Game 17 – Jeff G.

With only 3 games left in the regular season, the race for the remaining Championship seats is tightening up.

26 players turned out for this No Limit Hold ’em tourney, and 6 rebuys made this one of the largest EPL prize pools ever.

On the bubble, Angela Whang raised with A7 and was called by Michael Fuj with AT. Angela put Michael to the test on a 9K3 flop, but Michael made a big call and was thrilled to see he was way ahead… until the turn, anyway. Angela binked a 7 and a brick 2 came on the river to send the pot in Angela’s direction. Michael was out in sixth, one shy of the money.

Five-handed, Dan Ecoff shoved a decent-sized stack from the cutoff with AJ, but Leon insta-reshoved with AK. The cards went on their backs, and Dan would need to get lucky. Leon put one nail in the coffin on a 67K flop, and Dan was drawing dead after the 8 turn. A meaningless 2 landed on the river, and Dan was out in fifth, good for $130 and 26 points.

Next to go was Leon Marzillier, who raised from the small blind with K9 and was met with a shove from Jeff G. in the big blind with A8. Leon made the call, and was a slight underdog going to the flop. Leon picked up a straight draw on the QJ2 flop, and added a flush draw on the turn… although it was the ace of hearts, so his K and 9 were no longer live. Jeff staved off trouble as the board paired queens on the river, and Leon finished in fourth place, taking home $196 and adding 78 points to his season total.

Down to three players, a short-stacked Natalya Novek shoved blind from the small blind, and Angela made the pot odds call – also blind. Natalya flipped up 72 and Angela J7, and once again, the flop killed most of the drama. It came K8J, leaving Natalya in pretty bad shape. A 5 came on the turn and 7 on the river, and Natalya was done in third, worth $261 and 130 points.

Angela started heads-up with more than a 2-1 chip lead over Jeff G., but we were in for a see-saw battle. The shorter stack doubled up a half-dozen times, and huge stacks of chips kept getting passed from one end of the table to the other.

Finally, Angela shoved with Q4 and Jeff made the easy call with KK. Angela got no help on a board of A9635, and Jeff had finally won his first EPL tournament in his 29th attempt. Angela’s runner-up finish was good for $391 and 182 points, while Jeff scored $652 and 260 points for the win.

1st – Jeff G. ($652)

2nd – Angela Whang ($391)

3rd – Natalya Novek ($261)

4th – Leon Marzillier ($196)

5th – Dan Ecoff ($130)

With his win, Jeff moves into 8th place overall, and is currently sitting in a Championship seat position after having entered only 3 tournaments this season.

Angela moves into sixth, giving herself a good chance to qualify, and Leon moves into fifth, fortifying his position as well. Dan earns points but falls to tenth with a couple players passing him up.

Jeff moves into second place on the Money List, but still trails our season leader, Rick Aluzzi.

The Bust-Out List is a tight, five-way race and should come down to the wire. Angela picked up 5 eliminations last night to pull even with Wendy Loo at 24 a piece… I have 22, and JLA and Michael Fuj are now tied for fourth with 21 each.

With only 3 games left, here are the current Top 20 in the standings. If the season ended today, the bolded players would qualify for the Championship:

*clinched Championship seat
Rank	Name	Points	Qualifying Games Played
1	Rick Aluzzi*	792	10
2	Todd Kreisman*	720	17
3	Wendy Loo	577	17
4	Jonathan JLA	553	10
5	Leon Marzillier	535	13
6	Angela Whang	523	15
7	Todd Ullman	494	16
8	Jeff G.	470	3
9	Derek	396	7
10	Dan Ecoff	390	14
11	Dimitry	342	14
12	Linda Meyers	318	16
13	Michael Fuj	308	14
14	Daniel Wachtenheim	297	12
15	Bob Cox	296	5
16	Ron Phipps	295	4
17	Jonathan Lang	270	2
18	Steve Cohen	262	11
19	Ron S.	260	11
20	Margaret Henkel	243	6