Nine players gathered for our final regular season game, including three former winners. Five players — Kasra, Chris, James, Christina, and Crystal — were in the hunt for Player of the Year honors, and the result came down to the very last hand of the night!
The Early Levels: Shea dominates the action
The crowd may have been small, but the swings in momentum were huge. It was Shea who came out swinging early, using her skills to take maximum advantage of a hot run of cards and win roughly half of the hands in the first few levels of play. Within the first 30 minutes of the tournament, she had run her 20,000 starting stack up to almost 30,000 without losing a single big hand. Her hot start continued for the first 90 minutes of play, all the way to the first break.
But Shea wasn’t the only one making big hands early on. In Level 2, Chris took a chance by limping with 7-6 of clubs from early position. Two players called from late position, Shea called form the small blind, and Kasra checked in the big blind. The flop came out 9-8-5 rainbow with one diamond, giving Chris the nut straight. Shea and Kasra checked to Chris, and with about 1,000 in the pot, Chris made a small bet of 250 and got called by three players. The turn was the 6 of diamonds, making a flush draw possible. Now, Chris no longer had the best possible hand, and any player with a 7 would split the pot. Suddenly, Shea led out with a tiny bet of 250, Chris raised, Matt called, and Shea called. Now with about 4,000 in the pot, the three players saw the Q of diamonds on the river, a scary card that could have completed a flush as well as a higher straight for anyone holding J-T. Despite being raised on the turn, Shea led out with a bet of about 1,500 on the river. Chris considered raising, but the board was just too scary. He called, and Matt called behind. When the players tabled their hands, Chris’s straight held up as Shea held Q-9 for two pair, and Matt’s 6-6 had hit a set on the turn. Chris raked in about 8,000 chips.
Crystal was also making some big hands early as she flopped a set of 5s early on against Kasra, whose K-Q looked good on the K-5-2 flop. When another King hit on the river, Kasra thought he had the hand locked up, but that King gave Crystal a full house and she raked in almost 20,000 chips.
Crystal would lose most of those chips about 15 minutes later in a big confrontation with Matt. On a board of K-4-3-5, with about 11,000 chips in the middle, the two players watched as the Deuce of spades hit the river. Matt quickly went all-in for just over 11,000 and Crystal called. Matt asked coyly if Crystal had a 6 and had hit a straight on the river; when she turned over 6-5 of clubs for the straight, Matt smiled before slow-rolling his 7-6 of spades for the higher straight as he raked in the 33,000-chip pot.
A few hands later, James got paid off when his A-6 flopped two pair, and he allowed the flop to check through. He then bet big on the turn and river and got maximum value from his hand.
Finally, as the clock wound down toward the first break, Shea finished Level 5 in much the same way she had begun the night — making big hands and getting paid big. First, in a three-way confrontation with Lauren and James, the players made it to the showdown with more than 20,000 chips in the middle on a board of J-8-5-5-3. Lauren tabled Q-J for two pair, and James held J-8 for a better two pair. But Shea had both players crushed when she turned over 8-8 for a full house, raking in another large pot.
The very next hand, she took her A-K of hearts against Cole’s 6-6. When all was said and done, the board ran out A-A-7-5-4, and Shea added another 17,000 to her stack.
After the First Break: Shea cools off, Crystal takes off, and the race for Player of the Year gets clearer
Coming out of the first break, with blinds at 500-1,000, Shea was way out in front, with Chris and Matt trailing far behind. Crystal was near the bottom of the chip counts, but that was all about to change as she was about to bust Matt and Chris, leaving herself as the sole prior winner remaining in the field.
- Shea ~ 77,000 chips
- Chris ~ 56,000 chips
- Matt ~ 51,000 chips
- James ~ 46,000 chips
- Cole ~ 41,000 chips
- Christina ~ 37,000 chips
- Crystal ~ 36,000 chips
- Kasra ~ 32,000 chips
- Lauren ~ 29,000 chips
Chris’s downfall began with the first hand after the break when he raised with A-3 from the small blind and Crystal called from the big blind. The two players saw a flop of J-9-2, and Chris decided to bluff, betting about 5,000 into the 9,000 chip pot. Crystal quickly called. The turn was a 3, giving Chris a pair, but he chose to continue bluffing, betting another 8,000 chips. Crystal seemed uncomfortable, but called again. After a 6 came on the river, Chris thought for a long time about continuing his bluff, but ultimately decided to give up. Crystal confirmed that she would have called a third bluff, as she tabled her K-9 and raked in 35,000 chips.
The bleeding continued for Chris the next hand as he lost another 11,000 chips when his A-5 hit trips on a board of Ah-Qd-9h-2h-Ad, but was bested by James’s flush with 6-4 of hearts. And just like that, Chris had lost half his chips in two hands.
Then it was Matt’s turn to fall down the chip counts. On a board of J-5-4, with about 20,000 in the pot, Matt went all-in for 50,000 chips. Crystal thought for a while before finally making the call. When the players tabled their hands, Matt’s 8-5 of clubs was in surprisingly good shape, as Crystal held only Q-8 of spades. Matt was a 6-to-1 favorite to double up, as Crystal would need to hit a Q or two cards to make a straight. Nevertheless, Matt seemed nervous, and when the turn and river came a 9 and 10 to give Crystal a straight, his nervousness turned to disbelief. The winner of Event #4, our largest field to date, was the first casualty of Event #6.
And Crystal wasn’t finished yet. The very next hand, with blinds at 800-1,600, Chris raised with T-T to 3,500 and Crystal called. Everyone else folded and the flop came 8-4-3 rainbow. Chris continuation bet 6,000 into the pot of about 11,000, and Crystal just called. The turn came a 9, and with only about 15,000 left in his stack, Chris chose to move all-in. Crystal snap-called and showed K-K. A Queen on the river was no help, and Chris was out in 8th place, busting out against K-K for the third time in the past five tournaments (two of them against Crystal!).
