Pbustos14 Wins The Festival Online Main Event After Cracking Aces Twice
After more than three weeks of action, the first edition of The Festival Online powered by 888poker ended with the Argentinian player Pbustos14 winning the live-streamed Main Event of the series the Monday night.
Result: The Festival Online Main Event
- Buy-in: $215
- Players: 673 players (plus 140 re-entries)
- Prize Money: $162,600
- 1st place: Pbustos14 ($26,552.58)
With a buy-in of $215 the Main Event was one of the most expensive events of the entire Online Festival. However, 888poker ran multiple big satellite events in the weeks leading up to the final weekend so that players had the chance to qualify for a fraction of the buy-in. In the end, a total of 813 players registered for the Main Event (including 140 re-entries), generating a prize pool of $162,600.
The tournament started Sunday evening and went long into the night until the final table was found and the tournament was stopped. The final eight players returned Monday evening to play the Final Table and to find the winner of the biggest Festival Online Event. The final table was live-streamed on 888poker's Twitch Channel with David Tuchman and Nick Wealthall commenting the action with several giveaways during the stream.
Pbustos14 Cracks Aces to Kickstart a Crazy Final Table Run
The final table started with the player Pbustos14 last in chips and after a few minutes of play, he was down to 9 big blinds and found himself UTG with A 7 . He raised to 6 big blinds (effectively putting himself all-in) and right behind him xFink_Ploydx found A A and moved all-in. Pbustos14 called for his remaining stack and was a significant underdog. But Fortuna had different plans for him than a 9th-place finish. The board ran out K 4 3 Q 3 , giving Pbustos14 a flush to more than double up.
After that all-in, the Argentinian won almost every major hand he was involved in. With five players left, he took the lead in the chip count and managed to almost crack aces once more when he was all-in with A-8 against MindaugasKR's A-A and the board ran out K-J-3-Q-T, giving both players the same straight. Pbustos14 simply couldn't lose any all-in. A while late he eliminated MindaugasKR in 4th place when he moved all-in from the small blind with T-8 against A-9 and spiked an Eight on the river. The very next hand Pbustos14 was all-in with 2-2 against iOwnU888 who also held A-9. The board didn't improve the Ace and just like that, the tournament was heads-up.
The heads-up between Pbustos14 and vpedote started with the Argentinian having a commanding 65 to 16 big blind lead. He even managed to extend his lead and then he found A A on the button. Pbustos14 min-raised and vpedote called with Q 6 . The flop sealed vpedote's fate as it came down Q J 5 . Pbustos14 bet small and vpedote called. The turn brought the 9 and now Pbustos14 moved all-in and vpedote called with his top pair. The river fell 2 and the hand and tournament were decided.
After cracking Aces almost twice at the Final Table Pbustos14 won the online tournament fittingly with the very same hand. He earned $26,552.58 for his fantastic run and was crowned the first Festival Online Main Event Champion.
Result: The Festival Online High Roller Finale
- Buy-in: $525
- Players: 80 players (plus 27 re-entries)
- Prize Money: $53,500
- 1st place: TheAudrius ($14,739.25)
With a buy-in of $525, the High Roller Finale of The Festival Online was a good bit more expensive than the Main Event. This event got 107 runners and finished in the little hours of Monday morning.
After a little bit over 6 hours of play, the Lithuanian player TheAudrius won the tournament and took home almost $15,000.
Result: The Festival Online Afterparty
- Buy-in: $109
- Players: 157 players (plus 52 re-entries)
- Prize Money: $20,900
- 1st place: fanatmalini ($4,685.78)
The last tournament of The Festival Online was the Afterparty which ran this Monday parallel to the Final Table of the Main Event. A total of 209 entries played for a little over $20,000 and after 6 hours of play, fanatmalini won the event and a little of $4,600.
Next Festival Stop: Bratislava
With The Festival Online in the books, The Festival Series now focuses on the next live stop which will be in Bratislava in October.
From October 10 until October 16, The Festival Bratislava will run in the Banco Casino in the Slovakian capital. The Main Event comes with a heavy €500,000 guarantee and the weeklong event will have several dozen side events, including many non-hold'em tournaments, a blackjack- and roulette tournament and a sportsbook competition.
» The Festival in Bratislava – All Deatails
