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| Chippies getting ready to go. |
It was the first ever Mega-Satellite into the PSP Tournament of Champions. With 18 players we were awarding the top 3 finishers seats plus their $50 buy in back for the satty. The bubble would also get their money back, but not the seat.
Play started promptly at 11 and continued on until 3pm. While this was going on - a cash game unfolded in the garage...
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| Blurry action shot! |
As for the Mega-Satellite, in the end it came down to these folks...
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| The mighty stack of Sheyna! |
Joey and Jeff G. got their seats with starting stacks of 35K, while Sheyna as the satellite chip leader locked up a 40K starting stack. Nicely done y'all!
And then it was 5pm, the cash game had to break to make room for the fifth annual PSP Tournament of Champions!
13 players total - two short handed tables. Players started with stacks ranging from 35K to 45K. All players also received this very special commemorative poker chip.
The players who had won two tournaments got the chip inside a coin-tite protective case. Noice!
The structure had 25 minute levels and a big blind ante format - it seemed to be just about right because there was plenty of play for everyone, and yet we also had lots of action (driven by the ante bloated pots no doubt) and plenty of bust outs after about an hour and a half of play.
Satellite seat winner Jeff G. was first to bow out, and then it was about 45 minutes before our next exiting player, and only 20 minutes until the next, and it just sped up from there.
The final table formed about 4 hours into the event.
I took the picture a little late, so I missed a player or two. The big stack in the middle is mine, but Nick on the right had an even bigger mountain!
Jerry lost a flip with me AIPF JJ > AQ, and then we lost another Satty seat winner Joey followed by 2018 POY Ken.
Emanuel, who started the TOC with one of the lower stacks, bubbled out and we were in the monies.
I busted in 4th for a $200 payout, botching a hand with Nick and giving him the ammo he would need to roll over his remaining two opponents.
But nothing was for certain - all day (in both the Mega and the TOC) Sheyna had proven herself over and over again as very capable of climbing back. But in the end she finally succumbed to Nick's Mt. Chipmore, and had to settle for third place and $300.
Sheyna then promptly went on to become the evening's MVP by shuffling for the entirety of Eric and Nick's heads-up battle, which, considering the stack disparity (Nick having a grip' o' chips) still lasted almost a full half hour. Eric fought valiantly but in the end had to take 2nd place and a very nice $400 payday.
And so we had our champ, he is $600 richer and also secures his place in PSP history by becoming the 2nd player to win back to back TOCs. The other one to do that would be me.
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| The mighty 7-2! |
Nick will get his name on our perpetual plaque, this year along side another player - the one who took down the Player of the Year title in our recently reactivated POY points system.
That would be this guy, forever memorialized on a jumbo card protector that was awarded at the outset of the TOC -
Other prizes were awarded at the end as well - the top four finishers got one of these -
A complete and framed collection of all 2018 collectable chips.
And the top three players each got their own jumbo card protector trophies....
All in all it was a fantastic, and very long day of poker fun at Pepper Street.
A very big thanks to each and every one of you who came out and made it fun.
Special thanks to the one and only Dog, who after an early bust out, sent a long distance love note made of Pizza for everyone still playing. Very much appreciated my man!
I can't wait to get going on 2019, I know it will be yet another great year of poker fun. Our first monthly tournament of the year will likely be on Saturday, February 9 at 5pm, stay tuned for the Evite!
Until then, peace and we out!
