Jerome Grabs a Piece at WPT South Africa

Over its 10-year existence, the World Poker Tour (WPT) has visited a plethora of countries including Slovenia, Cyprus and Marrakech, but this week marked its debut in the land of springboks, Table Mountain and Nelson Mandela.

Johannesburg, South Africa played host to the inaugural WPT Emperors Palace Poker Classic, in which 230 hopefuls parted with $3,300+300 to vie for the illustrious title and $206,153 first prize.

Among them was Black Belt Poker sponsored pro Jerome Bradpiece, who decided to spend some of his Belt Points in the country he was born in 29 years earlier. It proved to be a shrewd move as he went on to finish second for $145,000.

Despite finishing Day 1b in third place, Jerome slipped to 18th on Day 2 and was forced to grind a 15-20 big blind stack on Day 3.

However, he showcased the patience of a chess master and was duly reward with two late double-ups: A-A holding against A-K, and then As-Qh vs. Ac-Jc on a nerve-jangling Qc-Tc-3h-6h-4s board.

As a result, Jerome entered the final table fourth in chips with German pro Dominik Nitsche the clear chip leader with more than double that of second.

Dominik Nitsche -- 2,915,000
William Ross -- 1,285,000
Jason Strauss -- 1,270,000
Jerome Bradpiece -- 930,000
Wesley Weigand -- 455,000
Andrew Anthony -- 365,000

With his Terminator shades firmly attached and handlebar moustache adequately groomed, Jerome exploded out of the blocks like a jet-propelled whippet; first, he won a big pot with Q-J vs. J-6 on a J-Q-K-6-7 board, and then he eliminated Andrew Anthony in sixth with T-T vs. K-Qs.

Despite rocketing into second, Jerome was still shadowed by the foreboding stack of Dominik Nitsche who proceeded to sniper down Jason Strauss in fifth to boast around 75 percent of the chips in play.

However, the Jeromeinator had other ideas; after doubling through Nitsche with Q-Q vs. 6-6, he dispatched of Ross with Q-Q vs. A-T. With William Ross eliminating Wesley Weigand a few hands previous, this left just two gladiators remaining with Nitsche holding a circa 3:2 chip advantage.

Heads-up would prove a thrilling affair as Jerome quickly turned the tables, but then lost a crucial pot with A-J versus A-K on an ace-high board. The final hand saw Jerome's Jc-Tc fail to improve against Ac-4c on an uneventful 7h-6d-5h-6c-7s board.

At just 22, Nitsche has collated over 2.2 million in live tournament winnings, including an LAPT title and WSOP bracelet. Now he is the lion king of South Africa and can add a WPT title to his increasing list of accolades.

Although Nitsche was officially crowned champion, Jerome could take solace in having dealt heads-up for $145,000, marking his second biggest win to date. In total, he now has close to a million in winnings, including a GUKPT title and final tables at WSOPE and the Amsterdam Master Classics.

"Did a deal heads-up," Jerome Tweeted in the aftermath, "so have 145 reasons not to be too upset! Thanks for the funking."

A Brown Belt on Black Belt Poker, Jerome receives $4,000 a month in live tournament sponsorship, some of which he used in South Africa. If you would like to follow in his footsteps, then check out the Belt-Up Rewards System to see how you can join the rest of the team as a Black Belt Poker sponsored pro.

The official results are as follows:

1st  Dominik Nitsche -- $206,153
2nd  Jerome Bradpiece -- $121,477
3rd  William Ross -- $80,985
4th  Wesley Weigand -- $56,321
5th  Jason Strauss -- $41,965
6th  Andrew Anthony -- $32,394

Luck Beer Lady Tonight

 
Unlike the 1993 Grand National, the false start in the Black Belt Poker League wasn't enough to cancel the 17th installment; instead, 113 players reconvened the follow week for the rescheduled opening leg with hopes of getting off to a Usain-esque start.

No double gunshot this time around meant that League XVII was officially underway, past winners such as bornTOflirt, StilettoMafiosa, and RedKiteBlackBelt joining the many others in vying for the star prize.

