Event #4 $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em
Day 2 Completed
2017 Poker Masters
Event #4 $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2017 Poker Masters
Buy-in
$50,000
Prize Pool
$1,950,000
Entries
39
Level
22
Blinds
20,000 / 40,000
Ante
40,000
Level 22
: 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
The Poker Masters Event #4: $50,000 NLHE at the ARIA Resort and Casino began with 39 entries, but in the end, it was old-school player Brandon Adams who emerged victorious to capture an $819,000 first-place prize.
Along with Doug Polk, Adams was the only player to enter the final table with a seven-figure stack. Fittingly, the title came down to those two. Polk began the heads-up match with a chip lead, but that didn’t matter as Adams battled back to win the title and notch the biggest cash of his career.
Prior to the win, Adams had $1,900,596 in tournament earnings dating back to 2005. His previous best cash was $447,363 for finishing runner-up to James Chen in January’s Aussie Millions $25,000 Challenge.
It’s been a career year for Adams, who also finished third in August’s Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open High Roller for $351,000. Adams is an old-school player, but it appears he’s just now hitting his stride and showing he’s fit for the modern-day game.
Event #4: $50,000 NLHE Final Results
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Brandon Adams | USA | $819,000 |
| 2nd | Doug Polk | USA | $468,000 |
| 3rd | David Peters | USA | $273,000 |
| 4th | Justin Bonomo | USA | $175,500 |
| 5th | Steffen Sontheimer | Germany | $117,000 |
| 6th | Jake Schindler | USA | $97,500 |
Day 2 began with seven players remaining, but with only six slated to get paid, one would leave empty handed as bubble boy. That player was Zach Clark, the nephew of the late Poker Hall of Famer Chip Reese, who fell when he shoved his short stack with king-six and failed to get there against the ace-three of Polk.
Mere minutes later, Jake Schindler flopped aces and sevens only to run into David Peters’ set of aces. The chips went in and that was all she wrote for Schindler, who exited in sixth place for $97,500.
The next player to go was the breakout star of the Poker Masters, Steffen Sontheimer, who was at his third final table. Sontheimer finished fourth in Event #1 for $204,000 and then won Event #2 for $900,000. In Event #3, he busted in eighth place, which was the money bubble.
After his ace-five failed to overcome the pocket fives of Adams, he busted Event #4 in fifth place for $117,000, which brought his Poker Masters winnings up to $1,221,000. That puts him in the lead, but he faces some stiff competition from the likes of Event #3 champ Bryn Kenney, who has amassed $1.085 million in earnings, and Event #1 winner Nick Schulman, who currently sits in third with $918,000 in winnings. Likewise, Adams is now in fourth place thanks to his $819,000 win.
Don’t forget, the player with the best results (highest total earnings) throughout all five Poker Masters tournaments (four $50,000 buy-in tournaments capped by a $100,000 freeze out finale) will win The Poker Masters Purple Jacket™.
Justin Bonomo was the next to go after three-betting all in with ace-three suited and failing to crack the pocket sevens of Adams. Bonomo earned $175,000 for finishing in fourth place. A little while later, a wild three-way all-in hand went down that resulted in the elimination of David Peters in third place for $273,000.
Peters got his stack in with pocket eights but was up against the aces and Big Slick of Polk and Adams respectively. Polk was also at risk, but his aces held up to allow him to double through Adams and send Peters to the rail.
It didn’t take long for Adams to pull ahead in heads-up play, and in what would be the final hand of the tournament, both players held two diamonds in their hand and flopped straight flush draws. The chips went in, and Adams’ hand was best. A diamond on the turn gave both players a flush, and Adams claimed the title with the better one.
Polk had to settle for second place and a $468,000 consolation prize. With $612,000 in Poker Masters earnings, Polk rounds out the top five earners headed into the final tournament of the series.
The $100,000 freeze-out finale kicks off tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. PST. Be sure to join us then as we bring you all the updates straight from the tournament floor.
