Hook, line and Champion!

Ingram - Jim S. defeated Matt Pe. in a 20 minute head's-up battle early Sunday morning and became champion of the 2010-2011 Fish 'N' Chips Poker Tour!

Each player started the tournament with T200,000 in chips (double the starting stack from last season) and T450,000 chips were awarded as a bonus based on each players' cumulative season points. Seats were assigned randomly and the stacks looked like this:

Seat 1: Matt Pe., 254,500
Seat 2: John M., 248,000

Seat 3: Jim S., 253,000

Seat 4: Bill B., 226,500

Seat 5: Jason Ta., 248,000

Seat 6: Jason Tr., 267,500

Seat 7: Jim H., 245,000

Seat 8: Nick G., 259,500
Seat 9: Eric Wej., 249,500

The cards flew at 7:03 P.M. sharp sans Matt Pe. who arrived about an hour into the tournament. Matt's late arrival was by design as he prefers to avoid the very early stages of tournament play.

Unlike last year's Championship, no players were eliminated in the first blind level. Pots remained relatively small until John M. picked up pocket kings in middle position in level 3 with blinds at 1.5k/3k. John called off over 150k of his stack on the hand to Eric's 2 pair.

Jim H. was the first player to announce "all-in" when his dwindling chip stack became dangerously low. Jim managed to pick up a few pots here and there until he called a 19k raise PF by "Buffalo" Bill with blinds at 3k/6k/500 holding A-Q. Bill checked the A-rag-rag flop and Jim quickly pushed. Bill insta-called and revealed A-K. The turn and river brought no help for Jim as he became the evening's first elimination.

Nick G. remained relatively quiet and card dead through the first 6 levels, slowly bleeding chips. Then he picked up pocket kings. After Jim S. called his raise with Q-J and flopped a queen, he quickly called Jim's all-in and found himself well in the lead. Unfortunately Jim rivered a jack and doubled up through Nick. Nick's stack was reduced to 88.5k. However, on the very next hand Nick managed to double up through "Buffalo" Bill when his A-K bettered Bill's A-10.

John M. was eliminated in 8th place. Eric reaised PF to 38,000 and John re-popped it to 80,000; Eric thought briefly and called. The flop came 10d-Qh-3c; Eric checked, John pushed all-in and Eric quickly made the call, revealing pocket queens for a flopped set. John revealed his death knell for the tournament, pocket kings. The Ah turn and 4d river were no help and John was out.

Jason Ta. found himself on the rail when he pushed his last 107k in PF with the Qs-Js. He got a caller in Jim S. with pocket 10's. The A-3-3-K-6 board missed Jason and he was eliminated in 7th place.

This season's "Player of the Year" Jason Tr. started the tournament with the chip lead. Unfortunately, just like last season, the lead proved to be no advantage. Card dead for a majority of the night, Jason found himself folding, retreating and like Broomcorn's uncle, getting blinded away. With blinds at a staggering 7k/15k/2k, Jason woke up with pocket jacks UTG. He moved his stack of 122k in and was called by Jim S. who turned over A-K. The flop brought an ace, the turn and river brought no help and Jason was out in 6th place.

Nick's chip stack roller coaster ride came to an end with 19 minutes remaining in level 9 with blinds at 10k/20k/3k. Bill in the SB raised to 40k. Nick holding A-5 in the BB called. The A-Q-4 flop produced a 70k bet from Bill. Nick moved in for an additional 158k. Bill called and revealed A-9. The turn and river brought blanks, Bill's 9 played and Nick was out in 5th place.

4 handed play started in the 10k/20k/3k level with Jim holding a slight chip lead over Matt and Eric and Bill on the short stack. However "Buffalo" Bill took a stand defending his short stack and picked up the blinds and antes with a few well timed all-in's which continued into the 20k/40k/6k level. This was until Jim min-raised to 80k and Bill re-raised all-in for 196k all day with the Kh-Jh. Jim called and turned over Ad-9s. The 6d-2c-10c-5d-4h board stayed clean for Jim who took the pot with ace high. Bill was eliminated on the bubble in 4th place.

Just 3 minutes into the 20k/40k/6k level, Eric completed the small blind and instead of checking his option, Matt shoved. Eric called showing A-T spades, slightly better than a 2:1 favorite over Matt's Kh-3d. But the flop brought Matt salvation in the form of Kd-8s-7d and a 4:1 lead in the hand. The 9h on the turn and the 4d on the river didn't help Eric, as he sent a 600,000 pot Matt's way, leaving himself with less than 200k in chips.

Eric managed to claw his way into the next level where blinds reached 25k/50k/7k. With only 54k left in his stack and in the BB, Eric checked his option after calls from Jim and Matt. The triple club flop was checked by all three players. Jim lead out with 100,000 on the turn; Eric called his last 4k and Matt folded. Jim revealed the 10c-7c for the flopped flush. Eric mucked his king in disgust and was out in 3rd place.

Head's-up play between Jim and Matt started with 21:27 remaining in the 20k/40k/6k level with Jim holding an approximate 3:2 chip lead over his opponent. Both players exchanged pots, none very significant, over the course of 20 minutes until the final hand of the tournament came up. Matt raised to 200k PF and Jim called. The flop brought the 7h-Tc-9s. Matt moved all-in and Jim quickly called. Matt turned over Kc-7d for middle pair. Jim revealed the Ah-8s for ace high and an open ended straight draw. The Jd turn filled Jim's straight giving him the lead. Matt's only hope was a three outer 8 on the river to pair the board and chop the pot. But the meaningless 7s came instead and gave Jim the second plaque on the FNCPT Championship Trophy.

