The fifth event of the 2018 Poker Masters is in the bag, and Ali Imsirovic is one of the new favourites to win the Purple Jacket after taking down the biggest event of the series so far.
The 2018 Poker Masters has turned the corner. The horses pull into the home straight, steam billowing out of nostrils more full than Andre the Giant’s yawn, and there, at the final post, hangs a Purple Jacket.
Who will reach it first?
Like a glass slipper on the foot of someone called Cinders, if it fits, then the fairytale is confirmed.
Who am I kidding?
These are the High Rollers.
Poker Serial Killers.
Freighters.
They don’t give two hoots about fairytales or Purple Jackets.
They are winners.
Winners.
Here were the results to date after the first four events:
Results to Date
Event #1: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em – David Peters ($193,200)
Event #2: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em – Brandon Adams ($400,000)
Event #3: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha – Keith Lehr ($333,000)
Event #4: $10,000 Short-Deck – Isaac Haxton ($176,000)
Poker Masters Leaderboard
– Brandon Adams – 510 points
– Isaac Haxton – 480
– David Peters – 300
– Keith Lehr – 300
– Jared Jaffee – 210
– Jonathan Depa – 210
– Brian Green – 210
– Cary Katz – 210
– Maurice Hawkins – 210
Event #5: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em was badass. No more plastic cups, this was an event where the waiters delivered your ginger beer in tall glasses. 66 entrants, created a prize pool of $1,650,000, and the first prize of $462,000, and at the end of a barnstorming Day 1, the final table looked a little like this:
Final Table
Seat 1: Brian Rast – 1,200,000
Seat 2: Jake Schindler – 2,725,000
Seat 3: Ali Imsirovic – 1,615,000
Seat 4: Daniel Negreanu – 215,000
Seat 5: Jason Koon – 905,000
Seat 6: Ben Yu – 1,695,000
Beautiful.
It looked a lot like the last time we had a $25k NLHE Final Table, with Negreanu, Koon and Schindler also making that one. Ben Yu was another top talent making his second final table, after finishing third in the $25k Pot Limit Omaha event, and nobody has won more money than Brian Rast playing live tournaments at the ARIA ($12.1m). The only person I haven’t mentioned is Ali Imsirovic. I am sure I can make up for that.
The Final Countdown
Daniel Negreanu Eliminated in 6th Place.
Ben Yu opened to 100,000 from late position holding pocket eights, and the short-stacked Daniel Negreanu called from the big blind holding 52cc, leaving a sprinkling of chips behind. The flop fell Td9h5d, Negreanu put the rest of his dust into the middle, Yu called, and not long after that Negreanu was heading back home to VLOG about his departure.
Jason Koon Eliminated in 5th Place.
Jason Koon was next to leave, and Ali Imsirovic was the man cutting him to pieces and shoving him in a suitcase. Imsirovic raised with AK in late position, Koon moved all-in from the blinds holding AT, and Imsirovic called. AK flexed its muscles, AT ended up in the cemetery, and Koon headed to the cash desk to collect his $132,000 consolation prize.
Jake Schindler Eliminated in 4th Place.
Only Cary Katz has cashed in more ARIA tournaments than Jake Schindler, and Mr Consistency exited fourth in this one.
The action folded to Schindler in the small blind, and he made a stand with the shabby looking 8c6d. Imsirovic, who was seated in the big blind, looked down to see Ac9s, and he made the no-brainer. Both players caught a piece of the board, but the Ad arriving on the turn made more of an impression than the 8s that ended up with the fish bones at the end of the river.
Schindler took $165,000 home with him.
Imsirovic Doubles Through Rast
Then Imsirovic became more staple than Blu Tack when he doubled into the chip lead. Brian Rast was the sufferer of pain.
Imsirovic limped on the button holding the fish hooks, Yu made the call from the small blind, and Rast shipped it from the big blind holding Ac5s. Imsirovic called, Yu folded, and the board ran out KsQc4s2h7h, to cement Imsirovic’s position as the winner of the hand.
Brian Rast Eliminated in 3rd Place.
Rast never recovered.
A few hands later he lost an all-in encounter with Yu 77<A2 after Yu hit an ace on the river, and he made his final stand with ace-rag versus the pocket sixes of Imsirovic and the deck provided no salvation.
The elimination of Rast handed Imsirovic a big chip lead going into heads-up.
It didn’t last long.
Heads-Up
Ali Imsirovic – 5,895,000
Ben Yu – 2,360,000
Imsirovic limped on the button holding pocket fives, Yu moved all-in holding Ac6d, and Imsirovic called. One of the three cards on the flop contained a third five, and Yu was drawing dead by the turn.
It’s the third victory of 2018 for Imsirovic.
At the beginning of the year, he outlasted 55 entrants to win a $10,150 No-Limit Hold’em event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) for $160,050. Then he beat 519 entrants in a $2,700 No-Limit Hold’em Event at the Borgata Spring Open for $246,066.
And now this.
With two events left, Imsirovic has a real chance of getting to the finish post first and slipping his arm into one of those purple sleeves.
Final Table Results
1. Ali Imsirovic – $462,000 (300)
2. Ben Yu – $330,000 (210)
3. Brian Rast – $214,500 (150)
4. Jake Schindler – $165,000 (120)
5. Jason Koon – $132,000 (90)
6. Daniel Negreanu – $99,000 (60)
Poker Masters Leaderboard
– Brandon Adams – 510 points
– Isaac Haxton – 480
– Ben Yu – 360
– Ali Imsirovic – 360
– David Peters – 300
– Keith Lehr – 300
– Jake Schindler – 270
– Jonathan Depa – 270
– Jason Koon – 240
