Nigel Heldsinger claimed the victory in the R600 Turbo at Concept Social Club on Thursday night.
We were anticipating a smaller crowd due to Ramadan and the Easter long weekend, but we were surprised with 5 full tables on game day.
38 players entered the tournament, creating a total prize pool of R24200! Including R9000 set for 1st place!
Not too shabby for a R600 buy-in fixture.
Nigel Heldsinger was the player of the night, playing his hands aggressively when needed and connecting nicely with the board in the crucial pots on final table.
He was a 3-to-2 chip leader when the game reached heads-up against the Greek pro Dim Stephanis, and the two players agreed to a split on the remaining prize money – R7500 for Nigel and R6500 for the latter.
Dim decided to use his winnings towards the Million Rand Chase to Montecasino, which sees him join Team Cape Town for the trip to Joburg from 13-15 May!
Cliton Taliwanth was unfortunate to fall in 3rd place as he lost most of chips with Aces in a three-way all-in pot with Nigel (pocket 10s) and our new Durban import Nicklas Pillay, who had bad timing shoving his short stack with K9.
Nigel called out his “one time” as a miracle 10 hit on the River for a tournament-defining pot.
Nicklas finished in a respectable fourth place on his Concept debut, while Cliton lost the rest of chips a few hands later to claim bronze.
Allan Ranzani was eliminated in 4th place as he made a move in late position with 98 ♦️ suited. He was called by Cliton with A3, which spiked an Ace.
Barry Stemmet navigated to the money with the short stack, eventually falling in 5th place with pocket 3s against Nicklas (AQ), who flopped an Ace.
With no deals made on final table, Shane Davids was the unfortunate bubble boy. He lost most of chips in a race with 7s against Allan’s K10, which hit a 10 on the Turn.
Chris Hadzi did well to reach another final table, but unfortunately exited in 8th place as he missed a ♠️ flush draw against Cliton’s pocket 10s.
WELL DONE WINNERS!
A special thanks to the winners who tipped the dealers on the night.
We wish all our players a joyous long weekend with loved ones.
To those celebrating Easter, enjoy the religious period with family and friends.
To our Muslim players, we wish you all of the best with the last few weeks of Ramadan.
We look forward to the next live game on Thursday.
The next big tournament will be the Million Rand Chase Satellite on Sunday, 24 April.
Results:
1) Nigel Heldsinger
_R7500 split_
2) Dim Stephanis
_R6500 split_
3) Cliton Taliwanth
_R3800_
4) Nicklas Pillay
_R2600_
5) Allan Ranzani
_R2000_
6) Barry Stemmet
_R1800_
7) Shane Davids
8) Chris Hadzi
Total pot: R24200