Play65 $50,000 tournament chill out

Last night Play65 offered again real entertainment with a $50,000 tournament. It was all very exciting down to the last minute where a player with low rating took it all away in the final - not quite what most people were expecting.

The winner and the man of the match, or in this case the man of the tournament was Shajamamali from UK. This guy was really interesting to follow through the tournament especially with his starting rating that was well below 1500. Although he was spared from playing on the first round due to uneven number of participants, he was soon playing against players with ratings 1800 and beyond. Very impressive. Only on his third round he had a close call narrowly winning the match 3-2, but other than that there was no real trouble. The final was again a little tougher but it was also expected, after all the other finalist had a rating of 1900. In the end it didn’t matter and Shajamamali won the main $5,000 prize. The runner-up got a decent 3k.

Matches were played until three points, including the semifinal. Only the final was played until seven points. As a result and dispite the 275 contestants the whole tournament flowed smoothly and the winner was cleared after 9 rounds in no more than 2,5 hours.

Yesterday’s tournament reminded me of how good learning moments such big tournaments are. Even if you don’t have the time to participate as a player you can always watch other players of all levels doing their best. You may disagree whether short, 3-point matches in the late rounds are still justified but it does serve a purpose and Shajamamali made the best of it. Perhaps it was nervousness or lack of experience but especially his doubling actions, or more precisely the lack of it stood out from his game. Nevertheless, otherwise he played well and luck was also on his side, so all kudos to him for winning this great tournament!

The next $50,000 tournament at Play65 will be held October 1st. There are plenty of Sit and Go’s, Freerolls and daily tournaments in the meantime that could get you a free entry there. You can read details when and how to participate at Play65.