TOURNAMENT UPDATES – POST SEASON
June 23, 2013
Summer Poker Fun 2 – Deep Stack Results: On Sunday we had our second event of the Summer Poker Fun series. This time it was a deep stack event and we had 40 players enter. The tournament went really late and at 2am the final four players chopped up the remaining prize pool. With the biggest remaining stack Eddie O. gets credit for the win and a little extra dough. Erica, Jamie and Jeff Shear split the rest of the loot.
June 8, 2013
Summer Short Stack Tourney: Congratulations to Ian Parnes for taking down last night’s Summer Short Stack Tourney. When heads-up play started with Ian vs. Mark DeWitt, Mark held a 2-1 advantage in chips. Ian doubled up quickly though and then the players traded the lead several times before Ian, with 87, flopped top pair on a 735 board. Mark shoved with A9 and missed both of his overs.
May 5, 2013
Season VIII – The Winners: This season’s WSOP player field is now set. Congratulations to Rene De La Cova who is our overall champion for season 8. Rene played one event at the end of our 6th season and then a full schedule last season when he earned a $1,000 seat in the playoff event. Like Keith last year, Rene came out on top without a victory during the season. What he did though was make nine final table appearances overall and an incredible five final tables in the last six events of the season.
Joining Rene in the Main Event is our 2nd place overall finisher, Paul Hopkins. This is Paul’s fifth full season with the Syndicate and this will be the fourth time he has represented the Syndicate in Vegas. In 2010 Paul came in a very close 2nd to Mike Petrassi in a season when we only had one Main Event winner.
Our 3rd place finisher for the season is David Benjamin. This is David’s third year in the Syndicate and despite playing only a limited schedule (14 events) he still had a chance to gain a Main Event berth in the final tourney of the season. All he needed was to have everyone above him bust out early AND win the tournament. That’s just what happened, and this victory, plus five final table appearances (including two 2nd places) were enough to earn him the third and final Main Event seat.
After the top three the next four places also earned guaranteed WSOP seats. Three $2,500 seats were won by Spork, Keith and Tom Czzz while Bob earned a $1,500 seat.
Playoff Event: On Sunday we held our playoff event for the top 20 players that did not receive a guaranteed seat. So 13 players were vying for 5 seats. Because there was prize money available also, we played all the way down to the winner. Alan Ho took it down and earned a $1,500 WSOP prize package. The turning point for Alan came when he got it all in after the flop against Erica. The board came As7c4c; Erica shoved and Alan called. Erica turned over AK with Alan showing AQc. The turn was the Qd and the river bricked. Alan then used that suck-out double-up to cruise to victory.
In 2nd place was Steve Leal followed by Gary Fessia in 3rd. Both players also earned $1,500 WSOP seats. In 4th and 5th place were MC and Linn who each won a $1,000 WSOP seat.
TOURNAMENT UPDATES – REGULAR SEASON
April 28, 2013
Season VIII – Event 20: And that’s a wrap! Season 8 of The Syndicate, which shattered all previous attendance and money records, is over. With another great turnout of 45 players for the final event, we ended up with 927 total entries from 110 different players (previous records were 693 and 84!). But more than that was the number of new players that joined our core of returning regulars to become fully involved members themselves. We averaged 46 players per event which made for exciting tournaments all season long. And with the larger fields and better overall play – winning an event was a real accomplishment.
With more prizes than ever to award we had our most exciting finish ever last night. Especially as many of the leaders busted out early, giving an opportunity for some players to move way up the board. The first player to secure a Main Event prize, once many of the chasers were eliminated, was Rene who started and ended the night in first place overall. Then by the time we were down to 14 players, though he was long gone himself, Paul H. got the word that he had secured an entry into the Main Event. That left one spot still open. If either Jonkey, Bob or David Benjamin won the tournament he would get that 3rd Main Event ticket. Jonkey’s dreams were dashed soon after this as he busted in 11th but Bob and David both went to the final table with big chip stacks.
