Shelley – First Repeat Champion

Sean SP ended the rebuy period with a huge stack and wielded it mercilessly for hours Sunday. He entered the final table still in the lead. With six left, Bearded Mike, Brandon, and Candy were all short-stacked. Bearded Mike was the first to go followed shortly thereafter by Candy, but Brandon bucked the short-stack and put himself in contention to repeat as O/8 champion.

Pablo somewhat dodged the Curse of the Chip Scout when he cashed, finishing in fourth place. Brandon eventually went out third after a valiant comeback, setting up the heads-up match between Shelley and Sean. Sean continued to bully with his stack, but being a split pot game, Shelley hung in. Sean suffered a couple of brutal beats, including the last hand. When a 6 hit the turn Shelley made her low resigning Sean to half the pot with his set of jacks. After he said “damn, we’re going to chop again,” Shelley noted her wheal draw – “give me a four and it’s over.” Done.

Early exits by Jim, Phil, and Baklava and Brandon’s strong charge shook up the rankings this week. Hank and Tim still enjoy sizable leads, but Brando’s back-to-back cashes put him decisively in third place. Pablo, Phil, and Bearded Mike follow separated by only two points. While Jim currently holds the eighth spot, Baklava and Candy are within four points of him. The bad news: at Bearded Mike’s current rate the TOC will have to find a new venue this year...