The first two editions of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series each had eight events plus the granddaddy of them all, the Main Event. The third and fourth FTOPS tournament series each sported nine events plus a Main Event that had a prize pool of over $1.5 million. The fifth FTOPS was the biggest mover and shaker, by far, growing to include 14 total events. The Main Event eclipsed the $2 million prize pool mark for the first time. In fact, five FTOPS V events had a prize pool of at least seven figures, marking one of the largest online poker tournament series ever held. The big winner was CrazyZachary, who entered the final table of the FTOPS V Main Event fourth in chips, but kept putting the heat on others at the final table to take home $395,905.44.
Clayton_27 finished second in the FTOPS V Main Event, but lost two key hands down the stretch that cost him $150,000 in cash; Clayton_27 pocketed $240,345.00. He lost a race with pocket sevens against CrazyZachary’s A-Q and then shoved with A-9 against CrazyZachary’s queens. The latter hand ended the tournament. Two other players at the final table cashed for over $100,000: chardrian finished third for $155,652.00 and MFjimmyLOWRY placed fourth for $121,317.00. Despite the buy-in of $535, a whopping 4,578 players entered, meaning the field was larger than many found at gigantic live events like the World Series of Poker. Other players who cashed included PearlJammed (36th), Full Tilt pro Steve Brecher (58th), foshio (109th), and MUPokerPlayer (120th). Brecher made a final table at the 1999 WSOP.
There was no shortage of high-stakes action in the fifth FTOPS. Event #12 was a $2,620 buy-in tournament. Sounds expensive, right? For the 648 players that either coughed up two grand or won a satellite, $1.6 million was up for grabs. Grndhg25 took home victory, cashing for $396,900. He battled Viktor, who nabbed $247,050. The event lasted two days, as players started with 5,000 chips and faced blind levels that increased every 30 minutes. The final 78 players moved onto the second day of the most expensive online poker tournament offered on Full Tilt to date. The top five players cashed for six figures.
The final $1,000+ buy-in tournament was Event #7, won by Round42. There were 1,282 entrants into this $1,050 event, meaning Round42 took home a healthy $262,169. Reds20 was the runner up in Event #7 of the FTOPS, taking home $173,070. Smokinokun was the third and final player in this event to win more than $100,000; he took home $121,790 for third place.
Event #1 is typically the second largest FTOPS tournament in terms of the number of entrants to the Main Event. The fifth FTOPS was no exception. Event #1, a $216 no limit hold’em tournament, brought in 4,165 players, setting the tone for the days to come. Kadabra emerged victorious, winning $147,099.47 for his efforts, a nice payout on a $216 investment. GBecks, who won Event #5 of FTOPS V, cashed in 43rd place.
Full Tilt Poker players would have to wait just a few short months before the sixth installment of the FTOPS rolled around. The result: 16 tournaments including a massive turnout for the Main Event.