Tuesday, March 27, 2018

BATB Event #16 (Flight 1C): Official End Of Flight 1C Chip Counts

2018 Battles At The Beach
Event #16 | $360 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)

Level 15 (Blinds 1,500/3,000/500)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 97
Flight 1C Players Remaining: 15


Josh Hillock 272,000
David Inselberg 204,000
Pedro Palacio 178,000
Rafael Calero 168,000
Jaime Wiegrefe 165,000
John Nguyen 162,500
Bryce McVay 118,000
Marc Culberson 117,500
Matthew Yorra 104,000
John Dermody 97,000
Andrew Dakoski 88,000
Josh Wasserman 83,500
Son Pham 75,000
Philip Consolo 65,000
Marek Madro 47,500

ICYMI: Uri Kadosh Defends Battles At The Beach Title, Wins $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event For $98,993

2018 Battles At The Beach $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event winner Uri Kadosh (Davie, FL)

"Hard to win...even harder to retain." A saying that's long been in competitive circles, and it's in regards to championships.  Since 1976 (over forty years), in the four major American sports, a team has successfully defended their title just (31) times.  Breaking down the numbers even more in depth, only seventeen teams have accomplished the feat of defending a title.  Those are team sports though...and we are about to discuss poker...so let's take a look at golf.  Golf is similar to poker in more ways that people may acknowledge, as a player's future is strictly predicated on the decisions sometimes made two or three shots prior.  There are lucky bounces, poor decisions that end up working out, and perfect shots that somehow end up in a hazard.  The Masters tournament (widely considered the sport's premier major) has been around since 1934, and only three times has anyone defended their title in back-to-back years.  With all of that being said, while it's on a platform that pales in comparison to major athletic competition, Uri Kadosh (Davie, FL) winning the Battles At The Beach $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship for the second year in a row...that's something special.

Just over a year after besting a field of (482) entries, Uri was back in the Isle Poker Room, with the distinction of defending champ.  The championship event, which was Event #16 of this year's series, was the same $1,500 No Limit Hold'em tournament as 2017.  With a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool, the event would attract some of Florida's (and the countries) best poker players, as a combined (433) entries made up the field.  World Series Of Poker bracelet winners...World Poker Tour champions...top ranked online players...they were in the field, and they wanted what Uri Kadosh currently held.  

After three starting flights, a total of (142) players were able to bag chips for this past Sunday's Day 2, including names like Loni Harwood, Joshua Beckley, Ryan D'Angelo, Brian Hastings, and Ian O'Hara.  Registration stayed open for the first two levels of Day 2, giving players an opportunity to try and make a cinderella run to the title.  In total, thirty-three more entries joined the action before the window closed, bringing the official prize pool to $569,550.  Once the payouts were posted, players still remaining learned that (55) players would reach the money, with first place scheduled to take home $114,993.  Former WSOP Main Event runner-up Joshua Beckley would be eliminated on the money bubble, by eventual tournament runner-up Marshall White, sending the remaining field to dinner break.  Play resumed shortly after 7:00pm, with the goal for the night, to get down to the final two tables.  Players like Nancy Thomas (55th place), Jonathan Borenstein (42nd place), Daryl Jace (37th place), and Donald Williams (28th place), all recorded cashes for their tournament resume.

With three tables remaining, defending champion Uri Kadosh still remained, quietly maneuvering himself to the top of the leaderboard.  His title defense hit a bump in the road though, as Uri lost a massive pot to Jake Schwartz when (26) players remained, after flopping a set and losing to Jake's larger full house.  Kadosh would eventually get his revenge though, as both he and Schwartz reached Day 3, with Jake leading the eighteen players that were returning.  

After just three hours of Day 3 play, the final table of Event #16 would be reached, with over $10,000,000 in live tournament earnings sharing the felt.  Accomplished tournament veteran TJ Shulman (Boynton Beach, FL) would be the first player eliminated, after a three-way all-in against both Joshua Kay and Jake Schwartz.  TJ would flop a set to grab a commanding lead, but watched as Joshua rivered a straight to eliminate him.  The final table then became the "Jake Schwartz show," as he eliminated Loni Harwood in ninth place, and Bill Farnan in seventh place (with a short-stacked Jacobo Fernandez departing in eighth).  In both hands, Schwartz was racing with two over-cards against a pair, each time making a straight to eliminate his opponents.  Marshall White would then take out Qasem Jamhour (sixth place) and Joel Deutsch (fifth place) in succession, leaving the final table four-handed.  