With the winter period approaching, Black Belt Poker are inviting League players to get into the festive spirit and celebrate Christmas early with our latest promotion: 12 Days of Christmas, in which players can use gift vouchers to enter $5+0.50 tournaments during December 06-17.

Players will then be allocated a prize dependent on how many times you cash, ranging from a gel mouse mat for one cash, to an all-expenses paid Irish Open package for making the money seven times. And even if you don't cash a single time, we're still guaranteeing you socks for Christmas.

Of course, cashing isn't the only task; you also have to obtain the vouchers; with 12 vouchers up for grabs to the winner, and a total of 77 in the prize pool, League XVII is the perfect opportunity - and that's not to mention the 100 Belt Points for finishing in positions 11-20th.

Last Tuesday, it was John 0LuckBeerLady0 Hayes who set he early pace, defeating originalcynic heads-up to take down the opening leg for $141.29. Meanwhile, reigning Champion Robbie BobbersAllin Ayres continued his impressive form with an 11th place finish.

1st  0LuckBeerLady0 -- $141.29
2nd  originalcynic -- $96.05
3rd  HammerHorror -- $73.45
4th  NPenfold666 -- $52.26
5th  stevegw -- $36.72
6th  cikarang5 -- $29.66
7th  ToddCoxeter -- $24.01
8th  RykanShadow -- $19.77
9th  PhilNe2Q -- $15.53
10th  BobbersAllin -- $13.56
11th  KBV1TALS -- $13.56
12th  mikemixitup -- $13.56
13th  NinjamanUK -- $11.86
14th  doochats -- $11.86
15th  nickhem1 -- $11.86

The League isn't the only window for gift vouchers; 1984IAIN lapped one up in Monday's debuting Turbo Takedown tournament, whilst hiddenacesBBP joined that category with victory in the Deepstack Mulligan:

1st  hiddenacesBBP -- $121.50 (50 Belt Points)
2nd  S0lution -- $81.00 (30 Belt Points)
3rd  45683ah -- $40.50 (10 Belt Points)
4th  CareybearBBP -- $27.00 (5 Belt Points)
5th  losbert40 (5 Belt Points)

Wednesday also witnessed the latest Orange Belt Freeroll, in which Black Belt Poker handed out a Samurai ticket to the winner. After a tough battle, it was Nick sprinterz Spiers who became the first player to win a seat.

1st  sprinterz -- Samurai seat ($250+25)
2nd  LilJem -- Samurai satellite token ($35+3.50)
3rd  bagpussrocks -- Samurai satellite feeder token ($5+0.50)
4th  baligirl13 -- Samurai satellite feeder token ($5+0.50)

On Thursday, Touagorimou won a seat into next week's Mulligan, before being denied the satellite double when hiddenacesBBP pipped him for a Turbo Takedown seat. These satellite take place at 20:30 and 21:00; if you fancy cheap entry into our regular tournaments, then check them out.

Meanwhile, Kevin KVNSTVBBP Stevens reigned supreme in the No-Lose Deepstack for $31.00. With just 37 entries and $100 added each and every week, this is value that's too good to ignore - we even guarantee you your $1 entry fee back, regardless of finishing position!

1st  KVNSTVBBP -- $31.00
2nd  Wally19 -- $21.00
3rd  BlackLocko -- $13.50
4th  OFAH79 -- $10.50
5th  1mightfold -- $8.50
6th  BlackCB -- $7.00
7th  D0l14hyd3 -- $6.00
8th  BlackMadonna26 -- $5.00
9th  jmpoker2006 -- $4.00
10th  LizLemmon -- $3.50

The journey to Dublin may have kicked off, but it's not too late for you to join in and start filling up your Christmas stocking. Over the next several weeks, we'll be giving you a number of opportunities to win gift vouchers, and with just one leg in the bag, there's still plenty of time for you to make your mark in the League.

