2012/2013 WSOP Circuit South Africa
Event #4: $580 No-Limit Hold'em (Saturday, February 9, 2013)
141 entries / $70,500 prize pool
Just as Michael Mizrachi was winning
the Main Event, 10 other players were focused on their own win as Event #4:
$580 No-Limit Hold’em had reached their unofficial final table of 10. A few hands were played before moving to the
Featured Table, where they took their seats to be introduced by Tournament
Director Jack Effel. Here are their
starting chip counts and seating assignments:
Seat
|
First Name
|
Last Name
|
Chips
|
City / Country
|
1
|
Paulo
|
Goncalves
|
35,000
|
Lisbon, Portugal
|
2
|
Matt
|
Mulhall
|
159,000
|
Cape Town, South
Africa
|
3
|
Lagen
|
Zackey
|
159,000
|
Johannesburg, SA
|
4
|
Fazel
|
Dawood
|
310,000
|
Durban, South Africa
|
5
|
Alvin
|
Pillay
|
71,500
|
Durban, South Africa
|
6
|
Sydney
|
Masinga
|
303,000
|
Witbank, South Africa
|
7
|
Werner
|
Smit
|
106,000
|
Pretoria, Gauteng
|
8
|
Neville
|
Todd
|
66,000
|
Dublin, Ireland
|
9
|
Greg
|
Tucker
|
296,000
|
Johannesburg, SA
|
10
|
Eben
|
Lottering
|
187,000
|
Bloemfontein, Free
State
|
As the 3rd shortest stack,
Alvin was the first to get all in, and he was behind with his A♥K♦ up against Matt’s K♠K♥. The flop was
kind to Alvin when it fell 6♣T♥A♠. Matt would need the case king or running
straight cards to increase his stack and shrink the field down to 9 players. The 6♠ turn and 5♣ river was not what Matt
had hoped for, but Alvin was happy to earn the double-up.
Paulo was next to get all in and
needed a huge amount of help as his K♦5♣ was way
behind his opponent’s A♥5♥. Paulo found a king on the
9♥K♥4♣ flop, but
his excitement didn’t last long as the J♥ on the
turn completed his opponent’s flush. The
meaningless Q♦ fell on the river to send Paulo
to the rail in 10th place, good for $1,445.
Following Paulo’s elimination, Neville
went on a huge rush in which he was all in and at risk three times and doubled
up each time. First he hit a jack when he
took his K♥J♣ up against Lagen’ A♣Q♠. Then he cracked Werner’s pocket aces with K♠T♠. Werner
flopped a pair of tens and turned a king to double up a second time. Neville’s third double-up came at the hands
of Greg in a four bet pot when his A♦6♦ held up against his opponent’s Q♥8♦ through a J♠7♦2♦7♥3♠ board.
Alvin finally met his demise when he
ran his 8♦8♣ ran into Matt’s A♦A♣. Alvin
tried to find an eight to survive, but instead Matt found an unneeded ace on
the river to win the pot with top set.
Alvin is a father of 2 from Durban, South Africa who has 15 final tables
to his name. Today he will earn $1,783
for his 9th place finish.
After losing the earlier big pot to
Neville, Greg got coolered when he picked up A♥Q♦ against Lagen’s K♠K♥. The 9♥3♣3♠3♥J♦ board left Greg
crippled, and he was eliminated shortly thereafter in 8th place,
good for a $2,233 payday. Greg has had a
lot of success here in South Africa, winning the Montecasino High Roller in
November as well as Event #2 in this series.
Sydney hadn’t made any noise at this
final table, but that all changed when he was all in with A♦K♥ and found a caller
from Werner, holding J♠J♦. The two players were so close in chips, they
needed to be counted down after the Q♥5♠5♣9♦Q♠ board was run out.
Werner had Syndey slightly covered, so Sydney would be eliminated in 7th
place for $2,843. Sydney is a 35 year
old accountant who claims that poker is his religion.
Players took a break at six handed,
and the chip counts were as follows:
Matt Mulhall - 414,000
Neville Todd - 357,000
Werner Smit - 281,000
Fazel Dawood - 264,000
Eben Lottering - 195,000
Lagen Zackey - 161,000
Following the break, Eben moved all in
with 2♠2♣ and was called by the K♠Q♠ of Lagen.
The A♥5♣8♥
flop was safe for Eben, but Lagen paired up on the K♦
turn. The 4♣ river was not what Eben was
looking for to survive, so he headed to the payout desk to collect $3,678. Eben completes a successful WSOP Circuit
Africa trip with today’s 6th place finish, following a 5th
place finish in Event #1.
Werner was next out the door when his A♥4♦ was no match for
Neville’s A♣9♠. Though he picked up a
diamond flush draw on the turn, it failed to materialize on the river. Werner is a 29 year old software consultant
who considers himself a world traveler.
Today he will earn $4,838 for his 5th place finish.
Down to 4 players, Fazel had yet to be
all in or even call another player’s all in.