Despite Chris’s terrible performance, he managed to earn 4 points, bringing his season total to 18 points, and leaving him a slim hope of securing a tie for Player of the Year. Meanwhile, although Crystal knocked Chris out of Event #6, Chris’s performance had simultaneously knocked Crystal out of contention for Player of the Year. Now, Kasra would secure an outright win if he could finish in 3rd place or better; Christina or James could secure the POY title by winning the event (assuming that Kasra finished 4th or lower); and any other finish would result in either a two-way or three-way tie for POY.
Crystal may have been out of POY contention, but she wasn’t done stacking up chips; just before the second break of the night, she raked in another 17,000 chips when she took her 7-7 up against Christina, turned three of a kind, and rivered the final 7 to make quads.
After the Second Break: Christina busts, but Lauren, Kasra, and Cole survive multiple all-ins
Coming out of the second break, with blinds at 2,000-4,000, the chip stacks had changed dramatically, as Crystal now led the pack with 185,000 chips, holding more than 45% of the chips with 7 players still remaining:
- Crystal ~ 185,000 chips (+149,000)
- James ~ 86,000 chips (+40,000)
- Shea ~53,000 chips (-24,000)
- Cole ~ 44,000 chips (+3,000)
- Kasra ~20,000 chips (-12,000)
- Christina ~ 10,000 chips (-27,000)
- Lauren ~ 7,000 chips (-22,000)
- Chris = 0 chips (-56,000)
- Matt = 0 chips (-51,000)
Shortly after the break, Lauren put her remaining 7,000 chips into the pot pre-flop and watched as Christina called from the big blind, and Crystal called from late position. On the flop of A-4-3, Christina put in her remaining 3,000 chips, and Crystal called. Lauren showed A-K for top pair, Christina showed 6-4 for middle pair, and Crystal showed K-7 for King-high. Both Lauren and Christina were in good shape to survive, but when a Jack and a 7 completed the board, Crystal’s hand had improved enough to knock Christina out in 7th place. Meanwhile, Lauren tripled up and was back in contention.
The action continued the next hand as Kasra went all-in against Cole. When the hands were revealed, Kasra’s A-T of spades was a slight favorite against Cole’s A-T offsuit, but the board was no help to either player, so they chopped the pot.
A few hands later, Kasra found himself all-in again, this time on the flop holding Q-9 of spades on a board of Q-6-3. Crystal called with A-J, and the Ten on the turn and Jack on the river were not enough help, so Kasra doubled up to about 45,000 chips.
The good luck continued for those pushing all-in. In Level 10, Lauren found herself all-in against Cole and Crystal on a board of A-J-3. Cole’s A-8 improved to two pair when an 8 came on the turn, but a King on the river was his downfall as bothCrystal and Lauren held Q-T for a rivered straight. While they split up the 50,000-chip pot, Cole stared down at his 20,000 chips, wondering how he was going to spin those 3 big blinds up into a reasonable stack again.
But Cole’s fortunes were about to turn. The very next hand, he decided to take a chance with 7-5 offsuit. That chance paid off when he flopped top two pair on the 7-5-3 board, pushed all-in, and got three callers. The Ten on the turn and Deuce on the river didn’t improve anyone’s hand, and Cole quadrupled up.
Cole wasn’t the only player whose luck was heating up; James was about to begin a run that saw him bust three players in the space of about 30 minutes. First, Lauren moved all-in pre-flop with her remaining 8,000 chips and got four callers. When the flop came out J-8-4, she must have felt great watching the action with her J-8 in the hole. But a Queen on the turn and Ten on the river were not great cards for her. When the dust settled, Cole had made a straight with A-9, but James had made a higher straight with K-9, and he scooped in 65,000 chips, plus a bounty for knocking Lauren out in 6th place.
Cole rebounded from that minor setback with a big hand against Crystal in Level 11. With the blinds at 5,000-10,000, Cole got lucky in the small blind when his Q-8 out-flopped Crystal’s Q-J on a board of Q-8-3-7-A, and he raked in 100,000 chips just before the third break.
The Endgame: The POY race comes down to the very last card
Coming out of the third break, with blinds at 8,000-16,000, the chip counts had shifted dramatically again as Cole shot to the top spot, Crystal held onto second place despite losing about 70% of her chips, and Shea and Kasra continued their slide to the bottom of the leaderboard. Everyone except Cole was extremely short stacked, as even second-place Crystal had only about 3.5 big blinds in her stack.
- Cole ~ 273,000 chips (+229,000)
- Crystal ~ 55,000 chips (-130,000)
- James ~ 50,000 chips (-36,000)
- Kasra ~ 17,000 chips (-3,000)
- Shea ~ 10,000 chips (-43,000)
- Lauren = 0 chips (-7,000)
- Christina = 0 chips (-10,000)
- Chris
- Matt
A rebound was not in the cards for either Shea or Kasra as both ended up all-in on the very first hand after the break. With the blinds at 8,000-16,000, Shea couldn’t quite cover her big blind and was all-in before the flop without even looking at her cards. Kasra was first to act and put his last 17,000 chips in the pot as well. Cole and James both called and allowed the hand to check down all the way to the river as the board ran out A-Q-5-Q-9. James bet 20,000 on the river, Cole folded, and the players tabled their cards. Despite not looking pre flop, Shea’s hand was actually looking good on the flop as she held K-J for a straight draw, but the draw didn’t come in and she was eliminated in 5th place. Kasra fared a bit better as his T-9 hit a pair of 9s on the river, but James’s A-2 had flopped top pair and remained best at showdown. Kasra was out in 4th place, and James collected two more bounties.
