Saturday, March 13, 2010

2010 Shooting Stars Final Results

$10,000 SHOOTING STAR CHAMPIONSHIP
ENTRIES: 333
PRIZE POOL: $3,163,500

PLACE FIRST LAST PRIZE
1 McLean Karr $878,500 including $25k WPT seat
2 Andy Seth $521,200
3 Daniel O'Brien $292,800
4 Hassan Habib $234,300
5 Matt Keikoan $175,700
6 Phil Hellmuth $117,000
7 Elon Diamond $58,600
8 Scotty Nguyen $58,600
9 Brian Rast $38,000
10 Dave Forster $38,000
11 John Cernuto $29,300
12 Dave Gamon $29,300
13 Nick Schulman $23,400
14 Chau Giang $23,400
15 Joseph Elpayaa $23,400
16 Timothy McDermott $23,400
17 Lars Elmore $23,400
18 Faraz Jaka $23,400
19 Vanna Tea $20,500
20 John Monnette $20,500
21 Jonathan Tamayo $20,500
22 Johnathan Little $20,500
23 Taylor Raines $20,500
24 Thomas Marchese $20,500
25 Thuy Phan $17,600
26 Ted Jivkov $17,600
27 Kfir Nahum $17,600
28 Chris Wallace $17,600
29 Omar Mehmood $17,600
30 Richard Harroch $17,600
31 George Ash $14,700
32 Mark Ketteringham $14,700
33 Byron Davenport $14,700
34 Steve Gross $14,700
35 Mohsin Charania $14,700
36 Loi Lam $14,700

YouTube video: Mclean Karr winners interview

Mclean Karr, winner of the 2010 Bay 101 Shooting Stars tournament, is interviewed by tournament director Matt Savage

Click here to view the video in HD

Mclean Karr - 1st Place - $878,500

Andy Seth - 2nd Place - $521,200

Blinds have been increased to 50k/100k with a 10k ante.

Blinds have been increased to 40k/80k with a 10k ante.

Updated chip counts

Mclean Karr - 5,630,000
Andy Seth - 1,030,000

Dan O'Brien - 3rd Place - $292,800

Blinds have been increased to 30k/60k with a 10k ante.

Updated chip counts

Mclean Karr - 2,940,000
Andy Seth - 2,155,000
Dan O'Brien - 1,570,000

Friday, March 12, 2010

Andy Seth doubles up through Mclean Karr

Three handed, Andy Seth raises from the button, and Mclean Karr reraises from the small blind. Dan O'Brien folds the big blind, and Seth moves all in. Karr makes the call, showing pocket sevens against the pocket tens of Seth. By the turn, Karr is drawing to a straight to knock out Seth, but the [2s] on the river sends the pot to Seth and knocks Karr's chip stack down a bit.

Blinds have been increased to 25k/50k with a 5k ante.

Dan O'Brien doubles up

Dan O'Brien was all in holding pocket jacks against the pocket treys of Andy Seth. No trey materialized on the board and Dan O'Brien has doubled up.

Hasan Habib - 4th Place - $234,300

Blinds have been increased to 15k/30k with a 5k ante.

We are now racing off the 1k chips and when completed, we will be playing 15k/30k blinds with a 5k ante.

Matt Keikoan - 5th Place - $175,700


Matt Keikoan moved all in under the gun with [Ad][7c] and is called by Andy Seth in the big blind, holding [9h][9c]. Keikoan makes a pair of aces the river when the board falls [8c][6c][4s][Tc][Ac], but Seth's [9c] plays to make a flush an eliminate Keikoan in 5th place.

Updated chip counts

We are back from break and are playing again. There are 10 minutes left in the level, and then the 1,000 chips come off the table and we go to 15k/30k with a 5k ante. Here are updated chip counts:

Mclean Karr 2,474,000
Dan O'Brien 2,228,000
Hasan Habib 884,000
Andy Seth 790,000
Matt Keikoan 288,000

YouTube video: Kings beats aces with 10 players left

Dave Forster was unlucky enough to pick up K♥K♣ against the A♠A♥ of Matt Keikoan, but got pretty lucky when the flop fell K♦8♥5♥. The board failed to materialize an ace when the turn and river fell 4♠J♠, and Forster doubled up to over 700,000.

