Canterberry Poker League · Tournament #69

Clay Yawn Wins in His Fourth Tournament

Eleven players took five hours to sort out, and the man who won started playing here in November.

Eleven players sat down and it took five hours and five minutes to get through them — the second five-hour night in a row, from a field seven smaller than last month’s. Clay Yawn won it for $70, his first Canterberry Poker League win in the fourth tournament he has ever played.

He first sat down in November and finished twelfth, then fifteenth, then ninth. On Friday he made three knockouts — the second, third and fourth-place finishers, all of them — and closed it out in a twenty-four-minute heads-up match.

Josh Reel lost that one and took $50 for second. Mike Conner was third for $25, also with three knockouts, and Rick Mazza completed the money in fourth for $20 — his fourth cash in eight tournaments this season.

Where the money went

The undercard

Rick Mickaliger bubbled in fifth. Paul Coffman was the first player out and it still took two hours to remove him. Eric Denny, who won last month, came tenth of eleven.

The bigger picture

Nine tournaments, eight different winners, and one to play. Only Scott Dishong has won twice all season.

Josh Reel leads on 207 points from eight starts, thirty-two clear of Steve McLean and thirty-three clear of Eric Denny. Josh has now filled his eight-score card, so the finale can only help him if he beats his own worst night — and the men chasing him have to make up a month’s worth of points in a single tournament.

Canterberry Poker League #69 — Friday, March 13, 2015. 11 entrants, four paid from a $165 prize pool. Points shown are the league standings after nine tournaments of the 2014-15 season, best eight scores counting.