If you don't already have an account, then opening one is easy: simply download the poker client and follow the step-by-step process provided.

Previous news reports:

Celebrate Christmas Early With Black Belt Poker

One Night; Two New & Exclusive Events

 
Last night witnessed the debut of two brand spanking new tournaments, both exclusive to Black Belt Poker.

At 20:30, 32 quenched their thirst for speed in the first ever Turbo Takedown, a weekly No Limit Hold'em tournament with a $10+1 buy-in.

The winner was Orange Belt Iain 1894IAIN Brassell, who defeated Blue Belt and former UKIPT Champion Jamie Stilettomafiosa Burland heads-up to collect the $118.40 first prize.

1st  1894IAIN -- $118.40
2nd   StilettoMafiosa -- $80.00
3rd  HammerHorror -- $48.00
4th  NPenfold666 -- $32.00
5th  TeeDeeEye1 -- $24.00
6th  Mrdroodle -- $17.60

In doing so, Brassell also collected the first gift voucher of the year courtesy of The 12 Days of Christmas promotion, meaning he's now guaranteed a minimum of socks for Christmas! However, if he can use his gift voucher token to cash in the $5+0.50 $3,000 GTD event, he'll receive a gel mouse mat instead.

Of course, it doesn't have to end there; there will be plenty of opportunities to accrue gift vouchers and increase your chances of winning an Irish Open package, including the start of League XVII, in which the overall Champion will receive all 12 gift vouchers.

The 12 Days of Christmas is an exciting promotion in which players can use gift vouchers to play the daily $5+0.50 MTT during the dates of December 06-17. Depending on how many times you cash, you will win an incredible prize including the ultimate computer set-up.

Click here for more information on the 12 Days of Christmas promotion.

Due to popular demand, the Nightly Nifty that featured during Ninja has now become a Black Belt Poker staple event. Relabelled the Nifty at Nine, the event takes place every Monday at 21:00 (obv) and guarantees a prize pool of 1,250 Belt Points for the mere investment of 50 Spending Points.

With 20 players turning up for last night's inaugural event, there was a juicy 250 overlay in Belt Points. The man who took full advantage was Spencer dionysian Lawrence who etched his name in history as the first ever Nifty at Nine Champion.

As a result, he earned himself 500 Belt Points, meaning he's been credited with enough points to maintain Orange Belt - not bad for one night's work. Second place went to Andy RedKiteBlackBelt Brisland.

1st dionysian -- 500 Belt Points
2nd RedKiteBlackBelt -- 350 Belt Points
3rd ourkidsid -- 225 Belt Points
4th BobbersAllin -- 125 Belt Points
5th sprinterz -- 50 Belt Points

If you would like to play next week's event, then a token is currently available in the Black Belt Poker Store.

In the meantime, be sure to join us in tonight's League, as well as Wednesday's Mulligan in which another gift voucher will be on offer for the lucky winner.

To download the software, simply click here and follow the step-by-step process provided.

League XVII Starts Tomorrow

The Black Belt Poker League is once again upon us, and this time around we're giving you the opportunity to win an all-expenses paid trip to Dublin to play the 2013 Irish Open.

League XVII will run parallel with The 12 Days of Christmas promotion, in which players will be given numerous opportunities over the next seven weeks to win exclusive gift vouchers.

See here for more information.

Tomorrow night, at 19:30, we're providing you with the first chance to collate gift vouchers in the latest Black Belt Poker League.

The overall winner across the eight weekly legs will win 12 gift vouchers, meaning they'll get to play every single day of the promotion and have the optimum chance of winning the star prize.

Prizes in the League will be awarded as follows:

1st               12 Gift Vouchers
2nd              9 Gift Vouchers
3rd               8 Gift Vouchers
4th               7 Gift Vouchers
5th               6 Gift Vouchers
6th               5 Gift Vouchers
7th               4 Gift Vouchers
8th               3 Gift Vouchers
9th               2 Gift Vouchers
10th             1 Gift Voucher
11th-20th    100 Belt Points

We'll also be giving away a further 10 gift vouchers in the Second Chance SNG, in which all leg winners will battle it out until just one remains.

