$5,000 Main Event Dia 1a | 2017 PokerStars Championship Bahamas

2017-01-09 00:24 UTC-4

James Martyn Leads Day 1a of 2017 PokerStars Championship Bahamas Main Event; Kevin Hart & Mike Watson Among Eliminated

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Nível 8 : 400/800, 100 ante

Day 1a of the 2017 PokerStars Championship Bahamas $5,000 Main Event attracted 229 players – up from last year’s 210 in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure — but after eight 75-minute levels of play, more than 100 of them had went the way of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins and New York Giants – they were eliminated!

That meant 112 players managed to find a bag on Sunday night, but none put more in it than 30-year-old James Martyn, who finished as chip leader with 197,400. Martyn got a lot of his chips when he picked up pocket rockets and doubled through Andrey Zaichenko, who picked an inopportune time to shove with king-ten.

Others who finished with healthy stacks were Brad Marsh (173,200), Andre Cooks (160,400), Mikko Turtiainen (155,100), Alan Schein (140,100), Daniel Colman (136,100) and Igor Kurganov (121,000). They were joined by the likes of Nick Petrangelo (104,000), Team PokerStars Pro Jason Mercier (92,200), Cliff Josephy (87,100), and Mike “Timex” McDonald (54,600).

Another player to advance was 84-year-old Morris Dadoun, who qualified for the Main Event by winning a charity event. Dadoun had an offer to sell his seat, but he decided to live out a dream and play in one of poker’s most prestigious events. It couldn’t have gone much better as he was responsible for the tournament’s first elimination, played against 2016 GPI Player of the Year David Peters, and even went toe-to-toe with PokerStars Team Pro Daniel Negreanu. Dadoun, who had his wife on the rail, survived the night with 112,800, while Peters and Negreanu bagged 29,300 and 58,200 respectively.

Among those to try and fall on Day 1a were 2015 World Series of Poker champ Joe McKeehen, Friend of PokerStars Sergio Garcia, Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, last year’s PCA champ Mike Watson, and Charlie Carrel, who busted just a couple hours after finishing runner-up to Jason Koon in the $100,000 Super High Roller for more than $1.1 million. Speaking of Koon, he went on to bag 22,900.

Another player to fall on Day 1a was big-time Hollywood actor and poker aficionado Kevin Hart.

"Tell them that I went down swinging," requested Hart, who busted after shoving his short stack with deuce-six offsuit. Aslan Tchechoev held pocket tens, and Hart watched helplessly as the board ran out dry. Hart said it best earlier in the day:

"My poker is like the felt, it's smooth... but if you push it back in the other direction, it gets rough."

While the field lost one celebrity, they’ll gain one tomorrow when Aaron Paul of The Path and Breaking Bad fame takes his shot at poker glory. Others who’ll be in action on Monday are Team PokerStars Pro and 2003 WSOP champ Chris Moneymaker, ESPT4 Marbella champ Ludovic Geilich, and World Poker Tour Amsterdam High Roller champ Jason Wheeler, just to name a few. Meanwhile, many who either advanced or busted – such as Dan Shak, Christoph Vogelsang, and Paul Newey – are expected to take their shots in the $50,000 High Roller.

Day 1b will kick off at 11 a.m. local time on Monday, and we’ll be here to bring you all the action. Until then, check out Sarah Herring’s video with Dadoun, who today got to live out his poker dream.

Tags: James Martyn

2017-01-09 00:06 UTC-4

Mercier and Mateos Win Pots but Marsh is Table Captain

Nível 8 : 400/800, 100 ante

With two of the final five hands to play, a table stacked with chips took its time to play down to the end in dramatic style.

The penultimate hand of Day 1a saw Jason Mercier (pictured) three-bet pre-flop and get one caller to a flop of . On that flop, the world-famous Floridian bet 5,700 and took the pot down. He took no part in the final hand, so stacked up a whopping 92,700 at the close of play.

In the final hand of the day, Adrian Mateos clashed with Aslan Tcechoev and the latter bet 2,000 preflop and got a call from Mateos and the big blind player. The flop of saw all three players check, but Tcechoev bet 3,500 on the and only Mateos called. The river saw Mateos checked to, and he bet 8,300. Tcechoev folded and Mateos bagged up an impressive stack of 120,900.

