Starting this season, the Championship starting stacks were increased to 3X up from the last three season's 2X. As always, 25% of the total chips in play were awarded back to each players 3X starting stack as bonus chips. The amount each player got was based on their cumulative season point total. This was also the first Championship where the F&CPT T100k blinds structure would not be used. The T20k structure would be used instead. And with the tournament lasting 8 hours last season with 2X stacks, the start time was rolled back 2 hours earlier due to the 3X stacks.
For the second year in a row, the Championship was hosted at a venue other than Ingram where the first three Championships were held. Hidden Court West was awarded the honor this season.
And for the second straight season, all blind levels in the Championship were extended to 30 minutes in length throughout the entire tournament.
The theme for the fifth F&CPT Championship was Game of Thrones. The basement of HCW was perfect for this theme. Each player had a banner hanging of them representing their respective "house".
These images were included in the event poster.
The existing four F&CPT Champion Banners were also displayed.
Customized GOT beer bottles that doubled as candle stick holders were a very nice touch.
The seating assignments were randomly drawn and the starting stacks were as follows:
- Jim O. 71,600
- Sean O. 76,200
- Bill B. 82,200
- Fran D. 76,000
- Chris S. 74,300
- Jason Ta. 73,700
- Jim H. 73,900
- Keith K. 73,100
- Nick G. 74,100
Jason Tr. and Marc H. volunteered to split the dealing duties. The opening deal went out at 5PM sharp! However only 6 of the 9 players were present.
Keith overslept, Chris was running late from a family function and Fran drove to Ingram thinking the Championship was there instead. Unfortunately HCW is about 40 minutes from Ingram, so he called and said he'd be a little late.
An hour into the tournament, play was relatively tight and uneventful. By that time, all three missing players had arrived.
After level 3, (the hour and a half mark), players were on break for dinner. Nobody was short-stacked nor was anyone the chip leader by a large margin.
Play resumed in level 4 with blinds at 400/800 and continued into level 5 when the tournament had it's first announced "all-in".
With blinds at 500/1,000/100, Sean re-raised Jim H's initial raise who then tanked. After a minute of thinking, Jim called and revealed pocket kings. Sean also rolled over pocket kings. The board was dealt and proved to be meaningless and both players chopped the pot.
Play advanced to level 9 where blinds reached 1,200/2,400/400. Up to this point, Sean had lost roughly 20k from his starting stack and was recently card dead. UTG, Bill raised to 7,500 and the action folded to Sean who looked down at Qs-Qc. Sean announced all-in for 58k and Bill quickly called revealing pocket kings. Sean showed his queens and hoped for the deck to hit him. The 8d-6s-As flop kept Bill in the lead. The 10s turn gave Sean several additional outs in the form of a flush draw as neither of Bill's kings were a spade. But the Jh river didn't connect and Sean was out in 9th place.
At the conclusion of level 9, the players went on their 3rd break and the chip counts were as follows:
- Jim O. 71,000
- Bill B. 168,400
- Fran D. 27,700
- Chris S. 150,500
- Jason Ta. 48,400
- Jim H. 47,500
- Keith K. 69,300
- Nick G. 95,000
Bill and Chris were really starting to separate themselves from the rest of the pack with their enormous stacks. And action would really heat-up in the next level where blinds reached 1,600/3,200/500 and a total of three players would be eliminated. But none of these eliminations were at the hands of Chris or Bill. Instead, it would be Jim O. and Keith who would see their stacks more than double.
Jim H. was sitting with 48k when Chris raised behind him for 8,500. The season three Champ looked down at pocket 9's and announced he was all-in. To Chris' dismay, Keith in late position announced that he was all-in for 80k. Chris mucked his cards and Keith revealed Jh-Jd whilst Jim showed 9c-9s. Chris then announced to the table that he mucked A-K and that it would have been the winner. The 6c-8c-Ah flop would have had Chris in the lead if he did in fact have A-K. But it didn't matter and Keith's jacks were best so far. The 5d on the turn eliminated a flush possibility for Jim who was down to a 9 or a 7 for a GSSD. But is wasn't meant to be as the 2h came instead and Jim exited in 8th place.
In the same level, Jason Ta. moved-in for 42,500 total hoping to pick up the precious blinds and antes. Jim O. looked him up with As-10s. Jason tabled Ac-8c and was dominated. The 7c-2s-5s flop further gave Jim the advantage with a flush draw. The 10h turn sealed it for Jim. The meaningless 7d river was dealt and Jason bowed out in 7th place.