And if that wasn't enough, anyone who participates in all eight legs will automatically receive 200 Belt Points credited to their account, simply for turning up!

Gift vouchers will entitle players to free entry into the daily $5+0.50 $3,000 GTD tournament during the dates of December 06-17.

Dependent on how many times you cash, you will win one of a number of incredible prizes including the ultimate computer set up: desktop, tablet PC, and widescreen high-definition monitor.

Check out our promotions page for the full list of prizes.

Even if you don't cash, we'll send you a pair of socks to keep your feet warm. This means that even if you only earn one gift voucher, you'll still be guaranteed a prize!

Last time, Orange Belt Robbie Aryes captured the crown by the thinnest of margins, winning first prize of 2,500 Belt Points and the highly-sought after Black Belt Poker hoodie.

He has now etched his name in Black Belt Poker history; if you want to be next, then join us tomorrow for Leg 1.

To download the software, simply click here and follow the step-by-step process provided.

For more information on the Black Belt Poker League, see our promotions page.

Celebrate Christmas Early With Black Belt Poker

This year, Black Belt Poker are inviting you to fill your Christmas stocking early with our own version of the 12 Days of Christmas.

Forget swimming swans and French hens; this year you could feast on an array of incredible prizes including an all-expenses paid trip to the 2013 Irish Open.

Over the course of the next two months, we'll be presenting you with various opportunities to collect gift vouchers, such as placing in the new League or winning the weekly Deepstack Mulligan.
Each gift voucher entitles players to free entry into the daily $5+0.50 $3,000 GTD freeezeout between the dates of December 06-17 inclusive - Black Belt Poker's 12 Days of Christmas.

Prizes will then be awarded based on the number of times you make the money:

7 Cashes     Irish Open Main Event Package
6 Cashes     Ultimate Computer Set-Up
5 Cashes     Gaming Set-Up
4 Cashes     Widescreen HD Monitor
3 Cashes     Ergonomic Mouse
2 Cashes     Swissgear Laptop Bag
1 Cash        Gel Mouse Mouse
0 Cashes     Socks

Forget partridges and pear trees; with Black Belt Poker, each cash will take you one step closer to building your ultimate computer set-up with a desktop computer, HD widescreen monitor, and tablet.
And for the hardcore gamers out there, five cashes will win you a luxury gaming chair, Xbox, joypad and two games of your choosing.

But wait, there's more... If you thought you were going to avoid socks this year, then think again - nobody goes away empty-handed on Black Belt Poker. Even if you don't cash a single time, you'll still be guaranteed a prize!

However, if you manage to make it a magnificent seven, then you could be following in the footsteps of Neil Channing and James Mitchell as the next Irish Open Champion.

So why not skip the office party this year and come and unwrap Black Belt Poker's selection of gifts? 'Tis the season for giving, and we're about to spread some poker cheer during the winter period. Make sure you join us.

Check out our promotions page for more details, including terms and conditions.

Hasmukh Khodiyara Crowned Ninja King

Last week, Black Belt Poker introduced Ninja, an exclusive online series of six events with added value, bounties and a loyalty freeroll.

Following the success of the opening five events, the decision was made to increase the guarantee of the Main Event to $4,000, as well as guaranteeing 10 seats in the previous night's Mega satellite.

As a result, a total of 84 hopefuls separated with $50+5, including Black Belt Poker sponsored pros Neil Channing, Sam Razavi, Kevin Williams, Warren Wooldridge, and Ben Meredith.

However, when the cyber dust had settled and the virtual smoke cleared, it was Yellow Belt Hasmukh 45683ah Khodiyara who was crowned the inaugural Ninja Champion.

A 25-year old online pro from Leicester, Hasmukh joined the Black Belt Poker team back in Vegas in 2011 after taking down's iPoker's WSOP Warrior Master League. Less than 12 months later, he final-tabled the UKIPT in Nottingham for £62,500.