Finally it got down to four handed with Bob and David still alive, along with Jimmy X and Kelly gamely playing the spoiler roles. Bob was the first to go, though his deep finish moved him all the way from 10th to 7th as he secured a guaranteed $1,500 WSOP seat. Next out was Jim, who got it all in with TJcc vs David’s AQ. On the flop a jack showed in the window but was followed next by a queen. There was no help for Jim on the turn or river so he went out in 3rd place for his best finish of the season. That left Kelly to take on David in a heads-up duel with a lot more on the line than just that night’s prize money. If Kelly wins then Spork is in the Main Event. If David wins he’s in. After about ½ hour of back and forth it was David Benjamin who came out on top to win his second Syndicate event in two seasons and the 3rd and final WSOP Main Event prize package. This will be Rene, Paul and David’s first time playing in the Main Event – good luck to you all and good luck to The Syndicate!
The Leaderboard: The top of the leaderboard got shuffled around last night. With David Benjamin’s move from 12th to 3rd overall, he knocked Spork down to the $2500 seat level. He is joined by Keith and Tom Czzz for that prize package. As noted earlier, with his 4th place finish last night, Bob moved into the 7thand final guaranteed $1,500 seat. This move knocked Steve L. down into the playoff bracket where he will be the top seed. You can check the leaderboard to see our other playoff contenders, including Alan, who gets to play as an alternate since Kevin can’t play in this event.
Prize Packages:
The top 7 players earned guaranteed seats:
- $10,000 Main Event prize package: Rene, Paul H., David Benjamin.
- $2,500 WSOP prize packages: Spork, Keith, Tom Czzz.
- $1,500 WSOP prize package: Bob.
The playoff prizes are also set:
- 1st, 2nd and 3rd places will earn a $1,500 WSOP seat.
- 4th and 5th places will earn a $1,000 WSOP seat
April 20, 2013
Season VIII – Event 19:
We had our sixth two-time and second back-back winner of the season as Kevin Hanson has (really) come out of nowhere to take down the last two events. Jon Towers earned his second runner-up place of the season and Chad had his best result of the year to take 3rd place. In 4th place with his 14th score of the season was our host, Tom Czzz. Mike P. and Andi round out our money winners in 5th and 6th place. For those of you keeping score at home this is Andi’s third cash in the last four events which has put her in contention with the leaders.
The Leaderboard: One more tournament and it’s all over! The scores at the top and every other bubble are insanely close. Only 29 points separate the top 5 players and there are still 11 players within 100 points of the lead. Additionally, the battle to get a guaranteed seat or to make the playoff tournament is still wide open. Any player down to number 18 still has a shot at a guaranteed seat while players all the way down to 30th could still sneak into the playoff. This will easily be our most exciting finish ever!
April 7, 2013
Season VIII – Event 18: We had a great late season turnout of 41 players last night and by the end of it the overall competition was closer and more exciting than ever. Kevin Hanson hung on to a modest stack all night long to outlast everybody and earn his first Syndicate victory. In fact Kevin was one card from being crippled down to 2BB and probably out in 8th when he shoved his short-stack in with KQ. He got called by Alan holding A7. Kevin made his gutshot straight on the river to double up and just kept going from there. Kevin went heads-up against Spork in a tense and dramatic duel that lasted ….. 3 minutes!! Kevin was the dealer and picked up 66 vs. Spork’s KcTc. After a raise and a call they saw a flop of 3c 4d 5c. With a flop like that it got all-in fast. The board ran out with the 5s on the turn and the 2h on the river which missed both of Spork’s overs and his draw. In third place was Gary, who amassed a gigantic stack with 2 tables left only to run his KK and QQ into Aces on successive hands. In fourth place was Rene who continued his phenomenal streak of 4 straight final tables. Anthony, Andi and Paul H. rounded out the cash winners.
The Leaderboard: This is shaping up to be the closest finish in Syndicate history as the competition is fierce at every level. The fight to get a Main Event ticket, a Guaranteed seat or just into the Playoff Event is really close. This week Paul H. regained the overall lead with a 7th place finish. Just 13 points behind him is Spork who is trying to finish the season the way he started. Then just 1 point back is a tie for 3rd between Keith and the red-hot Rene. Tom and Steve both got bumped down a notch to 4th and 5th place while Gary is now number 7 with a bullet as he moved up 8 places with his 3rd place finish.