Click here to view the video in HD

YouTube video: Elon Diamond elimination hand

Elon Diamond was all in preflop holding A♦Q♠ against Andy Seth's Q♦Q♣. The board of T♦9♦6♣6♥8♠ brought no help for Diamond, and he will be our 7th place finisher.

Click here to view the video in HD

Blinds have been increased to 12k/24k with a 4k ante.

YouTube video: Eugene Katchalov (Day 1B chip leader) interview

Eugene Katchalov, our Day 1B chip leader, is interviewed by tournament director Matt Savage after the conclusion of the day

Click here to view the video in HD

Updated chip counts

McLean Karr - 2,245,000
Daniel O'Brien - 1,942,000
Andy Seth - 1,516,000
Hassan Habib - 534,000
Matt Keikoan - 427,000

Dan O'Brien doubles up

Dan O'Brien is all in preflop holding [As][Qs] against Andy Seth's [Js][Jc]. O'Brien needed help when the flop fell [Td][9d][7c], and he got it when the turn fell the [Qh]. Now Seth was needing help in the form of a jack or an eight, but the river was the [Ts] and O'Brien doubled up with his two pair.

Updated chip counts

Andy Seth - 2,964,000
Mclean Karr - 1,712,000
Dan O'Brien - 866,000
Matt Keikoan - 691,000
Hasan Habib - 431,000

Phil Hellmuth - 6th Place - $117,000


Preflop, Andy Seth raised and Phil Hellmuth reraised, and then Seth moved all in. Hellmuth made the call and showed [Qs][Qd], while Seth showed [Ac][Jc]. The flop was [Kd][6s][5s], but the [Th] on the turn gave Seth a gutshot straight draw as well as an overcard. The crowd went wild when the [Ah] hit the river, and Hellmuth was sent to the rail early in 6th place.

Blinds have been increased to 10k/20k with a 3k ante.

Andy Seth goes all-in

After a raise from Hasan Habib and a reraise from Phil Hellmuth, Andy Seth moved all in.  Hellmuth folded and Andy Seth won a nice pot without a showdown.

Cards are in the air!

Cards are in the air, and with a preflop raise, Hasan Habib has won the first pot.

Final table introductions

Slightly after our scheduled 4pm start time, tournament director Matt Savage is introducing our final table participants.  We will be getting cards in the air shortly... if we can keep Phil Hellmuth on the set.

YouTube video: Faraz Jaka elimination hand

Faraz Jaka was all in preflop with A♣T♠ vs. Scotty Nguyen's AQ. When the board ran out 8♦6♦4♣Q♣2♦, Jaka was eliminated in 18th place.

Click here to view the video in HD

Meet your final table!


Seat 1 - Hassan Habib - Los Angeles, CA - 455,000
Seat 2 - Phil Hellmuth - Palo Alto, CA - 1,433,000
Seat 3 - Andy Seth - Las Vegas, NV - 2,164,000
Seat 4 - Matt Keikoan - Marin, CA - 371,000
Seat 5 - McLean Karr - Ft. Wayne, IN - 1,112,000
Seat 6 - Daniel O'Brien - Mt. Sinai, NY - 1,129,000

When they return, players will be playing 8k/16k blinds with a 2k ante, with 109:37 left on the clock.

Elon Diamond - 7th Place - $58,600


Elon Diamond was all in preflop holding [Ad][Qs] against Andy Seth's [Qd][Qc]. The board of [Td][9d][6c][6h][8s] brought no help for Diamond, and he will be our 7th place finisher.

YouTube video: Scotty Nguyen elimination hand

Scotty Nguyen was all in preflop holding J♥8♥ against the K♥Q♦ of Andy Seth. Once the flop fell Q♣4♦2♠, Nguyen was all but eliminated. He was drawing dead after the turn fell the 5♦, and the river was a meaningless A♠. Nguyen will earn $58,600 for his finish, and Seth will collect the $5,000 bounty.

