 entries in the $365 multi-flight event, winning the top payout of $86,067. It’s his first victory in his first appearance on the traveling tour.
Karlsson, 24, primarily plays the game online. “I don’t really like live poker,” he said. “It’s too slow.” He smiled and added, “Maybe now I’ll start liking it a bit more.”
Live tournaments can be grueling, and that was certainly the case in this one. Although scheduled to finish on Sunday, that goal ended up being unattainable. Karlsson and Karthik Ramakrishnan battled heads-up for hours before calling it a night around 4:30 a.m.
The two finalists returned Monday for an unscheduled Day 3, and it took about 90 more minutes of play for Karlsson to secure the ring. It’s his first live tournament victory on any tour, let alone the WSOP Circuit.
“I wasn’t going to play any poker.” Karlsson said of his vacation plans. “But I ended up doing it… I don’t regret it.”
Monday, February 12, 2018 4:50 PM Local Time
Alfred Karlsson and Karthik Ramakrishan played for about 90 minutes on Day 3 before the match was decided.
On the final hand, Ramakrishnan got the last of his short stack into the middle with ace-nine, having Karlsson's queen-nine dominated. Karlsson flopped a queen, though, and the rest of the board ran out clean to give him the the title.
The story of Karlsson's win will be published shortly.
Monday, February 12, 2018 3:01 PM Local Time
The two finalists are back at the table and back in action for this bonus day of heads-up poker. There's not much between their stacks, but Karthik Ramakrishnan does begin Day 3 with a slight lead over Alfred Karlsson.
It shouldn't take long under normal circumstances, but these two have shown a remarkable resistance to elimination to this point.
Monday, February 12, 2018 4:43 AM Local Time
The evening's brisk pace ground to a halt as the night wore on. They played deep into the morning hours, with the final two players ultimately unable to reach a resolution. Just after 4:30 a.m., the decision was made to bag them up.
Here's who's left:
Karthik Ramakrishnan - 9,930,000 (33 bb)
Alfred Karlsson - 7,740,000 (26 bb)
They’re off the end of the structure sheet, so they’ll return to levels at the staff’s discretion. The next level in the progression is 150,000/300,000 with a 50,000, so there are less than 60 big blinds in play.
The runner-up will earn $53,505, while the winner will collect the gold ring and the top prize of $86,067. The unscheduled Day 3 begins at 3 p.m.
Sunday, February 11, 2018 11:50 PM Local Time
Just before midnight local time, the field is trimmed to 10 players, and they're now gathered around the last table left in play in Event #2. Here's the lineup:
Seat 1: Alfred Karlsson - 1,670,000 (21 bb)
Seat 2: Joe Carrafa - 535,000 (7 bb)
Seat 3: Scott Vetter - 2,000,000 (25 bb)
Seat 4: Karthik Ramakrishnan - 1,495,000 (19 bb)
Seat 5: Morris Funk - 1,000,000 (13 bb)
Seat 6: Byron Schenk - 6,500,000 (81 bb)
Seat 7: Carlo Buzzetta - 1,400,000 (18 bb)
Seat 8: Paul Louis - 870,000 (11 bb)
Seat 9: Joshua Richison - 1,200,000 (15 bb)
Seat 10: Josh Wasserman - 730,000 (9 bb)
Karthik Ramakrishnan is the only ring winner at the table. Each of the other nine are playing for what would be their first victory on the WSOP Circuit.
Blinds are 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 ante, so the average stack is around 22 big blinds. Everyone left is guaranteed to earn at least $7,158, but they're playing for much more than that this evening. The last man standing will earn a gold ring and the top prize of $86,067.
Play continues until a winner is determined.
Sunday, February 11, 2018 12:57 PM Local Time
The field returned to action at noon, and the bubble burst within the first level. It took less than a half hour to trim the field to 189 players, who are now each guaranteed to earn at least $599.
Sunday, February 11, 2018 1:21 AM Local Time
The starting flights are complete in this $365 re-entry event. The four Day 1 sessions generated 1,766 combined entries, putting more than a half a million dollars in the prize pool. A total of 205 players advanced to Day 2.
Day 1A: 375 entries; 46 advanced
Day 1B: 370 entries; 42 advanced
Day 1C: 518 entries; 63 advanced
Day 1D: 503 entries; 54 advanced
Matt White finished Day 1D with the big stack of 268,500 chips, good for the overall lead.
Here's the top five from this flight:
1. Matt White - 268,500
2. Jermaine Phang - 242,000
3. Dmitry Savelyev - 213,000
4. Mike Policastro - 184,000
5. Bruce Phillips - 178,500
Mark Dube (144,500), Michael Laake (105,500), Zoltan Czinkota (91,000), and Event #1 finalist Chris Halkitis (66,500) also advanced this evening.
Click here for the Day 1D chip counts.
White will be the man setting the pace when the survivors return to action on Sunday. Blinds will be 1,500/3,000 with a 500 ante when play resumes, so the average stack is just shy of 30 big blinds. Only the final 189 players will finish in the money.
Day 2 begins at 12 p.m. noon.
Saturday, February 10, 2018 9:47 PM Local Time
The official number is indeed 1,766 entries and a prize pool of $529,800.
That money will be shared by the final 189 players, with a min-cash worth $599. Each of the final eight players will earn five figures, with a ring and the top prize of $86,067 reserved for the winner.