From Warrior to Ninja, Hasmukh collected $1,155 for his win, with Jeremy slapdash1248 Rickard earning $777 in second. Bronze went to Orange Belt Peter UliKoko Derrick who picked up $588.

Ninja got off to a jam-packed start as no fewer than 127 rolled up for the opening $10+1 event. The biggest winner outside of the Main Event was Alan tealSVU Steer who lapped up $741.16 in the $25+2.50 six-max.

As well as daily satellites, Ninja Week also witnessed the debut of the Nightly Nifty, a brand new tournament in which players were invited to spin up 50 Belt Points. Congratulations to Ka7ieVick and Ourkid888 who both won two events a piece.

On Monday, Ninja Champions, Main Event finalists, and anyone who participated in all six events were invited to compete for a host of cool prizes in our Full Ninja Freeroll, although those hoping for a signed photo of Neil Channing were left disappointed.

42 took their seats, with Paul 2LAMCHOP2 Lamonby taking top honours for a gaming chair. Second place finisher Malcolm lionrampant27 Sievwright won an Xbox - much to the delight of any young relatives - and Tim HammerHorror O'Mahoney received a luxury chip set for third.

Many thanks to everyone who played Ninja. The event was a huge success and we look forward to bringing you another series in the future. Don't forget to join us this Tuesday, October 16 for the return of the Black Belt Poker League.

Ninja Main Event:

1st  45683ah -- $1,155.00
2nd  slapdash1248 -- $777.00
3rd  UliKoko -- $588.00
4th  jfdiwins -- $399.00
5th  tomhot23 -- $294.00
6th  Snotterz -- $220.50
7th  nakgeela4 -- $178.50
8th  tristiano -- $147.00
9th  Werrrrd -- $126.00
10th  mavperth -- $105.00
11th  firaldo87bbp -- $105.00
12th  LuckyMonKKey -- $105.00

Ninja #1:

1st  Ka7ieVick -- $292.15
2nd  dizzybindon -- $203.20
3rd  MathersMagoo1 -- $154.30
4th  VBlueBBP -- $114.30
5th  paul6543 -- $76.20
6th  flipfone -- $63.50
7th  lionramapnt27 -- $50.80
8th  7onyB -- $38.10
9th  S0lution -- $31.75
10th  Mrdroodle -- $28.57
11th  HammerHorror -- $28.57
12th  turlim -- $28.57
13th  jfdiwins -- $27.30
14th  russellhansen -- $27.30
15th  LillJem -- $27.30
16th  insider66666 -- $26.03
17th  MajorMustard -- $26.03
18th  tristiano -- $26.03

Ninja #2:

1st  tealcSVU -- $741.16
2nd  jimmyt31 -- $471.62
3rd  bornTOflirt -- $336.87
4th  themackem1968 -- $251.12
5th  diamonby -- $177.62
6th  4KSuited -- $116.37
7th  ACarey -- $73.50
8th  DoobieFish7 -- $73.50
9th  UsainZeus88 -- $55.12
10th  dionysian -- $55.12
11th  BobbersAllin -- $49.00
12th  G3OFF -- $49.00

Ninja #3:

1st  StilettoMafiosa -- $387.76
2nd  tentofollow -- $260.85
3rd  BoraBoraBoy -- $197.40
4th  Snotterz -- $133.95
5th  0LuckBeerLady0 -- $98.70
6th  mikeymixitup -- $74.02
7th  paul6543 -- $59.92
8th  TeeDeeEye1 -- $49.35
9th  2LAMCHOP2 -- $42.30
10th  dionysian -- $35.25
11th  SPONSORMEPLS2009 -- $35.25
12th  ChipRead77 -- $35.25

Ninja #4:

