The blue table took a more calculated approach, there were big hands played but no dominant chip leader emerged from the brawl. After the first break, Kevin An. continued to build his stack on the red table, while Matt Pe. was methodically adding to a stack of his own on the blue table. Both tables ran down to five players and eventually Angie S. went out and the final table joined.
It was a quick stay at the final table for Anita G., Tom W., and Jeff R., who were knocked out one after another, completely clearing out one side of the table. Newcomer John M. hung around as the short stack a little longer, but eventually succumbed to the big fish at the table. A battle then ensued. As Kevin An. still stood strong, Matt Pe., Nick G., Sean O., and Mike T., duked it out. There were many big pots played, but eventually Mike T. took out Sean O. who went all in with a small pocket pair and finished on the bubble.
Nick G. almost caught up in chips to Kevin An. through many hands. He went up against Kevin An. and lost to a king high flush, making Nick G. the fourth place finisher. As the blinds increased quickly, Matt Pe. lost to Mike T. in a race for second. Kevin An. and Mike T. then went at it head to head.
Many pots were exchanged back and forth between the two and the blinds made it up to 2,000/4,000 with a 200 ante. In a classic match-up the winner finally emerged. Mike T. went all-in pre-flop with As-Kd and Kevin An. quickly called with 7h-7d.
The flop came out 5c-7s-2h, Kevin A. catching trips. A glimmer of hope for Mike T. came on the turn as an Ah was flipped over, but a 4c came on the river and Kevin A. took home 1st.
Congratulations to Kevin A. and see you all in August!
~Anita