With the amount of experience (and incredible structure) at the time that four remained, one would think that the crew was in for a long evening.  That was until the one hand that changed the eventual outcome of the tournament.  With the stacks spread evenly across the table, Jake Schwartz and Uri Kadosh would get their chips all-in pre-flop, for a pot worth just over 7,000,000 (which was more than sixty-percent of the chips in play).  Kadosh held A K against the 8 8 of Schwartz, with Uri flopping an ace to take the lead, one which he would never relinquish.  With Joshua Kay and Jake Schwartz now hampered by super short stacks, they would be eliminated in third (Schwartz) and fourth (Kay) places.  

Before the cards were dealt for heads-up play, Uri Kadosh and Marshall White struck and agreement, with Uri taking first place money (and the trophy).  The businessman from Davie, who owns two companies and does real estate, had accomplished what nobody in Isle Poker history had done before...back-to-back titles.  "I don't do this for the money," Kadosh said after the event has concluded, "I do it because I want to win."  What Uri did was best some of the top tournament poker players for the second year in a row, netting himself over $200,000 from the two titles combined.  It's now "back to business" for Kadosh, who we will see during the next Isle Poker championship event, which will be this upcoming July (Florida State Poker Championships).  

2018 Battles At The Beach $1,500 NLH Championship (Final Table Results):
  1. Uri Kadosh (Davie, FL) $98,993*
  2. Marshall White (Garner, NC) $96,660*
  3. Jake Schwartz (New York, NY) $51,880
  4. Joshua Kay (Boca Raton, FL) $34,970
  5. Joel Deutsch (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) $26,883
  6. Qasem Jamhour (Miami, FL) $22,326
  7. Bill Farnan (Jupiter, FL) $18,698
  8. Jacobo Fernandez (Coral Springs, FL) $15,093
  9. Loni Harwood (Staten Island, NY) $11,499
  10. TJ Shulman (Boynton Beach, FL) $9,739
* Denotes heads-up chop

BATB Event #16 (Flight 1C): Halfway To The Guarantee, Second Pair Of Starting Flights Now Underway

2018 Battles At The Beach
Event #16 | $360 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)

Level 1 (Blinds 25/50)
Total Flight 1C Entries: 20



After two successful Event #16 starting flights yesterday, the second (and final) pair got underway just moments ago.  The $360 No Limit Hold'em event is the final multi-day tournament of the series, and boasts a healthy $100,000 guaranteed prize pool.  Yesterday's action saw a total of (151) entries over the first two flights, with (28) players successfully bagging chips for tomorrow's (Wednesday) Day 2.

A new group (with some of the same faces) is now in the tournament area, as Flight 1C hopefuls try and make it through Level 15 (which is the scheduled end of the flight's action).  Players are sitting down to starting stacks of 20,000 units, and playing levels that last (30) minutes (and stay that way on Day 2).  The chip lead bonus is in play, as the top three stacks (after all flights have been completed) will earn seats into Thursday's Event #18 ($2,500 No Limit Hold'em Single-Ante $100,000 GTD).  

Live blogged coverage will be available for all of Day 2's action, but we will also "drop in" on Flight 1C, to see how things are progressing.