Now the race for Player of the Year was clear. With Kasra finishing lower than 3rd place, he was now tied with Chris at 18 points. And by making it into the money, James had also locked up at least 18 points for at least a tie for the POY title. But if he were able to knock out the remaining two players and lock up a win, he would get the POY title all to himself.
Cole helped James’s quest for sole possession of the POY title when he found himself in a heads-up pot against Crystal, who called from the small blind and Cole checked in the big blind. Crystal’s T-8 flopped a pair on the board of K-8-6, but she played it cautiously by checking. Cole checked, and both players saw a 7 on the turn. Again, both players checked and saw a Ten on the river. With two pair, Crystal moved all-in, and Cole snap-called with 9-3 for a straight on the river. Crystal received $80 for her 3rd place finish, plus another $40 in bounties (including the double bounty for knocking out Matt).
As Cole and James moved to heads up, Cole held an 8-to-1 chip lead over James, so James had a lot of work to do if he wanted to take sole possession of the POY title. And he took a big chunk out of that chip lead in the first big confrontation. On a board of Q-5-2-9-9, James went all-in on the river for his last 41,000 chips. Cole called with 5-3, giving him two pair, but James held A-9 for trip 9s. As he raked in about 130,000 chips, he had cut Cole’s chip lead down to 3-to-1.
James then won three hands in a row, growing his stack to 170,000 and cutting Cole’s down to 235,000. The next hand, James raised on the button, Cole called, and the players saw a flop of 5-4-4 with two diamonds. Cole led out with a bet of 25,000, James quickly went all-in for his remaining 120,000, and Cole called. Cole showed Q-9 of diamonds for a flush draw and two overcards, and James showed A-Q. James’s hand was currently best, and was slightly ahead in terms of equity, but it was pretty close to a coin flip with Cole having about a 46% chance to win the tournament right there. Cole wasted no time in turning that 46% into a 100% as he hit the King of diamonds on the river to secure his first win at the Pinnacle Poker Club, leaving James with $110 for this 2nd place finish, along with $30 in bounties, and a share of a three-way tie for Player of the Year.
Cole took home $170 for his win, plus $30 in bounties.
Final Player of the Year Results
In a final demonstration of how closely matched our league was this year, the race for Player of the Year is not quite over! The tie between Kasra, James, and Chris will be broken at our November 11 Main Event Tournament and Party. And Crystal, Christina, and Cole all ended just a few points short of the win.
Thank you all again for playing this year. We hope to see you all one more time on November 11 before we break for the new year!
| Rank | Prev Rank | Name | Points | Wins | Cashes | Games Played |
| 1 | 1 | Kasra | 18 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| 1 | 1 | Chris | 18 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 1 | 3 | James | 18 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| 4 | 7 | Crystal | 15 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | 5 | Christina | 14 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 5 | 11 | Cole | 14 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 7 | 4 | Sharon | 11 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 8 | 5 | Steve | 10 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 9 | 15 | Lauren | 9 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 9 | 15 | Shealyn | 9 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | 7 | Kara | 9 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 12 | 11 | Matthew | 8 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 13 | 9 | Quang | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 13 | 9 | John | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 | 11 | Kim | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 | 11 | Peggy | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 17 | 15 | Jake | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 18 | 18 | Rob | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 18 | 18 | Tania | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 18 | 18 | Daniela | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 21 | 21 | Jon | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | 21 | Altaf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | 21 | Luke | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 21 | 21 | Thuy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 25 | 25 | Mike | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 | 26 | Luciano | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Cole Takes Down First PPC Win in Event #6!
Nine players gathered for our final regular season game, including three former winners. Five players — Kasra, Chris, James, Christina, and Crystal — were in the hunt for Player of the Year honors, and the result came down to the very last hand of the night!
The Early Levels: Shea dominates the action
The crowd may have been small, but the swings in momentum were huge. It was Shea who came out swinging early, using her skills to take maximum advantage of a hot run of cards and win roughly half of the hands in the first few levels of play. Within the first 30 minutes of the tournament, she had run her 20,000 starting stack up to almost 30,000 without losing a single big hand. Her hot start continued for the first 90 minutes of play, all the way to the first break.
But Shea wasn’t the only one making big hands early on. In Level 2, Chris took a chance by limping with 7-6 of clubs from early position. Two players called from late position, Shea called form the small blind, and Kasra checked in the big blind. The flop came out 9-8-5 rainbow with one diamond, giving Chris the nut straight. Shea and Kasra checked to Chris, and with about 1,000 in the pot, Chris made a small bet of 250 and got called by three players. The turn was the 6 of diamonds, making a flush draw possible. Now, Chris no longer had the best possible hand, and any player with a 7 would split the pot. Suddenly, Shea led out with a tiny bet of 250, Chris raised, Matt called, and Shea called. Now with about 4,000 in the pot, the three players saw the Q of diamonds on the river, a scary card that could have completed a flush as well as a higher straight for anyone holding J-T. Despite being raised on the turn, Shea led out with a bet of about 1,500 on the river. Chris considered raising, but the board was just too scary. He called, and Matt called behind. When the players tabled their hands, Chris’s straight held up as Shea held Q-9 for two pair, and Matt’s 6-6 had hit a set on the turn. Chris raked in about 8,000 chips.
Crystal was also making some big hands early as she flopped a set of 5s early on against Kasra, whose K-Q looked good on the K-5-2 flop. When another King hit on the river, Kasra thought he had the hand locked up, but that King gave Crystal a full house and she raked in almost 20,000 chips.
