Event #4 Report

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 3^rd 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 10^th 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 9^th 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 8^th 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 7^th 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 6^th place finish, following a 5^th 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 5^th 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 4^th 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 3^rd 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 2^nd 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