Canterberry Poker League · Tournament #9

Warren Wins a Third and Takes Control

Five knockouts, the longest finish the league has had, and a lead that finally looks like one.

With two tournaments left and three men covered by seven points, one of them went out and settled the argument. Warren Mervin made five of the eleven eliminations, played four hours and fifty-seven minutes and then ground out twenty-six minutes and seventeen seconds heads-up — the longest finish this league has seen. It pays $110.

Three wins now, from nine tournaments, and nobody else has more than one. He is also the only man to have won on both sides of the winter break.

Matt Moriarty was the man he could not shake, second for $65 — a second straight runner-up finish in the only two league tournaments he has ever played. Rob Slaght took third and $40, and Chris Johnson completed the money in fourth for $25, cashing for the sixth time in nine.

Where the money went

The undercard

Mike McEvoy is making a habit of the wrong kind of night. He matched the winner with five knockouts — between them they accounted for ten of the eleven who went home — and finished fifth, one place off the money. In January he made six and finished fourth.

Tom Buzbee was the first man out after two hours and twenty minutes, sent home by the eventual winner.

The bigger picture

Nine tournaments, seven different winners, and for the first time all season somebody has real daylight. Warren is on 94 points, twelve clear of Chris Johnson and eighteen clear of Mike Conner.

One night left. Chris Johnson has been the model of consistency all season — six cashes from nine, more than anybody — but he now needs a big April and some help. The man in front of him has won three of the last seven.

Canterberry Poker League #9 — Friday, March 13, 2009. 12 entrants, four paid from a $240 prize pool. Points shown are the league standings after nine tournaments of the 2008-09 season.