Although the champion of the inaugural season of the BBPT had already been decided, the remaining 3 money spots
were still up for grabs as a field of 9 players headed into the tenth and final stop of the tour.
The battle for the season's overall second place finish was being fought between Denley, Sean, Darren and Phil. In a dramatic and fitting twist of fate, all 4 of these players would make it not
only to the final table, but also to the final four of this month's tourney.
One of more surprising outcomes of the final event was the quick exit of Mike, who lasted only 66 minutes, which is the third fastest finish in BBPT history.*
Most BBPT analysts would agree that Mike was this season's biggest underachiever, especially given his typically
strong showings in cash games. However, Mike was this year's bubble boy, with 3 finishes on the bubble - and no
one can take that away from him.
Bobby played a strong game in which he came very close
to altering history by nearly eliminating Sean early in the event. Sean started stealing blinds aggressively and
went all in with AJ, and Bobby looked as though he was coming very close to making the call for his tournament
life. He eventually decided against it, but showed a K9. The players rabbit hunted the flop, turn and river, which
brought about two 9s which would have eliminated Sean in 8th place. Instead, a few rounds later Bobby was
eliminated when he went all in with AT and was dominated by Sean's AK.
Bryan played his typical wild and unpredictable style,
which is very hard for the other players to adapt to at times. Early in the tournament Bryan called Sean's bets on
the flop and turn. The players both checked the river and Bryan tabled a Jack high, which beat Sean's missed open
ended straight draw. Another hand saw him call off a sizable portion of his stack against Phil with a measly pair
of threes. If Bryan can harness his wild play by picking better spots, as well as learn to fold weaker holdings,
he could make significant improvements to his BBPT season standing next year.
Jeff played his usual tight game, which landed him in
6th spot for 5 points, which is pretty much in line with his season 5.4 points per tournament avg.
Kyle finished 5th, which, impressively, is his second
lowest finish ever. Kyle seemed to have been pretty card dead, as he wasn't able to get much going in the mid to
late stages of event 10.
Chris, once again plagued by a head injury, played a solid game but was also unable to get anything going and
eventually saw his chip stack dwindle away before being knocked out in 4th place, which put a season money finish
out of reach for the BBPT's first ever event winner. Chris' frustration was evident later in the night when he
exploded on Sean for criticisms Sean made about the TV show Lost.
Darren made yet another deep run, finishing third and capping off a solid season in which he won his first event
and placed second in two more. Darren also continued making statistically improbable hands in this tournament.
Kyle folded to a bet and Darren tabled what would have been a royal flush, which only adds to the mystique
of the player they call the "Statistical Anomaly".
The final table eventually became the final two, as Sean and Phil battled it out for first place in the tournament
and, more importantly, second place overall money. Sean started the battle with a slight chip lead, but it was
still anyone's tournament to win when heads up play commenced. Players played for a few hands and Sean won a few
small pots before the final hand of the season was played. The flop came with 2 aces and a low card. Phil bet a
couple thousand chips and Sean hesitated before calling. The turn saw yet another ace hit the board. Phil bet out
again and Sean called. A blank card fell on the river and Sean thought for some time before check raising Phil and
putting Phil to a decision for his tournament life. Minutes went by as Phil agonized over the call. At one point,
Phil consulted league treasurer Jeff about what the third place payout would be should he lose the pot. Minutes
passed before Sean cut the tension and said, "I guess he doesn't have the ace!" Sean drew upon his years of formal
acting training to appear as uncomfortable as possible, hoping that Phil would make the call, which he eventually
would. Sean flipped over AJ, which beat Phil's queen.
The league would like to thank Chris for doing a great job hosting the final event of the season.
It was an intense and interesting ending to a successful first season of the Big Boy Poker Tour. Stay tuned for a
summer Heads Up Tournament and eventually a second season of the tour in the fall.
*The league's fastest ever finisher is Kyle, who lasted just 45 minutes at the Smallers Showdown. The second most
premature ejection (lol) was Mitch with a 56 minute performance at Phil Tilt.
Finish | Player | Points | 1 | Sean M | 15.0 |
---|---|---|
2 | Phil E | 10.0 |
3 | Darren P | 8.0 |
4 | Chris D | 7.0 |
5 | Kyle R | 6.0 |
6 | Jeff F | 5.0 |
7 | Bryan | 4.0 |
8 | Bobby H | 3.0 |
9 | Mike L | 2.0 |