Both Mercier and Mateos did well in the final level of the day, but Brad Marsh from Canada sealed up 173,200 chips and that's one of the biggest stacks in the room on a day where 229 players pitched up to play the PokerStars Championship Main Event here in The Bahamas.

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
Brad Marsh	173,200	173,200
Adrian Mateos	120,900	75,900
Jason Mercier	92,700	7,700

Tags: Adrian Mateos Aslan Tcechoev Bradley Marsh Jason Mercier

2017-01-08 23:12 UTC-4

Ivan Luca Busts to Daniel Colman

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Nível 8 : 400/800, 100 ante

Ivan Luca was down to 2,000 but tripled before he eventually went down anyway. He got lucky hitting a full house with to get back some breathing room, but would fall the next hand.

Luca raised to 4,000 under the gun, leaving himself 2,200 behind. Daniel Colman three-bet to 7,200 from the cutoff and the button and both blinds quickly released. Luca commited his chips just as fast.

Ivan Luca:
Daniel Colman:

The flop already had one table mate say "Oh oh!", and the followed soon after to make things official for Luca. He was out, the on the river did nothing for him.

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
Daniel Colman	61,000	18,000
Ivan Luca	Eliminado

Tags: Daniel Colman Ivan Luca

2017-01-08 19:51 UTC-4

Reigning PCA Champ Mike Watson Falls Before Day 1a Dinner Break

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Nível 6 : 250/500, 75 ante

Last year, Mike Watson topped a field of 928 players to win the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $728,325. Watson was no doubt looking to also win the first PokerStars Bahamas Championship Main Event title, but his hopes of doing so were just dashed by fellow Canadian and PokerStars Qualifier Richard Proudfoot.

Watson's elimination hand escaped us, but he was kind enough to tell us about it after the fact while Proudfoot filled in some details.

As they told it, Watson got the last of his chips, of which there weren't too many, in on a flop holding the against the of Proudfoot.

Watson had a Royal Flush draw, but he bricked it as neither the turn nor river brought a helpful card.

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
Mike Watson	Eliminado

Tags: Mike Watson Richard Proudfoot

2017-01-08 19:16 UTC-4

Diamonds Lead to Demise of Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier

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Nível 5 : 200/400, 50 ante

We missed the elimination of Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, but Paul Newey was kind enough to fill us in on some details.

As he told it, the 2008 PCA champ shoved all in from the big blind for his last 4,500 after the under-the-gun player had raised. His opponent called and the hands were turned up.

Grospellier:
Opponent:

It looked like it was going to be a chop, but the flop gave Grospellier's opponent a freeroll to running diamonds. Unfortunately for France's all-time money leader, that's exactly what happened when the turn and river came diamond-diamond.

Tags: Bertrand Grospellier

2017-01-08 18:30 UTC-4

Mercier Busts His Neighbor

Webjoker

Nível 5 : 200/400, 50 ante

Christophe Larquemin was first to act and raised to 1,000. His neighbor Jason Mercier three-bet to 3,700 and action folded back around to Larquemin who called rather quickly. Larquemin lead out 3,000 himself on the flop and Mercier called.

The hit the turn and Larquemin checked. Mercier bet 4,500 and Larquemin called.

With the pairing the board on the river, Larquemin checked for the second time in a row. Mercier asked to see how much his neighbor had behind and the Frenchman showed his stack of 7,700. Mercier then slid forward 30,000 to put the maximum amount of pressure on his opponent. Larquemin didn't need much time to call, but his hit the muck soon enough as Mercier tabled .

"Player out!" the dealer shouted as Christophe Larquemin got up and left.

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
Jason Mercier	59,000	31,000

Tags: Jason Mercier

2017-01-08 18:18 UTC-4

Busquet Beats Peters but Dadoun Leads the Field at Tough Table

Nível 5 : 200/400, 50 ante

One of the toughest tables in the Day 1a room here at the PokerStars Championships Main Event here in the Bahamas features the chip leader. Golfing superstar Sergio Garcia shares the felt with Global Poker Index No. 1 from 2016 David Peters, Olivier Busquet, Gaelle Baumann and the current chips leader, Morris Dadoun.

