The Las Vegas Team Challenge Live Final

What a weekend! 190 players sat down at just past 2pm to start the very first Las Vegas Team Challenge live final, amongst the names were GUKPT winners, Karl Mahrenholz, Jeff Kimber and Sunny Chattha, in addition to poker veteran Paul Jackson, Players Championship winner Dominic Kay and a whole host of players from across Europe.

Day 1 started slowly however soon picked up pace with players falling quickly as the day grew to a close. Athletico Genting held their own, and despite only having 3 players, still managed to beat the pre tournament favourites, The Ivey League. By the time Day 1 came to a close, we had 22 players left, and clear favourites were PPP Top Bombers, as they still had 4 of their original 6 players left.

Some maths was done and it was announced that only 3 teams could now win.  PPP Top Bombers, Jacks and Rabsbabs. Everyone else was playing for the Palm Beach package.

Day 2 started again, just after 2pm and the short stacks were quickly eliminated. By 6pm we were on the final table:

Final Table Chip Counts and Seats:

1. Richard Sinclair (1%ers) 232,500
2. Mark Deacon (PPP) 240,500
3. Greg Yates (Mako) 147,500
4. John Hicks (Punters) 37,500
5. Philip Rice (PPP) 46,000
6. Kevan Lim (Punters) 125,000
7. Jess Algranti (Jacks) 537,000
8. Dean Garratt (One foot in the pond) 183,500
9. Emma Fryer (Fox) 176,000

By this stage of the tournament, we’d just about worked out that…..the inaugural Las Vegas Team Challenge winners were PPP Top Bombers, they had an unassailable minimum of 347, no other team could beat it.

So the final tablists were playing for pride and that Palm Beach Big Game package, not to mention £400, £250 and £150 for 2nd to 4th.

Eventually, at about 8:30pm, the tournament was fittingly won by Mark Deacon, of PPP Top Bombers, who beat Dean Garratt into second place when his A3 hearts rivered the heart to give him his flush.

It was a great tournament, won by a superb team. Bring on the next one:

www.lasvegasteamchallenge.com

The full list of team points was:

About the Live Final

The page contains everything you need to know about the live final, where 194 players will be fighting it out for that $34k Las Vegas holiday package. During the league we collected $31,445 in retained tournament entries, so we’ve added an overlay of just over $3,500 to make the first prize value up to $34,000!

Please see the full list of qualified players at the foot of this page.

After lots of requests regarding the scheduling of the Live Final, we put the decision out to vote, so the players could help create an event that was right for the majority. The result of the vote was:

16% in favour of a 1 day final
84% in favour of a 2 day final

The response was superb, thanks to everyone who voted.

Las Vegas Team Challenge Live Final

Date / Time:
Day 1 – Saturday 19th February 2010 – 2:00pm (play to c.01:15am)
Day 2 – Sunday 20th February 2010 – 2:00pm

Venue:
Circus Casino, Star City, Watson Road, Birmingham, B7 5SA, +44 (0) 121 327 8008

Circus Casino Star City is one of the largest casinos in Europe and is located on a large leisure park which includes restaurants, cinema, gym, climbing wall, shops and even a crazy golf course! Within the Casino you’ll find all the usual table games and slot machines, a bar, restaurant and plenty of cash poker action to keep those eliminated players happy!

Please bring ID to the casino, as you will need to join before you are able to play, aim to arrive from 12noon to give yourselves plenty of time to do this.

Starting Stacks:

Starting stacks will be dependant on the number of points your team earn.  Every player will start with a base level of 6000 chips, which will then be topped up as per the following calculation: “Team Points / 6”.  So if your team earns 40,000 points, each of your team players will start with 12675 chips (6000 + (40000/6) rounded up to nearest 25).  Note regardless of how many players are in your team or how many players made it to Star City, Team Points will always be divided by 6.

The full list of teams and their relevant starting stacks is listed at the foot of this page.

Levels:
With 45 minute levels and a good structure, we believe there will be plenty of poker play in this tournament, this will be no crapshoot!  The full breakdown of levels is, again, at the foot of this page.

Player ID cards:
The seat draw will be done prior to your arrival, to prevent players from the same team being on the same starting table. Therefore your seat draw will be posted up on the notice boards in and around the poker room.  On the table at your seat you will find your Chip Stack and a player ID card detailing your Name, Nickname and Team.  The card must always remain on the table, even during breaks or at the end of Day 1.  It must be left visible, name side up.

Team Wear:
If your team want to turn up wearing T-Shirts, Jumpers, Hats etc of the same colours, or sports tops of the same style / team, then feel free to do so.  We are happy for players to wear football tops for this tournament if it helps with the team ethos.

Breaking Tables and Team Play:
This is a team poker tournament, therefore players from the same team cannot be drawn on the same starting table, however, after that tables will be broken as normal.  Once players from the same team are on the same table, they should play the game properly, after all there is an extra, individual prize to play for…see further down.  Railing players are actively encouraged to shout instructions at their team members, especially as the tournament draws to a conclusion.

Extra Prizes:
The individual winner of the Live Event will win a £1500 package to a Palm Beach Big Game of their choice, the package consists of £1080 Seat & Fee and £420 for Hotel & Travel.  The Palm Beach Big Game takes place on the first Monday of every month.

That’s not all!

On Sunday at 3pm, we’ll host a live freeroll for all Vegas Team Challenge eliminated players, where the prize structure will be as follows:

1st Palm Beach Big Game Seat Package worth £1500
2nd £500 Online Poker Credit
3rd £250 Online Poker Credit
4th to 6th £100 Online Poker Credit

This extra side event game might be self deal, dependant on the number of players, but it’s a freeroll, so what more do you expect!

Bounty Players:
Not satisfied with giving away all of that, the Athletico Genting Team will be playing the Live Final as bounty players.  We’ll be clearly identifiable – via our Player ID cards and Genting Poker patches, and if you knock one of us out, you’ll earn £100 Poker Credit.  Whilst Athletico Genting can’t actually win the Vegas Holiday, we have some serious pride at stake, not to mention some side bets between team members, so we are playing it seriously! In the exceptionally unlikely event that we do win the Live Event, the team finishing second will ‘win’.  It’s not going to happen, but some of you have asked!