The full breakdown of the payouts can be found in the Prizepool tab above.
Saturday, February 10, 2018 9:01 PM Local Time
Day 1D registration closed with 503 entries, bringing the total field to 1,766 across all four starting flights. That turnout creates an unofficial prize pool worth $529,800.
Official numbers will be published as soon as they're finalized by the tournament staff.
Saturday, February 10, 2018 8:43 PM Local Time
Day 1C is complete, and the survivors have finished their end-of-day paperwork. Sixty-three of them advanced to Day 2 from the session.
Dave Inselberg led the flight, ending the day with a count of 242,500 chips. That's good enough for second place overall behind Day 1B chip leader Phil Knapic (248,000).
Here's the top five from Day 1C:
1. Dave Inselberg - 242,500
2. Ricardo Eyzaguirre - 203,000
3. Andrew Thompson - 155,000
4. Manuel Toribio - 151,000
5. Mark Edwards - 148,000
Event #1 finalist Danny Calway-Fegan (110,000) also advanced, as did Manny Minaya (97,000), Ira Schwartz (83,000), Phil Hui (80,500), Loni Harwood (75,000), and Errol Massey (55,000).
Click here for the Day 1C chip counts.
They and the rest of the survivors will return Sunday to play for the ring.
Registration is set to close shortly for Day 1D, with around 500 more entries being added to the total. The prize pool and payouts will be published shortly.
Saturday, February 10, 2018 4:01 PM Local Time
This event carried a $300,000 guarantee, meaning it needed 1,000 entries to get there. That seemed to be a foregone conclusion coming into the day.
Sure enough, the field breached four figures fairly early in the day, then climbed over 500 for Day 1C alone. Registration closed with 518 entries, bringing the total field to 1,263 across the first three flights. They'll play to the end of Level 15 or down to 12 percent of the field.
The last fight, Day 1D, starts at 4 p.m., and the survivors from all four flights will combine for tomorrow's Day 2. So far, 88 players are through from the first two flights.
Saturday, February 10, 2018 11:17 AM Local Time
It's Saturday morning in South Florida, but this is not the day to sleep in. Today is Day 1C of this re-entry event, and it figures to be the largest flight so far.
Cards are in the air.
Saturday, February 10, 2018 12:21 AM Local Time
The field was trimmed down to 42 players before the clock ran out on Level 15, signaling the end of Day 1B.
Phil Knapic finished the night atop the flight's leaderboard with 248,000 chips. That's good enough to put him in the top overall spot, supplanting Day 1A leader Steve Raeman (197,000). In fact, three players moved ahead of Raeman.
Here's the top five from Day 1B:
1. Phil Knapic - 248,000
2. John Shepherd - 217,500
3. Matthew Zarcadoolas - 206,000
4. Sherry Kittay - 149,000
5. Neil Blumenfield - 148,500
Raminder Singh (127,000), Erik Christensen (80,500), Alan Percal (73,500), and Ethiel Garcia (33,500) also survived the day.
Click here for the full list of Day 1B chip counts.
A total of 88 players have advanced to Day 2 so far, but there are still two more chances for the others to do so. Days 1C and 1D will run on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.
Friday, February 9, 2018 8:47 PM Local Time
Registration is closed for Day 1B now, as well. This one was just about the same size as this morning's Day 1A, adding another 370 entries to the tally. That brings the total turnout to 745 and counting. There are still two starting flights to go, and the field is less than 300 entries from breaching the $300,000 guarantee.
This Day 1B flight continues until the end of Level 15 or when 12 percent of the field remains, if that happens first.
Friday, February 9, 2018 8:17 PM Local Time
By the end of Level 15, the field had been dashed to just 46 remaining players. That put it just one elimination from the end of the day, with the hard stop set to arrive at 45 players.
The tournament staff used its discretion to forgo the break and bag it up for the night, so the remaining flights will play to the same point on the clock.
Steve Raeman did the most work on Day 1A, finishing with the big stack of 197,000 chips. Here's the rest of the top five from this flight:
1. Steve Raeman - 197,000
2. Vittario Iemolo - 153,000
3. Francois Zayas - 140,000
4. Eric Beringer - 137,500
5. Scott Vetter - 123,000
South Florida regs Michael Newman (101,000), Nicholas Chiapetta (82,000), Paul Balzano (43,000), and Wally Maddah (40,000) were among the others who were fortunate enough to fill out paperwork at the end of the night.
Click here for the Day 1A chip counts.
The 46 players who survived have earned themselves a spot in Day 2 and a day off to prepare on Saturday.
Friday, February 9, 2018 3:57 PM Local Time
Level 9 is under way, which means registration is closed for the first flight. A total of 375 entries were sold, setting a good pace toward the $300,000 guarantee.
The South Florida poker community is well represented in the field so far. Jacquelyn Scott, Paul Balzano, Sheddy Siddiqui, Wallah Maddah, and Neil Blumenfield are all in the mix.
Although nobody else will be joining Day 1A, players still have three more chances to advance to Day 2. Day 1B is set to get under way in just a few minutes.
Friday, February 9, 2018 11:05 AM Local Time
The cards are in the air for Day 1A.
Friday, February 9, 2018 1:15 AM Local Time