March 23, 2013
Season VIII – Event 17: In what is shaping up to be the most competitive season ever in the Syndicate, things just got even more interesting. It’s as if someone dropped the leaderboard into a blender last night and hit the frappe button because it go all mixed up! Not one player in the top 7 is in the same position as before. This week it was Keith’s turn to shake things up as he got his second win of the season and moved into the overall lead for the first time all season. He took out David Benjamin, who has had a late surge with three top-3 finishes in the last five events. David has belatedly figured out that he does a lot better when he shows up for the events!! In 3rd place was Dr. John, for his best finish ever. He was followed by Eddie O in 4th and Gary F. in 5th.
The Leaderboard: As noted above, the top of the leaderboard got completely rearranged. We now have Keith in 1st, followed by Paul H. in 2nd and Steve L and Rene tied for 3rd. Rene has come out of nowhere with three deep finishes in a row to vie for a Main Event seat. The main thing to note is how incredibly tight this entire competition is. Every player in the top 16 is just one win away from being in the top 3 and everyone in the top 40 is within one win of being in the playoff picture. This should be quite a finish as we play these final three tournaments.
March 10, 2013
Season VIII – Event 16: Sorry kids – I have a plane to catch. I’ve attached the updated leaderboards, results etc. to this message. Congratulations to Farid on his first victory of the season. He beat MC in a rather long heads up duel. This was MC’s third 2nd place finish of the season and it moved him up into contention. All of the leaders busted early so there was no real movement at the top. Tom Czzz became our first player to hit the 12 score cap as he gained 13 points but dropped 7 points.
We had a great turnout last night of 45 players and are easily on pace to meet the current prize projections. You can see those at the bottom of the stake page. See you all on March 23rd for Event 17.
March 2, 2013
Season VIII – Event 15: To be filed under ‘Dog Licks Mailman’ or ‘Pigs Really Can Fly’, we have yet another two-time champion this season and this time it is Steve “well I can’t fold for just 20k” Leal. After yet another tournament of adept and clever play, Steve found himself at the final table with the chip lead when this hand happened: at the 1500/3000 level, Andi brought it in for 6500 from UTG. It folded to Keith (with the 2nd biggest stack) in the hijack who shoved for 70k. Steve then looks down, likes what he sees and calls. Andi folds (she had TT), Keith shows QQ and Steve tables AA. The board was no help to Keith as he got knocked out in 10th place while Steve stacked his now monster sized stack. By the time it got down to the final two players, Steve had a 10 to 1 advantage over Rene. Rene basically went all in 5 times in a row until Steve finally called and made a straight AND a flush against Rene’s pocket 3’s. David Benjamin had another strong finish, coming in 3rd place for his fourth final table appearance in just nine events.
The Leaderboard: There was a big shuffle at the top of the leaderboard with Steve, Bob and Paul making deep runs again. With his second 6th place in a row Paul extended his overall lead. Steve made the biggest gain leaping over 6 spots to go from 8th place to 2nd. He and Paul are the only players over 400 points. Bob, who earned a 4th place finish last night moved up to 4th place. Tom C. had his twelfth score of the season but still dropped down to 3rd place overall. Spork, Keith and Jonkey round out the top 7 guaranteed seats.
Februrary 23, 2013
Season VIII – Event 14: Tonight was Eric N.’s coming out party at The Syndicate. Eric started the season late, in event #9, but has played every tournament since then. On several occasions he has amassed a big stack only to come up short. Well, he didn’t come up short this time as he rode a big stack all the way to the finish line for his first Syndicate victory. In 2nd place was Will, followed by Blair in 3rd and Michael Kahn in 4th. This was the best finish to date for all of these players!
Februrary 9, 2013
Season VIII – Event 13: We had our second multiple tourney winner last night when relative newcomer TJ took his second victory in just four attempts. He won a short heads-up match against David Benjamin, who has had solid results this season with just a limited number of tourneys played. In third place was Spork who had such a great start to the season and then went through a prolonged scoring drought. He’s smiling now though as this finish put him back in third place overall. Paul R. and Mark Ross round out our top 5 places.
One thing to note is that with 13 events finished we feel confident in updating our end-of-the-season prize projections. At our current pace, and even accounting for a possible drop in attendance, we have lowered the guaranteed seat line to 7th place. So 1st , 2nd and 3rd will earn $10,000 grand prizes; 4th and 5thwill win $2,500 seats; 6th and 7th will win $1,500 seats; and there will still be four to five $1,500 and $1,000 seats to vie for in the playoffs. Of course this is still subject to change based on attendance, but this looks realistic for now.
