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Home / Uncategorized / SCOOP 2014: aless_84 defeats Danzer heads-up in Event #17-H ($2,100 Omaha Hi/Lo)

When it comes to the ‘COOPs, George Danzer is not a man to be trifled with. He already has a WCOOP bracelet for each wrist and three SCOOP watches, two of them earned in the 2013 series where he also won the “High” tournament leaderboard. Incredibly, Danzer’s five ‘COOP wins are in five wildly different games– Pot-Limit Omaha, No-Limit 2-7 Draw, 4-max NLHE, Ante Up NLHE, and Badugi. A win in Event #17-H ($2,100 Omaha Hi/Lo) would have made it six for six.

Danzer grabbed the chip lead in the event’s middle stages and kept it until shortly before the final table. However, with three players remaining, Uruguay’s aless_84 hit his stride and wrested the top spot away from PocketGrizly. Aless_84 maintained consistent pressure and chipped away at PocketGrizly, ultimately eliminating him in third place. Heads-up with Danzer at almost a 2 to 1 chip advantage, aless_84 took only fifteen minutes to put away the Team Pro and locked up his largest-ever online MTT score along with his first SCOOP title.

131 high-stakes Omaha Hi/Lo aficionados bought into Event #17-H, the prize pool topping out at $262,000.00. The top 15 players earned a share of it with $65,500.00 set aside for the winner. A half-dozen Red Spades joined the field; Naoya “nkeyno” Kihara, ElkY, Jonathan Duhamel, Eugene Katchalov, and Nacho Barbero all missed the money but Danzer cashed and later advanced to the final table.

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SCOOP beast and hair icon George Danzer

Danzer was on top of the chip counts with 34 players remaining and was still holding on to his lead when play went hand for hand on the money bubble. Mike “SirWatts” Watson was the short stack with 16 left and after opening for a UTG raise, he three-bet all-in on a 10♥ 5â™  4â™  flop. Aless_84 called and turned over A♦ 3♥ 5♦ 10♣ — tens and fives with the second-nut low draw–while SirWatts showed A♥ A♣ 2♦ J♣ — a pair of aces and the nut low draw. Aless_84 hit gin on the river with the 2â™  and made a wheel to send SirWatts to the rail empty-handed.

Betting limits were up to 2,500/5,000 with ten players remaining, two of them hanging by a fingernail with less than three bets each. Highland successfully dodged elimination on three separate occasions, but was still the short stack with 11,724 while wizarddd was only slightly better off with 14,394. The action folded around to Andy McLEOD in the small blind and he raised to 5,000. Wizarddd three-bet to 7,500 from the big and Andy McLEOD called. The flop fell J♦ 9♣ 2♣ and Andy McLEOD led out. Wizarddd raised, Andy McLEOD three-bet and wizarddd called all-in for his last 1,894.

wizarddd A♥ 2♦ 7♦ 7♠ (pair of sevens)
Andy McLEOD 2♥ 5♣ 8♥ Q♦ (pair of deuces, gutshot straight draw)

The 9♥ turn eliminated any possibility of a low and the Q♥ river made Andy McLEOD queens and nines. Wizarddd hit the rail in tenth place and the final table was set.

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Final table chip counts

Seat 1: GeorgeDanzer (57,334 in chips)
Seat 2: kuhns89 (63,686 in chips)
Seat 3: highland (11,724 in chips)
Seat 4: aless_84 (90,316 in chips)
Seat 5: MarMoss (41,413 in chips)
Seat 6: Isidinho (135,298 in chips)
Seat 7: alex987 (60,002 in chips)
Seat 8: Andy McLEOD (43,340 in chips)
Seat 9: PocketGrizly (151,887 in chips)

highland hits the road in ninth

Highland limped onto the final table with little more than two big bets, but early in the second orbit he found A♣ 2♠ 3♣ 8♠ and three-bet to 7,500 from the small blind. Aless_84 capped, alex987 called two more bets and highland called all-in for 1,724. Aless_84 led out on the K♠ 8♥ 7♣ flop and alex987 called. The turn came the K♦ and aless_84 slowed down and checked. Alex987 bet and aless_84 called to see the 3♥ river. Aless_84 led out, alex987 raised and aless_84 called, revealing A♠ 2♥ 4♣ 4♥ for kings and fours and an 8-7-3-2-A low. Alex987 had the same low with A♣ 2♠ 3♣ 8♠ but a higher two pair with kings and eights. Alex987 nabbed three-quarters of the pot, aless_84 took one-quarter and highland was eliminated in ninth place, earning $7,205.00.

