Saturday 27 October 2012

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

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