Crystal would lose most of those chips about 15 minutes later in a big confrontation with Matt. On a board of K-4-3-5, with about 11,000 chips in the middle, the two players watched as the Deuce of spades hit the river. Matt quickly went all-in for just over 11,000 and Crystal called. Matt asked coyly if Crystal had a 6 and had hit a straight on the river; when she turned over 6-5 of clubs for the straight, Matt smiled before slow-rolling his 7-6 of spades for the higher straight as he raked in the 33,000-chip pot.
A few hands later, James got paid off when his A-6 flopped two pair, and he allowed the flop to check through. He then bet big on the turn and river and got maximum value from his hand.
Finally, as the clock wound down toward the first break, Shea finished Level 5 in much the same way she had begun the night — making big hands and getting paid big. First, in a three-way confrontation with Lauren and James, the players made it to the showdown with more than 20,000 chips in the middle on a board of J-8-5-5-3. Lauren tabled Q-J for two pair, and James held J-8 for a better two pair. But Shea had both players crushed when she turned over 8-8 for a full house, raking in another large pot.
The very next hand, she took her A-K of hearts against Cole’s 6-6. When all was said and done, the board ran out A-A-7-5-4, and Shea added another 17,000 to her stack.
After the First Break: Shea cools off, Crystal takes off, and the race for Player of the Year gets clearer
Coming out of the first break, with blinds at 500-1,000, Shea was way out in front, with Chris and Matt trailing far behind. Crystal was near the bottom of the chip counts, but that was all about to change as she was about to bust Matt and Chris, leaving herself as the sole prior winner remaining in the field.
- Shea ~ 77,000 chips
- Chris ~ 56,000 chips
- Matt ~ 51,000 chips
- James ~ 46,000 chips
- Cole ~ 41,000 chips
- Christina ~ 37,000 chips
- Crystal ~ 36,000 chips
- Kasra ~ 32,000 chips
- Lauren ~ 29,000 chips
Chris’s downfall began with the first hand after the break when he raised with A-3 from the small blind and Crystal called from the big blind. The two players saw a flop of J-9-2, and Chris decided to bluff, betting about 5,000 into the 9,000 chip pot. Crystal quickly called. The turn was a 3, giving Chris a pair, but he chose to continue bluffing, betting another 8,000 chips. Crystal seemed uncomfortable, but called again. After a 6 came on the river, Chris thought for a long time about continuing his bluff, but ultimately decided to give up. Crystal confirmed that she would have called a third bluff, as she tabled her K-9 and raked in 35,000 chips.
The bleeding continued for Chris the next hand as he lost another 11,000 chips when his A-5 hit trips on a board of Ah-Qd-9h-2h-Ad, but was bested by James’s flush with 6-4 of hearts. And just like that, Chris had lost half his chips in two hands.
Then it was Matt’s turn to fall down the chip counts. On a board of J-5-4, with about 20,000 in the pot, Matt went all-in for 50,000 chips. Crystal thought for a while before finally making the call. When the players tabled their hands, Matt’s 8-5 of clubs was in surprisingly good shape, as Crystal held only Q-8 of spades. Matt was a 6-to-1 favorite to double up, as Crystal would need to hit a Q or two cards to make a straight. Nevertheless, Matt seemed nervous, and when the turn and river came a 9 and 10 to give Crystal a straight, his nervousness turned to disbelief. The winner of Event #4, our largest field to date, was the first casualty of Event #6.
And Crystal wasn’t finished yet. The very next hand, with blinds at 800-1,600, Chris raised with T-T to 3,500 and Crystal called. Everyone else folded and the flop came 8-4-3 rainbow. Chris continuation bet 6,000 into the pot of about 11,000, and Crystal just called. The turn came a 9, and with only about 15,000 left in his stack, Chris chose to move all-in. Crystal snap-called and showed K-K. A Queen on the river was no help, and Chris was out in 8th place, busting out against K-K for the third time in the past five tournaments (two of them against Crystal!).
Despite Chris’s terrible performance, he managed to earn 4 points, bringing his season total to 18 points, and leaving him a slim hope of securing a tie for Player of the Year. Meanwhile, although Crystal knocked Chris out of Event #6, Chris’s performance had simultaneously knocked Crystal out of contention for Player of the Year. Now, Kasra would secure an outright win if he could finish in 3rd place or better; Christina or James could secure the POY title by winning the event (assuming that Kasra finished 4th or lower); and any other finish would result in either a two-way or three-way tie for POY.
Crystal may have been out of POY contention, but she wasn’t done stacking up chips; just before the second break of the night, she raked in another 17,000 chips when she took her 7-7 up against Christina, turned three of a kind, and rivered the final 7 to make quads.
After the Second Break: Christina busts, but Lauren, Kasra, and Cole survive multiple all-ins
Coming out of the second break, with blinds at 2,000-4,000, the chip stacks had changed dramatically, as Crystal now led the pack with 185,000 chips, holding more than 45% of the chips with 7 players still remaining:
- Crystal ~ 185,000 chips (+149,000)
- James ~ 86,000 chips (+40,000)
- Shea ~53,000 chips (-24,000)
- Cole ~ 44,000 chips (+3,000)
- Kasra ~20,000 chips (-12,000)
- Christina ~ 10,000 chips (-27,000)
- Lauren ~ 7,000 chips (-22,000)
- Chris = 0 chips (-56,000)
- Matt = 0 chips (-51,000)
Shortly after the break, Lauren put her remaining 7,000 chips into the pot pre-flop and watched as Christina called from the big blind, and Crystal called from late position. On the flop of A-4-3, Christina put in her remaining 3,000 chips, and Crystal called. Lauren showed A-K for top pair, Christina showed 6-4 for middle pair, and Crystal showed K-7 for King-high. Both Lauren and Christina were in good shape to survive, but when a Jack and a 7 completed the board, Crystal’s hand had improved enough to knock Christina out in 7th place. Meanwhile, Lauren tripled up and was back in contention.