Click here to view the video in HD

Thursday, March 11, 2010

We have reached our final 7 players


After playing 10-handed for almost six hours, three players were knocked out, and we have now combined to our final table of seven. Play will continue until we have our six players that will be filmed tomorrow for the World Poker Tour. Blinds are currently 6k/12k with a 2k ante. Here are your final seven and their approximate chip counts:

Seat 1 - Elon Diamond - 370,000
Seat 2 - Hassan Habib - 900,000
Seat 3 - Phil Hellmuth - 1,150,000
Seat 4 - Andy Seth - 1,500,000
Seat 5 - Matt Keikoan - 460,000
Seat 6 - McLean Karr - 1,200,000
Seat 7 - Daniel O'Brien - 900,000

Scotty Nguyen - 8th Place - $58,600


Scotty Nguyen was all in preflop holding [Jh][8h] against the [Kh][Qd] of Andy Seth. Once the flop fell [Qc][4d][2s], Nguyen was all but eliminated. He was drawing dead after the turn fell the [5d], and the river was a meaningless [As]. Nguyen will earn $58,600 for his finish, and Seth will collect the $5,000 bounty.

Brian Rast - 9th Place - $38,000

Dave Forster - 10th Place - $38,000


Dave Forster was all in on a queen high, all diamond flop holding KQ against the [Kd][9d] of McLean Karr. Forster was drawing only to runner runner, and the turn card locked up the win for Karr. Forster will collect $38,000 for his finish.

Blinds have been increased to 6k/12k with a 2k ante

Blinds have been increased to 5k/10k with a 1k ante.

Dave Forster doubles up


Dave Forster was unlucky enough to pick up [Kh][Kc] against the [As][Ah] of Matt Keikoan, but got pretty lucky when the flop fell [Kd][8h][5h].  The board failed to materialize an ace when the turn and river fell [4s][Js], and Forster doubled up to over 700,000.

Scotty Nguyen doubles up


Scotty Nguyen was all in on a [Qc][Td][7d] flop holding [Kh][Jh] against Andy Seth's [8h][8d].  Nguyen could catch any nine or ace to make a straight, or a king or a jack to make a bigger pair.  That card came in the form of the [Ks], and Nguyen's hand stayed the best hand when the [7s] hit the river to double him up to around 400k.

YouTube video: Brian Rast doubles up

Click here to view the video in HD

Elon Diamond fighting back

Since being crippled by Brian Rast, Elon Diamond has been all in and called at least three times and has won all three times.

The first time was the hand after Diamond was crippled, when he tripled up against Phil Hellmuth and Scotty Nguyen. Diamond held [As][Jh], Hellmuth held [Kd][Jc], and Scotty Nguyen held [9s][5s], and the board ran out [Qh][7s][4s][Qc][7h].

Shortly thereafter, in a blind vs. blind confrontation, Hellmuth check-called Diamond's all in on a [Td][6d][4d] flop. Diamond had the best hand with [6h][2c], but had to fade a lot of outs as Hellmuth held straight, flush, and a pair draw with his [8d][5h]. The turn came the [Jh] and the river came the [Qh] and Diamond doubled up.

On the last double-up, the room went nuts when Diamond's AQ held up against Andy Seth's QJ. After that, Diamond 4-bet and was not called. He is now up to over 300,000.

Brian Rast doubles up

Brian Rast is all in preflop holding [8h][8c] vs. Elon Diamond's [Kd][Qs]. Rast wins the flip when the board comes [Ac][9c][5h][5c][2s] and leaves Elon Diamond crippled.

Blinds have been increased to 4k/8k with a 1k ante.

YouTube video: John Cernuto elimination hand

"Miami" John Cernuto was all in on a T♣T♦2♦ flop holding Q♥T♥ vs. McLean Karr's 8♦4♦. Cernuto had to fade a diamond to double up, and he looked good when the 6♣ hit the turn. But when the 7♦ hit the river, Karr completed his flush and collected Cernuto's bounty.

Click here to view the video in HD

"Miami" John Cernuto - 11th Place - $29,300


"Miami" John Cernuto was all in on a [Tc][Td][2d] flop holding [Qh][Th] vs. McLean Karr's [8d][4d]. Cernuto had to fade a diamond to double up, and he looked good when the [6c] hit the turn. But when the [7d] hit the river, Karr completed his flush and collected Cernuto's bounty.

