3-Bet: Peter Martin & Otto Richard Win Seats to Poker After Dark on 888poker, Schuyler Thornton & Maxwell Young Win WSOPC Gold Rings

The excitement of the online and live felts has been of-the-charts recently. In preparation of the Poker After Dark: 888poker Week, the online giant hosted two special $1 buy-in winner-take-all tournaments which were shipped by Peter Martin and Otto Richard.

Meanwhile, international tournaments, two World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) stops are running alongside each other, i.e. Choctaw Durant and Harveys Lake Tahoe. The kick-off event at Choctaw Durant, the $250 NLHE Double Stack was taken down by Schuyler Thornton for $21,806, while the $400 NLHE (1-Day) at Harveys Lake Tahoe crowned a winner in Maxwell Young.

Peter Martin & Otto Richard WinSeats to Poker After Dark on 888poker

888poker hosted two special $1 buy-in winner-take-all tournaments in mid-October, with the winner of each claiming a $14,000 prize package including a seat into the Poker After Dark game and a personal tour of Las Vegas by 888poker Ambassador Chris Moorman.

Peter Martin

Attracting over 500 combined players in both tournaments with almost $27,500 in overlays, the events were championed by 24-year-old warehouseman Peter Martin and 34-year-old Otto Richard.

Poker After Dark: 888poker Week which will be hosted at the PokerGO Studios, comprises of a pair of $10,000 buy-in Sit & Go tournaments each featuring an online qualifier squaring off against six poker professionals, including Chris Moorman, Maria Ho, Jennifer Tilly, Bill Klein, Kelly Minkin and Eli Elezra.

The two SnG’s, which will award $50,000 to the winner and $20,000 to the runner-up, will take place on Monday, November 5 and Tuesday, November 6 respectively.

Talking about the upcoming Poker After Dark show, Moorman said, “I’ve watched all of the PAD episodes over the years so to actually get to be on the show is really exciting,” Moorman stated. “I love that an 888 qualifier is getting the chance to mix it with the pros. It’s sick that they get the opportunity to win $50K from just a $1 original investment and get to experience the bright lights of Vegas at the same time. As for my chances of winning, I’m quietly confident but at the end of the day you always need the cards to cooperate a little bit.”

Peter Martin has won approximately $5,000 over 1,200 small-stakes games on 888poker. Talking about his win, Martin said, “I have been playing online poker for a few years but for the past five months I have been taking it more seriously. I saw this incredible opportunity promoted on 888poker and was determined to give it a go …There were two tournaments being held with a winner going to Las Vegas from each. I missed the first one but was determined to play the second and I thought I could win it. I just had a feeling. I even told a friend at work that I would do it.”

“My winning hand was a pair of eights,” Matin added. After winning, he immediately went running to his 25-year-old girlfriend Ildicko. “I didn’t want to wake her up because she is four months pregnant – but I couldn’t stop myself. I knew she would be incredibly pleased for me. I was like the cat who had got the cream. It was an incredible feeling.”

He continued, “I have never been to Las Vegas before. I have never even played poker live. Up till now I have only played on 888poker online. Now, to play against some of the best players in the world is amazing. I honestly believe I can win the tournament. I may not be anywhere near as experienced as them and they have all won unbelievable amounts of money playing poker. But I am going to be an unknown quantity to them and I think I play the game in an unconventional style.”

Schuyler Thornton Wins $250 NLHE Double Stack at WSOPC Choctaw Durant For $21,806

The first of the 13 World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) gold rings events at the Choctaw Durant stop was the $250 WSOP Kickoff – No-Limit Hold’em Double Stack event which pulled in a gigantic field of 507 entries, creating a prize pool of $101,400. Emerging as the eventual champion was the Corpus Christi, Texas resident Schuyler Thornton who picked his first-ever WSOPC ring along with $21,806 in prize money.

Schuyler Thornton

Thornton, who specializes in high-stakes mixed games, had previously finished third in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event at the 2017 WSOP and placed sixth in the $10,000 Dealers Choice Championship.

After 20 levels of play on Day 1, the 507-strong entry field was whittled down to just 40 runners led by Jared Hemingway.