MarMoss rivered in eighth

WIth the betting limits up to 3,000/6,000 and only 17,663 behind, MarMoss opened for a raise from middle position. Alex987 called from the cutoff, PocketGrizly called from the small blind, and George Danzer came along from the big. The action checked to MarMoss on the J♥ 9♦ 8♥ flop and he bet 3,000. Alex987 and PocketGrizly called while Danzer folded. MarMoss bet another 6,000 on the 7♥ turn, folding out alex987 but not PocketGrizly, who turned around andled the 8♠ river. MarMoss called all-in for 2,663 and showed A♣ 2♣ 9♥ J♦ for jacks and nines, but PocketGrizly rivered trip eights with A♥ 4♦ 4♥ 8♣ . MarMoss hit the rail in eighth place, good for $9,170.00.

kuhns89 crashes out in seventh

Two hands later, Andy McLEOD got a boost when he doubled through Isidinho, his six-high straight and wheel low rolling over Isidinho’s pair of aces and 6-4. Kuhns89, however, wasn’t as fortunate. After losing two pots in a row, kuhns89 was down to 16,686 in chips, 1,500 of it posted in the small blind. Andy McLEOD raised to 6,000, PocketGrizly three-bet to 9,000 and kuhns89 capped. Both opponents called and the flop fell 7♥ 3♥ 3â™  . Kuhns89 bet 3,000, both players called, and the 5â™  came on the turn. Kuhns89 bet his last 1,686, Andy McLEOD called and PocketGrizly raised to 6,000. Andy McLEOD came along and check-called another 6,000 when the 9â™  rivered. Andy McLEOD revealed A♣ 2♣ 8♦ Q♥ for the nut low, PocketGrizly showed Aâ™  4â™  6♦ J♥ for an ace-high flush, and kuhns89 mucked, his run at a third SCOOP title coming to an end in seventh place.

PocketGrizly mauls alex987 and AndyMcLEOD

Meanwhile, alex987 had slipped below 16,000 in chips. Dealt Aâ™  A♦ 3â™  7â™  , he raised to 6,000 UTG, PocketGrizly called from the cutoff and Isidinho came along from the big blind. Isidinho checked the Kâ™  10♥ 3♣ flop, alex987 bet 3,000, PocketGrizly folded and Isidino called. The rest of alex987’s chips went in on the Jâ™  turn and Isidinho called, revealing A♣ 4♣ 6♣ Q♥ for a Broadway straight. Alex987 needed a spade to make a flush but got the 3♦ instead and departed in sixth place ($13,755.00).

Four hands later the limits were up to 4,000/8,000 and Andy McLEOD capped the betting preflop with Aâ™  2♦ 3♦ J♦ . PocketGrizly called and the rest of Andy McLEOD’s chips went in on the Q♥ Q♣ Jâ™  flop. PocketGrizly turned up A♦ 3â™  10â™  Q♦ for trip queens, leaving Andy McLEOD drawing extremely thin. The 5♦ turn and 6â™  river were no help to Andy McLEOD and he hit the rail in fifth place ($17,030.00).

Danzer’s gamble

Sitting in the chip lead with the field down to four, PocketGrizly polled his opponents regarding a potential deal. Everyone was willing to look at numbers, but Danzer confessed he was unlikely to chop.