With few chips left to play with, he elected to move all in under the
gun with Q♦2♦. Matt made the call in the small blind holding
K♣Q♠, and Fazel would need to spike a deuce to survive. By the river, the board showed 5♦J♥9♥9♠T♥ and Matt earned
the knockout with a king high straight.
Fazel busted in 4th place for $6,471, placing higher than his
favorite poker player: Alvin Pillay.
On the last hand before dinner break,
Matt won a massive pot against Lagen when he made a brave all in call. The board read 9♦9♣4♦T♣ and Lagen bet enough to put Matt all in. Matt tanked and eventually called all in for
around 260k, revealing 7♦7♣. He was ahead of Lagen's 6♠6♣ and had to dodge
two outs to survive. The 9♥ on the river gave Matt the winning full house and
the chip lead, while Lagen was knocked down to last place.
Unfortunately for Matt, he ended up
losing the bulk of his chips after dinner in a coin flip with Neville. Matt’s 8♠8♣ was the best hand against
Neville’s K♦Q♣, but a Q♠5♦3♣ flop changed that. Matt
failed to find an eight on the 9♦ turn and the A♣
river. He got his remaining 5 blinds in
the next hand with 8♦6♠ against Lagen’s Q♦4♦, but was unable to
pull out the winner. For his 3rd
place finish, Matt will leave $8,807 richer.
Matt is a 23 year old student originally from Durban, South Africa but
now lives in Cape Town.
Entering heads up play, Neville had a
very slight chip over Lagen, and the two took turns taking small pots off one
another. Eventually, Lagen was all in
preflop for 619,000 holding the Q♦J♦ and was in great shape against Neville's Q♠9♠. The rail erupted when the flop fell 9♦A♥8♣, giving Neville a
pair of nines and the lead. If he could
dodge a jack or a ten, Neville would be win this tournament. The turn was the harmless K♣, but the T♠
caused a huge roar from the crowd as Lagen survived by rivering the nuts.
That hand wouldn’t be the first time the
chip lead changed hands. Lagen had the
chip lead and the best hand when he called Neville’s all in. Neville held the Q♥T♣
against Lagen’s K♥9♣, however the 2♣Q♣3♠ flop
gave Neville a pair of queens. They held
through the 9♠ turn and 3♣ river, though Lagen still maintained the chip
lead.
The heads up battle lingered on until
Neville was all in again with K♥Q♣ against
Lagen’s K♠5♣. The T♠J♠9♦ flop gave Neville a straight, but the 6♠ on the turn
opened the door with a flush draw for Lagen.
The 5♥ river was not what Lagen was
looking for, and Neville regained the chip lead.
On his final hand, Lagen was all in
with J♥8♠ Against Neville’s dominating A♣8♥. The 5♦3♦Q♦ flop brought no help for Lagen except for backdoor
straight and flush chop outs. The 5♣
meant Lagen needed a jack to survive, but the 7♣ fell on the river to put an
end to this epic heads up battle. For
his efforts, Lagen will collect $12,201 for his 2nd place
finish. Lagen is a 22 year old manager
whose favorite poker player is his father, Warren Zackey, who final tabled the
Main Event earlier today.
Neville Todd is from Dublin, Ireland
and used to play golf professionally before turning to poker. He’s 32 years old, and his poker ambition is
simply to win. Today, he did just that,
and Neville will collect $19,741 for his WSOP Circuit Africa win.
Place
|
First Name
|
Last Name
|
Prize
|
City / Country
|
1
|
Neville
|
Todd
|
$19,741
|
Dublin, Ireland
|
2
|
Lagen
|
Zackey
|
$12,201
|
Johannesburg, South
Africa
|
3
|
Matt
|
Mulhall
|
$8,807
|
Cape Town, South Africa
|
4
|
Fazel
|
Dawood
|
$6,471
|
Durban, South Africa
|
5
|
Werner
|
Smit
|
$4,838
|
Pretoria, Gauteng
|
6
|
Eben
|
Lottering
|
$3,678
|
Bloemfontein, Free State
|
7
|
Sydney
|
Masinga
|
$2,843
|
Witbank, South Africa
|
8
|
Greg
|
Tucker
|
$2,233
|
Johannesburg, South Africa
|
9
|
Alvin
|
Pillay
|
$1,783
|
Durban, South Africa
|
10
|
Paulo
|
Goncalves
|
$1,445
|
Lisbon, Portugal
|
11
|
Edgar
|
Antezana
|
$1,445
|
Port Elizabeth, South
Africa
|
12
|
David
|
Crookes
|
$1,445
|
Johannesburg, South
Africa
|
13
|
Clint
|
De Klerk
|
$1,190
|
Durban, South Africa
|
14
|
Michael
|
Holden
|
$1,190
|
Johannesburg, South
Africa
|
15
|
Ryan
|
Brauer
|
$1,190
|
Cape Town, South Africa
|
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