Event #2 Final Results

2012/2013 WSOP Circuit South Africa

Event #2: $580 No-Limit Hold'em Six Handed (Wedneday, February 6, 2013)

76 entries / $38,000 prize pool

The first all in at the final table came by Jonathan “Safehands” Kalil , holding K♣8♥ against the A♠7♠ of Ahmed Karrim.  The T♥K♠2♥ flop paired Jonathan, and another king on the turn guaranteed him a doubleup.  Jonathan doubled up a second time when his Q♥J♥ spiked a jack on the turn against the A♥Q♣ of Greg Tucker after getting it all in on a K♥9♠6♠.

                     

The double ups continued when Kamlan Naidoo coolered Greg, Kamlan holding K♥K♠ against Greg’s A♣K♣.  Greg failed to find an ace on the 2♠9♥Q♠4♥4♠ runout, and Kamlan got the doubleup much to the excitement of his supporters in the room.  Jonathan then earned his third double up of the day when his A♠7♦ held against Menesh Keshau’s Q♠J♥.  Menesh flopped a queen, but Jonathan flopped an ace, and that was all he needed to survive.

Menesh quickly got his last eight big blinds in and was called by Matt Beckett.  Menesh was racing with his 6♠6♣ against Matt’s A♦Q♥, and it looked like we’d have our fifth doubleup as the board read J♦5♥9♥9♣ on the turn.  But the A♥ hit the river to send Menesh to the payout desk in 7^th place, good for $1,757.  Menesh is a financial advisor from Pretoria, and he hopes to one day play the WSOP Main Event.

The next player to hit the rail was Jonathan.  His luck finally ran out when he was unable to overcome Kamlan’s A♦K♣ with A♠Q♦.  Jonathan did his best to spike a queen, but came up short when the board fell

3♥4♣7♣8♠K♦.  Jonathan is married to his wife Natasha and has an eight month old child, so his family will put the $2,135 he earned for his 6^th place finish to good use.

Matt had a one-two punch to spell out his 5^th place elimination.  First he doubled up Greg when his Ah8d failed to crack Greg’s JsJd.  Matt turned a gutshot and an overcard when the board read 6s6d5s9c, but the 3h on the river failed to improve his hand.  He went out a few hands later when his opponent made a pair of nines.  Matt operates poker tournaments and previously cashed in a similar six max tournament at WPT Africa.  This time he’ll collect $2,730 for his efforts.

Daniel Lamberti is one final table participant who hadn’t made much noise so far, at least on the felt.  He had been tweeting under the name @Daniel_Lamberti throughout the event, and has many tournament cashes on his poker resume.  This would be his 6^th cash at the Emerald Resort & Casino.  Unfortunately for Daniel, his hopes of a win were dashed when his A♥5♦ ran into Greg’s A♠J♥.  The board ran out pure, and Daniel was sent to the rail in 4^th place for $3,684.

Greg claimed another elimination, though this time it wasn’t as easy.  Kamlan was all in preflop holding 9♦5♦ against Greg’s K♦K♠.  While Greg made top set on the K♥7♦Q♦ flop, Kamlan picked up a flush draw.  The T♠ on the turn gave Kamlan more outs for a gutshot straight, but the T♣ on the river gave Greg the winning full house.  Kamlan was born in Durban and now lives in Midrand, and he is a high stakes cash game player who one day hopes to play the big games in Las Vegas.  The $5,262 he earned today for his 3^rd place finish might convince Kamlan that tournaments are OK, too.

When heads up play began, Greg had a 581k to 331k lead over Ahmed.  Ahmed battled his way back to take over the lead, and he had the tournament all but won when he got all in on a Q♥3♠6♥9♣ board.  Ahmed had made two pair with 9♠6♠ against Greg’s A♣9♦ and needed to dodge the three remaining aces.  But this tournament was not to be over, yet, as the A♦ landed on the river to give Greg the chip lead back.

Greg entered the final table as the chip leader, and after regaining the chip lead heads up, he never looked back.  The final hand had Greg holding A♣7♠ against Ahmed’s K♥J♥.  Though he had a slight sweat on the turn when the board read 4♣6♦A♥K♠, a harmless 5♣ hit the river to knock Ahmed out in 2^nd place for $7,994.

Greg is no stranger to WSOP Circuit Africa final tables, as he got 4^th place in a $350 event last year, as well as a 16^th place finish in the WSOP Circuit Africa Main Event in 2010.  He also recently won the Montecasino Poker Challenge High Roller event in November for over $40,000.  Greg lists Vanessa Selbst and Faraz Jaka as his two favorite poker players, and hopes to emulate that success by one day winning the Triple Crown.  On Twitter, Greg can be followed under the name @GregTucker_.

Place	First Name	Last Name	Chips/Prize	City / Country
1	Greg	Tucker	$12,920	Johannesburg, South Africa
2	Ahmed	Karrim	$7,994	Cape Town, South Africa
3	Kamlan	Naidoo	$5,262	Midrand, Gauteng
4	Daniel	Lamberti	$3,684	Johannesburg, South Africa
5	Matt	Beckett	$2,730	Johannesburg, South Africa
6	Jonathan	Kalil	$2,135	Bedfordview, Gauteng
7	Menesh	Keshav	$1,757	Pretoria, South Africa
8	Eugene	Du Plessis	$1,518	Johannesburg, South Africa