Sunday, 3 September, was a historic day for KKPoker as we hosted our BIGGEST-EVER ONLINE POKER TOURNAMENT!
The KKPoker DIAMOND GLORY featured a $200,000 guaranteed prize pool, which was smashed with a record-breaking 3,156 entries, creating a huge $284,000 prize pool!
It was a fantastic way to end our 3rd-anniversary celebrations, and it was also an amazing day for Japanese poker player ‘CORE’, who won the DIAMOND GLORY title and secured a $31,296 total prize!
FINAL TABLE ACTION
After the eliminations of ‘kk444583’ – 9th place ($3,414), ‘鼻からぼた餅’ – 8th place ($5,492), ‘🌺ハイビデシ’- 7th place ($4,031) and ‘限界医大生’ - 6th place ($5,591), the final 5 were set, with the prize jumps rapidly increasing, and all to play for!
With blinds at 500K/1M, ‘CORE’ held the chip lead with 28.8M, followed by ‘カバン持ち’ with 18.5M and ‘Amigo’ with 15.1M.
‘カバン持ち’ quickly closed the gap after a 2M raise from the Cutoff with pocket Queens. ‘Core’ three-bet to 5.5M from the Button with A5o, and after ‘カバン持ち’ moved all in, ‘Core’ folded.
With the two top stacks dominating the action and putting pressure on all the short stacks, the time finally came for ‘Amigo’ to make their move. ‘カバン持ち’ raised to 2.4M from Under-the-gun with J♠ 8♣ and ‘Core’ called with K♥ J♥ in the Cutoff.
‘Amigo’ was in the Big Blind for 1.2M and only had 550K behind, and therefore made the all-in call holding 8♥ 4♥.
The action checked through on the A♠ Q♣ 2♥ flop and again on the A♥ turn. On the 5♦, both players were happy to check to a showdown, and ‘Core’ won the pot with King high to eliminate ‘Amigo’ in 5th place for $6,837.
Two hands later, ‘MickieRubio’ shoved for 1.5BB from the Cutoff with K♣ Q♠, and received two calls; up against Q♥ 10♥ and J♠ 6♣. The board fell 2♥ 5♠ A♠ 10♠ 7♠, and their Queen high flush was enough to survive!
However, there would be much less luck for ‘PH Duarte’, who was eliminated cruelly. The action folded to ‘Core’ in the Small Blind, and they moved all in for 36.8M holding 6♥ 3♠. ‘PH Duarte’ had a total stack worth 5BB and called holding 10♣ 10♥.
‘PH Duarte’ was in a strong position to double up, and the 3♦ 7♦ 5♠ flop remained in their favor. The J♥ on the turn changed nothing, but when the 6♠ hit on the river, ‘Core’ improved to two pair to steal the pot and send ‘PH Duarte’ out for a $9,426 total prize.
THREE-HANDED
‘MickieRubio’ was the short stack three-handed, with only 4BB, but instantly doubled after hitting a pair of Jacks on the flop while holding J♦ 8♦ when up against 4♥ 4♠ held by ‘Core’, and in the very next hand ‘MickieRubio’ made an amazing comeback…
After calling for 1.2M from the Small Blind with Q♣ 8♥ and seeing ‘カバン持ち’ check holding 5♠ 3♣, the flop fell Q♥ 4♥ 4♠. ‘MickieRubio’ then check-called a 1.8M bet and the 3♠ hit on the turn. ‘MickieRubio’ checked and ‘カバン持ち’ put maximum pressure on by moving all in for 24.8M with 6.5M in the pot.
‘MickieRubio’ had 7.6M behind and thought for a few seconds before they called. The J♠ on the river was a safe card for them, and they had gone from 4.5M to 22M in just two hands!
The stacks were now more even, with ‘カバン持ち’ at 18.5M, ‘MickieRubio’ at 23.8M and ‘Core’ leading with 33.5M. But all was about to change…
With 800K/1.6M blinds, ‘Core’ raised to 3.2M from the Button with Q♥ Q♣. ‘MickieRubio’ used a time bank to think, then moved all in for 24.6M with 5♠ 5♣, which ‘Core’ called.
The small pocket pair for ‘MickieRubio’ was dominated, and the 10♥ 2♠ 4♣ flop was no help. ‘Core’ improved to top set on the Q♦ turn, leaving ‘MickieRubio’ drawing dead and exited for a great prize of $12,354 after the 10c river.
HEADS-UP
After 8 hours of action, the epic KKPoker DIAMOND GLORY was not set for heads-up play. ‘Core’ held the lead with 58.6M, and ‘カバン持ち’ held 17.4M.
A few hands went by before ‘Core’ raised to 3.2M holding A♠ 5♦ and called after ‘カバン持ち’ had shoved for their 9BB stack with Q♥ 10♥.
‘Core’ was the preflop favorite and could see the victory in sight, but the K♦ 10♣ 3♠ flop switched the advantage. The J♠ turn did give ‘Core’ outs to the straight, but the 6♥ river was no help, and ‘カバン持ち’ doubled up to 31M.
Moments later, ‘カバン持ち’ raised to 3.2M with A♥ J♣ and ‘Core’ called with 5♠ 3♣. ‘Core’ hit a pair on the 9♣ 5♥ 2♦ flop, and both players checked. ‘Core’ bet 2.3M on the 9♥ turn, and ‘カバン持ち’ called before the 2♠ hit on the river. ‘Core’ bet 6.5M and ‘カバン持ち’ called and lost to fall back down to 13M (7BB).
‘カバン持ち’ was able to secure another double up, but their chips kept falling under the big stack pressure from ‘Core’, and after 15 minutes of heads-up battles, the final hand came!
With blinds now at 1M/2M, ‘Core’ raised to 4M with A♦ 8♦. ‘カバン持ち’ shoved for 13.7M with A♠ 9♦ and received a call. ‘カバン持ち’ was in a dominating position and held their advantage on the Q♥ 4♣ 5♣ flop. But a shock 8♣ on the turn meant ‘Core’ was one card away from victory...
‘カバン持ち’ needed to see a 9 on the river to survive, but it was to be the 6♣, confirming their hard-fought elimination as runner-up for a $18,044 prize!
‘Core’ had secured the final bounty reward, their 19th in the tournament, to be crowned the 2023 KKPoker 3rd anniversary DIAMOND GLORY champion and our largest single tournament prize yet of $31,296! A massive congratulations!
| Ranking | Nickname | Reward | Bounty | Total |
| 1 | Core | $16,568 | $14,728 | $31,296 |
| 2 | カバン持ち | $16,369 | $1,675 | $18,044 |
| 3 | MickieRubio | $10,065 | $2,289 | $12,354 |
| 4 | PH Duarte | $7,418 | $2,008 | $9,426 |
| 5 | Amigo | $5,526 | $1,311 | $6,837 |
| 6 | 限界医大生 | $4,175 | $1,416 | $5,591 |
| 7 | 🌺ハイビデシ | $3,210 | $822 | $4,031 |
| 8 | 鼻からぼた餅 | $2,521 | $2,972 | $5,492 |
| 9 | kk444583 | $2,028 | $1,386 | $3,414 |
THANK YOU!
KKPoker would like to thank our poker community for participating in our 3rd-anniversary series and helping us create our biggest prize pool yet!
Even bigger rewards and prizes are to come very soon! Stay tuned by following our official social media!
Want to become a KKPoker champion? Check out this week’s upcoming tournament schedule, including the $53K SUPER BOUNTY on Sunday 10, September for just a $50 buy-in! Satellites run throughout the week!