Level 22
: 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
With the four preliminary events now concluded, here is how the standings sit in the race for the Poker Masters Purple Jacket heading into the Event #5: $100,000 No-Limit Hold'em beginning on Monday.
| Rank | Player | Country | Wins | Cashes | TV Final Tables | Final Tables | Events Played | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steffen Sontheimer | Germany | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | $1,221,000 |
| 2 | Bryn Kenney | USA | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | $1,085,000 |
| 3 | Nick Schulman | USA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | $918,000 |
| 4 | Brandon Adams | USA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | $819,000 |
| 5 | Doug Polk | USA | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | $612,000 | |
| 6 | Erik Seidel | USA | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | $576,000 | |
| 7 | Matt Hyman | USA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | $561,000 | |
| 8 | Fedor Holz | Germany | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | $550,000 | |
| 9 | Jake Schindler | USA | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | $409,500 | |
| 10 | Stefan Schillhabel | Germany | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | $306,000 | |
| 11 | Tom Marchese | USA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | $300,000 | |
| 12 | Adrian Mateos | Spain | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | $277,500 | |
| 13 | David Peters | USA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | $273,000 | |
| 14 | Phil Hellmuth | USA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | $200,000 | |
| 15 | Dan Smith | USA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | $192,000 | |
| 16 | Dominik Nitsche | Germany | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | $178,500 | |
| 17 | Justin Bonomo | USA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | $175,500 | |
| 18 | Christian Christner | Germany | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | $175,000 | |
| 19 | Koray Aldemir | Germany | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | $153,000 | |
| 20 | Cary Katz | USA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | $120,000 | |
| 21 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | $102,000 | |
| 22 | Dan Shak | USA | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | $100,000 | |
| 23 | Sergio Aido | Spain | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | $96,000 | |
| 24 | Zach Clark | USA | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | $0 | |
| 25 | Sean Winter | USA | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | $0 | |
| 26 | Stephen Chidwick | UK | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | $0 |
Level 22
: 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Doug Polk raised to 80,000 on the button with 
and Brandon Adams called with 
. The flop came 
which gave both players flush and straight draws.
Adams checked and Polk bet 100,000. Adams went for the check-raise to 320,000 and Polk jammed all-in. Adams quickly snapped him off and the cards were face up.
The turn was the 
giving Adams the better flush but Polk still had one out for the straight flush. The river brought the 
and Polk was eliminated in 2nd place for $468,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
4,875,000
1,490,000
|
1,490,000 |
|
||
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 22
: 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Doug Polk raised to 80,000 on the button with 
and Brandon Adams made another three-bet to 260,000 with 
. Polk made the call and the flop came 
.
Both players checked to the 
on the turn and the 
on the river. Adams finally took a shot at the pot with a bet of 340,000. Polk thought for a moment and then folded the best hand.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,385,000
420,000
|
420,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,490,000
-420,000
|
-420,000 |
|
|
||
Level 22
: 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Brandon Adams raised to 120,000 on the button with and Doug Polk called with 
. The flop came 
and Adams flopped trips against Polk's top pair.
Polk check-called a bet of 160,000 and the landed on the turn. Polk checked again and Adams fired 360,000. Polk stuck around to see the on the river.
Polk checked one more time and Adams reached back for a little more and bet 560,000. Polk led out a moan in agony is he disliked the runout of the board. He eventually found a fold and Adams took over the chip lead.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,965,000
1,045,000
|
1,045,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,910,000
-1,045,000
|
-1,045,000 |
|
|
||
Level 22
: 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Doug Polk raised to 80,000 on the button with 
and Brandon Adams three-bet to 260,000 with 
.
The flop came 
and Adams picked up the pot with a continuation bet.
Level 22
: 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Doug Polk and Brandon Adams have now begun heads-up play with Polk holding roughly a three-to-two advantage.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,955,000 | |
|
|
||
|
|
1,920,000 | |
|
|
||
Level 22
: 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Brandon Adams raised to 90,000 on the button with 
and Doug Polk three-bet to 260,000 out of the small blind with . David Peters woke up in the big blind with 
and shipped all-in for 545,000. The action was back on Adams who used a time extension and then pushed all-in himself. Polk instantly called and all three hands were tabled.
The flop came 
and Adams picked up a straight draw, looking to score a double knockout. The turn paired the board with the 
and the river brought the 
.
Peters was eliminated and Polk doubled through Adams to take the chip lead heading into heads-up play. There will be a 5-minute break before the action resumes.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,955,000
1,595,000
|
1,595,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
1,920,000
-1,205,000
|
-1,205,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 22
: 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
David Peters limped in from the small blind with 
and Brandon Adams checked his option with the . The flop came all spades giving Adams a flush. Peters checked and Adams fired 90,000 which Peters called.
The turn was the 
giving Peters two pair to go with his straight flush draw. Peters checked again and Adams bet 120,000. Peters made the call and the landed on the river.
Peters checked for the third time and Adams shoved all-in, putting Peters to a decision. Peters used on of his time extensions but came to the right decision and mucked his cards.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,125,000
530,000
|
530,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
485,000
-435,000
|
-435,000 |
|
|
||