Canterberry Poker League · Tournament #7
Eighteen Turn Up, and Warren Wins His Second
The field jumps by half after the winter break, the first man wins twice, and a debutant takes out six.
The league took December off and came back to find itself half again as big. Eighteen players — six more than any tournament before it — a $360 pool and five places paid. Warren Mervin came through it in five hours and twenty-seven minutes with three knockouts, for $150.
It is his second win, and he is the first man to manage two. Six months and six tournaments produced six different winners; the seventh finally repeated a name.
Rob Slaght took second and $90 on his first league night, which is now five debutants in the final two across three tournaments. Brian Schrameyer also debuted, made three knockouts and finished third for $55.
Fourth and $35 went to Mike McEvoy, and his card is the one worth staring at: six knockouts, twice as many as the winner and equal to the most anybody has managed in a single league tournament — Dave Short did the same in November. He was still out in fourth. Mandy Denny completed the money in fifth for $30, her first cash in the league.
Where the money went
| Player | Prize | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warren Mervin | $150 |
| 2 | Rob Slaght | $90 |
| 3 | Brian Schrameyer | $55 |
| 4 | Mike McEvoy | $35 |
| 5 | Mandy Denny | $30 |
The undercard
Rick Mazza bubbled in sixth, which at least ends a run of two straight nights as the first man out. David Doole played his first league tournament, made three knockouts and finished eighth, more damage than anybody else who missed the money. Tom Buzbee, runner-up in October, went out first after an hour and thirty-five minutes.
The bigger picture
Seven tournaments, six different winners, and for the first time the leaderboard has changed hands at the top by way of a win rather than steady cashing. Warren goes to 62 points and first, two ahead of Chris Johnson, who has now led or shared the lead after four of the seven tournaments without winning since July.
Three nights left. Four men are inside twenty points of the lead, and the biggest field of the season has just shown that the pool of people who might win one is a good deal larger than it looked in June.
| League standings — after #7 | Points | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warren Mervin | 62 |
| 2 | Chris Johnson | 60 |
| 3 | Mike Conner | 55 |
| 4 | Rick Mazza | 45 |
| 5 | Mike Short | 34 |
Canterberry Poker League #7 — Friday, January 16, 2009. 18 entrants, five paid from a $360 prize pool. Points shown are the league standings after seven tournaments of the 2008-09 season.