Ingram - Chris S. managed to outlast head's-up opponent Keith K. to claim the Fish & Chips Poker Tour's Season Six regular season finale early Sunday morning.
For the third consecutive season, the final scheduled event was a triple-stack freeze-out with a first place 17.32 points up for grabs. 19 regular players reserved their seats in advance. Jim H. was the only regular out who was replaced by substitute Drew M.
Prior to the start of the tournament, all 20 regular player's Final Table Showdown cards were opened. To nobody's surprise, Lolly O. who was one of only 2 players who held an impressive 8 cards took the $156 prize with a 7-J straight. Congrats Lolly!
On a side note, what was even more impressive than Jim or Lolly drawing 8 cards each this season for the FTS was the fact both Nick and Anita arrived a full 25 minutes before the start of the tournament!
The opening deals went out just after 6:15 PM.
Level 4 (Blinds 2k/4k)- Jason Tr. was the evening's first elimination despite needing a deep run in the event. After losing approximately 1/3 of his starting stack, Jason called a re-raise of 16k by Mike M. to John's original 8k raise. John then three-bet to 50k and Mike called. Jason (feeling lucky) made the call holding 7c-8c. The flop was 5s-6s-3h. John bet 50k and Mike called. Jason then moved all-in for 150k. John tanked for nearly 2 minutes before making the call. Mike pondered it for 30 seconds and then open folded pocket queens. John quickly revealed pocket kings and Jason turned over his draw. An ace on the turn and a queen on the river sealed the deal for John and Jason was qualifier bound for the third straight season.
- Drew M. was surprisingly the tournament's next elimination (19th place) after getting wrapped up in a hand with none other than John. After everyone limped (3 players), a flop of J-5-2 was dealt. Jason Ta. bet 12k and John called. Drew then raised to 42k. John then moved all-in and Jason folded. Drew made the call and John tabled a set of deuces. Drew showed J-5 for two pair. An ace on the turn and a 7 on the river brought no help for Drew and he was out. Coming into the tournament, Drew was 16th in the standings with a seat in the qualifier. But with an early exit, would he be able to stay above 17th place? Read on to find out.
- Jim O. was out in 18th place after tangling in a hand with Mike M. It was just one of those nights for Jim Saturday evening. After limping with Chris B. and Mike M, the flop came out 7-8-9. Jim shoved for his last 60k with pocket 8's for middle set and said, "Mike, don't f*%k me". Mike responded by saying "I'm f*%king you!" and revealed 10-J for a flopped straight. A queen on the turn and a king on the river added insult to injury and Jim hit the rail. Jim will now compete in his second consecutive Championship next month.
- Lolly O. was eliminated in 17th place after raising to 30k holding A-K and Keith calling. A flop of K-4-? was dealt and Lolly quickly moved all-in. Keith called revealing pocket 4's for a flopped set. The turn and river missed and Lolly was out of the "April 8" and qualifier bound. Notes on the elimination sheet included "Lolly called and then it sucked!".
- Chris B. was out next (16th place) after flopping bottom set on a flop of 8c-2s-4c and pushing all-in for 174k ahead of John M's 100k raise. John called and revealed Kc-Kh and was behind big time. The Ac turn made John four-to-the-flush. And as fate would have it, the Jc fell on the river giving John a king-high flush and the elimination. Chris will now have to earn his Championship seat via the qualifier.
- Angie S. bowed out in 15th place after pushing all-in for her last 38.5k and Keith making the call with 8s-7c (Keith already had 10k in the pot). Angie revealed Ad-Jd. The flop was 5s-2s-Ks. The turn was the 4s filling Keith's spade flush draw and leaving Angie drawing dead. The meaningless Qc river was dealt and Angie was out with 2.17 points giving her a season ending total of 55.17 points. Would it be enough to earn this season's Player of the Year honor? Read on to find out.
- Eric W. was another qualifier bound player looking for a deep run to crack the top 8. But his S6E11 journey came to an abrupt end when he ran into a buzz saw at the hand of Chris S. Chris raised to 20k preflop and both Eric and Fran called. A flop of 9-10-? was dealt. Chris then bet 20k and Eric called while Fran folded. Another 9 appeared on the turn. Chris then bet 35k and Eric called. And yet another 9 came on the river. Chris then bet 150k and Eric pushed all-in for 9k more. Chris made the quick call and showed A-9 for quad nines. Eric flipped over A-7 and hit the rail awaiting the cash game. Eric is now qualifier bound for the second consecutive season.
