A week before Halloween, Event #6 was filled with unusual occurrences. The night started slow for Kevin An., a two-time champ of the defunct Wedgerock Poker Tourney. Despite a rebuy, he still finished dead last. Matt Pe. also finished unusually low; after three final tables -- two being cashes -- in his first three events, his night ended with an 18th place finish. Sean O, and Angie S. were the next two out in 17th and 16th respectively.
A couple of members of the $2000 club, Bill B. (15th) and Eric Wel. (14th), both saw their nights come to an end earlier than they would have liked. Pat M. followed his September cash with a disappointing 13th place finish. The eliminations of Jim O. (12th), Jim S. (11th) and Lolly O (10th)., left nine players to form the final table.
Eric Wej. was forced to rebuy early and massaged his chipstack to the final table, but he was the first one out at the final table with a 9th place finish. Brian H. dropped out in 8th followed by newcomer Jason Ta. in 7th. Jason Tr. ended his night on a 6th place finish. But perhaps the most unusual finish of the night was Mike T. busting on the bubble in 5th., ending his run of four straight cashes (earning himself almost a grand over the three-month run).
As the bubble burst, Keith K., Nick G., Anita G. and Jeff R. were left to battle it out for first place; Everyone except Anita G. was already in the top 3 in season points. Jeff R. was the first to be eliminated, earning $90 and enough points to maintain 3rd place overall (down from 2nd). Keith K. finished a respectable 3rd, matching his highest finish in a regular season tournament and earning him $120 in the process. More importantly, Keith jumped 7 spots to seventh place in overall points, meaning if the season ended today, he'd have a seat at the Championship table. Keith's elimination left Nick G. and Anita G. to go heads-up for the top honor.
In the past, headsup play has ended rather quickly. But with these two opponents, it was a knock-down, drag-out battle. While some husbands/wives might be accused of soft-playing one another, both Nick and Anita will readily admit that they play each other more aggressively, neither wanting to concede bragging rights to the other. Nick held a commanding chip lead for most of heads-up play, refusing to get involved in too big of pots when he didn't have the cards. Finally, when Anita hit top pair with an overcard on the flop and pushed all in, Nick called with his overpair. The turn and river both brought bricks and Nick walked away with first place.
With her second place finish, Anita jumped two spots to 4th place overall. Nick's win allowed him to surpass Jeff R. for 3rd place overall, trailing only Mike T. in overall points. The final four from Event #6 could well be a preview of April's Championship table, and the battle between Nick and Mike T. for the Player of the Year title just got a little more interesting.
Complete results can be viewed here: www.wedgerock.com/fishnchips
Congrats again to Nick G!
~Eric Wej.