The Leaderboard: There was a slight juggle at the top as Spork moved into the second spot, dropping Paul and Keith to 3rd and 4th. Linn leap-frogged over Jonkey and Bob to get into 5th. Tom still holds the top spot but the leaderboard is getting very tight both at the top and just to get into, or stay in, the playoff picture.
January 27, 2013
Season VIII – Event 12: We had an action filled, fun night on Sunday at our 3rd rebuy event of the season. There were 47 players, 121 rebuys and 44 add-ons. Even without Alan there this was one of the Syndicate’s biggest money nights ever – both for the evening’s cash awards and our end of the year prize pool.
This week’s results: Paul H. almost pulled off back to back wins but he was bested by Gary F. who gained his first win of the season after 4 victories last year. In third place was Bob, who has been lurking just below the leaders all season. In fourth place was WSOP cash winner (in a $1,500 event), Linn.
The Leaderboard: With his 10th score of the season Tom Czzz hung on to his overall lead but with a 1st and 2nd in consecutive weeks, Paul H. (#2 with a bullet) is now close on his heels. Meanwhile, Jonkey and Spork are in a free fall with Keith (3rd), Bob (4th) and Linn (6th) all gaining ground to tighten up the race at the top. In fact, it’s starting to get very interesting as we get deeper into the 2nd half of the season. Some of the early leaders have kind of stalled out, new players are getting hot, and everybody is catching up with everybody else! Right now anyone in the top 16 could get into the Main Event picture with a win and anyone down to 45th could get into the playoffs with a first place. It is going to be unbelievably competitive for every spot this season!
January 19, 2013
Season VIII – Event 11: : We have a new contender as Paul Hopkins notched his first victory since the first event of Season 6. It came down to Paul and MC with the latter holding a 3 to 1 advantage over the former going into heads-up play. Paul hung in there until l they flipped stacks when MC raised from the small blind and Paul shoved. MC called and found that his QT was way behind to Paul’s AT. The two finalists went back and forth for awhile until they got it all in again; this time MC showed A7cc to Paul’s KQ-off. The board came 6KK6Q to send Paul to the victory stand in style.
The Leaderboard: It’s getting pretty cozy on our leaderboard as once again the top players got zero to low points this week. Tom Czzz stayed in the top spot and Keith changed places with Jonkey who are now in 2nd and 3rd respectively. With his win Paul moved all the way up to 5th and Erica made a big move up the board as well. Otherwise the competition is really getting close as every player in the top 17 could get into the blue with a win this weekend. The prediction here is that it is going to be extremely competitive at the end of the season for both the top prizes and just to get into the playoffs. Remember, those 5 participation points really add up so try to attend as many events as you can.
January 5, 2013
Season VIII – Event 10: Happy New Year everybody! It was certainly a good start for The Syndicate as we had 55 players, including several new faces, enter the 2nd Major Event of the Season. This one was taken down by one of new players, TJ Western. We met TJ up at the WSOP Circuit Event at Rincon and he has already made an impact. In 2nd place was Grant “Faux Hawk” Gamble for his best Syndicate result so far. Kevin Hanson, also with his best result of the season came in 3rd followed by Alan “The Rock” Ho.
With these results we have now reached the half-way point of the Season and this has been easily our best campaign so far. Through ten events we have had 512 entries for an average of 51 per tournament. Last season, which itself was a record, we had 395 entries to this point. At this rate there is a very real chance that we could add a FOURTH Main Event Prize package (per the rules) as well as some more Playoff prizes. Stay tuned!
The Leaderboard: There was very little movement on the leaderboard this week and none at the top. Since most of the points went to players posting their best results of the season this tournament just tightened up the entire leaderboard. This should lead to a very competitive finish to our season in April!
Holiday Hold’em: We had a great turnout of 47 players for our soon-to-be-annual Holiday Hold’em Tournament. This event was won by former Syndicator Kevin Siederburg with brand-new Syndicator Kelly Sprankle coming in 2nd.