Again in the same level, Fran moved his very short-stack of 26,700 in the middle holding 5h-5s. He got a caller in Jim O. who revealed Kc-Qd and the race was on. The Kh-8s-4d flop quickly put Jim in front and Fran on the brink of elimination. The turn brought the 9c which was no help. The 3s river card offered no assistance and Fran hit the rail in 6th place.
The five remaining players played through level 11 (2k/4k/600) and then through the completion of level 12 (2.4k/4.8k/800) to a 10 minute break. The chip counts were now:
- Jim O. 170,000
- Bill B. 86,600
- Chris S. 157,100
- Keith K. 186,100
- Nick G. 79,000
Keith was now the chip leader however Jim and Chris were right behind him. Bill and Nick manned the short stacks.
Five-handed play resumed in level 13 (3k/6k/900) and continued into level 14 where blinds reached a staggering 4k/8k/1.2k when the tournament's next elimination came.
Bill managed to pump his stack up a little after the break, however he once again found himself card dead and bleeding chips with the increasing blinds and antes. He elected to take a stand when Nick raised to 18k in front of him by jamming all-in for 76.5k holding Ks-Qd. Nick made the quick call and showed Ad-Kh. The 3c-6s-4s flop kept Nick in the lead with ace-high. The 5d turn eliminated a spade flush draw for Bill but gave him outs to tie with an OESD on the board. The 6c turn card brought no help for Bill and last season's Champ exited in 5th place.
Play continued in level 14 and Keith really started feeling the effects of fatigue as the tournament was now in it's 8th hour. He looked down at As-3s UTG and decided to pushed for 140k. Nick was next to act and thought about it for a moment before moving-in over the top for a little more. Jim and Chris got out of the way and Nick showed Ad-Jc which completely dominated his opponent. The 5h-Qd-Qs flop further widened Nick's lead. The 10s turn did give Keith a spade flush draw with one card to come. But the 9d appeared instead and Keith was out on the bubble in 4th place. Nick scooped the huge pot and was now the chip leader with roughly 280k.
Three-handed play between Chris, Nick and Jim began with blinds still at 4k/8k/1.2k. Jim was on the short-stack with roughly 100k. We were now in the money! The next player eliminated was guaranteed $335 for 3rd place.
Over the course of several hands in the same level, Nick continued to put pressure on his opponents with his big stack. Then, arguably the biggest hand of the tournament was dealt.
After raising to 18k on the button with Ah-5h, Nick was re-raised by Jim who was all-in for 90k. Nick made the call and quickly realized he was dominated when Jim revealed Ac-10d. Jim was poised for a much needed double-up. The 9s-2d-Js flop kept Jim in front at a 77% to 14% advantage. But as fate would have it, the 5s fell on the turn thus turning the tables and now giving Nick a 93% probability of winning the hand. The 4s river card was a blank for Jim and he was out in 3rd place.
Head's-up play between Chris and Nick began with blinds still at 4k/8k/1.2k and with 8:02 remaining in the level. Both players agreed to forgo the ante. Nick had 450,000 to Chris' 240,600.
Both players played through the 4k/8k level and into level 15 where blinds reached 5k/10k. Nick continued to apply pressure by forcing his opponent out of a handful of large pots. Chris would make a PF raise only to be re-raised and then fold or if a flop was dealt, it wasn't connecting with his holdings and he was forced to fold to Nick's bet.
Another hand was dealt and both players called and checked the option. A flop of 5c-Kh-8h was dealt. Nick led out with a bet of 15k. Chris thought about it for a moment and then announced that he was all-in. Nick paused for a few seconds, stated "call" and flipped over Qh-5h for a pair of 5's and a heart flush draw. Chris revealed 6s-7d for an OESD. Nick was a 71% to 29% favorite taking away the 9h and 4h as outs for Chris. The Qc turn paired Nick's queen giving him two-pair and leaving Chris drawing to just 6 outs. He was down, but not out. If Chris could pull it off and double-up, it would give him enough ammo to easily put a hurting on his opponent. The river card was dealt. It was the 6h which filled Nick's flush. Season Five now had it's Champion!
Unlike the previous four season championship's, an 8 did not appear in the winning hand.
Nick's roots do indeed go deep as his wife and father-in-law are previous F&CPT Champions.
Congratulations Nick on your 2013-2014 Fish & Chips Poker Tour Championship!
On behalf of the F&CPT Tournament Directors, I would like to thank all those who participated this season and we look forward to seeing you in Season Six!
~Jason Tr.
