Almost 9,000 players braved the cold weather to register for MiniFTOPS XVIII Event 10. Actually, the only thing cold was the cash, $173,860 was up for grabs. MiniFTOPS is a 1/10 scale model of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS), but six figure prize pools are very common. The Turbo format ensured that blinds escalated quickly. The whole things was over in a little under 4 hours.
Hosting the $22 event was Joseph Cheong who you might remember as the third place finisher in the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event. That effort earned him $4.1 million. Cheong is no fluke though and he has proved it online and at live events. In 2009, he took down a MiniFTOPS event for over $55,000 and in 2010 Cheong won an EPT Highroller Event to the tune of $253,000.
Cheong didn’t cash in MiniFTOPS event 6, but one of his fellow pros picked up the slack. Russian beauty Svetlana Gromenkova made a deep run, finishing in 23rd. Gromenkova burst onto the scene in 2008 when she followed up an impressive performance in a WPT event with a win in a World Series of Poker Ladies Event. Besides the bracelet, Gromenkova took home the $224,000 top prize.
If a Full Tilt Red Pro didn’t win it, that means a mere mortal was crowned the victor. We don’t know if he was dealt pocket kings every hand, as that would have certainly aided his victory, but we do know KKeveryhand shipped it crucial after making a deal with greerzy_2. The $24,942 score constitutes the bulk of his career earnings which total to over $50,000. We know one Florida native who will be having a very merry Christmas! Congratulations KKeveryhand!
Runner-up greerzy_2 is a fan of the 90 man KO tournaments on Full Tilt Poker. He ventured outside of his comfort zone and it paid off big time. His second place finish earned him $22,000 even. greerzy_2’s previous big score came over three years ago when he took down a $26 freezeout and won $4,300.
MiniFTOPS XVIII is just gearing up. Multiple events are scheduled until the series culminates with the $1 Million Guaranteed Main Event on December 19th. Happy holidays and best of luck in the 18th installment of MiniFTOPS!
FullTilt MiniFTOPS XVIII Event $10 $150,000 Guaranteed
8,693 Entrants; $173,860 prize pool
1.) KKeveryhand – $24,942*
2.) greerzy_2 – $22,000*
3.) kidbluff14 – $13,561
4.) jimmie23 – $9,910
5.) tarheelkid – $7,302
6.) torden – $5,216
7.) stlkel – $3,651
8.) Ship it Strange – $2,521
9.) der_Willy – $1,773
* Indicates a deal was made