December 1, 2012
Season VIII – Event 9: This wrap up should be easy – basically you can just reread the nice things we said last tournament about newcomer Mark Ross as he won his 2nd tournament in a row. I guess you’ll probably be playing some more, eh Mark?! This time his heads-up dance partner was Andi, who posted her best Syndicate finish ever in 2nd place. In third place was the wily veteran Rene, followed by everyone’s favorite webmaster Steve. Jonkey even managed to hang on (after having his aces cracked and his stack decimated by the Webdude) to get 5th place.
The Leaderboard: With his 5th final table appearance of the season, Tom extended his lead to 312. Behind him a real pack forms with Jonkey in 2nd at 273 and Keith and Spork close behind with 263 and 261 points respectively. Steve, in 4th place this week, moved up several places to get the 5th spot. By far the biggest move was the new wunderkind, Mark Ross, who moved up from “who’s that guy?” into a tie for 7th.
November 17, 2012
Season VIII – Event 8: As usual with rebuy tournaments there was a lot of action as we had 44 players, 107 rebuys and 43 add-ons. The Syndicate relies on the rebuy events to boost our revenues so that we can award more Main Event Packages. But this plan was in jeopardy as Alan, our current rebuy record-holder (with 11) doubled up early and Chad, the long-time record-holder (until Alan eclipsed his mark in Event #4) didn’t even attend the event. Yet when two doors close a window opens – and this time that window’s name was Dana, who now holds the record for most rebuys ever with 13! Congratulations and thank you Dana! Dana, please make sure you let us know if you have trouble getting to the next rebuy event – we’ll send a car for you if we need to!
As for the results – Mark Ross, in just his second Syndicate tournament ever took first place. Mark said that this was his biggest win ever, both in the size of the field and in prize money as first place was worth $795. Congratulations Mark on a great result! In second place was MC for his best finish since winning event #3 last season. In third place was David I. who gained enough points with this finish to move into the playoff picture. Paul R. and Phil T. rounded out the top 5 finishers. For Phil, that is 5 final tables in 6 appearances this season – just in case no one had noticed. Fortunately for the rest of us it looks like we will have at least 3 Main Event packages to award this season as Phil is well on his way to securing one of them early.
The Leaderboard: With several new players going deep at this event there was not a lot of movement at the top of the leaderboard. As previously reported, Phil extended his lead over the peloton. Tom Czzz remains in 2nd while Keith moved just ahead of Spork into 3rd place. With his 8th place finish Jonkey moved up a few spot to take 5th place, bumping Bob down to 6th.
November 4, 2012
The Syndicate Descends on the Venetian
The Syndicate field trip to the Venetian Deep Stack Series was a lot of fun last week and we had some decent results. Paul H., Mark, Phil T., Gary, Erica, Tom E., Keith, Trapper and Jonkey made the trip this time. There were several big names in the various tournaments including Barry and Allyn Shulman, Kathy Liebert, Steve Dannenmann, Jeff Madsen and JJ Liu.
The top finisher was Paul H. who came in 6th place in a noon event for a cash of $2100 (more on this in the next post). He also came in 17th in another noon event and made a deep run (40th) in his only other noon tournament.
Gary made it to the top 4 of a 7pm event for a $2,000 cash.
Jonkey got 10th place in one of the 3PM big-bounty events and won $400 plus $125 in bounties. His best hand came when, holding KK, the board came KK9. He did a Hollywood weak-check hoping to induce a bluff from a frustrated opponent. The villain, with the 2nd biggest stack at the table to Jonkey’s, more than obliged by bluff-shoving into quads!
Paul H.’s Favorite Hand of All Time
Paul’s report: Venetian Deep Stack noon event. 100/200 level. I’m already pretty big stacked having easily doubled up from 12k to 25k with some good hands/good play. 2 limpers into my SB. I have….AA. I make it 1100. One of the limpers is Steve Dannenmann (yes, of “2005 WSOP Main Event runner-up to Joe Hachem” fame) and he says (I have NOT even spoken to him yet at this point) “why you raising me, Paul?”
(SIDE NOTE: Dannenmann has become buddies with the Syndicate’s own Larry Irwin after meeting in Vegas previously. Apparently,Larry had texted him at the table who I was AFTER Jonkey had texted Larry that I was “at the same table as his boyfriend”. SOOOO both Jonkey and Larry are in effect giving Dannenmann intel on me.. thanks!) [editor’s note: it should be pointed out that Jonkey did tell Paul that he had texted Larry so Dannenmann would not know that Paul did know that Dannenman knew about Paul – got it?]