Dave Forster doubles up

Dave Forster was all in preflop holding [9d][9c] against the pocket treys of Matt Keikoan. The board came pretty safe, reading [9s][8c][5c][7h][As], and Forster has doubled up.

Dave Gamon - 12th Place - $29,300


Dave Gamon was all in holding [Ad][8d] vs. Andy Seth's pocket kings.  The board ran out [Jc][Ts][5h][Qs][6d] and Dave Gamon is eliminated in 12th place.

Down to 12 players

With our last elimination, we are now down to our final two 6-handed tables.  All remaining players are now guaranteed at least $29,300.

Table 41:
Seat 1 - Dave Gamon
Seat 2 - Elon Diamond
Seat 3 - Scotty Nguyen
Seat 4 - Andy Seth
Seat 5 - Brian Rast
Seat 6 - Phil Hellmuth

Table 20:
Seat 1 - Dave Forster
Seat 2 - Matt Keikoan
Seat 3 - John Cernuto
Seat 4 - Hassan Habib
Seat 5 - Daniel O'Brien
Seat 6 - McLean Karr

Nick Schulman - 13th Place - $23,400

Chau Giang - 14th Place - $23,400

Joseph Elpayaa - 15th Place - $23,400

Timothy McDermott - 16th Place - $23,400


Timothy McDermott was all in preflop holding pocket tens vs. the pocket queens of Phil Hellmuth. When no ten hit the board, McDermott was sent to the rail in 16th place.

Lars Elmore - 17th Place - $23,400

Faraz Jaka - 18th Place - $23,400


Faraz Jaka was all in preflop with [Ac][Ts] vs. Scotty Nguyen's AQ. When the board ran out [8d][6d][4c][Qc][2d], Jaka was eliminated in 18th place.

Cards are back in the air

Down to 18 players

With the last elimination, we are down to the final 18 players.  The players have redrawn for seats and will restart play shortly.  When we come back, we will be playing 2k/4k blinds with a 400 ante.

Vanna Tea - 19th Place - $20,500

John Monnette - 20th Place - $20,500

Jonathan Tamayo - 21st Place - $20,500

Johnathan Little - 22nd Place - $20,500

Taylor Raines - 23rd Place - $20,500

Blinds have been increased to 2k/4k with a 500 ante.

Thomas Marchese - 24th Place - $20,500

Thuy Phan - 25th Place - $17,600

Ted Jivkov - 26th Place - $17,600

Kfir Nahum - 27th Place - $17,600

Cards are in the air!

Day 3 has begun and the 27 remaining players are now playing the last 60 minutes of 1500/3000 blinds with a 500 ante. They will be playing 2 hour levels for the remainder of the day.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Day 3 Chip Counts

PLACEFIRST LAST CHIPS/PRIZE TABLE SEAT
1 Phil Hellmuth 530,000 22 3
2 Hassan Habib 496,000 26 2
3 Andy Seth 453,000 21 5
4 Daniel O'Brien 439,000 26 6
5 Matt Keikoan 426,500 23 2
6 Nick Schulman 381,500 21 1
7 Faraz Jaka 332,500 22 4
8 Brian Rast 322,000 23 5
9 Chau Giang 307,500 20 3
10 Dave Forster 305,500 20 4
11 Joseph Elpayaa 302,000 20 5
12 Vanna Tea 279,000 23 1
13 Elon Diamond 242,000 23 3
14 Lars Elmore 216,000 23 6
15 Taylor Raines 198,000 26 5
16 John Monnette 179,000 21 6
17 Johnathan Little 177,500 22 6
18 Dave Gamon 170,500 20 2
19 Jonathan Tamayo 154,000 21 4
20 John Cernuto 134,500 21 3
21 Scotty Nguyen 132,500 23 4
22 Thomas Marchese 117,500 20 1
23 Ted Jivkov 105,500 26 4
24 Timothy McDermott 80,000 22 5
25 Thuy Phan 78,000 22 2
26 Kfir Nahum 73,000 21 2
27 McLean Karr 30,500 26 3
28 Chris Wallace $17,600
29 Omar Mehmood $17,600
30 Richard Harroch $17,600
31 George Ash $14,700
32 Mark Ketteringham $14,700
33 Byron Davenport $14,700
34 Steve Gross $14,700
35 Mohsin Charania $14,700
36 Loi Lam $14,700

