Thursday, 28th March 2024 13:03
Home / Uncategorized / SCOOP 2014: cronevelt’s heads-up comeback wins Event #22-M, $215 NLHE (Sunday Warm-Up Special Edition)

The Sunday Warm-Up is already one of PokerStars’ most popular weekly tournaments. The $215 No-Limit Hold’em tournament sports a $500,000 guarantee and routinely draws upwards of 3,500 players. But even good things can be made better, and that’s exactly what happens when SCOOP rolls around.

Event #22-M, a $215 Special Edition of the Sunday Warm-Up, featured a $600,000 guarantee and a two-day structure. That was attractive enough that 5,573 players turned up, building a $1,114,600 prize pool to be split among the top 720 finishers. The field had been reduced to just six tables by the end of Day 1. After a little more than four hours of play on Day 2, with blinds and antes at 60K/120K/15K, these nine players remained in the hunt for the $174,359.20 top prize:

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Seat 1: kavlleas08 (18,129,232 in chips)
Seat 2: susie00 (4,046,066 in chips)
Seat 3: Poker id 4me (4,141,882 in chips)
Seat 4: unabomber_87 (2,219,976 in chips)
Seat 5: cronevelt (7,603,357 in chips)
Seat 6: BigPapaLind (2,237,319 in chips)
Seat 7: final rival (4,534,744 in chips)
Seat 8: KentaNuts (3,265,055 in chips)
Seat 9: bergeroo (9,552,369 in chips)

Greek player kavileas08 entered the final table with a significant chip lead thanks to this monster pot on the final table bubble against Norway’s cronevelt:


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The same two players faced off again after the blinds and antes rose to 70K/140K/17.5K. cronevelt opened for 290K in early position and kavileas08 called on the button, bringing a flop of 8♣ 5♣ 6♦ . cronevelt led for 473K and kavileas called. Then cronevelt led for 947K on the 9♦ turn and kavileas08 went into the time bank. After some thought the Greek called, both players checked the 6â™  river, and kavileas08 won with A♦ J♣ against cronevelt’s A♥ 10♦ . The Norwegian recovered all those lost chips three hands later, though, flat-calling with 2â™  2♥ on the button after kavileas08 opened in middle position with J♣ J♥ and catching a set on the turn of a 9♣ K♥ 8♥ 2♣ 3♦ board.

The floodgates open

Besides that action, the table was relatively quiet in the early going. The first knockout wouldn’t come until the blinds and antes had risen to 80K/160K/20K. unabomber_87 from Germany was second to act and opened for 320K with 9♣ 9â™  , then called all-in for 2.39M total after kavileas08 jammed from the small blind with A♥ Q♦ . The 6♦ 5♣ 7♥ flop was good news for the short stack, but the Aâ™  left the German in need of any eight or nine to stay in the game. The 10♣ came on the river instead, sending unabomber_87 to the rail in 9th place ($8,916.80).

Just two hands after that knockout came the next. cronevelt called in the big blind after the United Kingdom’s bergeroo raised to 335K in middle position and Germany’s Poker id4 me called in the small blind. The flop fell 9♦ K♦ 9â™  , both blinds checked, and bergeroo bet 450K. Poker id4 me called, but cronevelt check-raised to 1.44M. That got bergeroo to fold, but after thinking for a bit Poker id4 me jammed for 3.09M total. cronevelt called quickly with 10♥ 9♥ for trips nines, which had to dodge diamonds as Poker id4 me held A♦ Q♦ . The board ran out 5♥ 10♣ to give cronvelt the 7.86M-chip pot and eliminate Poker id4 me in 8th place ($13,932.50).

The very next hand saw susie00 from the United Kingdom also at risk of elimination. Sitting in the cutoff, susie00 called a kavileas08 raise to 320K from the hijack to bring am A♣ 8♣ J♥ flop. The Greek led for 480K before three-betting all-in over the top of susie00’s raise to 975K. susie00 called with A♦ Jâ™  and dodged clubs on the K♦ turn and 5♥ river to drag the 9.4M-chip pot.

Two hands after that Australia’s BigPapaLind, who had been short-stacked and mostly quiet throughout the final table, picked up J♥ J♣ and moved all-in from the cutoff for 1.45M after kavileas08 opened for 320K under the gun. kavileas08 got out of the way after bergeroo moved all-in for 9.7M in the big blind and the U.K. player showed Q♦ Qâ™  . The 7♣ 6♣ 6♦ K♦ K♥ board brought no help and BigPapaLind, owner of an excellent Breaking Bad-themed avatar, left the tournament in 7th place ($25,078.50).

Israel’s KentaNuts was now the short stack with just 1.3M but managed a double-up on the next hand with A♦ J♥ against kavileas08, who called in the big blind with A♥ 5♥ . Seven hands later those chips went in the middle after KentaNuts moved all-in on the button before the flop with J♣ Jâ™  . susie00 called the 2.75M from the big blind with K♣ Kâ™  , which held up on a 7♦ 6♦ 6♣ 10♣ 3â™  board to end KentaNuts’ run in 6th place ($36,224.50).

