SPC VIII

Event Report

Another heady weekend just flew by, as the MV Aegean Paradise once again played host to the Singapore Poker Championships, now in its’ 8th instalment and 3rd Season. The heady weekend was made much headier by exceptionally daunting weather conditions on the high-seas, resulting in many a contestant green in the face well before the Main Event had gotten underway. Once the cards were in air however, all the queasiness appeared to have evaporated, testament to the medicinal properties of the sport.

In spite of an unavoidable scheduling clash with Pokerstars Manila, the SPC VIII Main Event still managed to post some good numbers, which speaks volumes of the ever-growing popularity of the sport here. When the dust had settled on late entries and re-entries, the ME was packed with 250 runners, paying out a champion’s purse of $19,000.

The Natural8 Main Event

62 of SPC VIII’s top dogs returned to the Main Event on Sunday morning to do battle for the title. The field was brimming with winners past and present, from seasoned earners Bobby Cheong, Norbert Koh and Daniel Chua, to previous champions Charles Lesmana and Lim Min Soon, to regional stars like Dhanesh Chainani and Tan Tong. They would all however, be playing catch-up to overnight chip-leaders Ronald Kum and Nicholas Tay, both of whom were wielding >100k stacks at resumption of play.

Play hurtled along and the tourney eliminated numerous short and medium stacks, grinding to a complete halt on the bubble. Multiple agonizing hands and numerous false dawns later, the bubble was finally burst by the unfortunate Goh Kok Heng, who was bundled to the rail with an armful of merchandise by way of consolation.

With a min-cash now safely in the trouser pocket, a flurry of all-ins ensued, and the charge towards the final table began in earnest. Casualties of the charge included Bobby Cheong, Norbert Koh, Daniel Chua, Tan Tong, and another crowd favourite Vijayrengan Visvalingam.

The final table was finally formed when, after four levels of 11-handed play, Jeremy Wee was forced to bow out in 10th position. He was preceded by Andrew Lee, an ex-SPC dealer who finished 5th at SPC VII, and who had not found the going easy in the last few hours.

The very first hand of the final table also saw its first casualty. Ronald Kum, who’d navigated the curse of the overnight chip leader with some success, found 77 in the hole from late position. His all-in found a caller in David Soin, who tabled AQ for a race to the death. Ronald was looking good when the board delivered 9 K 6, his position further enhanced by the 8 turn. All hopes of a big and timely double up however, were dashed when an ace hit the river, consigning Ronald to 9th place.

The all-conquering Lim Min Soon, defending SPC High-Roller champion and at his umpteenth final table, was next to fall under David’s knife. Min Soon open-shoved from the button with AJ, and was met with a quick call from David, with tabled AA for the dominating hand. Spiking top pair on the J 9 2 board brought Min Soon some hope, but his two outs failed to materialise on the 9 turn and Q river. Still, yet another excellent showing from one of the SPC’s all-time biggest winners.

Barely three hands after Min Soon’s elimination, Leornard Lee found a good spot to get it in with 77. Leonard, who had since the FT began not had much by way of luck, was aghast when David Soin snapped called, and quickly tabled aces once again. The A T 8 flop left Leonard drawing only to an improbable backdoor straight, which did not materialise. The plucky Leonard hit the rail in 7th, bagging $3,600 for his troubles.

During the course of 6-handed play, Mark Wen, who had been steadily adding to his growing pile of chips since the bubble burst, got into a post-flop melee with Dhanesh Chainani. When the latter moved all-in to Mark’s hefty turn barrel, Mark insta-mucked, leaving himself with less than half the stack he had begun the hand with.

On the very next hand, with now a well below average stack, Mark got the rest of his chips in the middle pre-flop, and Dhanesh stepped in to finish the job. Dhanesh’s A9 on the subsequent A K 7 7 2 was enough to send Mark’s QT to the rails. A superb finish nevertheless, from one of the local game’s pioneer generation.

Next to fall was Chris Liao, who, facing the quietly patient Raymond Yong’s all-in, had given the matter some deliberation before making the call with A7. Chris found himself in pretty ghastly shape when Raymond turned over 77. The turn card brought Chris some hope, with both players now drawing to an up and down straight. A bricked river however, meant neither player connecting with the board, and Chris, one of the steadier presences throughout Day 2, was sent packing in 5th place.

With Dhanesh, Raymond and David all armed with huge stacks, Justin Hou seemed next in line to go. It appeared however, that he wasn’t quite done with the Main Event yet. All-in for his tournament life, he managed to find a big double through via Dhanesh and began picking up multiple small to medium pots to pull his stack back to competitive levels.

A seminal hand soon transpired, when Justin and Dhanesh both got the lot in, the latter’s JJ in a great spot against his opponent’s A9. A flopped A turned the tables in a hurry, and when Dhanesh was unable to spike either of his two outs on the river, Justin had found a massive double through, leaving Dhanesh crippled.

Justin then dealt Dhanesh the fatal blow shortly after when he was priced in to obliged the BigDC’s all-in with J3. Dhanesh’s dominating J7 stood almost no chance when the flop brought a 3, the irrelevant K turn and J river cementing his 4th place finish.

With just about ½ of the remaining chips in-play, Justin was looking to dominate proceedings three-handed. He and David traded small pots hither and thither, with Raymond content to stay out of harm’s way. Raymond found an easy spot soon enough, when David Soin moved all-in from the small blind, with Raymond calling off AJ. The K T 7 board gave Raymond an additional 4 outs against David’s ducks, but it was not to be when the turn and river brought a 6 and an 8. A sensational showing from Raymond, who returns to the SPC after a long hiatus, pocketing $9,100 for his efforts.

With Raymond’s scalp in tow, David Soin brought a 2:1 chip lead to the heads-up contest. With neither player making too much headway after some time, a deal was floated, and after quick consultation, refused. The end came abruptly, without drama or fanfare. His chips depleting, Justin got the lot in with 4c5s, and was quickly called by David, who tabled Ah2c. The Jd 7c 8c flop was of no use to either player. The turn Qc however, suddenly increased Justin’s outs to 15.

David’s rail erupted when the 2h landed on the river, consigning Justin to runner-up spot, his pockets $12,600 heavier. Kudos to Justin on landing his best ever finish at the SPC.

Congratulations to David Soin, deserved winner of the Natural8 SPC Main Event, and the champion’s purse of $19,000!