Talal "raidalot" Shakerchi Enters 2024 in Style; Banks aR$100K Score
January 03, 2024 Matthew Pitt Senior Editor
British star Talal "raidalot" Shakerchi 9️⃣ kicked off 2024 in style by taking down theR$2,023 NLHE 8-Max New Year Special event at PokerStars. The tournament, one 9️⃣ of three New Year Specials held at PokerStars on January 1, 2024, was ridiculously stacked, as you would expect from 9️⃣ such a high-stakes affair. Any of the entrants would have made a worthy champion, but Shakerchi got the job done 9️⃣ and his hands onR$100,029.
$2,023 NLHE New Year Special Final Table Results
Place Player Country Prize 1 Talal "raidalot" Shakerchi United KingdomR$100,029 9️⃣ 2 Ac-King00 AustriaR$74,944 3 gettingpwned BulgariaR$56,149 4 Christian "WATnlos" Rudolph AustriaR$42,068 5 tzuzteutezu AustriaR$31,518 6 Julian "jutrack" Track GermanyR$23,614 7 9️⃣ Forest_PL PolandR$17,692 8 Benjamin "Spraggy" Spragg United KingdomR$13,255 9 Benjamin "BC1989RF" Chalot HungaryR$10,976
Some 272 players bought in forR$2,023, an unusual 9️⃣ buy-in designed to celebrate the start of the new year. Those entrants created aR$524,054 prize pool, obliterating theR$400,000 guarantee.
"Wildace_hun" was 9️⃣ the unfortunate soul that popped the money bubble, crashing out in 35th place despite firing four bullets. An expensive day 9️⃣ at the virtual felt for the Hungarian. Seasoned professionals, including Jans "Graftekkel" Arends, Bruno "great dant" Volkmann, Ramiro "ramastar88" Petrone, 9️⃣ and final table bubble boy Alexandros "Pwndidi" Theologis, all cashed and saw a return on their investments.
Benjamin Spragg finished eighth 9️⃣ after winning aR$109 satellite
Everyone at the nine-handed final table locked in at leastR$10,976 for their efforts. Benjamin "BF1989RF" Chalot received 9️⃣ this sum. Chalot, a former PartyPoker MILLIONS Online champion, bowed out in ninth place. Team PokerStars' Benjamin "Spraggy" Spragg busted 9️⃣ in eighth forR$13,255, a superb result considering he won his seat in aR$109 buy-in satellite.
The final seven became six with 9️⃣ the elimination of Poland's "Forest_PL" before the 2013 EPT Prague Main Event champion Julian "jutrack" Track joined the list of 9️⃣ busted stars, leaving only five players in contention for the six-figure top prize.
Three Austrians found themselves in the final five, 9️⃣ but two crashed out in quick succession. "tzuzteutezu" saw their tournament end abruptly in fifth place, with Christian "WATnlos" Rudolph 9️⃣ running out of steam in fourth. Rudolph walked away withR$42,068 for his efforts.
Heads-up was set when Bulgarian grinder "gettingpwned" found 9️⃣ himself void of chips. Shakerchi fought with "Ac-King00" of Austria for the title and the lion's share of the prize 9️⃣ pool. Shakerchi left his final opponent in his wake and receivedR$100,029 for an impressive victory, resigning the runner-up to a 9️⃣ still-welcomedR$74,944 consolation prize.
A StaggeringR$40 Million Guaranteed in the PokerStars New Year Series
"Scoops 2024" Scoops Huge New Year Score
TheR$202.30 buy-in edition 9️⃣ of the New year Special drew in a bumper crowd of 5,362 entrants, who ensured theR$1 million guarantee was surpassed. 9️⃣ Those entrants locked horns and butted heads for a share ofR$1,009,074.
The prize pool was so large that two entrants got 9️⃣ their hands on prizes worth more thanR$100,000. Indeed, the heads-up duo of "Scoops 2024" and "Eset93" were the recipients of 9️⃣ those substantial prizes.
Surprisingly, there was no deal struck when the tournament reached the heads—up stages, despite a nearlyR$41,000 difference in 9️⃣ the payouts. The lack of any agreement meant Kazakhstan's Eset93 bankedR$102,272 for their second-place finish, while Switzerland's Scoops 2024 reeled 9️⃣ in a mammoth-sized score worthR$143,479.
$202.30 NLHE New Year Special Final Table Results
Place Player Country Prize 1 Scoops 2024 SwitzerlandR$143,479 2 9️⃣ Eset93 KazakhstanR$102,272 3 Mabreu16 BrazilR$72,903 4 GUNDIAS BrazilR$51,968 5 BBRS999 CroatiaR$37,044 6 wemetagain MexicoR$26,406 7 Denvlas MontenegroR$18,823 8 Alex "AlexGelinski" 9️⃣ Gelinski BrazilR$13,418 9 huegelking GermanyR$9,565
Andreas Christoforou Among the Big Christmas Day Winners at PokerStars
Low-Stakes New Year Special Ends in Four-Way 9️⃣ Deal
TheR$20.23 buy-in version of the New Year Special, part of the New Year Series at PokerStars, narrowly missed itsR$400,000 guaranteed, 9️⃣ but it came super close thanks to 21,602 players entering the tournament. Unlike the other New Year Special events, this 9️⃣ one ended in a deal, and nobody could blame the quartet of stars for choosing to do so.
None of the 9️⃣ final four had re-entered more than once, so they had only investedR$40.46. However, although they were in for a small 9️⃣ amount, the least any of the final four took home wasR$23,517, with the champion, "oskarbilstad" of Norway, collectingR$33,073 for an 9️⃣ incredible return on investment, and a superb start to poker life in 2024.
$20.23 NLHE New Year Special Final Table Results
Place 9️⃣ Player Country Prize 1 oskarbilstad NorwayR$33,073* 2 attitudeeeee HungaryR$24,138* 3 Gabriel Tung BrazilR$25,584* 4 ch_rag2 ChileR$23,517* 5 Pavel_Frants ArmeniaR$10,626 6 9️⃣ p0tK.O.mjt€d MaltaR$7,574 7 KasperliTheater SwitzerlandR$5,399 8 1ll1maister FinlandR$3,849 9 fijis aek GreeceR$2,743
New Year Series Main Events are Approaching
You do not 9️⃣ have long to wait before the huge New Year Series Main Events shuffle up and deal. Three No-Limit Hold'em Main 9️⃣ Events commence at 6:30 p.m. GMT on January 15, with the singular Pot-Limit Omaha Main Event scheduled for 7:05 p.m. 9️⃣ GTMT on the same day.
The No-Limit Hold'em Main Events come with buy-ins ofR$109,R$1,050, andR$5,200. They have guaranteed prize pools tipping 9️⃣ the scales atR$1,000,000,R$1,250,000, andR$1,500,000, respectively. TheR$215 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha Main Event guarantees at leastR$200,000 will be won.
Sharelines Talal Shakerchi started 9️⃣ 2024 as he means to go on; by winning more thanR$100,000.
