MONTE CARLO - THE FINAL

[tikay]

Afternoon to you all from a grey & dreary Monte Carlo.

The big Final starts in 2 hours, & before then, blonde will try & set the scene for you.

Stay tuned, as they say.....(ever wondered who "they" are?).

[luckyblind]

Are you feeling any better today Tikay ?

[luckyblind]

What was the result of the 1060 last night ?

[tikay]

Hi Mike (luckyblind).

I was kinda hoping nobody would ask that question. Feel awful, really awful, truth to tell, & have taken FAR too many tabs. Hard work is a great anaesthetic, so gotta keep busy! But thanks for asking.

[tikay]

I will sort the result of the 1,000 for you soon as poss Mike. I am sorry we "gave up" before it finished , but there were 2 guys heads-up, & I did not have a clue who they were. And I was wrecked. And Mrs C was "tired & emotional", & I did not wanna let her walk to the taxi rank alone. Ever the gent. Ever the perv.

[tikay]

Right, this is what the guys are playing for.........

8th - 59,500 Euros

7th - 79,500 Euros

6th - 99,500 Euros

5th - 118,000 Euros

4th - 139,000 Euros

3rd - 178,000 Euros

2nd - 350,000 Euros

WINNER - 635,000 Euros.

The total amount of entry fees paid was 2,110,000, & the total prize fund was 2,025,600.

19th to 27th all got 0.6% of the prize fund, 16th through 18th got 0.8% each, 13th - 15th 1%, 10th - 12th 1.2%. Then it's 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 7%, 9%, 17.6% & 32%.

[tikay]

And these are the results for 27th down to 9th, & what thay each got paid..

9th, Jani Sointula, 39,300 Euros.

10th, Isabelle Mercier, 23,900 Euros

11th - Mike Luper, 23,900 Euros

12th - Anthony Lellouche, 23,900 Euros

13th, Martin Knape, 19,800 Euros

14th, Martin Wengt, 19,800 Euros.

15th, Julian Gardner, 19,800 Euros.

16th, Gus Hansen, 15,800 Euros

17th, Scott Bush, 15,800 Euros

18th--Eugene Katchalov, 15,800 Euros.


19th to 27th ALL got 11,900 Euros.

19th--Jonathan Senn 

20th--Kevin O'Connell

21st--John Fanning   

22nd--Martin DeKnijff

23rd--Barney Boatman

24th--Declan Barker

25th--Harry Fitzpatrick 

26th--Ben Sprengers

27th--Ryan Walters

[tikay]

And now the chip counts & finalists.........

Romain Feriolo 475k

Abdullaziz Abdullaziz 181k

Ben Grundy 90.5k

Kevin Seeger 364.5k

Mikhail Ustinov 68.5k

Brandon Schaeffer 488.5k

Alex Stevic 57.5k

Rob Hollink 384k.

[luckyblind]

Is Ben going to be able to take his horse to the final table ?

[tikay]

The Finalists - where are they from?

Well, we have two French guys, one who resides in Paris, the other who has escaped & now lives in Marbella. Two Americans, one from LA, the other from the home of Boeing, Seattle. A Russian from Moscow, a Dutchman, a Brit, and the mandatory Scandie.

Seating details are next........

[tikay]

Seat 1, Romain Feriolo, 475,000 chips.

Seat 2, Abdulaziz Abdullaziz, 181,000 chips

Seat 3, Ben Grundy, 90,500 chips

Seat 4, Kevin Seeger, 364,500 chips

Seat 5, Mikhail Ustinov, 68,300 chips

Seat 6, Brandon Schaeffer, 488,500 chips
 
Seat 7, Rob Hollink, 384,000 chips

Seat 8, Alexander Stevic, 57,500 chips

Average stack is about 250,000. So we have three Billy Low-Stacks, two Bertie Big Stacks, & three who are neither one nor the other.

Romain, Abdulaziz & Kevin do not appear to have any meaningful "live" experience.

Brandon & Alexander have both won an EPT already this season, Alexander in Barcelona, & Brandon in Deauville.

Ben Grundy plays a lot online, & a fair bit of cash, but he does not have much of a track record in bricks & mortar tournament poker. Wherever he finishes today, it will be far & away his biggest ever win. Ben has his own blog, "milkybarkids poker blog".

Mikhail does not speak much English, & I don't speak much Russian, so I cant tell you much about him I'm afraid. The Pokerstars "factsheet" (thank you Brad!) suggests he won a tourney in Moscow last year, but I cant corroborate that.

And finally, Mr Hollink. Rob has easily the most experience of big time tourney poker amongst these guys, & is very well known throughout Europe. But it would surprise many to know that if he finishes 4th or better today, it will be his biggest everv payday in tournament poker. Rob plays a lot of online Sit'N'Gos, too, & makes a small fortune by concentrating his online activities to just these. A real tough competitor at the table, too.

Next, we will see whom the movers & shakers of the poker world think will win today.

[tikay]

But before we do that, just a word to let you know that it is now 5pm, the scheduled start time, and there is no sign of the thing starting yet. Nobody is sat down at the Final table, & we have not begun the "fanfare" & intros. So whilst I may be waffling away here, you are not missing anything.

[ifm]

just so you know someone is paying attention
ian

[tikay]

So who thinks who will win?

The overwhelming fave seems to be Rob Hollinck. He's the pick of Rumit, Isobelle Mercier, Mathilde, El Blondie, Pete Singleton, Bushy, Richard Gryko, Simon Nowab, & Martin de Knijff.

Simon Aces Trumper plumps for Kevin Seeger, as does Willie Tann.

Mel Lofthouse & Ariston both go for Brandon Scheaffer.

And Xuyen Bad Girl Pham said "I not know who in Final, so how me tewll u who win?". Bless her.

And if YOU have a fave, or someone you'd like to see win, let us know by posting in this thread. If you are not a registered blonde forum member, registration is easy, takes about 30 seconds, & is free. So register if you wanna interact with the rest of the blondeites.

[tikay]

Nearly ready now. There are three row sof tiered seating on three sides of the brilliantly lit TV table, and every seat is taken.

At the moment the tv "warm up man" is asking the crowd to "practice" cheering. Practice cheering? Only in France.....