We joined the star-studded table to see Busquet taking his seat and he was straight into the action, betting to 1,000 from early position. Only David Peters called from the big blind, and on the flop of , Peters called the bet of 1,200 from his opponent. The turn of saw Peters check to Busquet, but the GPI Player of the Year couldn't call the bet of 3,500 and Busquet got off to a great start, rising to 34,000.

Peters still has a big stack of 53,000 but that is nothing compared to the 80,000 in front of Dadoun (pictured with Sergio Garcia). The Canadian features in a forthcoming with our own Sarah Herring, so stay tuned to hear all about him!

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
David Peters	53,000	-12,000
Olivier Busquet	34,000	9,000

Tags: David Peters Gaelle Baumann Morris Dadoun.Olivier Busquet Sergio Garcia

2017-01-08 17:16 UTC-4

Kevin Hart Goes Loudly

Nível 4 : 150/300, 50 ante

Actor and comedian Kevin Hart woke up in his very own Scary Movie as he busted on Day 1a of the PokerStars Championships Bahamas Main Event.

Despite proving he can Think Like a Man, his Exit Strategy proved that while Hart could Get Hard in a tough-guy sense at the poker table, no amount of Central Intelligence could prevent his day ending.

First, Hart was short-stack at around 9,500 when he tussled with Jacek Lopuszynski. A pot of 6,000 saw Hart bet 2,400 on the river of a board showing .

"Are you getting my poker face?"

Maybe he was but the bet was called by Allen Farris, who had . Hart mucked, stating the result of the hand was "racism at its best"!

The next hand he played saw Hart limp but then fold to two raises pre-flop, squinting at the cards from behind shades, announcing to the table: "I can't see shit in these glasses!"

A new player sat down at the table. "Welcome to hell, sir." said Hart.

Finally, with Hart down to just 4,500 chips, all the lines were coming out to stave off his demise.

"My poker is like the felt, it's smooth...but if you push it back in the other direction, it gets rough."

Hart moved all-in, getting two callers in Aslan Tchechoev from Russia and former nemesis Jacek Lopuszynski.

The flop came and Lopuszynski's bet of 3,500 was called by Tcechoev.

"Oh, shit!" announced Hart. The turn of was checked by both active players in the hand, but the river saw Tcechoev lead for 10,000 and get a fold. Hart paused, waiting for the news.

Tcechoev turned over . Hart jumped out of his seat, at exactly the same moment that a new entrant to Day 1a in the form of Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu passed him on the way to taking his seat.

Hart turned over , and his chips were moved over to Tcechoev.

"This is all your fault, Daniel!" yelled Hart, startling the jovial Canadian. "These guys watched me, I saw you and twitched and they called. I'm out!"

"Hey man, way to take responsibilities for your actions!" quipped Negreanu. Hart promised to return to defeat his table mates, most of whom were laughing.

"Tell them that I went down swinging!" Hart declared. The film star and sell-out stand up comedian may be out, but he is never down!

Jogador	Fichas	Progresso
Aslan Tchechoev	45,000	45,000
Jacek Lopuszynski	32,000	32,000
Allen Farris	31,500	31,500
Kevin Hart	Eliminado

Tags: Allen Farris Aslan Tchechoev Daniel Negreanu Jacek Lopuszynski Kevin Hart

2017-01-08 16:41 UTC-4

Felipe Ramos – Winners Never Wait

Nível 4 : 150/300, 50 ante

One player who has a reason to smile upon arriving at the PokerStars Championships Bahamas $5,300 Main Event is Brazilian legend and Team PokerStars Pro Felipe Ramos. He’s already cashed in a $2,000 side event and will play tomorrow’s Main Event Day 1b and is all about the positive mental element of success.

“I cashed in the last event of the year and my first event of the year," he said. "It doesn’t get much better than that!”

