This week we bring to you one of the biggest cashes by a player in an online poker tournament. This happened when Blair Hinkle, known for his 2008 WSOP Bracelet got a Million Dollar payout on February 20th, 2011 in the FTOPS Main Event held at Full Tilt Poker.
It isn’t always that a seven figure is won in an online poker tournament. Even lesser incidence when the huge amount has gone to the runner-up and not the winner of the tournament. This unique feat was achieved by Blair ‘blur5f6’ Hinkle on 20th February 2011 when he struck a three-way deal in the FTOPS XIX Main Event securing a prize money of $1.1 Million. The eventual winner of this hugely attended online poker tourney series of Full Tilt Poker was GIAMPP who was richer by approx $900,000.
2011 was an year when seven figure amounts in online poker tournaments were fairly uncommon, in fact it had happened only 11 times previously. The event was a $600 +$40 buy-in multi-entry event allowed every player to register upto 6 times. This multiple entry format ensured 14,479 players sat down for the Main Event and created a gigantic prize pool of $8,687,400.
Hinkle was no stranger to big sum tournament wins having won a WSOP Bracelet in 2008 but even he was taken aback by the huge amount that he won despite finishing runners-up. Ironically, this amount won by him was double the money he received for his bracelet win.
There was a lot of discussion after the FTOP XIX ended that Hinkle had got a very good ‘chopping’ deal. It seemed that the other players agreed to all his terms and handed him that huge pay packet. Hinkle had a commanding chip lead when the deal was struck reserving $1,145,000 for him, $830,000 for GIAMPP and Sirmad got $805,440.26. They decided to leave $65k and the final FTOPS title of the series for the winner which GIAMPP finally closed.
This Main event went down in FTOPS history and perhaps is a record still to be beaten. Post this, Black Friday happened and when Full Tilt Poker resumed operations a very months later, FTOPS did come back but this huge pay-day has still not been matched.
To read This Week That Year #1 Click here.