BB and both limpers call. Flop is …. AA4. QUADS FOR THE PMAN!! But how to get paid?? I lead out of course. A weak-scared looking 1500 into the 4400 pot. Fold, fold…then Dannenmann RAISES to 3500(obviously based on the intel that Larry gave him that I was “tight/solid”. BUT he raises to 3500 by throwing out a red 5000 chip/purple 500 chip announcing “3500”. I say to him “should I text Larry?”. He says “maybe you should.”. I tank a little and COMPLETELY MEANING TO JUST CALL…I pull back my 1000 yellow chip and throw in a 5000 red chip with my 500 purple still out there. The dealer accurately states that I RAISED. I look at Dannenmann and say “I just want you to know, that wasn’t an angle…I honestly meant to call.”. Dannenmann’s response was “I understand…I’m all in.”. My obvious response was “Uhhhh, I think I’m gonna call.”
Dannenmann shows Q high and laughs at the situation. He seemed like a very nice/good guy. Thanks for the big double up, big guy!!
Alan Ho Defends His RiverCard Title
Exactly one year to the day after winning the same event, Alan Ho takes down the RiverCard Hallo-weekend Event at Pala. This was a 2-day event with 3 day 1’s and a total of 215 entries. Not only did Alan repeat as champion but the Syndicate’s Dana Katzenmeier took 2nd place for $3,600 as well. Congratulations to both of you!
October 21, 2012
Season VIII – Event 6: It’s Phil’s world now and we all exist to give him chips! It is still early in the season but Phil is already well on his way toward earning one of the Syndicate’s grand prizes. So far Phil has played in four events and has two firsts, a third and a fourth. Fortunately for the rest of us there should be two (or maybe even 3?) more Main Event packages awarded at the end of the season. This tournament’s finale was relatively anti-climactic as Phil probably had the table out-chipped when it was 8 handed. By the time Paul Hopkins, making his first final table appearance of the season, survived to go heads-up with Phil he was out-chipped 9 to 1! Phil showed mercy though by finishing Paul off in just one hand. Paul shoved with A7 and knew he was doomed when Phil called with QJ. With a jack on the flop and a queen on the turn it was over just like that. Craig came in third, followed by season 7 WSOP champ Tom Czzz in fourth and newcomer, Nancy Bane in fifth.
Overall the Syndicate is still on its record shattering pace with another great turnout. There were 56 players this time, giving us an average of 54 per event after six tourneys. That is a full 12 more players per tournament than last season and on our current pace we should easily be able to afford to send three players to the Main Event along with a full complement of additional guaranteed and playoff seats.
October 6, 2012
Season VIII – Event 5:
We had our first Major of the season on Saturday and it was also the first with the new 18,000 chip starting stacks. This certainly gave our players plenty of play as there were a lot of comebacks. At one point the eventual winner, Steve, was down to 3 big blinds until he went on a heater. Our second place finisher, Linn, suffered a big loss of chips earlier as well when he ran into Jonkey’s flopped straight. Both players recovered and then held on to play one of the longest heads-up matches in recent memory. The final two squared off with Linn holding a 4/3 chip advantage but then they exchanged the lead several times before it ended about an hour later when they got it all in with each holding an ace. Linn paired his deuce kicker on the turn but earned yet another second place finish when Steve hit his 10 kicker on the river. This was Steve’s second Syndicate victory and his first since event 4 of Season 5. Jon (Jonkey Killer) Tower took 3rd place for his second big finish in a row; Keith came in fourth, followed by Jonkey and Alan in 5th and 6th.
September 22, 2012
Season VIII – Event 4:
Records abounded on Saturday night as we had another great turnout for our first Saturday event of the season. We had 50 players which is the most ever for a rebuy event. Plus we had our biggest prize pool ever at $3,260 with the largest 1st place prize at $975. Of course you can’t have a prize pool that big at a rebuy tournament without some help from the players and they really stepped up! There were a record 120 rebuys and 46 add-ons Saturday night! The Syndicate would like to congratulate and extend its deepest gratitude to Mr. Alan “all-in” Ho, who now holds the all-time record for rebuys with 11. Chad will bring the trophy he has held for years now as the perennial holder of this award so that Alan may display it proudly on his mantle.
