There were a few surprises in store for players participating in the latest incarnation of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS). First, just before the series began, Full Tilt Poker announced that the three tournaments marked “TBD” were going to be Rush Poker tournaments. Finally, after millions of dollars had been awarded, the last weekend of FTOPS XVI play began with stakes higher than ever and a new face at Full Tilt hosting the Main Event.
On Saturday, Event #25 started at 14:00 ET with host Tom “durrrr” Dwan, a $2,000+$100 No Limit Holdem Ante from the Start Two-Day event. The prize pool for this tournament was set at $2 million. The second of the three Saturday events was Event #26, a $100+$9 Pot Limit Omaha tournament hosted by Vitaly Lunkin. The prize pool for this event was $400,000. The final Saturday tournament was Event #27, which kicked off at 21:00 ET, a $515+$20 No Limit Hold’em Super Turbo Knockout. Hosted by Isaac Baron, this tournament had a prize pool set at $350,000.
Sunday started off with a bang with Event #28, a $240+$16 No Limit Hold’em Knockout Six-Max tournament. This prize pool was guaranteed at $1 million and was hosted by Marco Liesy. The second event on Sunday was the $150+$13 No Limit Hold’em Rush Rebuy tournament hosted by popular pro Mike “The Mouth” Matusow. The prize pool in this event was set at $500,000.
The last event of FTOPS XVI started up on Sunday night at 18:00 ET, the $600+$40 No Limit Hold’em Main Event. The prize pool was a staggering $3 million and in a surprising twist, was hosted by newly appointed Full Tilt Poker pro Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad. Although she made her debut as a Red Pro and tournament host, she failed to make the money by busting out in 1,701st place. Unfortunately for Full Tilt Poker, there were not enough registrations to meet the $3 million guarantee, meaning that the site had to pay $279,000 as an overlay.
Notable finishers in the FTOPS XVI Main Event included Scott “BigRiskky” Clements, who finished in 254th place. The final table featured some names that you might know, including Brock “bobcards2” Parker, who won two bracelets during the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Parker was crippled after running the nut flush into quad kings.
When play got down to five, a deal was struck guaranteeing each person $200,000. The winner of the event was “Kirbynator,” who will don the gold jersey, which was a nice side gift compared to his $327,057 payday. The biggest payout went to the second player finisher, “apalma,” who took in $342,851; third place finisher “DaHussstla” took in $342,296.
When play got heads-up between “Kirbynator” and “apalma,” the two were very close in chips. After a little more than 20 hands, “Kirbynator” took a respectable lead in the affair. The final hand had “Kirbynator” holding A-Q of diamonds against “apalma’s” K-5 of diamonds on an 8-4-3 two-diamond board. The turn brought the ace of hearts and the river was the seven of hearts to give “Kirbynator” the win.
Full Tilt Poker isn’t done with the FTOPS XVI just yet, as the MiniFTOPS XVI will kick off on May 7th and conclude on the 16th. This miniature edition of the event will feature the same tournaments, but at one-tenth of the buy-in to accommodate small-stakes players. FTOPS is found exclusively at Full Tilt Poker.
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