Betfair Grand Prix IV, Freeroll 10, 4 May

Entrants: 421
Buy in: $0
Prize pool: $1,000

Final results:
1. DKLillee
2. Buzz40uk
3. Sweenoo
4. gorilla G
5. Funkus Town
6. fivepenny
7. redroy4
8. antony94
9. tammie

After six months of online poker battle, Betfair Grand Prix IV came to its tenth and final freeroll, a double-point deep-stack spectacular held on Sunday 4 May.

The tournament attracted a field of 421 runners, a smaller turnout than we’re used to, perhaps due to the bank holiday, but more likely down to players not having accrued enough leaderboard points so far.

One thing was for sure though, every single player playing had a shot at making the Live Final, with an automatic seat going to the winner. In addition, double points were on offer, which meant big changes to the leaderboard.

Six PokerPlayers mustered for duty, and the PokerPlayer Mini-League saw huge changes as well, but more of that later.

With 5,000 chips there was a lot more play, and with a sedate start of 4pm, the pace was relaxed to begin with, except for Dicey who bombed out first of the PokerPlayers in 393rd.

Dicey had been crippled after losing with his A-K versus A-Q moments earlier, and then shoved for 30 Big Blinds with K-8 and was called by Q-6 by a bounty hunter who hit their 6. Nasty.

K_Unknown followed exactly 100 places later in 293rd, a finish that left his position at the top of the PokerPlayer Mini-League under threat

That threat lessened however, after an uncharacteristic early departure from Shafty78 in 268th, eliminated by LuckyJim whose own A-K eclipsed Shafty78’s K-Q. This finish meant that K_Unknown’s position at the top of the PokerPlayer Mini-League looked safe.

derbyred perished next in 217th when his A-10 was no good against Bondiibay's A4. This exit ended a creditable defence of his Betfair Grand Prix title, notching 60 Leaderboard points, but crucially no top 30 finishes.

And so it was left to darklord5 and HillyFish to push on into the evening.

darklord5 had been playing solid poker for a couple of hours, with little in the way of cards to work with. He narrowly avoided the chop, fortunately doubling up when his J-J vs Q-9 with a flopped Queen spiked an unlikely Jack on the turn, before doubling up again with J-2 making two pair.

And so it went on, managing to stay on an average stack, as the blinds escalated and the antes came in. It was not to last though after the chip leader 1AlwaysW1n was moved to his table. The big stack played fast and loose causing havoc on the table, and darklord5 ended up going out in 139th on the Big Blind with pocket Twos. The less said about that the better.

So that left HillyFish to swim on, and did he. A quick calculation brought the news that he could catch K_Unknown in the PokerPlayer Mini-League. It would have to be at least a 11th – 20th place finish to tie, and any better to claim the crown outright.

This revelation seemed to buoy the aquatic one’s game, and after some dithering he surged to the top of the chip count and stayed there or thereabouts deep into the tourney.

As he tells it: “I went from 3000 chips to chip leader then worked out that a final table place would win me the mini-league.”

“I could have folded my way there but was tempted to knock out a rogue Cypriot. I called his all-in with A-10 against his 3-3, hit the 10 but he made a straight on the river.”

“After that I didn't quite have enough chips to keep folding and eventually stuck it all in with A-J suited - knocked out by Sweenoo for a 12th place.”

“Not necessarily the best use of 7 hours, and I think if I'd just played my normal game I could have won it.”

12th position, 22 PokerPlayer Mini-League points and a deadheat with K-Unknown. Incredible stuff, and they now share the first placed prize of a $500 tourney buy-in on Betfair.

As for the rest of the tourney, congratulations to winner DKLillee who made absolutely sure of his Live Final appearance. He’s a Grand Prix regular who was sitting in 49th place, outside of the qualifying positions, after Freeroll 9.

And so to the Live Final. It’s all set for Friday 16 May at the City Bunker at Canary Wharf in London, and the top 30 Leaderboard finishers will be contacted very shortly with all the details for the event – so see you there!

Thanks go to everyone that has played Betfair Grand Prix IV, all 2,413 of you. Hopefully see you for the next one, dodgy theme and all…