GeorgeDanzer: i have the thingy clicked on, but i cannot promise anything, i like to gamble

The action paused and final table host Mikhail “innerpsy” Shalamov prepped ICM figures for the final four. Here’s a look at how they stacked up at the time:

PocketGrizly – 237,229
Isidinho – 185,252
GeorgeDanzer – 135,459
aless_84 – 97,060

When the numbers came up, Isidinho quickly told his opponents the share he was offered was not enough, but neither Danzer nor aless_84 were willing to give anything away. Unable to reach a consensus, everyone agreed it was best to play on.

aless_84 doubles, Danzer dusts Isidinho

Aless_24 slipped to 24,000 before she committed the last of her chips with 9♥ 10♥ J♣ K♦ on a 10♦ 10â™  2♣ 4♥ board. Isidinho turned over 2♦ 4♣ 10♣ Qâ™  for tens full of fours and aless_84’s trips were in dire shape. However, aless_84 rivered a miracle with the 9â™  and made tens full of nines. Aless_84 doubled to 50,000 and Isidinho continued to slide, falling all the way to 11,000 in chips before George Danzer sent him to the rail in fourth place ($24,235.00).

aless_84 stuns PocketGrizly

As play turned three-handed PocketGrizly held the chip lead with 295,000, George Danzer was second with 200,000 and aless_84 was the short stack with 159,000. However, aless_84 soon chipped up past Danzer and took the chip lead from PocketGrizly when he made an ace-high flush and a 6-5-3-2-A low. Aless_84 continued to poke at PocketGrizly and picked up two more substantial pots, reducing him to short-stack status. At last PocketGrizly put the rest of his chips in on a K♣ 8♠ 4♥ flop, but aless_84 hit running cards on the turn and river to make a jack-high straight and sent him home in third place ($34,060.00).

Heads-up chip counts

Seat 1: GeorgeDanzer (229,459 in chips)
Seat 4: aless_84 (425,541 in chips)

Aless_84 kept the pressure on and soon pushed Danzer’s stack below 100,000. Danzer managed to chip back up to 139,000 over the course of a few hands, but aless_84 kept him in check. With the limits up to 6,000/12,000, Danzer opened for a raise on the button. Aless_84 called from the big blind and checked over the Aâ™  Q♣ 7♥ flop. Danzer bet 6,000 and aless_84 called. The turn came the 10â™  and this time aless_84 led out for 12,000. Danzer raised, aless_84 three-bet and Danzer called. The river was the 8â™  and aless_84 led out again. Danzer raised, aless_84 three-bet and Danzer called. Aless_84 rolled over an ace-high flush with 6♥ 7â™  J♥ Kâ™  and Danzer mucked, his stack down to only 49,000.

Five hands later Danzer rebounded, doubling to 99,000 when he flopped a set of nines vs. aless_84’s nines and fives. However, he lost about half his stack over the course of the next few hands. Down to 45,000, Danzer called aless_84’s preflop raise and check-called another 6,000 on the A♦ J♣ 2♥ flop. Both players checked the K♣ turn. The river was the Aâ™  and Danzer check-called 12,000 more, but he couldn’t beat aless_84’s trip aces with A♥ 4â™  5♦ 10♥ .

Danzer’s last 15,000 went in preflop on the next hand, but unfortunately his A♣ 5â™  7♦ 9♥ couldn’t fade aless_84’s K♦ K♣ 5♥ 5♦ .

Congratulations to Uruguay’s aless_84 on earning his first SCOOP title! He banked $65,500.00 for the win while runner-up George Danzer collected $44,540.00.

SCOOP 17-H: $2,100 Omaha Hi/Lo
Entrants: 131
Prizepool: $262,000.00
Places paid 15

1. aless_84 (Uruguay) $65,500.00
2. Team PokerStars Pro George Danzer (Austria) $44,540.00
3. PocketGrizly (Bahamas) $34,060.00
4. Isidinho (Germany) $24,235.00
5. James “Andy McLEOD” Obst (Australia) $17,030.00
6. alex987 (Russia) $13,755.00
7. kuhns89 (Germany) $11,135.00
8. MarMoss (Norway) $9,170.00
9. Timothy “highland” Finne (Canada) $7,205.00

Kristin Bihr is a freelance contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

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