Ramos, who worked his way up from the slums of Sao Paulo to poker’s top table, has earned a reputation as one of the stars of Brazilian poker and the game worldwide. Friends with FC Barcelona’s legendary forward Neymar, Ramos is the go-to guy on social media, having become Snapchat and Instagram king to his legions of followers. But his family upbringing and father’s strong sense of professional discipline have taught him how important the fundamentals are:

“Momentum is insanely important," Ramos said. "As a poker player, the most important thing is consistency. If you’re a consistent player, you’re always making money. In 2016, I had five final tables in a row, it was insane. Some were small events, some large events. But it keeps that momentum.”

His many fans around the world follow his every move online, and after his recent trip back to Brazil, he found that some of his supporters had been concerned of his whereabouts:

“I took 24 hours to travel home. I landed and my phone lit up with a bunch of random messages asking ‘Are you sick?’ or ‘Are you OK?’ I’m like ‘It’s fine, guys, I’m all right!' I can’t believe there isn’t Wi-Fi on every flight in the 21st century — it’s unbelievable.”

Ramos the Nomad

It doesn’t end there for the Brazilian. The next 12 months are scheduled to be his busiest yet as he pushed to win the biggest tournaments of his life so far.

“I’m going to play everything in 2017," he said. "I sold my house back in Brazil, so that I could have no expenses and travel the world. I’m going to play everything. I go from the Bahamas to London to play the first PokerStars Festival which is going to be huge. I’m going everywhere.”

Unlike the actor and comedian Kevin Hart, who is here with a huge entourage of supporters, Ramos frequently travels solo, with just his guitar — quite literally — on the former musician’s back.

“I like to travel light," he said. "At the PokerStars BSOP, I took two or three people. At the biggest stops such as Monaco and Barcelona where there are a lot of events and I need some help, I’ll have people with me, but at small to medium events I like to travel alone.”

Ramos traveled to the Bahamas following a traditional family Christmas. While so much of his year is spent at poker events, surrounded by people he hasn’t met before, there is no substitute for family.

“Christmas is our biggest holiday including the Rio carnival in February," he said. "We’re very traditional Christians, so Christmas is a huge deal. I spent it with my family and friends, drinking beers with my Dad; there’s nothing better than that.”

Football

Legend has it that every baby boy in Brazil receives a football at Christmas. Ramos confirmed that for him, it was even sooner than his first Christmas.

“Before I was born, I had footballs — I had a bunch of them!" he said. "My whole family are Corinthian fans, but my uncle was a Palmeiras fan and another uncle supported FC Santos. They all gave me team jerseys and balls to try to get me to support their teams. My grandfather saw the things for the other teams and he told me to ‘throw this stuff away!’”

His love of football has grown and grown, leading to Ramos recently giving a seminar on the mental aspects of poker to a professional under-20 team in Brazil. They won the next game, and the coach contacted him personally to tell him what a difference it made.

While he supports Corinthians, Ramos was one of the worldwide football community affected by the tragic air crash transporting Chapecoense players, media and staff to the 2016 Copasudamericana Final. Only six people survived of the 77 passengers aboard, just three players from the fabled team.

“That was really terrible," Ramos said. "I was playing the BSOP Millions, a huge PokerStars event in Brazil when we got the news. I remember that day, I couldn’t do anything. I was devastated.”

It’s clear that for all of his positivity at the felt and on the rail, Ramos was deeply affected by the events of that day. It left him with a lasting message to apply to his own life.

“You can’t imagine such a terrible tragedy," he said. "I was incredibly sad, but because it is something that can happen to any of us, it made me realize that we must live in the present moment as much as we can.

"If you want to say ‘sorry’ or 'forgive me,' do it now and live better. Because you may not have the chance to say it. The tragedy made me much closer to my family. I have a grandma who is 79 and she’s the oldest person in my family. I already told my dad that we’re going to have a huge party when she turns 80. It will have samba, with music and I’m going to play and sing. It’s important.”

With that, Ramos is on the move again, hopping from friend to friend across the tournament floor in much the same way as he’ll travel from tournament to tournament in 2017.

If his life continues on the same track, you’ll be hearing about a major trophy heading the Brazilian’s way very soon... probably because your friends shared it on social media.