- Bill B. had a chance to capture his second consecutive POY honor with a first place finish. Unfortunately he was dispatched in 13th place after he was all-in preflop with A-Q and was called by John M's pocket cowboys. The A-K-4 flop hit both players, but John's set was best. The turn and river brought no help and Bill was out. Bill will appear in his third consecutive Championship (fifth overall) next month.
- Nick G. (last season's Champion) was another player looking for a top finish Saturday evening to try and crack 8th place in the standings. But it ended when he was eliminated in 12th place. After raising for his last 98k preflop with As-3s, Nick got gentlemen callers in Mike T. and Marc H. A flop of 10-9-2 (1 spade) came out. The checked turn was the 7s giving Nick four-to-the-flush. The checked river was a non-spade queen. Marc showed pocket 6's whilst Mike revealed Q-J for a winning pair of queens. It's now off to the qualifier for Nick.
- Anita G. was 4th in the overall standings coming into the regular season finale Saturday evening and was a lock to appear in her first Championship since Season 1. Ironically, the last time she appeared in a Championship event, she won it! If she managed to pull out a win Saturday night, she would earn enough points to claim this season's POY. But she would have to settle for 11th place after she pushed for her last 175k with A-K and got called by Kevin A's pocket 10's. The flop and turn brought all cards that were below a 10. A queen on the river sealed it for Kevin and Anita was out. She will now compete in her 2nd Championship next month.
- Fran D. was eliminated in 10th place thus forming the final table. There was no elimination information recorded for Fran. Coming into the event, Fran was in 15th place and all but a lock for the qualifier. But he actually fell in the standings after the dust cleared early Sunday morning. Read on to find out where he ended up.
- Marc H. was clinging on to the final spot in the qualifier coming into Saturday night. He needed a deep finish just to hold on to a qualifier seat. Despite making the final table, he would be the first one eliminated from in in 9th place. After going all-in over-the-top of Chris S's preflop raise of 68k for 350k with pocket 10's, Chris made the call with A-Q. A flop of K-J-8 was dealt keeping Marc in the lead. But an ace came on the turn leaving Marc drawing dead. Read on to find out where Marc ended up in the overall standings.
- Jason Ta. was another player who was in the running for this season's POY coming into Saturday night. If he could finish 2nd in the tournament, he would earn the honor. But he would have to settle for 8th. Jason found himself all-in for 270k holding A-Q. Keith made the call and revealed "American Airlines". The J-4-3-K-2 board was dealt and Jason was out. Jason will appear in his 5th consecutive Championship next month. This is a league record.
- Mike M. earned the nickname "Magic Mike" with a late season surge of back-to-back wins in S6E9 and S6E10 catapulting him into the "April 8". Sitting in 6th place he needed a few more points to solidify his spot. And that's just what happened when he was eliminated in 7th place earning 4.33 points and giving him 42.36 for the season. In a battle of the blinds between Mike and John, the option was checked and a flop of 10-2-4 was dealt. Holding 10-6 (top pair), Mike quickly announced all-in. John made the quick call and revealed 10-2 for two-pair. A jack on the turn and a blank on the river ended Mike's night. Mike will compete in his first F&CPT Championship next month.
- Sean O. was in 14th place entering Saturday night's event and was all but qualifier bound unless he could win the event. His night ended after he was eliminated in 6th place by Keith. Holding pocket 7's, Sean bet 100k preflop. Keith called. A flop of A-A-8 came out and Sean was all-in. Keith snap called and showed A-2 for trip aces. An 8 on the turn gave Keith a full house. A meaningless 9 on the river officially ended Sean's evening. Last season Sean earned a seat in the Championship with a 2nd overall league point total. This season he will have to earn it via the qualifier.
- John M. was in 7th place in the standings entering S6E11. As it turned out, he would need to finish in 6th place or higher in the tourney to maintain his "April 8" status. He managed to finish 5th after tangling with Chris S. and coming out on the short end. John found himself all-in for his last 46k with pocket 4's. Chris made the call and tabled J-5. The 7-8-5 flop gave Chris the lead with a pair of 5's and John a GSSD. A king on the turn was a blank. And a 3 on the river ended John's evening. Last season John came up short in the qualifier. This season he will compete in his third Championship.