1st  UsainZeus88 -- $228.26
2nd  jfdiwins -- $153.55
3rd  TableKnight -- $116.20
4th  lionrampant27 -- $78.85
5th  HammerHorror -- $58.10
6th  adygolf -- $43.57
7th  G3OFF -- $35.27
8th  nickhem1 -- $29.05
9th  shaolin4aces -- $24.90
10th  doochats -- $20.75
11th  themackem1968 -- $20.75
12th  slapdash1248 -- $20.75

Ninja #5:

1st  themackem1968 -- $226.52
2nd  Mrdroodle -- $151.00
3rd  PaddyLemon -- $113.25
4th  7onyB -- $75.50
5th  pbsef81 -- $56.62
6th  13kendo13 -- $41.52
7th  0LuckBeerLady0 -- $33.97
8th  DareUCallMe -- $30.20
9th  blackbeltninja -- $26.42

Full Ninja Freeroll:

1st 2LAMCHOP2 -- Luxury Gaming Chair
2nd lionrampant27 -- Xbox 360
3rd HammerHorror -- Black Belt Poker Chip Set
4th Ka7ieVick -- Aston Martin Mouse
5th Snotterz -- Flying Alarm Clock
6th CareybearBBP -- USB Fridge
7th livinginhope2 -- Book: Mental Game of Poker
8th bornTOflirt -- Whiskey Stones
9th Barty1uk -- Card Shuffler

Nighty Nifty Winners:

Monday - bornTOflirt
Tuesday - Ourkid888
Wednesday -Ourkid888
Thursday - Ka7ieVick
Friday - Sarannedipity
Saturday - 2LAMCHOP2
Sunday - Ka7ieVick

Ninja Week Kicks Off In Style

Ninja got off to a fast and furious start last night as 127 hopefuls took to the cyber felt for the opening event.

The buy-in was $10+1, and the field included Neil Channing, Jamie Burland, and recent LAPT Panama finalist Sam Razavi.

The eventual winner was 'Ka7ieVick', who defeated 'dizzybindon' heads-up to become the first ever Ninja Champion.

'Ka7ieVick' also eliminated host, bounty and recent Nottingham Live II Champion Kevin Williams to earn free entry into Sunday's Main Event.

The final results were as follows:

1st Ka7ieVick -- $292.15
2nd dizzybindon -- $203.20
3rd MathersMagoo1 -- $154.30
4th VBlueBBP -- $114.30
5th paul6543 -- $76.20
6th flipfone -- $63.50
7th lionramapnt27 -- $50.80
8th 7onyB -- $38.10
9th S0lution -- $31.75
10th Mrdroodle -- $28.57
11th HammerHorror -- $28.57
12th turlim -- $28.57
13th jfdiwins -- $27.30
14th russellhansen -- $27.30
15th LillJem -- $27.30
16th insider66666 -- $26.03
17th MajorMustard -- $26.03
18th tristiano -- $26.03

Running near-parallel to Ninja was an equally inaugural event: Nightly Nifty. Despite smashing the guarantee with 38 players, Black Belt Poker added 250 Belt Points to the prize pool.

After a back and forth heads-up battle, it was former League Champion Mark 'bornTOflirt' Atkinson who took full advantage:

1st bornTOflirt -- 860 Belt Points
2nd pauloc3 -- 602 Belt Points
3rd dizzybindon -- 387 Belt Points
4th nicenutter -- 215 Belt Points
5th Barty1uk -- 86 Belt Points

The Nightly Nifty is braced to return again tonight at 20:30, so if you fancy a spin-up from 50 Belt Points, then purchase your token now from the Black Belt Poker Store. The tournament can be located via the lobby under Scheduled > Black Belt Tournaments.

Congratulations to 'mavperth', 'THISandTHAT2', and '4KindSuited' for earning entry into Ninja #2 via last night's satellite. If you would like play Ninja for a reduced price, then make sure you check out our Ninja #3 satellite tonight at 21:00. The buy-in is $3+0.30.

Good luck to everyone playing Ninja #2 tonight. The starting whistle sounds at 20:00, with a buy-in of $25+2.50. Remember, this is a six-max tournament, so the action should come thick and fast.
See our promotions page for more info.