Play resumes at Level 16, 500 Ante 1,500-3,000 Blinds with 60:00 Remaining

YouTube video: Scotty Nguyen "The Hardest Bounty Hunter"


On one of the last hands of the night, Scotty Nguyen gets all in with K♦K♣ against his opponent's J♠J♦. When the flop falls 8♠7♠3♠, Nguyen's opponent picks up a flush draw. However, the turn is the 5♣ and the river is the A♣, and Nguyen doubles up.
Click here to view the video in HD

Play has concluded for the night.

Play has concluded for the night and the 27 remaining players are enjoying their dinner buffet and an early to their day of play. They will return tomorrow at 11am and play a long day until the final table is reached.

Scotty Nguyen doubles up

On one of the last hands of the night, Scotty Nguyen gets all in with [Kd][Kc] against his opponent's [Js][Jd]. When the flop falls [8s][7s][3s], Nguyen's opponent picks up a flush draw. However, the turn is the [5c] and the river is the [Ac], and Nguyen doubles up.

Chris Wallace - 28th Place - $17,600

Omar Mehmood - 29th Place - $17,600

Richard Harroch - 30th Place - $17,600


Richard Harroch was eliminated when his pocket kings ran into the pocket aces of Jonathan Little.

Down to 30 players

Shortly after the money bubble was burst, we have lost six players and are now playing five 6-handed tables. The players are playing 1500/3000 blinds with a 500 ante.

George Ash - 31st Place - $14,700

Mark Ketteringham - 32nd Place - $14,700

Byron Davenport - 33rd Place - $14,700

Steve "GBoro" Gross - 34th Place - $14,700

Mohsin Charania - 35th Place - $14,700

Loi Lam - 36th Place - $14,700

The bubble has burst!


Scotty Nguyen just knocked out the bubble boy with pocket aces against pocket tens. All remaining 36 players are now in the money, and we are now redrawing for seats.

YouTube video: Yevgeniy Timoshenko elimination hand

Yevgeniy Timoshenko was all in preflop with A♥K♠ and was called by Phil Hellmuth holding the T♥8♥. Hellmuth ended up with the best hand when the board ran out 8♠3♥3♦Q♣2♥, and Timoshenko has been eliminated.

Click here to view the video in HD

We are now hand for hand.

There are 37 players left in the tournament, so we are now hand for hand. One hand will be played on each table, and then play will hold up until all tables are finished. The next person to bust out will make no money, and the remaining 36 will be in the money and setting their sights on the first place prize.

Picture of Faraz Jaka's chips

We are down to 40 players.

With the last elimination, we are now at 40 players.  36 places pay, so four more players will walk away empty handed. Four Shooting Stars are still alive: Chau Giang, Phil Hellmuth, Scotty Nguyen, and "Miami" John Cernuto.

Brian Rast doubles up

Brian Rast was all in preflop holding pocket jacks and was in trouble when his opponent flipped over pocket kings. But once the flop hit, Rast found himself with quad jacks, leaving his opponent drawing to perfect-perfect. As you can imagine, four jacks was the winning hand by the river, and Rast has doubled up.

Yevgeniy Timoshenko eliminated by Phil Hellmuth


Yevgeniy Timoshenko was all in preflop with [Ah][Ks] and was called by Phil Hellmuth holding the [Th][8h]. Hellmuth ended up with the best hand when the board ran out [8s][3h][3d][Qc][2h], and Timoshenko has been eliminated.

Blinds have been increased to 1200/2400 with a 400 ante.

Greg Mueller eliminated

Chau Giang doubles up


Chau Giang has just doubled up holding pocket kings vs. his opponent's AK.  He had previously doubled up five minutes earlier.

