Event #3: $3,300 Main Event Final Results & Report

2012/2013 WSOP Circuit South Africa

Event #3: $3,300 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event (Thursday, February 7, 2013)

116 entries / $337,560 prize pool

The World Series of Poker Circuit Africa is back for a 3^rd year, and 2013 saw 116 entrants pony up $3,300 to take their shot at a WSOP Gold Ring.  Players battled on the felt for 3 days before reaching the official final table, and it was a stacked final table at that.  Three time WSOP bracelet winner Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi occupied the 2 seat.  In seat 4, Event #1 winner Jarred Soloman.  In seat 8, 2010 WSOP Africa Main Event winner Warren Zackey, who has cashed in all four WSOP events he has played in.  Below are chip counts and seating assignments going into the final table:

Seat 1: Menesh Keshav - 139,000

Seat 2: Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi - 344,500

Seat 3: Eric Brand - 465,000

Seat 4: Jarred Soloman - 545,500

Seat 5: Karl Myburgh - 158,000

Seat 6: Kenneth Morgan - 532,000

Seat 7: Markus “Feurinho” Feurie - 726,500

Seat 8: Warren Zackey - 342,200

Seat 9: Kinesh Pather - 228,000

Warren played two hands that left him felted.  On the first, Manesh three-bet all in with J♠J♦ and Warren made the call with A♥K♠.  The 9♠4♥T♣7♦T♠ board left Warren short-stacked.  It didn’t take long for him to get the rest of his chips in, and this time he would need a lot of help.  Warren held J♣7♣ and was up against Grinder’s Q♠Q♣.  The 3♣2♣4♦ opened the door for Warren to make a flush, and the 6♠ turn gave him even more outs with a gut-shot straight.  The 7♣ hit the river to give Warren a pair of sevens, but it was not good enough to beat Grinder’s pair of queens.  Warren hit the rail in 9^th place, good for $8,696.

Eric was the next player to be all in and at risk, when he three-bet jammed A♦9♠ over Grinder’s opening minraise.  Grinder decided to gamble by making the call with Q♣8♣.  The gamble paid off when he turned a flush on the 2♣A♣6♥J♣9♦ board, and Eric would have to settle for $10,907 he’d collect for his 8^th place finish. Eric is a 26 year old student who has been playing poker since 2007, and this was his second cash at this year’s WSOP Circuit Africa, having previously come 10^th place in Event #1.

A pot started brewing after Menesh raised to 25,000 preflop and Jarred made the call.  The K♣4♦K♥ flop was checked through, but Menesh check-called a 40,000 chip bet on the 2♣ turn.  When the 2♥ hit the river, Menesh checked a third time only to see Jarred bet 130,000.  Menesh had only a little bit more than that bet, and he elected to put the rest of his chips in, only to see Jarred snap call and reveal 2♥2♣ for quad deuces.  Menesh had J♥J♣ which was obviously not good enough to stave off elimination.  He shrugged his shoulders and headed to the rail in 7^th place for $13,924.  Menesh is a financial advisor who has a few final tables under his belt, but has not yet locked up a win.

Kenny and Markus had a major confrontation when they got it all in on a 2♦8♠9♠6♦ board.  It would be a momentum shifting pot as Kenny only had Markus slightly covered.  Markus had flopped two pair with his 9♣8♣, but Kenny had plenty of outs with second pair and a flush draw with his J♦8♦.  The 4♠ kept Markus’s two pair in front, and Kenny was crippled.  After folding a few hands, he was all in for his last ante with K♦T♠ against Grinder’s A♦5♥.  The board ran out 9♦4♠5♦3♥2♦ to give Grinder the wheel.  Kenny will earn $18,103 for his 6^th place finish.  Kenny is a big soccer fan and has 5 kids.

Going into 6k/12k blinds, Kinesh was in last place with 155,000 chips.  It wasn’t a tough decision for him to commit the rest of his of his chips when he was dealt 8♥8♦.  Unfortunately for him, Markus woke up with J♥J♦.  It only got worse for Kinesh when the flop fell 5♣J♠A♣, and he would need to find both of the remaining eights to survive.  His 0.1% did not come through when the turn and river fell 5♥9♦, and Kinesh would have to settle for a 5^th place finish, awarding him $23,980.  This is Kinesh’s third largest cash, with his largest being a runner-up finish in last year’s WSOP Circuit Africa High Roller.

The coolers continued when Jarred ran his J♥J♦ into Grinder’s K♦K♣.  Grinder barely had Jarred covered, so it would be a monumental pot at the chips in the middle neared two million.  Jarred was live all the way to the river, but could not hit a jack to survive.  He will earn $32,372 for his 4^th place finish on top of the $20,018 he picked up for winning Event #1.  As well as being a solid poker player, Jarred enjoys watching sports as well as playing them, namely golf and soccer.  His favorite poker player?  Phil Ivey.

Karl was next to get all in, but his A♦K♣ was in pretty good shape against Markus’s K♥T♣.  The 5♦2♦K♠8♦A♣ board left Karl with a winning two pair to double up.  Now with a short stack, Markus went with his hand when he found the 4♠4♥.  Unfortunately for him, Grinder picked up a bigger pocket pair with T♥T♠.  The A♥J♥ 8♥ flop was no help for Markus, and the 9♥ on the turn gave Grinder the winning flush.  The 7♥ river landed to improve Grinder to a straight flush, and Markus headed to the payout desk to collect $44,565 for his 3^rd place finish.  Markus is a 35 year old poker professional from Bregenz, Austria, but he’s a big fan of South Africa.

Karl started heads up play with a 9 to 1 chip disadvantage, but he put up quite a fight and doubled his stack without a showdown.  Those extra chips made it into the middle on a 7♦6♦T♥ 7♠ board, but once again Grinder had the best of it with Q♦Q♣.  Karl held A♣8♥ for a gutshot straight draw and an overcard, and he’d only have one shot to catch.  With a WSOP Circuit Main Event title on the line for Grinder, the dealer burned and rivered the J♣, dashing Karl’s hopes at evening out the chip counts.  Karl has been playing poker since 2009, and today he picked up his biggest win of $62,590 for his 2^nd place finish.  Karl is 51 years old and has been playing poker since 2009.  He plans to make it to the WSOP in Las Vegas one day.

Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi is no stranger to the winners circle, having 22 first place finishes listed on his Hendon Mob profile.  Today he makes that number 23 and his second international title.  In an interview with Tournament Director Jack Effel after his win, The Grinder said that it was his first time in South Africa, and he loved the event and plans to come back in 2014.  For his win, The Grinder picks up $101,267 or over 900,000 South African rand.

Place	First Name	Last Name	Prize	City / Country
1	Michael	Mizrachi	$101,267	Miami, FL
2	Karl	Myburgh	$62,590	Johannesburg, South Africa
3	Markus	Feurie	$44,565	Bregenz, Austria
4	Jarred	Soloman	$32,372	Johannesburg, South Africa
5	Kinesh	Pather	$23,980	South Africa
6	Kenneth	Morgan	$18,103	South Africa
7	Menesh	Keshav	$13,924	South Africa
8	Eric	Brand	$10,907	Cape Town, South Africa
9	Warren	Zackey	$8,696	Johannesburg, South Africa
10	Nahum	Lum	$7,052	Johannesburg, South Africa
11	Ray	Rahme	$7,052	South Africa
12	Kyria	Patsalos	$7,052	South Africa