Tuesday, March 27th: Kadosh Goes Back-To-Back, Event #16 Hosts Final Pair Of Starting Flights

ICYMI: The Battles At The Beach series continued yesterday, with Event #16 ($360 No Limit Hold'em), but all eyes were on the eighteen players returning for Day 3 of Event #14 ($1,500 No Limit Hold'em Championship).  A full recap of the day's play, along with the tournament as a whole, will be posted later this afternoon.  "Spoiler Alert:" Uri Kadosh not only becomes the only player to win a second Isle Poker Championship Event...but he did it in back-to-back fashion.  Listed below, are the official results from the final table of Event #14:
  1. Uri Kadosh (Davie, FL) $98,993
  2. Marshall White (Garner, NC) $96,660
  3. Jake Schwartz (New York, NY) $51,880
  4. Joshua Kay (Boca Raton, FL) $34,970
  5. Joel Deutsch (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) $26,883
  6. Qasem Jamhour (Miami, FL) $22,326
  7. Bill Farnan (Jupiter, FL) $18,698
  8. Jacobo Fernandez (Coral Springs, FL) $15,093
  9. Loni Harwood (Staten Island, NY) $11,499
  10. TJ Shulman (Boynton Beach, FL) $9,739
As mentioned above, the opening pair of Event #16 flights ($360 No Limit Hold'em) were running while Day 3 of Event #14 was winding down.  There were a combined (151) entries in the flights, with Flight 1A attracting a total of (74) entries, and Flight 1B finishing up with (77) entries.  The current prize pool sits at $46,055, just about half the way to the $100,000 posted guarantee for the tournament.  The top three stacks, which are important because of the chip lead bonus, currently belong to Maxwell Young (238,000), Eduardo Christ (236,000), and Brian Haines (218,500).  

Tournaments: Today's schedule host the second pair of opening flights for Event #16 ($360 No Limit Hold'em $100,000 GTD).  The final multi-day tournament of the series has a total of four flights, all with the following structure: players will be sitting down to starting stacks of 20,000 units, and playing levels that last (30) minutes in length.  Each of the opening flights is scheduled to play through Level 15, with registration open until the break after Level 12.  The chip lead bonus does return, as the top three chip stacks (after all flights are played), will earn a seat into Thursday's Event #18 ($2,500 No Limit Hold'em Single-Ante $100,000).

Promotions: From (9:00am-10:00am), the high hand will award $150 every (30) minutes.  The high hands will then transition from 10:00am-12:00am (midnight), with the opportunity to win $400 every (30) minutes.  During that period, the promotion sees tournament players eligible (Isle Open events not eligible for high hand) each half-hour for $100 high hands, 2/2 limit hold'em players eligible for $200 high hands, 2/4 limit hold'em players eligible for $300 high hands, and all other raked games (1/2-5/10 NLH, 4/8 Omaha 8B, 6/12 O.E., etc.) eligible for $400 high hands.  From 12:00am-9:00am, players are eligible for $100 high hands every hour.

It should also be noted that started back on November 1st, players are able to win the high hand using only one card in their hand!!!  The payouts for those that use one card are different than the standard numbers listed above, and can be found (full listing of one-card payouts on flyers in the poker room).

11:00am - 2018 Battles At The Beach Event #16 (Flight 1A) | $360 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD) 

- Players start with 20,000 in tournament chips
- Late and re-entries for the first (12) levels
- Alternates and late entries will start with a full stack
- Levels will last (30) minutes
- All Day 1's will play (15) complete levels or until 10% of the field remains (whichever comes first)

6:00pm - 2018 Battles At The Beach Event #16 (Flight 1B) | $360 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD) 

- Players start with 20,000 in tournament chips
- Late and re-entries for the first (12) levels
- Alternates and late entries will start with a full stack
- Levels will last (30) minutes
- All Day 1's will play (15) complete levels or until 10% of the field remains (whichever comes first)

BATB Event #14 (Flight 1B): Official End Of Flight 1B Chip Counts

2018 Battles At The Beach
Event #16 | $360 No Limit Hold'em ($100,000 GTD)

Level 15 (Blinds 1,500/3,000/500)
Total Flight 1B Entries: 77
Flight 1B Players Remaining: 14

Zachary Mullennix 157,000
Eduardo Christ 236,000
Matthew Zarcadoolas 195,500
Dimitry Agrachov 162,500
Marlon Ramos 136,500
James McCaffrey 122,000
Josias Santos 118,000
Jeffrey Davis 77,500
Michael Tait 72,000
Dave Phillips 67,000
Christopher Zollo 63,500
Stepan Gusak 58,500
Leonid Goldshtyne 53,500
Trent Smith 23,500