Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
SPONSORED ARTICLE

Swedes fail at EPT Madrid

The European Poker Tour stop in Madrid was a disappointment for Sweden, with not a single Swedish player making the money in the tournament.

Published: 21 March 2012 16:29 CET
Swedes fail at EPT Madrid

Last year, Madrid hosted the EPT Grand Final, but this year the Spanish capital was demoted to staging a regular €5,000 buy-in event on the tour.

The tournament, which finished this weekend, attracted 477 players, creating a total prize pool €2,313,450. 72 players made the money, but none of them were Swedish. Last year, six Swedes made the money in Madrid, including Thomas Pettersson who finished in 9th place, just outside the final table.

Madrid was a big disappointment this year for Sweden, but the EPT success continues for Denmark. Frederik Jensen won the tournament, claiming a second EPT title in a row for Denmark, following Mickey Petersen victory in Copenhagen a couple of weeks ago.

Jensen defeated Fraser MacIntyre from Scotland heads-up and received €495 000 in prize money plus a Shamballa Jewels bracelet valued at more than €10,000.

The payout structure originally called for a €545k first-place prize but when action got three-handed, the remaining players struck a deal. The agreement guaranteed Frederik Jensen €395,000, Andrei Stoenescu from Romania €330,000, Fraser MacIntyre €290,000, and left €100 000 to play for.

Final table results from EPT Madrid 2012:

1st. Frederik Jensen (Denmark) €495,000

2nd. Fraser MacIntyre (Scotland) €290,000

3rd. Andrei Stoenescu (Romania) €330,000

4th. Bruno Lopes (France) €140,000

5th. Ricardo Ibañez (Spain) €115,000

6th. Ilan Boujenah (France) €92,000

7th. Nicolas Levi (France) €69,450

8th. Jason Duval (Canada) €48,000

Only three events remain on the eighth season of the European Poker Tour: San Remo, Italy, March 26-31, Berlin. Germany, April 16-21 and this year’s Grand Final, back in Monte Carlo, Monaco, April 25-30.

So far the best Swedish score on EPT season 8 is Mattias Bergströms fifth place in EPT London in October last year.

The results are weak considering that EPT season 7 saw two Swedish champions – Kent Lundmark in Barcelona and Michael Tureniec in Copenhagen – and several more final table appearances, including three from Martin Jacobson (Vilamoura, Deauville and Berlin).

Check the latest Swedish poker news here.

Article sponsored by Poker Listings.

POKERLISTINGS

Suck-outs and failed bluffs

Two German poker players had a really bad week in online poker and lost more than $500,000.

Published: 16 May 2012 09:59 CEST
Suck-outs and failed bluffs

High Stakes Players are the most fascinating to watch for the average amateur player. While you might be sitting at home grinding away at 1c/2c tables, these guys play for money you would never dare to risk (partly because you don’t have it). The highest games running online these days have Blinds of $200/$400.

A single pot can easily amount to the value of a middle class car, and within a week, some players win or lose as much as a house.

The two Germans who fared badly last week are called Tsubasa Manabe and Benny Spindler. Manabe, who plays under the nick Tsubi87, has been a regular online player since 2007. He is sponsored by German poker school PokerStrategy, where he became a Black Member in early 2011.

His family originates from Japan, but he grew up in Bensheim, Hessen, and speaks fluent German. Over his whole career, he has made around $500,000 profit with online poker, but last week that dwindled to a mere $180,000 within only a couple of days. Manabe lost $313,000 and was thus the biggest loser in online poker last week.

A lot better known, mainly because of his formidable success in live poker tournaments, is “Psycho”Benny Spindler. Spindler emerged on the live poker stage with a 3rd place in the $9700 PCA main event 2009, where he reached third place and won over a million dollars.

His nickname is no accident, as he is infamous for his hyper-aggressive, forward playing style.

He went on to make several final tables in large international events, and went on to win the English leg of this year’s EPT season for another $1,2 million. On the whole, he has over three million dollars in live poker winnings.

Online though, where he is better known under his nick toweliestar, nothing seems to go his way this year. Last week alone, he lost $220k playing his favourite game No Limit Hold’em. Over the course of 2012, his losses now amount to more than $700k.

It’s the worst run the German MTT specialist has ever had in his career. Although the presence seems to look bleak for Spindler, if he can’t turn things around online, there is some light at the end of the tunnel.

It’s only two weeks until the World Series of Poker begins, and that means a series of almost 60 live MTTs. More than enough chances for “Psycho”-Benny to make up for his online downswing of the last couple of months.

The World Series of Poker takes place every year in Las Vegas. The main attraction always is the $10.000 main event, but this year it will also feature the Poker Players Championship with $50.000 Byu-in as well as the biggest buy-in tournament ever: “The Big One”, as it’s called, will cost you a cool million to play in. That’s real dollars, not Facebook chips.

Article sponsored by Poker Listings