The action continued the next hand as Kasra went all-in against Cole. When the hands were revealed, Kasra’s A-T of spades was a slight favorite against Cole’s A-T offsuit, but the board was no help to either player, so they chopped the pot.
A few hands later, Kasra found himself all-in again, this time on the flop holding Q-9 of spades on a board of Q-6-3. Crystal called with A-J, and the Ten on the turn and Jack on the river were not enough help, so Kasra doubled up to about 45,000 chips.
The good luck continued for those pushing all-in. In Level 10, Lauren found herself all-in against Cole and Crystal on a board of A-J-3. Cole’s A-8 improved to two pair when an 8 came on the turn, but a King on the river was his downfall as bothCrystal and Lauren held Q-T for a rivered straight. While they split up the 50,000-chip pot, Cole stared down at his 20,000 chips, wondering how he was going to spin those 3 big blinds up into a reasonable stack again.
But Cole’s fortunes were about to turn. The very next hand, he decided to take a chance with 7-5 offsuit. That chance paid off when he flopped top two pair on the 7-5-3 board, pushed all-in, and got three callers. The Ten on the turn and Deuce on the river didn’t improve anyone’s hand, and Cole quadrupled up.
Cole wasn’t the only player whose luck was heating up; James was about to begin a run that saw him bust three players in the space of about 30 minutes. First, Lauren moved all-in pre-flop with her remaining 8,000 chips and got four callers. When the flop came out J-8-4, she must have felt great watching the action with her J-8 in the hole. But a Queen on the turn and Ten on the river were not great cards for her. When the dust settled, Cole had made a straight with A-9, but James had made a higher straight with K-9, and he scooped in 65,000 chips, plus a bounty for knocking Lauren out in 6th place.
Cole rebounded from that minor setback with a big hand against Crystal in Level 11. With the blinds at 5,000-10,000, Cole got lucky in the small blind when his Q-8 out-flopped Crystal’s Q-J on a board of Q-8-3-7-A, and he raked in 100,000 chips just before the third break.
The Endgame: The POY race comes down to the very last card
Coming out of the third break, with blinds at 8,000-16,000, the chip counts had shifted dramatically again as Cole shot to the top spot, Crystal held onto second place despite losing about 70% of her chips, and Shea and Kasra continued their slide to the bottom of the leaderboard. Everyone except Cole was extremely short stacked, as even second-place Crystal had only about 3.5 big blinds in her stack.
- Cole ~ 273,000 chips (+229,000)
- Crystal ~ 55,000 chips (-130,000)
- James ~ 50,000 chips (-36,000)
- Kasra ~ 17,000 chips (-3,000)
- Shea ~ 10,000 chips (-43,000)
- Lauren = 0 chips (-7,000)
- Christina = 0 chips (-10,000)
- Chris
- Matt
A rebound was not in the cards for either Shea or Kasra as both ended up all-in on the very first hand after the break. With the blinds at 8,000-16,000, Shea couldn’t quite cover her big blind and was all-in before the flop without even looking at her cards. Kasra was first to act and put his last 17,000 chips in the pot as well. Cole and James both called and allowed the hand to check down all the way to the river as the board ran out A-Q-5-Q-9. James bet 20,000 on the river, Cole folded, and the players tabled their cards. Despite not looking pre flop, Shea’s hand was actually looking good on the flop as she held K-J for a straight draw, but the draw didn’t come in and she was eliminated in 5th place. Kasra fared a bit better as his T-9 hit a pair of 9s on the river, but James’s A-2 had flopped top pair and remained best at showdown. Kasra was out in 4th place, and James collected two more bounties.
Now the race for Player of the Year was clear. With Kasra finishing lower than 3rd place, he was now tied with Chris at 18 points. And by making it into the money, James had also locked up at least 18 points for at least a tie for the POY title. But if he were able to knock out the remaining two players and lock up a win, he would get the POY title all to himself.
Cole helped James’s quest for sole possession of the POY title when he found himself in a heads-up pot against Crystal, who called from the small blind and Cole checked in the big blind. Crystal’s T-8 flopped a pair on the board of K-8-6, but she played it cautiously by checking. Cole checked, and both players saw a 7 on the turn. Again, both players checked and saw a Ten on the river. With two pair, Crystal moved all-in, and Cole snap-called with 9-3 for a straight on the river. Crystal received $80 for her 3rd place finish, plus another $40 in bounties (including the double bounty for knocking out Matt).
As Cole and James moved to heads up, Cole held an 8-to-1 chip lead over James, so James had a lot of work to do if he wanted to take sole possession of the POY title. And he took a big chunk out of that chip lead in the first big confrontation. On a board of Q-5-2-9-9, James went all-in on the river for his last 41,000 chips. Cole called with 5-3, giving him two pair, but James held A-9 for trip 9s. As he raked in about 130,000 chips, he had cut Cole’s chip lead down to 3-to-1.