With the top 54 places slated to finish in the money, 30 more eliminations took place before the 10-player final table was formed.

Among the players who finished in the money were John Nowak (11^th for $1,632), Jonathan Bennett (16^th for $1,105), Steve Justice (21^st for $928), Philip Stumbo (23^rd for $789), Justin Donato (26^th for $679), James Gonzales (30^th for $593) and Jeffrey Mchugh (33^rd for $524).

Final Table Chip Counts

1.Schuyler Thornton – 1,668,000

2. Bart Bogard – 1,600,000

3. Jared Hemingway – 1,560,000

4. Nick Ahmadi – 1,200,000

5. Samuel Gonzalez – 931,000

6. Juan Elizondo – 825,000

7. Jim Coyle – 760,000

8. John Floyd – 606,000

9. DJ Mesinger – 606,000

10. Phillip Pope – 400,000

Schuyler Thornton came into the final table with the chip lead and maintained his stronghold till the heads-up play commenced. While Jared Hemingway held the chip lead at the start of heads-up play, he eventually lost the lead to Thornton.

Thornton defeated Hemingway to win his maiden WSOPC gold ring and top prize of $21,806.

Final Table Results (USD)

1.Schuyler Thornton – $21,806

2. Jared Hemingway – $13,479

3. Anthony Bogard – $9,847

4. John Floyd – $7,300

5. Samuel Gonzalez – $5,490

6. Jim Coyle – $4,188

7. Phillip Pope – $3,240

8. Narimaan Ahmadi – $2,542

9. Juan Elizondo – $2,023

10. Dennis Meisinger – $1,632

Maxwell Young Claims 4^th WSOPC Gold Ring in $400 NLHE (1-Day)

The 11th event at the 2018 WSOPC Harveys Lake Tahoe was the $400 No-Limit Hold’em (1-Day) which drew in 143 entries that helped collect $47,190 in prize pool. Seaside, Oregon native Maxwell Young bested the field and proved why he is a force to be reckoned with by winning his fourth WSOPC gold ring, along with a first-place prize money of $13,213.

Maxwell Young

With this win, Young has taken his WSOPC earnings to $306,113 which consists of a total of 22 cashes.

Commenting on his victory, Young said, “I mean, this one of all the rings is probably the least ‘special’. But I haven’t cashed since I’ve been here and I’ve fired like 10 bullets at this point, so it felt really good to win this.”

Two of Young’s previous rings came in Six Max events, a tournament style he greatly enjoys. Then, of course, the crown jewel of his ring collection was seized in none other than the Harveys Lake Tahoe Main Event last year, which also entailed a payout of $147,699.

“I opted not to play the Main today… and obviously that turned out to be a good decision,” said Young.

The top 15 spots were assured payouts, starting with Cory Draper (11^th for $967), Paul Sokoloff (12^th for $967), Alex Goldberg (13^th for $797), Lance Donnell (14^th for $797) and Jeffrey Sager (15^th for $797).

Final Table Chip Counts

1.Frank Scritchfield – 548,000

2. Mathieu Lum – 483,000

3. Harley Wilmot – 475,000

4. Kevin Davis – 379,000

5. Dustin Fox – 220,000

6. Justin Wall – 155,000

7. Eddy Vataru – 108,000

8. Maxwell Young – 102,000

9. Jeff Brock – 92,000

10. Andreas Kniep – 66,000

Just before the final table culminated, Young lost a big chunk of his stack but was still left with 10 big blinds. Then, the heater commenced. Young began to steamroll his final-table opponents, chipping up along the way.

His heads-up opponent was another Circuit regular and four-time gold ring winner, Kevin Davis. In the end, Young’s chips lead turned out to be too much for Davis to overcome and the heads-up play turned out to be a short affair.

Final Table Results (USD)

1.Maxwell Young – $13,213

2. Kevin Davis – $8,167

3. Justin Wall – $5,895

4. Eddy Vataru – $4,332

5. Mathieu Lum – $3,238

6. Harley Wilmot – $2,462

7. Jeffrey Brock – $1,903

8. Dustin Fox – $1,495

9. Frank Scritchfield – $1,193

10. Andreas Kniep – $967