- Kevin A. missed several events this season and needed a win just to crack the qualifier. He had to settle for 4th place prize money instead. Both Kevin and Chris S. made straights, unfortunately Kevin's was lower and he was out.
Level 13 (60k/120k/20k) Three handed
- Mike T. was sitting in 9th place in the standings just .08 points from Lolly who held the 8th spot entering Saturday evening. He would need to get into the top 8 or bust as he would be in Flordia the day of the qualifier. And 3rd place would be enough. After looking down at pocket 5's, Mike was all-in for 750k and Keith called with K-J. The 4-J-6 flop put Keith ahead. A deuce on the turn and a 7 on the river brought no help for Mike and he was out with 3rd place cash and a seat in his 4th Championship.
- Head's-up play between Chris S. and Keith K. continued in the 60k/120k level and both players agreed to forego the ante. Ironically, both players were below 17th place in the standings entering the tournament. Keith was in 19th place and Chris in 20th. With both players guaranteed at least 11.55 points for 2nd place, each would earn enough points to get a qualifier seat. Keith had a few hundred thousand chip lead over his opponent at the start of head's-up. Chris put pressure on Keith with a series of rapid all-in raises. Then Keith woke up with Js-Qh and pushed. Chris called and turned over Kc-2h. The flop came out 5s-Ad-Jc and Keith had the lead with a pair of jacks. The 8d on the turn left Chris drawing to a king. As fate would have it, the Kd fell on the river and the season finale had it's winner.
This is the second time Chris has won a regular season finale. He did it back in S3E11.
Thanks to everyone who came out for S6E11 and congrats to Chris on his win. Good luck to everyone in the postseason!
~ Jason Tr.
2014-2015 Fish & Chips Poker Tour Player of the Year
Congrats to Angie S. who became the fifth player to earn the league's top point honor. Angie totaled 55.17 points over the 11 regular season events which included 3 cashes. She won S6E5 and S6E8 and finished 3rd in S6E10. Congrats Angie on your POY honors and good luck in the championship. That is if she can make it. She might not be able to. If she can't, per the league rules, Championship seats are not filled.
The Season 6 "April 8!"
After the dust cleared early Sunday morning, the Season 6 "April 8" was established. So without further ado, the A8 are:
1. Angie S. 55.17 POY Points
2. Jim O. 50.18 POY Points
3. Jason Ta. 49.15 POY Points
4. Anita G. 44.42 POY Points
5. Bill B. 43.76 POY Points
6. John M. 42.88 POY Points
7. Mike M. 42.36 POY Points
8. Mike T. 41.90 POY Points
Angie, Jim, Jason, Anita and Bill were all virtual locks for seats in this season's championship event going into E11. The 6th, 7th and 8th seats were up for grabs with the front runners being Mike M, John and Lolly. Just 0.08 points separated Lolly from 9th place Mike T. And with a 17th place finish for her combined with a 3rd place finish from Mike T, she dropped to the qualifier bound. Mike M. and John managed to hang onto their seats.
Positions 9-17 have earned a seat in this season's Championship Qualifier. The winner of the qualifier will be awarded the 9th and final seat in the championship. This season's qualifiers are:
9. Lolly O. 35.24 POY Points
10. Chris S. 34.67 POY Points
11. Chris B. 32.46 POY Points
12. Nick G. 31.91 POY Points
13. Jason Tr. 31.39 POY Points
14. Eric W. 30.86 POY Points
15. Sean O. 30.38 POY Points
16. Keith K. 29.07 POY Points
17. Fran D. 28.08 POY Points
Coming into E11, The bottom two spots in the qualifier bound were substitute Drew M. and Marc H. With both Chris S. and Keith K. finishing 1st and 2nd place respectively in the event, they earned enough points to bump both Drew and Marc to below 17th place.
If someone has to decline their qualifier seat, it will be offered to Drew first and then Marc.
Players participating in the qualifier will receive bonus chips based on the number of points they earned during the season. A total of T450,000 bonus chips will be distributed over the 9 starting T200,000 stacks.
Good luck to everyone in the Qualifier and Championship!