Once the dust settled after the rebuy period ended there were 524,000 chips in play, though it turns out that a large percentage were sitting in front of Dan “The Black Hole” Kobyra. Apparently most of Alan’s chips found their way into Dan’s stack. Unfortunately for Dan he ran into some tough hands later, including quad J’s (he held AK on a board of AJxxJ) to come in 18th place. The final table was once again a good mix of Syndicate old-timers and newcomers with a heads-up match that included one of each. This time it was the geezer, Phil T., who took it down against newbie Jon Towers, who got a second place in just his second Syndicate event ever. When heads-up started Jon had about a 4 to 1 advantage but after about 30 minutes Phil held a slight edge. Then Jon made a move and shoved holding K5 and Phil made the call with K7. This was Phil’s 5th victory in 4 seasons and he now sits atop the leaderboard. Tom Czzz came in 3rdand Bob “Final Table” Cosway came in 4th.
September 9, 2012
Season VIII – Event 3:
Attendance is holding strong through three events and with 55 players entered in Event 3 we are averaging 58 players per tournament! At this pace we should easily be able to award three Main Event seats!
The third event of the season was won by Eddie O. in just his third Syndicate event ever. It seems that Eddie has mastered that elusive skill of having AA and QQ at just the right time as he snapped off shoves by Keith (AA) to knock him out in fifth (whew!) and Don B. (QQ) when they were heads up to seal the victory. Bob C., who came in third had another strong finish, followed by Phil T., Keith, Andi, Michael K. and Gail to round out our money winners.
August 26, 2012
Season VIII – Event 2: At the second event of the season we had the biggest field in Syndicate history with 62 players! We have now had 76 unique players and 120 entries in just two events. We would like to thank all the newcomers for checking us out and all the regulars for sticking with us. This is shaping up to be our biggest season ever – by a long shot!
This mix of old-timers and newbies was on display at our final table where both old and new players were well represented. Finally it came down to our champ from last year, Keith and the new Syndicate wunderkind, Spork! They traded hands and chips several times until finally a short stacked Spork was all in with 47 vs. Keith’s A3. The board didn’t help Spork as Keith flopped an Ace and turned a trey to give Spork his 3rd top two finish in as many events (including the Tiki Tourney) and Keith claimed legitimacy for the prior season where we won the championship with no tournament victories!
August 12, 2012
Season VIII – Event 1: Here we go again! After a 3 month break where we saw two of our players cash at the WSOP, including our first Main Event cash (Tom Czzz) and our best finish ever (Linn), we were ready to play again. Returning players were met by our hero, Tom Czzz, as he handed out envelopes of cash for everyone’s share of the WSOP prize. Then there were the new players, and man there were a lot of them! We had 23 players join us that had never played a regular season Syndicate event before. Many had played in our Summer Short Stack Series and in the Tiki Tourney but this was their first real Syndicate action. These new players joined with a strong returning group to create our biggest tournament ever with 58 players! The Syndicate would like to welcome all the new players; we hope you find our combination of a fun group of players, solid poker and great prizes to be what you are looking for.
Now for the tournament results: Dave S. (hereinafter and forevermore called “Spork”) held on against this huge field to win the first event of the season. Spork is on a nice run now after also getting 2nd place at the Tiki Tournament. He needed a little help from lady luck though to defeat Jonkey, who came back from just 4 big blinds at the 800/1600 level to take 2nd place. When heads up play started, Jonkey held about a 3/2 chip lead over Spork. They went back and forth for a while with Jonkey gaining some ground as Spork looked for a spot to chip up. Then this happened: with the blinds at 10k/20k, Spork raised, Jonkey shoved and Spork called. Jonkey showed 44 with Spork tabling QTcc. The board ran out like this: Q4Q-Q-8 and Spork’s quads sunk Jonkey’s boat. Now Spork had the advantage when a few hands later the same action occurs as Spork raises, Jonkey shoves and Spork calls. This time Spork shows A2off and Jonkey turns over A7ss. This time the board runs out T83-5-4 for a runner runner wheel and the victory. Fortunately for Jonkey man invented beer about 7,000 years ago. Congratulations to Spork for a great win!
San Diego Syndicate 