In his second appearance at an N8TH x APT final table, NeG4tivE managed to take down the APT Incheon iteration of the event. You can tell it’s a tournament format that he enjoys, and it’s a great way of growing the game across Asia that provides an opportunity for everyone to see these amazing tournament stops.
After winning this event, NeG4tivE collected his APT trophy and an extra $1,000 to go with his APT Incheon Main Event ticket; let’s see how he did it.
Early Final Table Action
The table dynamic was an interesting one heading into the final table, as we had Phat_N and Champ - BYR with around 4bb, while everyone else had over 30bb. While our eventual champion NeG4tivE came in second in chips with a 2 million chip stack, PH-14 led the way with a massive 3.5 million stack - that’s over 100bb to start the final table!
As such, we expected a manic start to the day, and once the short stacks were eliminated, things would slow down. However, we didn’t quite see the electric start that we expected, as it took a few hands for either of the short-stacks to get involved. Phat_N made a particularly tight fold with 33 UTG off his 4bb stack on the first hand, but it’s likely he wanted to enjoy the experience of playing at a live final table, so no one can begrudge him that fold.
We thought we were going to see an elimination five hands in when Champ - BYR took K8s up against the 43s of NeG4tivE. The A24 flop gave NeG4tivE the lead, but Champ found an eight on the turn to survive a little longer. Just one hand later, Phat found the hand he was waiting for - shoving KK for his last two big blinds. It seemed like Champ would be forced into the call with his 97o, but he managed to find the fold, and Phat picked up the blinds and antes.
First Elimination
Despite starting with two players on 4bb, it took nearly an hour to see our first elimination of the day - and even that was unlucky! The action folded to NeG4tivE in the small blind who shoved with A7o against the 6bb stack of Champ. However, Champ was lying in wait with pocket queens and snap-called the all-in. NeG4tivE flopped a seven to give himself a couple more outs, and the A on the turn put him in a commanding position. The 8 hit the river, which meant that Champ-BYR was our first elimination in 6th place.
Double-Ups
That elimination left Phat as far and away the shortest stack, but he had a knack for sticking around, and we wouldn’t see him eliminated any time soon. He found a double with AK against the KJ of NeG4tivE to take himself up to 4th place, which meant that GoodLuckToDay was now the shortest stack.
GoodLuckToday limped from the CO with QJ and saw a flop four ways against the K7s of CrownZzz, the T2s of NeG4tivE, and the KT of PH-14. The flop was a spicy one - Q5J, giving GoodLuckToDay top two pair while giving PH-14 an open-ended straight draw and a flush draw.
PH-14 led out for a pot-sized bet, and GoodLuckToDay decided to ship it in. PH-14 made the quick call, and the two would be flipping for a 1.5 million chip pot. The 2 hit the turn to give PH-14 a flush, leaving GoodLuckToDay with just four outs. In a twist of fate, the J hit the river, giving GoodLuckToDay the full house and a huge double-up.
CrownZzz Eliminated in 5th
In the first hand after the break, we saw our second elimination of the day. CrownZzz lost a big pot just before the break with T9s against the AJ of Phat_N, which meant he had just 7bb to start the hand. He decided to limp from the Button with 98o and saw a flop against the Q5s of PH-14.
The 746 flop gave both players an open-ended straight draw; PH-14 needed an eight or a three, whereas CrownZzz needed a five or a ten. CrownZzz made a small bet on the flop, and PH-14 made a quick call. The 8 on the turn gave PH-14 his straight while giving CrownZzz top pair and a straight draw.
CrownZzz bet 100K of his 350K stack and called it off when PH-14 put him in for the rest. The 9 on the river gave CrownZzz two pair, but it wasn’t enough, and he was eliminated in 5th place.
Phat_N Blinded Down
After laddering up two positions and lasting over three hours, Phat_N had managed his 4bb starting stack extremely well. However, after losing a series of pots, he was left with just 0.65bb. The action folded round to him on the Button with K2s, and he put in his remaining half a blind. GoodLuckToDay tossed in the extra chip to make the call in the small blind with KTs, and the two would see a flop of 764 - no help to Phat_N. The K on the turn changed nothing, and the Q on the river meant that Phat_N hit the rail in 3rd place.
NeG4tivE Applies The Pressure
While a number of players at this final table were adopting a limp-heavy strategy, one of the players who was continually aggressive was NeG4tivE. When the table became three-handed, he really ramped up the pressure to try and grow his chip stack.
One of the moments of pressure came when he shoved with K8o into the 11bb stack of PH-14. However, PH-14 found the call with A9o, and the two would run it out. The JTT flop was no help to either player, but it did give NeG4tivE a backdoor straight draw. The nine on the turn gave PH-14 a pair, but it brought in the first half of NeG4tivE’s backdoor straight.
The 7 on the river completed the straight, giving NeG4tivE the best hand and eliminating PH-14 in 3rd place.
Heads-Up Play
After winning that all-in, NeG4tivE had clawed back some of the advantage that GoodLuckToDay had over the rest of the table, but he still found himself roughly 1.5 million chips behind his opponent at the start of the match.
Things got even worse for NeG4tivE, as he was chipped down to just 10bb early on after losing a number of consecutive hands. However, after rivering a pair with QT against the K6 of GoodLuckToDay on an A323T board and getting value on the end, he was back up to where he started in the match.
NeG4tivE then fluctuated between 2.5 million and 1 million for over an hour, as he tried to get a foothold into the match. At one point it looked like he would be eliminated from the tournament, as he shoved his last 6bb into the middle with KJ, only to be snapped by the AA of GoodLuckToDay! However, the 653 flop gave NeG4tivE some hope. The 8 on the turn left NeG4tivE needing a diamond on the river, and the 7 came to his rescue, doubling him up to over 3 million chips.
After that double-up, NeG4tivE was slowly able to grind down his opponent until GoodLuckToDay was left with just 1bb after posting the big blind and the ante. NeG4tivE shoved from the Button with A5 and GoodLuckToDay made the call with Q7. The Q gave GoodLuckToDay a commanding lead, and neither the 4 nor the J could help NeG4tivE, as GoodLuckToDay survived for another hand.
It wasn’t long before the two of them were all in again - this time NeG4tivE shoving with 96 into the sub 2bb stack of GoodLuckToDay, who made the call with T8. When the flop came TT5, it looked like GoodLuckToDay would survive yet again, but the K on the turn gave NeG4tivE seven outs going into the river. However, the 5 on the turn completed GoodLuckToDay’s full house.
GoodLuck was starting to gain some momentum at this point in the match, and there were whispers of a comeback on the cards that were strengthened when NeG4tivE shoved with 33 and was called by 55. It looked as though GoodLuckToDay was about to level up the stacks, but the 3 in the window gave NeG4tivE a commanding lead. The J on the turn left GoodLuckToDay with two outs, but the case three gave NeG4tivE quads and sealed his win.
Neg4tive would collect the APT lion trophy and an extra $1,000 in Natural8 dollars after a three-hour heads-up battle.
Image Source: The Asian Poker Tour
