Mike "Timex" McDonald Captures Epic Poker League Main Event #2

Poker News / Short-Stacked Shamus / 10 September 2011 / Leave a Comment

Mike McDonald shows off his EPL champion's ring (Photo credit: EpicPoker.com)

It took nearly 300 hands and over 12 hours (with breaks) before Canadian Mike McDonald finally emerged as the winner of the second Epic Poker League Main Event, topping a field of 97 to earn a $782,410 payday and the champion's ring. The player known as "Timex" outlasted an especially competitive final table, finally defeating David Steicke heads-up to earn the victory.

Shortly after play began the eight-handed final table saw three players eliminated in rapid succession, all out within the first 24 hands.

They had barely completed an orbit when Dutch Boyd committed his stack before the flop with Jh-Js only to run into Erik Seidel's Ac-Ad. The flop was all babies, then an ace on the turn sealed it, sending Boyd out in eighth.

Shortly after that a short-stacked Sean Getzwiller pushed all in with Ah-Kc and found himself up against McDonald's Kd-Kh. No ace came for Getzwiller, and he was out in seventh.

Then it was Isaac Baron who during the early going slipped from third-place to short-stacked status, then was all in with Qs-10s against the Ah-10c of Fabrice Soulier. The board came Ad-Kc-9s-8s-2c, and they were quickly down to five.

About an hour later Nam Le became the next to go, ousted in a hand versus Soulier. In that one, Le committed his stack with As-Kh against Soulier's Jh-Js, but failed to improve while Soulier flopped a set then rivered a boat.

With four left, Seidel led with 1.75 million, Soulier had pushed into second with 1.27 million, Steicke was third with 1.169 million, and eventual winner McDonald the short stack among the group with 661,000. But with the blinds still just 8,000/16,000 (ante 2,000), there was much play yet to be had. In fact, it would be another 120 hands of poker before the next knockout.

Seidel increased his lead, then saw his stack begin to slide as the group played on to the dinner break. After they returned, the eight-time WSOP bracelet winner had fallen to fourth, and soon was all in with 5d-5h against Soulier's 9h-9s. The better pocket pair held, and Seidel was out.

Those three would play nearly 100 more hands, with Steicke enjoying a big lead during much of that stretch and McDonald improving to move into second. Then came a hand in which Soulier open-shoved from the small blind with Ah-10h and McDonald called with Ac-Qd. McDonald's hand held, and they were down to two.

Steicke had the advantage to start heads-up play with 2.845 million to McDonald's 2.005 million. McDonald closed the gap a little during the pair's initial hands, then came a big one when "Timex" doubled through with 6d-6s versus Steicke's As-Qh, giving McDonald more than 4.6 million and left Steicke with but 230,000.

It would soon be over, the end coming when Steicke's Ks-2c couldn't catch up to McDonald's Ad-4h, and McDonald had won.

Good timing for "Timex" as tomorrow he turns 22 years old! And with more than three-quarters of a million dollars, one imagines he'll be able to find a decent birthday present for himself.

Final table payouts:
1st: Mike McDonald -- $782,410
2nd: David Steicke -- $506,260
3rd: Fabrice Soulier -- $299,160
4th: Erik Seidel -- $184,100
5th: Nam Le -- $126,570
6th: Isaac Baron -- $92,050
7th: Sean Getzwiller -- $69,040
8th: Dutch Boyd -- $57,530

A bit of a break now for the Epic Poker League as their third tournament series won't be coming until December 9-18. For that one, the $20,000 buy-in Main Event's format will change yet again, this time to a no-limit hold'em heads-up tourney.

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