James then won three hands in a row, growing his stack to 170,000 and cutting Cole’s down to 235,000. The next hand, James raised on the button, Cole called, and the players saw a flop of 5-4-4 with two diamonds. Cole led out with a bet of 25,000, James quickly went all-in for his remaining 120,000, and Cole called. Cole showed Q-9 of diamonds for a flush draw and two overcards, and James showed A-Q. James’s hand was currently best, and was slightly ahead in terms of equity, but it was pretty close to a coin flip with Cole having about a 46% chance to win the tournament right there. Cole wasted no time in turning that 46% into a 100% as he hit the King of diamonds on the river to secure his first win at the Pinnacle Poker Club, leaving James with $110 for this 2nd place finish, along with $30 in bounties, and a share of a three-way tie for Player of the Year.
Cole took home $170 for his win, plus $30 in bounties.
Final Player of the Year Results
In a final demonstration of how closely matched our league was this year, the race for Player of the Year is not quite over! The tie between Kasra, James, and Chris will be broken at our November 11 Main Event Tournament and Party. And Crystal, Christina, and Cole all ended just a few points short of the win.
Thank you all again for playing this year. We hope to see you all one more time on November 11 before we break for the new year!
| Rank | Prev Rank | Name | Points | Wins | Cashes | Games Played |
| 1 | 1 | Kasra | 18 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| 1 | 1 | Chris | 18 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 1 | 3 | James | 18 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| 4 | 7 | Crystal | 15 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | 5 | Christina | 14 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 5 | 11 | Cole | 14 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 7 | 4 | Sharon | 11 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 8 | 5 | Steve | 10 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 9 | 15 | Lauren | 9 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 9 | 15 | Shealyn | 9 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | 7 | Kara | 9 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 12 | 11 | Matthew | 8 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 13 | 9 | Quang | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 13 | 9 | John | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 | 11 | Kim | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 | 11 | Peggy | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 17 | 15 | Jake | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 18 | 18 | Rob | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 18 | 18 | Tania | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 18 | 18 | Daniela | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 21 | 21 | Jon | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | 21 | Altaf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | 21 | Luke | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 21 | 21 | Thuy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 25 | 25 | Mike | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 | 26 | Luciano | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Cole Takes Down First PPC Win in Event #6!
Nine players gathered for our final regular season game, including three former winners. Five players — Kasra, Chris, James, Christina, and Crystal — were in the hunt for Player of the Year honors, and the result came down to the very last hand of the night!
The Early Levels: Shea dominates the action
The crowd may have been small, but the swings in momentum were huge. It was Shea who came out swinging early, using her skills to take maximum advantage of a hot run of cards and win roughly half of the hands in the first few levels of play. Within the first 30 minutes of the tournament, she had run her 20,000 starting stack up to almost 30,000 without losing a single big hand. Her hot start continued for the first 90 minutes of play, all the way to the first break.
But Shea wasn’t the only one making big hands early on. In Level 2, Chris took a chance by limping with 7-6 of clubs from early position. Two players called from late position, Shea called form the small blind, and Kasra checked in the big blind. The flop came out 9-8-5 rainbow with one diamond, giving Chris the nut straight. Shea and Kasra checked to Chris, and with about 1,000 in the pot, Chris made a small bet of 250 and got called by three players. The turn was the 6 of diamonds, making a flush draw possible. Now, Chris no longer had the best possible hand, and any player with a 7 would split the pot. Suddenly, Shea led out with a tiny bet of 250, Chris raised, Matt called, and Shea called. Now with about 4,000 in the pot, the three players saw the Q of diamonds on the river, a scary card that could have completed a flush as well as a higher straight for anyone holding J-T. Despite being raised on the turn, Shea led out with a bet of about 1,500 on the river. Chris considered raising, but the board was just too scary. He called, and Matt called behind. When the players tabled their hands, Chris’s straight held up as Shea held Q-9 for two pair, and Matt’s 6-6 had hit a set on the turn. Chris raked in about 8,000 chips.
Crystal was also making some big hands early as she flopped a set of 5s early on against Kasra, whose K-Q looked good on the K-5-2 flop. When another King hit on the river, Kasra thought he had the hand locked up, but that King gave Crystal a full house and she raked in almost 20,000 chips.
Crystal would lose most of those chips about 15 minutes later in a big confrontation with Matt. On a board of K-4-3-5, with about 11,000 chips in the middle, the two players watched as the Deuce of spades hit the river. Matt quickly went all-in for just over 11,000 and Crystal called. Matt asked coyly if Crystal had a 6 and had hit a straight on the river; when she turned over 6-5 of clubs for the straight, Matt smiled before slow-rolling his 7-6 of spades for the higher straight as he raked in the 33,000-chip pot.
A few hands later, James got paid off when his A-6 flopped two pair, and he allowed the flop to check through. He then bet big on the turn and river and got maximum value from his hand.
Finally, as the clock wound down toward the first break, Shea finished Level 5 in much the same way she had begun the night — making big hands and getting paid big. First, in a three-way confrontation with Lauren and James, the players made it to the showdown with more than 20,000 chips in the middle on a board of J-8-5-5-3. Lauren tabled Q-J for two pair, and James held J-8 for a better two pair. But Shea had both players crushed when she turned over 8-8 for a full house, raking in another large pot.
The very next hand, she took her A-K of hearts against Cole’s 6-6. When all was said and done, the board ran out A-A-7-5-4, and Shea added another 17,000 to her stack.
After the First Break: Shea cools off, Crystal takes off, and the race for Player of the Year gets clearer
Coming out of the first break, with blinds at 500-1,000, Shea was way out in front, with Chris and Matt trailing far behind. Crystal was near the bottom of the chip counts, but that was all about to change as she was about to bust Matt and Chris, leaving herself as the sole prior winner remaining in the field.