Five-way fight

kavileas08 was still firmly in the lead and started putting those chips to work during five-handed play. The next four pots all went to the Greek, who also tried to win the next one but was stymied once again by cronevelt:


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That 15.3M-chip pot shifted the dynamics of the table considerably:

Seat 1: kavlleas08 (15,901,075 in chips)
Seat 2: susie00 (11,078,318 in chips)
Seat 5: cronevelt (15,311,831 in chips)
Seat 7: final rival (3,217,744 in chips)
Seat 9: bergeroo (10,221,032 in chips)

So did the pot three hands later where susie00 three-bet bergeroo’s under-the-gun raise, bet the flop, checked the turn, and raised all-in on the river of a Kâ™  2♥ 9♦ 2♣ 8♥ board. bergeroo wasn’t completely covered but would have been left with just a few big blinds in the event of a loss, and eventually folded, shipping the 8.99M-chip pot over to susie00.

That left bergeroo with 6.52M, still ahead of short-stacked Russian player final rival. But 15 hands later that situation changed as well after final rival picked up Q♠ Q♣ on the same hand that dealt J♦ J♠ to susie00, and the queens held up for an 8.89M-chip pot. Two hands later that stack would grow further in a confrontation with kavileas08:


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bergerooo was now up against the wall with just 4.08M and the blinds and antes now up to 125K/250K/31.25K. Five hands later the U.K. player picked up 7♦ 7â™  in the small blind and moved in over the top of susie00’s under-the-gun raise. susie00 called with Aâ™  10â™  and won the coin flip when the board fell 10♥ 5♣ Qâ™  A♦ 5♦ , bringing bergeroo’s day to a close in 5th place ($47,370.50).

Deal time

cronevelt was able to move into the lead after picking up J♦ J♣ while susie00 held 7â™  7♣ and winning a 7.6M-chip pot. A few hands later susie00 was in the small blind and opened for 701K, then called cronevelt’s raise to 1.8M from the big blind to bring a 7♥ A♥ 2â™  flop. susie00 check-called 2M there and 3.97M on the turn before both players checked the 4♥ river. The 15.9M chips in the pot went to susie00 with Aâ™  10♣ , while cronevelt mucked and dropped to 11.2M total.

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That was enough to convince everyone at the table to look at numbers for a possible deal, and after less than 10 minutes they had reached an agreement that left $12,000 and the champion’s watch on the table for the last player standing. It only took eight hands for the first confrontation which came when final rival opened on the button, kavileas08 re-raised in the small blind, and susie00 jammed from the big blind. final rival folded but kavileas08 called with A♣ K♣ . That was flipping with susie00’s 9â™  9♥ until the 8♥ 6â™  9♣ gave susie00 a set of nines. Running cards could have helped kavileas08 split the pot or win it outright,, but the J♦ turn and Q♥ river didn’t fit the bill and kavileas08 left in 4th place ($96,921.62).

Four hands later susie00, who had more than 34M chips to work with, opened for 600K on the button and final rival called in the big blind, bringing a flop of J♥ 10♥ 7♦ . final rival checked and susie00 bet 689K, a little less than half the pot. final rival then check-raised to 1.8M, then called for 4.79M total after susie00 moved all-in. final rival had 10â™  9â™  for middle pair with a gutshot draw, while susie00’s K♥ J♣ was good for top pair. The Q♦ turn and 5♥ river changed nothing, and final rival departed in 3rd place ($106,822.64).

An unexpected reversal

Blinds and antes were up to 200K/400K/50K as heads-up play began:

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Seat 2: susie00 (40,296,099 in chips)
Seat 5: cronevelt (15,433,901 in chips)

cronevelt was behind but found an ideal situation on the very first hand being dealt A♦ Aâ™  while susie00 held 9♥ 9♦ . It took six bets to get all cronevelt’s chips in the middle before the flop, and the 3♦ 8♣ 4♦ Qâ™  6♥ board gave the Norwegian the lead with 30.3M chips to susie00’s 25.3M.

cronevelt won the next five pots in a row before susie00 won a 6.6M-chip pot without showdown, check-raising on the turn of a J♣ 10♠ 8♦ 3♥ board to get the match back close to where it had been after the aces-versus-nines moment that kicked off the heads-up match. But that was the last significant pot that susie00 would win.

Seven hands later susie00 opened for 800K on the button and called a three-bet to 2M, bringing a flop of 5♥ Q♦ 2♥ . cronevelt bet 2.05M, then three-bet all-in after susie00 made it 4.97M to go. susie00 called with K♦ Qâ™  for top pair, while cronevelt was trailing with 6♥ 6♣ . Only a six or running cards for a straight could help cronevelt – and the 6â™  came on the turn. That left susie00 drawing dead and the A♣ on the river officially brought to the tournament to a close.

That first hand of heads-up had to have been a heartbreaker for susie00, but thanks the deal the U.K. player finished with the largest prize of the tournament at $135,283.93, a new career high. As for cronevelt, the extra $12,000 on the table made for total earnings of $120,111.30, also a new high to go along with that first career SCOOP title. Congratulations to both players – and the rest of the final table – on a job well done.

SCOOP 22-M, $215 No-Limit Hold’em (Sunday Warm-Up Special Edition)
Entrants: 5,573
Prize pool: $1,114,600
Places paid: 720

1. cronevelt (Norway) $120,111.30*
2. susie00 (United Kingdom) $135,283.93*
3. final rival (Russia) $106,822.64*
4. kavileas08 (Greece) $96,921.62*
5. bergeroo (United Kingdom) $47,370.50
6. KentaNuts (Israel) $36,224.50
7. BigPapaLind (Australia) $25,078.50
8. Poker id 4me (Germany) $13,932.50
9. unabomber_87 (Germany) $8,916.80
*denotes results of a four-way deal

Jason Kirk is a freelance contributor to PokerStars Blog.

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