PartyPoker’s popular live invitation event, the PartyPoker Premier League VI, wrapped up this weekend after several days of opening heats. Holding the championship cup at the conclusion of the final table was Dan Shak, who also received $450,000 for his efforts.
Shak has had a fantastic 2013 so far. In January, he finished eighth in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Super High Roller Event, winning $228,960. He followed that up later in January with consecutive fourth place finishes at the Aussie Millions in both the Main Event and the $100,000 Challenge, earning him almost $700,000 combined. With this win, Dan Shak has already won over $1.4 million this year.
PartyPoker Premier League featured 16 players divided into two groups. Each group played four preliminary heats (eight handed Sit-and-Go’s) with each player earning points depending on order of finish. At the end of the four heats, the top three point earners in each group advanced to the final table, while the fourth and fifth place finishers squared off in a best-of-three heads-up match to determine the last final table spot from each group.
Here is how things turned out for the two groups:
PartyPoker Premier League VI – Group A Standings
1. Jonathan Duhamel – 42 points
2. Daniel Cates – 34 point
3. Sam Trickett – 27 points
4. Antonio Esfandiari – 23 points
5. Scott Seiver – 21 points
6. Phil Hellmuth – 21 point
7. Marvin Rettenmaier – 16 points
8. Daniel Negreanu – 16 points
In Group A, because Scott Seiver and Phil Hellmuth finished with the same number of points, the tie was broken based on whichever player had the highest finish in a heat. Seiver had a second place finish while Hellmuth’s best was third, so Seiver took on Antonio Esfandiari in the Group A playoff.
PartyPoker Premier League VI – Group B Standings
1. Tobias Reinkemeier – 46 points
2. Dan Shak – 39 points
3. Talal Shakerchi – 28 points
4. Tony G – 26 points
5. Jennifer Tilly – 19 points
6. Phil Laak – 18 points
7. Jason Mercier – 16 points
8. Igor Kurganov – 8 points
Esfandiari beat Seiver in the Group A playoff, while Jennifer Tilly defeated Tony G in the Group B playoff.
Each finalist took 10,000 chips to the final table for every point earned during the heats. Tobias Reinkemeier was the leader to begin final table play with 460,000 chips, with Jonathan Duhamel just behind with 420,000. Shak was third with 390,000.
It eventually got down to Shak against Sam Trickett heads-up for the championship, Shak with about a 2-to-1 chip lead. Trickett took the lead with a flush-over-flush, but Shak regained it on the most significant hand of the tournament. With the community cards showing A♠-8♥-2♥-T♠-7♥, Shak significantly overbet, committing all 1.165 million of his chips with the pot standing at just 200,000. The move confused Trickett, who took ten minutes to think before finally calling with T♥-2♦, good for two pair. Shak revealed Q♥-4♥, though, giving him a flush and the vast majority of the chips in play. Trickett was eliminated on the next hand and Shak took down the PartyPoker Premier League VI title.
PartyPoker Premier League VI – Final Table Results
1. Dan Shak – $450,000
2. Sam Trickett – $200,000
3. Antonio Esfandiari – $150,000
4. Jonathan Duhamel – $125,000
5. Daniel Cates – $100,000
6. Tobias Reinkemeier – $70,000
7. Jennifer Tilly – $60,000
8. Talal Shakerchi – $45,000