- Shea ~ 77,000 chips
- Chris ~ 56,000 chips
- Matt ~ 51,000 chips
- James ~ 46,000 chips
- Cole ~ 41,000 chips
- Christina ~ 37,000 chips
- Crystal ~ 36,000 chips
- Kasra ~ 32,000 chips
- Lauren ~ 29,000 chips
Chris’s downfall began with the first hand after the break when he raised with A-3 from the small blind and Crystal called from the big blind. The two players saw a flop of J-9-2, and Chris decided to bluff, betting about 5,000 into the 9,000 chip pot. Crystal quickly called. The turn was a 3, giving Chris a pair, but he chose to continue bluffing, betting another 8,000 chips. Crystal seemed uncomfortable, but called again. After a 6 came on the river, Chris thought for a long time about continuing his bluff, but ultimately decided to give up. Crystal confirmed that she would have called a third bluff, as she tabled her K-9 and raked in 35,000 chips.
The bleeding continued for Chris the next hand as he lost another 11,000 chips when his A-5 hit trips on a board of Ah-Qd-9h-2h-Ad, but was bested by James’s flush with 6-4 of hearts. And just like that, Chris had lost half his chips in two hands.
Then it was Matt’s turn to fall down the chip counts. On a board of J-5-4, with about 20,000 in the pot, Matt went all-in for 50,000 chips. Crystal thought for a while before finally making the call. When the players tabled their hands, Matt’s 8-5 of clubs was in surprisingly good shape, as Crystal held only Q-8 of spades. Matt was a 6-to-1 favorite to double up, as Crystal would need to hit a Q or two cards to make a straight. Nevertheless, Matt seemed nervous, and when the turn and river came a 9 and 10 to give Crystal a straight, his nervousness turned to disbelief. The winner of Event #4, our largest field to date, was the first casualty of Event #6.
And Crystal wasn’t finished yet. The very next hand, with blinds at 800-1,600, Chris raised with T-T to 3,500 and Crystal called. Everyone else folded and the flop came 8-4-3 rainbow. Chris continuation bet 6,000 into the pot of about 11,000, and Crystal just called. The turn came a 9, and with only about 15,000 left in his stack, Chris chose to move all-in. Crystal snap-called and showed K-K. A Queen on the river was no help, and Chris was out in 8th place, busting out against K-K for the third time in the past five tournaments (two of them against Crystal!).
Despite Chris’s terrible performance, he managed to earn 4 points, bringing his season total to 18 points, and leaving him a slim hope of securing a tie for Player of the Year. Meanwhile, although Crystal knocked Chris out of Event #6, Chris’s performance had simultaneously knocked Crystal out of contention for Player of the Year. Now, Kasra would secure an outright win if he could finish in 3rd place or better; Christina or James could secure the POY title by winning the event (assuming that Kasra finished 4th or lower); and any other finish would result in either a two-way or three-way tie for POY.
Crystal may have been out of POY contention, but she wasn’t done stacking up chips; just before the second break of the night, she raked in another 17,000 chips when she took her 7-7 up against Christina, turned three of a kind, and rivered the final 7 to make quads.
After the Second Break: Christina busts, but Lauren, Kasra, and Cole survive multiple all-ins
Coming out of the second break, with blinds at 2,000-4,000, the chip stacks had changed dramatically, as Crystal now led the pack with 185,000 chips, holding more than 45% of the chips with 7 players still remaining:
- Crystal ~ 185,000 chips (+149,000)
- James ~ 86,000 chips (+40,000)
- Shea ~53,000 chips (-24,000)
- Cole ~ 44,000 chips (+3,000)
- Kasra ~20,000 chips (-12,000)
- Christina ~ 10,000 chips (-27,000)
- Lauren ~ 7,000 chips (-22,000)
- Chris = 0 chips (-56,000)
- Matt = 0 chips (-51,000)
Shortly after the break, Lauren put her remaining 7,000 chips into the pot pre-flop and watched as Christina called from the big blind, and Crystal called from late position. On the flop of A-4-3, Christina put in her remaining 3,000 chips, and Crystal called. Lauren showed A-K for top pair, Christina showed 6-4 for middle pair, and Crystal showed K-7 for King-high. Both Lauren and Christina were in good shape to survive, but when a Jack and a 7 completed the board, Crystal’s hand had improved enough to knock Christina out in 7th place. Meanwhile, Lauren tripled up and was back in contention.
The action continued the next hand as Kasra went all-in against Cole. When the hands were revealed, Kasra’s A-T of spades was a slight favorite against Cole’s A-T offsuit, but the board was no help to either player, so they chopped the pot.
A few hands later, Kasra found himself all-in again, this time on the flop holding Q-9 of spades on a board of Q-6-3. Crystal called with A-J, and the Ten on the turn and Jack on the river were not enough help, so Kasra doubled up to about 45,000 chips.
The good luck continued for those pushing all-in. In Level 10, Lauren found herself all-in against Cole and Crystal on a board of A-J-3. Cole’s A-8 improved to two pair when an 8 came on the turn, but a King on the river was his downfall as bothCrystal and Lauren held Q-T for a rivered straight. While they split up the 50,000-chip pot, Cole stared down at his 20,000 chips, wondering how he was going to spin those 3 big blinds up into a reasonable stack again.
But Cole’s fortunes were about to turn. The very next hand, he decided to take a chance with 7-5 offsuit. That chance paid off when he flopped top two pair on the 7-5-3 board, pushed all-in, and got three callers. The Ten on the turn and Deuce on the river didn’t improve anyone’s hand, and Cole quadrupled up.
Cole wasn’t the only player whose luck was heating up; James was about to begin a run that saw him bust three players in the space of about 30 minutes. First, Lauren moved all-in pre-flop with her remaining 8,000 chips and got four callers. When the flop came out J-8-4, she must have felt great watching the action with her J-8 in the hole. But a Queen on the turn and Ten on the river were not great cards for her. When the dust settled, Cole had made a straight with A-9, but James had made a higher straight with K-9, and he scooped in 65,000 chips, plus a bounty for knocking Lauren out in 6th place.
