PokerWorks

On February 10, players virtually gathered on Full Tilt Poker for the first of 27 tournaments that were to comprise the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS). With a combined total of more than $17 million in guarantees up for grabs, the online poker community braced for the 15th installment of the popular tournament series. And by the end of the night on February 14, the first ten events were already in the books.

Players came out in force for the events, surpassing nine out of the ten guarantees, though Event 10 found fewer players registered than organizers anticipated, prompting Full Tilt to add more than $95K to the prize pool to make the guarantee. And all top prizes went to non-Full Tilt pros, as none of the stable of players made it to any final table; Isaac Baron came the closest with an 11th place finish in Event 10. And though most of the winners and final table players were relative unknowns in the poker world, Event 10 produced a recognizable winner in Chad Batista, the young live and online pro who grabbed $225K for his FTOPS victory.

Every person who made a final table received a limited-edition FTOPS jacket along with prize money for their accomplishments, but to the winner went the spoils, including said jacket, a gold FTOPS jersey, and a gold jersey avatar for future use on Full Tilt. And all took prominent positions on the FTOPS leaderboard as they fought for victory there as well in order to receive entries to nearly every one of the FTOPS XVI tournaments in the next series.

Event 1: $200 + $16 No-Limit Hold’em
Date: February 10
Host: Erik Seidel
Guarantee: $1,000,000
Actual prize pool: $1,129,200
Registration: 5,646
Paid finishers: 720
Winner: SolidGoldman24k ($151,685.37)
Last finishing Full Tilt Pro: Yongsuk Chang - 24th place
Other Full Tilt Pro cashes: Chris Ferguson, Brandon Adams, Steve Yea, Eric Froehlich, Steve Brecher,

Event 2: $240 + $16 Pot-Limit Omaha-8 Knockout
Date: February 11
Host: Sigi Stockinger
Guarantee: $250,000
Actual prize pool: $269,800
Registration: 1,349
Paid finishers: 135
Winner: HUMILDAD ($51,011.95)
No Full Tilt Pro finished in the money.

Event 3: $500 + $35 No-Limit Hold’em, 3x Shootout
Date: February 11
Host: Jared Hamby
Guarantee: $350,000
Actual prize pool: $364,500
Registration: 729
Paid finishers: 81
Winner: Ronald “ScarJo” Lee ($76,545.00)
No Full Tilt Pro finished in the money.

Event 4: $200 + $16 No-Limit Hold’em Cubed
Date: February 12
Host: Rob Hollink
Guarantee: $600,000
Actual prize pool: $716,000
Registration: 1,524
Paid finishers: 162
Winner: ddanchev ($140,664.75)
Last finishing Full Tilt Pro: Bruno Stefanelli - 121st place

Event 5: $200 + $16 No-Limit Hold’em, 6-max
Date: February 12
Host: Michael Gracz
Guarantee: $150,000
Actual prize pool: $166,800
Registration: 834
Paid finishers: 102
Winner: Bbuddy4brkfst ($28,963.80)
Last finishing Full Tilt Pro: Brandon Adams - 37th place
Other Full Tilt Pro cashes: Diego Cordovez

Event 6: $500 + $35 Pot-Limit Omaha, 6-max
Date: February 13
Host: Richard Ashby
Guarantee: $350,000
Actual prize pool: $411,500
Registration: 823
Paid finishers: 102
Winner: zimp721 ($65,173.34)
Last finishing Full Tilt Pro: Nikolay Evdakov - 55th place

Event 7: $100 + $9 No-Limit Hold’em w/Rebuys
Date: February 13
Host: Dag Mikkelsen
Guarantee: $600,000
Actual prize pool: $645,500
Registration: 2,099
Paid finishers: 234
Winner: Chris “cdbr3799” Dombrowski ($131,649.73)
Last finishing Full Tilt Pro: Ram Vasmani - 93rd place

Event 8: $120 + $9 No-Limit Hold’em Knockout
Date: February 14
Host: Steve Brecher
Guarantee: $800,000
Actual prize pool: $875,900
Registration: 8,759
Paid finishers: 1,080
Winner: Dr Fill Good ($136,250.11)
Last finishing Full Tilt Pro: Vivek Rajkumar - 213th place
Other Full Tilt Pro cashes: Damian Salas, Ali Sarkeshik, Mike McDonald

Event 9: $500 + $35 No-Limit Hold’em Heads-Up
Date: February 14
Host: Haseeb Qureshi
Guarantee: $400,000
Actual prize pool: $512,000
Registration: 1,024
Paid finishers: 128
Winner: Josh “AAeveryhand” Hillock ($77,336.00)
Last finishing Full Tilt Pro: Haseeb Qureshi - 78th place
Other Full Tilt Pro cashes: Gavin Smith

Event 10: $300 + $22 No-Limit Hold’em
Date: February 14
Host: Chris Ferguson
Guarantee: $1,500,000
Actual prize pool: $1,500,000 (Overlay: $95,400)
Registration: 4,682
Paid finishers: 720
Winner: Chad “jse81” Batista ($225,000.00)
Last finishing Full Tilt Pro: Isaac Baron - 11th place
Other Full Tilt Pro cashes: Steve Brecher, Mike Schneider, Stefan Rapp, Chris Ferguson

There are still 17 events remaining in FTOPS XV, but they’re taking place at two or three per day, so now is the time to get in on the incredible poker action that will make online history. Sign up for a Full Tilt Poker account now to start playing any of the multitudes of satellites that are running around the clock for the events, as a few dollars or Full Tilt Points can win a seat into a tournament that can turn into a life-changing victory. And when registering for that new account, use the bonus code “FTRAKEBACK27” to take advantage of a 27 percent return of your rake through regular site play.