Tyler Reiman eliminated

Updated chip counts


Players are back from break and are now playing 1k/2k blinds with a 300 ante.  Here are select chip counts:

Faraz Jaka 319,400
Steve Sung 259,600
Greg "FBT" Mueller 200,000
Phil Hellmuth 196,000
Andy "BKiCe" Seth 187,800
Yevgeniy Timoshenko 170,800
"Miami" John Cernuto 110,500
Jonathan Little 54,300
Tyler Reiman 39,600

Freddy Deeb eliminated

YouTube video: Phil Laak elimination hand

Phil Laak is all in with J♥J♣ on the turn with the board reading 6♦2♥2♦3♣. His opponent tabled 5♠2♠ for trip deuces, and when the river hit the T♥, Laak was sent to the rail.

Click here to view the video in HD

YouTube video: Andy "BKiCe" Seth gets PAID!

We catch Andy "BKiCe" Seth getting paid by tournament director Matt Savage after knocking out two bounties within a few hands of each other at the 2010 Bay 101 Shooting Stars Tournament

Click here to view the video in HD

Updated chip counts

Players are back from break and are now playing 800/1600 with a 200 ante. Here are select chip counts:

Faraz Jaka 327,500
Andy "BKiCe" Seth 210,000
Vanna Tea 187,000
Yevgeniy Timoshenko 179,500
Mohsin Charan 164,000
Phil Hellmuth 133,600
Jonathan Little 124,300
Joe Cassidy 117,900
Carter King 86,500
Freddy Deeb 81,700
Steve Sung 63,000
Brandon Cantu 35,800
Shane Schleger 19,500

YouTube video: Daniel Negreanu interview

Daniel Negreanu is interviewed by tournament director Matt Savage at the start of Day 2 at the 2010 Bay 101 Shooting Stars tournament

Click here to view the video in HD

Phil Laak eliminated

Phil Laak is all in with [Jh][Jc] on the turn with the board reading [6d][2h][2d][3c]. His opponent tabled [5s][2s] for trip deuces, and when the river hit the [Th], Laak was sent to the rail.

Jerry Yang eliminated


We just had our second bounty elimination in one orbit on our featured table. Jerry Yang was all in with [5d][5c] for a set of fives on a [9d][5s][2s] flop, but Andy "BKiCe" Seth had a set of nines with [9c][9h]. The turn came the [Td] and the river came the [4s], and Jerry Yang will be eliminated.

JC Tran eliminated


On the turn with the board reading [Kd][8h][5c][Tc], JC Tran called all in with [Ks][5s] but was up against his opponent's [8c][8d]. The [7c] on the river was not the two outer Tran was looking for, and he was eliminated.

YouTube video: Phil Hellmuth interview

Phil Hellmuth is interviewed by tournament director Matt Savage at the 2010 Bay 101 Shooting Stars Tournament

Click here to view the video in HD

Phil Hellmuth doubles up off JC Tran


Phil Hellmuth was all in on a [Td][9d][5s] flop holding [Ad][2d] against JC Tran's [Kd][Qd]. Hellmuth was in the lead with ace high and only had to a jack to complete dodge Tran's straight (the [Jd] would make Tran a straight flush). The turn came the [Ah] and the river came the [6s], and Hellmuth doubled up.

Mike Matusow eliminated

Mike Matusow is eliminated when his [Kh][Qs] failed to improve against his opponent's [Ah][Ts] when the board ran out [Ac][7h][3s][Td][6s].

Eugene Katchalov eliminated

After winning $10,000 for being the Day 1B chip leader, Eugene Katchalov has been eliminated shortly after the first break on Day 2.

Mike Sexton eliminated


Mike Sexton is eliminated when he was all in holding [Ks][Ts] vs. his opponent's [7h][7c] on a cooler board of [Kc][Kd][7s][7d][3d].

Eugene Katchalov loses a big pot

Eugene Katchalov lost a 200,000 chip pot when he ran into his opponent's set of queens. The money went in on the turn with the board showing [Jc][6c][2h][Qh], and the [6h] on the river failed to save Katchalov. He is now left with under 10,000.

On the very next hand Katchalov moved all in with [Ac][Kc] and received no callers.

Freddy Deeb doubles up


Freddy Deeb was all in preflop holding two queens against his opponent's [Kd][Td].  The 997 flop was safe, but the queen on the turn locked up the win for Deeb.