Cole rebounded from that minor setback with a big hand against Crystal in Level 11. With the blinds at 5,000-10,000, Cole got lucky in the small blind when his Q-8 out-flopped Crystal’s Q-J on a board of Q-8-3-7-A, and he raked in 100,000 chips just before the third break.
The Endgame: The POY race comes down to the very last card
Coming out of the third break, with blinds at 8,000-16,000, the chip counts had shifted dramatically again as Cole shot to the top spot, Crystal held onto second place despite losing about 70% of her chips, and Shea and Kasra continued their slide to the bottom of the leaderboard. Everyone except Cole was extremely short stacked, as even second-place Crystal had only about 3.5 big blinds in her stack.
- Cole ~ 273,000 chips (+229,000)
- Crystal ~ 55,000 chips (-130,000)
- James ~ 50,000 chips (-36,000)
- Kasra ~ 17,000 chips (-3,000)
- Shea ~ 10,000 chips (-43,000)
- Lauren = 0 chips (-7,000)
- Christina = 0 chips (-10,000)
- Chris
- Matt
A rebound was not in the cards for either Shea or Kasra as both ended up all-in on the very first hand after the break. With the blinds at 8,000-16,000, Shea couldn’t quite cover her big blind and was all-in before the flop without even looking at her cards. Kasra was first to act and put his last 17,000 chips in the pot as well. Cole and James both called and allowed the hand to check down all the way to the river as the board ran out A-Q-5-Q-9. James bet 20,000 on the river, Cole folded, and the players tabled their cards. Despite not looking pre flop, Shea’s hand was actually looking good on the flop as she held K-J for a straight draw, but the draw didn’t come in and she was eliminated in 5th place. Kasra fared a bit better as his T-9 hit a pair of 9s on the river, but James’s A-2 had flopped top pair and remained best at showdown. Kasra was out in 4th place, and James collected two more bounties.
Now the race for Player of the Year was clear. With Kasra finishing lower than 3rd place, he was now tied with Chris at 18 points. And by making it into the money, James had also locked up at least 18 points for at least a tie for the POY title. But if he were able to knock out the remaining two players and lock up a win, he would get the POY title all to himself.
Cole helped James’s quest for sole possession of the POY title when he found himself in a heads-up pot against Crystal, who called from the small blind and Cole checked in the big blind. Crystal’s T-8 flopped a pair on the board of K-8-6, but she played it cautiously by checking. Cole checked, and both players saw a 7 on the turn. Again, both players checked and saw a Ten on the river. With two pair, Crystal moved all-in, and Cole snap-called with 9-3 for a straight on the river. Crystal received $80 for her 3rd place finish, plus another $40 in bounties (including the double bounty for knocking out Matt).
As Cole and James moved to heads up, Cole held an 8-to-1 chip lead over James, so James had a lot of work to do if he wanted to take sole possession of the POY title. And he took a big chunk out of that chip lead in the first big confrontation. On a board of Q-5-2-9-9, James went all-in on the river for his last 41,000 chips. Cole called with 5-3, giving him two pair, but James held A-9 for trip 9s. As he raked in about 130,000 chips, he had cut Cole’s chip lead down to 3-to-1.
James then won three hands in a row, growing his stack to 170,000 and cutting Cole’s down to 235,000. The next hand, James raised on the button, Cole called, and the players saw a flop of 5-4-4 with two diamonds. Cole led out with a bet of 25,000, James quickly went all-in for his remaining 120,000, and Cole called. Cole showed Q-9 of diamonds for a flush draw and two overcards, and James showed A-Q. James’s hand was currently best, and was slightly ahead in terms of equity, but it was pretty close to a coin flip with Cole having about a 46% chance to win the tournament right there. Cole wasted no time in turning that 46% into a 100% as he hit the King of diamonds on the river to secure his first win at the Pinnacle Poker Club, leaving James with $110 for this 2nd place finish, along with $30 in bounties, and a share of a three-way tie for Player of the Year.
Cole took home $170 for his win, plus $30 in bounties.
Final Player of the Year Results
In a final demonstration of how closely matched our league was this year, the race for Player of the Year is not quite over! The tie between Kasra, James, and Chris will be broken at our November 11 Main Event Tournament and Party. And Crystal, Christina, and Cole all ended just a few points short of the win.
Thank you all again for playing this year. We hope to see you all one more time on November 11 before we break for the new year!
| Rank | Prev Rank | Name | Points | Wins | Cashes | Games Played |
| 1 | 1 | Kasra | 18 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| 1 | 1 | Chris | 18 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 1 | 3 | James | 18 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| 4 | 7 | Crystal | 15 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | 5 | Christina | 14 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 5 | 11 | Cole | 14 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 7 | 4 | Sharon | 11 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 8 | 5 | Steve | 10 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 9 | 15 | Lauren | 9 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 9 | 15 | Shealyn | 9 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | 7 | Kara | 9 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 12 | 11 | Matthew | 8 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 13 | 9 | Quang | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 13 | 9 | John | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 | 11 | Kim | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 | 11 | Peggy | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 17 | 15 | Jake | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 18 | 18 | Rob | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 18 | 18 | Tania | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 18 | 18 | Daniela | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 21 | 21 | Jon | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | 21 | Altaf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | 21 | Luke | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 21 | 21 | Thuy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 25 | 25 | Mike | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 | 26 | Luciano | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Cole Takes Down First PPC Win in Event #6!