Congratulations to Matt on a strong finish in the regular season (back to back wins in Event's 10 and 11) and his second place finish in the Championship. Despite missing 4 of the 11 regular season events this season, Matt still managed a 3rd place overall finish in the standings.

Congratulations, Jim, on your 2010-2011 Fish 'N' Chips Poker Tour victory!

~ Jason Tr.

"Buffalo" Bill claims Qualifier and final Championship seat

Berwick - "Buffalo" Bill B. defeated Anita G. in a epic head's-up battle late Saturday night to claim victory in this season's winner take all Championship Qualifier. With his win, Bill earn's the 9th and final seat in this season's Championship! The seating positions and starting stacks were as follows:

1. Kevin An. 24,200


2. Pat M. 25,900


3. Lolly O. 24,900


4. Chris S. 24,400


5. Anita G. 26,100


6. Bill B. 23,800


7. Sean O. 26,100


8. Jim O. 25,300


9. Angie S. 24,800

Kevin An. Eliminated in 9th Place
Last season's Championship Qualifier winner Kevin An. was up and down through the first blind level and got it all in after flopping 2 pair. Unfortunately for Kevin, he got a caller in Jim O. who flopped a set of 4's which proved to be the winner.

Anita Scoops Huge Pot
Anita and Jim O. exchanged huge bets and calls all the way down to the river on a board of Qh-10h-3s-Jd-9d with blinds at 1k-2k. Anita revealed Q-J for 2 pair whilst Jim turned over A-J for a pair of jacks. Anita scooped the 20k pot.

Chris S. Eliminated in 8th Place
Chris moved in his last 11.2k with A-Q. Pat called with pocket 4's. The board brought no help for Chris and he was sent to the rail in 8th place.

Sean O. Crippled By Angie's Rivered Wheel
With blinds still at 1k-2k, Sean is reduced to just a few thousand chips when his pocket 5's succumb to Angie's 2nd rivered wheel straight of the night.

Sean Survives
Blinds are still 1k-2k and Sean is all-in PF for 3,800. He is called by Lolly who shows A-Q. Sean reveals A-K which holds up.

Sean O. Eliminated in 7th Place
Shortly after his double-up, Sean is all-in for 6,800 in middle position after waking up with pocket queens. It's folded to Pat in the BB who mulls it over for a moment before calling for 4,800 more and turning over 9-10. Sean leads on the rag flop, however in sickening fashion, a running 9 and 10 on the turn and river give Pat 2 pair and seals Sean's fate who is out in 7th place.

Lolly O. Eliminated in 6th Place
On a short stack of 3,800, Lolly moved it in with blinds at 1.2k-2.4k and gets calls from Bill, Angie and Pat. All players check it to the river on the 4s-5d-4d-As-Kh board where Pat bets 6k and Bill promptly folds. Angie calls and flips over A-Q. Pat and Lolly muck and Angie takes the pot.

Bill, Anita & Jim's Chip Stacks Grow
Between playing a few hands at the cash table on scheduled breaks, "Buffalo" Bill slowly but surely builds his chip stack. So does Anita and Jim O. With blinds at 1,600-3,200, the 3 players hold a majority of the chips in play.

Pat "Ninja" M. Eliminated in 5th Place
Despite being pumped up earlier in the tournament, Pat "Ninja" M. found himself short stacked on a board of 2c-9c-Kc-Jc with top pair and a weak kicker. He pulled the trigger on the Jc turn for his last 13.8k and was called by Anita who also had a king but with a slightly better kicker. But it didn't matter as the 3c river gave Anita a king-high flush and sent Pat away in 5th place.

Jim O. Eliminated in 4th Place
With blinds at 1,600-3,200, Jim O. made his move on the Kc-Qc-8s flop with Kd-6d for 30k. "Buffalo" Bill insta-calls and shows Kh-Qs for top 2 pair. The 5d turn and 2s river bring no help for Jim who finds himself eliminated in 4th place.

Angie S. Eliminated in 3rd Place
Angie managed to survive elimination twice in the tournament on the river and in the process built up her chip stack to establish some fold equity against her opponents. But over the course of several hands, she found herself card dead and retreating to the raises of the opposition. With blinds at 1,600-3,200, she faced a raise to 8k by "Buffalo" Bill. She raised all-in for 25k more with Ah-8s and was called by Bill who revealed As-10s. The 7c-9s-4c-Jc-2c brought her kicker trouble and she was out in 3rd place.

Hour and Fourty Five Minute Head's-Up Match Begins
Head's-up play between Bill and Anita began with 15:41 remaining in level 11 (2k-4k) and with Bill holding a 2-1 chip lead over his opponent. Bill had approximately 150k to Anita's 75k. Both players battled back and forth. Bill had Anita down to under 30k twice, but in each instance, Anita managed to double-up and regain life. In several consecutive hands, the player in the SB would fold or the BB would raise the call of the SB and the SB would promptly fold or vice versa. Just when Anita appeared to be on the brink of elimination, she would get Bill to fold and gain much needed chips. This continued until blinds reached a staggering 6k-12k.

Anita G. Eliminated in 2nd Place On the final hand of the tournament, and with only 44 seconds left in the 6k-12k blind level, Anita was all-in for just under 30k after hitting top pair on a 5h-4c-Jd flop holding the Js-9s. Bill quickly called and revealed the 4h-5s for a flopped 2 pair. The Kh turn and 2c river brought no help for Anita and she was out.

With his win, Bill earns the 9th and final seat in this season's Championship event. Ironically, Bill didn't qualify for the Qualifier. Due to vacationing out of state, last season's POTY Mike T. had to withdraw from the tournament. Bill was next in the standings and accepted the invite. This is one invite Bill would not regret.

~Jason Tr.