The Big Boy Poker Tour made its way to Bryan's house for tournament number four on Saturday. The event brought out a lot of players with a lot to prove. Would Kyle return to form after his disastrous showing at the Smaller's Hold'em Showdown? Would the red hot Pelerine make yet another deep run? Would Mike finally convert a final table spot into a victory?
The usual troubles with the tournament super computer delayed the start of the tournament by a few moments, but shortly after 9:00 things were well under way.
Saturday's host, Bryan, brought his usual brand of unpredictability and unreadability to the table, which for a while seemed like it might serve him well, as players struggled to formulate a strategy to combat his unorthodox style. Bryan proved he was willing to battle anyone, regardless of his holdings. It wouldn't be long before his stack would pay the price for his overly loose play. The tournament was barely an hour old when Bryan went the distance with his pocket sevens, which were easily crushed by Kyle's nut flush. This left Bryan with very few chips to work with, and he saw his night come to an end shortly thereafter.
Eliminated in ninth spot was Kevin, who seems to be really coming along with remembering rand rankings and the rules of the game. Great job Kevin!
The BBTP witnessed the early elimination of one of the leagues hottest players of late, when Darren was eliminated in eighth place. Both fans and players have been surprised by Darren's performance in the first three events of this year's tour, but his hot run came to an abrupt end on Saturday when Sean eliminated him for his first knockout of the season. Nevertheless, the tournament wasn't a complete loss for Darren as he did score a knockout on Bryan. The January event will be a chance for Darren to prove that his stunning early success on the tour was not a fluke.
Bobby, the league's resident UFC afficionado, had a little less than a full starting stack a couple of hours into the tournament when he tangled with Sean. Sean raised pre-flop and got one caller. The flop brought all low cards, and Bobby made his move by announcing his all in. Sean went into the tank for a minute or two before finally calling, much to the dismay of Bobby. Bobby showed his pair of sixes and straight draw. Sean showed his pocket tens, which would hold up through the turn and river. Sean collected the chips and Bobby was eliminated in seventh spot.
Sean's night wouldn't last much longer than Bobby's, however, as he was soon eliminated in sixth place. This is the third event in which Sean has collected five points, which is really quite impressive, if you have really low expectations.
Danny turned in a strong fifth place finish, quietly amassing 6 points, which sits him at 29 points on the year, only 13 back from the league leader.
The league also witnessed the emotional return of Chris to the tour, which is a relief to many fans because, as you may remember, the last time we saw Chris he was being taken away on a stretcher, having suffered massive head and lower body injuries. There have been whispers in the league that Chris would not be the same player that he once was, and that no one would ever be able to bounce back from such a traumatic episode. Chris put all doubts about his mental ability to rest on Saturday by playing a strong game that earned him a respectable fourth place finish. Chris played well and, had he not gone card dead during the last hour of the tournament, may have placed even higher than he did. As it stands now, Chris remains in second place, trailing Kyle by just 9 points for the season.
Third place fell to Mike, which means he just barely missed the money for the second time this season. While Mike was short stacked and waiting to make his move, he had an unfortunate string of folds that would have hit the flop and not only earned him some chips, but would have also given him some room to maneuver in the final stages of the event. When Mike finally announced his all in, he was called by last month's champion, Phil. Phil's hand would hold up and Mike would exit with another eight points. Mike has final tabled each tournament this season, and has never finished lower than sixth spot. Given his strong performance this season, no one should be surprised if Mike makes a run at the January title when the tour visits the Hamilton Mountain for its fifth event.
Picking up ten points with a strong second place finish was Phil, who is quickly gaining the reputation of being a silent killer. Phil has now put together two consecutive, strong showings at the BBPT, demonstrating both patience and skill. Phil avoided most big pots on Saturday, instead managing to build up his stack steadily by collecting a number of smaller pots. Phil now sits in third spot for the season, well positioned to make a move for the top. Phil's recent results are all the more impressive when you remember that he started the season with very underwhelming seventh and a tenth place finishes.
Bouncing back from a disastrous last place finish at the Smaller's Hold'em Showdown (and sporting a knockoff Brooks shirt) was Kyle, who gave one of his strongest performances of the season by outlasting the rest of the field and defeating current BBPT champion Phil when it boiled down to heads up play. Kyle now boasts an impressive 75% cashing frequency and is the league leader in wins (two) and knockouts (nine) and is also the league's point leader with 42 - nine more than his nearest competitor. Obviously Kyle has brought his 'A' game to the tour, and is definitely the player to beat this season.
The league thanks Bryan for hosting a great event and looks forward to seeing everyone out at the January tour stop.
Finish | Player | Points | 1 | Kyle R | 15.0 |
---|---|---|
2 | Phil E | 10.0 |
3 | Mike L | 8.0 |
4 | Chris D | 7.0 |
5 | Danny R | 6.0 |
6 | Sean M | 5.0 |
7 | Bobby H | 4.0 |
8 | Darren P | 3.0 |
9 | Kevin M | 2.0 |
10 | Bryan | 1.0 |