Canterberry Poker League · Tournament #51

Rick Mazza Takes Out Seven of the Ten

He eliminated everybody from eighth place to second. The three money spots he left behind all went to women.

Eleven players sat down to open the 2013-14 season and Rick Mazza knocked out seven of them — every single player who finished between eighth and second. It took three hours and twenty-six minutes and paid $110, his fifth league win and his first in nearly two years.

His last one was July 2011, twenty-three months ago. This one he did the hard way and the tidy way at once: once the eliminations started he made every one of them until the tournament was over.

That included the entire rest of the money. Dawn Bjork was second for $55, out in a heads-up match that lasted two and a half minutes. Lori Mazza took third and $35 — the first cash of her career, in her fourteenth league tournament, and her husband put her out to get there. Mandy Denny completed the money in fourth for $20.

Where the money went

The undercard

Only three eliminations all night belonged to anyone other than the winner, and they were the first three. David Doole put out Mike Conner, who went first after an hour and eight minutes; Eric Denny put out Duane Barone twenty-seven minutes later; Warren Mervin put out Eric. Then Rick Mazza took the other seven and Warren bubbled in fifth.

The bigger picture

One tournament down, nine to go, and this season the standings count a player’s best eight scores rather than every one of them.

Three of the four paid places went to Dawn Bjork, Lori Mazza and Mandy Denny. Dawn has three league wins to her name. The other two have none between them from forty-eight tournaments, and one of those two had never cashed before tonight.

Canterberry Poker League #51 — Friday, June 14, 2013. 11 entrants, four paid from a $220 prize pool. First tournament of the 2013-14 season; standings count each player’s best eight scores.