Besting a starting field of almost 2 500 other hungry poker players
is no mean feat, but that's what player *Spiked* achieved in the second
Full Tilt Online Poker Series II (FTOPS) Main Event this week, defeating
a field of 2449 No-Limit Hold'em players for a $224 634 first place
paycheck.
The competition was fierce and prolonged, but once the last nine players
reached the final table it was all over in an hour Full Tilt reports.
Runner-up "dmkai3" gave the winner a tough heads-up finish,
with the final duo playing nearly three dozen intense hands, but "Spiked"
entered heads-up play as a 6-to-1 chip leader and "dmkai3"
was never able to overcome the deficit. It was worth the stress, for
"dmkai3" picked up $137 878 for finishing second.
FTOPS 2 attracted a large contingent of Full Tilt and other pros,
attracted by the $1 million prize pool, and names like Eric Froelich,
John Juanda, Erick Lindgren, Keith Sexton, Berry Johnston, Stuart
Patterson, Carlos Mortensen, Mike Matusow, David Chui, Steve Brecher,
Jeff Madsen, Rafe Furst, Lynette Chan, and Huck Seed featured in the
starter line-up for the Main Event.
The once mighty Party Poker, hemorrhaging player liquidity as a result
of reversing out of the U.S. market in the wake of the Unlawful Internet
Gambling Enforcement Act, was edged out of the number 2 popularity
position this week by Full Tilt Poker this week.
According to the PokerSiteScout.com, privately owned Full Tilt Poker.com
which has remained engaged with the US player cracked the number 2
position with an average 3992 real cash players over the week, beating
by 479 players the Party Poker average of 3513.