Cliton Taliwanth was the big winner as the Concept Grand Slam ended in an ICM split on Sunday evening.
45 players created a highly-competitive field in an enjoyable slow grind structure… a great setting for the final tournament in Maitland, which has been home to Cape Town poker over the past 5 years.
Cliton boasted the biggest stack among the final 4, sitting with 5.3million in chips thanks to a double knockout earlier on final table. This saw him secure R16500 in the ICM negotiation.
Mercia Sampson (3.2mil) and Gareth (2.6mil) agreed to take R12500 and R12000 for 2nd and 3rd place respectively, while Clifford Fortuin (750k) received R9000 with the short stack in 4th place.
Chad Moolman ended in 5th place as he shoved the small blind with KJ. Mercia woke up with AJ ❤️ suited to make the call, and held up on a dry board.
Concept newcomer Zelt Van Pletsen impressed on debut with a deep run to 6th place. He got it all in ahead in the big blind with A3 against Cliton’s KJ, but he drowned on the River as the Jack fell on fifth street.
We met Zelt at the Melkbos collab last year, and with his recent move to Sea Point from Yzerfontein, he hopes to make regular appearances at the new venue.
Cole Solomons finished in 7th place when he made a play at the wrong time. Following Cliton’s UTG raise, he 3-bet shoved with QJ. Cliton made the call with AK, and spiked the Ace for the knockout.
After initial pleas for final table bubble prizes were rejected, Nigel Heldsinger eventually collected a R1000 consolation prize in 8th place. He shoved KQ into Cliton’s pocket Aces, which held up.
Evann Wessels made his third final table this week, but on this occasion, fell short of the money prizes. He shoved with pocket 10s, but unfortunately ran into Mercia with pocket Queens. The bigger pair took down the pot.
WELL DONE WINNERS!
Thanks to everyone who showed up for the final showdown at Hangar17. It was definitely a game worthy of a poker farewell.
Lots of happy memories to look back on in that space, which made us miss the legend Vickey Moodley on Sunday. His spirit was definitely around us on game day.
We now prepare for the official switch to the new location. There will be no live poker fixtures this week due to the move.
Games will continue on PokerBros.
We look forward to seeing you all after the Easter Weekend. _Stay tuned for updates!_
Results:
1) Cliton Taliwanth
R16500 (ICM split)
2) Mercia Sampson
R12500 (ICM split)
3) Gareth Duncan
R12000 (ICM split)
4) Clifford Fortuin
R9000 (ICM split)
5) Chad Moolman
R6000
6) Zelt van Pletsen
R4500
7) Cole Solomons
R3400
8) Nigel Heldsinger
R1000 (bubble)
9) Evann Wessels
Total: R65100 (including R200 for 2023 Player of the Year)